Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 26: The Overbearing CP

　　Qin Shuo sat in his bumper car.

　　The arena was pretty big, and the four of them each picked cars in different colors at the corners, waiting for the music cue to start the game.

　　His gaze swept past Sheng Yi and Chu Ling, then landed on Wen Shu.

　　Crashing into Sheng Yi or Chu Ling was nothing more than settling personal grudges, and it wasn't very interesting.

　　If he wanted some real interaction... it had to be Wen Shu.

　　He'd done some last-minute ‘homework’ just before entering the venue.

　　For couples, besides sitting together in one car to make physical contact, another way to spark things up was by ramming into each other. 

　　The more they bumped, the more exciting it got.

　　Wen Shu had been kind of cold to him lately. He didn’t know if Chu Ling was stirring things up behind the scenes, but maybe if he rammed her a few times, sparks would fly again. 

　　The thought of Wen Shu showing a little aggrieved expression after being bumped made Qin Shuo want to tease her even more.

　　The music started.

　　Qin Shuo drove straight toward Wen Shu.

　　Wen Shu had only planned to lightly bump into everyone, play nice for a couple of rounds. But when she saw Qin Shuo’s car charging at her aggressively, she froze for a second, then quickly decided to drive away.

　　Qin Shuo’s plan sounded perfect in his head, but he forgot one important thing.

　　Sure, couples or people in the flirty stage might find ramming fun.

　　But Wen Shu didn’t want anything to do with him right now. The moment she saw him clinging on, she only felt annoyed and wanted to get as far away as possible.

　　【Why is Qin Shuo going straight after Wen Shu!】

　　【So sweet, his eyes are only on her!】

　　【But he can’t be this reckless, he’s just going to scare his wife away!】

　　【Wen Shu already ran! What is this, him chasing and her escaping!】

　　Qin Shuo was driving full of excitement when suddenly another car slammed into his side, making his whole car shake.

　　Just as he was about to get mad, he heard Chu Ling laughing.

　　“What are you running for?”

　　She shouted at Wen Shu, “You should hit him back!”

　　It’s bumper cars, after all. What’s the point of running?

　　It’s not like anyone’s gonna die.

　　Might as well crash into each other for real.

　　Perfect chance to let out all that old grudge, completely legal too.

　　Wen Shu suddenly hit the brakes.

　　Running wasn’t a solution either.

　　They were on a variety show, how long could she really avoid him?

　　After thinking for a moment, she spun the wheel, turned around, and decided to face Qin Shuo head-on.

　　Qin Shuo never expected Wen Shu to come back and hit him. He got bumped once, and just as he was about to ram her back, another car came from the side and clipped his rear corner.

　　That driver clearly knew the tricks of bumper cars, going for the side and back where it was easiest. 

　　Qin Shuo’s car was knocked off course, jolted so hard his body swayed and nearly tipped.

　　Across the way, Chu Ling glanced at Sheng Yi and secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

　　Brother, well done.

　　Sheng Yi gave her one back.

　　Once the collisions started, the whole arena heated up.

　　Soon the four cars were slamming around in every direction.

　　But if you looked closely, it was really three cars ganging up on one.

　　Even though bumper cars were supposed to be fun, Qin Shuo was being played like a monkey, chased around and blocked from every side.

　　Usually Wen Shu drove ahead to bait him in, while Chu Ling and Sheng Yi boxed him in from the sides.

　　He didn’t hit anyone even once, and instead kept getting rammed again and again. The experience was absolutely miserable.

　　Grinding his teeth, Qin Shuo decided to forget about Wen Shu for now and teach Chu Ling a lesson first.

　　But he had barely driven a few meters toward her when Chu Ling spun her wheel like a pro, looped around behind him, and rammed him hard, sending his car bouncing far across the floor.

　　Qin Shuo: “……”

　　Never in his life had he played bumper cars this humiliatingly!

　　【Why are all three of them ganging up on Qin Shuo!】

　　【Feels like they formed a temporary alliance.】

　　【Don’t bully the poor thirty-something uncle!】

　　【Hey, the person in front, better hope Qin Shuo doesn’t see your comment or he’s gonna get mad again.】

　　Qin Shuo couldn’t hit anyone at all. The three of them kept him boxed in the middle, leaving him to do nothing but get slammed over and over. But instead of backing off, he actually got riled up. With one hand he yanked off his seatbelt, stomped the accelerator, and charged straight at Sheng Yi.

　　Of course Chu Ling wasn’t about to let such a golden chance slip by.

　　She swung around behind and ambushed him.

　　This time she hit a little too hard. With a loud ‘thunk,’ Qin Shuo’s knee banged against the car. He immediately raised his hand. “Pause, pause, I think I hit my knee, it hurts a bit.”

