Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 47: Cherish Life, Stay Away from Chu Ling

　　Jiang Yicheng: “?”

　　Why was Chu Ling here?

　　The moment he realized she was the one who set off this whole mess, anger rose in his chest. “What does this have to do with you?”

　　If it hadn’t been for Chu Ling running her mouth, the netizens wouldn’t have dug him up.

　　And now, he wouldn’t be facing elimination from the show.

　　Jiang Yicheng regretted it so much he could barely breathe. If only he had faked an illness that day instead of going on that date with Chu Ling.

　　One wrong step, a lifetime of regret.

　　Cherish life, stay away from Chu Ling.

　　The director was also surprised.

　　This was supposed to be a private meeting, but somehow Chu Ling had heard the commotion and showed up.

　　He was about to intervene when Chu Ling folded her arms, rolled her eyes, and said, “It was so noisy I couldn’t sleep, so I came to see what the fuss was about. And besides, this is still part of our show. I might as well be a reference point.”

　　Showing up uninvited was annoying, but it wasn’t the first time Chu Ling had been annoying. As long as she wasn’t embarrassed herself, no one could chase her off.

　　Gao Yan, however, felt strangely relieved and followed Chu Ling’s lead. “That’s right. You deceived me, and I haven’t even called you out on it. What gives you the right to guilt-trip me?”

　　“This isn’t guilt-tripping. I’m just analyzing the pros and cons. You need to understand that if I leave the show, it won’t do you any good either.”

　　Jiang Yicheng coaxed, “Think about it. We’re already in the later half of the season. Most CPs are set, so who else could you pair with now? If I leave, you’ll just be left all alone here.”

　　He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and held Gao Yan’s hand. “I know I made mistakes, but when I first joined the show, I only wanted to polish up my image. I never meant to deceive you.”

　　He continued, “If you’re willing to accept it, I can make a public apology, admit part of the truth, and then we can go on just like before. I believe appearances can’t fully control what we have. We’ve spent time together, gone on dates, built something real, haven’t we?”

　　Chu Ling: “?”

　　Why was he playing the emotional card out of the blue?

　　He just wanted to stay.

　　Jiang Yicheng thought that staying was the only way to clear his name.

　　Compared to Lu Shixuan’s scandal, his problem wasn’t so serious. Lu Shixuan had been exposed for cheating, a clear moral failing. His own case was just vanity. If he apologized, maybe he could get through it.

　　As long as Gao Yan accepted him and continued their CP, he still had a chance to survive on the show.

　　The director considered it and realized that eliminating another male guest at this stage would also be troublesome for production.

　　Finding a new guest to take his spot would be awkward timing, and not easy either.

　　Besides, it would be too embarrassing to have two guests withdraw from a dating show halfway through.

　　“Think it over,” the director told Gao Yan. “If you agree, we can move on to a confession round. He can apologize, then continue the recording with a new identity.”

　　Chu Ling thought no one in their right mind would accept such nonsense, but to her surprise, Gao Yan actually looked like she was wavering.

　　Chu Ling: “?”

　　Wait, what are you even thinking?

　　“You still want to protect him after all this?” Chu Ling said in disbelief. “Did he secretly save your life or something?”

　　Gao Yan: “…”

　　Gao Yan said, “Let me think about it…”

　　“Think about what? What good does keeping him around do for you?”

　　“You think the viewers will be moved by your selfless love that ignores appearances and material things? No, they’ll stop sympathizing with you and decide you’re just as bad as he is. One wants to deceive, the other is willing to take it. You’ll go from victim to accomplice in no time.”

　　The viewers aren’t just angry that Jiang Yicheng tricked Gao Yan. More importantly, he deceived the entire audience.

　　Chu Ling could already imagine the insults coming and started counting them off on her fingers. “They’ll be calling you lovesick, brainwashed, pathetic, locked-down housewife. And when it gets really bad, it’ll be ‘if you’re going to die, don’t die in front of my house.’ Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

　　System: “…”

　　Such a brutal attack.

　　The system asked, “Will it really get that nasty?”

　　Chu Ling replied, “Thanks for asking. When it comes to getting cursed out, I’m a pro. She should trust my judgment.”

　　Anyone else might not be believable, but Chu Ling definitely was. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said she had professional-level experience in being roasted.

　　And when the viewers spoke, their words would be ten times worse than hers.

　　Jiang Yicheng couldn’t take it anymore. “Let her decide for herself!”

　　He looked at Gao Yan and said, “It’s not as bad as she makes it sound. We still have a lot of CP fans.”

　　“Exactly,” Chu Ling shot back. “Better grab their sympathy votes while you can. Wait too long and you’ll get nothing.”

　　Seeing Jiang Yicheng’s anger peak, Chu Ling wrapped things up neatly. “I’m just giving some advice. The rest is up to you.”

　　With that, she turned and left.

　　Gao Yan fell silent.

　　She really had been tempted by Jiang Yicheng’s words, but Chu Ling snapped her out of it.

　　Chu Ling was right. Viewers don’t buy into the tragic love act anymore. The chance of her being flamed was way higher than anyone being touched by her actions.

　　So Gao Yan lifted her head, shook it firmly, and said, “I don’t accept.”

　　Gao Yan stood firm. She made it clear that even if Jiang Yicheng stayed, she would never pair with him again.

　　As things kept blowing up online, and with no one knowing how much dirt about Jiang Yicheng was still hidden, the production team thought it over and decided it was better to cut their losses and terminate his contract.

