Gu Mingyan’s stunning reveal sent the live chat into a frenzy, praising Yun Qingqing for discovering the beauty Gu Mingyan had been hiding.
【Yun Qingqing really has taste! Makeup-artist-level aesthetic! 】
【I can’t wait to see how she styles herself next. 】
【Gu Mingyan usually goes for white dresses and innocent vibes, but Yun Qingqing’s look is perfect for this type. 】
【Yeah! Her last photoshoot was stunning too—so ethereal. 】
Amid the anticipation, the director smiled and cued the next step: “Alright, now let’s see Yun Qingqing’s styling.”
All eyes turned to Yun Qingqing. She smiled confidently at the camera and tore off her oversized coat and hat.
The room fell silent again.
If Gu Mingyan had left everyone breathless, Yun Qingqing left everyone in stunned shock.
Around her neck were at least three layered necklaces: a diamond-studded choker, a chunky pearl necklace, and a complex gemstone pendant chain, tangled together and obviously heavy.
Her wrists jingled with bangles and watches: left hand with two diamond-studded bracelets and a pricey watch, right hand with several thin bracelets, gems and K-gold, clinking together with every movement.
Her fingers bore multiple rings, each with sizable stones.
Every piece was exquisite on its own, but stacked together, she looked like a walking jewelry display.
Gorgeous, yes—but it completely overshadowed her normally serene, ethereal aura, radiating instead the brash vibe of “I am expensive.”
【…I’m blind. 】
【Is this the entire jewelry store on her? 】
【Gu Mingyan’s aesthetic is way too over the top! 】
Meng Xian was the first to react, covering her mouth to laugh. “Oh my, Qingqing, this is way too much.”
She glanced at Gu Mingyan. “Mingyan… you made yourself look amazing, but didn’t think to make Qingqing beautiful too?”
Though teasing in tone, the comment implied that Gu Mingyan had been selfish—focused on stealing the spotlight, while her partner became a mere jewelry showcase.
The live chat quickly followed:
【This taste is so tacky! Turning a serene beauty into a Christmas tree! 】
【Gu Mingyan is so selfish—just focused on herself, the partner gets ignored. 】
【Poor Yun Qingqing, used as a tool to highlight someone else. 】
Yet Yun Qingqing showed no displeasure.
She linked her arm with Gu Mingyan’s and sincerely praised, “Who says? I think this outfit is amazing! Look at the sparkle of these diamonds, the clarity of the rings—everything shines brilliantly!”
Ding Manni, staring at Yun Qingqing’s blinding rings, twitched. “It’s dazzling… but don’t you think it’s a bit overwhelming?”
Yun Qingqing sighed like an old soul. “You don’t get it. If your partner gave you all this jewelry at once, you wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.”
“What? Gave it all to you?!” Meng Xian genuinely lost control, exclaiming.
She knew her value—any piece Yun Qingqing wore was a limited, priceless edition. Gu Mingyan had just given it away?
Gu Mingyan winced at Meng Xian’s sharp voice. “It’s just some jewelry. Looks good on Qingqing, so I gave it to her. What’s the big deal?”
She spoke as if it were mere cabbage, not priceless jewels.
Meng Xian could only stare at the staggering value on Yun Qingqing.
Ding Manni murmured, “All given away? Actually… this look grows on me the more I see it.”
Meng Xian: “…”
【Admit it, I was loud before, but who could refuse priceless jewelry gifted freely? 】
【Count me in! I don’t mind tacky—I love this kind of heavy, meaningful friendship! 】
【Waaah, I was the clown—sympathizing with Yun Qingqing as a tool?! If I got this outfit, I’d be grinning from ear to ear. 】
【Another day of crying over someone else’s friendship. 】
The morning task had indeed been lighthearted.
After the styling segment, everyone strolled through the historic campus as the crew introduced famous alumni and building history.
Meng Xian seemed very familiar here, adding little anecdotes at the right moments.
“This library is a 1930s Soviet-style building. See its arched windows and red bricks—very characteristic of the era,” she said gently, measured and calm. “But I find the new campus library bolder, with spiral bookshelves inspired by the DNA double helix, symbolizing the inheritance of knowledge and life.”
