Chapter 2: Borrowing a Knife to Stir Trouble

Walking unhurriedly to the corner of the villa, Sang Zhiyi came face to face with a tall, slender young man.

The man walked with one hand in his pocket, strolling along casually.

This kind of easygoing swagger, which would look overly roguish on anyone else, combined with his outstanding bearing and good looks, only gave off an air of uninhibited freedom and a cynical charm.

Sang Zhiyi paused for a moment and quickly matched the face to the name in her mind.

Song Ying.

A highly acclaimed new director.

Like Lou Yanchen, he came from a family of old money.

The two could barely be considered childhood friends, but they had been at odds with each other for many years.

Sang Zhiyi’s eyes flickered.

From what she knew of these two, if Lou Yanchen ever ran into trouble, Song Ying would definitely be the happiest one laughing about it.

The enemy of an enemy is a friend.

The moment their eyes met, Sang Zhiyi tilted her head slightly, looked up at Song Ying—who was a head taller than her—and gave a slightly shy smile.

From this angle, Song Ying could clearly see the pure joy in Sang Zhiyi’s eyes.

Song Ying was a little baffled.

Who was this?

Did he know her?

“I’m so glad I ran into Director Song,” Sang Zhiyi said.

Song Ying raised an eyebrow.

As a famous director with outstanding looks and status, Song Ying had encountered plenty of women trying to throw themselves at him.

Could this one be deliberately striking up a conversation too?

But Sang Zhiyi’s next words dispelled Song Ying’s doubts.

Sang Zhiyi said softly, “I saw President Lou over there a moment ago, and he didn’t seem to be doing very well.

You’re an acquaintance of his, Director Song—do you think you should go check on him?”

Sure enough, upon hearing that Lou Yanchen was not doing well, Song Ying’s previously indifferent eyes immediately lit up.

Satisfaction was written all over his face.

Only then did Song Ying take a serious look at Sang Zhiyi, with undisguised interest in his eyes.

He was certain—he really had never seen her before, had no idea who this girl was, or why she had specifically come to tell him about Lou Yanchen.

As if completely unaware of his scrutiny, Sang Zhiyi simply pointed out the direction where Lou Yanchen was standing, then politely took her leave.

By now, Lou Yanchen was on the verge of exploding.

But given his prideful personality—even when venting his anger at the original owner, he had made a point of pulling her into a corner and keeping his voice down—he was surely still trying hard to suppress his outburst and calm his emotions.

She hoped Song Ying would be satisfied when he saw Lou Yanchen’s face, features practically twisted with suppressed rage.

Sang Zhiyi was also looking forward to seeing how much more interesting Lou Yanchen’s expression would become when his rival witnessed him in such a humiliating state.

Entering the first-floor hall of the garden villa, Sang Zhiyi found Jiang Yingru without much trouble.

Just as Sang Zhiyi had anticipated, the female lead was a very punctual person—she would arrive early, never late.

The first episode of Love of a Limited Season had a total of six guests: three men and three women.

Jiang Yingru was the first to arrive at the filming location.

Jiang Yingru was standing by the bookcase in the reception hall, casually flipping through a book.

She had a slender figure, long black hair reaching her waist, and was wearing a qipao made of gambiered Guangdong silk.

The dark, deep-colored silk not only failed to make her look dull or aged, but instead accentuated her unique, calm, and elegant temperament.

Sang Zhiyi’s gaze steadied.

What a wonderful woman.

It would be such a shame if a scumbag deceived and won her over.

***

Jiang Yingru’s health was not very good.

From time to time, she would cover her mouth with her hand and cough lightly, her brow slightly furrowed.

Returning the book in her hand to its place on the shelf, Jiang Yingru became interested in a book on the top shelf.

But it was too high, very difficult to reach.

Just as Jiang Yingru was reluctantly about to give up on the book, Sang Zhiyi quickly walked over.

“Sister Jiang, was that the book you wanted?”

Sang Zhiyi asked softly.

Jiang Yingru turned her head.

Seeing Sang Zhiyi, a completely unfamiliar face, she was briefly taken aback.

Then she stepped back slightly and greeted her with a polite but distant smile.

Sang Zhiyi noticed that the female lead was indeed as described in the information—cool and aloof, maintaining a clear distance in her interactions with others, not easy to get close to.

Otherwise, the male lead wouldn’t have pined after her for so many years without daring to make a move.

