Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 7: #Chu Ling's Anti-Pretentiousness Expert#

　　“What do you mea—”

　　Lin Zirun’s eyes widened, but he quickly snapped out of it and shut his mouth.

　　He really hadn’t read the book, but that didn’t stop him from using that quote to build an artsy image and trick girls.

　　Everyone used that line. How could it not be from the book?

　　But then he glanced at Chu Ling’s calm and slightly teasing expression, and for a moment, he actually felt a little guilty.

　　Did Chu Ling somehow get it right by accident? Had she actually read the book?

　　“M-maybe I just remembered it wrong.”

　　In front of the cameras, Lin Zirun decided to cut his losses and took a sip of coffee to cover the awkwardness. Then he quickly tried to save face.

　　“What a coincidence. I didn’t expect you to have read that book too. Do you like reading? You're even more impressive than I thought.”

　　Impressive just for reading a book?

　　Wow, your standards are real generous.

　　At this point, Chu Ling was pretty much convinced. Lin Zirun was the classic fake-deep artsy type of scumbag.

　　The kind who gets close to girls with poetic quotes and an intellectual image, spins up some romantic vibes, plays with your feelings, and eventually dumps you with some tragic “artistic” excuse.

　　Chu Ling sneered internally, but on the surface, she kept a curious expression and asked, “Then what did you originally think I was like?”

　　Lin Zirun froze for a second, his mind flashing through all the gossip and scandals about her.

　　He obviously couldn’t say that, so he pushed through with a forced smile.

　　“Well, I thought since you're a celebrity, you'd be kind of untouchable, like a goddess out of reach. But you turned out to be really down-to-earth, and we actually get along surprisingly well.”　　　

　　He looked at Chu Ling with soft, affectionate eyes and said, “Before joining this show, I thought I’d meet all kinds of people. But I never expected to meet someone like you. Even more surprising, I didn’t expect to feel this kind of resonance with anyone.”

　　“If it’s just about reading books, there are probably tens of millions of people on Earth you could resonate with.”

　　Chu Ling smiled.

　　“Can your heart even handle that kind of vibration?”

　　Lin Zirun went silent.

　　Who on earth thought it was a good idea to cast someone like her on a dating show?!

　　“But I guess getting your heart to beat a little faster isn’t a bad thing.”

　　Chu Ling added, “After all, no heartbeat means you're dead.”

　　Lin Zirun: speechless.

　　Now he was starting to believe all those rumors about her having low emotional intelligence and acting like a diva.

　　That's just the kind of person she is!

　　He started to feel a little uncomfortable. Seeing his coffee was almost gone, he quickly suggested going for a City Walk with her.

　　Trying to change the mood, Lin Zirun brought up a new topic.

　　“You know, sometimes just walking through the city can lead to some unexpected surprises.”

　　Chu Ling looked down at her high heels.

　　“Like what?”

　　She asked. “Blisters?”

　　The City Walk was a minimum of three kilometers.

　　She had already walked through the entire photography exhibit in those heels, and her feet were definitely starting to hurt.

　　Lin Zirun glanced at her shoes and immediately put on a concerned expression.

　　“Sorry, I didn’t think about that. But hold on, I actually brought band-aids.”

　　While rummaging through his bag, he smoothly added a flirtatious line.

　　“If it really gets too hard to walk later, I can be your legs.”

　　Physical touch was the fastest way to build intimacy.

　　And scenes like that always got the best reactions from viewers.

　　Of course, he’d noticed she was wearing heels. After walking for a few kilometers, her feet would definitely start hurting. When that time came, he could offer to carry her in the name of being thoughtful.　　

　　He’d pulled this move on countless girls before — it never failed.

　　Girls were always easy to win over with these little gestures.

　　“You mean… you're going to get me a wheelchair?”

　　Chu Ling blinked and asked.

　　Lin Zirun: “??!!”

　　Chu Ling pulled out her phone and showed it to him.

　　“I just looked it up. There's a wheelchair rental nearby. They’ve got a few available right now, and no special requirements to use them.”

　　Lin Zirun: “?!”

　　Wait a second, they're still filming!

　　Is she even a proper female celebrity anymore? What about dignity? What about image?

　　Image?

　　What image did she even have left at this point?

　　Chu Ling casually asked the system, “Are people cursing me right now?”

　　The system checked the bullet comments and replied, “...Yeah.”

　　But honestly, more people were just shocked.

