Of course, such a lively scene rises and falls quickly. But this sea of pink waves also triggered a ripple in the barrage.
[Sisters, did they specially have military training? It’s so organized and in sync!]
[I don’t understand, is this female guest number three a new top star? She’s even more exaggerated than the boy group next door’s talent show!]
Gu Qingtong looked at the barrage and almost burst out laughing. The saying that one person dances with the aura of ten people seems to be true.
As the third female guest, she was supposed to be introduced and done with, but unexpectedly, the screen shifted, and the camera directly panned to a completely different small room.
Just as the other guests’ appearance had caused the atmosphere to quiet down, the fans of Yan Chi suddenly seemed to have foreseen something. They began frantically flooding the chat with “Ah ah, here comes Teacher Yan!!”
Though they lacked the organized pink barrage like Gu Qingtong, the sheer number of Yan Chi’s fans was overwhelming, filling the entire screen like a surging tide.
At this point, the viewership of the variety show had far exceeded the program’s initial expectations, with a high level of live audience participation. It felt as though people were watching a live broadcast, as the number of barrage messages skyrocketed every second.
Everything was foreshadowing the countless popularity Yan Chi brought to the show.
Once again, Gu Qingtong was shocked by the scale of Yan Chi’s fans. It was just too explosive…
After all, it had been almost a month since Yan Chi’s last appearance. All the fans were eagerly waiting, as this was Yan Chi’s reality show, a chance to see her private side!
Moreover, it was a weekend evening, and even the most laid-back, older working fans found themselves with free time. How could they resist coming to watch?
That’s how this scene came to be.
Moments later, Yan Chi’s figure appeared on the screen, her hands folded on her knees, and she gave a faint smile to the audience in front of the camera: “I am Yan Chi.”
It seemed that being part of a reality show had relaxed her sense of detachment, and she faced the audience in a more relaxed and natural manner.
Like the silent and gradual melting of an iceberg.
Forget about the barrage from Yan Chi’s fans; even Gu Qingtong clearly sensed a subtle difference between Yan Chi now and the Yan Chi she had interviewed in the past.
She recalled what Yan Chi had said to her in the infirmary at the amusement park that day: “I can’t let go of the barriers and guards I have against unfamiliar things… It’s because you are someone I’m familiar with that I have the idea and courage to try.”
Unconsciously, Gu Qingtong began holding her slightly warm face with both hands, speculating in her heart.
Is it because of me that she feels at ease?
As a surprise guest dropping in, Yan Chi not only lacked a personal preview video like Gu Qingtong but also didn’t have a separate live broadcast that day.
However, the production team inserted a segment of footage after Yan Chi’s appearance.
What they didn’t expect was that the first person shown in that footage was unexpectedly Gu Qingtong.
As soon as she saw her own face, Gu Qingtong was dumbfounded. Wasn’t this the footage from her live broadcast that day?!
Yan Chi’s fans were also bombarding the chat with question marks, thinking that Gu Qingtong was trying to ride on Yan Chi’s fame right from the start.
As the video showed herself picking the “Truth or Dare” box, Gu Qingtong suddenly realized what was going on.
Was this about the time she had a video call with Yan Chi during her live broadcast?
Back then, Gu Qingtong took on a challenge that happened to be a phone call with a guest from the show to say some cheesy pickup lines. At that time, she had no idea that the mysterious fourth female guest on the other end of the call was actually Yan Chi.
Initially, she didn’t care much about who the other person was, but when Yan Chi made her surprise appearance later, Gu Qingtong immediately recalled the connection.
Watching that cringeworthy scene of her struggling to continue with those cheesy lines, she felt embarrassed all over again.
Just when she was hesitating and unable to say the rest of the lines, Yan Chi reminded her from the other end, “Darling, you’re my darling, that’s how it goes, right?”
Finally, she said: “It’s alright, very cute.”
At this moment, the production team had already played the original audio, no longer processed through the synthesizer as Gu Qingtong had heard before.
Her voice was cool with a hint of magnetism, calmly uttering the word “darling” seemingly without any emotion, but inexplicably sounding like a flirtatious whisper in one’s ear.
Since Gu Qingtong found out that it was Yan Chi on the other end of the call, her state of mind was completely different from before. Now, hearing Yan Chi’s original voice directly made her blush and bury her face even lower.
The barrage in the chat finally realized what was going on. It turned out that the fourth female guest the production team connected on that day’s broadcast was Yan Chi all along. The reason they showed Gu Qingtong on camera was just to create that surprise element.
