Chapter 334

Xia Xi didn't lie or bluff; after a stunned two or three seconds, she smiled at the host and said, "I'm not single, I have a boyfriend." She paused, then corrected herself, more precisely: "No, it's a fiancé."

The host leaned back, covered her mouth, face full of surprise, and said "Congratulations" twice.

"All right, I guessed as much. Xia Gong is so outstanding, it's impossible no one would pursue her." The host's smile was bright, and she continued on this topic: "Can you reveal a little—does your fiancé also work in our industry? What does he do?"

"Uh..."

Xia Xi's mind went blank for an instant; she looked at the host with a half-smile, feeling as if she were being grilled by an entertainment reporter.

This time she had learned to be clever; she didn't say yes or no, but gave an ambiguous answer: "He has his own career." She certainly couldn't expose Xu Yanfeng's identity, otherwise after the show aired, if someone with an agenda dug it up, it would surely cause a major uproar.

Just to be safe, what should be concealed must be concealed; one shouldn't foolishly spill everything. This isn't an interview show.

Xia Xi felt proud of her cleverness, but at this moment she absolutely couldn't have imagined that not long afterward, everything she had carefully concealed would be exposed, laid bare completely.

When the interview ended, the camera was temporarily turned off; Xia Xi took a deep breath. Xiao He handed her a cup of water, which she drank down in one gulp, then set the empty paper cup on the table.

Seeing this, the host spoke softly to soothe her: "Don't be nervous; for other guests we also ask some off‑topic questions to increase the talk‑value."

Having hosted the show for many years, she had a premonition that, given Xia Xi's looks and personality, she would surely attract a lot of viewer attention later. Therefore, during recording, we could give her more material for later discussion. This is called foresight.

Xia Xi didn't know what to say, so she just smiled and nodded.

After the other designers finished fixing their makeup and hair, everyone gathered to take publicity photos, first individual shots one by one, then a group photo.

"You stepped on me." said the woman beside her.

"Sorry." Xia Xi instinctively shifted a small step to the side, spoke an apology, paused for two seconds, then belatedly felt confused, as if she hadn't stepped on anyone.

It wasn't just "as if"—she really hadn't stepped on anyone. If she had stepped on a person, she would definitely have felt something.

Xia Xi glanced at the woman standing at her side: not tall, with delicate features, long dark‑tea‑colored curls falling over her shoulders, one side tucked behind her ear, revealing a pearl earring.

Perhaps noticing Xia Xi looking at her, the woman turned her face and smiled: "Anything?"

That question should have been Xia Xi asking her, but Xia Xi didn't ask; she slightly lowered her gaze, looked down at her, spoke in a low voice with a subtle tone: "Nothing, I just wanted to tell Youyou're mistaken—I didn't step on you."

The woman's expression froze for a second, a hint of embarrassment showing on her face—probably she hadn't expected such directness. What she really meant by saying that was hoping Xia Xi would shift a bit to the side, making room for her to take the center spot.

"Maybe I felt wrong." The woman gave a faint smile.

"Ms. Xia, please move a bit to the side." The photographer made a gesture.

Xia Xi had to follow the instruction and return to her original spot; she lowered her head to watch her feet, not even touching the woman beside her, then lifted her head and looked straight into the lens.

The photographer raised one hand, making an OK sign: "Great, keep it like that."

"Click-click" went the shutter several times in succession; the publicity photos were done.

The others went to the studio where Xia Xi had been earlier for their interviews; Xia Xi had nothing to do, so she looked at her phone. After scrolling through a pile of social‑media messages, utterly bored, she absentmindedly opened Xu Yanfeng's chat window and bothered him: "What are you doing?" It was Saturday; when she left home that morning he was still at home, so he probably wasn't planning to go to the office.

Xu Yanfeng: "You're not filming the show, how do you have time to message me?"

Xia Xi: "The others are being interviewed; I'm already done and resting."

Xu Yanfeng: "Is it fun?"

Xia Xi complained to him: "Not fun, it's more tiring than work; I want to go back to work."

