Shen Fu immediately raised both hands to prove her innocence.
She had only been trying to push Jiang Shu away when he fell on top of her. In the chaos of the darkness, her hands had accidentally landed in the wrong place.
Being misunderstood by the audience as a bit handsy wasn’t a big deal.
But if Jiang Shu got the idea that she was lusting after his body, he’d strut around like a peacock until he was eighty-eight years old and probably have the incident engraved on his tombstone just so he could brag about it forever.
Thinking of this, she lifted her knee and gave Jiang Shu’s back a hard shove: “Get off.”
Jiang Shu, tall with an unsteady center of gravity, was almost shoved into a stumble; his sunglasses were shaken right off his high nose bridge: “……”
His hand pressed down on Chu Wei’s head to barely steady himself.
Chu Wei, who had just finally managed to get up from the ground, was pushed face-down again.
Chu Wei: “……”
The barrage was already losing its mind: 【Wtf can someone tell me what exactly happened in the past three minutes??】
【Did they just have a brawl or something hahaha, it was so chaotic, is this some dramatic effect pre-planned by the production team and the guests?】
【Is it just me who feels like there’s something going on between Shen Fu and D? Even the hidden mission before, no matter how you describe D as having gentlemanly manners, it still doesn’t explain why he bought something and went knocking on Shen Fu’s room door. And now too, with his personality, if he got pushed onto Shen Fu, shouldn’t he be angry? Why does he look like my dog getting its head rubbed and only giving a few symbolic growls?】
【Bro the one in front, that analogy, careful or after the show ends the young master will climb through the internet cable to hire an assassin.】
Shen Fu’s anti-fans wanted to mock her, but the barrage was too chaotic at the moment, everyone was discussing what had just happened.
Anything they sent out was instantly drowned in a sea of 【hahaha】.
Chu Wei finally crawled up, and the other guests tidied their clothes.
Everyone’s expressions varied.
Chu Wei could now completely confirm that Wen Zhenghan intended to compete with him.
If Wen Zhenghan hadn’t tripped him in the darkness just now, how would he have accidentally pushed Jiang Shu onto Shen Fu?
At least Jiang Shu was upright and straightforward, participating openly in the date invitation segment.
And him?
Shameless old fox!
Last time in the storage room, he even pretended to be so warm and tolerant!
He had even confided his true feelings to him, who knows how Wen Zhenghan was laughing at him in his heart!
The more Chu Wei thought about it, the greener his face became, and his fists almost clenched.
The filming crew looked around and discovered that aside from Jiang Shu being ringed, there was actually no one else.
Although this chaos was unexpected, the production team still gleefully continued the script: “It seems only Teacher Shen Fu got what she wished for. Tomorrow is the guests’ rest day, so Mr. Jiang needs to fulfill one request from Teacher Shen Fu.”
Jiang Shu stood to the side with arms crossed, gaze looking down from above, expression reading as “I’m very unwilling but unfortunately I possess the noble virtue of honoring my losses.”
Shen Fu raised a hand toward the production team.
Production team: “Teacher Shen Fu, please speak.”
Shen Fu said: “The ring wasn’t thrown by me. It must’ve fallen onto his head by accident in the chaos, it was completely unintentional, so I request to give up my right to make a demand.”
Before she even finished.
Jiang Shu: “No.”
Shen Fu: ?
Barrage: 【?】
The other guests, especially Gu Qingshuang and Zuo Mei, couldn’t help but glance at Jiang Shu.
Why was he rushing forward for this??
Jiang Shu’s face was serious: “Since we’re on a variety show, everyone should play the games according to the rules. A bet’s a bet. Otherwise what’s the point of being on a variety show?”
【Hahaha why does he look kind of excited?】
【Young Master Jiang is right, tsk, pointing at a certain noble emperor-empress duo who ran off to film an ad and disappointed the audience all day.】
【Will you die if you stop dragging others into this?】
Since Jiang Shu was speaking this way, the production team couldn’t refuse without difficulty, so they looked back at Shen Fu: “Teacher Shen Fu, is there really nothing you want to ask for?”
Shen Fu frowned: “Then… then I guess there is.”
Jiang Shu: “……”
【Hahaha ‘I guess there is’? Why does she sound not very interested?】
【I’m dying, Shen Fu only wants to make money, but the production rules clearly stated beforehand that requests can only involve things like dating, chatting, walking, nothing excessive. Reasonably suspecting this rule was created specifically for Shen Fu.】
【Hahaha is that real?】
【Even D has a day when he gets disliked.】
Shen Fu said: “Anyway, today’s game reward can be fulfilled tomorrow, so let me think about it first and say it tomorrow, okay?”
The production team let out a sigh of relief: “Yes, yes.”
The game flow could finally continue.
“Next we need to answer a few viewer questions.”
