Ye Jinyan’s messages to Gu Mingyan were met with total silence all night.
This unprecedented cold shoulder left him restless, and the sores in his mouth throbbed even more.
Unable to wait for Gu Mingyan to contact him, he instructed her manager, Cai Chengyun, to check on her first thing the next morning.
During a break in filming, Gu Mingyan’s phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID, answered, and put it on speaker while continuing her makeup touch-up.
Sitting beside her, Yun Qingqing tilted her head, silently mouthing, “Who’s that?”
Gu Mingyan silently replied with her lips, “Cai Chengyun, my manager,” showing no intention of avoiding Yun Qingqing.
Cai Chengyun’s gentle voice came through the phone: “Mingyan, still filming? Thanks for your hard work.”
“Okay. What’s up?” Gu Mingyan was straightforward.
“Nothing major…” Cai Chengyun cautiously got to the point. “Mingyan, have you… been upset with Ye Shao recently?”
Gu Mingyan frowned. “Upset? Upset about what? Not at all.”
“Really?” Cai Chengyun didn’t seem convinced. “Then why haven’t you replied to Ye Shao’s messages? He’s anxious. Listen, Mingyan—about the fireworks on the island for Meng Xian, maybe it wasn’t fully thought out, but he didn’t mean any disrespect. It was purely for promoting the company’s artists—you should understand…”
Yun Qingqing internally snorted. She disliked Ye Jinyan’s cowardly tactic—using a manager to act as a messenger while trying to subtly manipulate Gu Mingyan.
She was about to figure out a way to casually interrupt this nonsense when Gu Mingyan spoke up herself.
“Cai Ge, what exactly are you saying? How could I be mad at Jinyan Gege?”
“Well…”
“Jinyan Gege’s investment sense has never been great—you know that. This time, he did the fireworks to promote Meng Xian, didn’t plan it well, and the company stock even dropped. I feel bad for him, there’s no way I could be mad!”
Yun Qingqing’s jaw dropped silently.
Indeed, Gu Mingyan’s blunt honesty was brutally effective. If Ye Jinyan had heard it, he’d probably have exploded.
On the other end, Ye Jinyan couldn’t help himself: “Gu Mingyan! Can you stop bringing up my failed investments?!”
He intended to scold, but the sores in his mouth made his words slurred and weak.
Gu Mingyan, puzzled, asked, “Hmm? Jinyan Gege, are you there? What did you say? I can’t hear clearly.”
Frustrated, Ye Jinyan tried to speak, but the pain from his mouth sores made it worse, and his pronunciation grew even more garbled.
Gu Mingyan turned to Yun Qingqing: “Qingqing, can you understand what Jinyan Gege is saying?”
“Of course,” Yun Qingqing kindly translated. “Ye Shao admitted he has poor judgment, and his investments keep failing. He’s embarrassed.”
Ye Jinyan: “???”
When did he admit that?!
But with his mouth in pain, he could barely argue.
Gu Mingyan gently comforted him: “Jinyan Gege, don’t blame yourself. Investment mistakes happen. I won’t laugh at you for being wrong or losing money, really!”
Every comforting word hit him like a precise, tiny dagger to the heart.
He trembled with anger, roaring incoherently: “@#￥%…&*!!”
Gu Mingyan again looked to Yun Qingqing in confusion.
Yun Qingqing leaned closer and translated: “Ye Shao says he deeply regrets setting off fireworks on the island without your permission. He feels completely foolish.”
Ye Jinyan: “???”
No! He didn’t say that!
“Jinyan Gege, don’t be too hard on yourself,” Gu Mingyan continued. “Although it’s common sense not to set off fireworks in sensitive areas, you weren’t good at studies as a kid, so it’s understandable. I won’t mind.”
Ye Jinyan felt trapped between Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan’s combined assault, angry enough to turn away.
He ranted into the phone, then furiously hung up.
Hearing the busy tone, Gu Mingyan blinked. “Why did Jinyan Gege hang up suddenly?”
Yun Qingqing, calm as ever, translated: “Maybe he’s too embarrassed. I heard him choke up at the end, saying he has no face to see you and needs to reflect on his foolishness alone.”
“I see…” Gu Mingyan nodded thoughtfully, then grabbed Yun Qingqing’s hand. “Qingqing, you were right! I only didn’t contact him for a few days, and Jinyan Gege already missed me so much. Not only did he reach out, he reflected on himself deeply! He never did this before!”
