Chapter 5: A Dating Show With One Couple

The entire production team of Love of a Limited Season also wanted to frantically type question marks.

They also wanted to know, how were they supposed to play this?!

Lou Yanchen was the financial backer; what he said went, and they couldn’t easily sway him.

Zhongli Miaomiao had also specifically thrown money to get a guest spot, and she had made it clear she didn’t want to play anymore—what else could they do?

As for the remaining two, Song Ying and Liu Bolin, setting aside whether they themselves were willing, would adding them into the situation now even make things better?

Their dating show wasn’t a same-s*x dating show!

To make matters worse, they were still live.

If they wanted to privately persuade everyone and continue the show, it wasn’t easy to manage!

The show’s producer regretted it deeply.

They should never have done the free drawing for partners just for the sake of buzz.

Wouldn’t it have been better to just assign the pairs directly?

Even letting the audience vote on the pairings via barrage would have been far more reliable!

But now, it was too late for anything.

And so, Love of a Limited Season welcomed its second wave of trending topics.

The hashtag [#DatingShowGuestsCollectivelyForfeit] shot straight to the top three trending searches.

At this moment, the only two people on set who were still interacting with each other became particularly eye-catching.

Near the bookcase in the villa’s hall, Sang Zhiyi and Jiang Yingru were quietly chatting about something.

Both of their expressions could be described as relaxed.

Sang Zhiyi chatted and laughed, while Jiang Yingru nodded and responded from time to time with a smile.

The atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.

[Hiss… I don’t want to ship a same-s*x CP in a mainstream dating show, but this pair is so sweet!]

[I’ve turned into a groundhog on the spot.

How can these two girls be this perfect together aaaaah!

Let’s call their CP name “Gingerbread Men”—cute and lovely!]

[Is this still the Jiang Yingru I know??!

Jiang Yingru actually has a day when she’s this close to someone!

Before, when I watched behind-the-scenes footage from her dramas, Jiang Yingru seemed to have her own force field—no one dared to get near her!]

Viewers who knew Jiang Yingru well were more and more astonished, and some even began to suspect that Sang Zhiyi might be related to Jiang Yingru in some way.

[Those two are like their own little world.

No matter how chaotic everyone else is, they remain peaceful and quiet.]

[Rather than a CP, their dynamic is more like best friends.

Anyway, my best friend and I are pretty much like this~]

[These two really have great chemistry.

It feels like they could become friends after the show ends.]

Seeing that the audience was still quite interested in the only remaining pair, and the trending topics had attracted even more people just looking for entertainment, the show’s producer gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and decided to continue with the original schedule.

They would send Jiang Yingru and Sang Zhiyi to the booked-out aquarium for their two-person interactions, while the remaining four guests would stay in the garden villa, watch the interactions in real time, and have their reactions filmed!

You want to watch the drama?

Then everyone watch—the production team would just let the guests watch along too!

The audience was once again stunned by Love of a Limited Season.

[So this is how you can play it… Production team, you really know how to play!]

[I’m so happy.

I’m already looking forward to what happens in the next episode!

The first episode already has so many iconic moments; the next episode will be even more exciting, right?]

[Same.

This dating show will definitely become my future electronic pickled vegetable and source of happiness!]

[I had no idea it would be this funny before I clicked on this live stream 233333]

[Director Song suddenly sat up straight hahahaha.

Is he that excited?!]

[Turns out we’re all Director Song, haha.]

Song Ying was happy to see this happen.

Zhongli Miaomiao was now fuming and didn’t want to deal with anything.

Liu Bolin tried to stay as far away from Zhongli Miaomiao as possible and also showed no intention of stepping forward.

The other guests staying at the villa had no objections, and Lou Yanchen didn’t want to be too special either.

After all, he would still have opportunities to get close to Jiang Yingru during the rest of the show’s filming.

Lou Yanchen reluctantly also acquiesced to the production team’s arrangement, his gaze fixed straight on Sang Zhiyi and Jiang Yingru.

Sang Zhiyi had already very naturally linked her arm through Jiang Yingru’s.

It was very obvious that Jiang Yingru was uncomfortable with this kind of physical contact; her body even stiffened slightly.

But in the end, she let Sang Zhiyi have her way, and the two of them walked out of the villa’s main entrance together.

Lou Yanchen: “…”

Lou Yanchen almost couldn’t stop himself from getting up and leaving on the spot.

[???

President Lou, why do you look so resentful?

It’s like you’ve been dumped by your wife!]

[…Wait a minute.

Weren’t we all curious about why President Lou joined this dating show?

And he’s been unhappy ever since he joined.

Could it be that he’s jealous?!]

[I know this one!

When he learned they would draw lots to decide pairs and drew number 6, President Lou was already very unhappy.

Seeing Ren Xiaoqian draw number 1 made him even more unhappy.

After Ren Xiaoqian chose Jiang Yingru as her partner, President Lou’s expression nearly cracked.

And then just now, he watched Ren Xiaoqian leave with Jiang Yingru with that resentful look on his face!]

When Lou Yanchen snapped his bamboo stick, the production team cleverly avoided showing it on camera.

After all, he was their financial backer, so the production team didn’t show Lou Yanchen’s somewhat undignified reaction to the audience.

Based on the clues so far, the live stream audience could already guess that Lou Yanchen was either jealous of Jiang Yingru or jealous of Ren Xiaoqian.

They just didn’t know which one.

[Does Lou Yanchen know Sister Yingru?

He should be the one who likes Ren Xiaoqian, right?]

[For those who don’t know, Ren Xiaoqian is with Starlight!]

[Now that you mention it, I remember too!