Jiang Mingqian looked at her, admiration in his eyes. “You know about architecture too?”
Meng Xian smiled modestly. “Not really—just learned a bit while auditing performance classes before.”
【She even audited classes at Yun City University! Such a hardworking girl! 】
【No wonder her acting is good—she’s diligent even off-camera. 】
【This is a top-tier idol. Always improving herself—being a fan of Meng Xian’s career is a joy. 】
Jiang Mingqian’s gaze softened even more as he looked at Meng Xian. “You’re always so eager to learn.”
Meng Xian smiled gently. “It’s a basic quality an actor should maintain. Nothing special.”
She was about to continue explaining the design philosophy of the teaching building when Gu Mingyan suddenly wore a face that screamed “what nonsense are you spouting?” and interjected:
“The spiral bookshelf you mentioned isn’t inspired by the DNA structure—it comes from the Northern Song dynasty’s Li Jie, Yingzao Fashi, the ‘spiral stair book tower.’ If you don’t know the design, it’s better not to spread misinformation—it misleads people.”
“You know about this too?” Jiang Mingqian couldn’t help but defend Meng Xian.
Gu Mingyan shot him a strange look. “These buildings you’re talking about? My family donated them. Of course I know.”
Meng Xian: “……”
Jiang Mingqian: “……”
【Quickly retract my comment calling Gu Mingyan a know-it-all. 】
【Oh, so these buildings were donated by the Gu family—makes sense now. 】
【Wow… her family doesn’t just have a mine, they must have a money-printing machine! 】
【Another level added to my understanding of how rich Gu Mingyan is. 】
Meng Xian’s fingernails dug deep into her palms, leaving crescent-shaped red marks.
The production team didn’t let the guests relax for long. By afternoon, the director grabbed a megaphone and announced that everyone should follow the class schedule for activities.
Ji Sihan’s face immediately fell. “Wait… director! We’ve been graduated for years—do we really have to go back to class?”
The director still smiled. “Don’t worry. The first class is P.E.—a three-legged race. No sitting in classrooms required.”
“That’s a relief!” Ji Sihan’s mood instantly shifted from despair to joy.
As long as he wasn’t stuck at a desk, he could do anything.
He eagerly turned to Yun Qingqing. “I’m good at P.E.! I was on the school track team in high school.”
Seeing Ji Sihan lean over to chat with Yun Qingqing again, Gu Mingyan snorted in displeasure and stepped forward, perfectly blocking his view.
Ji Sihan was suddenly met by a tall figure. “?”
Yun Qingqing, just about to respond politely, blinked. “??”
【Hahaha, Miss Gu is at it again! 】
【Watching the subtle tensions between these three cracks me up every time. 】
Meng Xian noticed the main camera was still on Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan and smiled to herself.
The three-legged race required coordination. With Gu Mingyan’s self-centered personality, she would surely hold Yun Qingqing back.
Soon, the crew set up the track on the field, placing stations every fifty meters where teams could collect meal tickets.
The game lasted fifteen minutes, and the number of tickets determined how lavish the dinner would be.
At the whistle, multiple teams took off simultaneously.
True to his boast, Ji Sihan and Nan Xu quickly found a rhythm, shouting slogans in sync.
Jiang Mingqian and Yu Ran were a bit slower but steady, closely following.
But Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing ran into trouble immediately.
Gu Mingyan, competitive as ever, took a huge first step as soon as the whistle blew—forgetting her right leg was tied to Yun Qingqing’s left.
Her big, hasty stride threw them off balance, and they nearly toppled over.
“Ah!” Gu Mingyan screamed.
Yun Qingqing reacted instantly, twisting her waist and bracing Gu Mingyan with her arms, just managing to stabilize them.
“You okay?” Yun Qingqing asked, catching her breath.
Gu Mingyan shook her head quickly, still rattled but unharmed.
Meng Xian and Ding Manni happened to pass by. Meng Xian slowed down and reminded her, “Mingyan, be careful. A three-legged race is about coordination. You can’t just go fast—you have to match Qingqing’s pace to run smoothly together.”
