Chapter Summaries

After awakening as Sheng Nian, the doomed villain in a melodramatic entertainment-industry novel, Sheng Nian rejected System 01100’s suggestion that he win over Jiang Shu and instead negotiated for a way to change his fate. He remained in his hospital bed as Jiang Shu demanded that he apologize to He Gu.

• Sheng Nian recalled how his schemes against He Gu were supposed to lead to his family's ruin and his own death.
• System 01100 offered Sheng Nian rewards for winning over Jiang Shu, but Sheng Nian refused and unlocked a self-rescue route by resisting the plot.
• Sheng Nian questioned the system about how to resist the plot and demanded a cheat, prompting 01100 to apply for assistance.
• Jiang Shu insisted that Sheng Nian apologize to He Gu, while He Gu claimed Sheng Nian might have fainted and had not meant to frame him.

After waking in the hospital, Sheng Nian learned that he had to keep acting hopelessly in love with Jiang Shu while finding ways to change how people saw him and the two male leads. He decided to use the dating reality show to expose He Gu’s act and improve his self-rescue progress.

• Sheng Nian recalled how he had accused He Gu of pursuing Jiang Shu and threatened to ruin He Gu’s career.
• System 01100 warned Sheng Nian not to act out of character and told him to maintain his persona as Jiang Shu’s devoted admirer.
• Sheng Nian pretended to feel unwell, prompting the nurse to make Jiang Shu and He Gu leave the ward.
• Jiang Shu realized Sheng Nian had truly fainted and said he would apologize after Sheng Nian left the hospital, while He Gu’s false-innocent display was cut short.
• System 01100 raised Sheng Nian’s self-rescue progress to 0.1% after Jiang Shu questioned his assumptions and He Gu’s facade was undermined.
• Sheng Nian decided the dating reality show could help him expose Jiang Shu and He Gu and improve his public image.

After leaving the hospital, Sheng Nian traveled to the Pheromone Museum to film the first episode of Heart-Throbbing Observation Diary, where the guests would search for scents that attracted them. Unaware that the production team was secretly livestreaming, he made a perfume modeled on his own pheromones.

• Sheng Nian left the hospital and reviewed the show's format on his way to the filming location.
• He learned that the guests would make pheromone perfumes and search for scents that attracted them at the Pheromone Museum.
• The production staff welcomed Sheng Nian and prepared tracking drones, while secretly livestreaming the shoot.
• Viewers watching the stream posted hostile comments about Sheng Nian and his connection to Jiang Shu.
• Sheng Nian completed the pheromone analysis and made a bottle of perfume that smelled like his own pheromones.

Sheng Nian tried to avoid Jiang Shu and He Gu while touring the museum, but the assistant director steered both men toward him to provoke a clash. After He Gu staged a fall, Sheng Nian fell too as Jiang Shu arrived, realizing the encounter had been arranged.

• Sheng Nian recalled how his earlier accusations against He Gu had damaged his reputation and decided to avoid both romantic leads.
• Sheng Nian wandered through the museum instead of searching for a partner, while viewers and the assistant director reacted to his leisurely behavior.
• The assistant director instructed Jiang Shu's and He Gu's camera operators to guide them toward Sheng Nian.
• He Gu approached Sheng Nian, linked arms with him, and quietly offered to help him find Jiang Shu by scent.
• He Gu let go and fell to the floor, and Sheng Nian fell as well when Jiang Shu approached.

Sheng Nian avoided a dangerous scene and used an injury to keep Jiang Shu from focusing solely on He Gu. After the doctor treated Sheng Nian’s bruised knee, He Gu refused an examination, and Sheng Nian was allowed to rest in the lounge.

• Sheng Nian’s fall earned him System Coins and increased his supporting male character rescue progress to 0.2%.
• He Gu implied that Sheng Nian had caused his pain, so Sheng Nian acted injured too and made Jiang Shu hesitate between them.
• Jiang Shu contacted the Production Team for medical help, and the doctor confirmed that Sheng Nian had bruised his knee.
• He Gu claimed he had recovered and was embarrassed to be examined on camera, leaving his injury uncertain.
• The director let Sheng Nian rest in the lounge instead of searching for pheromone perfume, and Sheng Nian relaxed with his Light Brain.

Sheng Nian met the other accomplished guests on Heart-Throbbing Observation Diary and learned about their backgrounds from Mo Yuanyuan. On the ride to the studio, Jiang Shu apologized to Sheng Nian, while viewers argued over the pair and the other guests.

