Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 35: Could It Be That He… Was Starting To Like Chu Ling?

　　The comment section under the post was buzzing.

　　【Who? Who is it!!】

　　【Where did the blogger even get this info, stop keeping us hanging and spill it already!】

　　【Wait, this kind of dating show actually has a real couple in the making? I thought it was all acting.】

　　【Hold on, today’s amusement park trip… wasn’t that between two pairs from the group of four? The range is pretty small!】

　　【Who else could it be? It’s obviously our Qin-Wen! Ahhh, I knew my CP was real!】

　　【Wake up, please. After watching today’s livestream, if you can still ship Qin-Wen, your teeth must be made of steel. Wen Shu practically had “reject Qin Shuo” written all over her face.】

　　【Maybe they were just avoiding suspicion on camera for the show’s effect! If not them, then who? Don’t tell me you’re suggesting Qin Shuo and Chu Ling?】

　　【No one’s considering Sheng-Wen? Even though they didn’t interact much, their vibe is definitely better than Qin-Wen’s.】

　　【That’s actually pretty possible! Plus Sheng Yi seems like the type who’d invite the girl he likes back out after filming to spend more time together. So romantic.】

　　Then suddenly, one random comment popped up.　　

　　【Has no one considered Overbearing CP?】

　　But the replies under it were nothing but ridicule.

　　【Wow, dare to dream huh?】

　　【It’s not even midnight yet and you’re already dreaming out loud.】

　　【What’s more believable, Overbearing CP being a real couple or me being the First Emperor of Qin?】

　　【No way! Do you seriously think Chu Ling’s the type to sneak around dating on this show?】

　　【Have you even watched the earlier episodes? She’s already doing the guys a favor if she doesn’t roast them to the point of collapse. A secret date? I wouldn’t dare say it even as a joke.】

　　【You’d need ten lifetimes of courage to date Chu Ling. Not even giving these guys ten extra guts would be enough.】

　　Not bad.

　　Chu Ling finally let out a small sigh of relief.

　　Her persona was clearly solid. Hardly anyone in the comments even suspected her.

　　She scrolled on. Most of the guesses were still bouncing between Qin-Wen and Sheng-Wen.

　　Qin Shuo, due to his poor performance today and several rejections by Wen Shu, had been gradually losing ground. His remaining fans were secretly gloating over his failed romance while still putting on a show of wailing for him, and of course, taking a few jabs at Wen Shu in the process.

　　Chu Ling scrolled through the comments for a long while, debating whether she should say something.

　　If she guided the discussion toward Qin-Wen, that would feel like throwing Wen Shu under the bus.

　　But if she let it lean toward her, then it would be like throwing herself under the bus.

　　Chu Ling had no intention of stirring up CP rumors with anyone. All she wanted was to quietly play the role of the villain that everyone loved to hate.

　　The more CP fans there were, the more her popularity would rise. And once that happened, people would start whitewashing her, which would only get in the way of her mission!

　　She thought for a moment, then began typing furiously in the comment section.

　　Sheng Yi, hearing the rapid tapping on her phone, asked, “What’s up?”

　　“Nothing,” Chu Ling replied. “Just clearing up a rumor.”

　　But before she could even hit send, she refreshed the page and found that the original post was gone.

　　She clicked into the blogger’s profile and saw a new update:【Signed a confidentiality agreement so I can’t say more, but it’s definitely true. The hype got too big, worried it might affect the people involved, so I deleted the post. Don’t ask anymore, everyone.】

　　Because of that one line about “affecting the people involved,” suspicion once again shifted back toward Qin Shuo. Hardly anyone even considered Chu Ling.

　　After all, while both Qin Shuo and Chu Ling were celebrities, what effect could gossip possibly have on Chu Ling? She was already obscure and weighed down with scandals. Like she needed to worry about that.

　　Chu Ling agreed wholeheartedly with their logic, so she left a comment to clear things up:

　　【Whoever the real couple is, one thing’s for sure. It is definitely not Overbearing CP.】

　　Someone quickly replied under her comment:【You sound pretty confident. Got insider connections?】

　　Chu Ling confidently shot back:【Of course.】

　　She was her own best connection.