Already frustrated by a rocky start, Gu Mingyan snapped stiffly, “None of your business.”
【Gu Mingyan’s attitude! Meng Xian was just giving good advice! 】
【So rude—biting the hand that feeds you! 】
【Her temper’s terrible. Anyone on her team must get frustrated a lot. 】
Yun Qingqing, supporting Gu Mingyan, raised an eyebrow slightly.
She had noticed how Meng Xian always seemed to focus on Gu Mingyan. Some comments sounded harmless, but beneath the surface, they subtly emphasized Gu Mingyan’s mistakes in a way that made people uncomfortable.
Meng Xian didn’t seem to care about Gu Mingyan’s frosty expression. She smiled at the camera with a mix of exasperation and tolerance, then shouted slogans with Ding Manni, quickly catching up to Jiang Mingqian and Yu Ran.
Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing, however, fell to the back.
The more flustered Gu Mingyan got, the more uncoordinated her steps became, relying on Yun Qingqing’s support several times to avoid falling.
“Sorry…” she muttered, looking at the other teams moving farther away, frustrated with herself for dragging Yun Qingqing down.
She had always been competitive—leading in ballet, topping exams. Yet now she was last, and worse, her partner was being held back.
“It’s fine. We’ll go slowly. Safety first,” Yun Qingqing replied casually.
“But the meal tickets…”
Gu Mingyan glanced at Ji Sihan’s team already grabbing the first ticket, anxious enough to want to crawl there.
Seeing her puffed-up cheeks, Yun Qingqing couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked. “Don’t worry—we’ve got a plan.”
“You have a plan?” Gu Mingyan blinked.
Yun Qingqing smirked mischievously. “The director said to tie our legs together, but never said how we had to run afterward.”
“What do you mean?”
Gu Mingyan was still puzzling over it when Yun Qingqing bent down to check their leg straps, ensuring they were secure.
Then, before Gu Mingyan could react, Yun Qingqing’s arms shot up—
Gu Mingyan felt a sudden squeeze at her waist, and the ground seemed to vanish beneath her.
Gu Mingyan: “???”
To her shock, she realized Yun Qingqing had scooped her up single-handedly under the armpits!
“Hold on tight! I’m speeding up!”
Yun Qingqing growled, gripping her firmly, and dashed forward down the track.
Wind whistled past their ears, surroundings blurred.
Gu Mingyan, held tight, could only see Yun Qingqing’s hair flying and the ground rushing beneath them.
She was completely stunned.
What… kind of move is this?!
The live audience was equally shocked:
【Hahahahaha! Help! She just scooped her up without a word! 】
【Gu Mingyan is thin, but nearly 1.7 meters tall! Is Yun Qingqing some superhuman girl?! 】
【Unbelievable strength! But technically, the rules didn’t forbid this. 】
As the live comments were flooded with Yun Qingqing’s insane move, Meng Xian, shouting slogans with Ding Manni, suddenly heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind.
She instinctively looked back.
And saw Yun Qingqing barreling toward them, holding Gu Mingyan under her arms at incredible speed!
Meng Xian’s confident smile froze, pupils wide. “?”
As Yun Qingqing passed them and reached the first meal-ticket station, Gu Mingyan moved.
Displaying ballet-like flexibility and core control, she twisted her upper body, extended her arms, and skillfully grabbed a meal ticket from the table mid-air.
“Got it!” Gu Mingyan cheered, shaking the ticket in triumph.
“Nice work,” Yun Qingqing praised, then they dashed together toward the next station fifty meters away.
Ji Sihan and Nan Xu, who had been overtaken, caught a blur out of the corner of their eyes and froze.
“Yun Qingqing, how are you so fast?!” Ji Sihan shouted.
Yun Qingqing smiled faintly. “Ever fought for food in a fully controlled high school cafeteria?”
Ji Sihan shook his head, bewildered. “N-No?”
Her clear voice floated back on the wind: “Try surviving three years in a stampede of students battling for meals every day. Then you’ll understand why I’m this fast.”
