Because inside that bottle...
There was actually...
A human head!
Even the worldly-wise viewers were scared into filling the screen with "holy shit." It was everyone's first time seeing a human head steeped in water like medicinal herbs.
No wonder it had scared the other two guests' heart rates past 200.
Gu Yichen hurriedly stopped the car and nervously glanced back through the rearview mirror.
Su Mian looked perfectly calm. "Oh... this is what you're scared of?"
"I printed out a photo of my ex-boyfriend with his face all bruised and swollen, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and put it inside the bottle."
"Because the water refracts light, at first glance, it looks like a human head soaking in water."
Su Mian poured herself a cup. "Want some water steeped with my ex-boyfriend's head?"
Gu Yichen and Cheng Qin both waved their hands repeatedly.
[...Is this woman sick in the head? I was about to call the police.]
[You can tell she prepared a lot to win.]
[Is every round of this show going to require the guests' hearts to race? Who could beat her at that? And then there's that lawless, unlicensed-driving tyrant guy next door...]
Watching backstage, Lu Zhou saw his own photo in the bottle. At first, he raged impotently, then slowly grew wild with joy.
Su Mian's behavior over the past two days had made him feel that she really had fallen for someone else and no longer cared about him.
It had left him feeling rather uncomfortable.
But now, look-Su Mian was actually still steeping his head in water.
In other words, she still cared about him.
Heh, good.
That way, when he revealed his identity as a rich man later, Su Mian's regret would cut even deeper!
Besides, so what if Su Mian kept winning the contests?
This was a dating show, not a competition!
None of the three men on the show could possibly like her.
She was a joke!
Half an hour later, all the guests arrived at the apartment where the show would be filmed.
The apartment had three floors, with the first-floor living room serving as the main filming location.
The next activity was a group conversation around a round table.
It was relaxed, with no competition, mainly intended to help them grow closer.
Before the group conversation began, the production team handed Su Mian and Duan Xuanyu the living funds they had won in the previous round.
To reinforce her persona, but also out of genuine feeling, Su Mian could not resist kissing the bills as soon as she received them.
Seeing what she did, Duan Xuanyu lowered his head and examined the money in his own hands.
Who was this man on the money? Why was the empress acting so intimately toward him?
Resentment gradually deepened in his eyes.
The others initially had little reaction.
Fang Nuonuo suddenly turned to comfort Lin Xi beside her.
"It's all right. What matters is taking part. Honestly, I knew before the contest that I wouldn't win. I've never been that hung up on winning or losing, even as a child."
This implied that Su Mian cared too much about winning and losing and was too competitive.
Both Gu Yichen and Lin Xi looked displeased.
[A goddess really is a goddess! She's always as serene as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze. Unlike a certain someone-I don't even want to get started!]
[Goddess Fang is so emotionally stable! Whoever marries her will definitely have a peaceful home!]
[Wait, why do I feel like she's being a bit of a green tea...]
As soon as a few unfavorable comments appeared, their posters were immediately mobbed through private messages.
Soon, the bullet comments contained nothing but praise for Fang Nuonuo's good temper, indifference to fame and fortune, and the like.
Su Mian hurriedly checked her panel.
Gu Yichen's disgust value had not changed.
Lin Xi's had risen from 12 to 32.
It looked like Lin Xi was relatively easy to farm.
For the next few days, I'll focus on toying with him first!
Even setting aside the main quest, Su Mian was not willing to serve as Fang Nuonuo's stepping stone for nothing.
Su Mian immediately took her living funds to the food area prepared by the production team and bought plenty of buns, pastries, and water.
First, she gave a portion to each of the production team's directors and camera operators.
Everyone had taken a bus, then a boat, then driven, spending nearly five hours getting there. They had long since grown hungry.
Especially the camera operators-Su Mian had been watching them along the way, and they had not even had any water yet.
Duan Xuanyu... there was no rush to farm him yet, so he got a portion.
