Xu Mucheng’s performance throughout the day had actually been pretty good—in the talent segment especially, she elegantly showed off her violin skills.
She gained a whole wave of fans!
But no matter what she did, there was always Qin Chaoyue overshadowing her, using even more astonishing performances to siphon away her potential fans…
Yes.
Xu Mucheng didn’t believe that Qin Chaoyue, a mere nobody, could actually be better than her.
The other woman had simply taken a novel approach that could attract fans for a moment, but that kind of method was never sustainable.
And now, by choosing to expose their relationship, she would not only earn praise for being observant and detail-oriented, but also—
Qin Chaoyue! With a burden like Jiang Lingye hanging off you, how are you going to compete with me!
Xu Mucheng’s thoughts churned, but on her innocent-looking face, she was conveying apology toward Qin Chaoyue, the very picture of innocence.
“I’m sorry, it’s the show’s rules…”
Another voice rang out—it was Tang Yeli’s younger brother. “I also guessed that Sister Qin and Brother Jiang Lingye were siblings!”
His manner was poised and graceful.
“Same here,” Zhuo Xi chimed in—stealing the spotlight. “Knowing A-Ye’s personality, he wouldn’t talk that much with someone he wasn’t close to.”
He was actually the very first one to notice.
After everyone had made their entrance that morning, he’d realized that Jiang Lingye’s situation didn’t match what the company’s arrangements had indicated.
At first he’d held onto a sliver of hope, but when he went over to approach him and Qin Chaoyue said those words to him, everything was settled.
The last bit of hope he’d been clinging to died.
He wondered where Jiang Lingye had found such an impressive “older sister.” He had sharp eyes—her clothes and appearance looked anything but ordinary, but perhaps, like most people in the industry, it was just packaging?
In any case, she absolutely could not be Jiang Lingye’s biological sister!
As a member of the group that debuted together after the survival show, Zhuo Xi knew every teammate’s background and family situation inside and out.
And the most unremarkable one, the one with no connections whatsoever—none other than Jiang Lingye!
Unfortunately.
Like Xu Mucheng, he too needed the camera.
Especially when it came to anything related to Jiang Lingye.
If it were Luo Zibai, Zhuo Xi, with his current status, wouldn’t dare compete with him. But if it was just Xu Mucheng…
She was a newcomer who had debuted not long ago, yet she’d landed such a great role and resources right off the bat—her backing was probably somewhat similar to his own.
Besides, Tang Yeli had spoken first and he’d merely followed up. He was already familiar with Jiang Lingye and even had “beef” with him, so he shouldn’t have offended Xu Mucheng too deeply.
Once the three of them had spoken, the others quickly followed suit.
[Hm… not that surprising, really…]
[Jiang Lingye is aloof and quiet, and Qin Chaoyue has had that cold demeanor since her entrance too. She only took the initiative to talk to Jiang Lingye the whole time—it’s pretty obvious…]
[Does this mean Jiang Lingye is about to become my brother-in-law?]
[Damn it!]
[One thing at a time—even for my wife’s sake, I’m not defending Jiang Lingye!]
[Jiang Lingye is trash, so as his sister, Qin Chaoyue must be trash too!]
[Get lost, both of you siblings, get out of the entertainment industry!]
[You can trash-talk Jiang Lingye and we’ll all join in, but insulting my wife crosses the line! It’s not like she could hold his hand and stop him from doing this or that]
[Fire in the hole! Tatakkai! Keep on tatakkai!!]
[The person on the other end of the livestream… is the enemy!]
Qin Chaoyue and Jiang Lingye’s relationship was exposed just like that, plain for everyone to see.
Both of their expressions remained calm.
They had meant to reveal it from the start, but thanks to the director’s little stunt, it had been kept hidden for a while—and now the public opinion actually seemed…
Better than expected?
Of course, there was no way Jiang Lingye could use this to clear his name. The people bashing him in the comments were still bashing, and some had even dragged Qin Chaoyue into it. The flame war was on the verge of erupting once more.
Chaos Enjoyer: I absolutely love this livestream. They don’t even need to do anything—there’s endless entertainment all day long.
To avoid another buzzkilling “same here” situation, the production team brought out paper and pens and had the guests write down their guesses.
Once the answers were announced:
Zhuo Xi and Zhuo Jiahan shared the same surname—they were indeed brothers;
Tang Yeli and Cen Xuyi weren’t just a star and her manager—Cen Xuyi was also Tang Yeli’s cousin;
Qin Chaoyue and Jiang Lingye, whom everyone had just called out, were sister and brother;
And the remaining pair, Xu Mucheng and Luo Zibai, were siblings.