Even at this point in time, the female lead only knew of him as the president of Starlight Entertainment; she had never officially met Lou Yanchen.

But this wasn’t a problem for Sang Zhiyi.

With someone like Jiang Yingru, winning them over was actually the easiest.

The guest lineup for Love of a Limited Season had changed several times.

The final list had never been announced, and Jiang Yingru didn’t know exactly who else would be participating.

But since Sang Zhiyi was here now, she must be a guest, just like herself.

It seemed Sang Zhiyi wanted to help her.

But looking at Sang Zhiyi, who wasn’t much taller than her, Jiang Yingru coughed again.

“It’s fine, I was just looking—”

Before the second “looking” could come out, Jiang Yingru saw Sang Zhiyi go over, drag a chair back, and place it in front of the bookcase.

Sang Zhiyi nimbly climbed onto the chair, stood on her tiptoes, and stretched her arm up several times before finally managing to grab the book Jiang Yingru had wanted.

When she stepped down from the chair, her face was slightly flushed.

She handed the hard-won book to Jiang Yingru with both hands.

“Sister Jiang, here you go!”

Her eyes were sparkling.

Sang Zhiyi’s expression was so infectious that Jiang Yingru’s originally distant smile gained considerable warmth.

She immediately took the book.

“Thank you.”

Striking while the iron was hot, Sang Zhiyi took the initiative to start a conversation.

“Sister Jiang, do you also like Song poetry?”

The book’s content was exactly about appreciating Song poetry.

Jiang Yingru keenly noticed the word “also” in Sang Zhiyi’s sentence and nodded with a slight smile.

Sang Zhiyi let out a delighted “Ah!” and quickly moved a little closer, chatting with Jiang Yingru about Song poetry.

Before Jiang Yingru could instinctively recoil from Sang Zhiyi suddenly standing so close, she was quickly drawn in by the content of Sang Zhiyi’s words.

Jiang Yingru discovered that Sang Zhiyi’s understanding and research of Song poetry was probably even deeper than her own.

No matter what Jiang Yingru said, Sang Zhiyi could respond knowledgeably, offering many unique perspectives that greatly benefited her.

The two of them hit it off more and more as they talked.

By the time Lou Yanchen walked into the villa’s hall, what he saw was his first love standing shoulder to shoulder with the substitute he had kept for the sake of that same first love, chatting amiably.

Lou Yanchen: “…”

Lou Yanchen’s face turned green.

But now, all the filming and recording equipment in the villa hall was already in place.

Exposed under so many cameras, Lou Yanchen could only continue bottling it up.

The other three guests arrived one after another.

Song Ying was the last to show up.

He strolled in as casually as if he were in his own home, grabbed a bottle of chilled water from the fridge, and sat down on the sofa.

Anyone could see that Song Ying was practically radiating a cheerful, delighted aura.

Sang Zhiyi glanced discreetly in Song Ying’s direction.

Their eyes met again, and without prior agreement, they exchanged a knowing smile.

Song Ying even raised his bottle of chilled water in a sloppy toasting gesture toward Sang Zhiyi, clearly in a good mood.

With all six guests finally assembled, the production team of Love of a Limited Season could finally start the process.

According to the show’s arrangement, the filming of Love of a Limited Season would be live-streamed in real time.

After each episode finished filming, an officially edited and post-processed version would also be released.

As soon as the live stream opened, many viewers flooded in.

[So this is the dating show that never released its guest list until it aired?

I came to see who’s on it.

Why all the mystery?!]

[Am I seeing this right?!

Jiang Yingru?!

Jiang Yingru is actually doing a variety show?!

This is a first, and it’s a dating show!

Has the sun risen from the west?!]

[Good thing dating shows usually don’t involve much physical activity, otherwise Sister Yingru’s health might cause her to faint on the spot…]

[I’m shocked.

I can’t even imagine Jiang Yingru falling in love!

How is that aloof fairy goddess supposed to date?!]

Jiang Yingru was the only daughter of a family of scholars.

She had been frail and sickly since childhood, but because she dreamed of a career in acting, she applied to the drama program at A University.

She graduated with a master’s degree, always ranking first in her class, and signed with Jinxiu, the most established giant in the entertainment industry.

While still in university, Jiang Yingru acted in two television dramas.

One of them, a period drama titled Jade Ruyi, had become a classic that television stations still replayed frequently during holidays.

Jiang Yingru, who played the female lead, became a household name.

