Dating Show Side Character, Getting Rich by Roasting People

CHAPTER 76: Let’s Be Real Couples

　　【This is hilarious, sarcasm level max!】

　　【Chu Jie is too strong. I didn’t expect her to last this long, especially since she looks so slim.】

　　【Sheng Yi gave her some support too. They really worked well together.】

　　【They won, but talking to the seniors like that… isn’t it a bit disrespectful?!】

　　【Who’s disrespectful? Didn’t ‘Perfect Match’ CP start the whole thing?】

　　【How is Sheng Yi and Chu Ling being disrespectful when they just repeated what the seniors said?】

　　The ‘Perfect Match’ CP immediately looked annoyed.

　　“Just joking,” Chu Ling smiled softly. “I hope more people challenge us. After all, that’s the only way we get a chance to win.”

　　【Now the insult just got stronger.】

　　【Seriously, don’t challenge Sheng Yi and Chu Ling unless you’re really confident you can beat these all-round monsters.】

　　He Ming frowned, about to say something to Sheng Yi to control Chu Ling, but he saw Sheng Yi holding her, massaging her arm gently, eyes full of pride instead of thinking she’d gone too far.

　　He Ming could only sigh. Truly done with this couple.

　　The NPC announced, “Congratulations to Sheng Yi and Chu Ling for winning this PK round and earning thirty points.”

　　After a short rest, Chu Ling recovered and left with Sheng Yi to search for a new PK card.

　　“You okay?” Sheng Yi asked.

　　Chu Ling took a couple of sips of water and shook her head. “No, I'm fine now.”

　　She smiled a little. “What we should really worry about is that we might have made too many enemies.”

　　They’d rubbed the ‘Made for Each Other’ CP the wrong way, and now ‘Perfect Match’ CP too. Both were regular guests, probably not going to let this slide easily.

　　Sheng Yi said, “Really? I thought you did it on purpose.”　　

　　“?”

　　Chu Ling smiled. “Do I look that clueless?”

　　“Provoking them, making enemies on purpose, so that when they find a new PK card, the first thing they’ll want to do is get revenge, and then they’ll choose us as their target. As long as we win, we get the points.”

　　“That way, we don’t have to search for PK cards ourselves. We just wait for them to come challenge us.”

　　That’s exactly how they had earned fifty points just now.

　　【Logically, it makes sense, but it sounds so arrogant.】

　　【But they really did win twice, hard evidence of skill.】

　　【Usually, the couple who finds a PK card has the initiative. They can choose whether to fight and who to pick.】

　　【But are they really a soft target?】

　　Chu Ling agreed with Sheng Yi, but they still needed to find cards. A PK card would give them even more advantage.

　　Perhaps their luck was just too bad. The card wasn’t found, and the third announcement came first: “The ‘Sweet’ CP Challenge will face—Sheng Yi and Chu Ling.”

　　Chu Ling muttered, ¹“A hat trick.”

　　Sheng Yi replied, “Three wins in a row.”

　　Chu Ling laughed helplessly. Really, did everyone have it out for them? Regular guests choosing them was one thing, but even visiting guests were picking on them?

　　“Should we reflect on this?” Sheng Yi asked. “Are we just too bad, or do we have terrible luck, that every group picks us first?”

　　“Or maybe we’re just too good?” Chu Ling said. “Come on, the capable should do more work.”

　　They arrived at the PK arena and saw the ‘Sweet’ CP duo.

　　Tian Weiwei waved shyly. “Hi, welcome. We weren’t planning on challenging you… but the seniors borrowed our card, so we decided to give it a try.”

　　After losing, ‘Made for Each Other’ CP was still frustrated, but risking another round would hurt their points. So both groups had formed an alliance to hand over a PK card to the ‘Sweet’ CP, using their effort to indirectly challenge Chu Ling.

　　“Oh—” Chu Ling raised an eyebrow, glancing at the other two groups watching. “You guys formed an alliance?”

