Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 40: This Chu Ling Is Absolutely Out of Control!

　　Wen Shu was left choking on her words for a long while.

　　Chu Ling grinned at her. “Go on, say it.”

　　This was supposed to be one of the iconic scenes in the original story.

　　The original male lead, Qin Shuo, kept pressing her with one question after another about her ex, cornering Wen Shu until she eventually admitted she still had feelings for him.

　　The clueless audience never understood why Qin Shuo cared so much about the ex. They thought he was just jealous and ate it up, and when the truth later came out that Qin Shuo had been pursuing her out of love all along, they went crazy for it.

　　Wen Shu was too kind. If she followed Qin Shuo’s lead, she really could have been tricked into saying what he wanted.

　　Thankfully, Chu Ling had handed her a ready-made answer.

　　Wen Shu: “…”

　　Is this really okay?

　　Isn’t it a bit too harsh?

　　For a moment she felt like she just couldn’t say it.

　　And if one day people dug up the fact that she really was Qin Shuo’s ex, wouldn’t Qin Shuo’s fans tear her apart for it?

　　Sensing her hesitation, Chu Ling quickly added, “Relax. This is the standard go-to answer for exes. Anyone who has an ex will get it. Trust me.”

　　Since Chu Ling’s instincts were always spot-on, Wen Shu gritted her teeth and decided to use her answer.

　　But maybe she was too nervous, because she forgot Chu Ling’s exact words. After stumbling for a moment, she blurted out, “Dead… it’s only good if they’re dead.”

　　Qin Shuo: “?”

　　Chu Ling: …Well damn. The student has surpassed the master. She condensed it and made it even more lethal, saying the harshest thing in the gentlest tone.

　　Only after speaking did Wen Shu realize something felt a little off.

　　But the livestream chat was already howling with laughter at her reply.

　　【Hahahahaha, I’m dying, that’s exactly my attitude toward exes】

　　【So funny. I thought Wen Shu looked soft and gentle with a good temper, but I didn’t expect her to be this firm when it comes to exes.】

　　【Gentle on the outside, strong inside, clear about love and hate. Love it.】

　　【Sounds like her ex must have hurt her pretty badly.】

　　Having good public favor really does help.

　　Even when Wen Shu said something like this, people still accepted it.

　　Chu Ling chuckled, then tapped on her keyboard and sent a bullet comment from her alt account:【Exactly. It's much better than reminiscing about exes on variety shows. If you miss your ex that much, why are you even on a dating show? Go join “Goodbye Lover” instead.】

　　Her words were so pointed that it didn’t take long before Qin Shuo’s fans swarmed her.

　　But to her surprise, Chu Ling discovered her income dashboard was climbing like crazy.

　　Chu Ling asked the system, “So it doesn’t have to be my own personal image. Even if it’s just negative reactions to my online account, that still counts as income, right?”

　　The system had not expected her to find a loophole here.

　　But one glance at the income report showed it was true.

　　It hesitated. “I… I guess so?”

　　Chu Ling lit up. “Perfect!”

　　This made things a lot easier!

　　She used to think she had to show up in person to earn money, but now it turned out she could make money without even appearing.

　　Qin Shuo seemed caught off guard by her answer. He gave an awkward laugh and said, “R-really? Do you hate him that much?”

　　“…”

　　Wen Shu looked away and only said, “It’s all in the past.”

　　Qin Shuo stared at her and asked, “So have you really let it go?”

　　While the shippers in the livestream were squealing about him being jealous, competing for her affection from afar, and showing how much he still cared, Chu Ling quickly jumped in again with her alt account to stir things up.

　　【How does he even have the face to ask if she’s let go when he clearly hasn’t let go of his old flame? Is he planning to use this show to vent about it?】

　　【This is “Heartbeat Lab,” not “Ex's Meeting Room.”】

　　【Why press her about her ex unless you’re deliberately poking at her scars? It’s obvious she doesn’t want to talk about it.】

　　The system watched her in action and realized she must usually be holding back.

　　This Chu Ling, hidden behind her anonymity, was completely out of control.

　　Wen Shu’s heart tightened, but she still nodded.

　　“Is that so?”

　　Qin Shuo stared at her and pressed on, “You must have really liked him back then, right? Now you say you’ve moved on, but did you? Did he do something that hurt you so much? In the end, why did you leave him?”

　　That string of questions left Wen Shu a little dazed.

　　Painful memories stirred. In the quiet rooftop atmosphere with just the two of them, the rush of mixed emotions almost made Wen Shu pour her heart out.