In the ten years since her debut, Jiang Yingru’s body of work had not been large due to her health, but the quality was very high.

She became the only actress in today’s entertainment industry to win Best Actress three times in a row.

Media and audiences joked that if it weren’t for Jiang Yingru’s low productivity, she would have long monopolized the award.

Although there were also many critics who accused her of being a diva—not properly participating in promotional work for her dramas and frequently missing events—overall, Jiang Yingru was definitely considered a young, well-known artist of both virtue and talent.

Her popularity and public discussion naturally remained very high.

[I heard Song Ying was here, so I rushed over.

With Director Song, there’s guaranteed entertainment!]

[How can a director like Song Ying be this good-looking?

He could debut as an idol right now—way more handsome than so many current male stars!]

[President Lou is so handsome!

So young, successful, and this good-looking—he’s like a novel’s male lead come to life!]

[Is it my imagination, or does President Lou seem a bit unhappy?]

Among the male guests, both Song Ying and Lou Yanchen drew a lot of attention.

But even more buzz came from the last male guest.

The lead singer of a top boy band, the entertainment industry’s current top-tier idol with massive popularity—Liu Bolin.

[Is the production team this rich?

They actually managed to invite Liu Bolin!

This seems to be Liu Bolin’s first time on a dating show too, right?]

[Bolin!

Bolin, I love you ahhhh!]

[Has my Lin Bao lost weight?

His schedule has been way too packed lately.

Yimeng, do you even have a heart?!

He’s your company’s face!]

Because of the two ultra-popular guests, Jiang Yingru and Liu Bolin, and the explosive topic of a dating show, within less than ten minutes of Love of a Limited Season airing, the first wave of trending topics appeared.

More and more viewers came to watch and began noticing other details.

For example, Sang Zhiyi.

When the on-site staff announced the start of filming, Sang Zhiyi no longer stuck close to Jiang Yingru.

Instead, she stood a few meters away from Jiang Yingru—a social distance that wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

This approach made it seem as if her earlier closeness had just been an unintentional burst of enthusiasm upon meeting a like-minded friend, not an attempt to be presumptuous toward Jiang Yingru.

The balance was difficult to strike, but Sang Zhiyi managed it perfectly.

Jiang Yingru glanced at Sang Zhiyi, who was standing quietly and obediently nearby, and suddenly realized she hadn’t yet asked for her name.

This talented and warm-hearted younger girl was someone Jiang Yingru wouldn’t mind getting to know.

[Wow wow wow, who’s that girl next to Jiang Yingru?

Her outfit is a bit frumpy, but she’s so pretty!

Just like Jiang Yingru, she’s the delicate, beautiful type, super classy!]

[Now that you mention it, doesn’t she kind of look like Jiang?]

[They look a bit alike, but their auras are clearly different.

Sister Yingru is gentle and cool, while this girl has that delicate, pitiful look.]

This was what Sang Zhiyi had meant when she told Lou Yanchen, “I have a way to temporarily keep Jiang Yingru from noticing that I look like her.”

Sang Zhiyi’s aura was vastly different from Jiang Yingru’s.

Their habitual expressions and gestures were also completely different.

Without any preconceived notions, at first glance, no one would connect them.

Moreover, Sang Zhiyi had immediately diverted Jiang Yingru’s attention elsewhere upon meeting her, so Jiang Yingru was even less likely to notice the similarity in their facial features.

Sang Zhiyi had always been a person of her word—even to a scumbag.

The production team began announcing the day’s activity rules.

This dating show, which would later see its popularity climb higher and higher, had revealed its love for stirring up trouble right from the start.

Given that many of the six guests were meeting each other for the first time, the production team required the guests to choose their own partners, forming pairs of two for the upcoming activities.

To add randomness and fun to this segment, a staff member brought in a bamboo tube containing six bamboo sticks, each marked with a number.

The six guests would each draw a stick in turn.

The guest who drew the number “1” could first choose the partner they wanted.

If that person refused, they would continue choosing from the remaining guests until they successfully formed a pair.

Next, the guest who drew “2” could choose from the remaining unpaired guests, and so on.

That meant that after the guests who drew “1” and “2” formed their pairs, the last two left would have to be forced into a pair.

Sang Zhiyi looked at the bamboo tube in the staff member’s hand.

The six sticks inside looked identical on the outside.

Sang Zhiyi’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Instead of passively waiting for the outcome, it was better to take the initiative and fight for what she wanted.

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