Would They Fight?

"...Young Master Xie and Teacher Mu Ze."

The guests looked at the two of them, their expressions more or less complicated.

They truly knew nothing about the funeral industry and had never expected the pay to be so high.

In the livestream chat.

[Wait, is the funeral industry really that profitable now?]

[How much exactly? Show us the figures.]

[Isn't there something shady going on? I'd believe it if Heavenly Queen Tan and Teacher Zhang came first. Bars do pay really well, after all.]

[It's a little hard to believe. They barely sold anything in three days, so how did they come first?]

[Do you think the funeral shop owner deliberately paid them extra?]

Teacher He received Director Ma's instructions. "You must all be curious why Teacher Xie and Teacher Mu Ze came first, right?"

"A lot of viewers have questions too, so let's show everyone the pay slips and the specifics."

A staff member handed Teacher He four sheets of white paper.

Teacher He held the four sheets up to the camera in turn. The cameraman zoomed in, displaying the detailed figures on all four sheets in the livestream.

The first sheet contained a detailed record of the orders Wang Zihua and Liu Yan had taken over the past three days.

Over those three days, Wang Zihua had made twenty food deliveries. Liu Yan had made a few more, twenty-five.

Their combined pay was only five hundred yuan.

The second sheet belonged to Su Wanyue and Gu Yanzhou. They had worked as kindergarten teachers, and although it was a private kindergarten whose children came from fairly wealthy families, the kindergarten had paid them a hundred yuan a day, for a total of six hundred yuan.

The third sheet was Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue's. Their pay was calculated by the number of songs they sang. They had sung around fifteen songs over two days, plus the five the production team had made up for, bringing the total to twenty.

The bar paid a very high rate of a hundred yuan per song, totaling two thousand yuan.

Last came Xie Yuan and Mu Ze. Old Yuan had also included Xiang Qing's order from the first day.

There had been eight orders altogether, with different commissions for different orders. In the end, the two of them had earned a total of three thousand yuan.

The guests were all a little surprised by the high unit prices of the paper funeral offerings.

The livestream chat was even more animated.

[That really came out of nowhere. I never thought things in a funeral shop would have such high unit prices.]

[I'm not surprised at all that Young Master Wang and Liu Yan came last. But Young Master Xie earning that much really surprised me.]

[This is probably the lowest rate Heavenly Queen Tan has ever sung for.]

[Are these prices really reasonable?]

[Is a funeral shop really that profitable? Didn't that old man deliberately pay them extra?]

[If there's nothing shady going on, I'll eat shit while doing a handstand.]

[Reported. Someone here is trying to score a free meal.]

Controversy brought attention, and the livestream soon gained quite a few viewers.

Director Ma looked smug as he watched the numbers climb.

The Deputy Director said, "Director Ma, won't it affect the show if we keep ignoring the comments?"

Director Ma waved a hand. "Leave them alone. We're open and fair, and we haven't favored anyone. What is there to fear?"

Inside the villa, Xie Yuan was also somewhat surprised by the result.

In the original novel, the male and female leads had come first.

Because Su Wanyue had saved a child at the kindergarten, the kindergarten had given her a ten-thousand-yuan reward. That had counted toward their pay too, which was how they had taken first place.

Now, because he had sent someone to beat her to it, the two of them hadn't received the reward, so naturally first place had nothing to do with them.

Su Wanyue wore a smile, her voice gentle. "Young Master Xie, congratulations on coming first."

"You must have sold quite a lot these past few days. That's impressive."

At those words, the other guests all looked curiously at the two of them.

The funeral industry was too obscure, and they rarely encountered it in their daily lives. They all wanted to know whether it really was that profitable.

Xie Yuan gave Su Wanyue a look. "We didn't sell much. The livestream viewers supported me and placed quite a few orders."

Indeed, most of the orders had come from livestream viewers.

Su Wanyue hesitated. After a long while, she lowered her voice. "The viewers really do like you, Young Master Xie. But does that count as cheating?"

She covered her mouth in alarm and looked at Xie Yuan as she explained, "Teacher Xie, that isn't what I meant."

"I just..." She cautiously glanced at the other guests.

Xie Yuan leaned back against the sofa. "Just speak your mind without thinking? Is that what you're trying to say, Teacher Su?"

Su Wanyue looked to Gu Yanzhou for help, then stood and bowed to Xie Yuan in apology. "Teacher Xie, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Xie Yuan ignored him, merely sweeping his gaze over the other three pairs of guests.

Gu Yanzhou's eyes held trust.

Wang Zihua looked thoughtful.

Liu Yan was calm, revealing no emotion.

Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue both looked ready to enjoy the show.

Mu Ze? He appeared to be looking ahead, but in fact, his gaze kept drifting toward Xie Yuan out of the corner of his eye.

Of the eight guests, two were suspicious.

Xie Yuan raised a hand. "Stop right there. I'm not the one you should apologize to. The production team is."

"The production team can tell whether it's cheating."

"It's a shop. No matter what channel an order comes through, it's legitimate."

"If you think I'm cheating, you can ask President Gu to raise the kindergarten teachers' pay in the Gu Group's name."

Her eyes misty with tears, Su Wanyue bowed to the camera. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to."

Teacher He wore a professional smile. "It's all right. The director and the production team know you're kindhearted and speak your mind, Teacher Su. They won't blame you."

Su Wanyue bit her lip and sat back down on the sofa.

Gu Yanzhou took the opportunity to move closer and comfort her.

Teacher He glanced at the two of them. "As everyone knows, this is a dating show."

"After spending four days together, you should all have gotten to know one another somewhat."

"In the interest of fairness, the production team will give you another chance to choose your partners tomorrow."

"You can all give it some thought when you head back tonight. See you tomorrow."

For a moment, the guests in the living room exchanged looks.

Wang Zihua glanced toward Su Wanyue.

Gu Yanzhou shifted warily, shielding Su Wanyue behind him.

Wang Zihua bared his teeth at the two of them, stood, and left the living room first.

Liu Yan also got up and left.

The moment Xie Yuan stood, Mu Ze immediately stood up after him.

Tan Yaya and Zhang Jue left afterward as well, leaving only Su Wanyue and Gu Yanzhou in the living room.

In the livestream chat.

[The production team is stirring things up. The dating show only lasts five days, and they're letting the guests switch partners on the last day. They sure know how to play.]

[Why am I kind of looking forward to this? Will the guests get into a fight?]

[No chance of a fight. With the way Young Master Xie and Mu Ze are, who could get between them?]

[President Gu came here for Yueyue.]

[Heavenly Queen Tan and Zhang Jue are a good match too. They probably won't switch, right?]

[So what's the point of switching partners? Three pairs are basically settled already.]

[We might get two people fighting over one person.]

As the viewers waited for the drama, the guests carried their own thoughts into the next day.

That morning, after breakfast, Teacher He appeared in the villa's courtyard on time.

Teacher He teased, "It looks like you all slept very well. I thought you'd all have trouble sleeping."

Tan Yaya gave a faint smile. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Teacher He. I slept straight through until morning without a single dream."

Teacher He wasn't disappointed either. "Then please give the rose in your hand to the guest you like."

"Only if they accept it and give you their own rose in return will you count as successfully paired."

Each of the eight guests held a rose.