【Oh no~】
【Trading cards with Jiang Lingye—is this big sis always this bold?】
【Please, she’s super bold!】
【Correction: it’s “snatched,” not “traded”】
【With Jiang Lingye’s explosive temper, I bet Qin Chaoyue’s about to get beaten up any second】
【For those who don’t know how vicious Jiang Lingye is, go watch that video of him unilaterally beating up Zhuo Xi :)】
【No, don’t!】
【Wifey, my wifey!!】
【Hit her! Hit her hard! She got on one variety show and forgot who she is. Just this once, I’m on Jiang Lingye’s side!】
That last comment was clearly from a fan of Xu Mucheng or Luo Zibai.
Earlier, they had been cheering on their favorite stars while, in the barrage, teaming up with Zhuo Xi’s fans, stirring up hate against Jiang Lingye from start to finish.
After all, the guy was covered in scandals these days, yet the moment he got on the show he was so good-looking, stealing so many camera shots from their beloved oppas and unnies, snatching away so many chances for them to gain fans.
He deserved to die!
And right at the start of the show, Xu Mucheng had inexplicably gotten into a spat with this nobody named Qin Chaoyue.
Everyone assumed a celebrity tearing into a nobody would be easy, but Qin Chaoyue was pretty, and despite her utterly terrible personality, she’d still attracted a batch of face fans.
So shallow!
This world was just too shallow!
Their Mumu was clearly the most beautiful, kindest little fairy in the world. If people couldn’t see her goodness now, they would surely regret it someday!
Just like in all those “chasing-the-wife crematorium” stories—kneeling in the rain, begging only for Mumu’s forgiveness!!
As for Qin Chaoyue scoring higher than Xu Mucheng in the earlier quiz?
A blind cat stumbling onto a dead mouse.
Tsk, who knows, maybe the production team leaked the answers to this big sis.
The more Xu Mucheng’s fans thought about it, the more convinced they became. A few who had risen to fan-leader status rallied the group chat.
【Fam! Put in the effort, push a little harder—get the hashtag #MyBrotherAnswerLeakScandal# onto the trending list!】
【The world is unjust, so we’ll personally get justice for Mumu, even if it means going to war against the whole world】
【Mumu only has us!!】
Jiang Lingye had his identity card forcibly swapped, but he didn’t fly into a rage the way the audience expected.
He just glanced up at Qin Chaoyue: “Why?”
“You’re at an age with that much strength. It’d be a waste not to do manual labor.”
“And you?” Jiang Lingye asked again.
Qin Chaoyue: “Someone as frail as me can only stay inside and enjoy the air conditioning.”
【HAHAHAHAHA】
【Well said, say more】
Unexpectedly, Jiang Lingye lowered his head again and, cold and stiff though he was, agreed: “Fine.”
【Huh??】
【I already took my pants off and THIS is what you show me?? Wait, no, no!】
【As the netizens say—”Huh??”】
【Even if you’re a top-tier cool guy, you still fall before big sis’s beauty, willingly bowing as her devoted servant】
【So sweet, so sweet, kdl】
【Heh, Jiang Lingye is black and rotten all over now, and he still thinks he can whitewash his image like this? Keep pretending】
Wherever Jiang Lingye went, conflict followed.
The moment he appeared on camera, the barrage would erupt like an eight a.m. wet market, arguing without end.
A pure walking storm of blood and chaos.
Only that face of his was still worth looking at, still holding up there—only because of it could he occasionally fish out one or two compliments from a sea of curses.
The fiercest of the critics were Zhuo Xi’s fans.
The video of the beating was still hanging online, and Xixi’s fans were practically swarming in, itching to devour Jiang Lingye alive.
At that moment, Zhuo Xi, the man at the center of it all, stepped forward:
“This… isn’t really appropriate, is it?”
He raised his objection. “We each played the games as the production team required and drew our identity cards. Now you two are swapping identities—that’s a violation of the rules, isn’t it?”
In an instant, two pairs of similar black eyes landed on him simultaneously.
Jiang Lingye had none of the patience for Zhuo Xi that he had for his “older sister.”
A sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his previously merely cold features instantly turned icy and sharp.
Jiang Lingye: “What’s it to you?”
Qin Chaoyue’s pupils were pitch-black: “Causing trouble again?”
【OMG, these two look alike not just in face but in aura too—both have that whole “I don’t care about anyone” vibe…】
【No way!】
【What does my wife mean by that?】
【Holy crap, there’s tea! What tea? Let me drink up, let me drink!!】
With Xu Mucheng’s precedent in mind, Zhuo Xi didn’t dare go pick a fight with Qin Chaoyue, so he aimed his fire at Jiang Lingye instead.
—He knew best how to turn conflict after conflict into a way of redirecting attention and benefits onto himself.
…Just like last time.
He had already tasted all the sweetness of it.
“I don’t mean to criticize you, but what you’re doing really does break the production team’s rules.”
He paused.
Then, as if he’d just remembered, Zhuo Xi stepped in to explain on his behalf with an air of protecting their teammate bond.
“A-Ye, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. You’re just a bit impatient, a bit hot-tempered, and you couldn’t help bringing some of your usual habits along. You didn’t know they were bad—it’s fine—but you need to understand, we’re recording a show right now.”
Zhuo Xi’s position in the group had always been that of the sweet puppy-dog little brother, and now his delicate, puppy-eyed face wore an expression of helpless tolerance.
