As the filming schedule of Best Partners drew near, the program’s official Weibo began releasing the guests’ styling photos one after another to build hype.
As the most popular guest pair, the moment Meng Xian and her best friend Ding Manni’s photos were posted, the comment section was instantly flooded with rainbow praise.
【Ahhh, sister is so beautiful I’m crying!】
【Xianxian and her bestie look amazing together—such a high-visual duo.】
Soon after, the topic in the comments inevitably drifted toward Gu Mingyan.
【Tsk tsk, why hasn’t Miss Gu’s styling photo been released yet? Afraid of being compared into trash?】
【Obviously. Gu Mingyan and her partner will definitely get crushed by Meng Xian’s group. She’s been riding Meng Xian’s popularity with that face all day—honestly they’re not even on the same level.】
【Or maybe her partner had another last-minute issue. With that kind of temper, who can she even find to go on a variety show with her?】
【Hahaha who would want to serve a ticking time-bomb princess? Everyone knows Gu Mingyan has no friends.】
Just as netizens were eagerly waiting to laugh at Gu Mingyan, the Best Partners official account released the styling photo of the “Yan Qing Yun Dan” duo—Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing—right on schedule.
It was a two-person shot.
Gu Mingyan wore a richly colored burgundy velvet gown, her chin lifted arrogantly, yet a faint blush tinted her fair cheeks, as if she were shy about something.
Beside her, the civilian guest wore a fresh and lively pure white chiffon dress, the layered skirt spreading like misty clouds.
She sat slightly turned, one hand affectionately hooked around Gu Mingyan’s arm, the other resting casually on the sofa. Tilting her head back, she gazed at Gu Mingyan’s profile with smiling eyes that seemed to hold scattered starlight.
One was flamboyantly stunning, like a thorny rose.
The other was sweet and lively, like a gentle spring breeze.
The collision of these two completely different styles showed not the slightest discord—instead, it radiated an extreme sense of tension.
The netizens who had been mocking moments earlier clicked the full image—
—and instantly fell silent.
Within minutes, the post surpassed a thousand comments.
【…Purely judging the styling photos, I have nothing to say. [kneels]】
【Who’s the girl next to her? She’s so pretty and lively!】
【Help! Why do they look so good sitting together?! Is this the rich young lady and her healing little sweetheart? Interesting.】
【I admit I’m a face-con. This set of photos totally killed me. Since when can Gu Mingyan’s cold-beauty face produce this kind of vibe?】
…
Before the variety show had even begun filming, the hashtag #GuMingyanYunQingqingStylingPhotos shot up the trending list.
This was the first time since Gu Mingyan became famous that she trended not for negative news like throwing her weight around, snatching resources, or having a bad temper—but for a stunning set of styling photos with relatively positive public reception.
A few days later, Best Partners officially began filming.
The guest groups arrived one after another at the designated boarding location, exchanging polite but unfamiliar greetings.
Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing arrived neither early nor late.
Gu Mingyan still carried that keep-your-distance aura, her sunglasses covering most of her face. Yun Qingqing followed at her side, observing the surrounding guests and busy staff.
Meng Xian, dressed in a gentle off-white dress, was smiling as she chatted with the guests who had arrived earlier. When she saw the two of them, her gaze flickered briefly before she raised a flawless smile and nodded in greeting.
Gu Mingyan ignored her outright. Yun Qingqing, meanwhile, nodded calmly back, as if signaling Meng Xian that there was no need for excessive courtesy.
Meng Xian: “…”
Once everyone had arrived, the director lifted a megaphone and announced, “Welcome, everyone, to Best Partners. Our journey is about to begin. Before departure, please greet the audience in the livestream.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Xian gracefully waved at the main camera, her smile sweet and proper.
“Hello to everyone in the livestream! I’m Meng Xian.”
As she spoke, she affectionately linked arms with her partner Ding Manni. “This is my best friend, Ding Manni. We’re very happy to participate in Best Partners together and hope our journey brings everyone lots of joy!”
Ding Manni cooperatively smiled and waved at the camera.
