Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 54: Wen Shu Possibly Shipwrecked!?

　　The one-day rehearsal date was coming to an end.

　　Before leaving, Chu Ling asked Sheng Yi, “Should we go say hi to your teammates?”

　　“Just give them a quick hello,” he replied.

　　As soon as Sheng Yi stepped out, he saw the three of them pretending to be busy.

　　“…ahem, ahem.”

　　He cleared his throat to get their attention. “We’re going now.”

　　Chu Ling followed him, waving as she said, “Bye for now. Next time, I’ll come watch you perform live.”

　　Sheng Yi stayed silent for a moment.

　　Chu Ling really was going all out to promote their band.

　　The three of them called back, “Sure, sure, you’re always welcome.”

　　Sheng Yi nodded and waved goodbye. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the keyboardist squinting and gesturing at him desperately. Guessing that he still had something to say, Sheng Yi glanced at Chu Ling.

　　Chu Ling noticed too and suggested, “Do you want me to head back to the car and wait for you? Looks like you have something to tell them.”　　

　　“Thanks,” Sheng Yi said. “I’ll be right back.”

　　After Chu Ling and the cameraman walked off, Sheng Yi finally asked, “What’s going on? If your eyes are cramping, go see a doctor.”

　　The keyboardist held back a laugh. “I’m fine. Maybe someone else has a problem? You’ve basically glued your eyes to her.”

　　He asked Sheng Yi directly, “Come on, admit it. You like Chu Ling, don’t you?”

　　Sheng Yi froze.

　　He instinctively glanced back, making sure Chu Ling was gone before saying, “Nonsense, that’s not true.”

　　“Come on, you’re on a dating show, not a boy band audition. It’s normal to like someone, you know?” The keyboardist said, rolling his eyes. “Why can’t you admit it?”

　　“Other people may not know, but don't you know why I'm on this dating show?”

　　Sheng Yi stubbornly said, “I’m promoting a CP. Don’t you guys get it? It’s all the trend now. I’m just trying to get some attention. If you think I like her, that just means I’m acting it well.”

　　The bassist let out a soft chuckle.

　　This was exactly Sheng Yi’s bad habit.

　　Every inch of him was fine, but his mouth was the hardest of all.

　　If he really was just riding the hype and had nothing with Chu Ling, he probably would have played it off as a joke long ago.

　　But dragging it out like this only showed how important Chu Ling was to him.

　　“Just promoting a CP?”

　　The keyboardist asked, half-doubtful. “Then your acting has improved a lot.”

　　Sheng Yi nodded, pretending to be serious. “Of course. Don’t you know who I am?”

　　Then the bassist suddenly spoke up. “If it’s just CP promotion, that’s great. I was going to warn you. The entertainment world is complicated. Who knows what kind of person Chu Ling really is behind the scenes. Rumor has it—”

　　“—Can you really trust rumors?”

　　Sheng Yi interrupted immediately. “That’s obviously nonsense. Don’t believe it. She’s not that kind of person.”

　　See?

　　The bassist snorted quietly to himself.

　　Not allowed to even mention a rumor about her.

　　Sheng Yi couldn’t help adding, “Besides, Chu Ling… she’s really great. You’ve all seen it, haven’t you?”

　　“We?”

　　The keyboardist thought, just seeing her once could tell them what? Their eyes aren’t X-ray vision.

　　“Yeah. She even complimented our performance,” Sheng Yi said. “Isn’t that proof enough?”

　　The three teammates exchanged glances.

　　That only proves that their performance was successful, right?

　　“Five minutes,”

　　The bassist glanced at his watch. “If you don’t head back soon, she’s probably been waiting a bit too long.”

　　Sheng Yi seemed to snap out of it. He glanced at his watch, nodded knowingly, and left immediately.

　　The bassist gave the others a look that basically said, See what happens when you have a love-brain.

　　The keyboardist still felt frustrated. “Wait. That attitude just now… he likes Chu Ling, right? Why won’t he admit it?”

　　He clicked his tongue. “He’s never acted like that before.”　　

　　The bassist smirked. “First time since birth. You could call it unprecedented.”

　　The keyboardist turned to the other two. “Are we really not going to help him at all? It’s rare he has someone he likes. Who knows when the next chance will come?”

　　“I’m not doing it.”

　　The bassist said, “From the way he acted, it’s obvious he has his reasons for keeping quiet. We should respect that.”

　　The drummer shot him a look. “When did you get so thoughtful?”

　　“Of course, there’s another reason.”

　　The bassist snorted. “This guy’s been sailing through life so smoothly. It’s about time he tasted a little bitterness in love.”

　　Looks like his crush will have him holding back for a while.

　　Watching Sheng Yi, usually so sharp-tongued and cheeky, get flustered in love might just be its own kind of entertainment.

　　……

　　Sheng Yi felt a little uneasy as he got back into the car.

　　How did they figure it out?

　　Was it really that obvious?

　　And… had Chu Ling noticed too?

　　Seeing his expression, Chu Ling asked, “Is something wrong?”

　　She teased, “Don’t tell me your teammates don’t like me and have been talking behind my back after I left?”

　　Hmm… backstage, she hadn’t sensed any negative vibes from them, so probably not.

　　“They dare?

　　Sheng Yi said immediately, “With my connections, of course they wouldn’t. Otherwise, how would they even get a chance to meet such a stunning celebrity?”

　　Chu Ling tilted her head and looked at him, smiling. “Since when did you learn to be so smooth and flattering?”

