President Yan was about to lose his wife!

Sheng Nian was woken by the alarm he had set that morning.

He reluctantly opened his eyes, only to be stung by the white light.

He wrapped himself back in the covers. After going through his pheromone sensitivity period yesterday, his body was utterly exhausted, and he did not feel remotely well rested.

He rolled around on the big bed, burying himself in his pillow with little whines, unwilling to get up.

In the end, the alarm ringing every five minutes finally woke him up completely.

He got up, washed, dressed, and headed toward the main villa.

The butler greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, Young Master Sheng. The kitchen has freshly cooked beef congee today. It's delicious, so do remember to try some."

Sheng Nian yawned. "Good morning, Uncle Butler. Thank you. I'll have a bowl."

Several guests were already having breakfast in the dining room.

Sheng Nian went to the buffet counter for some congee and a glass of soy milk, then sat beside Mo Yuanyuan at her invitation.

As for Qi Xiao's piercing gaze from beside her, he automatically ignored it. He was going to be their third wheel, hehe. ꈍ◡ꈍ

Sheng Nian looked around but did not see Yan Feizhuo. There had been no one in his room when he passed it earlier, either.

Sheng Nian was halfway through breakfast when Yan Feizhuo finally came in from outside. He wore workout clothes and looked as though he had just left the gym, a light sheen of sweat still on him.

Yan Feizhuo got himself breakfast and sat beside Sheng Nian.

Mo Yuanyuan and Qi Xiao exchanged a glance and both cleared out.

Perhaps because Yan Feizhuo had been sweating, some more of his pheromones had leaked out, and Sheng Nian once again felt as though he were enveloped in mist.

He pressed the slightly itchy back of his neck and called softly, "Yan Feizhuo..."

Seeing his movement, Yan Feizhuo realized his pheromones were affecting him again. He picked up his plate and stood. "I'll eat in the back."

[Huh??? Why did President Yan leave?]

[They didn't have a fight, did they? Please, no!]

[That was so sudden. What happened?]

Sheng Nian was a little dazed when he left, and felt a little empty, too.

But he did not have much breakfast left, so he soon finished and returned to the living room first.

In the control room, Director Ren saw that all the guests had finished breakfast and returned to the living room, so he came out from the back to introduce the next segment.

The first filming task that day was drawing their mysterious romance bonuses and choosing their heart-throbbing partners for the second stage.

"First, let's have our top three draw their mysterious romance bonuses!"

Director Ren invited Jiang Shu and He Gu forward. "Let's have our Jiang-He couple draw first!"

A staff member brought over a square box for Jiang Shu and He Gu to draw a card from.

He Gu smiled. "You draw, Jiang Shu. My luck is pretty average."

Jiang Shu did not decline. He reached inside, took out a card, and handed it straight to Director Ren without opening it.

Director Ren glanced at the card and cleared his throat twice. "A pretty good card."

[If Director Ren says that, it means the card sucks...]

[What is it? What is it? Read it already.]

"Please post a mock relationship announcement on the Star Network with your heart-throbbing partner, using the tag 'Heart-Throbbing Observation Diary mysterious romance bonus'!"

[????]

[Wow, this is a reward?]

[Oh~ This is nothing but punishment for the fans...]

[Is the production team sick? Our darling would never post some mock relationship announcement. He belongs to all of us!]

[Get lost, He Gu. Stay away from him!]

[What does this have to do with our He Gu? The production team decided this, and Jiang Shu drew the card. Aren't you Jiang fans going too far?]

Jiang Shu frowned, while He Gu inwardly cursed the production team for coming up with such a lousy reward.

Posting this kind of mock announcement would have been fine later in the show, once his pairing with Jiang Shu had gained traction. Posting it now would get him torn apart by Jiang Shu's girlfriend fans.

He Gu looked troubled. "This... isn't this a bad idea?"

"The Star Network is a public platform, after all..."

Whether out of guilt or something else, Director Ren did not insist. "That's true. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but you won't get a reward, either."

Jiang Shu and He Gu nodded and stepped back.

He put the card back into the box. "All right, let's invite the next pair-the Shengyan couple-to draw."

Having just watched Director Ren toss the card back in, Sheng Nian was afraid his terrible luck would land him the same card, so he sent Yan Feizhuo up to draw.

