“Limited-Time Heartbeat” had only been airing for a day, yet its ratings had already broken the historical variety show record for Blue Channel. The next morning, before the live stream even started, countless viewers were already waiting in front of their screens.
【Hurry, hurry, I want to see who’s picking who today.】
The production crew was in a panic.
At six in the morning, Zuo Mei pressured the crew through her sole contact, demanding that a makeup artist be sent to the villa before the live stream began.
If this request had come last night, the crew would have had time to prepare, but Zuo Mei made it early in the morning.
The director was at his wits’ end.
What if they didn’t meet her demands and she refused to participate in the recording today?
There was no way they could disappoint the audience on the second day of airing!
The director finally agreed to her request and sent a makeup artist over.
“Be gentle opening and closing doors. Try not to wake the other guests, especially Xu Tiaotiao, she’s not easy to handle. If she notices us giving the Film Empress special privileges behind the scenes, she’ll probably make snide remarks on the show.”
The makeup artist, exhausted, carried her case: “Understood, director.”
Being a worker was truly harsh. Last night, after the live stream ended, Zuo Mei requested a specific face mask to be delivered; now, before dawn, she had to go do makeup for her alone.
These celebrity artists could simply take a call, put on a face mask, soak in a bath, and sleep. Meanwhile, the hardworking crew had to run around.
Shen Fu got up at 7:30. The production gave her half an hour to prepare.
She checked the weather on the phone provided by the crew, no rain, temperature was okay, then squatted in front of her suitcase, picking a vintage green, cinched-waist long dress, paired with red ankle-strap stiletto heels.
She rarely wore dresses, but Liang Xiaochun had reminded her that no matter what, her appearance couldn’t lose.
The production team’s confidentiality was excellent; the guests still didn’t know what kind of date segment would follow the mutual selection today.
Since it was a date, it probably wouldn’t involve strenuous activities like mountain climbing.
But knowing the crew, if nothing unexpected happened in this segment, why bother keeping it a secret?
Shen Fu pondered for a moment, switched her small handbag for a larger one, and packed long pants and sneakers inside.
Prepared, she took the location card and went to the villa’s bus, sitting in the last row.
After a while, Xu Tiaotiao and Gu Qingshuang gradually came out of the villa.
The first date was taken seriously; the level of comparison rivaled a red-carpet event.
Shen Fu had thought her own look was already formal enough, but she never expected Xu Tiaotiao to go all out with full purple eyeshadow glitter, a deep V long dress under a black suit, showing off a large chest and slim waist, paired with silver diamond heels. Her pale hands carried a handbag worth hundreds of thousands, radiating luxury.
“Tiaotiao looks stunning today.”
Shen Fu, not a man, almost couldn’t take her eyes off her.
“Where?” Xu Tiaotiao was slightly proud.
Gu Qingshuang, walking behind, glanced at Xu Tiaotiao but forced herself not to look further.
She looked down at her own outfit and suddenly felt irritable. The company had set her up as a sweet, pure girl, mostly in white knitwear; she hadn’t brought flashy outfits like this.
She had to call her manager to send her some clothes.
The four female guests hadn’t interacted much before. On the first day, it was natural to be polite and awkward.
But they still had to stay here for twenty-nine days. Without friends, viewers might think they were isolated from each other.
Xu Tiaotiao’s gaze swept from Shen Fu, who was staring back, to Gu Qingshuang, who sat alone, before quickly making her choice.
She walked to the seat next to Shen Fu and sat down beside her: “Shen Fu, why are you carrying such a big bag? It’s ugly and doesn’t match your dress. Don’t you have a smaller accessory bag? I brought five suitcases, I’ll lend you one.”
Sudden enthusiasm?
“No need, I’m carrying sneakers,” Shen Fu shifted slightly to the right.
But Xu Tiaotiao, holding her arm, kept scooting closer to her.
In no time at all, Shen Fu was pressed against the bus window.
Shen Fu: “…”
The bus was about to leave, and Zuo Mei still hadn’t come out. The production crew was anxious and sent someone to urge her; only then did Zuo Mei arrive, fashionably late.
She held up her dress as she got on the bus. Shen Fu and the other two female guests instinctively glanced at her and saw that she, too, was dressed very formally, in an off-shoulder evening gown.
As soon as Zuo Mei saw Xu Tiaotiao on the bus, she realized that despite choosing her outfit for a long time, she still lost.
Meanwhile, Shen Fu, dressed so casually, still stood out while sitting next to Xu Tiaotiao.
Zuo Mei gritted her teeth, didn’t greet them, and took a seat at the front of the bus.