　　Both the amusement park staff and the show crew nearly had a heart attack. They rushed to stop the music and hurried over. When they saw him, the corners of their mouths twitched. “Teacher Qin, why didn’t you buckle your seatbelt?”

　　“This seatbelt? Buckled or not, it’s the same thing.”

　　Qin Shuo scoffed.

　　“You can’t say that,” the staff replied. “The seatbelt is for your safety. Not wearing it is way too dangerous.”

　　“The problem isn’t me not wearing a seatbelt.”

　　Qin Shuo frowned. “Who just rammed me?”

　　Chu Ling raised her hand. “That was me. What’s wrong?”

　　After such a miserable experience the whole game, Qin Shuo finally vented his anger on her. “You did it on purpose, didn’t you? Why did you hit so hard?”

　　“No way.”

　　Chu Ling blinked innocently. “Teacher Qin, I said before the game even started, bumper cars are like this. My driving isn’t that good, so accidents happen easily, but I definitely wasn’t doing it on purpose.”

　　Qin Shuo thought to himself, her driving wasn’t bad at all— it was way too good.

　　Then Chu Ling tilted her head. “But Teacher Qin, you were the one who unbuckled your seatbelt halfway. Could it be that you just can’t handle losing and you’re trying to play victim?”

　　“Who’s playing victim?”

　　Qin Shuo’s voice went up a notch, clearly guilty. “Games are games, but they shouldn’t come at the cost of hurting people!”

　　“If it really was an accident, then I apologize.”

　　Chu Ling gave him a sympathetic look. “If your knee actually feels that bad, you should have the staff take you to a hospital. Otherwise, wait a bit and the injury might just heal itself.”

　　Her words were sharp, and of course Qin Shuo’s fans blew up in anger right away.　　

　　【Chu Ling is way too disrespectful toward her senior!】

　　【Qin Shuo got hurt because of you!】

　　But most of the casual viewers noticed something was off.

　　【But that's how bumper cars are. I bump my knees when I ride them, too. I feel like Qin Shuo's making a big deal out of nothing this time.】

　　【+1. It’s just a knee bump? I thought something serious happened.】

　　【And wasn’t the real reason because he unbuckled his seatbelt halfway through?】

　　【Honestly, Chu Ling calling it playing victim wasn’t wrong. Who blames someone else for a little bump on bumper cars?】

　　【If he can’t handle it, why agree to come to an amusement park in the first place?】

　　Wen Shu glanced at Chu Ling, then at Qin Shuo. She knew perfectly well Qin Shuo was just looking for an excuse to save face after losing so badly. She was about to speak up for Chu Ling when Sheng Yi beat her to it.

　　“It’s my fault.”

　　Sheng Yi said, “I shouldn’t have picked bumper cars. It doesn’t really suit Teacher Qin.”

　　Qin Shuo gave a cold snort, as if to say, now you realize.

　　Sheng Yi went on, “I didn’t think about Teacher Qin’s health. He really can’t take this kind of bumping around.”

　　Chu Ling immediately chimed in, “Yeah, what if Teacher Qin breaks a bone in the collision? It's very dangerous. We'll just stop playing it now.”

　　From their tone, Qin Shuo could hear the sarcasm, but since they were pretending to care about him, he had no way to get angry.

　　The on-site medical staff came over to check him.

　　Qin Shuo exaggerated his condition, so the livestream was temporarily cut for ten minutes. The comments were flooded with his fans crying over him and lashing out at Chu Ling.

　　The other three waited at a distance while his knee was being checked.

　　Sheng Yi leaned against the railing with a faint laugh. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a big fuss.”

　　Online chatter always accused Chu Ling of acting like a diva, but now it was clear who the real diva was. Qin Shuo was just relying on his huge fanbase to play the victim, get their sympathy, and ¹sic them on Chu Ling.

　　Wen Shu glanced at Chu Ling, worried. “Are you alright? If he deliberately targets you later…”

　　Chu Ling replied, “Didn’t I deliberately target him just now?”

　　Wen Shu: “…”

　　Well, true.

　　Besides, if Qin Shuo was riling up his fans to curse her, he was basically giving her money.

　　In just that short time, his fans had already thrown tens of thousands her way. Chu Ling checked her account balance backstage and instantly felt refreshed, almost like Qin Shuo had gone out of his way to create new income streams for her.

　　The medical results showed it was nothing serious, just a little bump on the knee without even a bruise.

　　Still, Qin Shuo exaggerated by wrapping it in a bandage, trying to look gravely injured, both to milk sympathy from his fans and to get Wen Shu’s pity.

　　But Wen Shu didn’t even glance at him.

