Duan Xuanyu had dressed up as a scallop.
His entire upper body was enclosed in a scallop shell made of cardboard. Even his face was hidden, leaving only his long legs exposed.
Su Mian, meanwhile, had dressed up as a gorgeous female cockroach.
Brown curtain fabric had been sewn into a cockroach's body, wrapping her from head to toe and leaving only her eyes exposed.
It even had long antennae and eight legs sewn onto it, with red nail polish painted on every foot.
[Her sex-roach appeal is off the charts.]
[One slap for Duan Xuanyu, two for Su Mian.]
[Duan Xuanyu, stay away. Su Mian, get lost.]
Su Mian pointed at Duan Xuanyu. "That's not all! He's got an Easter egg!"
Duan Xuanyu immediately played along and opened his shell, revealing his Easter egg.
His upper body was wrapped in white threads, with little scraps of white paper stuck to them.
As it turned out, he wasn't an ordinary scallop.
He was a scallop with minced garlic and glass noodles!
[I don't dare open my eyes. Please let this be a hallucination...]
[Such a handsome guy, why... He's so pitiful, handsome bros. This really leaves me ice-popped.]
[I ship it! Tyrant Bro is usually so serious, but he's actually going along with Teacher Su's madness!]
[I ship it too! A scallop with minced garlic and glass noodles left out too long attracted a cockroach! They're such a perfect match!! Furries are going wild too!]
[Holy crap, even this does it for you? You Emperor-Empress CP fans have some bizarre tastes...]
Duan Xuanyu closed his shell again.
Then he quietly took out his phone and hid inside the shell to browse it.
He had actually always felt that appearing on this dating show wasted time he could have spent studying advanced modern technology.
But now that he had a shell, he could hide inside and study in secret.
The scallop shell the empress had made for him with her own hands was wonderful.
The empress truly had a clever mind and skillful hands.
He really wanted to stay inside this shell forever.
Su Mian wanted to find somewhere to sit down too.
But the moment she sat down, the other three guests and the host all ran over to sit on the opposite side.
Yin Xiaohong gave an awkward smile. "Sorry, Miss Su. We don't mean to discriminate against cockroaches, but fearing them is human nature..."
Su Mian waved her eight cockroach legs. "It's fine if you discriminate too!"
Most importantly, seeing how much those two male guests hated cockroaches made her quite happy!
She checked the panel. Gu Yichen's Disgust Points hadn't changed and were still at 0.
But Lin Xi's had risen to 56!
That proved she had made the right move!
After all that commotion, Fang Nuonuo finally made her entrance too.
With cat ears on her head and a purple bow with a bell around her neck, she was indeed the most beautiful person there.
But the audience was currently immersed in Su Mian's "Temptation of the Roach," and very few people were discussing her.
Even the guests' attention was on Su Mian... They kept watching her out of the corners of their eyes, terrified she might approach.
Not hearing the praise she had expected, Fang Nuonuo felt a little awkward.
She took the initiative to start a conversation. "Qinqin, what are you dressed up as?"
Lin Xi rushed to answer. "Obviously, a toy poodle."
Fang Nuonuo smiled faintly. "Miss Cheng definitely isn't dressed as a toy poodle. It must be a Maltese, right?"
She said this to curry favor with Cheng Qin.
She had barely paid Cheng Qin any attention in the previous episode because she hadn't known that, besides being a screenwriter, Cheng Qin was also the daughter of the president of the Entertainment Industry Supervision Association.
That association was also known as the Entertainment Circle Disciplinary Office.
Whenever they uncovered an entertainer who had broken laws or regulations, the punishment ranged from being blacklisted to imprisonment.
So she was definitely going to build a good relationship with Cheng Qin this episode.
Toy poodles had such a bad reputation.
But to her surprise, Cheng Qin looked disappointed.
Then she addressed the camera. "I'm dressed up as my own little toy poodle!"