The four female guests were driven to the locations they had chosen the night before, and only then did the live stream officially start.
【Ahhh, finally started.】
A flood of barrage comments appeared.
【Why is the villa empty? Have all the guests left?】
The audience only knew the rules of today’s “one-day date,” but didn’t yet know the details. Everyone was full of anticipation.
For a moment, the fighting in the barrage decreased significantly, and everyone was discussing the variety show segment.
Some were still speculating about what was in Jiang Shu’s paper bag last night.
Soon, the production gave camera shots of the four female guests heading to their respective locations.
But the camera only focused on their ankles, at most up to their knees.
【Ahhh, the sisters all look so beautiful today, even just the high heels are stunning.】
【I’ve been waiting three minutes and can only see the female guests’ feet. Is my livestream broken? What does this mean? If they don’t show faces, how do we know who’s who?】
Viewers who watched last night’s livestream already knew which locations each female guest had chosen, and someone in the barrage reminded everyone again.
Shen Fu chose the flower shop farthest from the variety villa, about twenty kilometers according to the map.
A bit closer was Xu Tiaotiao, who chose the hotpot restaurant.
Next was Gu Qingshuang, who chose the handicraft station.
The closest to the villa was Zuo Mei, who chose an art gallery, only about three kilometers away.
But the camera only showed their shoes and the road; viewers couldn’t see the background behind the female guests and thus couldn’t judge based on that.
【Actually, you can tell just by the outfit. Silver diamond heels are 100% Xu Tiaotiao, she has a butterfly tattoo on her ankle.】
【D*mn, that tattoo stabbed my heart, Tiaotiao is a heartbreaker.】
【The white long dress must be the Film Empress; only she is this elegant hhhh, and I remember she wore these haute heels at the Wogua red carpet.】
【Then who are the other two?】
【By elimination, the red strappy heels are definitely Gu Qingshuang, and the sneakers with wide-leg pants must be Shen Fu. Even I, a hater, know she loves wearing long pants. I can’t believe she’s still wearing them for the formal date segment…LOL, didn’t bring clothes?】
Compared to yesterday’s scattered start, today, as soon as the livestream began, Rong Xiaozhen and the fans in the group were glued to the screen.
They immediately fired back: 【It’s 2022, and people still care what others wear, gnps】
The other fan groups didn’t expect Shen Fu’s fans to suddenly become fierce. Although annoyed, their comments were slightly restrained.
【Gu Qingshuang’s green long dress and red strappy heels are so beautiful, sob sob. First time seeing red and green look this good, vintage and gorgeous, perfect, like a movie shoot. Spring should be dressed like this, I need to buy the same style!】
【Haha, those are just her thin, white ankles, ordinary people shouldn’t try this.】
Her ankles were slender and fair, as if pinching them lightly would leave a red mark.
The red straps wound up her legs like bright red vines.
Every time the camera cut to her, the barrage would go wild.
Rong Xiaozhen and Shen Fu’s fans in the group were a bit envious.
Gu Qingshuang’s outfit was perfectly chosen, surely many viewers would become fans of her now.
【Hmm? What are the male guests doing? Drawing lots?】
The camera switched back to the villa. A production staff member in a mascot costume held a cardboard box while the four male guests drew lots.
“The springtime ‘one-day date’ is full of romance and uncertainty. How can the men meet the one they desire without enduring long waits? The ladies’ waiting locations are in the north of the variety cabin; the male guests’ starting points are in the south.”
“We prepared four starting points for the male guests. The farthest is forty kilometers from the cabin; the closest starts from the cabin itself. Let’s see the men’s luck!”
【Wow, the production really knows how to play.】
【The farthest one must drive himself to exhaustion.】
Soon, the draw results for the four were revealed.
Chu Wei looked at the paper, immediately smiling with delight: “I drew the starting point from the villa.”
【My Ge’s so lucky, look how happy he is.】
Wen Zhenghan unfolded his slip and smiled: “I drew the starting point from Line 2 subway station.”
【That’s about 3 kilometers from the variety cabin, still fairly close to the female guests. The Film Emperor’s luck is good.】
【Whether it’s close or not doesn’t matter. The Film Emperor is going to find the Film Empress anyway, mark my words.】
Xiang Lingyun looked slightly helpless: “I drew the starting point from the zoo.”
【Help! The zoo is already 30 kilometers from the variety villa.】
【Wait, who got the forty-kilometer one?】
【Hahaha, look at the crown prince’s expression! Even with sunglasses, you can see he’s pissed.】
Jiang Shu’s face darkened. He crumpled the slip that said “Forest Park” into a ball, threw it in the trash, grabbed his car keys, and walked off.
