Ji Xingzhu’s chin slightly raised, she swept her gaze over the male guests before her with interest, proud as a queen selecting her consorts.
The male guests at this moment had varied expressions. Except for Song Qingchi, probably all of them were so nervous their hearts were about to leap out. Even the arrogant and flashy Shao Rui silently lowered his head, guiltily avoiding Ji Xingzhu’s gaze.
The young lady was too much trouble; they weren’t as tolerant as Song Qingchi. If they couldn’t withstand it, couldn’t they at least avoid it?
Since Ji Xingzhu said she didn’t like Song Qinghu anymore, she followed through thoroughly. Her gaze didn’t linger on the male lead for a moment, directly skipping over him.
Song Qingchi, however, quietly stared at Ji Xingzhu for quite a while. Seeing that she paid him no attention, he slightly lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions within. The smile at the corner of his mouth unconsciously faded a bit.
Ji Xingzhu deliberately pretended to think, scanning the male guests back and forth repeatedly. Watching their nervous expressions, she found it amusing in a mischievous way.
Finally, her gaze landed on a certain person. Her slender finger pointed at him, and she said lightly, “I choose you!”
The person she selected was Jian Xingzhi, a talented actor who had won Best Actor at 16. Although he had retired from the industry for nearly a decade, he still had many loyal fans and was considered the biggest star on this show.
Jian Xingzhi was momentarily startled, a brief daze appearing on his handsome, mature face. Soon he came to his senses and politely and courteously smiled at Ji Xingzhu. “Okay.”
Ji Xingzhu casually looked him up and down. Tall with long legs, handsome, with sharply defined bone structure—definitely a high-end movie face. However, his figure seemed somewhat thin, and he looked slightly haggard.
In terms of appearance, he was indeed a notch below Song Qingchi.
Thoughts reaching this point, Ji Xingzhu was suddenly stunned. Coming back to her senses, she scolded herself in her heart for losing her mind. Why did she unconsciously compare every man she saw to the dog male lead? It must be because she was too tired from working and mentally exhausted!
Ji Xingzhu’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward Song Qingchi. He stood calmly in place, looking utterly detached, as if he hadn’t come here for romance at all.
Just then, Song Qingchi’s eyes shifted slightly and suddenly met her gaze. Those eyes were dark and deep, causing Ji Xingzhu’s heart to inexplicably tremble. She instantly turned her head away.
Next, the others also finished pairing up. This time Song Qingchi was grouped with the powerhouse actress Cen Xuan. Seeing this, Ji Xingzhu couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief: the male lead was finally interacting with other female guests; hopefully everything would go smoothly.
After grouping was complete, each pair began drawing their date location for the day. Ji Xingzhu randomly picked one. After reading the contents, she clicked her tongue in displeasure.
“Amusement park? So childish.” Ji Xingzhu had no interest in such places now. The thought of noisy children possibly running around an amusement park annoyed her. But since she had drawn it, she had to accept it.
Before leaving, she discreetly glanced at Song Qingchi’s draw result—he would be going to see a theatrical performance with Cen Xuan today. Cen Xuan looked very excited; apparently this date location perfectly suited the professional actress’s tastes. In comparison, Song Qingchi appeared much more indifferent, even the curve of his smile carrying a businesslike formality.
Looking at his “half-dead” expression, Ji Xingzhu grew increasingly uneasy. So, after getting into the car with Jian Xingzhi heading to the amusement park, she closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, pretending to nap during the ride. Then she immediately went online to contact Song Qingchi!
“Host!” Ji Xingzhu urgently called out.
Coincidentally, Song Qingchi was also sitting in his car with eyes closed, catching up on sleep. Hearing the familiar mechanical voice in his mind, his brow twitched slightly. He abruptly opened his eyes, which sparkled brightly.
He raised an eyebrow in surprise, the corners of his mouth habitually curving upward as his expression instantly softened considerably. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to supervise you!” Ji Xingzhu said impatiently. “Hey, you’ve finally managed to arrange a date with a suitable female guest. You need to seize this opportunity! Try to make Cen Xuan fall for you!”
Song Qingchi’s smile faded slightly, his lips pressing together. After a long moment, he asked coolly, “What exactly counts as a suitable female guest?”
