Heartbeat - Chapter 20

Su Jianyue offered a few compliments before burying herself in her meal. She finished a plate of spaghetti and a bowl of creamy mushroom soup, and of course, devoured several braised chicken wings. She also sampled nearly every other dish on the table.

After eating her fill, Su Jianyue sighed contentedly. “This is great! Having a real chef here means I’ll be able to get by just fine.”

Her own cooking skills were… let’s just say she was only capable of boiling instant noodles. She could help with tasks like wiping the table or washing vegetables, but if she were ever put in charge of the kitchen, everyone would be doomed.

Yu Lin chuckled. “Don’t worry, plenty of us here know how to cook. You won’t go hungry.”

“Hehe, that’s good to hear!” Su Jianyue replied cheerfully.

Seeing Su Jianyue smiling at someone else, Shen Xun suddenly spoke up. “I can cook. You can just be my assistant.”

“You’re the best, Sister~” Su Jianyue cooed, her voice sweet and affectionate.

Hearing Su Jianyue’s flirtatious tone with Shen Xun, Yu Lin rubbed her fingers together, hoping she still had a chance. Su Jianyue and Shen Xun seemed more like close sisters than lovers, so her path might not be completely blocked yet.

Seeing Su Jianyue and Shen Xun playfully teasing each other, Zhao Qifei and Chen Zhibin couldn’t even manage a forced smile. Now, their only hope lay in their gifts, hoping Shen Xun would choose theirs.

Noticing everyone had finished eating, Shen Xun suggested, “Since you five guys cooked dinner, and we’ll be drawing lots for tomorrow’s meal, let’s be fair. We’ll handle the dishes and kitchen cleanup. You guys go upstairs and relax.”

“Ah? No, no, we can do it!” Zhao Qifei quickly volunteered, eager to get more screen time and create buzz.

Yu Lin sighed, smiling. “Brother Zhao, you should really rest. Too many people in the kitchen will just make it chaotic. We’ll have it cleaned up in no time—it’s no trouble at all.”

“Yeah, you’re being way too competitive. Take a break and let the girls show off a bit too,” Zheng Tianming added jokingly.

After all, if Zhao Qifei insisted on helping, the others would look bad if they didn’t join in.

Hearing Zheng Tianming’s words, Zhao Qifei chuckled awkwardly and reluctantly put down the plate he was holding.

The bullet comments flooded with laughter: “Hahahaha!”

Hahahaha, this Zhao Qifei is such an attention-seeker! Does he have a performance personality disorder?

Even Zheng Tianming can’t stand him anymore, lol.

Seriously, he’s always rushing to do everything. Just watching him makes me tired.

Upstairs commenters, you’re being ridiculous! Teacher Zhao clearly just wants to help out more. Why are you overanalyzing everything?

Zhao Qifei already has fans? How exciting!

I still don’t like him. He seems so fake, not genuine at all.

The men went upstairs, leaving the two female Alphas and three Omegas to start working in the kitchen and dining area.

Su Jianyue put on an apron and rubber gloves, taking charge of the dishwashing.

Shen Xun also donned an apron and gloves. Su Jianyue washed the dishes first, and Shen Xun rinsed them with clean water.

Jiang Ying was responsible for cleaning the kitchen and dining tables, while Yu Lin swept the floor and Liang Wenjing mopped it.

With everyone assigned tasks, the work went quickly. Before long, the kitchen and dining area were spotless, and all the utensils were sparkling clean.

With the chores done, Su Jianyue and the others headed upstairs to their rooms. It was nearly ten o’clock.

Su Jianyue and Shen Xun walked back to the second floor together. When they reached Shen Xun’s door, Su Jianyue tugged at her wrist. “Sister, see you tomorrow!”

Shen Xun couldn’t resist and gently ruffled Su Jianyue’s hair. The poor Little Puppy didn’t even realize she hadn’t received a gift yet. “See you tomorrow.”

The viewers watching the interaction went wild.

Ahhh! Head-pat kill! Shen Xun is so gentle, and Xiao Yueliang is so adorable!

I want to pat the baby too! So jealous!

They’re so sweet! Their physical contact feels so natural.

But honestly, I don’t think Xiao Yueliang has figured things out yet.

Definitely! She’s just a Little Puppy. She’ll get it with a little more training.

Unaware of the online chatter, Su Jianyue returned to her room. They couldn’t rest yet; they still needed to send an anonymous message to their crush.

Su Jianyue typed her message almost without thinking:

Anonymous: Sister, get some rest! We’re going to have another fun day tomorrow! (Dog wagging tail GIF)

After sending the message, she grinned at the camera, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I’m going out with my sister tomorrow, so I need to get to bed early tonight. Good night, everyone! I’m going to take a shower now. When I come out, I’ll have to cover the camera!”

