Whoever Falls in Love First is the Dog - Chapter 20

Chapter 20:  “Sister, you probably don’t know that I’ve been doing really badly these past few years.”

“Jie (Sister), you probably don’t know—I’ve been doing pretty badly these past few years.”

Shen Mengke blinked and looked at Shu Yun.

She was just the same as always, as if the past few years had never happened.
In that moment, a wave of emotion surged in Shen Mengke’s heart—an unplaceable bittersweetness she could only chalk up to the joy of reunion.

“Huh? Xiao Shu-jie, you two know each other?”

Shi Shuiying suddenly popped up beside them, eyeing the two curiously.

Shen Mengke didn’t react right away to who “Xiao Shu-jie” was referring to, until she heard Shu Yun speak beside her.
“We know each other. We met even before she debuted.”

Shen Mengke couldn’t help but glance at Shu Yun.
She smiled gently, her pale grey eyes made even more alluring by that soft expression—like they could swallow Shen Mengke whole.

Her heart skipped a beat. Subconsciously, she pulled her hand back, avoiding Shu Yun’s gaze.

A flicker of surprise passed through Shu Yun’s eyes, but she still maintained the grace required in front of the cameras.

The carefree Shi Shuiying kept rambling to Shen Mengke, with Liu Xiangqi chiming in occasionally.
Song Yi’an, however, sat quietly to the side.

The doorbell rang—someone else had arrived.
Everyone stood up to greet the newcomer, but Shu Yun suddenly grabbed Shen Mengke’s hand.

Shen Mengke turned her head, just in time to see Shu Yun silently mouth, “Come with me.”

She hesitated but was still pulled along by Shu Yun, who moved through the house like she knew it well.
They went upstairs and entered a bathroom in one of the rooms—Shu Yun locked the door behind them.

This was probably the only place in the whole house without cameras. Here, they could do anything.

“You…”

Shen Mengke looked flustered for a moment, but Shu Yun placed a finger on her lips, silencing her.

Shu Yun first turned off her own mic, then reached around Shen Mengke’s waist and gently turned hers off too.

Her fingers brushed her waist, and Shen Mengke froze, completely still.

“Are you avoiding me?” Shu Yun finally asked.

“No…”

Tears welled up in Shen Mengke’s eyes as she spoke.
“You disappeared for years, and I didn’t hear a word from you. And now you’re back, but you didn’t even come find me…”

“I still live in that same neighborhood, you know how bad the security is!
At night, it’s full of drunks causing trouble.”

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. She turned her back to Shu Yun.

Shen Mengke had met Shu Yun when she was eighteen, her freshman year of college.

At that time, Shu Yun was already a big deal. Under normal circumstances, their paths wouldn’t have crossed.

Shu Yun had gone to the Film Academy to shoot a film and ran into Shen Mengke, who had gotten lost and accidentally wandered into the crew’s area.

Freshmen get lost all the time—it wasn’t a big deal. But she happened to walk right into Shu Yun getting off her trailer.

Looking back, it was pretty embarrassing.

Shen Mengke had a backpack on, wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans. It was 2 p.m., the hottest time of day, and she was sweating buckets, rushing to class.

Shu Yun, on the other hand, wore an elegant dress, full makeup, and had an assistant shading her with an umbrella.

Shu Yun took one look at Shen Mengke and told the director she’d be perfect for the drama. She invited Shen Mengke to take part—but was turned down.

It was actually a huge opportunity, considering who Shu Yun was—an A-list actress, the youngest ever to win Best Actress in the country!

But Shen Mengke couldn’t say why—Shu Yun’s gaze felt strange to her.
Not like a senior admiring a junior, but more like a hunter locking onto prey.

That rejection cost Shen Mengke a chance to make it big.

But Shu Yun didn’t get upset. Instead, she took the initiative to get Shen Mengke’s contact info and kept reaching out to her.
One thing led to another, and Shen Mengke fell for this gentle, kind senior.

During that time, Shu Yun taught her a lot.
In fact, the company Shen Mengke is signed with now, the neighborhood she lives in—it was all connections made through Shu Yun.
Shu Yun was undoubtedly a turning point in her life.

But it didn’t last long.
They were only together for less than three years before Shu Yun broke up with her due to illness.

It hadn’t been a clean breakup. It wasn’t until much later that Shen Mengke found out Shu Yun had gone abroad for treatment.

One day, Shen Mengke received a handwritten letter from abroad.
In it, Shu Yun explained everything—her condition, why she left, and why she had to break up.
After reading it, whatever resentment Shen Mengke had left, completely vanished.

In the letter, Shu Yun said she’d return in three years.
But it’s been far more than three.
Shen Mengke had nearly forgotten she even existed.

Shu Yun chuckled.
“Come on. That neighborhood’s not that dangerous. If you’re trying to make me feel guilty, do it properly.”