Ji Xingzhu stated matter-of-factly, “Because Cen Xuan is beautiful, has a well-developed career, and most importantly, unlike Ji Xingzhu, she doesn’t have prejudices against you. As long as you put in effort, you can easily gain her favor!”
Song Qingchi let out an ambiguous chuckle but didn’t respond.
Ji Xingzhu immediately felt a surge of anger. She said irritably, “You just promised yesterday that you’d listen to me from now on. Are you trying to go back on your word already?”
Song Qingchi’s handsome brows furrowed slightly. After a while, he sighed in slight exasperation and compromised, “Fine, I’ll listen to you.”
Ji Xingzhu was finally satisfied. She was about to say goodbye and log off, but Song Qingchi timely spoke up to stop her.
“System, you always take the initiative to contact me. I wanted to ask…” Song Qingchi revealed a warm, harmless smile. “If I need you, how can I summon you?”
Ji Xingzhu was momentarily stunned. She really hadn’t considered this question. Not knowing, she directly discussed with 999, “9, what do you think?”
The cannon fodder system explained, “If the male lead’s desire to summon you is very strong, I can sense it. At that time, I can notify you…”
Hearing this, Ji Xingzhu didn’t reply to 999 but directly said to Song Qingchi seriously, “You can’t summon me. If something comes up, just hold it in until I log in next time and tell me then.”
Cannon Fodder System: “???” That’s not what I said, right?!
Song Qingchi: “…” I heard everything…
The cannon fodder system questioned in confusion, “Host, what are you doing? That’s not what I just said!”
Ji Xingzhu curled her lip in disdain. “I’m already exhausted from being forced to check in online every day. If the male lead suddenly decides to summon me whenever he feels like it, wouldn’t I be exhausted to death? Refuse overtime!”
So she simply fooled the male lead into giving up any thought of actively contacting her. Hee hee hee.
After dropping that remark, Ji Xingzhu didn’t wait for Song Qingchi to say anything else. She turned around and logged off, her attitude utterly heartless.
Song Qingchi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He could only watch helplessly as Ji Xingzhu left nonchalantly. He couldn’t help but sigh faintly again.
Just then, a concerned voice came from beside him. “Mr. Song, is something on your mind? You keep sighing…”
Song Qingchi instantly straightened his expression, habitually revealing a warm and reserved smile. He shook his head and said, “I’m fine, thank you for your concern.”
Cen Xuan nodded. She opened her mouth slightly, intending to communicate with Song Qingchi and see if any sparks might fly. However, Song Qingchi was very uncooperative. Every time she initiated a topic, it would quickly end with him. As time passed, Cen Xuan lost interest in forcing conversation, and the car fell into awkward silence.
·
After arriving at the amusement park, Ji Xingzhu surveyed the noisy surroundings, then looked up at the harsh sunlight, her brows tightly furrowed.
“Miss Ji, what would you like to play?” Jian Xingzhi asked politely.
Without a second thought, Ji Xingzhu replied, “Let’s find a shady spot and sit down to rest.”
Jian Xingzhi was momentarily stunned but obediently nodded. “Okay.”
The accompanying program crew: “…”
They had chosen the amusement park as the date location precisely to capture the subtle increase in affection between guests while they played and had fun! Finding a shady spot to rest—what was that about? However, they didn’t dare protest against Miss Ji, fearing they might anger her, so they could only silently follow her lead.
Director Lu Xuguang felt somewhat worried. They hadn’t even started livestreaming today, specifically to record some unreleased material that would later be edited into the official episodes, maintaining viewers’ freshness and curiosity. But now… Lu Xuguang worried they wouldn’t capture any good footage today.
Ji Xingzhu couldn’t care less about Lu Xuguang’s concerns. She found a café in the amusement park, led Jian Xingzhi inside, and gracefully sat down.
Ji Xingzhu called the waiter, casually ordered a cold drink, and asked Jian Xingzhi offhandedly, “What would you like to drink?”
Jian Xingzhi was momentarily taken aback. Seeing Ji Xingzhu ask so “kindly” what he wanted to drink, he subtly felt flattered. He quickly ordered a drink as well, then fell into silence.