“Male guest, wait a moment! The rules haven’t been fully announced!” The mascot hurriedly sped up its speech: “Male guests depart from their starting points at nine o’clock and must pick up their female guest within one hour, by ten o’clock. Any delay counts as a failed pick-up and forfeits today’s ‘one-day date’ privilege.”
Jiang Shu: “…”
【Hahahahahahaha】
The barrage was almost dying of laughter: 【Burst out laughing, Young Master Jiang’s luck really isn’t great.】
【Let this mathematician calculate: just from Forest Park to the variety villa is forty kilometers, plus the distance from the villa to the female guests… hmm, Gu Qingshuang is at the handicraft station, about eight kilometers from the villa, so if Young Master Jiang wants to meet Gu Qingshuang, he has to drive at least forty-eight kilometers.】
【Driving at 100–200 km/h isn’t hard for his Range Rover SUV, but the city speed limit is 40 km/h. Even on main roads, he can at most go 50 km/h, and at nine o’clock, traffic in the city is heavy.】
【The crown prince isn’t going to fail to pick up even one female guest today, right? (dog head for safety)】
Chu Wei glanced at Jiang Shu’s ugly face, almost laughed out loud, and deliberately handed him a bottle of water: “It’s a long trip. Mr. Jiang, take a bottle of water.”
Finally avenging yesterday’s gym embarrassment.
Jiang Shu didn’t even look at him, coldly took the car keys, and got in: “Mind your own business.”
The Range Rover engine hummed and disappeared from Chu Wei’s view in the blink of an eye, leaving Chu Wei choking.
Chu Wei stood there awkwardly for a second.
But Jiang Shu was probably going to see Gu Qingshuang, so there was no real conflict.
【…Why does it feel like these two don’t get along? At least not as much as Chu Wei’s fans hype it up.】
【Was that just my illusion? It was almost tense enough to draw swords.】
Chu Wei’s fans quickly defended: 【D’s temper is like that, hard to get along with. He barely speaks on variety shows. Even interacting with my bro counts as a lot.】
The variety show cut to ads. Once the male guests reached their departure points, the broadcast resumed.
It had to be said, the investment was generous. Although outdoor shots didn’t have as many angles as indoor ones, there were both car follow-shots and aerial views.
Chu Wei exercised a bit more, making up for yesterday’s embarrassing moment, then unhurriedly departed from the villa.
He checked: Shen Fu was twenty kilometers away; even driving slowly, he could make it in an hour.
Today he wore a white suit jacket with black trousers, and his chestnut short hair gave off a distinctly Japanese vibe.
While waiting at red lights, he pondered whether to stop and buy a cake to bring along.
But if the date was Xu Tiaotiao, the audience would praise him as thoughtful and handsome; if it was Shen Fu, viewers might react negatively.
Since he chose Shen Fu for the “one-day date,” his fans would already complain. Being overly proactive would definitely make them lose more fans.
Forget it, mending a broken relationship doesn’t need to be rushed. Being too aggressive would backfire.
After hesitating, he drove past the cake shop.
The barrage had no clue about his thoughts and continued to speculate excitedly: 【Where’s Ge going? Could it be the hotpot restaurant?】
【Usually he rides in a chauffeured car. First time seeing him drive himself, so steady.】
Wen Zhenghan wore a black suit, looking fairly formal.
【hhh The Film Emperor is so handsome, calm and composed, like he’s going to an awards ceremony.】
【…Am I imagining it, or does the Film Emperor seem a bit indifferent about today’s date? Look, his car isn’t even washed.】
As soon as this comment appeared, it was immediately refuted: 【Just because the car isn’t washed doesn’t mean he’s not serious. You’re funny.】
【ID “Blue Sky and Sea,” you’re really annoying, always contradicting since yesterday.】
Blue Sky and Sea was a tour guide who liked several of the variety show guests, hence following the livestream closely.
But for some reason, what she perceived didn’t match other fans’ perceptions.
Last night she felt Chu Wei was looking at Shen Fu; the barrage said he was looking at Xu Tiaotiao.
She felt the Film Emperor’s attitude toward the Film Empress was unusual; the barrage said she was stirring trouble.
She even doubted herself, wondering if she was too sensitive or her eyes weren’t that sharp.
Xiang Lingyun drove a Mercedes, the license plate pixelated.
【Driving with one hand is so cool!】
Jiang Shu still had no camera coverage.
The barrage was dying of laughter: 【Poor crown prince.】
The drive took a while, but the barrage analyzed every move and the number of viewers drawn in kept growing.
