When the host handed her the card and asked,

  > "Ruoxi, who will you bring to Eden House tonight?"

  —everyone held their breath.

  They waited for her to say "Gu Zeyan" and finally cave.

  Or "Li Shixun," again. Safe. Familiar.

  But Shen Ruoxi turned her head to the far end of the table.

  Where the quietest contestant sat, sipping tea.

  And said clearly,

  > "Chen Yuren."

  Silence.

  Even Chen Yuren looked up like she'd said his name by accident.

  "…Me?"

  He had barely spoken five sentences on camera since the show started.

  Ruoxi just smiled, slow and deliberate.

  "You don't mind, do you?"

  ---

  **Later, at Eden House.**

  "Why me?" he asked as the private dinner was served. "You've barely looked at me since the show began."

  She swirled the wine in her gss. "Exactly."

  He raised a brow.

  She leaned forward slightly. Not flirtatiously—curiously.

  "Everyone else already decided what kind of woman I am. You… didn't."

  He blinked, thoughtful. "That's because I don't guess until I see the whole picture."

  She smiled. "You're either very wise or very boring."

  He ughed, low and calm. "Or very patient."

  They didn't touch that night. No lingering hands. No sultry teasing.

  But the air between them was *warm*—not electric, not explosive, just… comfortable.

  And oddly, that unnerved Ruoxi more than seduction ever had.

  ---

  "You're a surgeon, right?" he asked.

  She nodded. "Cardiothoracic."

  "Ah. That expins it."

  "Expins what?"

  "The way you watch people. Like you're deciding whether to open them up or let them walk away undiagnosed."

  She ughed, surprised. "You noticed that?"

  "I notice what others miss," he said. "Because I'm not trying to win anyone here."

  That made her go still.

  "Then why are you on the show?"

  "To see if someone would stop pying long enough to be seen."

  She exhaled.

  For once, she didn't have a comeback.

  ---

  **Meanwhile, back at the vil…**

  The others were stunned. Murmurs filled the kitchen.

  "She picked *Yuren*?"

  "He barely talks."

  Gu Zeyan stood by the sink, unreadable.

  But when someone asked, "You're not jealous?"—he simply said,

  "I didn't think she'd pick me."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I challenged her. She's still deciding whether to prove me wrong or disappear."

  He wasn't angry. Just watchful.

  And somewhere beneath the calm, a storm waited.

  ---

  **Confessional booth, Eden House.**

  Chen Yuren:

  "She doesn't scare me. Everyone else wants her to be sweet or soft. I don't."

  A pause. He shrugged, faint smile on his lips.

  "I just want her to stop performing and start breathing."

  Cut to bck.