Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 44: Not Everyone Has Your Poor Taste

　　Jiang Yicheng’s expression instantly changed.

　　“How, how is that possible?”

　　He forced himself to keep calm and said, “I just thought it wasn’t necessary… that’s all. Calling the insurance would’ve been too much trouble.”

　　But his heart was already pounding.

　　How did Chu Ling figure it out?

　　He had heard the rumors about her before and knew she was partly the reason Lu Shixuan left. He had thought it was just a fluke, that she had randomly picked a fight.

　　He never expected her observation skills to be truly sharp.

　　Not good.

　　Jiang Yicheng thought.

　　He can’t let Chu Ling stay any longer, or she might discover even more.

　　He first turned to the other driver. “Don’t call the police. We’ll settle this privately in a bit. Please wait for me.”

　　Seeing the cameraman get out of the car, he switched to an apologetic expression and said to Chu Ling, “Sorry for ruining your mood. Today’s date can’t really continue. I’ll stay here to handle this briefly. You can call a taxi to go back first.”

　　Chu Ling raised an eyebrow.

　　“That’s really too bad.”

　　She asked, “Are you sure you can handle it alone?”

　　Jiang Yicheng thought, You staying here is the problem, before hurriedly nodding. “It’s fine, I can handle it.”

　　Chu Ling tactfully didn't pursue the matter further and took a taxi back to the villa.

　　She had thought she would be the first one back since a lot of her time with Jiang Yicheng had already been cut short.

　　To her surprise, when she opened the door, Gao Yan and Sheng Yi had already returned.

　　“You’re back?”

　　Gao Yan smiled. “We were just guessing who the others drew.”

　　She looked at Chu Ling’s empty space behind her and asked curiously, “Just you?”　　

　　“Yeah.”

　　Chu Ling changed her shoes at the door and said, “There was a small car accident on the way. Jiang Yicheng is still handling it, so I came back first.”　　

　　“A car accident?”

　　Sheng Yi immediately stood and asked, “Are you okay?”

　　Chu Ling gave him a slightly exasperated look. “If I weren’t okay, you wouldn’t be seeing me here, but in the hospital.”

　　“I’m fine. It was just a little scrape on the car.”

　　Thinking of the dent in the Rolls-Royce, Chu Ling smiled faintly. “It’ll probably need to go in for repairs.”

　　Gao Yan asked, “You got Jiang Yicheng today?”

　　Chu Ling nodded. “Yeah.”

　　Gao Yan nodded thoughtfully.

　　Sheng Yi glanced at the time and asked her, “Have you eaten?”

　　Chu Ling blinked. “I drank. Does that count?”

　　Sheng Yi: “...You tell me.”

　　Sheng Yi: “Do you want to eat something?”

　　Chu Ling asked, “You haven’t had dinner either?”

　　Sheng Yi: “...”

　　He had eaten dinner an hour ago.

　　He hesitated, wondering if he should lie, but saw Chu Ling wave her hand casually and say, “It’s fine. I’ll just cook some instant noodles later.”

　　Sheng Yi: “...Alright then.”

　　Chu Ling flipped open the kitchen and saw there was still a pack of instant noodles left.

　　While cooking, she casually glanced at the day’s settlement list on her backend page, then poked her head out of the kitchen and asked Sheng Yi, “You’re not upset, are you?”

　　Sheng Yi looked puzzled. “...No?”

　　Then why was her system picking up negative emotions from him?

　　Of course, it was his regret.

　　Chu Ling didn’t guess that. After ruling out the possibility that Sheng Yi disliked her, she wondered if he was just regretting his earlier dinner, wanting something else but feeling too embarrassed to say.

　　She thought for a moment, took half the noodles into another bowl, and asked Sheng Yi, “I cooked too much. I can’t finish all of it. Do you want some too?”

　　Whether it was her imagination or not, Chu Ling felt Sheng Yi instantly brighten up. “Yes!”

　　……

　　Chu Ling also asked Gao Yan about it.

　　Gao Yan said she was trying to keep her figure and skipped dinner.

　　So it ended up being just Chu Ling and Sheng Yi eating together.

　　“Don’t blame me if it’s not good.”

　　Chu Ling hadn’t forgotten the “can’t cook” persona she had set up when she first joined the show. “This is about as good as it gets. At least it’s instant noodles, shouldn’t kill anyone.”

　　Sheng Yi almost choked a couple of times.

　　Her words had him mentally prepared for some kind of disaster dish.　　

　　But the moment he took a bite, he blinked in surprise.

　　It… actually tastes pretty good?

　　He was about to say so, but when he looked up, Chu Ling gave him a “shut up” look.

　　Sheng Yi: “...?”

　　He didn’t know why, but he obediently nodded and said along with her words, “If it’s edible, that’s good enough.”

　　Chu Ling nodded in satisfaction.

　　Just as they finished eating and were about to clean up, Jiang Yicheng returned.

　　Gao Yan had been waiting in the living room, seemingly wanting to say something to him.

　　But he didn’t stop to talk to her and went straight to Chu Ling.

　　“Chu Ling.”

　　He asked, “Can you come with me somewhere private?”

　　Chu Ling glanced at Sheng Yi.

　　Sheng Yi’s mouth twitched a little when he saw Jiang Yicheng, but he said, “I’ll handle cleaning up.”

　　“Thanks.”

　　Chu Ling nodded and followed Jiang Yicheng to a corner where there were no cameras.

　　“Sorry about today’s unpleasant date.”　　

　　Jiang Yicheng said, “I’ve already taken care of it.”

