Noble Academy's Mob Character: Reborn as the Campus Heartthrob - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Dream Love Variety Show – Part 3

For the first time, Qi Yuan felt that someone’s eyes were like hooks, snagging at his heart and leaving him restless.

He turned his face away, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

Cyril, who was standing, showed no outward reaction, but a flicker of amusement danced in his eyes.

With all the guests now assembled, they took their seats. After the introductions, it was time to assign bedrooms.

You Qinghe didn’t want to share a room with anyone. Knowing there were eight guests in total and eight rooms spread across the second and third floors of the villa—though some were larger than others—he understood why the villa had been chosen for the show. Its spacious accommodations meant no one would have to cram together.

While Omegas could temporarily share accommodations, Alphas couldn’t.

Alphas typically have a strong territorial instinct and possessiveness over their living spaces—essentially, their personal domains. Moreover, they rarely wear suppressants when resting, allowing their pheromones to diffuse freely.

Because Alpha pheromones are often aggressive, housing two Alphas together would inevitably lead to conflict.

After some discussion, the group decided to roll dice on their phones to choose rooms.

After adding each other as friends, Cheng Huan created a group chat and invited everyone to join.

Then they all rolled dice simultaneously.

Qi Yuan rolled a five.

You Qinghe and Gu Yuzhu both rolled fours.

Jiang Wang and Cyril both rolled sixes.

Qin Ke rolled a three.

Cheng Xinyi rolled a two.

Cheng Huan rolled a one.

Cheng Huan stared at his result in disbelief, as if unable to bear looking directly at it.

“Has my luck really sunk this low?”

Though unwilling to accept his bad luck, Cheng Huan wasn’t one to throw a tantrum. He accepted his loss gracefully and waited with Qin Ke for those who rolled higher to choose first.

Jiang Wang and Cyril, both having rolled sixes, got to choose first.

After a quick glance at the available rooms, they selected the leftmost and rightmost rooms on the second floor.

Qi Yuan chose a small, balcony-equipped room on the leftmost side of the third floor. The room had excellent sunlight exposure, facing the sun directly, but it was small—more than enough for him, however.

The others took turns selecting rooms in order. No one complained about not getting their preferred room, and the group’s atmosphere remained harmonious.

In the end, all three Omegas—Qi Yuan, Cheng Huan, and Qin Ke—and the sole Beta, Gu Yuzhu, chose rooms on the third floor.

The four Alphas—Jiang Wang, Cheng Xinyi, You Qinghe, and Cyril—all opted for rooms on the second floor.

They’re all so pleasing to the eye, each with their own unique charm! It makes me want to sign up too!

Everyone’s being so polite and considerate to each other… I wonder if they’ll actually be able to form any genuine connections. (Confused)

LOL, the Beta’s just a tireless water-pouring machine.

Qi Yuan’s actually quite interesting. If you watch him closely, he has so many subtle expressions.

Poor Qi Yuan! As the first one in, he had to introduce himself seven times! Tsk tsk tsk. By the time he got to Cyril, he looked completely numb.

Seeing them in person makes all the difference. Before the show started, the Beta was getting trashed online, but now that it’s actually begun, the praise is flooding in. His reputation is doing a complete 180!

Agreed! It helps that the Beta’s actually been performing quite well.

Report! The dating show next door has just premiered!

I just came back from there. It’s only the first day, but you can feel sparks flying already. They’re bound to clash sooner or later. Plus, their cast doesn’t hold a candle to Dream Love’s. After seeing Dream Love, I can’t even stomach the other show’s side dishes.

That’s an epic description!

After selecting their rooms, the Alphas helped carry the suitcases upstairs.

Qi Yuan pushed his own suitcase into his room, but before he could unpack, the Production Team summoned him downstairs.

He wasn’t the only one summoned; all the contestants were called down.

The previously blank whiteboard in the living room now displayed the rules:

Rule 1: All participants must return to the villa each night.

Rule 2: Cooking duties must be performed in pairs each night (partners may be chosen freely).