• Mo Yuanyuan greeted Sheng Nian and introduced herself, and Sheng Nian jokingly described himself as eye candy.
• Mo Yuanyuan told Sheng Nian about the guests, including actor Mu Ran, designer Tang Jiang, lyricist Chu Yue, singer Nie Ge, and investor Ye Heng.
• The production team gathered the guests in a hovercar to return to the studio, and the PD prompted them to introduce themselves.
• Mo Yuanyuan broke the initial silence, helping the guests relax and chat during the ride.
• Jiang Shu asked about Sheng Nian's injured knee, apologized for misunderstanding him, and heard Sheng Nian promise to listen to him.
• Livestream viewers argued about Sheng Nian, He Gu, Jiang Shu, and the other guests as the hovercar reached the studio.

The guests began choosing temporary partners for the next episode, with Sheng Nian under pressure to pick someone despite wanting to avoid Jiang Shu. As he agonized over his options, System 01100 went into sleep mode after giving him an unknown cheat.

• Director Ren Tao revealed that the guests had been secretly livestreamed and explained the rules for choosing temporary couples.
• Mo Yuanyuan and Qi Xiao were automatically paired after finding each other's perfume bottles, while Sheng Nian, He Gu, Nie Ge, and Ye Heng gained the right to invite partners.
• Director Ren Tao announced that Sheng Nian would choose first, prompting speculation that he would pick Jiang Shu.
• Sheng Nian considered the other guests but found reasons he could not or would not choose them.
• System 01100 announced its upgrade, gave Sheng Nian an unknown cheat, and entered sleep mode before he could ask more questions.

After an assassination attempt forced Yan Feizhuo to abandon a project inspection, he visited a television studio and discovered that he could hear Sheng Nian’s thoughts and see a chibi version of him in a bubble. Sheng Nian chose Yan as his first partner on a dating show, and Yan agreed, leaving everyone in the studio stunned.

• Yan Feizhuo and his secretary escaped an assassination attempt in a tampered hovercar and postponed their inspection in the north of the city.
• Yan visited Tomato TV and Yuzu Platform’s broadcasting building, where he entered the studio filming Heart-Throbbing Observation Diary.
• Sheng Nian saw his golden cheat ability enter Yan and guessed that Yan was his real-life support NPC.
• Sheng Nian chose Yan as his first heart-throbbing partner, despite the station director’s warning that Yan was the head of Yan Group.
• Yan saw a chibi Sheng Nian in a bubble and heard his thoughts, then agreed to pair with him.

Yan Feizhuo agreed to join the variety show after Sheng Nian chose him as his partner, while the other guests made their selections and three were left without partners. After filming, Sheng Nian kept up his lovesick act for Jiang Shu, and Yan Feizhuo questioned his own perception after seeing Sheng Nian’s bubble contradict his behavior.

• Yan Feizhuo agreed to appear on the show after Sheng Nian chose him as his partner.
• Jiang Shu paired with He Gu, Nie Ge paired with Chu Yue, and Mu Ran and Tang Jiang remained unpaired after Tang Jiang declined him; Ye Heng abstained, leaving all three without partners.
• After filming ended, Sheng Nian reassured Jiang Shu that he had not chosen him because he wanted to let Jiang Shu pair with He Gu.
• Sheng Nian left while pretending to be upset, but the system announced that his progress had increased by 0.1%, making him hurry away to avoid laughing.
• Yan Feizhuo saw Sheng Nian’s cheerful bubble contradict his apparent sadness and asked his secretary to book both ophthalmology and psychiatric appointments.

Sheng Nian arrived at the Heartbeat House for filming and avoided letting Jiang Shu, Ye Heng, or Yan Feizhuo carry his luggage by showing off his fully automatic suitcase. The guests headed into the villa together, while Yan Feizhuo continued to see the mysterious bubble around Sheng Nian.

• Kari woke Sheng Nian early, packed his luggage, and warned him not to lose his temper or clash with He Gu on camera.
• Sheng Nian arrived at the estate and met Ye Heng, who offered to help with his enormous suitcase.
• Jiang Shu, He Gu, Yan Feizhuo, and Mu Ran arrived, and the livestream viewers reacted to Yan Feizhuo's first appearance on the show.
• Jiang Shu offered to carry Sheng Nian's suitcase, but Yan Feizhuo said he should help his own partner, while He Gu urged him to help Sheng Nian instead.
• Sheng Nian activated his fully automatic suitcase and let it follow him into the villa, leaving the others awkward and the viewers amused.
• Yan Feizhuo saw Sheng Nian's cheerful bubble figure again and followed him and the other guests inside.

Director Ren announced that the season’s theme was “experience season” and assigned the guests to villas without games. Sheng Nian ended up sharing a villa with Yan Feizhuo, Jiang Shu, and He Gu, and Yan Feizhuo stepped in when Jiang Shu tried to speak with him.

