Before long, guests who had finished their tasks began returning to the lounge one after another.
Among them was the lively, cheerful Mo Yuanyuan, who spotted Sheng Nian sitting alone on the sofa as soon as she entered. He looked a little downcast (though he was actually just spacing out).
Mo Yuanyuan was a typical sucker for a pretty face. Unable to bear seeing such a little beauty looking so forlorn, she stepped forward, linked arms with him, and greeted him with a cheek-to-cheek kiss between Omegas without standing on ceremony.
"Hello, my name is Mo Yuanyuan. I'm an actress. It's lovely to meet you."
Sheng Nian snapped out of his daze. Looking at the youthful, lively, cheerful female Omega before him, he recalled the plot summary the system had given him.
In the original plot, Mo Yuanyuan was a minor supporting character with a fair amount of screen time. After he left the story later on, she became He Gu's second target for putting down to elevate himself. He Gu kept paying for articles to smear her, portraying her straightforward, cheerful personality as a manipulative "one of the guys" act to highlight his own gentleness and understanding.
The enemy of his enemy was his friend, so Sheng Nian immediately returned a friendly smile. "My name is Sheng Nian. I'm..."
Remembering that he had nothing going for him in the entertainment industry except his looks, Sheng Nian gave up trying. "I'm eye candy..."
Mo Yuanyuan burst out laughing. Who introduced themselves as eye candy with such a straight face?
She studied Sheng Nian closely, then said with a smile, "Not bad. You really are good-looking!"
With Mo Yuanyuan, a little chatterbox whose social confidence was off the charts, and the future plot the system had shown him, Sheng Nian learned about the other guests on the show.
Leaving himself aside, Jiang Shu and He Gu needed no introduction either. The remaining guests were Mo Yuanyuan, Qi Xiao, Mu Ran, Tang Jiang, Chu Yue, Nie Ge, and Ye Heng.
Mo Yuanyuan, a female Omega, was a talented actress of the new generation. Professionally trained, she had already appeared in two films, both by renowned directors. Her company planned to position her as a leading dramatic actress. She had come on this dating show to broaden her appeal among casual viewers and boost her popularity; romance and the like came second.
Qi Xiao, a male Alpha, was a famous gaming streamer on the Star Network's livestreaming platform. He mainly streamed Blue Star Faith, the most famous fully immersive game in interstellar space. His skills could easily rival those of top-tier professional esports players, but because his family was loaded, he had turned down countless esports clubs. With his good looks and impressive skills, Qi Xiao had more followers on the Star Network than some A-list celebrities.
If Sheng Nian remembered correctly, this young master had deigned to appear on Heart-Throbbing Observation Diary because of Mo Yuanyuan. The two seemed to be childhood sweethearts, and he had come to pursue his future wife.
Besides Qi Xiao and Jiang Shu, the other two Alphas were also exceptionally accomplished in the eyes of outsiders: Mu Ran, an actor who had won all three major best actor awards, and Tang Jiang, a famous fashion designer.
Mu Ran, a male Alpha, was twenty-two and professionally trained. In just five years of acting, he had won best actor at all three of the acting industry's most prestigious awards and was hailed as a genius actor.
Tang Jiang, the only female Alpha, was a captivating, famous fashion designer. While studying at the Milan Royal Design Academy, a renowned interstellar design school, she had swept the top interstellar design awards. In recent years, she had established her own brand and studio and made a name for herself. Never mind the entertainment industry-even many people in elite social circles wanted to commission haute couture from her studio.
The three Betas were no ordinary people either: renowned lyricist Chu Yue, rising business star Ye Heng, and newly popular, talented singer Nie Ge.
Chu Yue was a female Beta and a renowned lyricist in the music industry. Though she had no formal training, she had a natural gift for lyrics and had written many huge hits.
Nie Ge was a male Beta from an ordinary background who had debuted through a music talent show. His excellent voice had quickly brought him fame beyond the show's audience. After the show ended, he was signed by Planet Entertainment, a major company in the industry, and released several hit albums. His fans dubbed him "the next king of song."
Sheng Nian knew the later plot. Nie Ge and Chu Yue were a couple who had weathered hardship together, coming from obscurity to where they were today. They had joined this dating show to lay the groundwork for announcing their relationship later.
As for Ye Heng, he was an investment genius who had made his start trading stocks. Any project he favored would later yield at least triple the returns.
After reviewing all the guests' backgrounds, Sheng Nian could not help marveling inwardly at how impressive this lineup was.
Once all the guests had completed the task of finding the pheromone perfume, the production team ushered them, including the injured Sheng Nian, onto a large hovercar to head back to Tomato TV's studio and record the indoor segment.
On the vehicle, the guests' hovering camera balls had been switched off, but the production team's cameras were still running. Everyone assumed they were just filming some behind-the-scenes footage and paid little attention, completely unaware that the livestream was still on.
When Sheng Nian boarded, Mo Yuanyuan pulled him into the seat beside her. The others took their seats according to how well they knew one another. Notably, He Gu sat beside Jiang Shu.
Seeing that everyone was a little reserved, the PD in the vehicle picked up a megaphone. "You'll all be spending your days together from now on, so why don't we take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and get to know each other better?"
There had still been quiet conversations in the vehicle, but after the PD spoke, a brief silence fell. It was the irrepressibly sociable Mo Yuanyuan who stepped up first and fearlessly set an example for everyone, finally easing the atmosphere.
The PD secretly wiped away some sweat. This bunch really was difficult to cater to.
With Mo Yuanyuan's example to follow, the other nine introduced themselves in turn.
Surprisingly, though introducing themselves felt a little silly, everyone chatted more afterward, and the atmosphere in the hovercar became less subdued.
Taking advantage of the pleasant atmosphere, Jiang Shu walked over to Sheng Nian's seat and asked, "Does your knee still hurt?"
Seeing that it was Jiang Shu, Sheng Nian immediately switched into combat mode. He tipped his head up slightly, his expression one of delighted surprise. "It's much better now."
"Jiang Shu, I thought you didn't want to talk to me anymore..."
Seeing him being so well-behaved, Jiang Shu could not help softening. "What are you talking about? Why would I ignore you? I misunderstood you at the hospital last time. I owe you an apology."
Sheng Nian was taken aback. He had not expected Jiang Shu to actually apologize.
Though inwardly surprised, he gave a radiant smile. "Mm~ Jiang Shu, I'll listen to you from now on. I won't be willful anymore, so please don't ignore me again."
They spoke too quietly for the livestream audience to hear, but viewers could see Jiang Shu and Sheng Nian chatting, and then Sheng Nian smiling at Jiang Shu.
[Get lost! He's pestering our guy again. He's so annoying.]
[I mean, wasn't Jiang Shu the one who went over to talk to him?]
[Sheng Nian, get lost. He Gu, you too. Does some third-rate nobody deserve to sit beside our guy?]
[Seriously, I think we need to watch out for Sheng Nian, but He Gu too. During that last segment, he kept hovering around Jiang Shu, trying to get attention.]
[It's all the agency's fault. Sure, he needs popularity while his career is on the rise, but they shouldn't force him onto a dating show. All these people throwing themselves at him are so annoying.]
[Jiang Shu's fans have seriously lost their minds. Best actor Mu, king of song Nie, CEO Ye-which of them isn't at the top of his field? You're acting like Jiang Shu is the only catch on this show...]
[Couldn't agree more with that comment. Even our best actor's fans haven't said he's lowering himself by joining this show, yet they keep flooding the comments to make their presence felt. Please, not everyone wants your precious guy.]
While the live comments erupted into arguments, the hovercar finally reached its destination.
Before you continue