After composing himself, he turned to everyone and asked with a smile, "Did you have breakfast this morning?"
Some said yes, while others said no.
"Even those who ate must be hungry by now. The Production Team has prepared a sumptuous lunch for everyone." As he spoke, he waved a hand, and eight pretty hostesses pushed over food carts.
They lifted the golden covers from the plates, revealing an array of dishes. There were eight options in total: Hainanese chicken rice, a deluxe seafood platter, spicy bullfrog, a loaded clam and glass noodle bowl, steak pasta, a sushi set, a low-calorie chicken breast meal, and a deluxe burger.
"Director, there isn't some task attached to this, is there?" someone asked.
Although this was everyone's first time on a dating reality show, knowing how production teams operated, there was no way they would be nice enough to hand out a free lunch.
The director smiled. "There is, actually, but the game is very simple: 'You have, I haven't.' Even if you haven't played it, you've probably heard of it, right?"
Everyone nodded.
Su Tangtang had seen people play it on variety shows before. Each person named something they had done, and anyone else who had never done it had to put down one finger.
The director said, "As long as you know how it works."
"We have eight guests here. You'll use both hands, giving you ten fingers each. The first person to lose will be the last to choose their lunch, and so on."
"This is also a chance to get to know each other better, so make the most of it. Who knows? By the end of this round, the guest you're interested in might take an interest in you."
"Now, let's draw lots to decide the order."
Another hostess came out carrying a box.
"There are eight slips of paper inside. The number on yours will determine when you take your turn."
Su Tangtang got up and drew a slip with the number three, then returned to her seat. [Nice, my lucky number! Looks like I'll get to pick something I like!]
Hearing that, everyone glanced her way, as though trying to see what her lucky number was.
But after a single glance, Su Tangtang folded the slip back up.
The director then had everyone sit on the sofa in the order they had drawn.
She saw Liao Xuliang sitting to her left and Xue Ruyin to her right.
Su Tangtang: "..."
[Their ship fans aren't going to murder me, are they?]
[I don't want to sit between them either. It feels like I'm part of their kink.]
(′ʘ⌄ʘ‵)
Liao Xuliang: "..."
Xue Ruyin: "..."
Everyone else's mouths twitched in unison. She made it sound as though she wasn't. Who was it who had watched them doing it under her real name and livestreamed the whole thing?
The director coughed too, then quickly told Xu Yuntong, who was first in line, to begin.
She seemed to have prepared her answer in advance. "I scored 657 on my college entrance exam."
[Kind of figured Yun Tong would say that. /doge/]
[Why wouldn't she? If I scored that high, it'd be my own fault if even the village dogs didn't know!]
[Everyone here will probably have to put down a finger, right?]
Quite a few fingers went down, but not everyone lowered one.
Su Tangtang still had hers raised as she asked, "Does it have to be exactly 657? Would ten points higher count?"
[???]
[??????]
Unsurprisingly, a sea of question marks flooded the chat.
[Is she saying she scored 667 on the college entrance exam? Is that actually true?]
[It probably is. This is being livestreamed to the whole internet. Surely she's not stupid enough to fake it on camera.]
[I don't believe it unless she shows us her score!]
[I don't believe it either. With how much she loves attention, would she really keep quiet about a score that high? She'd have built herself a straight-A student persona ages ago!]
Skeptical comments filled the chats of every livestream.
Everyone present looked over at her too, seemingly finding it hard to believe.
"Hang on, let me find it. I took a screenshot before." Just as the comments said, she certainly wouldn't lie about something like this on camera. Hadn't she been dragged enough already?
Although the original owner's behavior after entering show business had often been incomprehensible, she really had worked hard back in her school days.
She had gotten up at four or five in the morning to memorize vocabulary and stayed up late studying. The stack of practice papers she had completed was taller than she was.
After all, she had been an orphan with no one to rely on. At the time, studying had been her only way out.
Who could have known she would end up in show business?
Whatever happened afterward, she had earned those 667 points through more than a decade of hard study. No one could dispute that.
After finding the screenshot, she held her phone out toward the director.
The director was too far away and didn't come over to look. He merely glanced at Xu Yuntong. Since she had made the statement, it was up to her to decide whether the score had to be exactly 657 or whether anything higher would count.
Xu Yuntong looked at the phone Su Tangtang held out and nodded. "Anything higher than mine counts."
Su Tangtang said, "Then I'm keeping this finger up."
[Why didn't the camera cut over just now? I want to see!!!]
[What is the camera operator even doing? So unprofessional!]
No one was reading the chat, and the game continued. When it was the second player, Liao Xuliang's, turn, he cleared his throat and was just about to speak when Su Tangtang's thoughts came through first. [My dad's girlfriend is an ex I dated three girlfriends ago.]
[I've done it with my dad's girlfriend in his bed.]
[I've done it with the female guest surnamed Xue here, in the basement and on the rooftop.]
[Wow, wow, wow! He has so many things he could say. He's definitely going to win!]
Liao Xuliang: "..."
Everyone else, including the director: "..."
Did she even hear herself? Could any of that be said out loud?
Su Tangtang didn't notice their looks at all. She simply kept reading.
[Oh ho! Liao Xuliang took Xue Ruyin to meet that pack of lowlife buddies of his over the past few days?]
[Let me see, let me see. Is there any juicy gossip here?]
Before any more of her thoughts could come through, Liao Xuliang coughed and immediately spoke. "I run an entertainment company."
Everyone but him put down a finger.
It was Su Tangtang's turn.
She had to set the gossip aside. "I once went into the men's restroom by mistake. After I finished, I made eye contact with a man who had just come in, and he turned around and went into the women's restroom."
Everyone: "...?"
Was she serious???
It took the chat a while to process what she had said too.
[Hahahahaha, I'm dying.]
[That poor man. Did he get beaten up?]
[Su Tangtang, tell me the truth. This isn't just some joke you heard, is it?]
Everyone there looked incredulous too, but they slowly put down a finger.
The director hinted, "Everything we say in this game has to be true."
Su Tangtang understood exactly what he meant. "You should all know the man in question. I'm just not sure whether it's appropriate to mention his name on this show."
[Who? Tell us! I want to ask him what happened afterward!]
[Su Tangtang, please, tell me!!!]
[You can't get everyone curious and then say nothing!]
Everyone there, including the director, grew curious. Still, mentioning someone else's name on the show, especially over something embarrassing, really was a little inappropriate.
After a long silence, the director suddenly coughed. "How about you describe him?"
Before you continue