Saving the Day

Tang Zhi Chu took the guitar from Yang Jia Xing.

Zhou Yun was a little skeptical. Was Tang Zhi Chu really knowledgeable, or did he simply want to break the atmosphere?

On the surface, the mood was harmonious, with everyone having a good time. To notice those subtle undercurrents, one either had to know Chen Si Yang well enough or know oneself well enough.

When Zhou Yun saw Tang Zhi Chu tune it directly using a perfect fourth, she knew he was an expert. He was relying entirely on his ear. Maybe not absolute pitch, but he was still far better than her.

Zhou Yun knew her spur-of-the-moment little scheme would not work.

Just as Chen Si Yang herself had sensed, Zhou Yun had done it on purpose.

Why?

Zhou Yun herself was also a proud woman. Ever since she had not received a single text message last night, she had decided to make things a little harder for this female celebrity on the Dating Show.

Besides, who came on a Dating Show to peacefully fall in love?

Of course, there were two kinds of people.

Sincere people needed no explanation.

Among the other kind, as far as Zhou Yun knew, some people had joined Dating Shows for their careers, only to get swept up in it in the end. Under the carefully arranged atmosphere and activities of the production team, they kept interacting with the male guests, then naturally got carried away and lost their composure.

Deep down, Zhou Yun scoffed at such people. Unprofessional.

She had come with one purpose only: her career.

One industry had been rising steadily in status: influencers.

In the current influencer industry, every top player had elite capital backing them. Quite a few celebrities were even willing to give up their identities as artists and devote themselves to becoming influencers.

Zhou Yun had set her sights on the influencer industry too.

That was why her basic principle on the show was to treat people kindly and make lots of friends—with the sole exception of Chen Si Yang.

When it came to careers, especially among the middle class, women were far more sensitive than men.

Zhou Yun could tell that Chen Si Yang had other motives for coming too. But for Chen Si Yang, no matter what her purpose was, coming on a Dating Show meant she was on the decline. Either she lacked ability or she lacked connections.

If she played the good girl all the way until the Dating Show ended, then her only outcome would be to keep bouncing around within the Dating Show circle.

That was not what Zhou Yun wanted. She had adjusted her strategy on the fly and pulled herself and Chen Si Yang onto a PK stage.

While the public and media discussed Chen Si Yang coming on a Dating Show, they would dig deeper into the story between her and Zhou Yun. At the very least, it would break out of the circle.

If she found someone to write a few promotional articles and tie them together, then those things would be almost guaranteed.

That was why Zhou Yun had sent the text message to Yang Jia Xing.

Among the three male guests, from Zhou Yun's perspective, only Yang Jia Xing had been the most proactive toward Chen Si Yang. His image and abilities were good enough too, and he had the greatest chance of becoming a couple with her.

Competing with a female celebrity for a boyfriend—was that not a good enough hook?

Competing with a female celebrity for a boyfriend while singing better than her—was that not a good enough hook?

As for getting swept up in it, Zhou Yun felt that none of the current three male guests could make her lose her head.

What surprised Zhou Yun was that Tang Zhi Chu, who had barely spoken from beginning to end, had actually stepped in.

She felt that she had underestimated Tang Zhi Chu, or rather, overlooked him. This person had too little presence.

Tang Zhi Chu finished tuning the guitar and smiled with an utterly harmless expression. "That should do it. Which one of you is singing?"

Yang Jia Xing folded his arms, shocked and uncertain. Did he really know what he was doing? Yang Jia Xing did not understand music himself, so he could only look toward the people who did.

Huang Ze Jun came to his senses. His expression changed several times before he put on a smile. "Well damn, every one of you has been hiding your talents!"

A smile finally appeared on Chen Si Yang's face. Without anyone noticing, one small move from Tang Zhi Chu had changed the atmosphere.

Which one of you is singing?

Those words seemed to bring them back to when everyone had been asking Chen Si Yang to sing earlier, but now, no one seemed to be in the mood anymore.

