[If I remember correctly, Ye Qingzhou landed a male-led drama in his very first year after debuting. The director was so famous in the entertainment industry that plenty of stars were willing to work with him for free, but he chose Ye Qingzhou instead. During filming, Ye Qingzhou had a fierce disagreement with the director over the male lead's characterization. They argued for half an hour and ended up trending. In the end, the director gave in, backed down, and agreed to let Ye Qingzhou interpret the role his way. Only then was the matter settled... Ye Qingzhou, take a good look at yourself. What do you have to do with the word "obedient"?]
[Is it just me? Why does Ye Qingzhou seem especially well-behaved around Chu Ci? "Well-behaved" might not be quite the right word to describe him, but my gut tells me that when Ye Qingzhou said he'd "listen" just now, he meant it.]
[Ye Qingzhou, if you're going to talk like that, I'm going to start shipping you two.]
[Whoa, has nobody noticed how lovestruck Ye Qingzhou looks when he gazes at Chu Ci?]
[If I had to choose between Li Muting, Bai Zihan, and Chu Ci as Ye Qingzhou's romantic partner, I'd pick Chu Ci.]
[Another vote for Chu Ci. At least Chu Ci is a man...]
Chu Ci stood frozen, not because Ye Qingzhou's gaze was so tender and lingering, but because... Mind Reading seemed to have stopped working.
He could not see into Ye Qingzhou's thoughts at all.
"Have you made up your mind, Mr. Chu?"
Ye Qingzhou raised his eyebrows slightly, his voice carrying a smile.
Chu Ci and Ye Qingzhou met each other's eyes for another three seconds.
The Let's Fall in Love sign was right behind him. To enhance the romantic atmosphere, the production team had prepared plenty of sweet love songs. As Chu Ci and Ye Qingzhou looked into each other's eyes, the playlist happened to reach "With You."
"I want to see the most beautiful scenery with you, watch the longest movie, listen to moving melodies. It's because of you, oh, I'll stay with you into the next century. How lucky that would be."
Those lyrics kept echoing around the set.
[Whoa, that eye contact is so sweet.]
[Aaaaaah, the production team's background music is perfect!]
[! Does anyone get it?! The atmosphere between them is so harmonious!]
Chu Ci fell silent for a few seconds.
Actually, compared with the inscrutable Ye Qingzhou, he was more inclined to choose Zhou Ze. After all, Zhou Ze wanted the same thing he did.
But... looking at the pleading in Ye Qingzhou's peach-blossom eyes, Chu Ci found the words of refusal stuck firmly in his throat.
Forget it.
Working with anyone is still working with someone.
"...All right."
"Thank you, Mr. Chu."
A faint, gentle smile spread from the corners of Ye Qingzhou's eyes, and his lips curved slightly upward. Anyone could see his good mood.
[Who exactly is this Chu Ci? Is partnering with him really enough to make Ye Qingzhou this happy?]
[I specifically looked Chu Ci up on Baidu, but I didn't find anything outstanding about him. He doesn't even have a signature work worth mentioning. Why does Ye Qingzhou treat him differently?]
[...Can you all stop overthinking it? The director made it very clear earlier that partnering with Chu Ci meant getting a head start. Isn't it perfectly normal for Ye Qingzhou to want to work with Chu Ci so the later tasks will go smoothly?]
[But this variety show is supposed to be a dating show. Don't you think it's strange for two men to be "romantic partners" on a dating show? I've watched at least a dozen dating shows over the years, and this is my first time seeing two men paired up on one...]
The director noticed this as well.
There was no precedent for two men partnering up on a dating show, but things had already reached this point. Asking any of the guests to leave would be inappropriate, so the director could only turn a blind eye.
"Congratulations to Chu Ci and Ye Qingzhou on becoming partners."
According to the original order of the winners, Ye Qingzhou should have been the second to choose a partner, but since he had already teamed up with Chu Ci, the turn passed to Zhou Jin.
"I choose Li Muting."
Zhou Jin and Li Muting belonged to the same company, and their manager hoped Zhou Jin would look after her during filming.
The remaining Bai Zihan and Zhou Ze automatically became a pair.
"Each team, please send a representative to draw lots."
Once the guests had formed their teams, it was time to draw lots.
The production team had prepared three slips of paper marked "hard," "medium," and "easy," each corresponding to their final task.
"You go."
Chu Ci had never had much luck, even as a child.
When he heard the director ask them to send a representative to draw lots, he instinctively handed the task to Ye Qingzhou.
"I'm not lucky at drawing lots."
Ye Qingzhou told him honestly.
"It's fine."
Seeing how nervous Ye Qingzhou was, Chu Ci reassured him gently, "Whatever you draw, the outcome will be the same."
There were two ways to obtain funds: completing tasks and stealing.
Chu Ci did not know what tasks the production team had prepared, but he was confident he could steal the others' money.
The only difference between drawing "hard" and drawing "easy" was that the former would take longer.
The outcome would be the same.
Chu Ci was confident he could lead Ye Qingzhou to victory.
[? Where does Chu Ci get that confidence?]
[...Do you really not get Chu Ci? Put simply, what he said means, "Whatever happens, I'll have your back." You're always talking about how handsome Ye Qingzhou is and how gently he looks at Chu Ci, but I actually think Chu Ci is more charming than Ye Qingzhou.]
[I think so too. Chu Ci looks at Ye Qingzhou so gently, as if he'll support Ye Qingzhou no matter what happens.]
[Good news: I found a ship I like on a dating show.
Bad news: They're both men.]
The name "Chu Ci" appeared more and more frequently in the bullet comments.
Unlike the overwhelmingly negative comments when filming first began, voices supporting Chu Ci gradually appeared among the bullet comments.
"All right."
Hearing that, Ye Qingzhou did not decline again.
He picked a slip at random and slowly unfolded it in front of the camera.
It said "hard."
Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci's task for the day was to earn 500 yuan.
The second pair to draw was Zhou Jin and Li Muting.
They drew "easy" and needed to earn 200 yuan.
Zhou Ze and Bai Zihan got "medium" and needed to earn 300 yuan.
[Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci went from having an advantage to being at a disadvantage in an instant. Even with Chu Ci's starting funds of 100 yuan, they still have to earn another 400.]
[Zhou Jin and Li Muting have a really good chance of winning. After all, they only need to earn 200 yuan...]
[Have you forgotten that "stealing" is also part of the game? I think the other two teams might form a temporary alliance and steal the money Zhou Jin and Li Muting earn.]