　　But just a second before she could speak, Chu Ling’s calm and steady voice came through her earpiece: “If you’re that curious about my ex, why don’t you go ask him yourself.”

　　Wen Shu: “…”

　　She couldn’t help laughing, and with that laugh her head instantly cleared.

　　There was no need to answer.

　　After all, she and Qin Shuo had no future together. She didn’t need to hope he would change anything. She had already decided not to look back.

　　Qin Shuo caught her smile and secretly felt pleased.

　　See, he thought, Wen Shu still hadn’t let him go.

　　She heard him bring it up and couldn’t stop herself from smiling, right?

　　But the next second, Wen Shu’s reply dropped like a stone: “If you’re that curious about my ex, I can introduce you. You can go ask him directly.”

　　She tilted her head slightly and gave a soft smile. “I think he probably knows the answer better than I do.”

　　Qin Shuo: “…”

　　Meanwhile, Chu Ling seized the chance to throw a few more digs at Qin Shuo in the livestream, only to get a notification that her alt account had been banned.

　　Chu Ling: “…”

　　Guess she bounced around too much and got caught.

　　So touchy, this production team.

　　Faced with Wen Shu’s reply, Qin Shuo was left speechless for a long while. He changed his tone and said to Wen Shu, “Then, is there anything you want to know about me? You can ask. I’ll answer anything.”

　　Chu Ling muttered, “Teach me how to be that thick-skinned.”

　　The system told her, “You don’t need lessons. I think you already are.”

　　Wen Shu honestly felt she had nothing left to ask.

　　Once, she had so many questions she wanted to ask Qin Shuo. But now, none of them mattered anymore.

　　And with that, even Qin Shuo himself was starting to feel unimportant in her life.

　　Qin Shuo tried again. “Or is there something I can do for you?”

　　Wen Shu thought, well, not cheating during the team assignments would help more than anything.

　　But of course she couldn’t say that on camera.

　　Then Chu Ling’s voice came through her earpiece again with a suggestion. Wen Shu pressed her lips together, then lifted her head and asked, “Would you be willing to sub in for me?”

　　Qin Shuo: “?”

　　Wen Shu kept a perfectly serious face. “Since you’re so interested in my ex, if you sub in for me you can help beat him up. And if you want to ask him something, you can just do it on the spot.”

　　【Hahahahaha, I’m dying. Has Wen Shu been around Chu Ling too long? She’s starting to pick up her essence. How is she this bold now!】

　　【Still shipping Qin-Wen after this? I’d laugh if you are.】

　　【Wait, did Wen Shu just smile?】

　　【Looks like it. She must’ve been holding it in because she already knew what she was about to say. Hahaha.】

　　……

　　The segment ended, and the two walked out of the rooftop one after the other.

　　Qin Shuo, feeling frustrated, grabbed Wen Shu’s hand the moment they were off camera.

　　There was no light in the stairwell right outside the rooftop. He caught Wen Shu, cornered her, and lowered his voice. “Wen Shu, I know you’re still angry with me, that’s why you said those things just now.”

　　Her calm indifference earlier had really made him feel like he was about to lose her.

　　He had always thought he was firmly in control.

　　But Wen Shu actually seemed ready to let go.

　　Startled, Wen Shu struggled a bit, but he pressed on. “Don’t be mad anymore, okay? Avoiding me won’t solve anything. You—”

　　Before he could finish, he suddenly spotted someone heading toward the rooftop.

　　Qin Shuo’s expression changed. He quickly let go of her hand.

　　Wen Shu immediately slipped out from under his arm, stepped into the light by the stairs, and when she saw who it was, her racing heart finally felt saved.

　　“There you are.”

　　Chu Ling said, “I was just looking for you.”

　　Qin Shuo: “…”

　　Of course. Her again.

　　Wherever something was happening, nine times out of ten she was there, practically born to ruin the moment.

　　The look on Qin Shuo’s darkened face told Chu Ling she had shown up at exactly the right time.

　　A quick glance at her dashboard showed that Qin Shuo’s irritation had contributed fifty points of negative emotion in one go. She felt even better.

　　“Come on, Wen Shu,” Chu Ling said. “I’ve got something to give you.”

　　Wen Shu immediately understood and nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

　　Qin Shuo could only stare speechlessly at their retreating backs.

　　He had never seen anyone with emotional intelligence that low.

　　Wen Shu, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief as she followed Chu Ling.

　　She had never seen anyone with emotional intelligence that high.

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