　　—

　　Before heading back, Chu Ling made sure to be a bit careful.

　　She went back to the villa first, then had Sheng Yi circle around outside before coming back, just to create a time gap.

　　“Is that necessary?”

　　Sheng Yi tilted his head and smiled. “It makes us look like we're guilty, like we’re hiding something we shouldn’t.”

　　“…It’s necessary!”

　　Chu Ling didn’t want to tell him about the gossip she’d seen today to avoid any trouble. She just said, “Just do what I tell you.”

　　Sheng Yi laughed helplessly, then told the taxi driver to take an extra lap outside.

　　Chu Ling returned to the villa and pushed the door open.

　　To her surprise, it was unusually quiet inside.

　　It was already this late, and the four from the aquarium hadn’t returned yet. They were probably out dining together.

　　She went upstairs and peeked into Wen Shu’s room.

　　Wen Shu was leaning on the sofa reading a book. Hearing the door, she looked up and smiled at Chu Ling. “You’re back? Everything handled?”

　　“Handled,” Chu Ling said.

　　Wen Shu hummed. “Looks like you two had a good time at the amusement park.”

　　Chu Ling froze. “?!”

　　She felt a little guilty, as if she’d been caught. “You saw it online?”

　　“No, not me.”

　　Wen Shu wasn’t one to follow online gossip.

　　She explained, “A friend called to ask if I got back together with Qin Shuo, saying they saw a rumor about me secretly going to the amusement park with him.”

　　She hadn’t gone, and after thinking for a moment, she guessed it was probably Chu Ling and Sheng Yi.

　　But she didn’t bother to clarify it.

　　If Chu Ling and Sheng Yi were in the early stages of something, exposing it publicly could be bad for them.

　　If they weren’t… then there was even less reason to let everyone assume otherwise.

　　She asked casually, “So… what actually happened?”

　　“Really nothing happened!”

　　Chu Ling raised her hand and swore. “Sheng Yi was just a temporary buddy for the high-altitude rides. We ran into each other by chance and didn’t plan it beforehand. It’s definitely not like the rumors say.”

　　Wen Shu believed her.

　　If Chu Ling and Sheng Yi really had something, she would’ve known by now.

　　She pouted a little and said, sounding a bit wronged, “But I could’ve gone with you too. I could’ve waited for you downstairs.”

　　Chu Ling laughed. “Do you think that’s even necessary?”

　　Wen Shu didn’t like rides, so Chu Ling would never force her to wait.

　　“I just wanted to go for myself, and then I met Sheng Yi, who also wanted to go.”

　　She shook her head. “This staff member is too careless and likes to casually match people up.”

　　Wen Shu smiled. “After all, she thought she had caught some big gossip.”

　　“Oh, right, I haven’t written my crush message tonight yet.”

　　She rested her chin on her hand, looking frustrated. “I really don’t feel like writing.”

　　Wen Shu turned to Chu Ling and asked, “Chu Ling, you don’t have anyone you like either, so who do you usually write your messages to?”

　　She had been curious about this for a long time.

　　“Usually—”

　　Chu Ling answered honestly, “I pick the person I’m most annoyed with that day and write about their flaws.”

　　Wen Shu blinked. “?”

　　She vaguely remembered that last time the answer had been different. “Shouldn't you choose the point that most excites you?”

　　“Yes, the point that most excites you.”

　　Chu Ling said, “For example, if you think Qin Shuo was bossy today, acting like a strict dad, then you can write him a message scolding him and express your frustration.”

　　Wen Shu: “……”

　　Oh, expressing your urge to roast someone counts as expressing yourself.

　　But she was still pretty stunned. “But isn’t this supposed to be a crush message?”

　　“Getting angry makes my heart race, so how is that not a ‘crush message’?”

　　Chu Ling said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

　　System: “……”

　　What a twisted logic.

