Su An’an’s abnormal behavior naturally caught Bai Jin’s attention, and she instinctively tried to “hide” behind Ji Xiaoyun to reduce her presence.
After the other guests exchanged polite greetings, Su An’an deliberately moved closer to Bai Jin with ill intent.
“Miss Bai, President Ji truly dotes on his beloved. You once staged a public bride-snatching that became a legend, and now he’s even willing to lower himself to participate in such a small variety show.”
【Sigh… why has even Su An’an’s character changed? Could it really be because I helped Gu Zhan and altered the original plot? This is way too melodramatic!】
Hearing this, Ji Xiaoyun subconsciously stepped in front of Bai Jin to shield her.
Recalling how Su An’an had repeatedly made things difficult for Bai Jin over the Gu Zhan incident, he could roughly guess that their relationship was far from simple.
This protective gesture did not escape Gu Zhan’s eyes. Thinking of Su An’an’s earlier loss of composure, he immediately shot her a warning look.
Su An’an’s heart tightened. Remembering her secret agreement with Gu Zhan, she suddenly realized this variety show was being broadcast live.
Thinking of how keen paparazzi were, she panicked — afraid that her earlier slip-up might expose their underground relationship and provoke Gu Zhan’s wrath.
She glanced anxiously at Gu Zhan while silently adding this grievance to Bai Jin’s account in her heart.
“Since everyone is here, President Gu, President Ji, let’s begin!”
Director Wang Ming clearly sensed the tension among the guests, but as a mere variety show director, he dared not interfere. His only wish was for the program to air smoothly without ruining his career.
Back on track, Bai Jin followed the director’s instructions step by step.
【Gu Zhan still dislikes Su An’an just like in the original novel… but why have everyone else’s character settings changed?】
Bai Jin pondered silently.
She deliberately ignored Sheng Muchen — after all, she had no intention of engaging further with a man who had deeply harmed the original host.
When she thought of Ji Xiaoyun’s “devoted second male lead” persona, she frowned slightly.
She worried that in the future, once he returned to his “proper storyline,” he might cause trouble for her on Su An’an’s behalf.
Forget it… I’ll just try to get along peacefully with Su An’an from now on.
Hearing this thought, Ji Xiaoyun felt displeased.
So in her “original novel,” he was really nothing more than a pathetic舔狗 (simp)?
He turned his gaze toward Su An’an, scrutinizing her carefully.
No matter how he looked at her, she didn’t fit his aesthetic at all. Moreover, the way she looked at Gu Zhan was clearly different — even though she tried to hide it, Ji Xiaoyun easily caught the subtle shift in her eyes.
“Is it just me, or is there real CP energy here?”
“Be confident — delete ‘just me.’”
“Who do you think Bai Jin will choose, Gu Zhan or Ji Xiaoyun?”
The livestream comments immediately exploded.
Although Ji Xiaoyun and Bai Jin’s hot searches had cooled down somewhat, netizens still hadn’t forgotten the scene of Bai Jin leaving Gu Zhan’s villa.
In the production room, Director Wang Ming stared excitedly at the monitors.
His previous drama Invincible Under Heaven had been jointly invested in by the Gu and Ji groups, so he tentatively invited both CEOs to invest in Heart-Pounding Lovers.
For a long time there was no reply — until yesterday, when he suddenly received confirmation that both men had agreed to invest.
What shocked him even more was that they weren’t just investors — they would personally appear on the show.
Wang Ming felt like two golden pies had fallen straight onto his head.
“I knew it! That collaboration must have left a deep impression on them. Their variety show debut is actually with me!” he said proudly.
He patted his assistant director on the shoulder.
“Xiao Zheng, don’t you think Presidents Gu and Ji really admire my directing skills? Otherwise, why would they agree so easily?”
The assistant director: “……Sure.”
Watching Wang Ming beam like a fool, he seriously doubted that two powerful tycoons would “admire” him that much.
In the living room.
Ji Xiaoyun and Bai Jin sat together, while the other guests clustered in small groups.
Gu Zhan sat alone on the balcony with an icy, untouchable expression that kept everyone at a distance.
Su An’an tried several times to approach him, but each time she was driven back by his cold gaze. To avoid suspicion, she forced herself to chat casually with the others.
The two male guests were thrilled to be talking with a top celebrity, but Wang Shu still treated Su An’an coldly, chatting only reluctantly for the sake of the live broadcast.
Though Su An’an appeared engaged in conversation, her eyes constantly drifted toward Gu Zhan.
Thinking of everything that had happened today, her anger burned hotter — and when she looked at Bai Jin, her gaze was practically on fire.
Suddenly, she spoke up:
“Hmm… Miss Bai, isn’t the outfit you’re wearing today from the Ji brand?”
All eyes turned toward Bai Jin.
Then Su An’an added deliberately:
“Bai Jin, you and President Ji are wearing the same color slippers!”
She said this clearly to stir trouble.
Her goal was to solidify the public perception that Bai Jin and Ji Xiaoyun were a couple — so that even if Gu Zhan had feelings for Bai Jin, he would have to think twice before acting.
For years, Su An’an had been Gu Zhan’s secret lover but had never been recognized as the official “Mrs. Gu.” He even deliberately concealed her existence.
Originally, Gu Zhan had treated other women indifferently, which gave her some psychological comfort — but Bai Jin’s appearance at his villa shattered that illusion and filled her with unprecedented anxiety.
In reality, this was arranged by the production team.
The show had prepared four colors of “couple slippers,” with one male and one female pair per color. Each guest could choose freely.
This meant that no matter what, one male and one female guest would inevitably wear matching colors.
Li Ming and Qi Dong both chose pink; Wang Shu and Xie Yang chose blue.
Bai Jin arrived last, leaving only purple — so she had no choice.
Unexpectedly, Ji Xiaoyun also picked purple, but this was hardly shocking.
They had already publicly confirmed their relationship, and wearing matching slippers seemed perfectly natural.
After the bride-snatching incident, the public had already been shipping them as a couple.
Still, everyone’s gaze focused on Bai Jin — including Gu Zhan’s.
Suddenly, Wang Shu stood up.
“Su An’an, are you a busybody with nothing better to do?”
“Ji’s clothing line is a top luxury brand — who in this industry doesn’t own a few pieces? Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
She had disliked Su An’an since the last variety show. Although she had restrained herself due to Ji Xiaoyun and Gu Zhan’s presence, she couldn’t tolerate Su An’an targeting Bai Jin again and again.
Privately, she and Bai Jin had become friends, and — let’s be honest — befriending the future “Mrs. Ji” wasn’t a bad move either.