　　Instead, Chu Ling asked with mocking concern, “Are you really okay, Teacher Qin? If it’s that bad, shouldn’t you go to the hospital? It’s fine if you don’t want to join the next project either.”

　　No one wanted him there anyway.

　　“…I’m fine, I can handle it.”

　　Qin Shuo awkwardly rubbed his nose and asked, “Where are we going next?”

　　“Since Teacher Qin’s leg isn’t in good shape, we’ll skip the more intense activities for now.”

　　Sheng Yi pointed at the map. “Let’s go to the haunted house.”

　　—　

　　“Welcome to the haunted house!”

　　“Our haunted house is on the immersive side, with some puzzle-solving elements inside. It might get a bit scary, so please make sure you can handle it,” the staff explained.

　　“However, each team will have a protective charm.”

　　Before entering, the staff continued, “This protective charm can be given to the team member who’s the most timid. It can reduce some of the scariness.”

　　“Who wants it?”

　　Chu Ling asked, “Teacher Qin, is your heart strong enough?”

　　“…I’m not scared of this.”

　　Qin Shuo snorted. “It’s all fake, isn’t it? Only kids would be afraid.”

　　He turned to Wen Shu. “If you get scared, you can stay behind me. I’ll lead the way.”

　　Wen Shu: “…”

　　After a quick discussion, they decided to give the protective charm to Wen Shu.

　　The four of them slowly walked into the haunted house.

　　As soon as he stepped in, Qin Shuo realized this haunted house was not what he expected. The ones he had visited before were obvious low-quality setups, but this one felt real. The atmosphere was eerie everywhere, making his heart race with unease.

　　Even though he had said he would lead the way, he found himself walking slower and slower.

　　He wanted to hold Wen Shu’s hand, but she had already walked to the back and was holding onto Chu Ling’s clothes instead, refusing to take his hand. He could only curse quietly in his mind.

　　Finally, the group reached the first room.

　　It was very dark inside, with only a faint red candlelight on a table.

　　As they approached the table, they noticed a piece of rice paper under the candlelight, with bold calligraphy written across it.

　　【It’s so dark… so dark…】

　　【I can’t see anything.】

　　【[Solo Task: Send one person upstairs to the storage room to retrieve more lighting tools to illuminate this room]】

　　【Warning: This task may be one-way only.】

　　【Hint: This task must be completed by a guest without a protective charm.】

　　Qin Shuo went pale.

　　He even thought about taking Wen Shu’s protective charm for himself.

　　Sheng Yi read it calmly and just asked, “Who’s going?”

　　He could go, of course. He wasn’t afraid.

　　But volunteering and being chosen felt very different.

　　Chu Ling pretended to be a little scared. “It’s a solo task. Feels pretty challenging.”

　　“Oh, right, I remember Teacher Qin said something just now—”

　　She recalled Qin Shuo’s words. “It’s all fake, isn’t it?”

　　Sheng Yi raised his eyebrows knowingly and repeated, “Only kids would be afraid, right?”

　　Qin Shuo: “…”

　　The two of them were basically flattering him with their words. Then Chu Ling put on a look of anticipation and said, “So, Teacher Qin, you’re so brave. I’m sure you can do it, right?”

　　Qin Shuo: “…”

　　Now it really felt like he had no choice but to go.

　　【What do you mean? You just want Qin Shuo to go, right!】

　　【Is it just me or does it feel like these two have been ganging up on Qin Shuo since earlier?】

　　【I noticed it too. Poor Qin Shuo. A perfectly good four-person outing ruined by these two.】

　　【Haha, I found out a long time ago that these two people are not good people. Why don't you two just be together? Overbearing CP, just lock them up so they stop messing with everyone else.】

________________

Glossary:

¹In that sentence, “sic” means to incite, set upon, or urge to attack.

So the line:

> “...get their sympathy, and sic them on Chu Ling.”

It means Qin Shuo is deliberately riling up his fans and sending them to attack Chu Ling (online harassment, hate comments, etc.).

It’s like saying “release the dogs on someone.” 🐕🔥

…..

T/N: I was deciding between “Arrogant CP” and “Overbearing CP” for Sheng Yi and Chu Ling. Between the two, “Overbearing CP” feels more natural and commonly used.

👉 “Overbearing” usually refers to a domineering, forceful, or bossy personality, which fits the classic domineering-CEO or yandere vibes in many novels.

👉 “Arrogant CP” sounds weaker and less specific. “Arrogant” just means proud or conceited, but it doesn’t carry the same domineering-romance flavor that “Overbearing” does.

What do you guys think? If you like “Arrogant CP” more, tell me in the comments. If a lot of people like it, I’ll change it to “Arrogant CP.” But seriously, I still think “Overbearing CP” is much better. 😜　

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