Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4: If I Don’t Go to Hell, Who Will?

　　After dumping the cooking duties with a clear conscience, Chu Ling hauled her suitcase upstairs.

　　The villa had three floors—boys on the second, girls on the third.

　　When Chu Ling reached the landing on the third floor, she heard the other female guests chatting up ahead.

　　“I’m okay with any room.”

　　“Yeah, me too... anything works.”

　　“Why don’t you two pick first? I’ll take whatever’s left—I really don’t mind.”

　　Chu Ling stepped onto the final stair. Her heavy suitcase thudded against the floor behind her, cutting straight through their conversation.

　　“What are you all discussing?” she asked.

　　“Oh, you’re here,” said Gao Yan, the Female Guest No.2, flashing her a friendly smile. She took the initiative to explain, “We just looked around. There are only three rooms on this floor—two singles and one double—so we’re still figuring out how to split them.”

　　Chu Ling glanced at the three of them, then at the rooms behind them. Her brow lifted slightly—she got the gist right away.

　　Everyone clearly wanted a single room, but with the cameras rolling, no one dared to be the first to speak up. So, it became a polite standoff: You go ahead, no, you first. No one wanted to look selfish on screen, hence the awkward deadlock.

　　Sure enough, Gao Yan tilted her head with a soft smile and added, “The thing is, I tend to sleep late and my habits are kind of messy. I wake up in the middle of the night and play on my phone a lot, so... if any of you end up rooming with me, I hope you won’t mind.”

　　Chu Ling chuckled inwardly.

　　What a clever move—pretending to be considerate, while subtly angling for a single room.

　　Ye Weiyang, the Female Guest No.3, chimed in with her own soft laugh. “I sleep late too—occupational hazard. Even here, I’ll probably have to work overtime. Hopefully I won’t disturb anyone too much.”

　　As for the original female lead, Wen Shu, she stayed quiet for a moment before saying, “I don’t mind... anything is fine.”

　　The livestream chat didn’t suspect a thing, thoroughly moved by their “polite and understanding” attitudes.

　　【The girls are all so sweet.】

　　【Such considerate little angels, always thinking of others!】

　　The system egged Chu Ling on from the sidelines. “This is your chance, go for it! Just suggest sharing a room with the original female lead, then start picking fights to build up your hate meter.”

　　That was the original plotline, after all.

　　The female lead and the cannon fodder would butt heads again and again until the internet exploded in outrage.

　　“Sorry, then.”

　　Chu Ling leaned lazily on the handle of her suitcase and said, “I sleep really lightly and don’t do well with someone next to me. I’ve also got a lot of luggage and hate unpacking, so I’d prefer to have a room to myself.”

　　Without waiting for anyone’s reaction, she went ahead and picked the sunniest room facing south. Then she added, “Since everyone’s okay with anything, I’ll go ahead and choose first. Thanks.”

　　The three girls: “...???”

　　Even the system was confused. “?”

　　Chu Ling looked completely justified. “Aren’t they all just scared of being the first to get flamed? Now that I’ve taken on the villain role, isn’t that better for everyone? You know what they say — if I don’t go to hell, who will?”

　　She smirked with amusement. “Besides, I bet a whole new wave of people is cursing me out right now, huh?”

　　The system glanced at the bullet screen.

　　Sure enough, the comments were a mess, full of things like “Acting high and mighty” and “Celebrity bullying normal girls.”

　　Still, there were a few timid voices mixed in.

　　【But they’ve been discussing this for so long and still haven’t decided. Might as well just play rock-paper-scissors.】

　　【+1. Honestly, it feels like everyone’s just waiting for someone to pick a shared room so they can grab a single one.】

　　But those quickly got shut down.

　　【Wow, Chu Ling’s PR team works fast. Already trying to clean up her image? Rude is still rude, no excuses.】

　　The system stayed silent.

　　Forget PR cleanup.

　　If they gave her the choice, she might even take the lead herself and get people to roast her on purpose.

　　The room Chu Ling picked was pretty spacious, even bigger than she expected, and the lighting wasn’t bad either.

　　She settled in comfortably, then checked out the cameras in the room.

　　There were two cameras set up from different angles. Both were currently off, and the guests could choose whether to turn them on or not.

　　Chu Ling couldn’t help but curl her lips a little.

　　She never really noticed it before, but now it hit her — this really was a novel world.

　　Otherwise, why would the audience have so much free time?

　　For now, she left the cameras off, stretched lazily, then opened up her suitcase and started unpacking while humming to herself, feeling totally relaxed.　　