[Help! Teacher Yan calling her “darling” is just too sweet! Thank you, production team, for preparing this line that fulfilled my dreams!]
[Is it just my imagination, or even though it’s a scripted line, it sounds like Teacher Yan is calling the third female guest “darling”?]
[I knew the interaction between the third and fourth female guests would be great! I thought it was a cult, but it turned out to be true! They’ve become a CP! Isn’t that amazing? I’m going to ship them right away, guys!]
After watching so many romance variety shows, the audience had become emotionless candy-dispensing machines.
But at this moment, as soon as they saw this intimate interaction, they couldn’t help but feel excited and ready to ship the pair.
Gu Qingtong became anxious when she saw the barrage. They were already shipping them before the show even started? They were just playing a game!
Later, when everyone watched the full episode, they would probably change their minds. After all, Gu Qingtong was certain that she had deliberately maintained a distance from Yan Chi on the show… at least in front of the camera!
Fortunately, Yan Chi’s fans in the chat were still prevailing: [It’s just a game, guys. They didn’t know each other before, so how can they call each other ‘darling’?.]
Although this person’s statement wasn’t entirely accurate, as the two did know each other, Gu Qingtong still agreed with the barrage and hoped that Yan Chi’s fans would continue to defend her.
Until the stage of choosing partners, the chat started shipping other pairs, especially when they saw that Chu Yu and Wen Ziyao were the only pair who chose each other in the show. Chu Wen’s fans instantly rose in numbers and dominated the chat, suggesting that they could become the official couple of the program.
The explosive chemistry between the trio Bai, Deng, and Yu was also a major selling point. The chat was filled with comments like: “[Male competition? Talking about this, I’m wide awake now!]”
Gu Qingtong, who was neither chosen nor did the choosing, became a solo player, just like Yan Chi, who was a surprise guest and also single.
When the production team announced the rule that all the solo players would automatically form temporary couples, the audience finally understood how the seemingly odd pairing of Yan Chi and Gu Qingtong came to be in the show.
[Oh, so they were forcibly paired by the production team! No wonder Yan Chi clarified the rumors.]
[The first “forced cp” created by the production team has appeared. Forced chemistry isn’t sweet; both of them don’t seem too interested in pairing up…]
[Haha, I can’t stop laughing at how Gu Qingtong had no idea what would happen next. I can’t wait to see the expressions when she meets Teacher Yan.]
Coincidentally, the production team intentionally zoomed in on Gu Qingtong’s face at that moment when she was clueless but smiling brightly.
Later, this classic expression was captured by players and juxtaposed with the terrified expression when meeting Yan Chi, creating a contrasting reaction meme: “Do you want me to keep smiling?.jpg.”
Even the production team knew that the audience was eager to see the reactions of the two pairs when they met. They deliberately kept the footage unedited, interweaving it with the encounters of the other two pairs during the show.
Because the audience had a god’s-eye view, they naturally knew the production team’s tactics. The team intentionally arranged both pairs to do tasks in the same location, hoping they would meet.
Chu Yu and Wen Ziyao’s encounter failed quickly as they were doing different tasks, washing and serving dishes, and they surrendered right from the start.
This left the viewers who had been cheering for the ‘Chu Wen CP’ with a bit of embarrassment. Even when the two eventually met in the car, it appeared quite lackluster and not romantic at all.
[They’re so disappointing! I had high expectations for them, but they gave up so easily?! If they had washed a few more dishes or served more dishes, they could have bumped into each other! So frustrating!]
[We didn’t need the god’s-eye view earlier; who knew the production team would do this? There were too many dishes to wash; I would have given up too.]
In the end, they blamed everything on the production team, which put an end to the argument:
[We just started, why argue? The production team is so tricky; I don’t believe any pair could instantly find each other.]
Chu Yu and Wen Ziyao felt embarrassed when they saw their unedited performances on TV.
Especially Wen Ziyao, he’s still complaining to his manager about Chu Yu even now, saying, “How did I end up with such an incompetent CP?”
“Yan Chi brought so much popularity, but you guys didn’t ride on any of it. How am I supposed to promote your washed-up CP now? Do you remember how you went from being a promising rising star to your current state of being forgotten?”
Chu Yu’s manager was also quite angry. She knew Chu Yu’s performance wasn’t great, but she didn’t expect it to be this bad.
