Chapter 10: The Scent of Money

A man's voice abruptly broke in.

The three people in the living room turned toward the sound. A man with a buzz cut, dressed in a black T-shirt and army-green shorts, walked in.

A radiant, sunny smile lit up his face. The muscles of his arms and calves stood out, and he had a strikingly well-proportioned waist.

Handsome, but most of all, exuding a healthy, vibrant sort of attractiveness.

As soon as he appeared, Lu Zhou could clearly sense the two women in the living room brighten up, their eyes sparkling with interest.

Tsk. Thankfully, Lu Zhou wasn’t here to look for a partner. If all his competitors were like this, it would be a headache.

“You...” The new arrival showed no trace of shyness. The moment he saw Chu Yao, he pointed at her and said, “Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

Qi Jiajia raised an eyebrow, interrupting, “Are you two pretending not to know each other to throw us off, or do you really not know each other?”

Qi Jiajia’s remark made Lu Zhou more curious. He glanced between them, joining in with a laugh, “Looks suspicious.”

Chu Yao smiled at the new guy, saying, “I haven’t met you, but maybe you’ve seen me? Hello, I’m Chu Yao.”

The new guest suddenly exclaimed in realization, “Ah! Chu Yao! It really is you! I’ve seen your short videos—that’s why you looked so familiar.”

He sat down casually, choosing the spot right between Lu Zhou and Chu Yao.

“My name is Wen Yiming,” he introduced himself, then turned to Qi Jiajia and Lu Zhou. “And you two, how should I address you?”

Another round of introductions. Lu Zhou was starting to feel tired of repeating his own name.

“You’re so handsome!” Wen Yiming looked Lu Zhou up and down, generously complimenting him.

Lu Zhou hadn’t expected to be called handsome by a male guest.

“You’re even more handsome,” he replied politely.

Qi Jiajia burst out laughing. “Are we really doing this? Competing over who’s more attractive the moment you meet?”

Wen Yiming rubbed his buzz cut and laughed heartily, “Just being honest.”

He seemed completely at ease—sunny, confident, radiating that masculine energy women love.

Such a man, Lu Zhou instinctively thought, would surely have an advantage in the coming episodes.

With four guests now gathered—and with the easy-going Wen Yiming among them—the atmosphere in the room finally lost its earlier, needling awkwardness.

Lu Zhou felt much more relaxed. When he’d been the only man, he’d felt all the conversational pressure. Now, with a fellow male present, he could take a break.

Lu Zhou began to play detective, trying to deduce from subtle clues whether one of the women—Qi Jiajia or Chu Yao—might be Wen Yiming’s ex.

But after watching for a while, Lu Zhou realized he was no great Sherlock Holmes.

Wen Yiming was so natural; he showed equal curiosity toward both women, didn’t seem especially close to either, nor particularly awkward around them.

No flaws to spot—either they were all very good actors, or there really was no history.

He wondered whether, when Li Jiayan arrived, he’d be able to maintain the same composure.

Lost in thought, Lu Zhou was startled by the sound of the front door opening.

“Someone’s here,” Wen Yiming said.

All four held their breath, eyes fixed on the entryway.

“Why is it so quiet? Not a sound... It’s a bit creepy.”

A voice reached them before its owner appeared.

It was a woman.

The four in the living room exchanged stifled, knowing glances and continued to hold their breath.

The newcomer, hearing no noise, hesitated in the entryway. She poked her head in, scouting out the “enemy,” only to find four pairs of eyes staring straight at her.

She let out a soft “ah,” then, embarrassed, stepped all the way inside.

“Hello, everyone!”

She bowed slightly in greeting, hands instinctively crossing in front of her chest, cheeks tinged pink.

“It was so quiet, I thought no one was here—though seeing all the slippers, I figured there had to be people. You’re all so naughty!”

Her tone was unconsciously coquettish.

Lu Zhou froze: “???”

He felt an instant jolt of numbness.

It was Li Jiayan...

The moment she poked her head in, Lu Zhou realized—speak of the devil, and she appears.

He carefully kept his expression neutral, but had never expected Li Jiayan to greet everyone in such a soft, sugary tone.

On the Pink Bus, she hadn’t acted like this... In fact, she’d never spoken that way before.

Everyone stood up to greet her; Lu Zhou pretended to meet her for the first time and called out, “Hello.”

Li Jiayan walked in, looking a bit uncertain about where to sit, clearly indecisive.

Wen Yiming slid over to make space. “Want to sit here?”

Li Jiayan glanced at him, smiled, and took the seat.

“We heard the door, so we all went quiet to tease you, make you think no one was here,” Wen Yiming explained with his trademark sunny grin.

“No wonder—I was wondering why you all seemed so serious,” Li Jiayan replied, her eyes curving into a smile at Wen Yiming.

Such a sweet smile, with that dress... she looked almost intoxicatingly charming.

Qi Jiajia and Chu Yao both fiddled with their hair, looking slightly uneasy.

Lu Zhou watched silently. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he kept noticing Wen Yiming’s gaze flitting discreetly toward Li Jiayan.

Lu Zhou: “...”