"I know everyone has prejudices against toy poodles, but they really aren't all like that! It also depends on how their owners train them!"
"My dog is a little female. She was spayed as soon as she was old enough, and she's incredibly sweet and obedient. I hope everyone can eliminate discrimination against toy poodles just as they would discrimination based on appearance!"
[I can see Cheng Qin's halo this episode! She really understood the production team's intentions! Eliminate prejudice!]
[Cheng Qin is just a normal pet owner. You can say I'm no good, but you can't say my dog is no good!]
[Production team: finally, a guest is giving our show some depth!]
Backstage, Lu Zhou kept his eyes on the online discussion data in real time.
Seeing this, he lost it again.
For Fang Nuonuo, the problem was no longer whether people praised or criticized her.
After all, enough criticism still counted as notoriety.
Nobody cared about her at all!
Now, over ninety percent of the keywords in the bullet comments revolved around Su Mian, Duan Xuanyu, and Cheng Qin!
Fang Nuonuo had been reduced to background scenery, just like the other two male guests!
Furious, Lu Zhou smoked his way through half a pack of cigarettes.
He simply didn't want Su Mian to succeed.
Because...
Deep down, he always felt that the brighter Su Mian's halo became, the farther she drifted from him.
Lu Zhou viciously stubbed out his cigarette and began arranging trending topics promoting Fang Nuonuo's beauty.
It was time for the audience vote.
The winners were the sexy, beautiful female cockroach, the scallop with minced garlic and glass noodles, and the little toy poodle.
Fang Nuonuo had long since given up hope of winning any living funds.
She was only counting on making a splash with her publicity.
But when she secretly clicked into the trending searches to look,
the publicity she had spent so long preparing was still pushed below the sexy female cockroach!
Fang Nuonuo's vision went dark, then darker still.
Suddenly, Lin Xi came over.
"Nuonuo, you, Gu Yichen, and I are all out of money, right? So everyone came up with a way to make sure we all get to eat."
"The three of them with living funds will put up the money, and the three of us without any will put in the work. We'll go buy ingredients, then come back and cook together. Are you willing?"
Fang Nuonuo turned her face toward him, instantly replacing her sinister expression with a smile blooming like flowers. "Of course I am. That's so thoughtful of you."
Lin Xi, Gu Yichen, and Fang Nuonuo went out to buy groceries together.
It wasn't convenient to get a taxi to the supermarket from the luxury residential area.
So Lin Xi called his family's chauffeur over in a luxury car to drive them there.
It was also at this point that the production team naturally revealed his identity through the captions:
Heartbeat Radio Waves Official V: [Lin Xi's true identity is actually a finance elite, a domineering CEO, and the heir to a wealthy family. He came on this show because his family is urging him to marry as soon as possible and produce a little heir. The reason he pretended to be poor in the first episode was to find a gentle, kind soulmate who loves him for himself, not his money.]
[So he's a domineering CEO! No wonder his temper is so explosive.]
[I feel so bad for Teacher Su! I've seen her PowerPoint, so I know her ex was a domineering CEO pretending to be poor and spending her money every day! Why does Teacher Su keep running into trash men like these?!]
[So what? Who doesn't have a few secrets when they come on a show? Is your Teacher Su one hundred percent honest?]
[The point is, President Lin's criteria for a partner are exactly the same as Goddess Nuonuo's! Hahaha, President Lin, just admit you came for Goddess Nuonuo!]
[Su Mian must be regretting it to death, right? Rich people are her favorite, but she went and missed out on a domineering CEO!]
Lin Xi's own thinking wasn't much different from the audience's.
Last episode, Su Mian had insulted him, beaten him, and psychologically manipulated him...
This episode... Lin Xi stripped off his cheap jacket and changed into a bespoke suit, put a big gold watch on his wrist, and even took out a can of hairspray to slick his hair back.
Su Mian, this time, I'll make you too far beneath me to reach!