Qu Rou, who had been leisurely applying a face mask in the upstairs bedroom, was also brought to her feet by a phone call.
At that moment, Qu Rou's beautiful face looked especially twisted. She gripped the phone in her hand so tightly that she wished she could crush it.
Qu Rou simply threw on a coat, put on a mask, and hurried out of the villa.
Meanwhile, Yun Xi's manager had just gotten off the plane when the phone in his pocket began vibrating wildly again. Frowning, he opened his phone. When he saw the update his colleague had sent, his fist clenched.
Back in the villa, Xu Wang returned to the room to find Pei Yanchuan sitting blankly on the bed. He seemed to still be waking up, his right hand resting lightly on the spot where Xu Wang had been sleeping.
Hearing the door open, he raised his head dazedly.
"Xiaowang?"
"You're awake. Are you hungry?" Xu Wang sat down beside Pei Yanchuan.
Pei Yanchuan rested his head on Xu Wang's shoulder. "Not really. Where did you go just now?"
Perhaps because Pei Yanchuan had just woken up, his voice lacked its usual stiffness and was soft instead.
"Something huge happened while I was out." Xu Wang vividly acted out what had just happened for Pei Yanchuan, laughing before he could finish whenever he reached a funny part.
Pei Yanchuan was like a quiet, devoted listener, his gaze fixed on the lively, animated Xu Wang before him, his eyes full of tenderness.
"The director probably wants to chop them up by now." Xu Wang could already imagine the director going berserk.
Things were indeed just as Xu Wang imagined. The director had been all smiles as he discussed the venue arrangements, but the next moment, he saw the assistant director rushing toward him again, phone in hand.
At the sight, the director instinctively dropped his smile, turned around, and tried to run.
"Boss, don't run! Something huge happened!" Reacting quickly, the assistant director lunged forward, landed flat on the beach, and wrapped both hands squarely around his boss's thigh.
"This had better still be good news this time." The director turned and looked down, speaking through gritted teeth.
"It isn't." The assistant director shook his head.
"Then I'm not listening. I'm not listening." The director covered his ears in refusal.
The assistant director raised the hand holding his phone and shoved it right in front of the director's face.
As the director stared at the screen in front of him, he gradually turned to stone, then shattered into tiny pieces.
What the hell was all this?!
The director was still quick to react. After his anger passed, he immediately issued a statement: he would definitely pursue contractual penalties against the two of them.
By the time Pei Yanchuan and Xu Wang came out of the bedroom, the production crew had returned.
"President Pei, Teacher Xu." The director briefly greeted Pei Yanchuan and Xu Wang before hurrying upstairs.
The other pairs of guests came downstairs then, too.
Zhong Ran had already gotten the full scoop upstairs. His manager had told him to stay out of the matter as much as possible.
Qin Huai had also heard the news already. "The truth always comes out."
Gu Yunlan nodded in agreement. The couple had debuted before him, and when Gu Yunlan had only just started making a name for himself, their careers had been flourishing. Who would have thought they were so wild in private?
"Wait, how come all of you know?" Xia Yu looked completely bewildered.
Hou Yunqi soothingly stroked his husband's hair.
Online, the gossip about Zheng Weiguang and the other two kept coming.
Tian Xiaowu currently had the fewest scandals. Aside from dumping her boyfriend to get together with Zheng Weiguang, there were no other major revelations about her.
The scandals surrounding Zheng Weiguang and Qu Rou were huge. Industry insiders, outsiders, and fans were all exposing them. Not a single revelation was minor; they were all bombshells, too many to keep up with.
The comments section had gone from anger to exhaustion.
[Oh my god, how many is that now, everyone?]
[Are you asking about the man or the woman?]
[The man's tenth victim has come forward, and the woman's eighth victim has come forward. (Taking notes)]
[Wait, are these two master time managers? Several of these timelines overlap.]
[Will these scandals ever end?]
[Those two are seriously disgusting.]
Watching the situation continue to escalate online, the three's agencies decisively abandoned them. Many brands took the three straight to court, and they were now saddled with enormous contractual penalties.