• Mo Yuanyuan told Sheng Nian that the season’s theme was “experience season,” and the guests discussed Director Ren’s past challenges.
• After Tang Jiang arrived, Director Ren assigned the rooms and explained that this episode’s theme was “attraction,” with a task to be announced in the garden after an hour.
• The room assignments placed Sheng Nian, Yan Feizhuo, Jiang Shu, and He Gu in one villa, with Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo on the second floor and Jiang Shu and He Gu on the third.
• Jiang Shu called out to Sheng Nian, who inwardly asked Yan Feizhuo for help and told Jiang Shu he needed to unpack.
• Yan Feizhuo led Sheng Nian away, and Jiang Shu wondered whether Yan Feizhuo liked him.

Director Ren announced attraction missions at Evernight Sky, where paired guests could earn Heart-Pounding Badges and unpaired guests could earn Matchmaker Badges that could affect future pairings. Sheng Nian tried to reassure Jiang Shu, but Yan Feizhuo called him over and took him to sit farther back.

• Sheng Nian settled into his room, then joined the other guests in the garden, where he noticed Yan Feizhuo had changed into casual clothes.
• Director Ren announced that the guests would complete paired and solo missions at Evernight Sky to earn badges and compete for a thirty-day unlimited play pass.
• Mo Yuanyuan asked about the badges, and Director Ren explained that top-ranking Matchmaker Badge holders could choose or assign pairings for the next stage.
• Tang Jiang asked how guests could sabotage missions, and He Gu prompted Director Ren to allow paired guests to sabotage one another too.
• The guests boarded the production team's hover vehicle, and Sheng Nian followed Jiang Shu in hopes of easing his suspicions.
• Yan Feizhuo called Sheng Nian over and pulled him away from Jiang Shu to sit two rows farther back.

At Evernight Sky, Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo played along as close partners while testing the show’s first attraction task. They earned fewer Heart-Pounding Badges than Jiang Shu and He Gu, and Sheng Nian realized that intimate photos scored better, leaving them to adapt at the next attractions.

• Sheng Nian made Yan Feizhuo agree to act as his ally, and they settled on calling each other “Brother Ah-Zhuo” and “Niannian.”
• Director Ren sent the eleven guests into Evernight Sky to complete attraction check-in tasks for Heart-Pounding Badges.
• Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo chose the giant pendulum ride, where they encountered Jiang Shu and He Gu and learned that the task required a photo together.
• Sheng Nian enjoyed the ride and submitted a cheerful photo with Yan Feizhuo, while Jiang Shu and He Gu submitted a more intimate picture.
• The staff awarded Jiang Shu and He Gu three badges and Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo two, prompting Yan Feizhuo to explain that intimate photos earned more badges.

Sheng Nian pretended to be jealous of Jiang Shu and He Gu’s hand-holding, forcing He Gu to insist they were only friends while the livestream viewers speculated about the tangled relationships. After Yan Feizhuo led Sheng Nian away, Sheng Nian gained a major increase in Male Supporting Character Self-Salvation Progress.

• Sheng Nian suspected the OOC warning came from his failure to react to Jiang Shu and He Gu’s photo, so he pretended to be hurt by their hand-holding.
• Sheng Nian bluntly asked He Gu whether he liked Jiang Shu, and He Gu insisted that they were only good friends.
• Jiang Shu’s fans flocked to He Gu’s livestream to accuse him of hiding romantic intentions, while Star Network users began investigating the trio’s relationships.
• He Gu pulled Jiang Shu away, and Yan Feizhuo led the pretending-to-be-sad Sheng Nian toward the next task.
• Sheng Nian received 2% Male Supporting Character Self-Salvation Progress and 200 System Coins, bringing his progress to 2.4%.

Yan Feizhuo and Sheng Nian went to the Roller Coaster for their next check-in, where Tang Jiang disrupted their mission by taking the seat beside Sheng Nian. After the ride, they learned Tang Jiang’s sabotage mission had earned her a Matchmaker Badge and barred them from earning a Heart-Pounding Badge there, so Yan Feizhuo led Sheng Nian toward their next mission.

• Yan Feizhuo chose the Roller Coaster as their next check-in attraction, and he stopped Sheng Nian from sniffing Tang Jiang’s pheromones before covering her scent with his own.
• Tang Jiang teased Sheng Nian, then took the seat beside him on the Roller Coaster, leaving Yan Feizhuo to sit beside her instead.
• Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo rode the Roller Coaster, but Tang Jiang ran off as soon as it stopped.
• Yan Feizhuo and Sheng Nian learned Tang Jiang had completed her solo sabotage mission and earned a Matchmaker Badge, preventing them from earning a Heart-Pounding Badge at the attraction.
• Yan Feizhuo took Sheng Nian to the next mission check-in point.