She took hold of Shen Mengke’s shoulders and gently turned her around.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve come back earlier. I got caught up in something.
I didn’t reach out to you right away.
Instead, I thought it’d be nice to surprise you by showing up on the show.”

“Well, it’s not a nice surprise!” Shen Mengke frowned, her voice catching in her throat.
She stepped forward and threw her arms around Shu Yun.

“Jie… I’ve been waiting for you so long. Three years, then another three…
I thought I’d end up waiting ten, thirty years…”

“Then you’d be a vampire,” Shu Yun teased, hugging her back.
“Aren’t you happy to be filming this show with me?”

“I’m over the moon,” Shen Mengke choked out. “I’ve waited so long for this day.”

“Good. And soon we’ll shoot a drama together too. I’ll make sure you win Best Actress.”

Shen Mengke laughed, stepping back.
She wiped her tears and said, “Jie, you probably don’t know—I’ve been doing really badly these past few years.”

“Well, I’m back now. You’ve got me.”

Shu Yun spoke softly, and Shen Mengke looked up.

Her eyes shimmered with tears, bright and beautiful.
She smiled and shook her head.
“No need. I can do it on my own.”

By the time Shen Mengke and Shu Yun had composed themselves and returned downstairs, everyone else had already arrived.

To her surprise, Shen Mengke saw three people she hadn’t expected:
Chen Xingxing, Xu Shinian, and that girl Shen Jingli—whom she’d only met once at a party organized by Xu Shinian.

She and Shu Yun exchanged greetings with the three before taking their seats. Naturally, Shen Mengke sat beside Shu Yun.

Her gaze drifted to Shen Jingli, seated next to Xu Shinian.
Apparently, she was a newly graduated host making her variety show debut.

Shen Mengke couldn’t quite understand why anyone would pick this type of show for their debut,
but maybe because they shared the same surname, she felt a strange fondness toward her.

Just then, a hand by her side quietly took hers.
Shen Mengke snapped back to reality and looked over—Shu Yun smiled at her.

Shen Mengke wasn’t used to being physically close with others on camera,
but this was a dating show. As long as it wasn’t with a guy… it should be fine, right?

After the introductions and some small talk, Shen Mengke started eyeing the other participants.

Eight women so far.
Not a single guy.
But on a dating show, shouldn’t the number of men and women be equal?

That meant there had to be at least sixteen participants!

Shen Mengke was shocked.
Are there even that many male celebs in the industry?

Before she could overthink, the narrator’s voice chimed in.

Narrator: Welcome to Journey of the Heart, exclusively sponsored by Maazi.
This season, we’ll visit five destinations to experience the heartbeat of romance.

The room gradually quieted as the voice played.

Narrator: Our first stop is the famous “Eye of the World” — Bihai Lake.
Surrounded by mountains, the lake appears from above like a giant blue eye.

You’ll spend three days and two nights here living together.

Applause broke out—uncertain at first, then growing louder.

Shen Mengke clapped along and glanced sideways—Shen Jingli looked very excited, clapping with extra enthusiasm.

Narrator: You’re free to explore the house now.
There are eight rooms: two on the first floor, three on the second, and three on the third.
After exploring, return to the living room—we’ll announce the room assignments and itinerary.

Only now did Shen Mengke realize—there were no men in this show.

A dating show. All women.

In a society only somewhat tolerant—but far from fully accepting—of same-s3x relationships, this was shocking.

Even more shocking: everyone else seemed to know.

Everyone except her.

She looked toward the director’s area, confused.
Why had this been kept from her?
Was there something they knew she’d never agree to if told in advance?

Among the group, the only ones Shen Mengke knew well were Shu Yun and Xu Shinian.
But now that she knew this was a same-s3x dating show, she started seeing Shu Yun differently.

She didn’t know how this show had passed censorship,
but now that everything was out in the open, she couldn’t afford to get too close to Shu Yun.

She could only act like nothing had happened.
But the truth was, they had been together.

She’d come here thinking it was a travel show—romance was the last thing on her mind.

Besides, she already had Chen Yanxing…

She wasn’t sure why his name popped into her head.
They were just friends with benefits, no feelings involved.

But that “exclusive” clause in their contract now felt suspiciously ambiguous.

“Shen-jiejie, let’s go.”

Shi Shuiying came up and linked arms with her.
Shen Mengke smiled and stood, following her.

She quietly left Shu Yun behind—something she had never done before.

Everyone followed the production team’s instructions and headed to the kitchen first.

Shi Shuiying’s excitable nature meant that as soon as she saw something interesting, she abandoned Shen Mengke and crowded around with the others.

Still unfamiliar with most of them, Shen Mengke stayed in the back.

Soon, Xu Shinian came over and walked beside her.