　　Chu Ling thought to herself, why is he even bringing this up, when he added, “But I want to ask, how did you think my car wasn’t mine?”

　　He chuckled awkwardly. “That joke went a little too far, didn’t it? After all, it’s in front of the cameras. I know you were joking, but the audience could misunderstand. Maybe we should be a bit more careful with what we say from now on?”

　　Chu Ling: “?”

　　Now he’s giving her a lecture?

　　“I’m not joking.”

　　Chu Ling said, “I mean it seriously.”

　　Jiang Yicheng’s expression instantly darkened even more.

　　That line from him was a very clumsy test.

　　In fact, his unfamiliarity with the car’s buttons already gave him away. Even if he claimed to own many cars, he shouldn’t be clueless about basic settings. Usually, when someone buys a car, they adjust it to their own preferences.

　　His car was either borrowed or rented.

　　“I didn’t go through insurance because it’s too much hassle. It’s easier to settle it privately.”

　　Jiang Yicheng had originally wanted to subtly warn Chu Ling, but she didn’t give him an out. He had to come up with another reason. “Besides, I have too many cars. Sometimes I’m too lazy to argue. Going through insurance is more trouble than just giving the other party a sum of money.”

　　He didn’t expect the other party to see he wanted a quick settlement and then ask for tens of thousands.

　　Jiang Yicheng thought angrily.

　　He still had to return the car to the rental company and pay a big compensation, so this would be a huge loss overall.

　　For the sake of the show, he had carefully built his image as a rich second-generation heir, but in reality, his family only had a little money.

　　But on TV, everyone did that.

　　Right now, the rich kid persona was very popular.

　　He wanted to gain some fame, turn his bar into a trending spot, and make his bar a popular destination.

　　His image was solid, the CP pairing was hyped, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

　　He definitely could not let Chu Ling ruin that.

　　On the way back, he considered whether he should just admit some things to Chu Ling and give her a hush payment to keep quiet.

　　After thinking it through, he firmly decided against it.

　　He didn’t know Chu Ling well, but he already knew how terrifying she could be.

　　If she ever got hold of a real leverage, she would crush him until there was no way out.

　　“But it seems the Rolls-Royce doesn’t really match my style.”

　　Jiang Yicheng said casually, pretending not to care, “Next time we go out, I’ll just drive another car.”　　

　　Chu Ling: “……”

　　Fine.

　　She’ll just watch him pretend.

　　“Next time, be more careful.”

　　Chu Ling smiled, “And don’t go paying for damages again.”

　　—

　　After they returned, Gao Yan’s gaze kept shifting between them, hesitating to speak for a long time.

　　She seemed like she wanted to go to Jiang Yicheng, but he had already turned and gone back to his room.

　　Gao Yan didn’t feel it was appropriate to knock on his door, so after thinking for a moment, she couldn’t hold back and went to find Chu Ling.

　　She didn’t avoid the camera at all and said calmly, “You went on a date with Jiang Yicheng today, right? What did you think of him?”

　　Chu Ling tilted her head and looked at Gao Yan, unsure of what she was trying to say.

　　“What’s up?”

　　She thought about how Gao Yan’s previous dates with Jiang Yicheng had gone smoothly. Probably not wanting to speak badly of him, she replied vaguely, “He’s okay.”

　　Inside, Gao Yan felt a little uneasy.

　　When Jiang Yicheng came back, he didn’t seek her out first, nor did he check on her.

　　Even if he had gone on a date with someone else before, he would at least talk to her when he returned, as if to reassure her. This was part of why so many fans shipped them together online and were so confident in the pairing. It made the arrow pointing their way look very steady.

　　Until today, when he dated Chu Ling.

　　Logically, Jiang Yicheng shouldn’t be so clueless.

　　The show was already more than halfway through, and if he switched CP now, he would get criticized heavily.

　　Yet his behavior was unusually off.

　　It made Gao Yan think too much.

　　Even though Chu Ling had a bad reputation outside, from Gao Yan’s actual interactions with her, she didn’t have major flaws aside from being sharp-tongued.

　　On top of that, her face was stunning.

　　As a model, Gao Yan had a face many people envied, but the first time she met Chu Ling in person, she couldn’t help but wonder how someone could look like that.

　　Chu Ling had always treated all men the same, with her blunt style.

　　This time, she didn’t say anything bad about Jiang Yicheng, which made Gao Yan feel even more uneasy.

　　“So… what do you think about Jiang Yicheng?”

　　Gao Yan bit her lip and asked directly.

　　Chu Ling: “?”

　　“I know this is kind of sudden,” Gao Yan said. “But I’ve been on a few dates with Jiang Yicheng already. I know opportunities are fair to everyone, and everyone has the right to meet new people, so I just wanted to ask your current thoughts.”

　　“Because earlier… it seemed like you hadn’t really made up your mind.”

　　“So I want to ask… do you have feelings for Jiang Yicheng now?”

　　【Gao Yan is so direct!】

　　【So she’s jealous, right!! Jiang Yicheng didn’t even greet her when he came back! She must be upset! Jiang Yicheng, go comfort your girl!】

　　【Our CP is so real ahhh, Chu Ling, don’t break up our little couple!!】

　　Chu Ling didn’t expect Gao Yan was thinking that. She paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

　　Gao Yan: “…W-what’s wrong?”

　　Chu Ling looked at her with a sympathetic gaze and shook her head.

　　“Sweetheart,” she said, “not everyone has such poor taste like you.”

　　Gao Yan: “???”

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T/N: Thanks to everyone who visited my Ko-fi, especially Trin! Your support really means a lot 🥰 

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