Could Gu Yichen be a live-in son-in-law?
Did his hospitals all come from his wife?
Su Mian sighed inwardly.
Other people transmigrated into books and at least knew the plot and characters, which made completing missions a little easier.
But her? She had transmigrated into a post only a few thousand words long.
From beginning to end, that viral post had conveyed just two things:
How horribly the gold-digging Su Mian was tormented by the men.
How deeply the men loved Fang Nuonuo, who was as unassuming as a chrysanthemum.
Its descriptions of the other guests were all vague, leaving her with no information now.
Still, this "live-in son-in-law" angle was worth digging into.
The production team finished handing out today's living allowance.
The host announced the next part of the schedule:
"The island we're on is beautiful, a sacred dating spot for many couples. There are also plenty of trendy shops on the island for you to explore."
"This afternoon is free time. You can pair up with a guest you're interested in, or head out alone."
"Our camera operators will blend in with passersby to film you!"
In other words, the afternoon was purely for dates, with no more heart-pounding competitions.
Before coming to the island, Su Mian had looked up information about it.
There were also plenty of rich second-generation heirs' villas and yachts on this island.
Su Mian planned to take Duan Xuanyu to the shore to help him learn about modern shipbuilding technology.
When he returned to Northern Liang someday, he could develop a navy and wage war at sea.
Su Mian glanced at Duan Xuanyu and took the lead.
Duan Xuanyu immediately followed.
[Oh my god, Su Mian summoned Tyrant Bro with just one look?]
[Have you noticed that the portrait of Empress Lady Su in the history books really does look a bit like Su Mian?]
[The emperor-empress ship! I ship it!]
[Are you people okay? Are you all paid trolls Su Mian hired? Those two have barely exchanged a few words on this dating show! Unlike our Nuonuo and Lin Xi, who looked like a real married couple during this morning's task! I think every male guest on this show came for Goddess Nuonuo!]
[Uh... even though Duan Xuanyu and Su Mian never get paired up in the draws and barely interact, for some reason I can just see the chemistry!]
Backstage, Lu Zhou monitored the live discussion, his face darker than the bottom of a wok.
He had already sunk plenty of money into promoting Fang Nuonuo's pairings with the other two male guests.
Yet they still couldn't generate as much discussion as Su Mian and Duan Xuanyu!
Lu Zhou enlarged the thousand-year-old portrait of the emperor and empress on his phone.
He didn't know whether it was all in his head, but he too felt that the woman in the painting looked a little like Su Mian.
Lu Zhou gripped his phone tightly, his heart aching with pent-up pressure.
Su Mian, who gave you permission to have a marriage destined in a past life with another man?
Who gave you permission to promote a ship with another man right after breaking up with me?
Lu Zhou took a deep breath, opened his chat with Su Mian, and impulsively typed a message.
"Su Mian, I'm laying my cards on the table. I'm actually the rich man you've been looking for. I'll give you one more chance. As long as you apologize properly, I'm still willing to forgive you."
The moment he sent the message, the other side responded.
With a red exclamation mark.
She had actually deleted him!
Lu Zhou was so furious that he hurled his phone!
Su Mian, fine. You're really something!
You'll never get another chance to regret this!
By the beach.
"Achoo!" Su Mian rubbed her nose.
Duan Xuanyu had been watching the ships by the shore, intent on learning everything about the modern world.
The moment he heard her sneeze, Duan Xuanyu turned to her, his eyes full of worry.
Was the sea breeze too strong? Had she caught a cold?
Duan Xuanyu very much wanted to take off his shirt for her, but then he himself would be bare.
Still, he glanced around the beach.
Plenty of men weren't wearing shirts.
This must be a custom of this era. When entering a village, follow its customs.
So Duan Xuanyu walked over to Su Mian and began unbuttoning his shirt.
With his perfect pecs halfway exposed, Su Mian grabbed his hand. "Hey, don't do that! Not here!"
At the same time, the heart-rate monitor on Su Mian's wrist began beeping!
[I'm dying. Sister Mian's heart rate finally went up! A hot guy's half-hidden pecs really are lethal!]
[Aaaah, what a beautiful body! A male bodhisattva!]
[Su Mian, I suggest you appreciate what you're being offered! Move your hand!]
[Who says heroes have to stand in the light? He can stand there naked too! Take it off, take it off!]
Su Mian hurriedly silenced her monitor, inwardly cursing herself for being so hopeless.
Ah! Back when she had first transmigrated to ancient times, the system had told her to win Duan Xuanyu over.
Su Mian: "Impossible. Even if I die in ancient times, I'll never try to win a man over."
Later, she saw him at seventeen, imprisoned in an arena by the ruler of an enemy nation, fighting a tiger.
The boy was drenched in blood, his clothes torn apart by the tiger to reveal his wounded body, lean and full of strength. At death's door, he drove half an arrow into the tiger's eye!
In the end, the battle-damaged young wolfdog turned the tables and killed the vicious tiger!
Even now, thinking about that sexual tension made Su Mian's heart race.
That very day, she entered into a strategic partnership with the system.
After some hard work, she finally got to touch his abs.
Then she won him over.
And she wasn't stopping him from taking off his shirt now because she was stingy and unwilling to share a look at her husband with her sisters in the audience.
It was because he had so many scars...
A modern person with that many scars would inevitably arouse suspicion and debate.
After all, a transmigrator from ancient times was as rare as an alien. They still needed to conceal his identity.
Su Mian buttoned his shirt back up, one button at a time.
Duan Xuanyu looked down at her. "I thought you were cold."
Su Mian said, "I didn't sneeze because I was cold. I just keep feeling like someone's stalking me, constantly, constantly stalking me..."
Duan Xuanyu asked, "What does that mean?"
Su Mian said, "It's hard to explain."
Backstage, Lu Zhou's gaze grew even colder.
He reached out and gently stroked Su Mian's face through the screen.
"You're holding another man's hand now, even buttoning his shirt for him. Isn't it just because you know I must be watching, and you're deliberately doing this to get my attention?"
"Heh, Su Mian, keep pretending. Let's see how long you can keep it up!"
Outside the monitoring room, Lu Zhou's assistant saw this and was too frightened to go inside.
Ever since this show began airing, his boss had become increasingly abnormal.
He was either smashing things, cursing, or stroking the screen and talking to himself...
It was terrifying!
By the sea.
Once that little interlude ended, Su Mian let Duan Xuanyu go look at the ships on his own.
She planned to buy something to drink at the little shop.
Just as she got close, she suddenly noticed Gu Yichen standing nearby, talking to a middle-aged man and woman.
The middle-aged pair were both dressed casually, as though they had come to enjoy the seaside.
But the woman wore a stern expression, her arms folded across her chest as she stared expressionlessly into the distance.
The man's face was full of irritation, and he rattled on without stopping.
Gu Yichen stood between them, saying a few words to one, then a few to the other.
Su Mian clapped her hands. What a coincidence!
She would go have a look. Maybe she could find a shortcut to farming Gu Yichen's Disgust Points!
One of the show's nearby camera operators quietly followed her.
As soon as Su Mian approached, she heard Gu Yichen earnestly advising the middle-aged woman, "Mom, although Dad is only a live-in son-in-law of the Gu family, he's still your husband. You can't treat him like this."
Only then did Su Mian understand.
No wonder he had felt disgust the moment she mentioned parents-in-law brutally tormenting a live-in son-in-law.
So his dad was a live-in son-in-law!