With a cheerful wave, Su Jianyue added, “I’m off to shower now. If you guys have anything else to do, feel free to leave. You don’t have to keep me company.”

The bullet comments flooded the screen with adoration:

Ahhh, our baby is so cute!

Xiao Yueliang is such a happy little puppy! Waaah, even after all these years, I still love her so much!

Hahaha, she has no idea it’s not her sister she’s going out with tomorrow! Dying of laughter!

Seriously, this little puppy is just so cheerful on her own. I can’t wait to see her face when she meets Yu Lin tomorrow!

You guys are all so mean! I’m the only one who feels sorry for our baby. (Dog head emoji)

If you remove that dog head emoji, I might actually believe you.

Completely oblivious to the comments, Su Jianyue hummed happily as she showered.

For tomorrow’s itinerary, Su Jianyue planned to start with breakfast at a nearby street food stall, then take her sister to the pottery studio. For lunch, she intended to drag Shen Xun along to the snack street near Kyoto University—the food there was much tastier than what the fancy hotels served. After lunch, they’d return to glaze and fire their pottery pieces, though the finished products likely wouldn’t be ready until the following day.

Su Jianyue couldn’t help but grin at the thought. This was practically a free vacation for her and her sister! How could she not be thrilled?

In contrast to Xiao Yueliang’s solitary cheerfulness, Shen Xun returned to her room and let out a heavy sigh. She still had no idea who she’d be meeting tomorrow.

Just as she sat down, she received an anonymous message.

One glance was enough for Shen Xun to recognize it was from Little Puppy. The message included an animated GIF of a dog wagging its tail, clearly showing how much Little Puppy was looking forward to spending time with her tomorrow.

A smile crept across Shen Xun’s face. She reached out to touch the animated GIF, her eyes softening with tenderness. Too bad Little Puppy’s going to be disappointed tomorrow, she thought. I didn’t choose her gift.

With a sigh, Shen Xun glanced helplessly at the security camera in her room before picking up her phone to compose her own message.

Anonymous: Have fun tomorrow! Get some rest tonight so you can wake up early. (Hugging Puppy.jpg)

Moments later, Su Jianyue received the message. Seeing her sister’s reply, she grinned so wide her eyes disappeared.

Meanwhile, the production crew had already displayed the sisters’ messages at the bottom of the screen, causing the bullet comments to explode. Some viewers were even kicked out of the Live Stream due to the overwhelming traffic.

Ahhh! Even though I didn’t get the gift, Shen Xun and Su Jianyue exchanged messages! KSWL!

Waaah, the adorable puppy wagging its tail! Does she know she’s a puppy?

Could it be that Xiao Yueliang only acts like a puppy for Shen Xun?

Shen Xun even replied with a “hugging puppy” emoji! They definitely know the messages are from each other.

Ugh, these lovebirds are so sweet! Shen Xun telling her to sleep early—so sweet! Sniff sniff!

Unaware of the online frenzy, Shen Xun returned to her room and sat at her desk to drink water before showering. She planned to finish her water first.

Just then, her phone buzzed twice in quick succession.

Shen Xun frowned slightly. Another message?

She picked up her phone, opened the app, and saw two unread messages in her inbox.

First, she tapped on the first message:

Anonymous: I’m so happy I met you. I really hope we can spend tomorrow together too.

Shen Xun read it without any visible reaction and moved on to the next message:

Anonymous: Shen Xun, your smile is so beautiful. I hope you’ll choose my gift.

After reading this, Shen Xun pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly cringing at the cheesiness. The messages left her unmoved. She got up, grabbed her change of clothes, and headed to the shower.

Meanwhile, in the live stream, the production team’s technicians had already displayed the messages at the bottom of the screen. Viewers flooded the chat with bullet comments:

LOL, Baby Shen Xun didn’t even flinch when she read those last two messages!

You’re wrong! She clearly pinched her nose—she was totally cringing!

The Xun Yue CP is just too good! Shen Xun seems to only act that way toward Xiao Yueliang. When she received Xiao Yueliang’s message earlier, Shen Xun’s face lit up with a smile.

Of course! Xiao Yueliang is the Little Puppy Xunxun has been training since childhood. Naturally, she adores her own little dog!

After showering and drying her hair, Shen Xun emerged and sighed at the camera. “Good night, everyone. Get some rest.”

With that, she covered the camera with a black bag.

The live stream chat erupted with laughter.

Shen Xun sighed so many times tonight, it’s hilarious!

The show’s format is really thrilling! Trying to guess who sent the gifts based solely on clues is so difficult.

That’s the point! I love the excitement of opening blind boxes!

I can’t wait! Shen Xun is meeting Jiang Ying tomorrow. I wonder how they’ll interact.

Poor Mao Ning! Who knows where Zhao Qifei will drag him tomorrow?

I’m definitely skipping Zhao Qifei’s segment. Just standing there, he could probably strike oil. It’ll be so awkward!