Yun Qingqing suppressed a smile. “See? Your romance strategist wasn’t lying. Maintaining some distance helps intensify the relationship.”
“Mm!” Gu Mingyan nodded vigorously, clearly trusting Yun Qingqing’s advice.
Yun Qingqing then casually asked, “By the way, Mingyan, why was your manager with Ye Shao on the call? Are they close?”
Gu Mingyan replied offhandedly, “Oh, that. Funny story. When I first decided to try the entertainment industry, Cai Ge reached out to me, helped plan my career, handled all sorts of stuff, very dedicated. Later, I found out he’s actually Jinyan Gege’s college classmate! Isn’t that a coincidence?”
Yun Qingqing’s face showed just the right amount of surprise. “Wow, that really is quite a connection.”
Inside, she scoffed. Coincidence my foot. How many ‘coincidences’ exist in this world?
From the start, that so-called college classmate was probably planted to monitor Gu Mingyan and gain her trust. No wonder he could track her every move and subtly influence her.
….
At the time, it was still early compared to the meticulously groomed female guests. The male guests were much rougher.
Jiang Mingqian lay in the lower bunk, awake for a while.
From the bathroom came Yu Ran’s soft grooming sounds: the gentle hum of an electric toothbrush, water splashing against the sink, amplifying the quiet of the room.
He listened at the balcony, confirming Yu Ran wouldn’t come out anytime soon, then quietly reached for his phone on the pillow.
When the screen lit up, Jiang Mingqian opened his photo album.
His album contained very little—mostly work-related screenshots and scores. Yet, prominently placed was one out-of-place photo.
The picture wasn’t high-resolution or carefully composed; it seemed a candid shot taken by someone else.
A girl in a white ballet dress danced gracefully, sunlight filtering through the leaves of a plane tree, casting dappled shadows on her.
She lightly touched her toes, neck extended, arms tracing elegant curves, completely absorbed in her dance.
This was the spontaneous shot that had made Meng Xian go viral overnight.
Jiang Mingqian’s eyes lingered on the screen for a long time, expression blank.
The memory seemed to travel through that photo, taking him back to that damp, chilly rental apartment years ago.
At the time, Jiang Mingqian was still an unknown underground singer, carrying his guitar through small, dimly lit livehouses, singing his own songs to almost empty rooms.
That night, he had just finished a lackluster performance and returned to the rental apartment, which didn’t even have heating. Lying on the cold bed, he felt a mix of confusion and self-doubt about the future.
It was on that night, when the path ahead seemed invisible, that Jiang Mingqian stumbled upon this photo on his phone—one that had been shared wildly across the internet.
The girl, hailed online as a “national campus beauty,” radiated a kind of untarnished beauty and vibrant life force that instantly sparked an endless well of inspiration within him.
Jiang Mingqian stayed up all night, composing the song that would make him famous and change his destiny: “Girl Under the Moonlight.”
It was this unexpected viral hit that pulled Jiang Mingqian out of the underground scene and onto the stage, giving him a name.
He searched tirelessly for the girl in the photo and finally learned her name—Meng Xian.
From that moment on, she was no longer just a fleeting image on the internet. She became the faith that carried him through his lowest points, his muse of inspiration.
“Admiring your muse again?”
Yu Ran emerged from the bathroom, misty with freshness, speaking as if it were the most natural thing.
Jiang Mingqian pressed the phone to his chest and murmured a soft, “Mm,” a faint acknowledgment of Yu Ran’s teasing.
After a quick wash-up, the two headed together to the open area outside the dorm to meet with the rest of the cast.
The crew had already set up equipment. In the center of the area stood a long table, laden with all kinds of breakfast.
Meng Xian and Ding Manni were collecting their meals from the staff.
Morning light fell on Meng Xian’s slightly thinner frame, giving her a pale, fragile look that somehow made her appear even more pitiable and endearing.
The moment Jiang Mingqian saw her, his heart involuntarily sped up, and his steps slowed without him realizing it.
“Good morning.” Meng Xian looked up, saw them, and handed over two breakfasts, joking lightly, “Long time no see.”
It had felt like a long time since the incident when Meng Xian had been taken away for setting off fireworks.
Jiang Mingqian took the warm milk and bread, his fingertips brushing lightly against hers, causing his heart to skip a beat.
He looked at her and blurted out, “You’ve lost weight.”
Meng Xian smiled weakly at the furrow between his brows. “I stayed a few days in the station, didn’t eat or sleep well… no wonder I lost weight.”
