Chapter Thirty-Three: A New Mission

Yan Ningsi shrugged in front of the camera, spreading her hands as she replied, “It’s not about liking or disliking it, but it does taste pretty good.”

[Laughing out loud, this is perfect.]
[66666666]
[How could fried skewers with milk tea not be delicious?]
[Now that I think about it, I want some too. I’m placing an order right away!]

After the three female guests finished their interviews about the gifts that made their hearts flutter, it was time for the three male guests to be interviewed.

Last night, Lan Qing and Shen Jin had dominated the trending searches, so naturally, the director focused on Shen Jin.

Sang Yijia, watching the director’s preparations, guessed that the next question would be for her and her partner.

At this moment, under the table, Sang Yijia nudged Lu Wenchuan’s shoe. When he looked over, she gave him a meaningful glance.

Lu Wenchuan lowered his head and tilted his ear toward her. “What is it?”

“They’ll probably ask you in a moment,” Sang Yijia said quietly, her eyes lowered. The way things were unfolding now was completely different from what was written in the novel.

In the original plot, the main character didn’t give the special gift to Lu Wenchuan but instead handed it directly to Shen Jin in front of everyone.

Of course, Shen Jin rejected it.

As for what Lu Wenchuan’s expression was like, the book didn’t describe it. But remembering what he said yesterday, Sang Yijia was sure it wouldn’t have been pleasant.

“I know,” Lu Wenchuan replied, lowering his gaze as well, his expression and tone both calm.

Sang Yijia continued, “I don’t think they’ll ask you how you felt about the gift I gave you. They’ll probably ask why you gave me green hawthorn.”

It wasn’t just the production team that was curious; Sang Yijia was too.

Lu Wenchuan’s lips curled slightly at that, a rare softness flickering in his dark eyes. “Is that what you want to know, or what they want to know?”

“???” Sang Yijia looked up in surprise, meeting Lu Wenchuan’s black eyes unexpectedly. She blinked and quickly looked away, pretending nothing had happened.

“No, I was just speculating.” In the original plot, Lu Wenchuan had dutifully prepared a gift for her, but she didn’t like it and, just as with Shen Jin, flatly rejected it without saving him any face.

This action made it satisfying for readers when she was later rejected by Shen Jin herself.

“Is that so?” Lu Wenchuan seemed to be pondering something. As he lifted his gaze, the camera swung toward him.

The director suddenly found himself looking into Lu Wenchuan’s cold eyes. His heart skipped a beat and a chill ran down his spine, but he reminded himself that Lu Wenchuan was just an ordinary programmer—what was there to be afraid of?

Even though he worked for Shengchuang Technology, that only proved he was capable, nothing more.

After several thoughts flashed through his mind, the director finally spoke. “Mr. Lu, may I ask, what made you think to give Sang Yijia green hawthorn?”

“Was it because of the trending topic a while ago?”

Sang Yijia had tried to use the green hawthorn as a means to clear her name, which the industry hadn’t expected, but the attempt hadn’t succeeded.

Netizens didn’t believe it.

Moreover, on the show, Sang Yijia had acted as though she barely knew Shen Jin and publicly admitted she would stop pursuing him, but still, the audience didn’t buy it.

What did that say? It meant Sang Yijia had lied too many times, and no one wanted to listen anymore.

The only reason the director had agreed to let Sang Yijia join the show was due to higher-ups’ instructions.

Still, Sang Yijia was a hot topic in herself—negative attention was still attention.

At this moment, the director’s thoughts drifted but quickly returned as he watched Lu Wenchuan, wondering how he would answer.

Lu Wenchuan nodded at the camera. “Indeed, it was because I knew about the trending topic.”

“So, did you want to see if Sang Yijia could really eat hawthorn straight from the bag?” the director pressed.

This question was a bit tricky.

The expressions of those present shifted.

Shen Jin’s furrowed brows weren’t because the director was putting Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan on the spot, but because he wondered why they were being given the chance at all.

Wouldn’t it be better to skip this part?

Shen Jin’s brows furrowed even deeper. Lan Qing, noticing, thought Shen Jin was worried about Sang Yijia and her own expression darkened further.

“No,” Lu Wenchuan denied.

“Then why?” the director pursued.

Lu Wenchuan turned to look at Sang Yijia, his lips curving into a beautiful smile. “Naturally, it’s because she likes it.”

He had just affirmed what Sang Yijia had previously claimed.

The director was stunned.

Sang Yijia was also taken aback and blurted out, “How can you be so sure?”

Netizens were accusing her of lying, after all.

“If you say so, I believe you,” Lu Wenchuan replied simply and directly.

Everyone froze again, especially Yan Ningsi, whose eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t believe this was Lu Wenchuan. For a moment, she even suspected he’d been replaced by someone else. Rubbing her eyes, she smiled slyly at Sang Yijia.

Meeting her gaze, Sang Yijia suddenly remembered what had been said that morning and quickly looked away, pretending not to notice.

The director awkwardly changed the subject, moving on to interview Bian He, whose answer was much like Yan Ningsi’s—perfectly inoffensive.

But the production team really didn’t know how to be human.

Knowing that Sang Yijia’s family doctor had visited last night and that Yan Ningsi was interested in one of them, the director asked Bian He if he knew about it.

After hearing the question, Bian He glanced at Yan Ningsi and said with a smile, “You’d have to ask Si Si about that.”

“If I want to pursue her, shouldn’t I be given a chance?” Bian He’s attitude was hard to read.

The director got the answer he wanted and immediately turned to Yan Ningsi.

“What’s the big deal? You have your pursuit, whether or not I accept is another matter, isn’t it?” Yan Ningsi replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes as she looked back at Bian He. “Besides, you haven’t even started pursuing me and you’re already asking whether I’ll accept. How am I supposed to answer that?”

She volleyed the question right back.

Sang Yijia listened quietly to their back-and-forth, feeling that the entertainment industry was rather dull. Staying at home writing scripts was much more comfortable.

“Bored?” Lu Wenchuan, uninterested in these questions, glanced at his phone. Seeing her lost in thought out of the corner of his eye, he put his phone away and asked quietly.

Sang Yijia glanced at the others and, seeing the camera wasn’t on them, answered softly, “A little.”

“There’s a group activity soon—where do you want to go?” Lu Wenchuan had already looked at the schedule. The production team would be filming here for two days, showcasing the local scenery and customs, then heading to a scenic spot, followed by a hot spring experience.

Group activity? This was the first time Sang Yijia had heard of such a thing in a show about romantic pairings, and she found it quite novel.

“Let’s see what the task is first,” Sang Yijia mused, resting her index finger beneath her lips. “Yesterday, when we were delivering takeout, I passed a lotus pond. It was quite beautiful.”

“Then let’s go,” Lu Wenchuan replied without hesitation, but not wanting to be misunderstood, quickly explained, “It’s just as well—we don’t have a destination in mind.”

“All right.” Sang Yijia smiled, her lips unadorned yet still soft and rosy.

Lu Wenchuan glanced at her, then quickly looked away.