The barrage was full of question marks: 【When did he buy that? So the moment he disappeared just now he actually went to do this?】
【Wtf I want to soul-swap with Shen Fu right now, who understands?】
【Ahhhh so the things D said in the car were him purposely teasing Shen Fu, right? He must have planned to drop her off and leave immediately to buy this.】
The barrage was full of envious howls, while also feeling utterly baffled.
【So what exactly was up with these two in the past? Among our tens of millions of live viewers, is there seriously not a single person who’s from their old circle??】
【If anyone knows what exactly happened, stand up now, don’t make me get on my knees and beg you!】
More people were pouring cold water: 【Why are the people above getting so excited? You’ve never watched dating shows? Everyone wants to perform well. If a female guest says she wants something and the male guest ignores it, that would be ridiculous, okay? Didn’t Film Emperor immediately go buy food when Film Empress mentioned craving something? But Film Empress at least considered his feelings, unlike Shen Fu who’s so shameless.】
【Also, he bought everything without missing a single item, D probably guessed there was a hidden mission. Didn’t expect he’d actually be pretty smart.】
That rational, red barrage comment instantly sobered up the viewers who were about to start shipping them.
True, dating shows are mostly scripted, and even if not, what you see on screen still needs a discount after the show ends.
So many guests had already crashed and burned, acting deeply in love with someone on the show, only for it to be exposed that they had a girlfriend they hadn’t broken up with before the show even ended.
Infuriating.
Besides, Jiang Shu and Shen Fu really didn’t match however you looked at it.
Shen Fu was just an 18th-tier small actress who only shot trashy idol dramas, and she was surrounded by scandals even before coming on the show.
Meanwhile, the Jiang family wasn’t just rich, they were the kind of unfathomably powerful rich. A young master with that kind of taste had probably seen enough beauties to fill a basket, if not a moon. Would he really like Shen Fu?
Thinking of that, looking at Shen Fu and the young master at the door, everything suddenly felt polite and superficial.
【But anyway, Shen Fu won the hidden mission again. Truly didn’t expect that.】
【She’s just lucky. When she debuted she already signed with a mid-sized agency, Liang Xiaochun is a decent manager and has always supported her.】
Shen Fu had no idea the barrage was doing mental gymnastics. She held the box like she was holding a million bucks, staring at Jiang Shu in shock.
Should she hurry back to her room and notify staff to check it in? If she was over the time limit, would the points still count?
Hugging the box, Shen Fu hurriedly turned around and headed into her room.
Jiang Shu: ?
Afraid she would close the door on him again, Jiang Shu quickly grabbed her by the collar to stop her: “You don’t have anything you want to say to me?”
He acted all nonchalant but he wasn’t actually that nonchalant, okay?
He hadn’t even eaten dinner, drove around to eight places, how did she not notice his shirt was wrinkled?
Shen Fu thought for a moment, then turned back to look at him.
Jiang Shu slightly raised his chin, waiting for a storm of praise.
Shen Fu: “I forgot to tell you this is a hidden mission, thank you so much, but… you bought two portions. Do you think the production team might count them as two points?”
Jiang Shu: “……”
The barrage finally burst into laughter: 【Hahahahahaha D’s face is either turning darker or greener every day.】
【Is Little Shen some kind of iron-blooded ultra-straight woman?】
Some people were starting to question: 【I’m beginning to doubt whether the rumor about her using Chu Wei to climb up was even true. Honestly, from what we’ve seen of Shen Fu since the start of this show, she really doesn’t seem like someone who’d do that.】
Chu Wei’s fans were shaking with anger: 【Unbelievable. So you Shen Fu fans just won’t admit what you did? That scandal was settled three years ago, carved into stone, and now you’re jumping out trying to whitewash her?】
And just like that, the barrage started fighting again.
Wen Zhenghan was holding a spray bottle, watering the plants on the terrace, and as he looked up, he saw Jiang Shu standing at the door of Shen Fu’s room.