Yang Jia Xing had first been delighted by how well Zhou Yun sang, and now he was startled by Tang Zhi Chu's musical ability. Deep down, he even felt a faint sense of defeat. Had he gotten a little too full of himself?

So he was not necessarily the most impressive main character on this show.

Huang Ze Jun instinctively put his mask back on and laughed things off, feeling that he must have overlooked something.

Zhou Yun gave Tang Zhi Chu a long look and smiled. "Why don't you give us one? Don't tell me you can't sing either!"

Zhou Yun knew there was no point in targeting Chen Si Yang further. It would only make herself look bad.

You could not even hear that the guitar was out of tune, and you wanted to compete with Chen Si Yang in singing? That PK stage could no longer stand.

So Zhou Yun simply changed the subject and decided to test Tang Zhi Chu instead.

Tang Zhi Chu looked at Zhou Yun. Their eyes met, and he smiled. "Then Yang Yang should sing. I won't show off my skills before Guan Gong."

Zhou Yun's expression darkened. Tang Zhi Chu's words carried a hint of mockery. Not only had he refused, he had even elevated Chen Si Yang.

But could Chen Si Yang still sing now?

Zhou Yun cared about her reputation too. There was little point in forcing a PK stage again.

If she stopped now, then she would be the only one singing. After some thought, at least she had achieved her goal easily enough.

"Sister Lan, look at him. He's not honest at all!" Zhou Yun pouted, wrapping her arm around Jiang Lan's beside her as she spoke in a coquettish tone.

Jiang Lan instinctively shifted away. Don't drag me into your fight!

Tang Zhi Chu shrugged. He had become sufficiently wary of Zhou Yun. This girl was not simple.

The room fell quiet. Yang Jia Xing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but it felt like nothing would be appropriate. No one met his eyes either. After thinking it over, he said, "How about I perform one for you?"

Chen Si Yang lowered her head and drank some water without responding.

Huang Ze Jun still wore that mask-like smile and said nothing either.

For the first time, Zhou Yun felt that some people's inexplicable sense of responsibility to break awkward silences was rather pointless. A little stupid, even.

Jiang Lan, meanwhile, stared blankly into space.

Tang Zhi Chu smiled and handed the guitar over.

Yang Jia Xing looked embarrassed. "I-I can't play."

Thankfully, the production team came to save the situation. A staff member knocked on the door and delivered a card.

Tomorrow was Saturday. There would be a date activity in the afternoon, with the men sending Blind Invitations to the women.

What was a Blind Invitation?

The three men would each prepare a gift, then the female guests would choose one. Whichever gift they chose, they had to go on a date with that gift's owner.

Tang Zhi Chu was a little puzzled when he saw the rules. What was the point of Blind Invitations?

To stir things up? To advance multiple relationship lines? To add variety to the show? To stop everyone from falling in love at first sight and privately committing themselves to each other?

Tang Zhi Chu felt that the director lacked courage. They might as well let everyone invite whoever they wanted and put their cards on the table. That would be far more exciting—just directly fight for them.

No wonder Dating Shows were failing.

Served them right!

Late at night, Tang Zhi Chu lay in bed without sleeping.

He was not mulling over what had happened in the villa, but his own personal matters. His seriously ill father remained heavy on his mind.

Tang Zhi Chu decided he still had to find time to see him. Otherwise, he would keep dwelling on it.

He took out his phone. During today's text message segment, each of the three male guests had once again received one message.

"Then can I hear you sing a song?" This was the message Chen Si Yang had sent Tang Zhi Chu.

After the tuning incident, no one doubted that Tang Zhi Chu could sing. Yet he had refused Zhou Yun.

That was why Chen Si Yang's message carried a faint hint of competitiveness, or perhaps coquettishness.

Tang Zhi Chu turned off his phone screen, rolled over, and prepared to sleep.