　　Chu Ling continued, “If you really have no one to write to today, you can write to Qin Shuo. It won’t be revealed until the last day. The audience won’t know who sent it, so you can totally pretend it’s me. The audience and he won’t know anyway.”

　　Wen Shu asked, “…He won’t notice?”

　　“Probably won’t suspect.”

　　Chu Ling said calmly, “Because I often send messages roasting him, he’s probably used to it. If you don’t dare send it, you can tweak it a bit and try.”

　　Wen Shu: “……”

　　Chu Ling had always found reasons to roast him, so he’d probably be used to assuming any message scolding him was from Chu Ling. He might even block the number.

　　By the time he realizes later that a fair number of those messages were actually from Wen Shu…

　　Chu Ling thought for a moment and imagined the scene—it had to be pretty entertaining.

　　Wen Shu: “……”

　　Although it sounded unethical, she couldn’t help but smile.

　　Very good, very touching, she had learned that.

　　She asked, “But if Qin Shuo gets two messages, wouldn’t he notice?”

　　Chu Ling shook her head. “No worries. I just won’t send one to Qin Shuo today.”

　　She was in a good mood, and since she had already said most of what needed to be said during the day, there was no need for extra jabs at night.

　　So after thinking it over, she sent that night’s crush message to Sheng Yi.

　　—

　　When Sheng Yi got back, the villa was still mostly empty.

　　He went up to the second floor, took a shower, and hummed a tune as he placed the little bear Chu Ling had given him on his bedside.

　　Just like Chu Ling, he was in a really good mood today.

　　It even felt a little too good.

　　After finishing his routine, Sheng Yi got down to completing his own task.

　　After clicking send, he received another message.

　　He opened it and glanced at it.

　　【We should go to the amusement park together again next time.】

　　Who was it from?

　　Chu Ling?

　　For some reason, he just knew it was her.

　　Wen Shu hadn’t interacted with him much today, so she probably wouldn’t suddenly say something like this. But Chu Ling had made a plan to meet him again.

　　Then it had to be her.

　　It was just a short line, with no strong emotion, yet Sheng Yi read it over several times and couldn’t help the small smile tugging at his lips.

　　Next time.

　　She said there would be a next time.

　　It seemed like she had enjoyed herself today just as much as he had.

　　Sheng Yi felt his heart leap.

　　He wanted to see Chu Ling.

　　He wanted to go have fun with her again.

　　A moment later, he suddenly realized something was off.

　　He kept wanting to see Chu Ling.

　　That wasn’t right.

　　And what was this strange, excited feeling?

　　Sheng Yi touched his chest and noticed his heart was beating unusually fast. Whenever he thought of Chu Ling, it tightened with an unfamiliar thrill.

　　A thought floated into his mind, stirring something inside him.

　　Could it be that he… was starting to like Chu Ling?

　　—

　　Tonight, Chu Ling was about to hit the ten million countdown.

　　She sat in her room, opened the backend, and stared at the number steadily climbing toward eight digits, feeling an incredible rush of satisfaction.

　　Even though the entertainment industry was full of opportunities, Chu Ling hadn’t really made much money here. On the contrary, she had cost the company a few losses.

　　But now, watching the number tick up, she felt absolutely thrilled.

　　Everyone has that childhood dream of thinking, if everyone gave me just one dollar, with enough people, I’d be rich.

　　Turns out, that dream could actually come true!

　　If everyone gave a little bit of hate, her world would turn into a wonderful tomorrow!

　　Chu Ling watched the scrolling notifications, feeling pure joy.

　　Most of the names popping up were strangers. She didn’t know them, but they were likely people who had grown to hate her out of nowhere.

　　Thank you all for everything you’ve given me!

　　Even if we’ll never meet, you can still choose to dislike me.

　　Chu Ling happily watched for a long while until she suddenly saw one message:【You received 10 points of negative emotion from Sheng Yi.】

　　She froze.

　　What?

　　Why now? How did she suddenly get on his nerves for no reason?

    

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