Yan Feizhuo and Sheng Nian joined Mo Yuanyuan and Qi Xiao for a couples’ go-kart task, then raced together around the track. After Yan Feizhuo’s driving left Sheng Nian unexpectedly captivated, the group agreed to race another lap for fun.

• Mo Yuanyuan explained that the go-kart task required two couples and that the rules involved showing their partners their hormones.
• The staff told the four participants they had to race in two-seater karts and placed judging wristbands on Sheng Nian and Mo Yuanyuan.
• Yan Feizhuo and Qi Xiao raced closely until Yan Feizhuo drifted around a bend and pulled ahead with Sheng Nian in the passenger seat.
• Sheng Nian became enthralled by Yan Feizhuo’s focused driving, and Yan Feizhuo’s kart reached the finish line first.
• After Qi Xiao and Mo Yuanyuan finished, Mo Yuanyuan invited everyone to race another lap, and Yan Feizhuo and Qi Xiao agreed.

Sheng Nian and Mo Yuanyuan completed the amusement park task with Qi Xiao and Yan Feizhuo, earning five Heart-Pounding Badges each. Sheng Nian then raced a go-kart, broke Evernight Sky’s speed record, and ended the chapter trading praise with Yan Feizhuo.

• A staff member checked Sheng Nian and Mo Yuanyuan’s wristband data and awarded both pairs five Heart-Pounding Badges for completing the task.
• Yan Feizhuo noticed that each attraction had a five-badge limit, and Qi Xiao urged the group to aim for the maximum at every attraction.
• Sheng Nian chose a yellow go-kart and raced around the track at high speed, driving with bold precision.
• Sheng Nian finished in four minutes and twenty seconds, breaking Evernight Sky’s go-karting speed record.
• Sheng Nian showed off to Yan Feizhuo, who called him the best, and Sheng Nian praised Yan Feizhuo in return.

Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo completed a carousel photo task at Evernight Sky, trading playful photos and earning five Heart-Pounding Badges. Yan Feizhuo secretly recovered and saved the photos Sheng Nian had deleted before catching up with him.

• Yan Feizhuo chose the carousel as a relaxing attraction, and Sheng Nian posed on a white horse with a longsword.
• The carousel started unexpectedly, and Sheng Nian fell against the horse; he then deleted the embarrassing photos Yan Feizhuo had taken.
• Sheng Nian directed Yan Feizhuo to pose in the Pumpkin Carriage with a black scepter and took photos of him.
• Sheng Nian submitted their task, and the staff awarded Yan Feizhuo and Sheng Nian five Heart-Pounding Badges.
• A staff member offered Yan Feizhuo copies of Sheng Nian's deleted photos; Yan Feizhuo saved them, deleted the staff system's copies, and hurried after Sheng Nian.

Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo triggered an ice cream shop’s promotional photo task and decided to complete it for a Heart-Pounding Badge. Sheng Nian’s plan turned the sweet reference pose into a tense, possessive-looking scene, and the manager approved the striking photos.

• Sheng Nian realized he had left his Light Brain by the go-karts, so Yan Feizhuo paid for his ice cream and sent his assistant to retrieve it.
• The ice cream shop employee announced a Heart-Pounding Surprise Task, and Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo accepted a promotional photo shoot for a badge and free ice cream.
• Sheng Nian worried that his feelings for Jiang Shu would make a loving pose with Yan Feizhuo seem out of character, so he secretly instructed Yan Feizhuo how to act.
• Sheng Nian posed with ice cream at the corner of his mouth, and Yan Feizhuo gripped his chin, wiped it away, and licked his thumb while the cameras captured the scene.
• The manager approved the photos despite their unexpectedly forceful atmosphere, and Yan Feizhuo accepted the praise.

Sheng Nian and Yan Feizhuo completed increasingly intimate ice-cream photo poses while pretending to act out the sample scenes. When Jiang Shu and He Gu arrived, the final pose became a silent romantic showdown as Sheng Nian stared at Jiang Shu and Yan Feizhuo glared at him.

• Yan Feizhuo pulled Sheng Nian into an embrace for the second photo, gripping his chin until the photographer finished; afterward, he apologized and gave Sheng Nian a warm handkerchief for the red marks.
• Sheng Nian greeted Jiang Shu and He Gu, while inwardly calling them pests, and explained that buying ice cream had triggered the surprise task.
• He Gu expected Sheng Nian to resist the intimate third pose, while Jiang Shu watched with a dark expression.
• Yan Feizhuo held Sheng Nian close as they shared the balance-shaped ice-cream holder, and Sheng Nian reluctantly licked his ice cream while looking as though he might cry.
• Yan Feizhuo ate from Sheng Nian’s ice cream and fixed Jiang Shu with a provocative stare as the livestream viewers reacted to their apparent rivalry.