Although Ding Manni’s family background wasn’t as prominent as Gu Mingyan’s, she still absolutely counted as wealthy. She currently passed time by occasionally filming short dramas—purely as a hobby.
Ding Manni did have a bit of princess syndrome, but paired with the gentle-tempered Meng Xian, the two got along quite well.
Compared to Ding Manni, whose thoughts were written all over her face, Meng Xian appeared much more reserved. Her gentle smile gave her strong audience appeal.
【Wow, the besties look so pleasing to the eye together—gentle white moonlight × pretty little princess. I ship this!】
【I heard Ding Manni’s family is in the ore business—super rich.】
【As expected, true rich-girl besties are the sweetest.】
After Ding Manni and Meng Xian finished greeting, it was the turn of the duo behind them: esports world champion Ji Sihan and gold-medal agent Nan Xu.
The camera shifted to the tall young man in a black hoodie. He waved at the livestream audience, revealing a small tiger tooth.
“Hello everyone, I’m Apex, former pro player of Zero Domain Out of Control. My real name is Ji Sihan.”
Beside him, the gentle-looking young man in a casual suit also smiled and spoke.
“Hello everyone, I’m Nan Xu, Sihan’s childhood friend. I currently work as an agent.”
These two could actually be considered a pair of fellow sufferers.
Ji Sihan entered esports at seventeen, debuting on the Spirit Domain Out of Control stage with genius-level talent and leading his team to numerous championships. But in just a few short years, his condition declined due to a hand injury, and he was flamed into retirement.
As for Nan Xu, though young, he had once been a somewhat well-known gold-medal agent in the industry. With sharp judgment and strong methods, he personally brought up two first-tier artists.
However, after a later contract dispute with one of his artists, rumors spread accusing him of abuse and exploitation. The termination turned extremely unpleasant, damaging his reputation and stalling his career.
On top of that, he was extremely picky about collaborators—preferring none over the wrong one—so he had yet to sign any new artists and was currently in a semi-retired state.
The two of them signed up for the variety show together simply to relax.
But Yun Qingqing, with her plot advantage, knew this was merely a brief low point in their lives.
In the future, Ji Sihan would develop a playstyle better suited to himself and shine once again on the competitive stage. Meanwhile, Meng Xian—who would have interacted with him on this show—would be selected as the spokesperson for Spirit Domain Out of Control, instantly becoming a goddess sought after by the esports world.
Nan Xu, too, would soon sign Meng Xian and return to the peak of his career. On Meng Xian’s later path toward top-tier resources, he would play a crucial supporting role.
In short, every character setup in the original novel existed to serve the female lead Meng Xian—either as contrast or as resource-providing tools.
Next up were singer Jiang Mingqian and his programmer friend Yu Ran.
While Jiang Mingqian was greeting the audience, Yun Qingqing couldn’t help glancing at him a few extra times.
This popular singer was actually a fan of Meng Xian. After falling in love at first sight with her viral campus photo, he composed many singles for her, continuously boosting her fame.
The smoothness of Meng Xian’s rise after returning to the country also owed something to Jiang Mingqian paving the way behind the scenes.
As for his friend Yu Ran, his presence was much lower. In the novel’s plot, he was only briefly mentioned as working at some Fortune 500 company.
Seeing the heavy dark circles under Yu Ran’s eyes, Yun Qingqing felt an instant sense of kinship.
Yep. Definitely a fellow overworked corporate slave like my past self.
After the other guests finished their introductions, it was finally the turn of the last arrivals—Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing.
All eyes focused on them.
Only then did Gu Mingyan unhurriedly remove her sunglasses, revealing that flawlessly stunning face.
Facing the camera, she said succinctly:
“Gu Mingyan.”
Three words. Not one more.
Many haters in the livestream already disliked her, and now they seized the chance to criticize wildly:
【Hah. As expected of Miss Gu—look at that attitude.】
【What’s with the arrogance? Will it kill you to say a few more words to the camera? So annoying!】
【All the other guests were so polite—she just has to be special, huh?】
At this subtly awkward moment, Yun Qingqing naturally picked up the conversation.
