By this time, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.
Tingxi still firmly held the number one spot on the trending searches list. Live-stream clips kept pouring onto the internet, and the discussion volume in the superfan chat groups was skyrocketing. Because Tingxi's live-stream room had attracted a massive audience, the conflict between Xiao Jingyi and Yao Bei'er did not instantly rocket to the top of the trends. Instead, it was overshadowed by the trending topics featuring Tingxi and Jian Xia.
Tingxi and Jian Xia were eating and chatting by the seaside, enjoying a thoroughly pleasant time. They had no idea that the dates of the other three pairs of guests had ended on a sour note.
After spending a whole day with Tingxi, Jian Xia had gradually grown accustomed to his presence, feeling far less easily flustered and dazed than she had at the beginning. She discovered that Tingxi was actually quite easy-going in person. He probably had a temper, but as long as you didn't provoke him, he was quite pleasant to get along with.
Jian Xia smiled and said, "Teacher Xiao, I feel like after tonight, I'm going to blow up in popularity! Hahaha..."
Hearing this, Tingxi raised an eyebrow, turned his head to look at Jian Xia, and asked, "Do you want to be famous?"
"Well... as for that, if there's money to be made, then famous it is!"
Hearing this, Tingxi looked rather surprised. He let out a low chuckle, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Jian Xia, where are you from?"
"Huh? Oh, my ID says Baicheng."
"Baicheng?" Tingxi frowned slightly.
"Ah, I'm an orphan. I was at the Baicheng orphanage when I was little, and got my Baicheng ID card when I started middle school. But later on, I went to Dongning City and went to college there too, so as for where I'm actually from, I don't really know myself."
Tingxi nodded and changed the subject: "Did you pick up these conches and pile them up?"
Jian Xia instantly reined in her smile, nodded with a trace of melancholy, and said, "Mm, I like conches. They can transmit sounds and hold wishes."
As she spoke, she suddenly turned to look at Tingxi: "Hey, Teacher Xiao, do you have any wishes? If you do, you can make a wish to the conch fairies; they can help carry it out to the universe, and then it'll come true."
"Is it really that effective?"
"Naturally! Hurry, hurry, try it out!"
Complying with her, Tingxi brought his hands together, closed his eyes, and made a wish.
Jian Xia watched him from the side. Seeing Tingxi open his eyes, she asked curiously, "What wish did you make?"
Tingxi looked at her: "If you say a wish out loud, it won't come true!"
"Right, right, right, can't say it, can't say it." Jian Xia immediately waved her hands and straightened up.
Tingxi glanced back at the cabin, stood up as well, and said, "Let's go back."
The two of them walked slowly back to the cabin.
As soon as Jian Xia stepped inside, she threw herself face-first onto the big bed! Then she didn't move at all. Just as netizens were wondering whether she had fallen asleep, Jian Xia flipped over. She lay flat on her back, wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling with her eyes wide.
She wasn't asleep; she was pondering the question Tingxi had just asked her.
Did she want to be famous?
To be honest, seeing how many fans Tingxi had today, she envied his popularity. What kind of experience must it be to be liked by so many people? Yet at the same time, she was terrified—terrified of being constantly watched and monitored by so many people every single day. Stepping out the door or doing anything at all would require walking on eggshells, leaving her with almost no freedom. Otherwise, she'd end up cornered by crowds just like tonight. With so many people, once something happened, whether the ones getting hurt were fans or herself, it was something she simply couldn't accept.
So was being famous important? Did she even want it?
Just as her mind was running wild, her phone rang: "Are you satisfied with tonight's first date? Please rate the other person!"
Jian Xia replied: "Naturally satisfied, but just a score? What score would be appropriate? Can I give a perfect score?"
Without any hesitation, Jian Xia directly gave a 99.
"Hahaha, I'm holding back that one point so Teacher Xiao doesn't get arrogant!" After laughing for a while, Jian Xia went straight to wash up.
The other guests also submitted their respective scores one after another. However, none of them made theirs public; only Jian Xia had blurted hers out.