Why did he suddenly feel an urge to punch someone?

So this is what it feels like to see another man eyeing your ex.

With a new guest present, another round of introductions began.

Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan sat far apart, barely exchanging words; instead, Wen Yiming eagerly struck up conversation with her.

It was clear that, at least on first impressions, Li Jiayan’s looks appealed to Wen Yiming more than the other two women.

And Wen Yiming, like a peacock displaying its tail... Lu Zhou couldn’t help but think.

Counting heads, three guests were still missing.

The wait felt endless and dull to Lu Zhou.

After about ten minutes, there was another sound at the door.

The newcomer entered briskly—opening the door, changing shoes, appearing in the living room, all in one swift motion.

The five guests barely had time to react before he was standing there.

The new arrival was a man, around 175 centimeters tall, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit: crisp white shirt, black trousers, gleaming expensive shoes, every hair slicked back with pomade, not a strand out of place.

He wasn’t classically handsome, but his presence was striking.

Upon entering, he didn’t greet anyone right away. Instead, he calmly surveyed the room, his gaze not lingering on any of the women.

A strange pressure spread through the living room.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

“Hello.” Lu Zhou was the first to break the tension.

The new male guest looked over, nodded slightly. “Hello.”

With Lu Zhou’s lead, the others quickly warmed up.

After a round of introductions, they learned the newcomer’s name: Zhang Chen.

An interesting detail—Zhang Chen didn’t sit near any of the women. After scanning the room, he chose the seat next to Lu Zhou.

It was telling.

Either he was naturally cautious, or none of the women present had caught his interest.

“You’re dressed so formally. Compared to you, Lu Zhou and I look way too casual—like we’re just here for the snacks,” Wen Yiming joked, trying to lighten the mood with some self-deprecating humor.

The women laughed along.

Zhang Chen managed a slightly forced smile. “I take this opportunity very seriously.”

His sincerity caught everyone off guard.

The implication...

Lu Zhou glanced at Zhang Chen—was he here to win someone back?

This could get interesting.

Lu Zhou’s gaze slid to Qi Jiajia and Chu Yao. Which of them was his ex?

Silence fell again.

Zhang Chen had a talent for killing conversation.

But he seemed unfazed, perhaps even oblivious to the chilly atmosphere he created. He appeared perfectly at ease, betraying not a hint of awkwardness.

Perhaps because of the heat, Zhang Chen rolled up his shirt sleeves a bit after sitting down.

A watch on his left wrist immediately caught the eye—its value unmistakable.

Anyone with an eye for such things would recognize it instantly.

Tsk. A million-yuan luxury watch—an unmistakable status symbol.

“Should we turn down the air conditioning? It’s getting a bit warm,” Qi Jiajia suddenly suggested.

Lu Zhou: “???”

Now she’s hot? Interesting.

“There are more people now, it is a bit warm,” Chu Yao agreed.

Zhang Chen, seeing the consensus, got up and adjusted the air conditioning.

As he moved away, all eyes unconsciously followed him—the perks of wearing wealth like a badge.

A hush settled over the room.

When Zhang Chen returned, he noticed the awkward silence and joked, “Was it always this awkward before I arrived?”

“No, actually it only got like this after you came...” Li Jiayan answered honestly.

“Looks like I come with a built-in cooling effect,” Zhang Chen replied.

Everyone burst out laughing; the atmosphere eased.

Qi Jiajia chimed in, “Haha! You really do seem... a bit aloof.”

Chu Yao added, “You have such a strong presence—when you walked in, it felt like you took over the room.”

“I’ll try to be more approachable, then.” Zhang Chen tried a smile. “Is this better?”

The women laughed again.

A subtle tension lingered in the air.

With Zhang Chen’s arrival, the women’s attention shifted to him, and Wen Yiming’s earlier peacock display was curtailed.

So, as it turned out, money trumped looks when it came to attraction.

The relative popularity of the men became instantly obvious.

But was someone who flaunted luxury on the surface necessarily more wealthy than someone who dressed plainly?

Lu Zhou found himself pondering this.

He didn’t think so.

Some people loved to flaunt their wealth, others preferred to hide it.

Who was richer? Only time would tell, once the façades were stripped away.

Still, people were practical. When all else was unknown, those who flaunted wealth likely did possess it, so most would instinctively go for the visible option, rather than gamble on a long shot.

What kind of twist would the next guest bring?

At that moment, Lu Zhou felt more like an observer in a psychology lab than a participant, analyzing human nature instead of trying to attract the opposite sex’s attention.

“Which number guest were you?” Zhang Chen, perhaps noticing Lu Zhou’s different vibe, turned to chat.

After his initial greeting, Lu Zhou hadn’t really spoken to Zhang Chen.

“I was the first to arrive,” Lu Zhou said.

“The first, huh? If I were you, I’d be yawning by now.”

“I already have...”

“Haha.” Zhang Chen clapped Lu Zhou on the shoulder, then looked toward the cameras. “Come on, production team—take pity on him and send in the rest already.”

Almost as if on cue, the sound of the door opening echoed from outside.

Someone was indeed arriving.