Jiang Ling came with a bellyful of schemes, and Jiang Qiyu sent her off with a bellyful of resentment.
Calculating it this way, neither of them really lost out.
By evening, she considerately (scratch that) bootlickingly took the initiative to help Young Master Qi Yu wash vegetables, successfully earning herself a spot at the three-dish-one-soup meal that Fang Xubai had tearfully ordered.
After dinner, it was time for the show’s usual reserved segment—
“Understand Love Night Chat”
And today’s program featured the public release of the Love Friends Circle from the Understand Love APP.
Everyone gathered in the living room, looking together at the large electronic screen in front of them, which displayed all the Love Friends Circle posts they had made from last night to today.
Yesterday:
Zhou Shun uploaded a photo of his room, with the caption:
[A wonderful “co-living” life.]
Song Yan posted a mirror selfie, with the caption:
[Looking forward to it.]
Jiang Ling took a photo of the night view outside her window, with the caption:
[With the gentle breeze, all good things will come unexpectedly.]
Fang Xubai’s post was purely text:
[Met a very interesting friend.]
When this post was displayed on the screen, Fang Xubai instinctively glanced over at Jiang Qiyu.
But he found that her gaze was unfocused, clearly lost in thought and not paying attention at all. He grinned carelessly and turned his attention back to the screen to continue watching.
Jiang Mian’s Love Friends Circle post was sent this morning. The picture showed a table full of various Chinese breakfast dishes, with the caption:
[Food is as gentle as love.]
Lu Heng not only instantly liked this post but also followed up with a photo of a garden landscape, with the caption:
[What I see is gentle and beautiful, and what I do does not betray my youth.]
When this part was displayed, the bullet comments were almost entirely dominated by fans of the Lu Heng and Jiang Mian ship:
【Is this the time difference game that young couples play? You’re already on a dating show, why are you still using secret codes? Forget gentle and beautiful, just be fiercely happy together!】
【Ahhhh I might be fake, but Lu Mianyan could never be fake, I’m shipping them so hard!】
【Do you two even care about your solo fans’ survival? You’re going to turn all your solo fans into shippers!】
【……】
As for Qi Yu, who only arrived here on the second day, his Love Friends Circle had no activity yet, so the screen only briefly displayed his blank profile before moving on.
From last night until now, everyone had only posted sporadically or hadn’t updated at all.
Aside from Lu Heng’s CP-baiting caption, which caused a bit of a stir, nothing else really made waves.
Jiang Qiyu’s Love Friends Circle posts were deliberately saved for last by the production team.
As for the reason…
Changmao’s first purely textual Love Friends Circle post early this morning:
[There are many kinds of spiciness in this world, namely: mild spicy, medium spicy, extra spicy, and]
The sentence was only half-finished, leaving everyone puzzled. The screen then immediately displayed her second post:
Picture: a piece of blue cheese cut open.
Changmao: [Stinky spicy!]
Lu Heng’s face darkened on the spot.
Picture: an empty bowl of vegetable tofu soup.
Changmao: [Delicious spicy!]
Qi Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.
Picture: a death-angle selfie in the dressing room wearing a bright red executioner’s outfit.
Changmao: [Beautiful spicy!]
Jiang Ling’s face turned green.
Picture: a photo of her standing on the rooftop garden, smiling brightly with the ocean scenery behind her.
This photo, which was a normal and perfectly beautiful promotional shot, had the caption:
[The Old Lady and the Sea.]
Finally, there was a group photo taken in the rooftop garden with Jiang Ling, who looked visibly reluctant.
The caption read: [If you can’t stand me, you can curse my sister. If I’m like this, what kind of good person could my sister possibly be?]
Then, she replied to her own post below:
[After cursing my sister, you can’t curse me anymore, okay?]
Jiang Ling, the fake cousin, looked even more furious.
Jiang Mian, the real cousin, also didn’t look too pleased.
【Truly worthy of Teacher Changmao. With just a few simple posts in the Love Friends Circle, she managed to ruin everyone’s good mood.】
【I underestimated her. I take back what I said earlier about Teacher Changmao being here to clean up the fandom. This lady is here to clean up the entire entertainment industry.】
【Take your seven types of spiciness and get out of China. I’m not joking!】
【By the way, are Jiang Ling and Jiang Qiyu really sisters? Why do they look so different?】
The comments were filled with amusement, but Jiang Ling wished she could devour Jiang Qiyu alive in her heart.
In front of the camera, she could only force a strained smile and say to Jiang Qiyu:
“Qiyu… you’ve really posted quite a lot in the Love Friends Circle, haven’t you?”
Song Yan was also taken aback and said, “Qiyu, your need to vent… is quite strong, huh.”
Zhou Shun and Fang Xubai nodded along.
Their words were tactful, but translated directly, they meant:
Why do you talk so much nonsense all day long?
“Do you all think I talk too much nonsense?”
Calling out everyone’s thoughts without hesitation, Jiang Qiyu didn’t see any problem with it and spoke with complete sincerity:
“Friends, to you, what I post is just the Love Friends Circle. But to me, I’m venting my craziness. By letting out a little madness every day, I gain a bit more peace in my heart.”
“……”
Everyone fell silent. Only Qi Yu shook his head slightly and, with rare earnestness, advised:
“Posting everything will only harm you.”
Jiang Qiyu, carefree as ever, grinned at him:
“Afraid of death, okay!”
After everyone had showcased their Love Friends Circle posts, the program team announced:
The guests would now give each other likes. The person with the most likes would receive a special privilege in tomorrow’s segment.
Without a doubt, this rule was extremely unfavorable for Qi Yu, but for Jiang Qiyu, who treated the Love Friends Circle like a memo pad, it was a stroke of luck.
Soon, the results were out.
Jiang Qiyu’s posts may not have been high in quality, but they made up for it in quantity. Even if she liked every one of her own posts, she was almost guaranteed to win.
Initially unaware of this rule, everyone had posted just one photo as if they were promoting on Weibo. No one expected the one who talked the most nonsense to stumble upon a stroke of luck.
Facing the congratulations—some sincere, some not—from everyone, Jiang Qiyu grinned so widely her eyes disappeared:
“I won, okay!”
That night, after returning to her room and finishing her routine, Jiang Qiyu, still busy parachuting, shooting, looting, and surviving in the game, unsurprisingly received another pop-up notification from the Understand Love APP about heart points.
The second forced pop-up freeze didn’t bother her as much this time. She calmly opened each person’s profile and rated them seriously:
Lu Heng?
Trash, 0 points.
Jiang Mian?
The female lead, better to avoid than provoke, 0 points.
Jiang Ling?
She has trypophobia and is afraid of people with too many schemes, 0 points.
Zhou Shun?
Not familiar, 0 points.
Song Yan?
Quite fair-skinned, 10 points.
Fang Xubai?
A decent person, but a bit of a loose screw, 20 points.
Qi Yu?
“……”
When rating this additional guest compared to yesterday, Jiang Qiyu paused her hand that was about to give a zero, then remembered his exquisite culinary skills.
Hmm… this is worth 50 points.
But then she recalled how he had verbally attacked her taste during the day, which deserved a deduction.
Under the watchful eyes of the live-stream audience, Jiang Qiyu pondered for a moment before slowly writing a 6 on Qi Yu’s rating sheet.