　　Still, to save the show’s image, the director gave Jiang Yicheng a graceful way out.

　　The next morning, when Gao Yan went downstairs for breakfast, she found a letter on the table in the kitchen. The signature at the bottom was Jiang Yicheng’s.

　　Something felt off, so she immediately called all the guests over before opening it on camera.

　　It turned out Jiang Yicheng had already left the night before.

　　In the letter, he wrote that when he first joined the show, he didn’t think he would be chosen, so he fabricated some details to increase his chances.

　　After he got in, he rented luxury cars and watches because he wanted people to respect him, not because he meant to deceive anyone.

　　But he admitted there were some things he could no longer cover up. After thinking it over, he felt too ashamed to stay and decided to leave. He apologized for all the trouble he had caused.

　　Chu Ling: “…”

　　Yesterday when he was trying to guilt-trip people, his skin was pretty thick. Now he wanted to play innocent?　　

　　The letter made it sound like he had some sudden epiphany and chose to repent. It didn’t mention at all that the viewers had already dug up everything about him.

　　At the end, there was even a message just for Gao Yan.

　　He wrote that he was sorry for hiding parts of his identity from her.

　　But even if the identity was fake, the words he spoke and the feelings he developed while being with her were real.

　　He didn’t expect forgiveness, but he hoped she wouldn’t be too upset.

　　Chu Ling was honestly a little impressed.

　　As expected of a businessman, he was incredibly shrewd.

　　Even with his persona crashing down like this, he still managed to spin it on his way out, using the CP to soften his image.

　　But then she looked at Gao Yan and was stunned again.

　　Gao Yan had truly been angry before, yet when she read the letter, she actually seemed touched.

　　After a while, she held the letter close, and her eyes even turned red.

　　“It’s fine,” she whispered.

　　Ye Weiyang noticed something was wrong, so she patted Gao Yan and comforted her. “Don’t be sad. He’s gone now, but if fate allows, you’ll meet again someday.”

　　Wen Shu had missed most of the drama and didn’t really understand, but she still nodded along. “That’s right. Don’t be too upset.”

　　【After all, they did have feelings for so many days. It’s normal to feel sad.】

　　【Poor Gao Yan. She was lied to for so long, of course she had real feelings.】　　

　　【But honestly, that last part was kind of touching… my Yi-Yan CP555. Who would have thought it would all fall apart like this.】

　　“What’s so hard to let go of about someone like that?”

　　Chu Ling said in disbelief, “Isn’t this just a dating show scam? If you didn’t get scammed, that would be worth setting off fireworks to celebrate.”

　　Gao Yan: “…”

　　【Total change of tone.】

　　【I’m dying, ‘dating show scam’, haha. Trust Chu Ling to say it.】

　　【Why is it actually accurate though? Rude but not wrong.】

　　【Fake persona, emotional manipulation, all for money in the end. Yeah, that really is a scam.】

　　【I was still a little sad for them just now, but now I’m completely clear-headed. There’s nothing worth holding onto! Good thing it came out early.】

　　“…”

　　Gao Yan sniffled, looking a little down. “It’s not that I can’t let go. I just don’t get it. Out of so many people, how was I unlucky enough to pick the rotten one?”

　　“No.”

　　Chu Ling paused, then corrected her. “Actually, they’re all pretty rotten.”

　　Each of the male guests had their own flaws.

　　The fact that the production team managed to gather them all in one place was its own kind of miracle.

　　Gao Yan: “…”

　　Thanks so much for the comfort.

　　—

　　With Jiang Yicheng gone, the production team had no choice but to bring in a new male guest.

　　Since there were only a little over twenty days left of filming, it felt unfair to the newcomer, so the team decided to give him a special chance.

　　He could freely choose any of the female guests for a one-on-one date.

　　That day, all the female guests sat on the sofa, waiting for the newcomer’s pick.

　　In the end, Chu Ling’s phone buzzed with a notification.

　　She opened the message, saw the address of a restaurant, and froze. “…Looks like it’s me?”

　　【This newbie’s got guts! He actually chose Chu Ling.】

　　【How fearless do you have to be to pick her? Not scared she’ll roast you alive?】

　　【Is Chu Ling’s hit list about to get new entries, hahaha.】

　　【On the flip side, maybe he’s really confident in himself. Could be he has no scandals at all.】

　　Chu Ling was a little puzzled why the new guy would choose her right away. She wasn’t all that interested, but according to the rules, she went to the restaurant.

　　To her surprise, the newcomer looked really young, probably around college age. He was pretty handsome, dressed in a black hoodie with a white baseball cap pulled low over his head.

　　When he saw her, he immediately flashed a bright smile.

　　“Jiejie.”

　　He waved and spoke in a low, bubbly voice. “You came. Sit down.”

　　Chu Ling nearly got goosebumps from how cloying that tone was.

　　“Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhou Yu.”

　　He reached out his hand.

　　Chu Ling gave him a brief shake. “I’m Chu Ling.”

　　“I know.”

　　Zhou Yu raised his brows at her. “I’ve watched the show before. Aren’t you curious why I chose you?”

　　Why else?

　　Chu Ling thought, it had to be because she was the queen of buzz. Choosing her guaranteed attention.

　　On the surface, she asked flatly, “Why?”

　　“I’ve been following ‘Heartbeat Lab.’ It’s a great show. And out of all the female guests, my favorite is you.”

　　Zhou Yu looked straight into her eyes. “I’m really happy to be here as a guest and to finally have dinner with you in person.”

　　Chu Ling: …This is bad. He came for her.

 

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