Sloppy

Lu Yiyi looked disdainful when she saw his expression turn cold.

He didn't want to play along? Well, she didn't want to put on a couple act with him either!

She was just about to lose her temper when the assistant beside her hurried over and shot her a meaningful look from behind the camera.

Lu Yiyi glanced at the camera, bit her lip, and reached out to tug at his shirt. "Luo An, don't be angry. That's not what I meant. I'm just... not quite used to it."

Luo An glanced at the anxious assistant out of the corner of his eye and exhaled. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. I just didn't control my temper. Get your things sorted out. I'll go check how the bathroom fixtures work so you can shower first."

In front of the camera, the two walked into the bathroom hand in hand. Soon, the sounds of their playful teasing drifted out.

[What did I tell you? Those two still have a great relationship. Way better than that so-called Mutual-Dislike CP.]

[You can actually ship this manufactured sweetness?]

[Stop dragging other couples down! Our ship is doing just fine. Blame your faves for not reading the room!]

[Song Yunxing and his partner were obviously throwing their weight around! Otherwise, Yiyi and Luo An would definitely have come first!]

The two sets of shippers began arguing in the livestream chat, driving its popularity higher and higher. Two new topics made the trending list.

#Yi-An CP: A Fake Couple#

#Mutual-Dislike CP: Real or Fake?#

After more than half a day of livestreaming, these two couples had behaved the most unusually. Once the Yi-An CP moved into the Red-Brick House, all romantic chemistry between them vanished, while the Mutual-Dislike CP had barely spent a few minutes on camera together and kept taking shots at each other as usual.

Netizens analyzed the footage frame by frame. The production team even invited a renowned psychologist to join the analysis, and plenty of independent content creators uploaded related videos. For a while, "True or False Lovers" became a hot topic all over again.

At this point, most netizens thought the Mutual-Dislike CP weren't actually a couple. Still, their interactions couldn't be explained away simply by calling them sworn enemies. They would have to keep watching.

Meanwhile, by the time the guests finished unpacking, the sky was gradually darkening.

The crew had already set up the cameras in the dining room. The beige tabletop was covered with piping-hot dishes, and to celebrate the first day of filming, two chilled bottles of fine red wine stood in the very center.

The production team sent a phone notification telling all the guests to come to the villa's first-floor dining room. Everyone gradually came downstairs and took their seats.

The guests sat facing one another, leaving only four seats at the table.

Shen Yanci came downstairs and casually pulled out a chair.

Song Yunxing instinctively chose a spot far from him and pulled out the chair at the corner of the table.

"Hey, Yunxing, sit here beside me. If you sit like that, Luo An and Lu Yiyi will have to sit apart." Lu Ran patted the seat next to her.

Since Lu Ran had spoken up, Song Yunxing had no choice but to sit beside her.

He sat across from Shen Yanci with a stiff expression. Their eyes met, and a second later, they looked away in unison.

[Hahaha, trying so hard not to look involved! What are you two feeling guilty about?]

[They don't even want to sit together. What are their fans shipping, exactly?]

[For the record, I'm not a fan. This whole trying-to-hide-something vibe is the best shipping material! You wouldn't understand!]

[+1. We can still tell manufactured sweetness from the real thing!]

Luo An and Lu Yiyi soon arrived and took the remaining two seats.

"Ahem. Thanks for all your hard work today. There aren't any tasks tonight, so get some rest early," Director Guo said gently.

Having already been tricked once, the guests couldn't help frowning and looking at Director Guo suspiciously.

"Director, just tell us what else we have to do," Lu Ran said with a sigh. "Leaving things half-said like this is torture. I've even lost my appetite!"

"You're not going to make us plant rice tomorrow, are you?" Yu Wan frowned and couldn't help complaining. "What dating show films like this? Even the game shows I've been on weren't as exhausting as today."

"We're not a conventional dating show. How can true love shine through without a little hardship?" the director said with a smile. "We're going to browse a market tomorrow. It won't be tiring, so don't worry."

[Does Yu City have some famous market? Is that why they came all this way to film?]

[I still think the director's up to something. They came all the way to Yu City just to pick oranges and browse a market? I don't buy it!]

Everyone remained skeptical, but with the chief director personally giving his word, they felt considerably more at ease.

If they were only browsing a market, that was fine. At least they wouldn't have to work out in the blazing sun.

Lu Yiyi couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief, too. If things kept going like this, she probably wouldn't be able to take it much longer.

She could just about put up with staying there for one night. Nothing else could go wrong today! Tomorrow, she would get up early and dress up before heading out to salvage her image.

"All right, eat and get some rest. Help yourselves to any of the food in the house. There are cards in that cabinet, too, if you want to play," Director Guo said, pointing at the cabinet in the living room. "Tonight's livestream will end at nine sharp. Get some rest early, everyone."

With that, the director left the house.

"He just left like that?" Lu Ran asked in surprise. "We're free?"

The clock on the dining room wall showed seven. There was still quite a while until nine!

"Now this is a proper dating show. The guests get to decide how to spend their time." In a good mood, Yu Wan grabbed a bottle of red wine and checked the vintage. "This is good wine. Who wants some?"

Shi Jinyan stopped her hand as she went to open the bottle. "Yu Wan, we still have filming tomorrow morning."

"It's just a couple of drinks. It won't hurt." She deftly uncorked the bottle, and dark red wine flowed into a clear stemmed glass.

Lu Ran swallowed the meat in her mouth, then picked up the wine as well and poured half a glass each for herself and Nianzhi.

"Yunxing, would you like some?" Lu Ran asked, holding the bottle.

Song Yunxing was busy stuffing himself with braised prawns. His cheeks bulged as he mumbled something.

"He's preparing for an album right now. He usually doesn't drink at times like this." A clear, cool male voice came from across the table.

Song Yunxing looked up. The man opposite him lifted his eyes and shook his head as though in disgust. "Sloppy."

Song Yunxing swallowed the prawn and gave a disdainful little snort.

Shen Yanci came from a distinguished family, so naturally, his table manners were beyond reproach. Song Yunxing, on the other hand, had spent years living in a group and had long since abandoned all those tedious formalities.

In his group's early days, their food budget had been fixed. Maintaining his poise would have meant going hungry, and he had no interest in that kind of bullshit.

He ignored Shen Yanci, lowered his head, and kept eating.

Lu Ran's gaze flicked between the two. She quietly set the wine in the center of the table and took out her phone to gossip discreetly with Gu Nianzhi.

"Nianzhi, do you think those two are real? Surely we aren't the only couple here to go public!"

"They're always sniping at each other."

Gu Nianzhi took out his phone and chuckled with his eyes lowered, his fingers tapping rapidly across the screen. "Hard to say. You can't judge someone just by what they say. You have to look at their eyes, too."

Their eyes? Lu Ran stole a glance at the cool, refined Shen Yanci, then looked at Song Yunxing, who was eating with gusto.

How come she couldn't see anything at all?