　　Sheng Yi said, “The losing-side alliance.”

　　The other three groups were speechless.

　　Chu Ling smirked. “Scared of losing again, huh? Come on then.”

　　“This actually works in our favor. Saves us the trouble of searching.”

　　The ‘Sweet’ CP chose a team challenge of passing a balloon together.

　　Since they were still new, they were a bit awkward, and their speed was slow. In the end, Sheng Yi and Chu Ling still won, earning another twenty points and pulling far ahead of the other three groups.

　　【Like the Gourd Babies saving Grandpa, one by one falling behind!】

　　【Sheng Yi and Chu Ling fought like a full-on relay, too strong.】

　　【And they won every round.】

　　【Not a single challenge was initiated by Sheng Yi and Chu Ling. They never found a single card from start to finish.】

　　【If they hadn’t been challenged, their points wouldn’t have climbed this high. They might have lost.】

　　【Hahaha, thought they’d be soft targets, turns out they’re rock-solid.】

　　【There’s still some time. Maybe think about how to fight for second place?】

　　In the end, even though Sheng Yi and Chu Ling hadn’t found a single PK card, their flawless record of winning every challenge thrown at them in the final round shot them straight to first place.

　　After the recording wrapped, Sheng Yi and Chu Ling returned to the hotel.

　　Once they left the cheerful atmosphere behind, the air between them immediately became a little more delicate.

　　Chu Ling suddenly asked, “Your flight’s tomorrow, right?”　　

　　“Yeah, ten in the morning.”

　　Sheng Yi paused for a moment and said, “Let’s rest one more night tonight.”

　　Normally, after finishing the show, even if it was a little late, they could have checked out or stayed somewhere else if they wanted a break. There was no need to force themselves to stay together just to appease the production team.

　　Yet somehow, neither of them mentioned it, as if they had silently agreed to forget about it.

　　“Okay.”

　　Chu Ling nodded. “See you next time, then.”

　　Sheng Yi asked, “When’s next time?”

　　Chu Ling blinked and let out a small laugh. “I don’t know. Shouldn’t be too long, I guess.”

　　After all, they were still in CP mode. More appearances meant more promotion.

　　She teased casually, “You’re already thinking about next time even before we’ve parted. Do you miss me that much?”

　　“Yes.”

　　Sheng Yi said it simply.

　　Chu Ling froze. “…What?”

　　“Yeah.”

　　He answered quickly, calmly, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. “Is that a problem?”

　　For a moment, Chu Ling went blank, feeling something stirring inside her.

　　It was like a seed buried in frozen soil for over twenty years, long thought lifeless, finally waking at the whisper of spring.

　　She looked into Sheng Yi’s eyes. His words didn’t feel like a joke, but she couldn’t quite read what he was thinking.

　　“…Okay.”

　　She heard herself say it over the rapid beat of her heart. “We’ll see each other soon, really soon.”

　　That night, Chu Ling had trouble sleeping.

　　She rarely experienced insomnia, but now she tossed and turned, her mind replaying every moment from the daytime interactions with Sheng Yi.

　　Even fragments of old memories surged in her mind.

　　Chu Ling had never felt anything like this before.

　　Most people around her were just… annoying, so she was unfamiliar with this kind of feeling.

　　Yet the intensity of it didn’t repel her. On the contrary, it made her feel happy and excited.

　　She had always thought being with Sheng Yi was just comfortable.

　　He listened, responded to her, matched her pace, never letting her words fall flat. When she needed help, he was always there without hesitation.

　　As a friend, he was perfect.

　　But today, she had kissed Sheng Yi.

　　Even if it was for the task, when their lips met, Chu Ling realized her feelings went beyond friendship.

　　Friends don’t make your heart race, don’t make your legs go weak.

　　If it were only for the task, why would she still want to kiss him afterward?

