Dinner was served on the upper deck, beneath a sky thick with stars and the soft hum of summer. The long teakwood table had been set for ten, but now eleven chairs circled it—because Shen Ruoxi had arrived late, and her presence had changed the equation.
Literally.
"Let's play a game," one of the producers announced from off-camera. The voice was light, cheerful. *"A psychological one. You'll be asked personal questions. No names. After each round, you'll each write the name of the person you *think* gave the most interesting answer."*
A few of the contestants exchanged wary glances.
"It's anonymous?" someone asked.
"Not for the viewers," the producer replied. "Only for each other."
Laughter rippled nervously across the table.
Shen Ruoxi reached for her wine glass. "So, we lie with charm, and guess with ego." She smiled. "Sounds like dating."
---
**Round One: "What kind of person breaks your rules, but still wins your heart?"**
Ruoxi didn't speak. None of them did—not aloud. The answers were written and dropped into the center bowl, shuffled, and read out one by one.
> *"Someone who doesn't apologize for who they are."*
> *"Someone who sees through the mask I didn't know I was wearing."*
> *"Someone who leaves before I'm ready to say goodbye."*
Silence fell. Then murmurs. Some smiled. Others looked like they'd just been made to think harder than expected.
Gu Zeyan's gaze flicked briefly toward Ruoxi, but said nothing.
She looked down at her wine.
Her answer hadn't been read yet.
> *"Someone who scares me a little. Not because they're dangerous. Because they make me want to stay."*
The table quieted again.
"Damn," Li Shixun murmured, adjusting in his chair.
"Who wrote that?" a girl asked, eyebrows raised.
Ruoxi rested her chin on her palm, hiding a smile.
---
After the votes were cast, the name revealed was hers.
Unanimously.
Even Gu Zeyan had written it down.
---
Later that evening, after the others had gone inside, she remained on the deck.
She heard his footsteps before he spoke. Calm. Measured.
"You planned that answer," Gu Zeyan said. Not accusing. Just observant.
She didn't turn around. "Of course I did."
He came to stand beside her, hands in his pockets. The breeze pulled lightly at the hem of her blouse.
"Do you always perform?"
She glanced at him then, her expression amused but unreadable. "Don't we all? On some level."
He studied her. "You're not looking for love here."
"No," she said honestly. "Are you?"
"I didn't decide yet."
"Let me know when you do." She stepped past him, brushing lightly against his side—just enough for the contact to register, then vanish.
"Because that would change the game," she added over her shoulder.
---
**In the confessional booth:**
Shen Ruoxi sat cross-legged, hair swept into a loose knot, heels off.
"Gu Zeyan is interesting," she said thoughtfully. "Not because he talks. Because he doesn't. He listens too well." A pause. "That kind of man either falls slowly… or not at all."
She tapped her fingers against her knee.
"And I don't like being ignored."
Her lips curved.
"So I might just fix that."
Blackout.