He certainly knew he was participating in a dating show. If he were facing another female guest now, he might mobilize his acting skills and proactively chat with her. But with Ji Xingzhu as his partner… remembering everything Song Qingchi had endured yesterday, Jian Xingzhi felt slightly apprehensive and increasingly unsure how to start a conversation.
Compared to Jian Xingzhi’s restraint, Ji Xingzhu was much more at ease, as if nothing could make this self-absorbed young lady feel constrained.
She took a light sip of coffee and said with interest to Jian Xingzhi, “I just watched your movie a couple days ago. Your acting is really good.”
After learning Jian Xingzhi was one of the dating show guests, Ji Xingzhu had taken time to watch his work. Honestly, it was indeed good. Back then, he was only in his teens, and his talent practically overflowed from the screen.
Jian Xingzhi was somewhat surprised by her praise and smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
“But…” Ji Xingzhu propped her chin on her hand, frankly appraising him. “You haven’t acted for so long. Has your acting declined?”
Jian Xingzhi: “…”
How was he supposed to respond to that?
He didn’t feel particularly angry at being questioned; he just found it somewhat awkward. He subconsciously scratched his head, his expression unexpectedly carrying a hint of innocence, nothing like someone who had entered the entertainment industry as a teenager.
Jian Xingzhi hesitated. “Probably… not declined?”
As he spoke, he lowered his eyes dejectedly. Since his comeback until now, he hadn’t received a single acting role. He simply hadn’t had the opportunity to act, so he didn’t know whether he had regressed.
Ji Xingzhu’s eyes shifted slyly. A mischievous smile curved her lips. Suddenly she clapped her hands and said, “How about this: perform a scene for me right now, and I’ll see if your acting has declined!”
Jian Xingzhi: “…”
Lu Xuguang: “…”
Lu Xuguang painfully covered his face. What direction was this taking?! This was a dating show, not an acting competition! Besides, Jian Xingzhi was at least a triple-crown Best Actor, hailed as a genius actor. Geniuses usually had tempers, right? Could he tolerate Ji Xingzhu’s bossy attitude?
Lu Xuguang’s heart was in his throat, afraid Jian Xingzhi might become angry and argue with the young lady.
However, after a moment of silence, Jian Xingzhi surprisingly nodded in agreement quite sincerely. “Okay, what do you want me to perform?”
Ji Xingzhu pondered for a moment, chin in hand, then raised her hand and snapped her fingers enthusiastically. “How about this: play a man who likes me but feels he doesn’t deserve me—insecure yet deeply devoted!”
“After all, I’ve seen this type of man the most. I’ll immediately be able to tell if your performance is convincing.” Ji Xingzhu curled her lips proudly.
The observing cannon fodder system was speechless: Host, what exactly are you proud of?!
Lu Xuguang also looked like he wanted to complain but didn’t know where to start, his hand holding the script trembling slightly.
Upon hearing Ji Xingzhu’s request, Jian Xingzhi’s expression briefly went blank. Then, instead of getting angry, he couldn’t help but smile brightly, seemingly very interested in Ji Xingzhu’s suggestion. He readily agreed. “Sure.”
Then, Jian Xingzhi’s expression subtly changed, and his original melancholy, calm demeanor completely vanished.
There was no particularly exaggerated expression on his face, only his eyes were exceptionally bright. He gazed quietly and intently at Ji Xingzhu, his eyes shining astonishingly, as if filled with sparkling light, the intense, fervent emotions inside seeming ready to overflow.
Yet, in the moment of meeting Ji Xingzhu’s gaze, he suddenly lowered his head and avoided her eyes. His thin lips pressed together slightly, complex emotions churning in his eyes. Finally, the light in his eyes slowly extinguished, and his dejectedly lowered head silently revealed his dim and gloomy inferiority complex.
Throughout, Jian Xingzhi didn’t speak a single word, using only his eyes and micro-expressions to achieve the effect Ji Xingzhu wanted.
Ji Xingzhu’s eyes lit up at the sight. Not caring that Jian Xingzhi was still in character, she applauded on her own. “Not bad, not bad! Well acted!”
She looked at him with a beaming smile, her gaze appraising as if examining a treasure. Then she dropped a bombshell. “Jian Xingzhi, how about I sign you?”