Yan Feizhuo briskly took out a card and likewise handed it to Director Ren.

Director Ren unfolded the card and glanced at it. "..."

After his prolonged silence, Sheng Nian asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Uh... well, um..."

"The mysterious romance bonus drawn by the Shengyan couple is-please post a mock relationship announcement on the Star Network with your heart-throbbing partner, using the tag 'Heart-Throbbing Observation Diary mysterious romance bonus'..."

His guilty conscience made his voice grow quieter toward the end.

Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo: "..."

Everyone: "..."

[I'm fucking dying!!]

[This is incredible television!]

[Investigate that box! Is that the only card in there?!]

[An announcement! An announcement! I want to see the announcement! Please don't skip it...]

Sheng Nian looked utterly done with life. "Why did you throw that card back in?!"

Director Ren looked guilty. "How was I supposed to know there'd be such a coincidence..."

"How about this? If you don't want to do it, you can-"

"We'll do it. Of course we will."

Yan Feizhuo interrupted him. "I'm very particular about following the rules."

[President Yan is fucking awesome! I love seeing someone this open about it.]

[Woohoo~ Shengyan forever~]

Perhaps because someone finally appreciated his carefully designed reward, Director Ren immediately straightened his hunched back.

"Then I look forward to seeing what you two write for your mock announcement~"

Sheng Nian: "..." Hey, did I agree to this?

Yan Feizhuo pulled Sheng Nian away, and the matter was hastily settled without his consent.

Sheng Nian grumbled, "Yan Feizhuo, your luck is awful."

Yan Feizhuo raised a brow at him. "I think my luck is pretty good."

[Sheng Nian nailed it!]

[Our President Yan is just that shameless~]

[Hahahaha, it really is a pretty good reward for Yan Feizhuo.]

"All right, all right, the last one. Let's guess what reward Tang Jiang will draw!"

Tang Jiang stepped forward and joked, "Aren't you going to throw that card back in, Director Ren? Maybe I'll draw it too."

Director Ren instinctively hid the hand holding the card behind his back. "Ahem, there's no need for that. Otherwise, our viewers will suspect the production team of rigging things."

Tang Jiang looked a little regretful. "Oh, is that so? I wanted to make a mock relationship announcement too~"

Director Ren: "..."

[Another person who can keep the director in line has appeared, hahahaha.]

[Tang Jiang really does tease everyone!]

[I love Tang Jiang's personality. She's so fun!]

[This season's guests are exactly my cup of tea. I heard they're editing while livestreaming, with a polished cut released every two weeks. I can't wait!]

Tang Jiang stepped forward, drew a card, and handed it to Director Ren. This time, there were finally no surprises.

"The mysterious romance bonus Tang Jiang drew is-bondage play!"

[!! Going that far?]

[It's definitely not the bondage play we're thinking of, but production team, you're naming geniuses~]

Facing the guests' strange looks, even the thick-skinned Director Ren struggled to hold his ground. "It's not what you're thinking. There's an explanation afterward..."

"Bondage play grants you the privilege of tying your sweetheart to you with a ribbon for six hours."

As he spoke, Director Ren took out a ribbon to demonstrate. "You tie your wrists together with the ribbon, understand?"

[That's it??]

[You old fox, Director Ren! What kind of lousy name is that?!]

Tang Jiang mercilessly roasted him. "Director Ren, your production team ought to take some language classes."

Director Ren was past caring. "You don't understand. Clickbait gets attention."

"All right, all three rewards have been drawn. Let's move on to the next segment: choosing your heart-throbbing partners for stage two!"

Director Ren first pointed at Tang Jiang. "Since Tang Jiang came first in stage one, she has the 'single dog' privilege granted by the production team, and can exercise it first."

"So, Tang Jiang, would you like to choose your own heart-throbbing partner for the next stage, or pair any two people as heart-throbbing partners for the next stage?"

Tang Jiang chuckled wickedly, looking ready to make trouble.

[Tang Jiang really looks like a wicked auntie about to lure a kid away...]

[Oh no, oh no. Tang Jiang is about to stir things up.]

[I ship everything. I love this. Give me more unusual pairings!]

Sure enough, Tang Jiang pointed at Sheng Nian beside Yan Feizhuo. "I choose little Sheng Nian as my heart-throbbing partner for the next stage!"

