Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself

Yu Xia followed the staff into her exclusive little black room.

Black cloth covered the surroundings, with just a desk, a stack of envelopes and stationery, and a pen inside.

They’re really expecting us to use a pen to pry open every corner, huh.

But that has nothing to do with her; her letter was only meant for Xie Qingci, the vinegar king.

She sighed, picked up the pen, and thought about how to write to "impress her future roommate."

To meet the show’s requirements, it had to be emotional and vivid. Adding Xie Qingci’s expectations meant it had to be cheesy.

So maybe—

[My dear treasure: After these six days of being together, I sincerely believe you are a rare and fantastic roommate. You’re attractive, kind, gentle, patient, can cook, do laundry, and clean up. You’re basically the legendary Mr. Snail.

As for me, thinking back to my middle school dorm days, I was also a good roommate. I hardly ever had conflicts with honest and kind classmates, and I had no bad living habits.

I believe that, across the entire crew, I am undeniably your best choice for a future roommate! Of course, you’re free to choose, the decision is in your hands. If you want to be roommates with someone else, I’ll genuinely wish you well, and also be ready to dial the hospital hotline for you.

Dear, that’s all I have to say. Consider your future belonging carefully—a beautiful, gracious, and delicate girl]

She read it over herself, stifling a laugh, folded the letter neatly, and placed it into an envelope.

A dedicated interviewer came in, observing her continuous smile, asked: "Finished?"

"Finished."

"Are you sure both you and Xie Qingci will only receive each other’s letters?"

"Not sure."

"Can you be sure you’ll still end up together? What if Xie Qingci responds to someone else’s letter..."

She turned to the camera with a smile: "Then let him try."

Staff: "..."

An inkling of chill was felt.

They insisted on asking: "After interacting with the other contestants for six days, you should know them quite well. Besides Xie Qingci, who do you think matches your view on choosing a partner among the male guests?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Yu Xia gave no chance for drama, answering flawlessly.

"They are all great, but none are suitable for me."

Staff: "Among the female contestants, who do you think is the most popular with the boys? Is it you?"

Yu Xia: "Why ask me that? Ask the boys. But if I were a boy, I’d like Lan Hui and Zheng Jinjin more."

Privately, she was just another regular guy who liked sweet and pure girls.

The staff didn’t get the answer they wanted and persistently sidetracked: "And you? Don’t you think you’re as popular as them?"

She leaned on the writing desk with her left hand, crossing her legs and shifting her body, calmly looked at them before answering:

"What kind of question is that? If this was a singles dating show, maybe I’d confidently boast a little, but I’m here with my boyfriend. I only care that I’m more popular with Xie Qingci than others. Why should I compare myself with someone else’s boyfriend?"

The staff was left awkwardly silent and switched topics.

"Do you think Xie Qingci is more popular among the girls than the other male contestants?"

She nodded: "Of course, if he wasn’t charming or popular, why would I be with him? Are you done? I can already see Xie Qingci’s feet outside."

Sure enough, after a few seconds, Xie Qingci lifted a curtain and peeked in, asking: "Are you finished writing?"

"Done."

She walked out, and Xie Qingci naturally took her hand. She glanced but said nothing more, continuing to tell him about the content of that roommate application letter.

"The last time I wrote something this formal was my graduation speech for excellent graduates, you should feel honored."

Xie Qingci chuckled softly, leading her to the courtyard of the big flat house.

"The director said once we’re done, we should wait here for the team results."

Then he searched around, eventually bringing out a familiar lounge chair from the flat house, and grabbing her to lie down together.

"This sunlight just makes you want to nap."

Yu Xia was speechless: "I don’t want to sleep, get off."

"Just keep me company." His grip didn’t loosen, wrapping her tightly like a big golden retriever holding her within his fur.

The scent on him was much like hers, from using the same shower gel, detergent, and toothpaste for so long. Even when caught off guard, no smell felt unfamiliar.

However, males and females are inherently different; the same scent might evoke slightly different feelings.

For instance, on her, it’d only drive Xie Qingci crazy at times, while on him, she felt... an urge to get closer and embrace.

So although she said "get off," she didn’t move at all and soon found herself nestled in his arms.

Today’s sunlight was indeed gentle, warm and soft, the breeze mild, watching the clouds float in the sky felt like listening idly as flowers fall.

Slowly, she really started to feel sleepy.

When the others finished writing their letters and trickled back, they saw the two of them lying on a lounge chair, huddled together with eyes closed, napping.

Such posture was common on beaches, couples lying together, but rarely so entwined as they were, with Xie Qingci almost wrapping himself around her like mandarin ducks.

But they looked really—in love.

Everyone instinctively stopped talking, moved quietly, and brought lounge chairs from inside the living room.

For those too shy to lie together, the guys gave the loungers to the girls, and they sat under the eaves, quietly watching the yard outside.

The rustling of small animals, the rustle of leaves and vegetable tops blowing in the wind, and the faint quacking of ducks in the distance—nature’s small clamor that only brought peace and harmony.

Yu Xia slept comfortably, eventually awakend by Xie Qingci.

The director brought the team allocation results, stirring the tranquillity that had just settled.

"This time the team results are ideal, following the guys’ order of preferences, everyone successfully formed teams and can move into the small houses.

Yu Xia and Xie Qingci remain unchanged, Lin Shuangyin and Mo Yunchu remain unchanged, Zheng Jinjin and Wang Xuchun formed a team successfully, Zhou Yu and Liu Ji formed a team successfully, Liu Yicheng and Ling Yan formed a team successfully, Lan Hui and Qian Ling formed a team successfully.

Wow, oh.

So, it seems like Liu Yicheng, who appeared to be desperate to reconcile, actually wrote letters to more than one girl, probably fearing Zhou Yu would not choose him. So, "reluctantly," he left himself a backup plan, yet ultimately chose someone else.

Qian Ling and Ling Yan had a conflict because of that night Zheng Jinjin and Qian Ling "connected," probably out of spite they each wrote to others too.

Eventually, Zhou Yu surprisingly chose the more attentive listener, Liu Ji, while Lan Hui... also wrote to Qian Ling? Could it be just casting a wide net to avoid sharing a large common dormitory?

She pondered over each scenario, in the end only able to mentally commend the production team, they’re really good at stirring things up.