　　In the dim light of the car’s back seat, Sheng Yi looked into her eyes and said, “Honestly, do I even need to practice?”

　　He didn’t consider himself someone who cared much about looks.

　　But Chu Ling had a face that was objectively beautiful. Anyone who saw her would be struck by her beauty. Even getting a glimpse of that face felt like a stroke of luck.

　　And she said she’d never had anyone genuinely like her.

　　How could that be?

　　Sheng Yi felt like everyone in the world should be falling for Chu Ling.

　　—

　　Chu Ling and Sheng Yi wandered outside a bit more before finally returning to the villa.

　　They found Zhou Yu sitting on the sofa. The moment he saw them, he immediately sprang up, looking overly eager.

　　“Jiejie is back?”

　　He asked, “Did you have fun on your date today?”

　　Sheng Yi had been in a good mood the whole time, but when he saw him, his face suddenly fell.

　　He had never seen such a tactless person.

　　Zhou Yu circled around Chu Ling, saying, “It’s such a pity we didn’t get paired together this time. I guess our chemistry isn’t strong enough yet. But I just got here, so I don’t know you that well. Next time, I won’t lose to anyone else.”

　　“That’s not necessarily true.”

　　Sheng Yi snorted lightly, “Chemistry isn’t about whether you know the other person. It’s about whether you share common ground.”

　　“If you keep changing yourself to fit someone else, doesn’t that defeat the point?”

　　Besides, Chu Ling’s ways weren’t something ordinary people could guess.

　　Zhou Yu’s expression stiffened a little. He ignored Sheng Yi and asked Chu Ling, “Have you eaten?”

　　Chu Ling nodded, “I have.”

　　They had picked a restaurant casually. Even though they chose a private room to avoid crowds, it definitely wasn’t some obscure high-end Western restaurant this time.

　　“That’s such a shame,” Zhou Yu said. “I even bought some ingredients to cook for you. I wanted you to try my skills.”

　　He added, “If you want a late-night snack or an extra meal tonight, just let me know. I can make it anytime for you.”

　　Chu Ling gave him a side glance. “Are you trying to make me fat?”

　　She was still a celebrity after all. Did she really need to eat that much?

　　Zhou Yu didn’t catch her meaning and just chuckled, “Even if you get a little chubby, you’ll still be beautiful, jiejie.”

　　“……”

　　Chu Ling was too lazy to pay attention. “No thanks, I’m good.”

　　Wen Shu and Qin Shuo returned after them.

　　In this round of the chemistry match, Wen Shu was paired with Qin Shuo again. Of course, under normal circumstances their options wouldn’t have matched—it was the production team doing a little behind-the-scenes manipulation.

　　Qin Shuo still had high hopes for this one-on-one date.

　　With no one else around to interrupt, maybe Wen Shu would remember some of the good times they had shared.

　　He took her to the places they had been to together before, hoping to move her.

　　But Wen Shu finally made up her mind. When Qin Shuo carefully asked her something, she said, “Sometimes, fate can bring people together, but that doesn’t mean you should force it.”

　　“After all the dates we’ve been on, aren’t you tired?”

　　Qin Shuo instinctively replied, “Of course I’m not tired.”

　　“But I am,” Wen Shu said.

　　Qin Shuo was momentarily stunned. “Did someone influence you?”

　　“It’s just my own thoughts,” Wen Shu said, looking at him. “Thank you for taking care of me all this time, but let’s leave it at this.”

　　The livestream chat expressed their regrets over the pair.

　　【I guess Qin-Wen ended up with a decent BE.】

　　【What a shame, I was really shipping them at first.】

　　【Never thought the celebrity would get rejected by the non-celebrity first.】

　　【Qin Shuo probably never expected a girl to reject him hahaha】

　　Originally, this was where Qin-Wen’s story should have ended.

　　Unexpectedly, that night, an insider suddenly broke the news online, claiming that Wen Shu had a reason for rejecting Qin Shuo.

　　The reason? She had been married before.

　　And on the show, she had hidden her marital history, deceiving both many viewers and male guests.

　　Wen Shu had always been one of the popular female guests on the show. She was beautiful, from a good family, and seemed pure and harmless—a little white flower.

　　So, when this revelation came out, it completely overturned everyone's perceptions.

　　Wen Shu wasn’t that old and looked so innocent. She had been married?

　　A divorced woman appearing on a dating show, and she didn’t make it public?

　　The internet immediately exploded with criticism.

　　【No way, she should have said she was divorced from the start. Hiding it for so long is just trying to deceive everyone.】

　　【Not sharing such important info is basically fraud. I actually thought she was so innocent and sweet.】

　　【Qin Shuo, wake up! She’s not worth it!】

　　【This dating show has too high a scandal rate. Now even the female guests are involved.】

　　Wen Shu didn’t use her phone much, so when the discussions started online, she didn’t know. It wasn’t until Chu Ling came to find her that she was startled.

　　Chu Ling didn’t press her about whether she had been divorced. She only asked, “Who do you think leaked this?”

　　“……”

　　Wen Shu was silent for a moment. “Very few people in this world know about this. Even my friends don’t.”

　　So it wasn’t hard to guess who had leaked the news.

　　But Wen Shu didn’t understand why he would do something like that.

　　If someone started digging into her past, they might even find out that her ex-husband was Qin Shuo.

　　Then all the effort he had kept hidden for so many years would be wasted.

　　What benefit would that even bring him?

 

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