Rule 3: At precisely 10:00 PM each night, anonymous “heartbeat texts” must be sent.

Rule 4: Participants may not reveal their age, occupation, or other personal details for the time being.

Rule 5: Each participant has a “Date Card.” Writing the date, time, location, and invitee’s name on the card constitutes a successful invitation. The invitee cannot refuse.

A heavy silence descended upon the living room as they stared at the whiteboard.

Cooking, huh?

Qi Yuan shuddered, remembering the culinary disasters he’d once produced—food even a dog wouldn’t touch.

I need a partner who can actually cook, he thought. Otherwise, everyone will starve on the night I’m in charge.

Cheng Xinyi suggested, “Why don’t we start by saying whether we can cook? To make sure no one goes hungry tonight, we need pairs with one person who can cook and one who can’t.”

“I can cook,” Qi Yuan immediately chimed in, “I agree!”

“I can’t cook.”

Jiang Wang: “I can.”

Cheng Huan: “I can’t.”

Qin Ke: “…I can… Cheng… Cheng Huan, let’s… let’s team up, okay?”

Cheng Huan: “Sure, why not? The rules don’t say we have to pair an Alpha with an Omega.”

Gu Yuzhu: “I actually enjoy cooking. Qi Yuan, want to team up?”

Caught off guard by having his name called, Qi Yuan didn’t react at first. But when he realized someone who could cook was inviting him, he eagerly agreed.

“Sure!”

This move caught everyone off guard—even the Production Team.

Behind the monitor, the director’s temple throbbed. This was a live broadcast—there was no intervening. Even if he tried, these divas would likely ignore him anyway, so he could only let events unfold.

You Qinghe: ?

Wait, I wanted to team up with Qi Yuan.

Is this even allowed?

Leaving four Alpha big shots to team up… Aren’t they worried about a brawl breaking out?

Among the Alphas, only Cheng Xinyi and Jiang Wang could cook.

Thus, You Qinghe teamed up with Cheng Xinyi.

Jiang Wang paired with Cyril.

?

??

Now I get it—there’s no script for Dream Love. Everyone’s just winging it.

What kind of dating show has Omega-Omega, Omega-Beta, and Alpha-Alpha teams?

Ah, it’s Dream Love, alright—always pulling off these crazy moves…

I can’t even guess what’s coming next…

Are we still shipping them?

Ship! Of course we’re shipping them! This feels so much more real! It’s like they’d actually be a couple if they got together!

Who even ships fake couples these days? Give me real couples or give me nothing!

On the first night, Cheng Huan and Qin Ke were in charge of cooking. They cheerfully left the villa to buy groceries.

Cheng Xinyi went to the kitchen to scald the plates, bowls, and chopsticks with boiling water, preparing them for immediate use.

Jiang Wang, needing to handle work matters, retreated to his room upstairs, asking to be called when dinner was ready.

Only Qi Yuan, You Qinghe, and Gu Yuzhu remained in the living room.

Qi Yuan, an obscure eighteenth-tier celebrity, had no work to attend to in his room.

As his manager put it, a celebrity’s job was simply to face the camera as much as possible. The agent had instructed him to minimize time spent in his room and maximize face time on camera to maintain his public image.

Qi Yuan had initially intended to retreat to his room, but his manager, who seemed to know him too well, had spotted his intention in his expression through the live stream. A message urging him to stay in the living room arrived immediately.

He had no choice but to comply; he couldn’t defy his manager’s orders.

Settling into an armchair, he clutched a fluffy cushion and responded politely to You Qinghe and Gu Yuzhu’s conversation.

“Qi Yuan, what kind of dishes do you like?” Gu Yuzhu asked gently, his gaze fixed intently on Qi Yuan.

“Tomorrow after work, I can buy the ingredients on my way back. That would save us some time.”

You Qinghe, even at his densest, could sense something was off about Gu Yuzhu’s behavior.

Great! He thought. As if having an Alpha rival wasn’t bad enough, now an Omega is joining the fray?