[If everyone guessed it, then the reward is no reward]
[It was way too obvious. I told you everyone here was too obvious]
“Just as I thought.”
Zhuo Xi sighed, drawing all the cameras to himself, then brought it up as if casually.
“But I remember A-Ye’s family only seems to have a younger sister. No older sister.”
Jiang Lingye continued to ignore Zhuo Xi entirely, but Qin Chaoyue turned to glance at him.
“That’s normal.”
“He beat you up, which shows you two aren’t close at all.”
Zhuo Xi: “…”
“I’m quite curious too,” Qin Chaoyue went on. “In the video, you got beaten so badly by Xiao Ye last time, yet you keep coming back for more…”
“Is it a masochism thing?”
Qin Chaoyue glanced at Jiang Lingye again and instructed him with a touch of solemnity:
“Don’t reward him.”
Jiang Lingye: .
The young man’s face was cold and expressionless, but the tips of his ears, hidden beneath his black hair, had flushed slightly red.
It wasn’t just because Qin Chaoyue, without asking a single question about right or wrong, had taken his side outright—it was also because…
The person who kept going back and forth with him had just called him “Xiao Ye.”
Xiao Ye.
A name no one had ever called him before…
“I never expected Brother Luo and Mucheng to be siblings,” Zhuo Jiahan said as well.
He said this partly to help his cousin Zhuo Xi out of an awkward spot, and partly to curry favor with Luo Zibai and smooth things over.
There were still so many episodes left in the show—they couldn’t afford to sour relations this early.
Luo Zibai was nearly having a stress reaction by now.
The moment he heard it was him, his face went deathly pale. He had already vomited his stomach empty, and now could only retch dryly.
For a pretty-boy idol trading on his looks, this was fatal.
But when he turned and saw Xu Mucheng’s gentle, caring face, Luo Zibai once again overcame his nausea and began to explain—
It turned out he and Xu Mucheng were not related by blood.
When they were little, their families lived very close to each other, and the two had been close since childhood—practically childhood sweethearts.
Then one day, Xu Mucheng’s family suddenly moved away, and their connection was severed.
The childhood sweethearts each grew up on their own.
Then one day—
“On set, I saw the actress playing my junior sister Ziyan, and I recognized her at a glance as my Mumu—the little girl who used to chase after me calling me ‘Brother Zibai.'”
“Sixteen years, and I’ve never forgotten her. My little Mumu grew up bit by bit in my mind, and the person she became matched my imagination down to the smallest detail.”
“Pretty amazing, right?”
As Luo Zibai spoke, he lowered his head to gaze tenderly at Xu Mucheng, his eyes and heart brimming with an overwhelming, melting love.
“She’s still just as adorable, lively, gentle, and kind. She will always be the Little Fairy in my heart.”
“Mumu and I recognized each other right away back then, and later we discovered we’d even signed with the same agency.”
Luo Zibai smiled. “Maybe it was fate decreed by heaven—no matter how we wander, we always find our way back to each other.”
As he spoke.
Xu Mucheng shot the man a sidelong glance, her cheeks flushed crimson, her posture demure and shy.
Then she quickly lowered her head and called out in a sweet, coquettish voice, “Brother Zibai~”
Everything seemed as beautifully innocent as their childhood days.
Except this “little sister,” now grown and gracefully poised, was no longer merely adorable—she carried the alluring charm of a woman.
The peach he had so carefully nurtured had ripened. It was time… to pick it.
Receiving her response, Luo Zibai grew even more tenderly affectionate, and that famously beloved “bubbly voice” of his, praised by fans everywhere, rang out:
“I’m~ here~~”
In an instant.
The surroundings were once again filled with pink bubbles.
In the livestream comments, the Luo-Ri-Cheng-Xi shippers cried out one after another—
【I’m dead, I’m shipping so hard I’m dying, it’s so sweet I’m about to faint】、【Brother and Mumu were matched by heaven itself, who else gets it】、【She calls him “brother” now, but later in bed she’ll be calling him “darling”】…
But others frowned deeply.
【Isn’t this supposed to be a family-bonds variety show? What is this??】
【Subway, old man, phone.jpg】
Just as the two factions were about to clash—
“What a shame.”
Qin Chaoyue’s voice drifted out, soft and wistful. “I still ship that male-male married couple from before more.”