Jiang Qiyu waited outside the venue for over twenty minutes.
She had been asked one question after another, answering each as truthfully as possible.
But Jiang Mian, true to her role as the female lead, really had something up her sleeve. This question had stumped her completely.
She lowered her head, pulled out her phone, and stared at the glaring eight-character phrase at the top of her WeChat profile for a long time. After a prolonged silence, she finally responded into the communication device:
“Are you sure… this is something I can say?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
But to her surprise, Jiang Mian on the other side of the camera didn’t seem to understand her hesitation at all. Instead, she interpreted it as confirmation that she had guessed correctly, her smile growing even more confident:
“Or is it because there’s someone among us you know, and revealing your username would immediately expose your identity?”
“…”
Jiang Qiyu wasn’t actually afraid of her username exposing her identity—after all, she was going to appear on camera anyway. It was just that the username…
During her days surfing the internet at home, she had casually changed the original owner’s artistic WeChat name to the one she had always used.
The name was fine for private use, though it was a bit too crude for public settings.
But she tilted her head and glanced at the assistant director. Seeing no sign that he intended to stop her from speaking, she shrugged and went along with it:
“Well then, listen carefully. My WeChat name is a bit long…”
Bringing the microphone closer to her lips, Jiang Qiyu spoke without the slightest hesitation, enunciating each word clearly:
“My name is, ‘Changmao Dipped in Shit, Stabs Whoever It Touches.'”
“…”
As soon as the words left her mouth, both the on-site and off-site audiences fell into dead silence. Even the lively barrage of comments temporarily came to a halt.
The originally harmonious atmosphere among the six guests was shattered, leaving only the hot pot on the table bubbling with life.
The first to react were the netizens.
[She said… what did she call herself?]
[Folks… is it the eight characters I’m thinking of? Is this something she can actually say?]
[This… this isn’t just a surprise guest appearance. This sister is here to launch an airstrike on the dating show!]
[I guessed her username would be as dramatic as she is, but I never expected it to be this dramatic.]
“Pfft…”
A soft chuckle broke the deathly silence at the round table. Fang Xubai’s ears flushed bright red as he failed to hold back his laughter.
“Ahem…”
As everyone’s eyes turned toward him, he cleared his throat twice to hide his uncontrollably rising smile. Quickly picking up the conversation that had already shattered into pieces, he tried to smooth things over:
“Well, um… Teacher Changmao, you didn’t answer my question earlier. Can I ask another one now?”
After speaking, he looked toward Director Zhang behind the camera, who wore an equally awkward expression.
Receiving a nod of approval, Fang Xubai turned back to the camera with a dazzling smile:
“Teacher Changmao, what are your requirements for finding a partner while participating in this show?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the barrage of comments erupted once again.
[Teacher Changmao, hahaha… Oh my god, Teacher Changmao, hahaha…]
[What does this question have to do with guessing the mystery guest’s identity? Could it be that Bai Bai…]
[No way! Is Bai Bai already making a move on the mystery guest? Bai Bai, you’re still young! Mom doesn’t approve of this match!]
Meanwhile, Jiang Qiyu, sitting outside the venue, didn’t overthink it. Since someone asked, she answered truthfully:
“Hmm… someone who doesn’t like talking bad about others.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Xubai’s perfect smile faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.
He suppressed his smile, slightly furrowing his brow in confusion as he asked:
“Why?”
“I talk too much. When two people are together, at least one of them should accumulate some virtue.”
“…Pfft.”
His composure completely vanished.
After Fang Xubai asked his second inconsequential question, the identity of this Teacher Changmao remained unclear.
Now, only one person remained who hadn’t asked a question.
At that moment, everyone’s gaze unanimously turned toward the man sitting upright in the center.
The undisputed star of this dating show, the film emperor Lu Heng.
Lu Heng’s public persona in the entertainment industry had always been that of an aloof and noble “flower on a high peak”—an untouchable, lofty figure like a celestial being.
Now, for such a self-proclaimed, lofty immortal to confront this highly distinctive Teacher Changmao, he naturally felt immense disgust.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qiyu happened to catch the fleeting look of disgust on his face through the external screen. She narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke up before Lu Heng could formulate his question:
“After all the questions you’ve asked, only Teacher Jiang Mian earlier hit the mark.”
Suddenly called out, Jiang Mian looked up. “Which point?”
“Among those seated here, there is indeed someone I am very familiar with.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the six people at the round table instantly perked up, each frantically searching their memories for when they might have encountered such a formidable figure.
Just then, Lu Heng, who had remained silent until now, seemed to suddenly realize something, his expression freezing momentarily.
Twenty-two years old, tone-deaf, with a personality he found extremely unpleasant, coupled with this person’s nearly insane behavior…
Almost instantly, a name that filled him with immense annoyance yet was all too familiar flashed through his mind.
He lowered his gaze, concealing the disbelief in his eyes, slightly furrowed his brow, and asked in a deep voice:
“What is your relationship with that person…?”
Jiang Qiyu had been waiting for him to ask exactly that. Unseen by the others in the external area, she grinned and answered cheerfully:
“We grew up together, very close.”
She deliberately paused before adding:
“Oh, and our families are also very close.”
“…”
Just this ambiguous statement alone set off alarm bells in Lu Heng’s mind.
The Jiang and Lu families had been close friends for decades, their relationship undeniably intimate—so much so that they had arranged a marriage between their children when they were young.
This mysterious guest really was Jiang Qiyu.
In his view, Jiang Qiyu had disregarded warnings and schemed her way onto this show with the sole purpose of obstructing his pursuit of Jiang Mian. She might even publicly reveal their engagement to blackmail him…
Watching Lu Heng’s expression change instantly, Jiang Qiyu smirked mischievously from the external area.
She didn’t have many virtues, but holding grudges and indulging in mischief were among them.
She said all this for no other reason than to simply make Lu Heng, that old fool, uncomfortable.
“Alright.”
Just as Lu Heng’s brain was working overtime, on the verge of overload, the director’s voice-over timely chimed in:
“Now that everyone has asked their questions, is there anyone who can guess the identity of the mysterious guest?”
“…”
The living room remained silent once again.
The others frowned deeply, frantically searching their memories, while only Lu Heng, sitting stiffly upright, appeared somewhat uneasy.
Even if he had guessed it was Jiang Qiyu, he would never have said it out loud.
Seeing that no one had the answer, Director Zhang raised his megaphone and announced:
“Since none of you were able to guess the identity of our mystery guest, let’s invite her to step forward now!”
As the director’s words fell, a familiar tune suddenly echoed from outside the living room:
“My heart beats like love’s fiery blaze~ You smile, the mad one here is me~ Love burns, warming the depths of my soul~ I see the flickering flames of love~~”
The living room door swung open, and a casually dressed, youthful figure rode in on the internet-famous Mecha Combat Vehicle, slowly making her way inside.
The newcomer approached, dismounted from the vehicle, and smiled at the live-stream camera with a blend of warmth and ease.
Calm and composed, she clasped her hands together and declared:
“Riding the Mecha Combat Vehicle on the road, I’m Qiyu, remember my name!”