There’s been a rumor all along that President Lou personally brought Ren Xiaoqian to sign with Starlight.

For the past two years, with Ren Xiaoqian’s terrible acting skills, she’s still had a constant stream of resources.

Who would believe there’s no involvement from President Lou?]

Someone found a breakthrough, and soon more viewers followed the thread to find more clues.

[Yes, yes!

A friend of mine is a fan of some minor starlet at Starlight.

For a while, I saw her complaining about Ren Xiaoqian on her WeChat Moments every day, saying Ren Xiaoqian snatched all of Starlight’s resources, making life miserable for her favorite.]

[Although Starlight has always had more successful male artists than female ones—only Zhong Yueyi and a few others are decent actresses—in previous years, there were still a few promising young actresses.

But for the past two years, there’s really only been Ren Xiaoqian!]

The aquarium, like the villa, was a venue the production team had booked in advance, and it wasn’t far away.

While sitting in the car, Sang Zhiyi talked with Jiang Yingru about her representative work.

“Jade Ruyi is my favorite drama!”

Sang Zhiyi spoke earnestly, her face full of sincerity.

“When I was in school, I used to wait in front the TV every summer vacation to watch it!”

“Sister Jiang, I especially love the character you played, Meng Yao.

I feel like no other drama’s female lead can be as gentle and as strong as Meng Yao.

Her EQ and IQ are extremely high.

Her principled kindness is very charismatic, and the way she occasionally teases people gives her a lovely impression.”

“I even once wrapped a bedsheet around myself and pretended to be Meng Yao in that classic snow scene, wearing the big red cloak…”

Sang Zhiyi had studied the information for this world carefully.

Information about the female lead’s past acting experiences wasn’t hard to find.

Combined with her own organization and summarization, saying these detailed evaluations came easily to her.

The more Sang Zhiyi spoke, the more embarrassed she became, unconsciously twisting her index fingers together.

“Sister Jiang, you’ve been my idol for many years.

Getting the chance to be on a variety show with you this time makes me especially, especially happy!”

“I’m not very familiar with the other guests, so I thought I’d take a chance—what if, just what if I could pair up with my idol?”

“I never thought my dream would come true!”

Sang Zhiyi pressed her hands tightly together in front of her chest, closed her eyes, and murmured as if in a trance.

“I hope this beautiful dream never ends.”

[Oh my god, the way Ren Xiaoqian is praying is so beautiful.

She has a fragile quality like colored gem!]

[This girl’s voice is trembling.

She’s so devout.

For some reason, my nose is tingling…]

[Damn, I was just hesitating.

I’ve always been a hater of Ren Xiaoqian’s acting before!

Why am I hesitating now?

I don’t care anymore, I’m switching from hater to fan!]

It wasn’t just the audience who were moved—Jiang Yingru, facing all of this directly, was as well.

Seeing Sang Zhiyi on the verge of tears, Jiang Yingru really wanted to say something to comfort her.

But Jiang Yingru had no relevant experience and didn’t know how to start.

After all, she had never done anything as intimate as comforting someone before.

Sang Zhiyi opened her eyes, saw Jiang Yingru like this, and knew her plan was working.

The female lead of this world seemed hard to approach, but deep down she was a very pure person with a persistent pursuit of art and beauty.

As long as you found the right direction and won the female lead’s approval, you could quickly draw closer to her.

And Sang Zhiyi lacked neither knowledge, nor aesthetic taste, nor the ability to quickly extract key points from large amounts of information.

By the time they reached the aquarium, Jiang Yingru no longer felt any discomfort when Sang Zhiyi linked their arms.

She even had a subconscious tendency to lean closer to Sang Zhiyi.

[This is what they mean by “it’s a shame they didn’t meet sooner”!]

[Who can understand?

I’m watching a dating show and obsessing over a friendship to death!]

[You could also ship them as a CP [doge]]

[In all the time I’ve known Sister Yingru, I’ve never seen her express emotions this openly.

She really likes Ren Xiaoqian… I apologize for hating on Ren Xiaoqian before.

Anyone Sister Yingru likes must be a good person!]

Some people also noticed more subtle details.

[Earlier in the villa, I couldn’t hear what they were saying clearly.

But in the car, with the smaller space and close-ups, I finally heard it.

I have to say, if I were Jiang Yingru, I’d also think highly of Ren Xiaoqian.]

[Right.

It’s not just about Meng Yao at the beginning.

Ren Xiaoqian has memorized every single role Jiang Yingru has played, big or small, over the past ten years.

And for each one, she has very specific, comprehensive, and detailed insights, hitting the nail right on the head.]

This observation received agreement from many long-time fans of Jiang Yingru’s older dramas.

The atmosphere was warm and tender.

Only Lou Yanchen was out of place.

Starting from the moment Sang Zhiyi said, “I’m not very familiar with the other guests,” Lou Yanchen’s temples had been throbbing with veins.

Not familiar?

The clinging vine he had kept for two whole years said she wasn’t familiar with him?!

When she used to stare longingly for a crumb of his attention, why didn’t she say they weren’t familiar then?!

He had specifically invested in this show—was it to watch his own substitute vine charm away the first love he wanted to pursue?!

…He should have told the production team clearly from the start that they had to guarantee him the most interaction with Jiang Yingru!

Sang Zhiyi could perfectly imagine what mental state the scumbag was in, seeing her get close to Jiang Yingru before he could.

With one arm linked through Jiang Yingru’s, Sang Zhiyi looked up as if unintentionally and gave Lou Yanchen a sweet smile through the screen.

—Whether it’s the substitute or the first love, you won’t get either one.

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