At the same time, Yan Qing was also observing Xia Yu. To be precise, he had joined this show for Xia Yu.
However, it had nothing to do with pursuing true love—he was here to “break things off.” Yan Qing had previously investigated Xia Yu, and after reviewing the information, he could summarize it in three words: vain, hypocritical, and fake.
He despised it.
As for why he investigated Xia Yu, the story goes back half a month.
In a villa in Country A, a white-bearded old man pointed to the final frozen frame on the screen. It showed Xia Yu holding a trophy and smiling, her peach blossom eyes narrowed into slits, grinning like a little fox—utterly adorable.
This white-bearded old man was Yan Qing’s biological grandfather. He said, “What’s wrong? What’s the problem? What a lovely young lady!”
Perhaps the director also felt the scene was too perfect, so the show’s ending was paused here.
In this guessing game show, Yu You was not present, and Xia Yu behaved normally, not making a fool of herself to “accommodate” others.
“Yan Qing, don’t misunderstand the young lady based on hearsay. I’m telling you, the marriage arrangement is no joke. You can’t just say it’s unsuitable without even meeting her!”
The old man snorted, flicked his sleeve, and stomped upstairs. If his little grandson wouldn’t listen, he wouldn’t undergo the surgery!
The man sitting on the sofa raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. What era was this? Still clinging to the arranged childhood betrothal tradition! With no contact for over a decade, the Xia family probably didn’t take it seriously and had forgotten about it!
He had intended to show his grandfather the other party’s foolish behavior in the show to prove their incompatibility, but why did her performance differ from what he had investigated?
The result was that his grandfather refused to even glance at the documents on the coffee table, accusing him of fabricating them.
Yan Qing was frustrated. He absolutely would not be with a woman like that!
Since his grandfather insisted he get to know her, he would prove to him that the two of them were impossible!
Yan Qing picked up his phone and made a call.
“I’ll be a guest on your show.”
No one could make him do something he didn’t want to do. Since the path through his grandfather was blocked, he would take another.
This was why Yan Qing suddenly joined the variety show, which explained why he deliberately asked that annoying question during their first meeting.
But after just one encounter, Yan Qing vaguely sensed that neither the situation nor the person seemed as simple as he had thought.
Nearby, Yu You noticed Yan Qing’s gaze fixed on Xia Yu, and she felt a pang of discomfort. She knew Xia Yu was beautiful. Before she debuted, whenever people around her came across Xia Yu’s videos, none failed to praise her looks.
Was Yan Qing also deceived by her appearance?
After the VCR ended, the production team announced that they could have a BBQ in the villa’s courtyard that evening. The task was for everyone to prepare the ingredients together.
Yu You volunteered eagerly, raising her hand. “I know how to marinate meat. It makes the skewers taste delicious.”
“Great, we’ll leave that to Youyou.”
An Ran spoke with an air of authority, smiling warmly. She seemed to like Yu You very much.
Xia Yu couldn’t cook and disliked handling raw meat, so she took charge of the vegetable skewers. When everything else was almost ready, she struggled with slicing the potatoes—she had no culinary skills, and her knife work was naturally poor.
After marinating the meat, Yu You came over and said, “Sister Xia Yu, let me help you slice them~”
At the Xia household, the two had always addressed each other by name, never as sisters. On the show, Xia Yu was the senior, so there was nothing wrong with calling her “sister.”
“No need, I—” Before Xia Yu could finish her refusal, Yu You eagerly took the kitchen knife and said, “I’ve been great at chopping vegetables since I was little. Leave it to me, it’ll be quick~”
As Yu You claimed, her knife skills were indeed impressive. Potato slices for grilling need to be thin so they cook quickly and absorb flavor. With a rapid tap-tap-tap of the knife, half a potato was sliced.
Seeing Yu You show off her skills, the others gathered around. Shen You’an praised, “You chop really well.”
Even Yan Qing, who had finished his assigned task early and was resting on the sofa, came over to take a look. Yu You immediately grew nervous. Picking up the other half of the potato, she made two swift cuts and let out a soft gasp.
—She had cut her finger.
“Quick, quick, there’s medical gauze in the first-aid kit.”
“I’ll go get the iodine.”
…
Yan Qing paused mid-step, unsure whether to continue forward or turn back.
Watching as Yu You was surrounded by everyone and led to the sofa to sit down, Xia Yu looked at the remaining half of the potato. She pulled out a vegetable grater from the drawer and, with a few quick strokes, produced a bowl of thin, evenly sliced potato pieces.
The reason she had refused Yu You earlier was because she remembered she could use a tool.
【Isn’t Xia Yu too cold? Yu You was helping her, and she doesn’t even show concern?】
【Didn’t Yu You insist on doing it herself? It’s not serious—barely any blood. Does everyone need to crowd around her?】
【Seeing Xia Yu finish the other half of the potato so effortlessly suddenly makes the earlier scene seem ridiculous.】
【Did you notice? Xia Yu doesn’t seem to like Yu You.】
…
Yu You’s cut wasn’t deep, and a simple bandage was enough. After everyone finished preparing the ingredients, they returned to their rooms to rest, planning to gather in the yard for a barbecue at dinner.
Except for the bathroom, every corner of the house was equipped with cameras, and live streams were broadcast from multiple angles, allowing viewers to choose their preferred feed.
As soon as Xia Yu lay down on the bed and picked up her phone, she received a message from Piao Jie.
“You troublemaker, look at the mess you’ve caused. Qin Gang’s side is retaliating.”
Xia Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and opened the link Piao Jie had sent. It was a Weibo post from one of Qin Gang’s top fans, filled with content dissing Xia Yu and even including “evidence” of her supposedly chasing after Qin Gang.
The comments below were flooded with Qin Gang’s fans being passive-aggressive and hurling insults.
Clearly, this top fan had been instructed by Qin Gang’s team to post this.
Their reaction was surprisingly fast, indicating they had already planned how to exit the situation as the perfect victim after the publicity stunt. Now, they were using this incident as an excuse to step down earlier.
“Don’t respond for now. Avoid discussing this topic during the live stream. I’ll contact Qin Gang’s team to see if we can issue a joint statement.”
Although the chances were slim, it was worth a try. Since the other company had gotten involved, this was the best way for their side to handle it.
“Xia Xia, don’t act impulsively. Xingquan Entertainment is clearly planning to heavily promote Qin Gang next. We have no choice but to endure this and take a step back.”
Endure? Step back?
Endure for a moment, and the more you think about it, the angrier you get. Step back once, and the more you reflect, the more you feel cheated!
“Piao Jie, please receive this file. Listen to my idea…”
The Original Host wasn’t foolish—she had kept a backup plan.
After a long while, Piao Jie replied, “Xia Xia, you’ve finally grown a brain!”
Then, Piao Jie sent another message with a single word: “Do it!”
Piao Jie wasn’t one to shy away from conflict. It was precisely because she had stubbornly fought to the end in the past that she was eventually forced to change careers. That’s why she was frustrated with Xia Yu’s tendency to yield to Yu You step by step, feeling like iron that couldn’t be forged into steel.
Five minutes later, the bullet comments on Xia Yu’s live stream began to scroll frantically.
【Sisters! Stop wandering around, hurry over to Big Eye for some gossiping!】
【So when I saw her fingers flying across the screen earlier, she was actually typing?!】
【Damn, turns out she calmly dropped a “bomb” like that. Suddenly, I feel like that’s kinda cool?】
…