Chapter Ninety: She Was Lost in Thought

Yesterday afternoon’s task was postponed to this morning. After looking over the director’s arrangements, Lan Qing felt a faint sense of déjà vu, though in truth she had never participated in a variety show before; all her prior work was in drama series. Shen Jin returned from his walk holding a cup of steaming soy milk. “Qingqing, I noticed you didn’t eat much earlier. Want some soy milk?”

“No, thank you,” Lan Qing declined with a shake of her head. She was currently dieting and, once this program wrapped up in a couple of days, had an audition for a web drama lined up, not to mention another for the lead actress in a film. Everything was piling up, and Lan Qing’s schedule was packed. She had to maintain her figure during this period; otherwise, she’d look terrible on camera.

Shen Jin looked disappointed at her refusal, though he hid it well. Still, viewers in the livestream could see he was masking his feelings, not wanting Lan Qing to notice his dejection.

[He’s really so warm-hearted.]
[Why did Qingqing turn down his kindness?]
[Don’t be sad, we’re here for you.]
[Qingqing, you could at least drink a little to show appreciation.]

Shen Jin’s fans couldn’t bear it and said a few critical words about Lan Qing. But Lan Qing’s fans weren’t ones to be bullied—at the first sign of criticism, they shot back in her defense.

In no time, the livestream chat was in an uproar.

Director Chen was used to this by now. Among the three pairs in the show, Lan Qing and Shen Jin’s livestream was always the liveliest, while Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan’s was the most uneventful—there wasn’t even a flicker of excitement.

Director Chen recalled the pair holding hands last night; perhaps it wasn’t entirely devoid of sparks after all. At least there’d been a minuscule breakthrough—a mere fraction of progress, but progress nonetheless.

The thought left Director Chen feeling a bit hollow. Why had he ever thought it was a good idea to do a second season? The first one had been perfect. No romance show could ever surpass it.

He sighed heavily, then turned to check on Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan’s stream to see if the two of them had made any progress today.

But, as expected, nothing had happened.

Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan had breakfast—twice—before finally setting out. But as soon as they stepped out the door, they ran into Yan Ningsi and Bian He, who were also heading out. The four of them paired up by twos and left together.

Watching Yan Ningsi link her arm through Sang Yijia’s once again, and then glancing at how naturally Lu Wenchuan and Bian He fell into step, Director Chen’s mouth twitched involuntarily. He turned to the staff beside him and asked, “Next time, how about we do a show where best friends and brothers fall in love together?”

The staff member was bewildered. “What kind of bizarre four-sided romance is that?”

Seeing he hadn’t been understood, Director Chen silently turned away.

——

Yan Ningsi, holding Sang Yijia’s arm, stole glances behind at Lu Wenchuan and Bian He, then turned and asked Sang Yijia, “Did you ask him last night?”

“You mean why Brother Lu joined the show?” Yan Ningsi had been shocked to see Lu Wenchuan, but what was even more surprising was his attitude toward Sang Yijia.

She’d immediately tried to investigate the relationship between Lu Wenchuan and Sang Yijia, but came up empty—there was no connection at all.

Yan Ningsi found that hard to believe.

But facts were facts.

“Oh, he said he lost a bet with a friend and came to help out,” Sang Yijia replied simply.

Yan Ningsi didn’t buy it, but seeing how earnest Sang Yijia looked, she pouted and said, “Fine, I’ll just barely believe it for now.”

After a moment’s silence, Sang Yijia glanced back at Lu Wenchuan, then looked at Yan Ningsi with a rare hint of puzzlement in her eyes. “Ningsi, why do you think Lu Wenchuan’s interested in me?”

Sang Yijia disliked beating around the bush. If there was something to say, she preferred to say it directly—or at least tactfully—which saved a lot of time and energy.

“Well…” Yan Ningsi suddenly shivered, feeling a chill down her spine. She swallowed nervously, then forced a smile. “You used to be so smitten with Shen Jin, and I thought Brother Lu was a pretty good catch.”

“He’s a programmer at Shengchuang Technology, a stable job at a listed company,” Yan Ningsi went on, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. “And he’s good-looking, isn’t he?”

“A man like that—if you miss out, I’d feel sorry and regretful on your behalf.”

Sang Yijia was skeptical, but since Yan Ningsi didn’t want to say more, she wouldn’t press the matter.

The topic ended there.

Afraid Sang Yijia would ask again, Yan Ningsi quickly changed the subject. “Lan Qing and Shen Jin left early again today.”

“I heard the door,” Sang Yijia replied. The hallway was carpeted, so footsteps were silent, and the soundproofing was excellent. Yan Ningsi had only heard the next door open after she’d left with breakfast and closed their door.

“I thought she’d join us yesterday afternoon,” Yan Ningsi muttered. But in the end, Lan Qing had stuck with Shen Jin.

She sighed softly, stealing a glance at Sang Yijia, relieved to see her as calm as ever.

“This morning’s task should be yesterday afternoon’s postponed one—I checked, it’s just some little sports games,” Yan Ningsi told Sang Yijia in advance. “Like the three-legged race for two people?”

“Or stuff like facing each other with a balloon between you.”

Sang Yijia was aware of this plot point, though it should have happened yesterday afternoon. According to the original story, this morning the original character, frustrated after failing to frame the heroine the day before, would try again by slipping a laxative into her meal, hoping to humiliate her in front of millions of viewers.

But the heroine, protected by plot armor, would somehow end up swapping meals with the original character, who would then spend an entire afternoon running back and forth to the restroom.

Afterward, the production team would sense something was off, check the surveillance footage, and discover the meal had been tampered with and the culprit was the original character herself.

When this was exposed, the whole internet laughed at the original character’s self-inflicted fate.

Having reviewed the story, Sang Yijia exhaled slowly.

Last night, after dinner, Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan had both returned to their rooms, and neither had stepped out again. So the incident of locking the heroine in the dark room hadn’t happened, nor would there be any issues with the boxed lunches this morning.

Sang Yijia was gradually diverging from the original plot. Once the incident of hiring someone to abduct the heroine at the end of this episode passed, she’d be on a different path entirely—a new destiny, separate from the original script.

“Jiajia?” Yan Ningsi called Sang Yijia several times without reply. Curious, she tilted her head to look at her, only to find Sang Yijia staring straight ahead. Following her gaze, she spotted Shen Jin crouched down, tying Lan Qing’s shoelaces.

Lu Wenchuan noticed too, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Today’s update is postponed, then it’ll be a week’s break; after that, daily updates will resume.

(End of chapter)