Screenwriter Cheng was not among her disgust-farming targets and had not provoked her so far, so she gave her one too while she was at it.
She skipped only Fang Nuonuo, Lin Xi, and Gu Yichen.
Cries of "thank you" rose one after another.
Su Mian raised a hand. "No big deal, no big deal."
Fang Nuonuo was hungry and thirsty too.
She had been able to endure it before.
But now the whole room was filled with the aroma of food, and she really could barely take it anymore.
With a dark expression, Lin Xi asked Su Mian, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Just because Miss Su criticized you and Mr. Gu and I expressed our displeasure with you, you're isolating the three of us?"
Su Mian bit into a steaming bun. "You should've seen this coming. Don't be so hung up on winning and losing."
[Hahaha, the Mian in Su Mian means cotton, but she's no soft wad of cotton for anyone to push around. If she doesn't like it, she fights back on the spot!]
[She seems so refreshingly open! She's straightforward about loving money, but she spends it freely too! I'm a fan!]
[Keep praising her, paid shills! But I'd never want a woman like this! She's too vindictive! I still prefer Goddess Nuonuo's easygoing personality, like a white cloud drifting wherever the wind blows!]
[Exactly, this is a dating show! Su Mian has already done so many things men hate most! Nobody will like her. Just wait for her to get eliminated in the first episode!]
Fang Nuonuo quickly suppressed her hunger and smiled at Su Mian. "You must have spent quite a bit just now, Miss Su? No wonder you want to marry someone rich. Your attitude toward spending really is different from mine. I'm the sort of person who doesn't want much."
Lin Xi immediately got on her wavelength and snorted. "With so little understanding of increasing income and cutting expenses, even if you marry a rich man, you'll squander all his money sooner or later!"
Biting her bun, Su Mian freed her hands to applaud them!
She's so good at swapping one concept for another!
He's so good at licking her boots!
Su Mian swallowed the bun and was just about to say, Once I spend it all, I'll just keep winning tomorrow!
But before she could open her mouth,
Duan Xuanyu pushed his own living funds straight in front of her.
"Take it. I truly cannot understand why anyone would argue endlessly over these few melons and dates."
[Hahaha, the tyrant just ended the competition!]
[Ah, he knows exactly what to do! Other men: you spend money, you're a spendthrift. The tyrant: take it, spend as you please. The difference is clear!]
[Doesn't anyone think Fang Nuonuo's words were really malicious? Su Mian earned that money herself by winning a contest, but with a little steering from Fang Nuonuo, nobody sees Su Mian's own efforts and achievements anymore. She's turned into someone who relies entirely on her future husband!]
Backstage, Lu Zhou could not understand why Duan Xuanyu was protecting Su Mian, whether intentionally or not!
Through a friend of a friend, he had invited this young master of the Duan family to take part in the show.
He had even messaged him beforehand to reveal that Su Mian was exceptionally money-hungry.
Why was he protecting Su Mian like this now?!
After a long silence, he instructed the director, "When they choose rooms next, don't let Su Mian and Duan Xuanyu choose the same one!"
Su Mian, I won't let you grab a single lifeline!
Lu Zhou's instructions came through director Zhao Guanghua's earpiece.
He gave Su Mian a sympathetic look.
After spending time with her on these two occasions, he had actually found that Su Mian was a very nice person. She was polite and considerate toward staff members like them.
He had no idea how she had offended the boss, who kept setting up difficulties to torment her.
Even the identities of the three male guests on the show were being kept secret from Su Mian alone.
Sigh... He could not bear it, but he was powerless to help.
Soon, noticing that the guests had little left to discuss, the director ended the conversation segment.
"Miss Su, please return the money to Mr. Duan. Under the show's rules, you can share items bought with money with the other guests, but you can't give them money directly."
"All right..." Su Mian could only reluctantly return the money to Duan Xuanyu.
Displeased, Duan Xuanyu pointed at the host and asked Su Mian, "Why must you listen to her? Is she the emperor of your era?"