　　……

　　Three hours later.

　　Qin Shuo finally finished making dinner.

　　He took off his apron, sent a message in the group chat they had set up for the eight of them, then carried the dishes out.

　　Not long after, the group trooped downstairs in a flurry of chatter and footsteps. When they saw the table full of delicious food, they couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

　　“Whoa!”

　　Gao Yan was the fastest, and the moment she saw the feast on the table, her eyes lit up. “You two made all this?”

　　Qin Shuo replied in a cold, clipped voice, “I made it by myself.”

　　Gao Yan froze for a second. “Wait, didn’t the draw earlier say—”

　　Chu Ling came down the stairs slowly in her slippers, yawning as she walked.

　　“Oh,” she blinked innocently, “I’m not good at cooking. I was going to help out as an assistant, but Teacher Qin said he could handle it alone and insisted on doing dinner by himself.”

　　She pressed her palms together and deliberately hyped him up. “Teacher Qin is amazing, thank you so much.”

　　Qin Shuo didn’t say anything.

　　He had that suffocating, frustrated feeling of having nowhere to vent his irritation.

　　Lu Shixuan, who already didn’t like Chu Ling, spoke without thinking. “You’re a girl and you can’t cook?”

　　Chu Ling raised an eyebrow and shot back, “Is there a problem with that?”

　　The truth was, she actually could cook.

　　But pretending she couldn’t was way more convenient here.

　　Before coming, Lu Shixuan had already heard some gossip that the production team cast Chu Ling to play the role of the scapegoat. He’d also been annoyed after being roasted by her earlier, so he took this chance to fire back.

　　“No big deal,” he said, lifting a brow as well. “Just a bit surprised. How do you normally get by?”

　　He knew Chu Ling had a bad reputation and was ready to ride the first wave of hate for some traffic.

　　But the livestream comments weren’t reacting the way he expected.

　　【Okay but seriously, what’s the problem if a girl can’t cook?】

　　【Yeah, Chu Ling passing the job was kinda selfish, but who said girls have to know how to cook? She even offered to help, and Qin Shuo was the one who didn’t want to work with anyone. What’s with the passive-aggressiveness?】

　　Chu Ling didn’t bother arguing. She just asked him, “Do you know how to cook?”

　　“Of course I do.”

　　Lu Shixuan let out a snort. “When I was studying abroad, I cooked for myself the whole time.”

　　Chu Ling smiled sweetly. “Oh? That’s pretty domestic of you.”

　　That word hit Lu Shixuan like a brick. It was the first time anyone had called him “domestic.” He choked for a second, like something was stuck in his chest.

　　“Alright, alright, let’s all sit down and eat,” Ye Weiyang jumped in to break the awkward tension. She smiled and added, “We’re all starving. Let’s not let Teacher Qin’s masterpiece go cold.”

　　Qin Shuo mainly prepared a French dinner tonight. (T/N: I think it's a fusion food since it has fried rice. Uncommon for French cuisine I think 🤔)

　　There was salad, fried rice with a twist, onion soup, and the main dish was beef bourguignon.

　　It was definitely a feast, and you could tell just by looking that a lot of effort went into it.

　　Chu Ling quietly rubbed her poor Chinese stomach and said a silent prayer.

　　“I never thought I’d live to see the day I’d get to eat a meal made by Teacher Qin himself,” Gao Yan said, face full of joy. “I feel so honored.”

　　She was the first to dig in. After tasting a piece of the beef, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and let out a gasp. “Oh my god, this is way too good. Teacher Qin, you’re seriously at Michelin chef level.”

　　“This sauce... it’s unreal.”

　　Lin Zirun, the male writer in the group, closed his eyes dramatically. “I feel like my tongue is about to melt. This is the kind of food that should only exist in heaven. To taste it in this lifetime, I can now die in peace.”

　　Lu Shixuan also commented, “It’s really good—more flavorful than the one I had at that Restaurant X on the banks of the Seine in Paris.”

　　Chu Ling: “…”

　　Qin Shuo just made dinner, and here you all are singing and dancing, practically waving your resumes in the air.

　　She took a bite too, and immediately started choking.

　　Come on. You guys are acting, right?

　　She coughed for several seconds, silently wondering if she was the only one seeing the truth.

　　This show really cast the wrong people. You all deserve Oscars more than screen time.

　　To be fair, Qin Shuo did use 　　top-quality ingredients—probably something the production team arranged for him to shine in this “chef” role.