Xu Yanfeng: "Just hold on a bit longer, I'll keep you company."

Xia Xi's smile blossomed; he always knew how to cheer her up, but how could he keep her company while she was filming—not playing a game: "Thanks for making me happy; I suddenly don't feel so annoyed."

Xu Yanfeng: "I wasn't teasing you."

Xia Xi stared fixedly at the phone screen, having just typed a character, when Xiao He knocked on the door and came over: "Ms. Xia, the interviews over there are finished; we're about to start recording officially."

Xia Xi didn't have time to ask Xu Yanfeng what he meant; she quickly put her phone away. From the moment she stepped out of the lounge, a cameraman lugging a heavy rig followed her.

The director, speaking off‑camera, explained the rule: "There are five houses to be renovated; we'll draw lots to decide who picks first, then the house owners confirm the choice. If an owner objects, we can swap."

Besides Xia Xi, the other female designer was Liao Wanhuá; she raised her hand and asked her question: "Isn't it that whoever draws a house gets to renovate that house?"

"No." The director explained to her: "First we draw numbers; according to the numbers we pick houses, with those who drew earlier choosing first. Then the house owners pick designers in reverse order. This is a two‑way selection to achieve the best match."

The three male designers looked at each other, laughed simultaneously, and praised: "The director sure knows how to have fun."

The five drew lots in turn; Liao Wanhuá tore open the paper in her hand, saw the number, and jumped excitedly on the spot: "I'm number one! Does that mean I get to pick first?!"

The director's voice‑over came: "Yes."

Xia Xi opened her paper; she was number three, and she breathed a sigh of relief—good, not the last.

According to ordinary thinking, whoever has priority would surely choose the easiest house to renovate, saving the hardest for last.

Liao Wanhuá received the materials for the five houses—richly illustrated, laid out before her—and at a glance she favored one large villa; beneath it was a printed line stating the villa owner's request: "I don't like the current style; I want to change to another style."

This looked relatively simple; Liao Wanhuá picked it up and said, "I've made my choice."

Next came the second designer's turn; then it was Xia Xi's. She compared the remaining three houses and chose one— the owner's household had grown, the existing layout was too cramped, and they wanted an adjustment to make the space more spacious so everyone would have a place to sleep instead of bedding on the floor.

The two remaining designers each made their selections, and the group gathered to discuss.

"I think your choice, Xia Xi, is really difficult—the house itself isn't large, and no matter how you adjust it you can't magically add several square meters; what if the owner's family is huge… tsk, you weren't the third to pick, were you? How did you end up with this one?"

Xia Xi replied: "Your choice isn't easy either."

Liao Wanhuá shook the papers, which rustled loudly, and said cheerfully: "Mine's fine—just a change of style."

The others looked at the drawings in her hand; Xia Xi glanced too and was stunned. That villa was intimately familiar to her—she had just visited it not long ago—how could it…

One male designer spoke up, startling everyone: "Don't get too excited yet—we still have to be chosen by the owners, so we can't be sure which house will ultimately be renovated."

Liao Wanhuá glanced at Xia Xi, then said indifferently: "The owners don't know us designers; when they choose they rely not on the company column of our résumés—our Yunzhu Design is well‑known."

The companies behind the designers present are such that Broad and Elegant is the weakest, with only two showcase works: a pseudo‑ancient library in Yuanzhou and the Xu Clan Group's Jingyu Yuan. Jingyu Yuan is still unfinished, so no one knows what it's like inside. As long as the owners aren't foolish, they should know how to choose.

After a discussion, the owners also finished selecting designers in turn.

The next segment: the owners and designers meet to discuss the specific renovation requirements.

The venue fell silent; Xia Xi's heartbeat pounded like a drum, and moreover a surge of heat rose in her body, scorching her mind until she felt dazed. Had the owners also come to the show set?

Had Xu Yanfeng come?

Xia Xi recalled the WeChat she had just received—"I wasn't teasing you."

Help, she was about to faint.