I Don't Want the Person I Like to Misunderstand Either

Because Shen Qing is everyone's darling. No one dislikes him except the original host.

...Heh.

He laughed in anger.

Then what role did I play in this fire? Surely I wasn't going to save anyone.

527 gave him a thumbs-up. That's right! The host is so smart. You wanted Shen Qing to die in there, so of course you wouldn't save him. On the contrary, you'd take advantage of the chaos to stop Gu Yanting from rescuing him.

The original host got absolutely torn apart by readers during this part. After all, this involved lives. The earlier incidents were just petty squabbles, but this time, you wanted to kill the protagonist shou.

Oh.

In the original plot, this was when Duan Xun's inner darkness and twisted nature first emerged. He couldn't bear to hurt Shen Qing, so he relentlessly tormented the original host and Gu Yanting instead.

But no matter how formidable he was, he would still bow before the male lead's plot armor. He wouldn't meet a good end.

What if he changed this key plot point?

Song Mingzhou thought distractedly.

After breakfast, the eight of them played several more games and smoothly made it through the morning livestream. By afternoon, the atmosphere had turned pink and sweet again.

The clouds on the horizon were especially red and beautiful today.

The production team changed the social game to an individual activity. They would head up the mountain in pairs, where the crew had prepared different challenges and games.

The groups were based on their breakfast pairings.

[ Ding, a plot point has been triggered. Before setting out for the date, the host will use a prop card to change his partner to Gu Yanting. ]

...

He had been careless.

527 consoled him. Relax. If you aren't with Gu Yanting, how will you stop him from saving someone later? Hehe, hurry and switch. They're about to start.

Song Mingzhou ignored him. After frowning in thought for a while, he explained to Tang Wanxing first, "Sister Wanxing, there's something I need to discuss with Teacher Gu. Could I trouble you to switch with him for this task?"

Tang Wanxing didn't ask any questions and nodded agreeably. "Sure."

"Thank you, Sister Wanxing."

Song Mingzhou breathed a sigh of relief. Before the director could speak, he finally raised his hand and said coldly, "Director, I'm using a prop card to change my game partner."

"Hiss."

No one had used one so far. Nobody wanted to be the first to break the rules, yet the first turned out to be the aloof and shy Song Mingzhou.

After spending the past two days with him, the director's opinion of him had changed quite a bit. Even his tone grew gentler. "Who do you want to switch to?"

Song Mingzhou said expressionlessly, "Teacher Gu."

— "I knew this bitch wasn't holding in anything good. He was pretending before, right? Now that he sees our Dragonfly CP being so sweet, he can't keep pretending anymore."

— "I don't get it. Why switch? He doesn't even want President Tang?"

— "Could this be a production script? Song Mingzhou doesn't seem to want to switch either. He hasn't even looked at Gu Yanting, and he doesn't look happy at all."

— "A script. It's too fake. It contradicts everything from before."

— "I can practically hear the director smiling. Feels like he's shipping them. Hehehe, Yanting-Mingzhou CP fans are so blessed."

— "Did you see the young master's expression? Our handsome Duan is about to turn into Ice Duan. Poor thing."

The director's eyes lit up. Good, good, this was exactly what he wanted. He smiled so broadly that his eyes narrowed into slits. "The prop card takes effect. Yanting and Mingzhou will be in a group."

Gu Yanting's expression did not change, but his gaze brightened almost imperceptibly. Just as he had guessed.

Song Mingzhou had merely been pretending before.

[ Ding, host Song Mingzhou's key plot point has been successfully repaired. Current task progress: 9/100. ]

Gu Yanting glanced at Song Mingzhou before turning to quietly comfort Shen Qing.

Shen Qing beamed at him. "It's okay. I'll still make the gift I promised you. I'll give it to you when we get back."

Gu Yanting was touched. "Okay."

"I want to change partners too." Someone suddenly spoke up.

The director's eyes lit up again.

A topic.

These were all topics!

Wonderful!!

The director spoke in a trembling voice, "Who do you want to switch with?"

With both hands in his pockets, Duan Xun walked forward. A smile lingered at the corners of his lips, replacing some of his usual detached indifference with a touch of carefree charm. "I want to be in a group with Shen Qing."

The director was about to make the call when he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Wait, do you have a prop card?"

Duan Xun said, "No."

"???" The director's vision went dark. "You need a prop card to change partners. If you don't have one, you can't switch."

"I have one." Tang Wanxing took out a prop card and placed it on the table. "I'm willing to switch with Teacher Duan."

Duan Xun spread his hands. "See? Doesn't that settle it?"

The director: "..."

Fine, fine. He was the only unnecessary outsider here.

Shen Qing secretly glanced at Duan Xun, his feelings complicated. Several times, he wanted to ask something, but with the cameras present, he could not bring himself to say it.

He had sent so many messages last night, yet he had received no reply.

He actually wanted to ask whether Brother Xun had seen his messages.

The four groups set off simultaneously in different directions.

Song Mingzhou walked in front while Gu Yanting followed closely behind. Seemingly casually, he asked, "Why did you suddenly want to change partners? I don't want the person I like to misunderstand."

"..."

Song Mingzhou did not stop walking or turn back. Only the camera caught the fleeting eye roll he gave. He said coldly, "Don't overthink it. I'm only doing this for the task."

A tiny crack appeared in Gu Yanting's proud expression.

A task?

Had the production team assigned Song Mingzhou a separate task? He didn't genuinely want to be paired with him?

Gu Yanting frowned. "What do you mean?"

Song Mingzhou said, "Exactly what I said. I chose you as my partner for the task. The person you like won't distrust you that much, will they?"

Gu Yanting paused. "Of course not."

"Then that's fine. I don't want the person I like to misunderstand either."

After saying that, Song Mingzhou smiled. His eyes were filled with easy delight. Gu Yanting saw it, and his heart skipped a beat as an ominous feeling suddenly rose within him.

Perhaps Song Mingzhou had not been pretending, nor was he acting. Maybe he truly no longer cared about him.

How could that be?

He wanted to ask something else, but from the corner of his eye, he spotted wisps of smoke rising and surging upward from another direction. It was not very large yet, but something had clearly caught fire.

Song Mingzhou saw it too.

"What is that?"

Song Mingzhou knew there was a fire over there. Summer firewood was extremely dry, and gusts of wind swept through the mountain. Within only a few seconds, the flames grew much fiercer.

Before he could answer, Gu Yanting realized what was happening.

"There's a fire on the mountain."

Gu Yanting truly was the male lead. He immediately determined that it was in the direction of his precious sweetheart, and his face instantly turned pale. "Oh no, he's in danger."

[ Ding, a plot point has been triggered. The host will desperately obstruct Gu Yanting from going to the scene to rescue someone. ]

Song Mingzhou frowned.

Just as Gu Yanting lifted his foot to run in that direction, Song Mingzhou blocked his path. "Don't go over there."

Gu Yanting: "??"

He grew anxious. "There's a fire. I have to go take a look."

"The fire over there is huge. It'll be dangerous." Song Mingzhou stubbornly kept blocking him, his voice steady. "Contact the fire department. I'll go find them."

He could not openly stop Gu Yanting in front of the cameras, nor could he provoke the audience's condemnation. The task only required him to stop Gu Yanting from going up to rescue someone. As long as he prevented him from going over right now, that would be enough.

What he said was entirely reasonable as well.

Sure enough.

[ Ding, host Song Mingzhou's key plot point has been successfully repaired. Current task progress: 10/100. ]

As the system announcement sounded, it was immediately followed by the sound of keyboard keys tapping in Song Mingzhou's mind, as though it came from another dimension.

What was going on?