The boisterous meal came to an end.
That afternoon, the production team announced some good news.
The other rooms on every floor of the villa had been opened up too.
The male and female guests no longer had to share rooms!
The dating show had actually designed that arrangement to create some iconic moments of romantic tension.
But this season, they hadn't managed a single one.
None of them seemed to be here to seriously date.
Who knew what they were here for?
They might as well give each guest a room.
The order for choosing rooms was still determined by how much money they currently had.
Su Mian was far ahead and chose the room with the best view.
Duan Xuanyu came next and chose the room beside hers.
Late that night.
The villa was utterly silent.
Fang Nuonuo hid in her room and called Lu Zhou.
As soon as the call connected, her voice took on a tearful quaver.
"President Lu, the show's almost halfway over, and my follower count has dropped to ten million. That's still ten times Su Mian's right now, but I feel so insecure. Boohoo, what am I supposed to do?"
Fang Nuonuo had said that deliberately.
She was afraid Lu Zhou would think she was useless.
So she had simply brought up the subject herself, with the key message being, "Even if my numbers drop, I still have ten times as many followers as Su Mian. You don't need to worry."
But to her surprise, Lu Zhou said gravely, "You should be worried. Su Mian may only have a million followers, but they're extremely loyal."
"And because those followers had low expectations of Su Mian from the start, they think it's normal no matter what outrageous things she does on the show."
Fang Nuonuo's expression darkened.
But her voice remained soft and gentle.
"What should I do, President Lu? Boohoo, the company's already signed me onto Director Zhang's movie, banking on me becoming a huge hit on this dating show. If I don't get popular, will Director Zhang replace his lead at the last minute?"
Lu Zhou sighed. "Tomorrow, the production team will arrange for the guests to go out and find ingredients. I've already had them prepare traps for you in advance to catch some. Make sure you perform well."
Fang Nuonuo sniffled. "Okay, President Lu. Good night, President Lu."
After putting down her phone, Fang Nuonuo finally felt reassured.
Those pampered young masters definitely wouldn't be able to catch a single ingredient.
All Su Mian could do was act crazy and play the fool.
Catching ingredients? Did she have the brains for that?
Filled with anticipation, Fang Nuonuo wished the next day would hurry up and arrive.
Then she could show off her intelligence and ability and completely turn her reputation around!
The next morning.
All the guests changed into the outdoor jackets the production team had prepared.
They also put on helmets and protective gear.
The host, Yin Xiaohong, asked, "Would everyone like to experience life as a prehistoric married couple?"
"..." No one answered.
Yin Xiaohong faced the camera. "Great! Looks like everyone's really looking forward to today's activity!"
"That's right! Today, you'll return to a simpler way of life and experience a day as a prehistoric married couple!"
"Since wild boars are running rampant on this island, you'll split into pairs to catch them."
"You mustn't harm piglets under thirty jin or pregnant sows. Any other boars can be taken away."
"If you catch a wild boar weighing over two hundred jin, you'll also receive a cash reward of three thousand yuan!"
"Please stay safe, everyone. Try to catch smaller wild boars around forty jin. You can eat them, and they won't hurt anyone! If you encounter a big wild boar, make sure you run away!"
After the host finished speaking, the production team gave everyone a gun that fired tranquilizer darts for self-defense.
[Sure enough, it's an amateur dating show. They don't treat amateurs' lives as lives at all!]
[Three thousand for anything over two hundred jin? Is that three thousand supposed to cover funeral expenses?]
[This activity looks dangerous, but in reality, it isn't safe at all.]
[I tried this activity before too. The boar and I had a three-seven split: it rammed me three times, and seven days later, they held my memorial.]
Next came another round of drawing lots to form pairs.
Su Mian was just about to reach into the box.
Duan Xuanyu suddenly spoke up. "Wait!"
Everyone turned to look at him in unison.
Duan Xuanyu stared at the staff member holding the box.
"Why is your fist clenched every time you bring out the box? Are you hiding another lot in your hand, deliberately keeping it out when Su Mian draws and only putting it in when someone else draws? That would make it so Su Mian could never draw one particular guest, wouldn't it?"
Wow, Su Mian exclaimed inwardly.
Duan Xuanyu's ability to adapt was truly impressive.
In just a few short days, he had already blended perfectly into modern life. Even his tone and manner of speaking no longer stood out so much, and he could even see through modern people's little tricks.
The staff member hurriedly looked at the director.
The director winked and nodded at him, signaling for him to put the lot in.
That was right. This was how they had been rigging it all along.
After all, the boss had given the order: under no circumstances were Duan Xuanyu and Su Mian allowed to be paired together.
But now their method had been seen through.
They couldn't keep pretending anymore.
The staff member gave an awkward smile and quickly put the lot in his palm back into the box. "No, no, nothing of the sort. You can check if you don't believe me."
Duan Xuanyu really did check.
He confirmed that all three male guests' names were inside.
Only then did Su Mian draw.
She took it out and looked: Duan Xuanyu.
Duan Xuanyu's expression barely changed. Only the slight upward curve at the corners of his eyes betrayed his happiness!
Exactly. He and his empress shared a bond bestowed by heaven. How could they fail to draw each other every time?
Someone really had been deliberately trying to split them up! They had rigged it on purpose!
[Tyrant Bro's happy again.]
[Wait! Guys, something's wrong! After Tyrant Bro pointed that out, I immediately went back and watched the previous draws in slow motion, frame by frame. The staff really were rigging them! They deliberately kept Su Mian from drawing Tyrant Bro!]
[LMAO, this show targets my Sister Mian at every turn, but she's still leveling up and slaying monsters all the way, earning the most money and landing the only product placement. Even the little assistant and the host have slowly become her fangirls, younger and older alike. Whoever's pulling strings behind the scenes, go ahead and choke on your anger!]
Watching the livestream behind the scenes, Lu Zhou really was about to explode with anger!
The other two pairs were Lin Xi and Fang Nuonuo, and Gu Yichen and Cheng Qin.
Everyone went off to find their own hunting area.
Fang Nuonuo immediately vanished.
When the camera crew and Lin Xi found her, she pointed at a trap on the ground.
"I already set up a trap while you were on your way over."
An iron cage hung high in the air, with food wild boars liked scattered beneath it.
Once a wild boar came over, a tug on the rope would drop the cage and trap it.
[Ahhh, my goddess really has both beauty and talent! The other teams still don't even know what to do, and she's already got everything arranged!]
[I'm so jealous of Lin Xi getting paired with my goddess. Just sit back and enjoy the easy life!]
[Doesn't anyone think it's suspicious that she set it up so fast?]
[Was this show made just to make Fang Nuonuo famous? So many things don't make sense but work out very much in her favor...]
Lin Xi stared at the trap for a moment.
Then he looked at Fang Nuonuo admiringly. "You're amazing! You managed to set up such a big trap in so little time!"
Fang Nuonuo smiled gently. "I like watching survival videos, so I picked up a few things."
Lin Xi said, "But when you ran over here just now, you weren't carrying any tools. Where did you get this cage? And it must be pretty heavy, right? How did you hoist it up by yourself?"
The corners of Fang Nuonuo's lips twitched. She could barely keep her smile in place.
But President Lu hadn't told her any of the details about setting up the trap!
How was she supposed to explain this?