　　【Did Chu Ling really just say that?】

　　【I can’t mentally connect the words ‘female celebrity’ and ‘wheelchair’ in one sentence…】

　　【I thought at most she'd just decline the walk. I did not see this coming.】

　　【I’m laughing so hard right now. Lin Zirun throwing flirty looks at someone completely blind to it.】

　　【Seriously? Can't even walk that short distance? Such a drama queen. Wasting public resources.】

　　【But to be fair, Chu Ling just did the thing I’ve always dreamed of doing while traveling.】

　　Turns out, when you act so out-of-pocket, even your haters have to pause and stay to see what you’ll do next.

　　Lin Zirun had his own reasons for suggesting a city walk in the first place.

　　The city the production team picked was one he knew well. The street they were on had history, and he had planned to explain its cultural significance to Chu Ling as they walked.

　　He thought he could impress her with his knowledge, or at the very least impress the viewers.

　　It could have been so romantic.

　　And now, here he was, under Chu Ling’s instructions, renting a public wheelchair and pushing her down the street in front of the cameras and curious onlookers.

　　Whatever romance he had in mind was completely wiped out.

　　Was this even a dating show anymore?

　　This looked more like a celebrity and her personal caregiver.

　　With every step, Lin Zirun wanted to die from secondhand embarrassment.

　　Meanwhile, Chu Ling sat there totally chill, as if none of this fazed her at all. Her mental composure was off the charts.

　　Just as they were about to reach a spot Lin Zirun recognized, his eyes lit up.　　

　　“Want to check out that bookstore up ahead?”

　　Lin Zirun said, “There was a time when I felt really lost, and I’d come here to sit for a while. I’m on pretty good terms with the owner, so I thought I’d say hi while we’re here.”

　　What he didn’t say was that he had once held a small book signing at this store. Naturally, the owner remembered him. One corner of the shop even still had his signed books and a photo from that event.

　　After being dragged through the mud by Chu Ling all this time, he finally had a chance to steer the conversation back in his favor.

　　Chu Ling just smiled and replied calmly, “Sure.”

　　They parked the wheelchair outside and walked into the shop.

　　As soon as they stepped in, Lin Zirun raised a hand, ready to greet the owner.

　　“Long time no see—”

　　“Wait, are you… Chu Ling?!”

　　The bookstore owner looked up and stared at Chu Ling in surprise. He walked over, clearly shocked.

　　“You're... you're that actress, Chu Ling, right? The one who played the second female lead in Love at First Sight?”

　　Chu Ling didn’t have the best reputation, but a couple years back she was still pretty popular. That idol drama had been a big hit, and her role as the perfectly hateable second lead left a strong impression.

　　The owner rubbed his hands together, visibly excited.

　　“Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. My wife was obsessed with that show and made me watch it too. I can't believe I'm seeing you in person. Could I get a photo with you? Or even an autograph? I’ll take it home and show my wife. She’ll freak out.”

　　Chu Ling nodded happily. “Sure, no problem.”

　　Left standing off to the side, Lin Zirun felt awkward and chimed in,

　　“Hey now, Xiao Li, come on. We’ve known each other for a while and you just skipped straight to greeting Chu Ling?”

　　The owner glanced at him, thought for a second, then finally remembered.

　　“Oh, right, Mr. Lin. Long time no see.”

　　But his attention didn’t linger. He turned back to Chu Ling and asked,

　　“You two came together? Are you friends?”

　　“We’re filming a livestream show today,” Chu Ling said brightly, gesturing toward the camera behind her.

　　“Want to say hi to the viewers?”

　　“Ah… hello, everyone, hello.”

　　The owner gave a slightly nervous wave toward the camera, then nodded in understanding.

　　“I see, I see.”

　　He turned to Lin Zirun and said, “Man, you really lucked out, getting to film a show with Chu Ling.”

　　Chu Ling might have a controversial reputation, but she was still a celebrity. And a stunning one at that.

　　Lin Zirun: “...”　　

　　He's a somewhat popular young author too, okay!!!

　　The shop owner asked again, “So, what brings you two here today? Looking for something specific?”

　　Lin Zirun was just about to take the chance to naturally bring up his own book. He was thinking of how to start when Chu Ling spoke up first.

　　“Can you get me a copy of The Moon and Sixpence, please?”

　　Lin Zirun: “?”