　　It felt like a little version of herself had split off in her mind, looking down and teasing her in her usual mocking tone: “This is what we usually call physiological liking.”

　　But what about Sheng Yi?

　　Did he like her?

　　Figuring out someone’s feelings was always difficult. Chu Ling was twisting herself in thought when, suddenly, she remembered how every night Sheng Yi had been overwhelmed by negative emotions, though she couldn’t tell why.

　　Whenever she asked, he always said he wasn’t angry. And she never saw any sign that he was.

　　So long, so persistent, so unending.

　　Could it be that he thought of her when he couldn’t sleep, just like she was thinking of him now?

　　Every night, did he think of her the same way she thought of him?

　　Could liking someone be considered a negative emotion too?

　　Of course not.

　　But when Chu Ling tasted her own feelings, she realized how deep she had sunk into this sweet yet tangled mire. All night, she had been anxious and restless, caught between hope and fear, simply because she didn’t know whether the person she liked felt the same way.

　　If Sheng Yi was feeling the same as she was…

　　Chu Ling quickly opened the backend to check her income.

　　Sure enough, Sheng Yi wasn’t asleep yet.

　　She could still see the small, steady transactions coming in from him. Little amounts, but continuous, never stopping.

　　She vaguely remembered it had been like this for a long time, even before they had started this CP promotion.

　　Wait.

　　That meant…

　　Chu Ling suddenly recalled Sheng Yi’s confession that day.

　　Could it be… she had misunderstood him? And for so long?

　　She could almost hear the little version of herself in her head laughing louder at her. “You’re an idiot. Every day you act like you’re so good at analyzing others, but you can’t even recognize when someone’s telling you the truth.”

　　Chu Ling sat up in bed, a sudden surge of courage rising inside her.

　　She opened the door and poked her head out, glancing at Sheng Yi on the sofa in the living room.

　　Sheng Yi sat up as soon as he heard the sound. “What’s wrong?”

　　“I can’t sleep.”

　　Chu Ling said, “And you’re still awake too, aren’t you?”

　　She walked over and sat down beside the sofa, looking at him. “Do you have time to chat with me for a bit?”

　　Sheng Yi nodded. “Sure.”

　　“Today made me think.”

　　Chu Ling said softly, “If we keep working this CP thing in the future, there will be more moments like today. The audience will expect interaction, all kinds of intimate moments, so they’ll believe in us more.”

　　“What do you think?”

　　Sheng Yi paused, realizing she was talking about the kiss. “I’m fine with it—”

　　“But I’m not.”

　　Chu Ling interrupted suddenly.

　　Sheng Yi’s heart sank in an instant.

　　So she did mind after all. Even if she hadn’t shown it on the show, deep down she still cared.

　　His chest ached with guilt. He was just about to promise it wouldn’t happen again when Chu Ling leaned forward slightly and took his wrist in her hand.

　　In the dark, her eyes seemed to be holding starlight, bright and beautiful.

　　“When I want to kiss you, I don’t want to think about all that nonsense. I don’t want to worry whether you’ll be unhappy or whether it’s appropriate for us, or if we’re acting it well enough.”

　　She said quietly, “So, why don’t we become a real couple?”

________________

Glossary:

The phrase “a hat trick” means achieving three successes in a row, usually in sports or competitions.

It originally comes from cricket (when a player took three wickets with three consecutive balls), but now it’s used more broadly — like scoring three goals in soccer, or winning three times consecutively in anything.

So when Chu Ling says “a hat trick,” she’s referring to them being chosen for the third time in a row, kind of jokingly or with mild exasperation, like:

> “Again? That makes it three times already.”

Then Sheng Yi’s reply “Three wins in a row” just clarifies or echoes that meaning.

So, tone-wise, it’s like a dry little exchange between them:

> “A hat trick.”

“Three wins in a row.”

Both acknowledging their repeated ‘luck’.

 

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