“It’s already good enough that I came back alive. Speaking of that, can I skip tomorrow’s new episode filming…”
Chu Yu recalled her experiences from those days and couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
The failure of their collaboration was no longer the main concern; the focus was on filming the second episode of the variety show tomorrow and facing Yan Chi’s all-seeing gaze again.
Chu Yu’s manager exclaimed in shock and anger: “What nonsense are you talking about?! We even worked overnight to help you modify the publicity plan, preparing to develop the infamous ‘unlucky egg and sand sculpture’ CP. I don’t care what you’re afraid of; this variety show is bound to become a huge hit. Even if it’s embarrassing, you better make a fool of yourself in the romantic variety show for me!”
The camera quickly shifted to the Shura Arena group. Everyone originally thought they would witness an exciting and intense competition between the two men for one woman in the Shura Arena, but who could have imagined that they were completely mistaken.
Their group turned out to be the comedic relief throughout the whole show.
Both male guests couldn’t find Bai Jin, but they ended up running into each other. They started playing tricks on each other, preventing the other from completing their tasks.
The funniest part was that while Bai Jin was doing her task upstairs, she saw the two of them fighting and attracting onlookers in the mall. Feeling embarrassed for them, she pretended not to see anything and walked away.
[They got it all wrong! They actually thought whoever completed the task first would meet Bai Jin. The production team is really trolling us.]
[Bai Jin must have seen them here. The look of disdain on her face as she walked away, pretending not to laugh, killed me!]
[Bai Jin: This “reduced intelligence” Shura Arena is not worth it. I’d rather go find the small big sister and stick with her.]
Gu Qingtong had been waiting for the Shura Arena group to finish, but she didn’t see any footage of herself. Similarly, Yan Chi also had zero screen time.
Yan Chi’s fans started asking in the chat:
[Where is my Teacher Yan? Did she really come to participate? No preview, no live stream, and now no screen time?]
Amidst the clamor, the production team ingeniously inserted a sponsored commercial break, finally shifting the scene to the amusement park.
Finally, a cute and chubby fox plush toy appeared in front of everyone. It seemed a bit awkward in its plush outfit, walking with a slight wobble.
Familiar amusement park, familiar plush costume – everyone knows it’s about to happen!
[Huh? Is that Gu Qingtong disguised as the plush toy? It really looks like her, so cute!]
[Wait a minute, I think I’ve figured out the production team’s conspiracy. They don’t expect Teacher Yan to recognize the temporary CP in the plush toy, do they? How can she recognize them like this?!]
Chu Wen’s fans immediately seized this opportunity to salvage their pride: [Exactly! We’ve been saying that the production team only knows how to troll us!]
The production team intentionally showed footage without any camera following the small fox played by Gu Qingtong, and they also gave a close-up of the park staff’s plush toys. They were also distributing leaflets, with the only difference between them and Gu Qingtong’s plush toy being the species and color of the plush.
Clearly, recognizing the plush toy would be a very challenging task.
After getting used to walking in the plush costume, Gu Qingtong seamlessly blended into the environment of the amusement park, holding a large stack of leaflets as if she would never finish distributing them in her lifetime.
Even before she started, some viewers predicted that she would probably give up, just like Chu Yu did.
Although the little fox hesitated, she eventually started walking towards the crowd.
Unexpectedly, on their first attempt, they scared a little child, and the child burst into tears…
Gu Qingtong stood there, looking at a loss, and the audience, witnessing this scene, couldn’t help but feel empathetic and melancholic.
But then, the next moment, Gu Qingtong took off the bow from her plush costume and handed it to the little girl.
As the little girl stopped crying and cautiously touched the furry paw of the little fox, everyone felt their hearts melting.
The camera slowly panned out, revealing a tall figure of a woman in the background.
She watched the whole scene from a distance, where the little fox plush comforted the little girl. Her light-colored eyes seemed to sparkle with a shimmering light. When she withdrew her gaze, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
The gaze and atmosphere were exceptionally captivating, even the previously resistant Yan Chi fans couldn’t help but be moved and found themselves unable to say those words.
Meanwhile, the K-scholars quickly rose to prominence:
[Yan Chi’s gaze?! She recognized her, right? She definitely recognized her!]
[This is so heartwarming! Waaah, if it were me, I would definitely fall for such a kind little fox!]
[Ahhh, I can’t take the suspense anymore! If she recognized her, just go for it! Why is Tong Mei still distributing leaflets and hitting walls!]