The bullet comments streamed past:
【Emperor Xiao's charm is simply too overwhelming; Jian Xia has already been completely mesmerized!】
【I want to soul-jump into Jian Xia so badly; she actually got the chance to hold hands and go on a date with Emperor Xiao. Ahhhh, I cannot accept this! This is something I couldn't get even in my wildest dreams, yet this woman got it so effortlessly. Sob, sob... I'm crying my eyes out.】
【I've already cried myself to a faint several times over. Jian Xia, I am warning you repeatedly, please keep your distance from my Emperor Xiao!】
【Speaking of which, what a typical plastic reality-show flower the entertainment industry has; I've finally witnessed it with my own eyes tonight!】
【Big Brother Zihao is truly so gentle and a total gentleman! He spent the whole time patiently coaxing Yao Bei'er. I was getting annoyed just watching it, but he could still think of ways to comfort and guide her.】
【Let me take a look, how many girlfriend-fans had their hearts broken into a million pieces tonight? Hahaha...】
【Tonight's date, captured from multiple angles and in various videos, made me discover a completely different side of Tingxi! It's pretty good—as long as Tingxi is happy, that's all that matters!】
【Jingyi baby, muah, goddess, stay fabulous on your own!】
【My silly boy is still out there admiring the scenery!】
【Sister Yining is so earnest about her skincare routine; what brand is she using? No wonder her skin is so good!】
【I won't be able to sleep tonight, what should I do? Tomorrow I have to keep watching Tingxi and Jian Xia's date! Ahhhh, I'm going crazy, can someone please make Jian Xia get lost from the show? I really don't want to watch her date my male god.】
【King Qi, when you went on a date with the goddess tonight, you didn't get any song requests—was it because the goddess didn't want to hear heartbreaking love songs? Hahaha!】
【Bro in the previous comment, you've hit the nail on the head! Hahaha... A sweet date, how could anyone sing a sad song?】
【Curious, just how deeply has King Qi been hurt?】
【Sending hugs to my baby Bei'er, don't cry, Mommy's heart aches for you. You're really wonderful, you just need to stay away from certain people!】
【Yao Bei'er, please don't let it drain you from the inside; you're great. Our whole thing is your straightforwardness and sincerity—don't let that hypocritical bitch Xiao Jingyi influence you, bravely be yourself.】
...
All sorts of bullet comments were being frantically output!
As expected, Yao Bei'er's fans and Xiao Jingyi's fans started tearing into each other.
The next morning, the topic went straight to number five on the trending search list.
Yet it was still suppressed by Tingxi's overwhelming heat, unsurprising in its dominance of the number one spot, with the " exploding " hot tag right behind it!
The unexpected part was the entry firmly sitting at number two: #PleaseJianXaiGetLostFromTheShow#!
The comments under this hashtag were an absolute cesspool:
【This woman is nothing but a scheming bitch, using all sorts of tricks to take advantage of my Emperor Xiao. It's so freaking disgusting!】
【Brainless piece of trash, I seriously hate this woman so much.】
【I knew from the very beginning she wasn't a good bird! Having intimate contact and laughing and chatting with Wei Zihao and Du Mingli, and now openly seducing Emperor Xiao. She's freaking desperate to get famous.】
【I think when Emperor Xiao asked her if she wanted to be famous, he was actually mocking her! And she even put on a fake front saying she'd think about it, what a hypocrite. Get lost from the Heartfelt Romance show! Someone like her doesn't deserve to be on this program!】
【She's a nobody of zero standing, what right does she have to be on this show?】
【The moment they met, she swindled King Qi's phone number! This woman's methods are truly extraordinary!】
...
Yan Ning stared at these blind haters, her expression turning terribly dark.
At that moment, another artist from the company walked in.
"President Yan, who on earth is this Jian Xia? Why did you have her replace Wu Yutong? Such a great opportunity, why didn't you give it to me? When we signed our contract, it was agreed that the company would pull out all the stops to promote me! What is this supposed to be now?"
Xue Shanshan wore a look of utter displeasure. The moment she stepped inside, she began complaining, directly interrogating Yan Ning.
Yan Ning raised her eyes to look at her: "With your looks, going there would only get you hated even more viciously! Besides, you wouldn't even get in—you wouldn't even pass the director's screening!"
"How do you know I wouldn't pass? How would you know if I don't try..."
"You think I didn't try? Not just you, I even recommended Wang Yan, but after seeing her photos, the director directly sent me the breach-of-contract penalty fee!" Yan Ning looked at Xue Shanshan coldly.
At that moment, her heart felt somewhat chilled. When the company was facing a crisis, these people only thought of protecting themselves, yet now they had the nerve to come and question her.