His mood suddenly became a little irritable.
This young master of the Jiang family had never seemed like any kind of threat to him before.
It wasn’t that Jiang Shu wasn’t qualified, on the contrary, Jiang Shu’s background was too good.
The position Wen Zhenghan had clawed his way up to all these years still couldn’t compare to the benefits and praise Jiang Shu could get just by casually investing in a few projects thanks to his ancestral privilege.
Precisely because of that, Wen Zhenghan never believed he would have any long-term interest in Shen Fu.
Even if he were momentarily blinded by beauty, it would only ever be a fleeting whim.
Yet Shen Fu had interacted with him so much today.
Why? On purpose?
The terrace on the third floor was a transparent semi-open design, separated from the hallway where the rooms were by only two glass panels.
Wen Zhenghan’s gaze was dark and unreadable as he stared fixedly in that direction.
There was a line of sight falling on her with an unmistakable sense of presence, Shen Fu naturally felt it.
She subconsciously lifted her eyes.
The moment their gazes met, Wen Zhenghan’s eyes grew even deeper.
Shen Fu: Mom help me, why does this villa have basically no walls, it’s all transparent glass.
Wen Zhenghan: As expected, she’s letting him see this on purpose. Provoking him on purpose.
At this rate, she’d affect him sooner or later.
***
Liang Xiaochun had been having people monitor the variety show livestream. When she saw that after today’s spring-date segment ended, Shen Fu’s reputation in the barrage finally improved a tiny bit, she finally relaxed a little.
Everything about Shen Fu was good, pretty, obedient, hardworking, dedicated, yet she just naturally attracted hate.
So many long-famous artists didn’t get cursed half as much as she did. Was it not infuriating?
Liang Xiaochun was an excellent manager; she would seize any opportunity at all. Seeing Shen Fu’s popularity rise a bit today, she quickly contacted CCSC magazine to see if she could negotiate a magazine cover for her.
When the show aired, the barrage had tallied up everyone’s achievements, and among the celebrity guests, Shen Fu was the only one who practically had no fashion resources. Liang Xiaochun felt terribly guilty.
The company’s resources in that area were indeed weak, though Shen Fu had always cared more about making money and seemed not to care about reputation at all.
CCSC was a third-tier women’s magazine.
Fashion magazines in the country had extremely strict rankings: first-tier had the four major women’s magazines and three major men’s magazines; second-tier had eight publications; below them were the third-tier women’s magazines, which were a bit more numerous, a little over a dozen.
Anything beneath that was essentially some random no-name rags.
There were too many artists in the entertainment industry, and the fashion world was arrogant. They would rather let Film Emperors and actresses like Wen Zhenghan appear repeatedly on covers than give a small celebrity even one chance.
Among small celebrities, Shen Fu was on the slightly better end. Last year, when she filmed a historical idol drama, she had appeared once in one of the least significant third-tier magazines.
CCSC, however, was the top of the third-tier group, almost close to second-tier. Liang Xiaochun wanted to fight for it.
Yet unexpectedly, the assistant reported that the moment they called, the section chief there rejected them with an excuse.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Not even willing to discuss it?” Liang Xiaochun’s face darkened. “Did they not see how many viewers switched to Shen Fu’s first-person livestream room today? It’s comparable to a first-tier celebrity’s sales livestream. Do they really think we’re begging them for a cover?”
The assistant said in a small voice, “They said Shen Fu’s popularity is indeed high right now, but since the show has only just started airing, no one can predict how things will go later. If Shen Fu does something that gets her mocked by the whole internet again, they can’t take that risk.”
“So they won’t show even a bit of courtesy.” Liang Xiaochun cursed.
“But two variety shows have voluntarily sent invitations.” The assistant flipped through the call log. “One is a seaside variety show similar to this one, and the other is an acting-test variety show.”