A staff member looked at the dense barrage on the tablet and selected a few that wouldn’t cause controversy and were easy to turn into program highlights.
“A viewer wants to know, who was the one who fell just now?”
【OMG that was literally my question, thank you production team.】
【I wanna know too hahaha, that first thud when the lights went out sounded painfully real.】
Chu Wei’s fans, not feeling implicated at all, even boldly added fuel: 【Was it the Film Emperor? When the lights came on he was on the ground.】
Chu Wei scratched his chestnut curls and shyly raised his hand: “It was me.”
Chu Wei’s fans: “…………”
【‘My Ge has great balance’】
【Congrats Chu fans, another iconic quote.】
The bystanders were nearly laughing themselves sick.
Ever since the show began, Chu Wei’s fandom had been practically prophetic, everything they said immediately got slapped in the face.
“Why did you fall? Are you okay?” the staff asked with concern.
Chu Wei was conflicted in that moment.
Should he say it directly?
But if he didn’t tell the truth now, later the tech-savvy netizens would dig up who he was running toward in the dark. He might as well be open and honest about his purpose.
“Everyone knows that in the last spring date, I wasn’t chosen, right? So I wanted to talk to Shen Fu.”
Rather than a confession, this was more like a declaration of war to Wen Zhenghan.
Chu Wei looked toward Wen Zhenghan, trying hard to fill his gaze with pity.
Returning the look Wen Zhenghan had given him last time, tooth for tooth.
At least he dared to take the blame, to choose publicly.
Wen Zhenghan?
The audience still thought he and Zuo Mei were mutually pursuing each other, little did they know he was actually scheming over Shen Fu.
Wasn’t he slightly better than Wen Zhenghan?
Unfortunately, Chu Wei wasn’t trained as an actor, and his eyes couldn’t convey a thing.
What the few observing guests saw was him squinting as if sand had gotten in his eyes, looking at Wen Zhenghan.
Gu Qingshuang handed him a tissue: “Are you okay? Did you just hit your eye?”
Chu Wei: “……”
Wen Zhenghan gave Chu Wei a cold, indifferent glance, still that same refined, inscrutable demeanor.
But the anger in Chu Wei’s chest instantly burned hotter.
That look of disdain.
That look as if he were standing at the stratosphere looking down at minus five floors.
D*mn it.
The audience outside couldn’t perceive such subtle details, but the crew almost immediately sensed a silent tension in the air and hurriedly changed the topic: “Hmm, next question.”
“A viewer asks—”
Most of the barrage and Weibo comments were about Jiang Shu and Shen Fu, but the staff didn’t dare ask about the young master in public, so their gaze skipped over and picked an insignificant one: “Why is Gu Qingshuang and Xu Tiaotiao’s hair so messy?”
Gu Qingshuang, although in a mascot costume, had several bruises on her arm from Xu Tiaotiao’s pinch through the costume.
She was displeased, brushing her hair, just about to speak.
Xu Tiaotiao leapt over Xiang Lingyun and hugged her: “Haha I’m just scared of the dark! Earlier, Little Qingshuang reached out her hand, I thought she was going to accompany me, so I grabbed her, maybe I accidentally hit her hair.”
Gu Qingshuang: “……”
The barrage swooned a little longer, and that session finally ended.
Shen Fu walked to a part of the kitchen with fewer cameras, washed a bunch of grapes and ate them, feeling as if a thorny back were pressing against her.
She turned and met Jiang Shu’s gaze.
Shen Fu: “……”
“What are you looking at?” Shen Fu couldn’t help but say: “You don’t actually think that ring was me putting it on your neck, do you?”
Jiang Shu and she were separated by a sink, and he looked at her thoughtfully for a while: “Wasn’t it?”
Shen Fu: “??? Are you dreaming? I put a ring on a dog??”
Jiang Shu stared at her silently.
Just as Shen Fu couldn’t help but defend herself, Jiang Shu finally said: “Okay, I’ll believe you, but if it wasn’t you and it wasn’t me, how did the ring end up on my neck? There’s definitely a culprit among the other guests. What exactly is their purpose? Want to guess?”
Shen Fu gave him a look full of exasperation: “…Boring.”
She suspected he was just looking for something to talk about.
Shen Fu washed a plate, used it to hold the grapes, and went to her room to take a call.
Gu Qingshuang was also standing by the fridge getting yogurt. Seeing this, she laughed: “Guess what? Mr. Jiang, I’ll guess with you.”
“Nothing.” Jiang Shu turned and left.
Gu Qingshuang: “……”
Shen Fu returned to her room.
“Tomorrow at 9 a.m. I’ll have someone pick you up. Remember to dress more ‘girl next door’. I heard the acting test this time is related to school life, but I’m not sure about the specifics, you’ll have to improvise tomorrow.” Liang Xiaochun said over there.
Shen Fu: “Mm.”