The director stayed up all night dealing with the online fallout.
The next day, the show went live as usual.
At nearly five in the morning, just as the sky began to brighten, the show's livestream quietly started.
Because the broadcast had started relatively early, there were only a few tens of thousands of viewers.
[What's going on? Why is my dating show live so early?]
[Good thing I got up early, or I would've missed it.]
[Thanks to my feline overlord for kicking me awake just now.]
[Wait, what are they doing now?]
[Let's see what happens first. Staring-]
The hallway was dim. The production staff walked up to a guest's door and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock...
Inside, Xu Wang was wrapped around Pei Yanchuan. At the sound of knocking, his previously peaceful expression creased slightly.
Pei Yanchuan's eyes opened alertly. He gently adjusted the arm draped across his chest and the thigh slung over his waist.
Wearing pajamas that matched Xu Wang's, Pei Yanchuan got out of bed. He had only just reached the door and opened it when he saw a group of production staff crouching outside.
"Mr. Pei, please come with us for today's activity," the assistant director said with a smile.
One look was enough for Pei Yanchuan to know that the production team was up to something again.
Pei Yanchuan turned to glance at Xu Wang, who was lying spread-eagled on the bed, then nodded in agreement and gently closed the door with his right hand.
Using the same method, the production crew called out Leng Yifan, Gu Yunlan, and Hou Yunqi from the other pairs.
The four were taken to a room on the second floor.
The four sat on the sofa as the staff wheeled out a rack of cartoon mascot costumes.
The costumes included a fluffy bear, a adorably dopey bunny, a big-headed little frog, a handsome fox, and more.
"You can each choose whichever costume you like. Once you've put them on, our staff will take you to the location of today's activity."
"Please note that once you've put on your costumes, you must not make a single sound or any deliberate gestures. You can only speak once your partners find you on their own, confirm your identity, and put a heart sticker on you," the assistant director explained the rules of today's game.
Pei Yanchuan looked at the costumes before him and finally chose the fox.
Hou Yunqi chose the fluffy bear, Gu Yunlan chose the big-headed frog, and Leng Yifan chose the adorably dopey bunny.
The four were stunned when they arrived at their destination. The entire beach venue was filled with people in mascot costumes. The beach had not yet opened to visitors, and the rows of costumed figures standing before them were quite a sight.
[Whoa, the director really knows how to have fun!]
[It'll be hilarious if they pick the wrong one.]
[I was wondering why they went live so early! So this was what they had planned.]
[So many mascots! They've upped the difficulty.]
[Aaah, I regret it so much! I live right next door. If I'd known, I would've bought a ticket.]
[Hehe, I snagged one. (Smug) `(*∩_∩*)′]
Back at the villa, at six thirty, Xu Wang kept feeling around beside him.
"Yanchuan?"
"Hubby?"
"Pei Yanchuan!"
Xu Wang opened his eyes and saw the empty bed.
Xu Wang got out of bed and yawned.
Just as Xu Wang finished changing and opened the door, he came face-to-face with the others.
"Your partners are gone too?" Xu Wang instantly woke up.
Taking in the situation before him, Qin Huai immediately grew composed. "Looks like this was planned."
"Could Old Hou have been kidnapped?" Xia Yu's eyes widened.
"Then do we need to go find them?" Zhong Ran looked anxious.
Yun Xi leaned against the wall and yawned. Today's game probably didn't have much to do with him, right?
When they went downstairs, they saw several cameramen.
Neither the director nor the assistant director had appeared.
Xu Wang's sharp eyes spotted the envelopes on the table in front of the sofa.
Their names were written on the respective envelopes.
Xu Wang opened his envelope.
Dear Mr. Xu, we regret to inform you that your husband has fallen under a witch's curse and turned into a mascot. You must go to Starsea Bay, find the beloved who belongs to you alone, and rescue him. When you place this sticker representing love on him, he will tell you the answer.
(P.S. If you choose incorrectly, the witch will punish you: you will have to do 100 squats while carrying your partner bridal-style.)
Before you continue