Su Mian covered her mouth and quietly prompted him beside Duan Xuanyu, "Just tell them what kind of woman you like."
Duan Xuanyu lowered his head and fixed his deep gaze on her. "Accomplished in both literary and martial arts, tempering strength with gentleness, loving the people as her own children-a virtuous empress for the ages."
[That's way too abstract... bro, are you actually picking an empress?]
[He's just too deep in character! Let's just treat him like a real emperor.]
[Why is he staring at Su Mian? I looked her up, and she's never played an empress!]
Backstage, Lu Zhou also stared in disbelief at Duan Xuanyu's deeply affectionate gaze.
How could this be!
This crown prince of Beijing's elite circles had been raised abroad since childhood and had only recently returned. Few people in Beijing knew him.
How could he know Su Mian?
Lu Zhou stared fixedly at Su Mian on the screen.
He had to admit that Su Mian's sweet, lively face was extremely attractive. Just looking at her made the sunshine seem brighter and life seem beautiful.
Perhaps this Prince Duan had simply been drawn to her face.
Hah. For any normal man, attraction to a woman like her would begin with her looks and end with her character.
Lu Zhou immediately instructed the host, "Host, bring up Su Mian's standards for a partner again!"
He refused to believe Duan Xuanyu would still be interested once he learned how ugly Su Mian really was on the inside!
The host immediately spoke in a joking tone. "Miss Su Mian likes rich men. I wonder if Mr. Duan is rich?"
Duan Xuanyu gave her an indifferent glance, cold and arrogant. "All the wealth under heaven belongs to me."
The bullet comments filled the screen with "666"...
Backstage, Lu Zhou cursed him out as a lunatic.
Su Mian lowered her head and sighed.
Sigh, whatever the case, we've cleared the first hurdle. Let's leave it at that.
The host also laughed awkwardly and hurried on to the next segment.
"To help everyone get to know each other better, we'll draw lots for one-on-one dates next."
"We'll give each guest a smart heart rate monitor."
"If you can get your partner's heart rate above 120 bpm, you'll earn a living allowance of one thousand yuan."
The rules for the living allowance were written into the contract.
During the show, none of the guests could spend their own money. All expenses had to come out of their living allowances.
If they couldn't earn that allowance, they might have to go hungry.
The results of the draw were soon out.
Cheng Qin and Gu Yichen.
Duan Xuanyu and Fang Nuonuo.
Su Mian and Lin Xi.
Cheng Qin and Gu Yichen both seemed a little reserved, still discussing personal information and gradually getting into greater detail.
Their heart rates were as steady as warm corpses'.
Although Duan Xuanyu sat across from Fang Nuonuo, his gaze remained fixed on Su Mian at another table. He said nothing.
Fang Nuonuo quietly studied his handsome profile.
In fact, before coming on the show, she had known that all the men here were either rich or powerful.
She had signed with Lu Zhou's entertainment company a month ago.
That viral video had been orchestrated entirely by promoters Lu Zhou had hired.
This dating show was also her stepping stone into the entertainment industry.
Su Mian was her stepping stone.
Her thoughtfulness would form a stark contrast with Su Mian's ugly disdain for the poor and love of the rich.
And because she had known in advance that all three male guests were either rich or powerful.
Picking any one of them would be a great help to her future career.
In terms of looks, the one before her was her favorite.
She really did want to win him over to her side.
So she took the initiative to start a conversation. "Wow, your prop looks so realistic..."
As she spoke, she reached out to touch the jewels set into Duan Xuanyu's sword.
Duan Xuanyu snapped, "Insolence!"
Fang Nuonuo jumped at his imposing presence, her heart rate instantly shooting past 150!
[Oh my god, he's so deep in character! So much killing intent! He's got such a tyrant's aura!]
[Damn him! He scared our baby Nuonuo!]
[Is there something wrong with his brain? Getting so angry just because she touched his prop? Eliminate him!]
[But she touched his stuff without asking...]
It took quite a while for Fang Nuonuo's heart rate to return to normal.
She took a deep breath and reassured herself that it was fine.
Anyway, she had come on this show to become a true goddess by comparison with Su Mian and enter the entertainment industry. Whether she could land a man didn't matter.
The bullet comments must all be calling Su Mian a gold digger right now, right?
Over at Su Mian and Lin Xi's table.
Both were hurling insults, trying to make the other angry enough to raise their heart rate.
Su Mian said, "You don't have a single redeeming quality. What would make a woman choose you? Maternal love?"
Lin Xi said, "All you want is for a man to support you. Don't you think that behavior belittles women's abilities? Why can't you support a man?"
Su Mian suddenly looked at the camera. "Anything I raise dies."
[Is this really a dating show? So far, I haven't seen the slightest spark between a man and a woman. All I can see is their competitive spirit.]
[Of course it's like this when the show's just started. It'll get better!]
Backstage, Lu Zhou jumped at her look.
He knew Su Mian was talking about him.
Although he had been spending Su Mian's money for the past three years, it had all been a test of whether she was fit to marry into a wealthy family!
As long as she passed the test, he would repay her hundreds, thousands of times over!
So he didn't feel he owed Su Mian anything.
Her own gold digging had cost her the chance to marry into wealth!
Now he couldn't wait to go up to Su Mian, reveal his identity as a rich man, slap her hard in the face with the truth, and make her regret it!
Lin Xi was thinking the same thing.
He suddenly wanted very much to teach this woman a harsh lesson!
He planned to pretend to pursue her first, get rejected, and then make her bitterly regret it!
So Lin Xi suddenly smiled, leaned toward Su Mian, and lowered his voice. "Actually, I think you're pretty honest and cute. I've fallen for you."
Su Mian looked utterly disgusted.
"There are too many bubbles in your throat. You sound like you've got a toad in your mouth."
So greasy! I really want to slap him!
[Hahaha... failed to fan out his tail feathers!]
[So greasy, but when my crush and I were testing the waters with each other, he talked to me in that affected vocal fry every day too.]
Duan Xuanyu heard Lin Xi's confession from the other table.
You dare offend my empress!
His sword slid slightly out of its sheath, and its sword qi sliced down the large chandelier above Lin Xi's head!
At the same time, Su Mian failed to restrain herself and really did raise her hand and slap Lin Xi, knocking him straight to the floor!
Lin Xi's heart rate instantly shot past 130!
But before he could get angry, he saw the chandelier crash onto the spot where he had been sitting!
Lin Xi froze.
So... Su Mian had suddenly slapped him and sent him flying to protect him from getting hit by the chandelier?
His heart rate shot past 150!
Only after a long while did Lin Xi speak in a trembling voice. "You... you saved me..."
[?? What happened? That was so fast, I didn't see anything clearly!]
[Teacher Su sent someone flying with one slap? Am I seeing things?]
Su Mian hurriedly waved her hands. "I didn't, I wasn't..."
Lin Xi said nothing more.
But his eyes were clearly less disdainful than before.
Su Mian's heart sank.
She hurriedly checked his disgust panel.
Sure enough! It had dropped all the way to 2!
Single digits!
After wasting so much breath arguing with him, she had nearly wiped out all her progress?
No, I need to reinforce my persona right away.
She immediately held her hand out to Lin Xi.
The words "Give me money" were still in her mouth.
But Lin Xi had already placed his hand in her palm...
"..." No, she was trying to use saving his life as leverage to demand money. Did he think she wanted to help him up?
Across from them, Duan Xuanyu's anger surged at the sight!
Brazen scoundrel! You dare touch the empress's hand!
He abruptly stood, tightening his grip on his sword.
Whichever hand touched her, I'll cut it off!