Limited-Time Heartbeat runs for thirty days. The production team couldn’t possibly require the guests to stay in the villa all thirty days, so for necessary work or schedule arrangements, leave could still be requested.
Shen Fu hung up, filled out a leave request, and took it to find the director.
She looked around and couldn’t find anyone, then remembered some guests were doing post-interviews in the interview room; the director was probably there.
Today’s post-interview was for Chu Wei.
Just like yesterday with Wen Zhenghan’s post-interview, the live variety show didn’t stop, as he entered a first-person perspective live room to interact with his own fans in his livestream.
In the group chat, Chu Wei’s fans were jumping up and down: “Which idiot in the chat dared to bet?!”
After Chu Wei admitted it was him who fell, and that he was going to Shen Fu, the barrage kept mentioning the afternoon bet between Shen Fu’s and Chu Wei’s houses.
Now the atmosphere was boiling. Bystanders screenshot it, post it to Douban or Zhihu, laughing hysterically, and it even hit trending searches.
Chu Wei’s fans were stuck in a dilemma.
Not completing the bet, and other fans would mock them forever.
Completing the bet, and their Ge would be mocked forever.
“Better to be the hiding turtle. Instead of letting our Ge get mocked, we get mocked instead,” said the fan club president. “At this point, just stay silent, don’t say anything, the hype will die down soon. I’ve also notified his company to quickly take down any trending searches.”
“And some radical fans, be careful in the future.”
At first, the fan club president also mocked Shen Fu as someone no one would choose, but now their face was bruised, repeatedly slapped by Chu Wei himself.
Who could take that?
Some fans in major groups had already unfollowed; the fact they hadn’t turned anti-fan was their last shred of warmth.
Besides, part of their retreat was because Shen Fu was gaining fans from the show.
They could clearly feel that the barrage, once fully dominated by anti-Shen Fu comments, had started to split.
The fan club president intended to lead all fans to lie low, but Chu Wei had been mingling in these circles for years, there were inevitably rival fans.
Taking advantage of this, some black-hat opportunists immediately went to paste bad info under his Weibo and livestream.
“Teacher Chu Wei, today’s post-interview ends here. Next is your fan service segment,” said the staff.
Chu Wei, a veteran from talent shows, naturally began reading fan letters on the right side of his livestream interface.
“Wei Ge, back in seventeen, I took one look at you on the talent show and picked you…… haha, not bad taste, huh.”
Chu Wei had read this kind of fan message who knows how many times. His heart felt no stir; he was thinking about something else, skillfully throwing a wink at the camera as he continued reading: “But you really are a dog. You stepped on your teammate to—”
Chu Wei’s heart lurched. He slammed on the brakes in time.
??? What was going on?
Variety show barrage: 【?】
【WTF WTF what is this historic Waterloo】
【So there really are Chu Wei fans posting his scandals, d*mn, that’s ruthless hahaha.】
The program team broke into a cold sweat. Chu Wei was at least seasoned enough; he smiled and saved the scene in time: “This fan may have turned hate from love. Next one.”
Chu Wei’s fans were practically choking on blood: “Hurry up and drag out that fan who said they’d bet. Someone like that staying in our fan group is absolutely a parasite.”
The fan who had publicly made that bet happened to be in Running Lighthouse’s group.
The entire group was full of radical fans.
He didn’t quite understand. Wasn’t everyone mocking Shen Fu before? How did the boomerang end up stabbing their own Gege now?
Just as the fan club president called him out by name to drag him out and kick him from the group, he hurriedly slipped away first.
When Chu Wei called himself a dog, Shen Fu happened to be carrying her leave slip and walked right to the post-interview room door.
So naturally she heard it.
“……”
Her expression complicated, she gave Chu Wei a look.
After the breakup he climbed fast. Was he relying on livestreaming insults at himself to attract fans? He really could endure what ordinary people couldn’t, walking a very unconventional path.
Sorry to disturb.
Shen Fu quickly backed out.
And right in front of Chu Wei, she closed the door.
Chu Wei: “……”
Barrage: 【……】
After a brief freeze in the air, the barrage suddenly burst out laughing: 【Hahahahahaha d*mn my laugh point suddenly got hit】
【The meaning in Shen Fu’s gaze just now was so complicated.】
【Suddenly I kind of get Shen Fu’s charm. She clearly has almost no expression on her face but somehow always gives the feeling she’s internally roasting everything like crazy, and it makes you so curious what exactly she’s roasting.】
【Hahahaha shaking hands with the one above, I just noticed it too, I’m dying.】
【+1】
The barrage was laughing itself crazy, while Chu Wei’s fans were grinding their teeth to dust.
Author’s note:
Q: Why wear sunglasses even when watching a movie?
Jiang Dog sneers: Mind your business about handsome guys.
Shen Fu: He’s just pretending.
Jiang Shu: ……
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