　　The owner quickly grabbed the book. After paying, Chu Ling handed it to Lin Zirun and said casually, “It’s our first date, so consider this a gift. Read it again when you get home. Maybe you’ll get something new out of it.”

　　The hidden message: Go check if that quote is actually in the book! Stop pretending!

　　Lin Zirun: “…”

　　Is this really a gift?

　　This has got to be sarcasm, right?!　

　　—　　　

　　In the end, Chu Ling’s group came back pretty early.

　　Lin Zirun had originally planned dinner at a well-reviewed Southeast Asian restaurant. He wanted to chat over the meal and tell Chu Ling about his travels in that part of the world.

　　But after everything that had happened today, he couldn’t stomach the thought of her pulling another stunt. Shaken, he scrapped the idea entirely and went straight home.

　　If they kept dating, he’d be half-dead in no time.

　　As Chu Ling opened the door and looked around the empty house, she asked, “Are we the first ones back?”

　　There really wasn’t a soul in sight.

　　“Maybe the others stayed out for dinner,” Lin Zirun replied with a strained smile. On camera, he still tried to keep up his gentlemanly image. “Are you hungry? I can make you something if you want.”

　　He felt like he’d go insane if he spent another minute out with Chu Ling.

　　Better to just go home—at least there, he could breathe.

　　Chu Ling thought for a moment and asked, “Can you cook better than Qin Shuo?”

　　System: “…”

　　It wasn’t an unintentional insult... No, it suspected Chu Ling was doing it on purpose.

　　Lin Zirun’s face froze in a very awkward expression.

　　If he said no, it would make him sound hopeless. If he said yes, it would look like he was throwing shade at the Film Emperor, which would definitely earn him the wrath of Qin Shuo’s fans.

　　In the end, he let out an awkward laugh and threw in a little praise. “Mr. Qin’s skills… I’ve never been trained professionally, so I definitely can’t match that.”

　　“Then forget it.”

　　Chu Ling rubbed her stomach. “What I ate yesterday messed up my stomach the whole day. Better not risk it today.”

　　System: “…”

　　【Qin Shuo’s food wasn’t good enough for you? What are you, some kind of delicate princess?】

　　【Ungrateful brat! If you don’t want it, don’t eat it, just leave!】

　　Chu Ling lay on the sofa, playing with her phone—checking the backend account stats first, then the stream of comments cursing her.

　　Yup, that’s how a heartless brat rolls.

　　Make you mad, and still take your money.　　

　　Lin Zirun went into the bathroom where there were no cameras and called the director. “What kind of script is Chu Ling working with? She’s not cooperating with me at all! Is this how a dating show is supposed to go? I seriously can’t keep doing this.”

　　“Relax. She’s working with the ‘sacrificial’ script. The way she’s acting is actually giving you the perfect chance, isn’t it?” the director replied. “And by the way, your live room had the highest traffic today. You even beat out Qin Shuo’s group.”

　　That came as a surprise even to the director.

　　Qin Shuo was supposed to be the biggest draw. He had the star power and a great reputation with viewers. No one expected him to lose to a wildcard like Chu Ling.

　　But her string of outrageous behavior in the afternoon had drawn in a massive wave of traffic.

　　It seemed like they had made the right choice in hiring her.

　　“Seriously?” Lin Zirun perked up a little.

　　Sure, Chu Ling had driven him up the wall all day, but the audience had eyes. After a full day of watching her mess with him, they were bound to feel sorry for him and start supporting him instead. His popularity might finally get the boost he’d been waiting for.

　　Feeling a little better, Lin Zirun opened his phone, ready to check the trending topics. But the hottest one wasn’t the one the crew had paid to push, #Chu Ling Low EQ Comments#.

　　It was #Chu Ling's Anti-Pretentiousness Expert#.

　　Lin Zirun: “?”

　　Who paid for that one?

　　

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T/N: Oh no, haha. I thought since this novel is still new, no one would start reading it yet—so I could slack off a little. But turns out some of you are reading it! Haha, no more slacking now. I promise I’ll stay on track with the translations. 😂

By the way, if you notice any names I’ve translated wrongly, please let me know, okay? Haha, sometimes a few slip through during proofreading. Lucky little fish 🐟😑

In Chapter 5, I spotted Lin Zirun turning into Lin Ziren and Lin Ziran—all in one chapter, lol. Maybe he secretly “multiplied” or brought his “triplets” to the dating show. 😂 Don't worry, already fixed.

　　

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