Wen Zhenghan arrived first.
The barrage saw he picked Zuo Mei and all breathed a sigh of relief.
【Why the h*ll aren’t you fangirling yet?!】
The other three male guests were still driving. Jiang Shu finally appeared on the barrage.
He looked exceptionally fresh today. His sunglasses had a dark navy reflection, making his skin look even paler. His slightly cold, handsome features were striking.
【No wonder he’s a former racer. Compared to the previous three, his driving posture is so handsome. Why didn’t he enter showbiz to benefit the public?】
【He’s driving so fast, speeding?】
【Don’t spread rumors, thank you.】
Suddenly someone noticed: 【Wait, why isn’t he following the navigation in his car?】
【Wow, Sherlock! Seems like he really isn’t!】
【??? He’s taking a shortcut?】
【LOL, but even a shortcut won’t help. One hour at most will get him to the Film Empress. Don’t forget city traffic.】
Chu Wei departed from the villa, the closest one, and soon his camera caught a female guest in wide-leg pants and white sneakers.
The fans in the barrage collectively held their breath: 【Please don’t stop at Shen Fu’s place.】
Sure enough, Chu Wei didn’t disappoint and floored the accelerator.
The barrage erupted in celebration: 【He didn’t choose Shen Fu! I’m relieved.】
【Hahahahaha I knew my Ge would never choose Shen Fu!!】
【Quickly escaping.jpg】
Someone sharply raised a question: 【Isn’t Shen Fu the farthest? Why is she already by the roadside?】
But the barrage was in full celebration, and few people noticed this comment.
【Hurry, hurry, go to Xu Tiaotiao.】
Soon, in the car following Chu Wei, a deep purple long dress and silver diamond-studded high heels appeared.
Chu Wei’s car slowed as it approached this guest.
CP fans watching the barrage almost all covered their mouths and held their breath, ready to scream.
One second later, their Zhu-Tiao CP would finally see a breakthrough,
However, in the next instant, Chu Wei rolled down the window, greeted Xu Tiaotiao, and then drove straight past.
Barrage: 【?】
【???】
【What is Chu Wei doing? Is he really dismantling the CP completely?】
【Then that only leaves Gu Qingshuang. Did Chu Wei choose Gu Qingshuang?】
【Why? Although it’s more acceptable than choosing Shen Fu, did they even have any previous interaction?】
【Earlier, no professional interaction, but yesterday Chu Wei and Gu Qingshuang laughed and talked for a long time.】
【Why not choose our Meimei? Just because your Ge’s noble?】
【Stop arguing! I’m shipping now! Isn’t Gu Qingshuang amazing?】
The camera cut, Xiang Lingyun was still on the road. Initially, his one-handed driving looked suave; after driving for so long, he could no longer look so cool.
【This bro also has thirty kilometers, poor thing.】
He quickly drove past the female guest in wide-leg pants and white sneakers.
【LOL, nobody’s choosing Shen Fu at all, give some face!】
Outside the screen, Rong Xiaozhen and fans in the group, although prepared mentally since yesterday, still felt a little uneasy seeing this.
【Only ten minutes left.】
Xiang Lingyun glanced at his watch, 9:50.
He had calculated last night. Based on his interest ranking, he most wanted to pick up Shen Fu. Besides, no one else would pick Shen Fu, avoiding an awkward situation with two male guests blocking each other.
But now he couldn’t reach the flower shop.
If time ran out while he was still on the road, the date invitation would fail.
Xiang Lingyun anxiously looked at the traffic ahead.
After a moment, seeing a person in a deep purple V-neck long dress ahead, he slowly pulled over to the roadside.
Barrage: 【?】
【WTF Xiang Lingyun and Xu Tiaotiao.】
【Wait, wasn’t Chu Wei ahead of Ling Ge? Ling Ge is already here, where did he go?】
【And D?】
The barrage suddenly realized these two had been missing for a while.
Until the camera finally cut to the green waist-cinched long dress with red high heels.
In the viewer’s sight appeared both Chu Wei’s car and a black Range Rover speeding as if racing against time.
【WTF??? Young Master Jiang?】
【How did D get here?】
【Did the crown prince fly over or something? How is he so fast?】
The current question: 【Did they both choose Gu Qingshuang?】
【Hahahahaha battle scene, let’s fight.】
Gu Qingshuang’s fans never expected their girl to be the most sought-after; they were a bit flustered and about to post a comment,
But as the two raced toward that spot, the camera gradually zoomed and elevated, and viewers began to sense something was off.
【Uh, why is it a flower shop behind them?】
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