Under everyone's horrified gazes, Xie Mi strode confidently into the group with her head held high and bumped Shen Yeqing's shoulder.
"Well? Am I beautiful?"
"Absolutely gorgeous. Stay away from me."
Xie Mi flipped him off.
A smile spread across Shen Yeqing's face. "My bad, my bad."
"Before we officially begin today's itinerary, we have another new guest joining us!" Director Niu announced with great enthusiasm. "Everyone, turn your eyes to the right-"
Everyone looked over in unison.
On the beach a short distance away, a glamorous figure slowly approached, accompanied by the melodious sound of a cello.
What a pretentious entrance.
Xie Mi remembered now. Two guests would indeed join them over the course of filming. Like many traditional dating shows, this one used a six-plus-two guest format.
If nothing unexpected happened, the guest appearing today would be...
"Hello, everyone. My name is Lai Bingxuan, and I'm the heiress to the Lai Group. Rather than addressing me as 'Teacher,' I'd prefer you to call me Miss Lai."
The girl held her chin high like a swan. With cherry-red lips and a delicate nose adorning her exquisite face, she wore an arrogant, confident smile and exuded the air of a wealthy heiress.
She was the original novel's villainess, a spoiled heiress who opposed Xu Shuangrong at every turn.
She was also Xu Shuangrong's high school classmate.
Sure enough, Xu Shuangrong's expression shifted slightly, and she instinctively edged behind Xiao Jingxi.
Xiao Jingxi noticed her movement. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Xu Shuangrong raised her head, an unnatural smile on her pale face. "I probably didn't sleep well last night. I'm a little unsteady on my feet."
Xiao Jingxi paused, then said considerately, "You can hold on to me if you feel unsteady. I don't mind."
During the two days he spent recovering in the hospital after the mushroom poisoning, he had seen the trending topics online, including the sadness on Xu Shuangrong's face after he left her in the garden that day.
Although people online had called him a scumbag over it, he didn't think it was Xu Shuangrong's fault.
He had simply been surprised to discover how deeply Xu Shuangrong felt for him, when the two of them had only been playing up their pairing for publicity...
That left him feeling somewhat guilty, so he would look after Xu Shuangrong whenever he could.
"Thank you." Xu Shuangrong's expression relaxed a little.
Xie Mi watched from the sidelines with relish.
In the original novel, Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong's relationship on the show had already been firmly established when Lai Bingxuan appeared. That was why Lai Bingxuan had set her sights on Xiao Jingxi right away, launching straight into a love triangle with two women fighting over one man.
Now that the plot had changed, she was very curious to see how things would develop.
Watching drama unfold up close really was a delight.
After everyone exchanged greetings, Lai Bingxuan joined the group. As she passed Xu Shuangrong, she shot her a provocative glance.
Xu Shuangrong lowered her head even further.
[Why do I feel like these two have history?]
[What's going on? Shuangrong has never looked like this before. She's always such a gentle, radiant ray of sunshine. What happened today?]
[This Lai girl looks like trouble. Is she the type who bullies people just because her family has money?]
[Really bad first impression.]
Today's itinerary was a seven-person date at the Aquarium. The guests took the Heart-Shaped Bus to the famous local Aquarium, then toured it together under Director Niu's guidance.
They walked along a corridor surrounded by seawater. Beyond the ripples and splashes, schools of colorful tropical fish swam through the water, beautiful and mysterious.
Xie Mi, however, had no interest in admiring the view. She stared at the back of Shen Yeqing's head ahead of her, wondering whether hearing him call her "Liuliu" last night had been a dream.
If it had been real, that was far too bizarre.
How could someone inside a book know about her real life?
But if it hadn't been real, the scene had felt so vivid, especially his voice. He had clearly whispered right beside her ear...
Tsk. Drinking really did mess things up.
"Hey, you staff member over there. Come help me walk."
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Someone grabbed Xie Mi's arm. She turned and met Lai Bingxuan's impatient eyes. "Don't you understand Mandarin?"
"Forgive me for asking, but by 'staff member'... do you mean me?" Xie Mi pointed at herself.
"Aren't you a local native? You obviously look like a temp the production team hired locally. Hey, help me walk. These heels are killing my feet. Nobody said we'd be walking this far today..."
Listening to the haughty young heiress grumble, Xie Mi felt that her makeup skills had been gravely insulted.
Seriously, was her dark-skinned hot-girl look really that hard to get?
She was just about to go off when the heiress casually pulled a stack of cash from her designer bag and tossed it to her. "Did you hear me? Help me walk."
Xie Mi darted forward and supported her. "Your humble servant will obey at once!"
Ten thousand just to help her walk a few steps? This was no spoiled heiress. This was her god of wealth!
Xu Shuangrong, who had been repeatedly glancing back from up ahead, seemed to muster her courage and approached.
"Miss Lai, your attitude is appalling."
"Even if you treated me that way before... never mind that. But you can't treat other people like this. Xie Mi is a person who thinks for herself, not your slave!"
Xu Shuangrong spoke at just the right volume for everyone to hear.
For a moment, everyone looked at Lai Bingxuan with hostility.
[I knew this new guest would be trouble. Stirring things up the second she arrives, huh?]
[That's so rude. I'm not even a Xie Mi fan, and I can't stand watching this.]
[Why bully Xie Mi? Does she really think she owns the place?]
Xie Mi clicked her tongue.
Sure enough, it had begun.
Lai Bingxuan and Xu Shuangrong had developed a deep grudge in high school. Lai Bingxuan had joined the show this time specifically to make Xu Shuangrong's life miserable.
In the original novel, Xu Shuangrong deliberately drove a wedge between Lai Bingxuan and the other guests to eliminate her as a future threat, turning her into everyone's target.
In the end, the powerful, influential guests worked together to bankrupt the Lai Family, while Xu Shuangrong stayed behind the scenes and reaped the rewards.
Lai Bingxuan's ending had been quite tragic, too.
Originally, Xie Mi had only intended to watch the drama without getting involved, but now-
Anyone who messed with her god of wealth would die!!
"I won't let you call her attitude appalling!"
Xie Mi instantly went into full lackey mode and declared indignantly, "She gave me ten thousand! What's appalling about that? Don't even think about driving a wedge between us!"
She certainly wasn't going to be Xu Shuangrong's pawn.
Once Xie Mi said that, the livestream viewers caught on too.
[Holy crap, people are actually criticizing this? Ten thousand just to help her walk? If it were me, I wouldn't feel right taking that money without kneeling and bowing a few times.]
[Lai Bingxuan might have a princess complex, but she has the means to back it up. More importantly, she actually pays!]
[It's a willing arrangement between two people. How is that bullying? Certain people need to stop stirring up trouble while pretending to be Xie Mi fans. We actual fans haven't said a word.]
Before you continue