“Reject the first one outright.” Liang Xiaochun frowned. “That show doesn’t treat artists like people; they even made artists eat raw seafood before. As for the other one…”
Liang Xiaochun took the materials and flipped through them, her brows lifting with sudden interest.
***
While Liang Xiaochun wasn’t watching the livestream, Wen Zhenghan took advantage of the moment when Shen Fu went to the staff to register her points and blocked her in the storage room.
“How long are you going to keep causing trouble?” Wen Zhenghan, someone who rarely showed his emotions, had a voice heavy with displeasure.
Shen Fu instinctively looked up toward the camera.
“Don’t bother. There’s no camera in here, but we can’t stay too long, or the audience will notice.”
Wen Zhenghan frowned. “Didn’t I tell you not to come on this show? Do you really have to throw a tantrum?”
Shen Fu tried to pull some distance between them, looked up at him, and said sincerely, “I can withdraw right now.”
Her immediate willingness to back down greatly pleased Wen Zhenghan.
For a moment, he almost wanted to tell Shen Fu the truth, that whatever was happening between him and Zuo Mei on the show was just acting, just because of old ties, to help her make a comeback.
But he felt he didn’t need to explain that much. Shen Fu had been the one who refused to leave his side no matter what he said in the first place.
Still obedient.
Wen Zhenghan thought.
Then he heard Shen Fu add, “As long as you give me three billion.”
The icy mask on Wen Zhenghan’s face almost cracked: “……”
Shen Fu then sensed something was off and counted on her fingers.
The show’s appearance fee was thirty million, and there were nine segments over thirty days. If each segment could earn four points, that would be thirty million plus four times nine, thirty-six, total 3.9 billion.
Shen Fu: “No, that’s not right, it’s short, 3.9 billion. Don’t negotiate, no bargaining.”
Wen Zhenghan: “……”
Seeing his expression darken, Shen Fu looked at him deeply. “You’ve been working all these years and don’t even have 3.9 billion?”
Wen Zhenghan: “…………”
If she didn’t come here because of him, why was she targeting Zuo Mei in every segment since the show aired?
He had already heard about today’s PK segment, Zuo Mei had been compared so miserably.
Wen Zhenghan’s face still kept its usual lack of expression, but inside he was both angry and amused. How had he never noticed before that this little thing Shen Fu was so good at saying one thing and meaning another?
She even seemed more interesting now than the wooden beauty she used to be.
Wen Zhenghan adjusted his tone and said lightly, “You don’t have to quit the show, but avoid Zuo Mei from now on. She wants to make a comeback, and I’m just giving her a hand. Must you get hung up on this?”
Shen Fu practically had “really disappointed you won’t pay up” written on her face, too bad the lighting in the storage room was dim and Wen Zhenghan couldn’t see it.
She thought for a moment. “Then I wish you two a hundred years of harmony?”
Wen Zhenghan: “……”
He turned and watched the back of Shen Fu leaving the storage room, his eyes darkening.
There was a bit of inexplicable agitation in his heart, some competitive spark provoked by Jiang Shu, but even more a sense of relieved exhale.
The little girl was still just saying angry words.
The matter of the storage room having no cameras was something only a few guests knew the first day, but by today, almost everyone already knew, and it had gradually become a place for private conversations.
Chu Wei was chatting and laughing with Gu Qingshuang in the living room, but his attention was always on the hallway leading to the rooms.
Never in a million years did he expect that after Shen Fu appeared from the hallway, she would be taken into the storage room by Wen Zhenghan.
If not for other people around, Chu Wei nearly jumped up.
? How could Shen Fu possibly know Wen Zhenghan?!
And why did Wen Zhenghan look so familiar and natural when he called Shen Fu over?
Thinking back to earlier when he told Wen Zhenghan that Shen Fu came for him, and the Film Emperor’s deep, inscrutable expression…
The more Chu Wei thought about it, the more he felt there was something he didn’t know.