“Normally, when you treat the rest of us teammates like that, we let it slide, but right now so many people are watching…”
“A-Ye, if not for us, then think of yourself. Think more about the future.”
【Explosive!!】
【What does Zhuo Xi mean by that? Is Jiang Lingye’s temper normally that bad in the group? Does he always bully the other members?】
【Isn’t that obvious?!】
【Jiang Lingye is a top-tier star—the whole group revolves around him since he makes the most money. He can push around the few below him however he likes】
【Burning’s other members are all so good-natured too】
【Anyway, my baby Xixi must have suffered the worst!】
【The others only got a bit of verbal abuse or got tasks dumped on them, but Xixi was actually beaten! There’s even video proof!!】
【And after all that, he still has to be arranged to appear on a show with him, all for Jiang Lingye’s sake—even bravely standing up to say no when someone else is being bullied. Xixi, my little angel, come here, mama will hug you, sob sob】
【Production team, you have no heart. As someone who was bullied too, I’m shaking with rage right now, crying and trembling at the same time】
【I can’t watch this anymore—Jiang Lingye will never get redeemed in my eyes for as long as he lives. Get lost!!】
Jiang Lingye’s hand, hanging at his side, clenched into a fist once again.
Qin Chaoyue saw it all.
Her biological little brother was, after all, just a paper tiger.
He looked cocky and swaggering, but in truth, anyone could knock him apart with a single punch.
She had only just been reunited with him, so honestly, did Qin Chaoyue feel any deep sisterly affection toward him, or much sympathy or pity…
…No, she didn’t.
But she had come here to change both their tragic fates. Now that the person was right in front of her, she couldn’t just stand by and let him get bullied for nothing, could she?
“One moment.”
A cool, clear female voice rang out. “The one who proposed swapping identity cards in the first place was me, wasn’t it?”
Qin Chaoyue looked at Zhuo Xi, then pointed at Jiang Lingye. “By your logic, he’s the one I bullied and tormented?”
Zhuo Xi’s smile stiffened.
[Oh right, I knew something was off]
[My wife is so beautiful. She just gently and delicately didn’t want to plant trees and bake in the sun—what fault is that of hers? It’s all me! It was I who insisted she go, so if you want to curse anyone, curse me]
[Actually, making that pretty boy Jiang Lingye do hard labor sounds pretty fun]
[Don’t you all hate him and despise him? Then punish him hard!]
“Then he’s truly pitiful.”
Qin Chaoyue’s tone was flat, but when her gaze fell back on Zhuo Xi, it seemed to deepen somehow.
“As for you, you’ve got a sharp tongue and a quick mind. You really don’t look like someone who could be bullied.”
Zhuo Xi, true to his idol training, had first-rate expression management and immediately smiled.
“Sis, what are you talking about? Oh, right—you’re not A-Ye’s fan, are you?”
Given Jiang Lingye’s current reputation, being connected to him in any way meant being tainted. If he could paint Qin Chaoyue as that guy’s fan, he’d be standing on unassailable ground!
Qin Chaoyue smiled, stepping neatly around the trap. “Oh~ the kind of fan who ships her idol off to do beast-of-burden work?”
Qin Chaoyue effortlessly defused a wave of crisis for her little brother.
After landing her counterattack, she didn’t bother with this clown any further, instead turning to the production team.
“Is there a rule against swapping?”
“I haven’t seen one. If such a rule existed, it should have been made clear before the game started, not tacked on afterward—that gives the impression of being a sore loser.”
The production team… the production team was sweating buckets.
“Of course nothing like that will happen!!”
Cen Xuyi suddenly spoke up. “I have an issue too.”
It turned out her younger sister Tang Yeli had drawn the “delivery worker” identity card, but she was only fifteen and couldn’t ride an electric scooter yet. As her manager, Cen Xuyi wanted to trade her own “server” card for it.
Director Guo smacked his forehead.
That really was a hidden hazard!
In the end, Tang Yeli and Cen Xuyi swapped identity cards, and Qin Chaoyue and Jiang Lingye swapped theirs.
Everyone else stayed as they were.
Not because anyone was getting special treatment—simply because the remaining few were quite satisfied with their identities, or genuinely couldn’t find anyone willing to trade.
Once all the swaps were done—
Qin Chaoyue: real estate sales agent.
Jiang Lingye: landscaping and sanitation worker.
Xu Mucheng: musician performing at a high-end restaurant.
Luo Zibai: wedding emcee.
Tang Yeli: Haidilao server.
Cen Xuyi: delivery rider.
Zhuo Jiahan: animal keeper.
Zhuo Xi: luxury counter salesman.
Hearing that last identity card, Qin Chaoyue couldn’t help laughing. “So it really does exist.”
The corners of Jiang Lingye’s lips couldn’t help curving up either.
He too remembered how, during makeup, “Sis” had wanted to banish Zhuo Xi to work as a counter salesman.
Qin Chaoyue felt someone watching her and turned her head.
“How spineless. Anyone can come push you around—what a pathetic top star you make.”
Jiang Lingye’s eyes widened slightly.
She “accidentally” nudged the microphone, making sure it couldn’t pick up her voice.
All that could be seen were her vivid red lips opening and closing as she spoke:
“Keep at it, little crybaby.”
She tilted her head slightly, a strand of black hair falling loose, set against the twilight glow, her dark eyes shimmering with mist.
Tender, too.
And sharp, too.
“You could actually be fiercer, more bold.”
“…I’ve got your back, no matter what.”