　　Trying such a difficult dish for his first time cooking on camera? The trending search tags were probably prepped already.

　　Viewers can’t taste the food, so even if it’s bad, no one’s going to call him out.

　　Chu Ling might not have eaten much high-end French cuisine before, but she wasn’t stupid. The beef bourguignon was clearly undercooked. The flavor didn’t sink in at all, the texture was rough, and the meat was still tough.

　　She kept coughing for a while. Wen Shu, who was sitting beside her, gently patted her back and passed her a napkin. “Are you alright?”

　　Qin Shuo had been about to serve Wen Shu a piece, but seeing this, he held back and asked, “Miss Chu, is the dish not to your taste?”

　　“True.” Lu Shixuan glanced at her and said, “This dish is French cuisine. You probably don’t eat this kind of food often, right?”

　　“Yeah, not really.” Chu Ling rubbed her cheek and added, “Didn’t realize you’d need a pair of dentures just to eat French food.”

　　Everyone at the table froze for a second.

　　Qin Shuo frowned at her. “...You don’t like it?”

　　“The meat’s just too tough,” she said bluntly. “My teeth hurt from chewing.”

　　【?】

　　【She’s doing this on purpose, right? How come she’s the only one complaining at the table?】

　　【If you don’t like it then don’t eat it. Give it to me! I want some! Ungrateful brat!!】

　　【But to be fair, I watched Qin Shuo while he was cooking, and I did think something felt off.】

　　【This dish usually needs at least an hour of marinating and three hours of stewing. He didn’t even spend two hours total, plus he had to make all the other dishes too. I seriously doubt the meat’s cooked all the way through.】

　　【Even though it looks delicious... I bet the texture is kind of ehhhh】

　　【I was gonna say earlier, the praise felt a bit forced. Better than a Michelin chef? Really?】

　　【Feels like everyone’s just hyping Qin Shuo up. Is it just me?】

　　【Well, I mean, his status speaks for itself.】

　　【Then maybe don’t go on a romance show. If you’re gonna be treated like royalty, what’s the point? Isn’t the whole idea to be on equal footing with everyone?】

　　Qin Shuo didn’t look too pleased.

　　He picked up a piece of the meat himself, took a bite, and sure enough, his expression changed a little.

　　Chu Ling looked at all the awkward faces at the table and added graciously, “Maybe I’m just too much of a bumpkin to enjoy fancy stuff. If you guys like it, feel free to have more.”

　　“It’s really delicious, at least I think it suits my taste,” Gao Yan chimed in, genuinely praising it. Then she added, “It’s just... a bit high in calories. I really can’t eat too much.”

　　Ye Weiyang nodded in agreement. “I’m trying to lose weight too. Otherwise, I could totally down a whole bowl.”

　　“Let’s drink, let’s drink first,” Jiang Yicheng laughed, stood up to grab some red wine, and said, “Who comes to dinner and fills up on the main dish right away? We might not be at a fancy restaurant, but we can still take things step by step, right?”

　　Qin Shuo: “...”

　　So by the time dinner ended, the beef dish was still barely touched.

　　Not bad, Chu Ling thought.

　　These people sure had sweet mouths, but their bodies were pretty damn honest.

　　—

　　As night fell, the show’s crew sent out the usual daily task.

　　According to the rules, each person had to send a message every night to the person they were most interested in that day.

　　The messages were anonymous, to make things more fun and mysterious.

　　Chu Ling asked, “What if you don’t have anyone in mind? Can you skip it?”

　　Naturally, the staff gave her a helpless look and said, “Nope.”

　　Alright then.

　　Chu Ling wasn’t close with any of the other guests anyway. After thinking for a while, the only person she could write to was Qin Shuo.

　　On the other side, Qin Shuo had just come back from the interview room after choosing his date for tomorrow.

　　This round, the guys got to pick first. He was the first to make a choice, and without hesitation, he picked Wen Shu.

　　So, the message he sent her was:【See you tomorrow.】

　　He anxiously waited for the message Wen Shu would send him.

　　She only knew him on this show, and she hadn’t interacted with any of the other male guests today. He was curious to see who she would send a message to.

　　Not long after, his phone buzzed.

　　Qin Shuo’s heart skipped a beat, and he opened the message nervously, full of anticipation.

　　Anonymous message:【Link: Super detailed tutorial on bourguignon beef stew. Step-by-step guide for beginners to make a gourmet meal at home】

　　【Try harder next time.】

　　Qin Shuo: “…”

　　Who the hell sent this? Are they nuts?

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