Chapter 29: When Have I Ever Had a Dispute with the Stars?

Shen Jixing never expected these shackles to be quite so real.

The skin grazed by the handcuffs throbbed with pain, and he furrowed his brows lightly, letting out a soft hiss.

The netizens, who had hoped to show him the cruelty of the world—

“Oh no, is this what falling for someone feels like?”

“Let him go, let him go, let him go, can’t you see he’s frowning?!”

“I thought I’d lost all feeling for him lately, but my first love has returned to the country…”

“When did I ever have a falling out with my shining star?!”

Other netizens: Wait, you guys?

“You all change sides so quickly. This is exactly why, with looks-obsessed fans like you, Shen Jixing dares to come out and shamelessly rake in money.”

“Boycott subpar celebrities, boycott subpar celebrities, boycott subpar celebrities!”

“Star fans: You mean notorious, not subpar.”

“……”

Tonight, silence is the bridge over the Cam.

The production team, unwilling to let the controversy snowball, quickly switched the camera to the first group.

The puppy-like little brother took off his own head.

He set it aside.

Narrowing his eyes, he surveyed the pitch-black room, then suddenly belted out three words in song: “Oh—hey—yo—”

“……”

The cool, dominant woman looked up, silent.

“The comment section is even more silent.”

“That’s an even more baffling sound than our easygoing brother made.”

“This guy is really handsome, but he seems a bit off in the head. Doesn’t look like someone from the industry, does he?”

He truly wasn’t from the industry.

As the first contracted guest, Director You’s reputation for unconventional choices meant he couldn’t sign anyone from the entertainment circle.

Each was turned down with variations of “I’ve got a show,” “I’ve got a song,” or “I’ve got a child.”

And just this morning, another replied, “I just got back from Antarctica with spotty signal, so sorry the show’s already started. Next time for sure.”

Which is why the first guest ended up being an outsider—a young master named Sheng Que.

Sheng Que, dressed in an inflated chick mascot costume without a head, floated over like an astronaut to the cool woman, who was tightly bound. “Do you need rescuing?”

“Yes,” she replied.

He raised his fat, stubby hand. “But how can I untie you like this?”

She considered, then suddenly rammed her head into his belly.

She wore a modern-style Chinese horse-face skirt, her silver hairpin steady and precise as it punctured the suit’s belly. Sheng Que steadily deflated before her.

She withdrew her head. “Untied.”

Sheng Que knelt. “Sis.”

“I’m shipping them so hard.”

“A horror-themed dating show couple… it’s happening.”

Second group.

Fang Siqian hadn’t expected his entrance would be in a cage. It irked him, as if he were some livestock locked away.

Yet, his image was always that of a gentle, warm man, so when the camera panned to him, he massaged his forehead with a soft chuckle.

“The production team, honestly… How am I supposed to get out?”

His gaze landed on the female guest wrapped in infrared beams not far away.

She had waist-length, wavy green hair in a Korean style.

Fang Siqian froze: Wait a minute, what color?

She was clad in a black leather stage outfit—top and shorts—slipping through the red beams with the agility of a secret agent, finishing with a flawless landing.

“Where’s the cheering?”

Fang Siqian: “……” Should I cheer? Wouldn’t that be weird?

“Ahhhh!!!”

“Who doesn’t know Soso is a pro K-pop idol—on standby 24/7, an eternal motion machine, seventy-six hours…”

“She once danced for seventy-six hours straight and ended up in the hospital with a ventilator, and now turns out she’s actually a kawaii little thing.”

“Um, hey…”

With a jade-like face and a gentle, smiling manner, Fang Siqian looked at the gun-wielding loli, showing what he thought was his most flawless smile. “Could you help me open the cage?”

Cen Susu glanced at him. Though petite, she radiated the indomitable spirit of a powerful woman.

“No.”

“Handle your own problems.”

With a flick of her seaweed-green hair, she exited the room without a backward glance.

Fang Siqian: “?”

“?”

“Is there something wrong with her?”

“Even an outsider pretty boy knows to help the queen, but she gives our guy this attitude?”

“Didn’t you just say you weren’t scared of the queen stabbing a male guest’s belly? Changed your tune already? Enough, shut up. We all know ‘adore girls’ is your biggest lie.”

……

In the control room.

“This is the dating show twist you wanted to add?” The assistant director tried to keep from laughing.

The director was baffled.

“Aren’t these the hottest market pairings? Queen and puppy, warm guy and loli.” He just couldn’t figure it out. “At what point did it go wrong?”

Assistant director: “Maybe it was wrong from the start.”

He glanced casually at the two female guests’ questionnaires.

Why did you want to join this show?

Cen Susu: “To clear stages.”

Qi Yan: “To have fun.”

Might as well put both female guests in the same room.

But he said nothing, leaving it all to the chief director’s arrangement.

“Oh well. The dating show is just a stepping stone to my success.” The director’s setbacks only made him more tenacious, his optimism unshaken. At least he had the right attitude.

“Failure is just the grandmother of success.”

He jabbed the screen, switching to the third group. “Back to our main theme: horror!”

And it really was quite terrifying.

He could hardly imagine what a bloodbath it would be, putting two top stars together. As the saying goes, two tigers cannot share one mountain—especially when their personalities were—

One, cold as ice; the other, sharp-tongued and cocky.

It’s starting, it’s starting—

“Shen Jixing?”

Zhou Yili seemed to catch the faint sound of his breathing, reclining lazily in his chair. Black silk covered his eyes, lips curled in a half-smile.

“Feeling unwell again, are you?”

And the whole internet was dumbfounded.

“Again?”

“You two… know each other?”

“No way, these two have never even crossed paths—their worlds don’t collide, and even their fans are completely separate.”

Shen Jixing paused for two seconds. “What?”

‘Again’ what, exactly.

That was always his favorite phrase whenever he pretended to be clueless.

Zhou Yili saw nothing but darkness, blindfolded, unconcerned whether there was a camera or not—he always spoke his mind.

“Complain it’s too dark when you’re blindfolded, complain it hurts when you’re locked up.”

“Can you be any more delicate—”

“Zhou Yili.” Shen Jixing cut him off coldly.

He really didn’t get why, when they’d agreed to pretend not to know each other, Zhou Yili had put on that nonchalant act—for whose benefit?

Now, on set, he broke every rule.

Shen Jixing took a deep breath, deciding to focus on escaping within the limited time.

“Come here.”

This escape game was meant as an icebreaker for the guests, requiring them to free each other from their constraints.

Zhou Yili’s eyes were covered by a black silk ribbon, its tail tied to his hands behind his back.

He couldn’t untie himself.

Shen Jixing’s hands were free to help, but he was shackled and couldn’t move.

Just as he was about to explain the situation, Zhou Yili stood up abruptly. “Where are you?”

Shen Jixing swallowed his words. “Go straight, to the end.”

Zhou Yili strode toward him, long-legged. At the end of his endless night, Shen Jixing waited for him.

Find him.

And his world would be filled with light again.

“Is it just me, or do these two seem… kind of flirty?”

“Yeah, why do you two sound so naturally close?”

“Zhou Yili, why are you so obedient??? Aren’t you the one who only ever says ‘oh’???”

In the control room, the director caught a scent he’d long been hoping for: “Dating… is it happening?”