Xu Qingyun naturally denied it. "Of course not. How could I do something so rude to Brother Zhou?"
Now Lu Zhou couldn't understand it.
Then how had Su Mian inexplicably ended up on his blacklist?
Xu Qingyun comforted him gently. "Brother Zhou, don't blame yourself so much. This really wasn't your fault."
"Even if you accidentally tapped something and blocked her, couldn't she have asked when she kept failing to get through to you?"
"Brother Zhou, losing all her money in the stock market was only the fuse that set off your breakup."
"The real reason was that she simply didn't care about you that much, or love you that much... My heart really aches for you, Brother Zhou."
Lu Zhou suddenly lost some control. "I know perfectly well whether she loves me!"
On the other end of the call, Xu Qingyun's heart jolted in fright.
She gripped her phone tightly.
It took her quite a while to compose herself.
She said gently, "Brother Zhou, hearing you say that only makes my heart ache for you more. You still haven't let go of this relationship, but she's already started over. She seems quite popular on the dating show. In private, she's probably pursuing things with several people at once..."
Lu Zhou fell silent for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Right. You've reminded me."
With that, he hung up.
Xu Qingyun thought he had finally come around and finally given up on Su Mian.
But Lu Zhou immediately sent the production team a message: "Have Su Mian withdraw from this show."
He had completely forgotten his original intention in taking the initiative to put Su Mian on the show.
The production team had found a new filming location overnight and was just waiting to resume the show tomorrow.
And now their boss was issuing such an abrupt order in the middle of the night?
Everyone on the production team really liked Su Mian now.
With her around, ratings were high and they trended every day. Their year-end bonuses were sure to double!
If they replaced Su Mian, where would they find another female guest with such a hot-search sacred physique?
The director squatted outside the filming location's entrance and sighed. "What are we supposed to do?"
Yin Xiaohong patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. It'll be fine."
From a business perspective, Su Mian was this show's Ziwei Star.
She had brought its ratings to unprecedented heights.
From a personal perspective, Su Mian had saved her younger sister.
And shattered the organization behind it all in one fell swoop.
So she was absolutely going to protect Su Mian!
Yin Xiaohong immediately called Starry Entertainment's other board members.
Hah, as if a mere CEO like Lu Zhou could have everything his own way!
Today, she would show him just how much weight a socially adept host's words carried in the industry!
After a whole string of calls,
Yin Xiaohong switched off her phone screen and curled her red lips. "Done."
"As long as Su Mian doesn't withdraw of her own accord, she won't be leaving even if the King of Heaven himself shows up!"
After getting a talking-to from several board members, Lu Zhou indeed couldn't make Su Mian withdraw from the dating show anymore.
But whenever he thought of Su Mian shining so brilliantly on the show, with more and more people liking her, he felt inexplicably distressed.
There were too many misunderstandings between him and Su Mian. Now he didn't even have a chance to explain. Clearly, things shouldn't be this way.
If only they could return to the way things were...
When Su Mian was still an obscure nobody who revolved around him every day, everything would fall neatly into place.
Lu Zhou sat motionless all night in the empty, desolate hospital.
The next day, the show resumed.
The guests gathered downstairs at Starry Entertainment.
Lin Xi had several red bumps on his face and neck. The moment he got out of the car, he stared resentfully at Su Mian.
Yesterday, he had hidden in the attic all day to beat Su Mian!
There had been so many bugs in the attic, and their bites had left him itching all over!
If the staff hadn't called him out when they finally returned to pack the guests' luggage,
he would have spent the entire night in the attic!
Su Mian noticed his resentment too.
She hurried to check his Disgust Points panel and took a look at the data curve for the past few days while she was at it.
She discovered that the night before last, when she rescued Yin Xiaohong's younger sister, Lin Xi's Disgust Points had actually dropped straight to 0!
But over the course of yesterday, his Disgust Points had slowly climbed back to 66!
Presumably, while he was hiding in the attic and she never came looking for him, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got...
Until he had worked himself up to 66.
The corners of Su Mian's eyes curved slightly.
Lin Xi's emotional fluctuations were perfectly normal, their patterns easy to figure out, and simple to manipulate.
He would be her primary target of attack next.
Su Mian also took another look at Gu Yichen.
She saw that after his Disgust Points toward her dropped to 0, they had stayed at 0.
His affection had been rising slowly and steadily, and was now at 50.
Halfway there.
Su Mian's approach to him was to leave him alone for now.
Given Gu Yichen's personality traits, when his affection was nearly full, she would take the initiative to go a step further, and his affection would plunge off a cliff.
Then farming Disgust Points would be even easier.
People like that were actually quite common in everyday life.
Just like couples who dated for years without marrying: once one partner pushed hard for marriage, the one who didn't want to change the status quo would become anxious, even develop disgust, until they ultimately went their separate ways.
"Viewers, welcome back to our show."
Facing the camera, Yin Xiaohong officially began today's filming.
"Today, the production team has invited a special non-celebrity guest, our show's top donor-Mr. Huang Han!"
Since the show was livestreamed, viewers could naturally send tips of their own accord.
Su Mian had once checked out of curiosity. The top donor had tipped over eight million. By now, it was probably even more.
Tsk, he really was rich.
He had given away an entire house just watching a show.
The viewers were also eagerly anticipating seeing what the top donor really looked like.
The top donor walked from the waiting area to stand before the camera.
The man had rugged features and looked to be in his thirties, with slicked-back hair and a full suit, the kind with a waistcoat. His skin was on the brown side, and a little dark stubble had just sprouted on his chin, adding to his mature masculine charm.
"You can call me Aiden. I studied in Britain, so I'm used to people calling me that."
After introducing himself, the man looked tenderly at Fang Nuonuo and declared his feelings forcefully. "This time, I came for Nuonuo. All the money I've poured into this show was for Nuonuo too."
Surprised and bashful, Fang Nuonuo gently tucked the long hair beside her ear back and said politely, "Thank you for your admiration."
[Ahhh, so sweet! The top donor splashed out ten million and came all the way onto the show to pursue his wife!]
[Wow! The top donor is younger than I imagined, and more handsome too!]
[I still remember Su Mian saying in the first episode that she wanted to marry a rich man. The top donor has poured ten million into the show. Won't Su Mian throw herself at him with eager eyes? Too bad he's here for Goddess Fang~]
[Huh, why does it feel like Mianmian has so many haters today? Has Human Head Bro started making moves again?]
Fang Nuonuo cast a seemingly casual, provocative glance at Su Mian.
She had spoken with her manager last night.
This year, Starry Entertainment would select one newcomer to nurture as a priority and give them countless S+ resources.
One of the selection criteria was monitored online search volume and positive discussion.
Moreover, monitoring would begin today.
None of Su Mian's previous trending-search data would count.
And today, her top donor had traveled a thousand miles to pursue his wife, all the way onto the show.
She would definitely trend today!
From now on, she would never yield her place on the trending searches to Su Mian again!
Next, the guests would travel by car to today's filming location.
On the way, Su Mian browsed her phone out of boredom.
She soon discovered that something was very wrong today!