Gu Qingtong also didn’t expect that Yan Chi would see everything at the amusement park and recognize her so early.
Only then did she remember that she had injured her head, and she forgot to ask Yan Chi how she recognized her.
But before she could contemplate it further, she discovered something she didn’t know before.
The elementary school students who were around her earlier, wanting to dance and interact with her, had returned to Yan Chi’s side after receiving the leaflets from her. They were now asking Yan Chi to teach them how to fold paper airplanes.
As it turned out, those children who had given her inspiration and confidence were also brought by Yan Chi to help.
It turns out Yan Chi’s gentleness has always been this quiet…
The chat is exploding with excitement:
[So Teacher Yan, you didn’t show up because you wanted to help Qingtong, right?! I’m so touched!]
[Teacher Yan, your girlfriend’s fans are jealous, but they also find it so heartwarming!]
[Waaah, teacher Yan is so amazing. I want to switch to being her fan, but unfortunately, the little fox has no idea she’s being helped.]
Everyone is waiting for Yan Chi and Gu Qingtong to meet. One is silently watching without making a move, while the other is passionately dancing and interacting, even showing a trend of distributing all those leaflets.
Regardless of whether they are fans of “Love Variety Show” or Yan Chi’s fans, at this moment, they have no other thoughts.
The chat is filled with “I can’t take it anymore! Please meet already, I beg you!!”
Clearly, no one can resist the power of a cute CP!
Just at this moment, the camera suddenly cuts off.
Suddenly, without knowing what happened, Yan Chi got up and walked over. When she stood in front of Gu Qingtong, she looked quietly at the little fox plush, her eyelashes almost concealing the emotions in her eyes. With her usual calm voice, she said:
“Hello, if I’m not mistaken, you should be my temporary CP.”
The chat was filled with confusion. What’s going on? What happened to the intense atmosphere between them just now? Why did it suddenly turn cold?
Why does it feel like a missing piece, abruptly cut off? Did they miss something?
Of course, they didn’t know that this part had indeed been edited out. The moment when Gu Qingtong was patted on the head and their real encounter had been completely removed.
Amidst the sea of question marks, Gu Qingtong clumsily and cautiously took off the headpiece, and upon seeing the look of shock on Yan Chi’s face, she finally stammered, “Y-Yan, Senior Yan Chi! Why is it you?!”
“I’m the girl who connected with you before, the guest who was added today. The program team said that the individuals who are left alone would form a temporary CP, and that’s probably the reason,” Yan Chi explained in a few words.
“……Oh,” Gu Qingtong replied with silence, withdrawing her gaze, and it took a while before she responded with a single word.
Soon, both of them fell into a moment of silence, and the awkward atmosphere could be felt even through the screen.
Since the inexplicable transition of that scene, the question marks hadn’t stopped. How did they go from being so close to this awkwardness in just one second?
However, Yan Chi’s fans thought otherwise. They believed that this was just the typical behavior of Yan Chi. After all, everyone knew that Yan Chi was distant and not good at socializing, especially with strangers like Gu Qingtong.
Perhaps what they saw just now… was merely the ambiguous atmosphere that Director Bu excelled at capturing.
As for those children? Maybe Yan Chi suddenly felt a twinge of conscience and decided to help them out?
[Although, I must admit, the atmosphere between them just now was so captivating! The mature and aloof older sister and the silly and beautiful little sunshine… How did they become like this when they actually met? I’m so frustrated!]
[Let it go… At least this appearance is still worth swooning over.]
Indeed, when Gu Qingtong took off the fox headgear, her hair was messy, her makeup slightly smudged, and the corners of her eyes and nose were slightly red from being stifled. Despite that, she looked charming and had a unique aura that surpassed the neat and tidy appearance she had in the studio.
In front of the calm and aloof Yan Chi, she appeared even softer.
[Thanks for the reminder above, now I hate it even more. Beautiful girls should stick together!]
In the midst of silence, the two of them got into the car and headed to the next mission point. The cameraman’s intentional or unintentional reminder of the presence of cameras also caught the audience’s attention.
When everyone thought that, in front of the cameras, they would at least pretend a bit more, the two of them shamelessly acted like a plastic CP. Even if their eyes met, they didn’t exchange a word and immediately looked away.
Throughout the entire car journey, sitting in the same back seat, they didn’t say a single word.
[Guys, I’ve come up with a CP name, let’s call them “Silent Gaze”. It’s really the most awkward CP I’ve ever seen on romance variety shows… Help!]