“Hello, friends in the livestream! I’m Yun Qingqing, Mingyan’s partner. Please take good care of us on the journey ahead!”
As she spoke, she flashed the camera a bright toothy grin.
Seeing her expression, Gu Mingyan guessed this girl was probably thinking again about her daily six-figure paycheck. She couldn’t help being infected by the smile and curved her lips as well.
Gotta say, this duo is really pleasing to the eyes.
Even though Gu Mingyan is arrogant, the two of them together have this weird kind of chemistry…
【So this is Yun Qingqing? She looks even more fresh and lively in real life than in the styling photos.】
【I don’t know why her smile is so infectious, it made my own mouth twitch up uncontrollably.】
The director seemed to understand the audience’s psychology perfectly, keeping the main camera focused on Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan.
Meng Xian’s smile faltered slightly, a faint displeasure flickering in her eyes.
Since the release of the promo photos, she had spent a lot on marketing her looks, yet she didn’t expect that most of the discussion on Weibo was focused on Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan.
However, after a brief moment of crisis, Meng Xian quickly regained her composure.
Being overshadowed by them for the moment wasn’t a big deal—who didn’t know Gu Mingyan was a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment? This Yun Qingqing looked like a background-free amateur; spending day after day with someone with Gu Mingyan’s temper, being called and run around as a lackey was bound to happen sooner or later.
Over time, conflicts between them were bound to erupt, and by then, the audience would naturally favor her and Ding Manni’s harmonious duo.
Thinking this, Meng Xian put back on her flawless smile and skillfully positioned half of her body into the main camera frame: “It’s really great to be recording the show with everyone. To celebrate the start of our journey, I’ve prepared a small gift for everyone.”
Saying this, she took several delicately packaged small gift boxes from an exquisite handbag and handed them out to the guests present.
“This is a skincare brand I personally really like, Lumira. A small welcome gift, I hope everyone likes it.”
Her fans immediately showered praise in the chat:
【Xian Xian is so thoughtful, she even prepared welcome gifts for everyone!】
【Lumira is so precious, and Meng Xian gave out so many sets, how generous!】
【Wait, wasn’t Lumira just recently announced as Gu Mingyan’s high-end skincare brand?!】
【The endorsement got taken but she still gives out their products as gifts, Meng Xian’s generosity, I’m dying!】
The comments were unanimously positive, while Ji Sihan scratched his head in dilemma at the small gift box handed to him.
Although he felt that as a grown man he couldn’t use these bottles and jars, he accepted it out of courtesy: “Thanks, Xian Jie, that’s too kind of you.”
Meng Xian smiled and shook her head, signaling no need for thanks, and with the last two gifts in hand, she walked gracefully over to Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing.
“Mingyan, Qingqing, this is for you. I hope we can get along well from now on.”
Gu Mingyan glanced at her, unsure whether she should reach out to take it.
If she took it, it was just basic skincare—she usually used much more expensive products and didn’t care for these; if she didn’t take it, the comments would probably call her arrogant again.
While she hesitated, Yun Qingqing spoke first: “Thank you for the thought, but I’ll pass on this gift.”
Gu Mingyan immediately frowned, wanting to whisper a warning that such a direct refusal would be criticized.
Sure enough, Meng Xian didn’t even give her a chance to react and immediately seized the moment: “Qingqing, don’t like this brand? I specially selected these products for everyone…”
She knew well that audiences favored the weaker party, putting on a pitiful, ‘I can’t help feeling sorry for you’ expression, successfully stirring sympathy in the chat:
【??? Who is this Yun Qingqing guest? She’s so disrespectful!】
【Even if you don’t like it, the basic courtesy is to accept the gift and say thanks.】
【As expected, birds of a feather flock together, what good can come from someone hanging with Gu Mingyan?】
Meng Xian maintained her pitiful expression, casting a pointed glance at Gu Mingyan: “Qingqing, do you have some reservations?”
Yun Qingqing shook her head gently: “Teacher Meng, you misunderstood. I have no reservations, and it’s not that I dislike this brand.”
“Just… I personally don’t get used to using fake products.”