His mood became extremely bad.
Gu Qingshuang reminded him with a laugh, “Chu Wei, are you even going to make this move?”
The two of them were playing aeroplane chess; Gu Qingshuang had been keeping her head lowered, but for some reason Chu Wei kept looking up at her from time to time, each look lasting ages.
Gu Qingshuang felt her ears heat up and became even more embarrassed to lift her head.
She had spent the whole afternoon doing styling, cutting her hair into a princess cut. The blunt black straight hair made her look stunning, and the moment she returned to the villa, Xu Tiaotiao and Zuo Mei stared at her for a long time.
Gu Qingshuang still wanted to try for Jiang Shu, but if she couldn’t successfully match with him, having a romantic connection with any of the other three male guests wouldn’t be bad either.
Thinking this way, she simply changed her cautious demeanor from the first day and started chatting easily with everyone, working hard to create little unique connections with each person.
Although the barrage shipped Chu Wei and Xu Tiaotiao more, seeing Chu Wei and Gu Qingshuang playing aeroplane chess also earned a few compliments:【These two look pretty comfortable around each other, like friends.】
【But why is my Ge always looking up? What’s in that direction? Is there some expert who’s figured out the villa layout?】
Around 9:15, dinner was finally ready.
Jiang Shu returned to the villa the latest. He came out drying his hair; everyone else was already seated at the table.
Chu Wei was sitting in his seat. He walked over, drying his hair while frowning and glaring at him.
Chu Wei quickly changed seats.
Jiang Shu sat exactly where he had sat yesterday, satisfied.
The barrage was dying laughing:【What, Crown Prince still recognizes seats?】
【Requesting Jiang Shu’s pajamas link!】
【I checked, each set costs tens of thousands. Do you still want it, you in the front hahahahaha.】
【Why does it feel like the Crown Prince has some inexplicable hostility toward Chu Wei? He’s embarrassed him more than once now, right?】
Chu Wei’s fans also felt a bit upset, but still tried to save face:【D the golden boy is just used to being pampered, doesn’t understand human niceties. My Ge won’t take it to heart.】
While the guests ate dinner, the production team announced the rules for tonight’s “Heartfelt Message” segment.
“There are two rules, please listen carefully. First, all messages are sent anonymously and received anonymously. Only the audience can see who you send yours to. After sending, you may not discuss message contents.”
“Second, unlike other dating shows, our Limited-Time Heartbeat strives for new twists. Therefore, a one-sided message earns a reward: either +1 point, forced handholding for a whole day, or forced walk together, chosen by the female guest. But mutual messaging results in a punishment: frog jumps, cleaning the entire villa, or wearing a mascot suit with no camera time for a whole day, choose one.”
The moment the rules were announced, the barrage froze.
【WTF hahaha this is such an evil show!】
A knowledgeable viewer explained:【So now when they send messages, they not only have to consider who they want to choose, but whether the other person will choose them back. If it’s mutual, getting punished together can be romantic, but the problem is one person might NOT want the punishment, which creates “betrayal,” and the fallout could be huge.】
In other words, any predictions about who would message whom were now completely useless.
【And what the h*ll is “forced handholding”?! Even two people with no feelings will develop some feelings holding hands all day, I swear.】
With the new rules, the guests became even more thoughtful.
Shen Fu had originally been agonizing over who to send hers to, now she wasn’t agonizing at all.
She definitely had to send it to someone who wouldn’t choose her. Only then could she have a chance at earning the 1-point reward.
Chu Wei and Jiang Shu choosing her wasn’t a zero possibility.
So…
Shen Fu’s gaze swept over Xiang Lingyun and Wen Zhenghan.
Then she looked back, only to run right into Jiang Shu turning his head to stare at her.
Shen Fu: “……”
Anyone could guess with a single toe which scheme Shen Fu was cooking up now.
Jiang Shu’s face was practically green.
Let it all burn, you little rat.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 20+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
