Your son is in my hands

"You're filthy."

Ye Yizhou's disgust was written all over his face.

"Whimper, whimper."

The puppy gave two aggrieved whimpers but obediently jumped down and lay at Ye Yizhou's feet, wagging its tail forlornly.

[LMAO, who was saying Ye Yizhou was trying to cultivate a dog-lover persona just now?]

[Same look of disgust here. If my dog came over for cuddles covered in dirt after playing outside, absolutely not.]

[Ye Yizhou looks seriously badass with that cold face. He's like a completely different person from the airheaded beauty he used to be.]

The interaction between Ye Yizhou and the puppy struck a chord with plenty of viewers. Most were laughing, which diluted some of the hostility in the comments.

"Are you going to bring the dog on the show?"

Director Ji asked uncertainly.

That single question from Director Ji turned everyone's attention to Ye Yizhou.

"Why would I bring a dog on the show?"

Slightly puzzled, Ye Yizhou answered Director Ji's question. "The Red Thread of Love, with a dog tied to the other end of the thread. Do you think that's appropriate?"

Director Ji: um...

That did seem a little odd when he pictured it.

"Then what about the puppy?" Director Ji asked again.

"Take it home. What else?"

Ye Yizhou glanced down at the dog nestled obediently at his feet before looking up at Director Ji. "I'm not even close to it."

"Huh?"

Was he serious?

Everyone had the same question.

The practiced way he'd scolded the puppy just now, and how obedient the puppy had been-this was what he called not being close?

It was so ridiculous that even the puppy itself would have thought so.

As though it understood, the dog looked up at him in confusion.

Director Ji was at a loss. "Then where do we take it?"

"That is a problem."

Ye Yizhou pursed his lips, looked out the window, then glanced down at the dog again. "Fugui, how about running home yourself? I'll skip taking you back."

Fugui tilted his head. ?? Was that something a human would say?

"Didn't someone just say his friend lives here? Now he doesn't even know where to take the dog. Some people really do love putting on an act!"

Zhong Xi glanced at Ye Yizhou before looking away, his voice heavy with mockery.

That remark immediately steered the comments.

[Leave it to Director Ji. One question and Ye Yizhou's whole persona falls apart.]

[These nobodies love stirring up trouble. There's no low they won't sink to for attention.]

[All Ye Yizhou can do is fake a persona and show off. He even mocked our Xixi for not having rich friends. Poor Xixi.]

[I don't get you people. One minute you're calling him an industry plant, the next he's a nobody. Can you pick one?]

Ignoring Zhong Xi's snide remarks, Ye Yizhou took out his phone and made a call.

"Putting on an act," Zhong Xi grumbled irritably.

"Hello."

"Your son is in my hands. What are you going to do about it?"

Ye Yizhou's voice held little emotion, and combined with what he said, it gave him something of a kidnapper's air.

"He probably snuck out of the house to play. He nearly ran into my car."

At the mention of this, Ye Yizhou couldn't help lowering his gaze to give the dog a cold look.

Fugui turned his face away, looking a little guilty.

"After things fell apart between you and your husband, how did you split custody again? Who's responsible for him today? You or him?"

Ye Yizhou really couldn't remember those details, and the two of them each had a villa here, which was why he'd spent so long thinking earlier.

Whatever he heard, the corners of Ye Yizhou's mouth lifted, and he chuckled. "All right. I'll send you the address in a bit."

Only after hanging up did Ye Yizhou tell Director Ji, "We'll take him along for now. His mom will come pick him up soon."

"You really can act." Zhong Xi seemed determined to clash with Ye Yizhou.

Unexpectedly, Ye Yizhou smiled. "Thanks for the compliment."

Zhong Xi: ...

He seriously hadn't been complimenting Ye Yizhou!

Fortunately, the strange atmosphere didn't last long before the minibus stopped in front of a three-story villa.

Everyone took their suitcases and filed into the villa, switching into sightseeing mode.

"Wow, this villa is gorgeous!"

Jiang Chuyu couldn't help exclaiming.

Li Chonghua nodded in agreement. "Of course it is. Land here is worth its weight in gold. It's not just expensive-even having the money doesn't guarantee you can buy a place."

Simply put, the people who could live here were generally either rich or powerful.

Ye Yizhou unfastened Fugui's collar and patted his head. "Go play in the garden. Don't run off again, or I'll break your legs. Understood?"

Fugui actually nodded.

"Go on."

At Ye Yizhou's command, Fugui shot off like a mad dog let loose, truly incapable of staying still for even a moment.

While everyone was enthusiastically exploring and admiring the villa inside and out, Ye Yizhou had long since settled lazily onto the couch to play a game.

"Yizhou, why didn't you come look around with us?"

As everyone returned to the living room one after another, Jiang Chuyu asked curiously, seeing that Ye Yizhou had broken away from the group from the outset to stay there.

Since this was a livestream, there was currently only one camera, which naturally followed the guests. With this move, Ye Yizhou had immediately lost all screen time.

Wasn't the whole point of going on a variety show to get more screen time and exposure?

Ye Yizhou's behavior was rather baffling.

"Not interested. Nothing special. Not as interesting as my game." Ye Yizhou looked up at Jiang Chuyu, answered his question sincerely, then lowered his head to keep playing.

The other guests gave Ye Yizhou meaningful looks.

Naturally, some thought this series of actions and remarks from Ye Yizhou was pretentious, a deliberate attempt to stand out and generate buzz. Nobodies certainly had plenty of tricks.

"Ahem, ahem."

Director Ji cleared his throat.

Ye Yizhou's fingers flew across his phone screen. He didn't even look up.

"Ahem, ahem." Director Ji cleared his throat again.

Only then did Ye Yizhou look up at Director Ji in puzzlement. "You're coughing that much. If you're sick, go see a doctor."

"Thanks for your concern. Put your phone away for now." Director Ji had no choice but to spell it out.

"Oh."

Ye Yizhou obediently put his phone away. "Sorry."

"First, welcome to The Red Thread of Love, all seven of you."

"Clap, clap, clap." Ye Yizhou applauded enthusiastically. The other guests exchanged looks before belatedly joining in.

Yet they were all a little confused. Was this how it was supposed to go?

"This time, we'll split into three couples. The show will have ten episodes, each livestreamed over three days. Each episode will have a theme to explore whether a red thread of love connects you. We'll use state-of-the-art scientific equipment to measure emotional indicators such as heart rate, joy, sadness, and jealousy, providing the most direct reflection of your emotions during your interactions."

Director Ji gave a concise explanation of the dating show's format. It was a novel approach, but another key point in what he'd just said drew even more attention.

"If there are three couples, what about Ye Yizhou?"

After Director Ji finished explaining the rules, Pei Lan looked at Ye Yizhou and blurted out the question.

Ye Yizhou gave a sly smile, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Who said I couldn't be part of one of those three couples?"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

This differed from both the invitations they had initially received and what had been said at the show's promotional presentation before the broadcast.

Hadn't the production team invited them to participate together precisely because their existing pairings were popular?

Most of the show's viewers were fans of those pairings. Forcibly splitting them up into new couples or forcing romantic clashes could easily upset those fans, which would do the production team no good.

The guests all turned to Director Ji, waiting for his answer.

The fans in the livestream could no longer hold back and began cursing the production team and Ye Yizhou, sending the stream's popularity soaring in an instant.