Jiang Mingqian awkwardly offered some comfort. “It’s all in the past. You’re fine now, that’s what matters. You weren’t mistreated in there, right?”
“Not mistreated exactly, but I did a lot of thinking. Mingqian… do you think I did something wrong to upset Mingyan? I always feel like she hasn’t liked me much.” Meng Xian lifted her eyes, their gaze moist. “About the fireworks on the island… I really didn’t mean it. I didn’t expect Yun Qingqing to call the police immediately.”
Jiang Mingqian hesitated.
Rationally, he knew that setting off fireworks without permission on someone else’s ecological island was indeed wrong, and Gu Mingyan had every right to be angry.
But looking at Meng Xian’s pitiable, forced smile, his sense of principle quickly gave way to sympathy.
“Don’t blame yourself too much. Just be more careful next time,” he said.
Their conversation was interrupted by laughter nearby.
Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing were walking over, both radiant and cheerful, chatting away without noticing Jiang Mingqian and Meng Xian.
Jiang Mingqian’s gaze lingered on Gu Mingyan’s carefree smile, and he frowned, remembering Meng Xian’s words.
At that moment, the live broadcast equipment all lit up red, signaling the start of the show.
A crew member raised a megaphone in the center of the field. “Good morning, guests! Good morning to our viewers at home! Welcome back to Best Partners!”
“Since today is the first day of our reboot, we’ve kept the task simple and fun. The theme is—‘The You I See!’”
“The task is simple: each guest will style their partner from head to toe according to their own aesthetic and preference. Once complete, we’ll gather here for a group reveal.”
“Remember, the keyword is your own aesthetic! We want to see how you envision your partner, so let your creativity flow!”
Once the rules were announced, the live comments exploded.
【They’re back! Finally! Life without Best Partners was unbearable! 】
【I’ve been waiting so long, tears… 】
【Our national campus beauty Meng Xian will definitely win this round! She looks good in anything. 】
【Actually, Yun Qingqing isn’t far behind in looks either. 】
【Hahaha I can’t wait to see what Ji Sihan will dress Nan Xu in—he’s had awful outfits since filming began. 】
【Yu Ran’s straight-male taste isn’t much better. No one’s the worst, only worse. 】
Two hours later, the contestants gathered again.
To maintain the mystery of the final reveal, everyone wore full-length coats that covered them completely, hats with wide brims hiding their faces—like a secretive gathering of a mysterious organization.
“After two hours of preparation, it looks like everyone is ready,” the director announced. “Let’s start with the male guests. Show your results!”
Nan Xu, standing in the center, took a deep breath, seemingly psyching himself up.
Ji Sihan excitedly rubbed his hands, wearing a “praise me” expression.
Nan Xu resignedly yanked off his coat and hat, revealing his full outfit.
For a moment, silence fell… then erupted into uproarious laughter.
“Pfft—hahaha!” Gu Mingyan was first to lose control, laughing without restraint.
Yun Qingqing also widened her eyes, trying to hold back a smile.
Nan Xu wore a fluorescent green tight T-shirt under a studded leather vest with fringe, paired with shiny pants printed with giant abstract skulls.
The clash of colors and mix of elements perfectly embodied “ugly in every dimension.”
Nan Xu himself looked helpless. He glanced at the fluorescent shirt, then turned his head in shame.
Meanwhile, the mastermind Ji Sihan proudly announced, “Looks good, right? I think this outfit is full of energy! Totally leading the fashion trend!”
【Help! My eyes! Ji Sihan’s aesthetic never disappoints! 】
【Is he out to get Nan Xu? He made him look like a non-mainstream youth. 】
【The funny part is Ji Sihan genuinely thinks he looks great, hahaha. 】
Next up was Yu Ran and Jiang Mingqian.
Yu Ran, a bit more self-aware than Ji Sihan, sheepishly helped Jiang Mingqian remove his coat and hat.
He wore a classic red-and-black plaid shirt, slightly loose blue straight-leg jeans, and plain white sneakers.
Not offensively ugly, just completely unremarkable—the standard programmer’s three-piece set.
Luckily, Jiang Mingqian’s handsome features carried the look.
Yu Ran cleared his throat, introducing: “I chose this classic, versatile set—can’t go wrong.”
He emphasized “classic and versatile” to prove he had actually thought about it.
【Straight-male duo never disappoints! 】
【Hahaha it’s plain, but compared to Ji Sihan’s spiritual trauma outfit, the plaid actually looks fresh? 】
【Thanks to Ji Sihan lowering our standards for ugly! 】
【Don’t overcompare! Both have questionable taste, one tacky, one boring. 】
In contrast, Nan Xu and Jiang Mingqian’s partner styling was normal—or even stylish.