Ji Sihan: “???”
【I get it! I totally get it! My high school was packed—if you weren’t fast, you’d wait half an hour for lunch. 】
【Who cried watching this? How could a rich kid like Ji Sihan understand our struggle? 】
【Yun Qingqing’s skill proves she dominated the cafeteria back then! 】
【No wonder her lower body is so stable, her core so strong—it’s all thanks to her lunch-running training. 】
With this unconventional running method, Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan quickly took the lead, sweeping up tickets from multiple stations.
When the fifteen-minute limit ended, their team had collected the most meal tickets, winning the most sumptuous dinner.
Ding Manni looked at her meager table, glanced at the feast at the next one, and sighed. “Wow… having a teammate like Yun Qingqing is really amazing…”
She could run, lift, and think quickly—easily carrying the team.
Meng Xian heard this, forcing a faint smile, but didn’t reply.
She and Ding Manni had already tried the two girls’ method earlier—but the two of them were similar in height and weight, and neither had Yun Qingqing’s monstrous arm strength. They had nearly fallen over together.
After the failed attempt, Ding Manni kept blaming Meng Xian for not being strong enough, which left her feeling rather annoyed.
Yun Qingqing, chewing on a chicken leg, noticed her phone screen light up on the table.
She casually picked it up and saw a banking notification.
At first, she assumed it was the ten-thousand-yuan daily pay Gu Mingyan had sent, but on checking, she realized it was actually 130,000 yuan.
“Mingyan,” she said, glancing at Gu Mingyan beside her, “did you transfer wrong? You added thirty thousand extra.”
Gu Mingyan didn’t even lift an eyelid. “No mistake. We had fun today, so I’m happy to give a little extra.”
Yun Qingqing was instantly touched beyond words. In her mind, she shouted to the system: “System! Look at my little god of wealth—so generous, so magnanimous, so thoughtful!”
The system’s electronic brain buzzed from the onslaught of praise: 【… 】
Meanwhile, Meng Xian, who had been quietly observing them, caught the entire exchange.
Her sharp eyes caught the transfer message on Yun Qingqing’s phone. Piecing it together with their brief conversation, her heart skipped a beat—
So that’s it. A spoiled, self-centered heiress like Gu Mingyan could never have a friend who genuinely cared for her.
Yun Qingqing was actually Gu Mingyan’s paid partner!
Excitement surged in Meng Xian’s chest. She controlled herself and, with a worried expression, asked Yun Qingqing, “Qingqing, I noticed you were looking at your phone earlier. Did something difficult come up?”
Before Yun Qingqing could answer, Gu Mingyan frowned. “You had a problem?”
“No, I’m fine,” Yun Qingqing replied with a half-smile to Meng Xian. “Why would you ask suddenly?”
Meng Xian spoke softly: “I accidentally saw that Mingyan transferred over a hundred thousand… a sudden large sum. I thought something urgent had happened and got a little startled.”
Gu Mingyan disliked this kind of indirect probing and snapped, “It’s just transferring money. Why do you care so much?”
“I’m sorry, I was just concerned for Qingqing,” Meng Xian said, looking slightly flustered. “It’s unusual for friends to suddenly transfer such a large sum, isn’t it?”
The live chat immediately picked up on this:
【Meng Xian makes a good point. Who casually transfers over a hundred thousand yuan to a friend? 】
【Yeah… even best friends, that’s a lot of money. 】
Meng Xian pressed further. “I just wanted to check if Qingqing needed any help… after all, we’re in the same team.”
Gu Mingyan stared at her like she was an idiot, pure confusion in her tone:
“Giving a friend a hundred thousand plus as pocket money is that shocking?”
Meng Xian: “…?”
Gu Mingyan leaned slightly forward and asked seriously, “It’s just six figures. You’ve never given your friends money?”
Meng Xian: “???”
Really, what are you saying? Six figures is small money?
Seeing Meng Xian silent, Gu Mingyan clicked her tongue lightly and muttered, “So you’re really stingy with your friends.”
Meng Xian almost choked.
Who gives a friend over a hundred thousand yuan in one go as pocket money?!