The temperature around Yan Feizhuo instantly dropped as he stared at her in displeasure.

Even Tang Jiang, bold as she was, shivered for a moment and said weakly, "President Yan, you said yourself that you're the best at following the rules..."

Remembering Sheng Nian's pheromone sensitivity, Yan Feizhuo thought that partnering with him again in the next stage might trigger his heat. He clicked his tongue in displeasure.

His words came through rather gritted teeth. "Of course. I'll follow the rules."

[President Yan's aura was seriously terrifying just then. I could feel that pressure through the screen. Is this what a top-tier Alpha is like?]

[I really admire Tang Jiang's courage...]

[Does this count as "dying beneath a peony, yet remaining a romantic even as a ghost"?]

Seeing that Tang Jiang and Yan Feizhuo had sorted things out without his intervention, Director Ren sighed in relief. He was afraid Yan Feizhuo might actually put pressure on him, too; he might not be able to withstand it.

"All right, Tang Jiang and Sheng Nian have successfully paired up. Now let's go over the partner selection rules for everyone else."

"The remaining guests will choose their heart-throbbing partners in badge-ranking order, starting with the lowest-ranked guest. Anyone ranked below the person choosing cannot refuse; anyone ranked above them can."

"All right, first up is Mu Ran. Well now, coming last has its perks. At least you get first pick."

Mu Ran: "..."

"Please just shut up."

His gaze swept over the remaining guests. For some reason, none of them seemed quite right, so in the end he could only point at Nie Ge. "I'll choose Nie Ge."

For some unknown reason, Nie Ge actually did not refuse and agreed.

Sheng Nian was surprised. Weren't Nie Ge and Chu Yue secretly dating in the original plot? Were they trying not to make it too obvious, taking things step by step before announcing their relationship?

"All right, Nie Ge and Mu Ran have successfully paired up too! Things are going smoothly today. Let's see who's next."

"What a coincidence. It's Chu Yue's turn."

Chu Yue smiled. "My partner's been picked. Who should I choose?"

"Yuanyuan? Would you like to be my heart-throbbing partner for the next stage?"

Mo Yuanyuan pointed at herself in surprise, clearly not having expected Chu Yue to choose her.

"Yes, yes! Sweet-smelling, soft, gentle beauties are my favorite!"

Watching Mo Yuanyuan happily run toward Chu Yue, Qi Xiao reached out a hand.

[Hahahahaha, Qi Xiao, you've lost your wife too~]

[Young Master Qi and President Yan are in the same boat. They might as well pair up.]

[I'm dying. Young Master Qi even reached out to Yuanyuan, but she only had eyes for the beauty and didn't notice at all~]

Director Ren was overjoyed. "Another successful pairing!"

"Wow~ Next up to choose is our abandoned Qi Xiao."

Qi Xiao: "...I abstain."

"Ha, haha... They say joy turns to sorrow. Never mind, let's move on. Ye Heng, please choose your heart-throbbing partner."

Ye Heng had a clear target. Looking straight at He Gu, he said, "I choose He Gu."

He Gu feigned difficulty, hesitating for a while before refusing. "Sorry, I take a while to warm up to people."

"Oh dear, another failed pairing." Director Ren was enjoying the drama without a care for the trouble.

Ye Heng looked a little dejected. "It's fine. There are still plenty of episodes left."

"All right, all right. Next are Jiang Shu and He Gu. Which of you will go first?"

Jiang Shu glanced at Sheng Nian. "I'll go first. I choose He Gu."

Sheng Nian thought, Here we go again. Here we go again. This scumbag is at it again.

Director Ren asked, "He Gu, do you accept?"

He Gu smiled gently. "Jiang Shu and I are good friends, and we worked pretty well together on the tasks. I accept."

Hearing this, Sheng Nian gave Jiang Shu a dejected look, then lowered his head and rubbed his eyes, looking as though he were wiping away tears.

Yan Feizhuo cooperatively stepped forward to block the camera, shielding Sheng Nian.

[Sigh, why put yourself through this, Sheng Nian?]

[Yan Feizhuo and Tang Jiang are both great. Stop looking at that Jiang Shu!]

Sensing the charged atmosphere, Director Ren cleared his throat. "Last is President Yan. President Yan, would you like to choose..."

Yan Feizhuo did not even turn his head. "I abstain."