Nan Xu dressed Ji Sihan in a simple dark gray casual suit, keeping him handsome but removing all the flashy extras, looking clean and sharp.
Jiang Mingqian picked a Japanese “salty aesthetic” outfit for Yu Ran, highlighting his features previously hidden by the nerdy style.
【No wonder Nan Xu is ex-manager, his taste is on point! Ji Sihan actually looks good now! 】
【Yu Ran looks like a fresh young man after a makeover—what was he wearing before? 】
【Male contestants done, now show us the female guests! 】
Meng Xian glanced at Gu Mingyan and, along with Ding Manni, removed their hats and coats.
Clearly, they had played it safe, worried that a bold styling by the other could backfire.
The final looks were close to their usual public image—safe, beautiful, elegant, but lacking surprise.
【White dresses really suit Xian Xian, pure yet elegant, a true fairy! 】
【Help! How can she be so pale, so thin, and so elegant! Any random screenshot could be a wallpaper. 】
【A true beauty doesn’t need flashy styling; a simple white dress can look heavenly on her. 】
【It’s pretty, sure, but feels a little… safe? Wasn’t the task to style according to one’s own aesthetic? This feels like they just put on the style they themselves like. 】
【Cut her some slack. Which female celebrity wants to look ugly? Safety first. 】
Meng Xian and Ding Manni were both satisfied with their own styling.
After their showcase, it was Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing’s turn.
However, when the director gestured for them to reveal their outfits, Gu Mingyan hesitated.
Instead of removing her coverings, she clutched the front of her coat and quietly asked Yun Qingqing, “Qingqing… do I really look good like this? Is it too much?”
Yun Qingqing gave her a firm look. “Absolutely beautiful. Trust me, this is exactly the style that suits you best.”
Seeing Gu Mingyan unusually lacking confidence, Meng Xian softly urged, “Mingyan, just take off your coat and hat—everyone’s waiting.”
The live comments quickly picked up on Gu Mingyan’s hesitance:
【Why so slow? Is she scared of being outshone by Meng Xian? 】
【They really do look alike. With Meng Xian shining so bright, it’s normal for Gu Mingyan to worry about losing face. 】
【I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gu Mingyan wear such bold colors. Her private and event outfits are mostly white dresses, very similar to Meng Xian’s style. 】
【Yeah, she seems to mimic Meng Xian’s style but never quite nails it. 】
Beside her, Jiang Mingqian, recalling Meng Xian’s earlier delicate confession, felt a subtle impatience and urged, “Stop dawdling.”
Under the repeated nudge, Gu Mingyan steeled herself, closed her eyes, and yanked off the wide-brimmed hat and long coat.
For a split second, the entire area fell silent.
Jiang Mingqian’s eyes, which had been slightly impatient, froze at the sight of Gu Mingyan.
Yun Qingqing had chosen a sunlit yellow satin gown for her. The cut accentuated her curves perfectly, while bold crimson lipstick made her pale skin glow with authority and presence.
【Whoa?! That’s Gu Mingyan?! 】
【Ahhh, wifey! You’re gorgeous! This style suits you so well! 】
【So she looks stunning in bright colors… the previous innocent style was wasting her beauty. 】
【Yun Qingqing has such divine taste! 】
Gu Mingyan, overwhelmed by the sudden quiet, instinctively tried to cover her chest, glancing nervously at Yun Qingqing. “Qingqing, I…”
“See? Everyone’s staring,” Yun Qingqing said, taking her hand and stopping her from shrinking back. “I told you, this style suits you. Your features are actually more three-dimensional than many people’s—you can totally pull off this bold look.”
Normally, Gu Mingyan muted her natural brightness to fit Ye Jin’s aesthetic, aiming for pseudo-no-makeup elegance.
But Yun Qingqing had noticed during their last photoshoot: Gu Mingyan’s features were more defined and bold than Meng Xian’s—perfect for a bright, daring look.
If Meng Xian was an elegant ink painting, Gu Mingyan was a vivid oil painting.
Now, the oil painting was showing its full, dazzling colors.
Yu Ran nudged the still-stunned Jiang Mingqian. “Mingqian… don’t you think she looks more like the person in that photo now?”
Jiang Mingqian immediately withdrew his gaze, stiffly replying, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
His muse had always been Meng Xian—there was no way it could be Gu Mingyan.