Wang Shu, not knowing about Su An’an and Gu Zhan’s secret relationship, naturally shot back without hesitation.
Just as Su An’an was about to retort, Bai Jin spoke first.
“Ji Xiaoyun and I are engaged. It’s normal for us to have matching tastes in clothing — does Miss Su have a problem with that?” Bai Jin said calmly.
Su An’an gave a sour “Oh.” Although she was dissatisfied, she naturally didn’t dare to show it in front of Ji Xiaoyun.
After Su An’an had caused trouble repeatedly, Bai Jin was also getting irritated.
If it weren’t for the so-called “female lead halo,” she wouldn’t have endured this for no reason.
【Sigh! I haven’t even provoked her — why does she keep targeting me?】
Hearing this, Ji Xiaoyun leaned close to Bai Jin’s ear and lowered his voice. “Actually, you don’t need to be afraid of Su An’an.”
Bai Jin shot him an annoyed look.
【If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be holding back!】
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Ji Xiaoyun continued. “Su An’an’s life or death has nothing to do with me. As for Gu Zhan…”
【Forget it. I’m already trying my best to avoid cooperating with Su An’an.】
Seeing the interaction between Ji Xiaoyun and Bai Jin, Su An’an was about to speak again when Gu Zhan interrupted coldly, “Enough. You’d better stay quiet.”
Su An’an still wanted to argue, but under Gu Zhan’s icy gaze, she deflated like a punctured balloon.
At that moment, Ji Xiaoyun suddenly spoke, cutting off the farce:
“It really is a coincidence. I decided on a whim to join Heartbeat Lover. As for the slippers — Bai Jin is my future wife. We wear the same color. Does Miss Su have any objections?”
The implication was clear: Bai Jin was the future lady of the Ji family, and she was under his protection.
In fact, Bai Jin herself had no idea he would participate in the show — this was purely Ji Xiaoyun acting to shield her.
However, seeing Bai Jin still trying to keep her distance, he decided not to push further for now.
With Ji Xiaoyun’s public defense, the matter was settled, and no other guests spoke up again.
Netizens immediately started discussing:
“So Ji Xiaoyun really defended Bai Jin? Their CP is real?”
“Ahhh, Ji Xiaoyun must really like Bai Jin!”
Outside the show, some of Ji Xiaoyun’s hardcore fans were baffled that he would fall for an “ordinary” Bai Jin.
Bai Jin looked at him in surprise — she hadn’t expected him to actually speak up for her.
But remembering the original novel, she knew Ji Xiaoyun’s deep affection was ultimately for Su An’an, which made her feel slightly downcast.
【Forget it… I’m just a passerby in this book anyway. What’s there to care about?】
With that thought, she suddenly felt relieved.
As for the clothes she wore…
Bai Jin recalled a plot from the original story: the original Bai Jin had deliberately worn matching outfits with Ji Xiaoyun to ride on the Ji Group’s popularity, which led to fake CP rumors.
Although she later publicly apologized, the Ji Group never responded.
After all, the entertainment industry was just a tiny branch of the Ji empire — how could someone like Ji Xiaoyun care about a minor actress?
Today Bai Jin had just grabbed something at random… and it happened to match him again.
On the surface, Ji Xiaoyun looked calm, but inwardly he was full of疑问.
Riding on my popularity?
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember ever interacting with Bai Jin before.
However, the “book” Bai Jin kept thinking about made him increasingly curious about future events.
It felt like he was living in a fabricated world — and Bai Jin held too many secrets that he wanted to uncover.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Li Ming changed the topic: “So what’s our first segment?”
Bai Jin met Li Ming’s gaze and immediately recalled her description from the novel.
Li Ming: last year she skyrocketed to fame through a sweet urban romance film, then gained massive popularity due to her straightforward, easygoing personality — very different from the fake, overly delicate actresses in the industry.
She joined Heartbeat Lover mainly to rekindle her romance with her first love, Qi Dong — and they eventually ended up together happily.
Bai Jin snapped out of her thoughts. Other people’s affairs had nothing to do with her, though she quite liked Li Ming’s personality.
At this moment, Wang Shu muttered, “Since everyone’s here, should we go eat breakfast?”
As soon as breakfast was mentioned, everyone felt hungry.
They had started filming at 6 a.m., and most of them had to get ready at least one or two hours earlier — no time to eat.
But when the eight of them reached the kitchen, they discovered that the show only prepared bread, porridge, and instant noodles — and only enough for four people.
Bai Jin raised her eyebrows. She knew the production team wouldn’t make things easy.
Here came the drama.
“What is this? There are eight of us — and this is all the breakfast we get?!” Li Ming blurted out.
Bai Jin also looked worried.
Seeing her frown, Ji Xiaoyun said, “I’ll contact the production team and ask what’s going on.”
“No need.”
Gu Zhan’s cold voice suddenly rang out.
He placed a pink card on the table.
“I found this near the fridge.”
Everyone turned in surprise. They had thought Gu Zhan was only here on a whim — but it seemed he was actually taking the game seriously.
However, facing such a powerful figure, everyone became more cautious.
Su An’an wanted to step closer to Gu Zhan, but he shot her a cold look — then instead handed the card directly to Bai Jin.
This naturally made Su An’an even more resentful.
In truth, Gu Zhan had joined the show because of Bai Jin.
Although he had been drunk last time, he still remembered that Bai Jin hadn’t reacted to him like other women — no shock, no excitement, no admiration. That difference intrigued him.
The next day, he had his assistant investigate her — and even knowing she was Ji Xiaoyun’s fiancée, he still wanted to get closer.
Bai Jin leaned in slightly to read the card.
Gu Zhan was sensitive to scents — as she approached, he caught a faint, cool fragrance from her.
He lowered his gaze to her serious face.
Her eyes were clear and bright, free of any impurity, as she softly read aloud:
Tips:
Meals in the Heartbeat Villa are prepared by the guests themselves.
Guests must form teams with at least one man and one woman.
Friendly reminder:
Since you will participate in various games and activities, please don’t let yourselves go hungry!
The classic variety-show kitchen challenge had officially begun.