Once the couple name “Silent Gaze” was proposed, it received widespread praise from everyone. There couldn’t be a more fitting name to describe these two.
Upon seeing this, Gu Qingtong finally breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she had consciously kept her distance.
She secretly decided that in future episodes of variety shows, she should continue this approach to reduce the exposure of her and Yan Chi’s relationship, to avoid any potential rumors.
After the long awkwardness, the two finally rejoined the rest of the group, rescuing the audience from their cringing state.
But when everyone gathered together to have lunch as a reward for the task’s completion, something magical happened. The CP who seemed the most plastic and awkward turned out to be the most fated and harmonious pair.
Fate… harmony… it couldn’t be said that it represented them accurately, only that there was no connection whatsoever.
[… Can we just say that Teacher Yan is yyds1Internet slang that translates to Eternal god. Similar to GOAT? She actually recognized her at first glance.]
Initially, everyone thought that Yan Chi recognized her because she was attracted to her, but now it seemed that it was because she was flawless and capable of anything.
The program did not cut the scene of them ordering food and having lunch, as the completely unromantic appearance of “Chu Wen” CP was indeed quite humorous and added to the program’s entertainment value.
The barrage of comments was filled with “They look so down and out”, “The old unlucky egg CP is here,” finally bringing some attention to the two.
Yan Chi’s fans finally understood Teacher Yan’s preferences for the first time, as they noticed that she ordered mostly light dishes and specifically requested no onions, ginger, garlic, green peppers, or other seasonings.
[Knowing that our Teacher Yan needs to eat is great. Otherwise, I would think she only drinks celestial nectar. Dog head.jpg.]
However, even during the meal, “Silent Gaze” remained “silent”, and it seemed like they were going to carry on with this awkward couple act.
Soon, the next segment, an escape room challenge, began, and under the direction and coercion of the production team, Gu Qingtong reluctantly held hands with Yan Chi.
This action was like a breakthrough to the CP fans who were keen on watching the show. They couldn’t help but exclaim that the production team was really playing tricks on them. Watching the two holding hands reluctantly, they couldn’t help but feel a mischievous pleasure.
Even Yan Chi’s fans didn’t notice that they had naturally transitioned from their initial stance of “Gu Qingtong is just a minor celebrity, don’t touch our Teacher Yan” to “Production team, please bind them together as much as you want, don’t stop!”
Although it was pitch-black in the escape room, under the night vision cameras, every little movement of the CPs was exposed.
It was like forcing the CP fans to pick up magnifying glasses and indulge in the revelry of analyzing every detail.
The “Chu Wen” CP went crazy in the darkness, with moments of accidentally tripping each other or inadvertently bumping into each other’s arms, deliberately or not, creating intentional but subtle physical contact that aroused the audience’s interest.
Though somewhat deliberate, everyone knew that romance reality shows, especially those with celebrity CPs, should not be taken seriously. Playing along for fun was the key to enjoying it.
At this moment, a sudden incident occurred, and everyone heard a loud scream.
Before anyone could react, the next moment, Gu Qingtong had completely nestled into Yan Chi’s arms!
Frantically rewinding the footage, everyone realized that it was actually Bai Jin who had stealthily sneaked up to Gu Qingtong and suddenly jumped up to startle her.
That’s why Gu Qingtong panicked and threw away the previous distance and restraint, choosing to seek comfort in Yan Chi’s embrace.
[OMG! Say thanks to Bai Jin! Without her, our ‘Silent Gaze’ CP wouldn’t have overtaken the others with this intimate moment!]
[We’re standing up, everyone! ‘Silent Gaze’ is now the CP with the most physical contact!]
[Apologies for the interruption, but did anyone notice that Yan Chi didn’t even flinch… Isn’t it fragrant to hold the beautiful teacher Yan in your arms? Why don’t you hug her back? Teacher Yan, are you incapable??!]
But the next moment, Yan Chi’s comforting voice came, with a touch of inexplicable hoarseness: “It’s okay.”
Just this reassurance instantly made the barrage forgive Yan Chi for not reacting earlier.
[Her voice is so soothing, why does someone’s simple comfort make us all so soft?]
When Gu Qingtong jumped out of Yan Chi’s arms again, everyone burst into laughter, knowing that Tong Mei was socially awkward, but they had already enjoyed the sweetness.
As Gu Qingtong watched this segment again, her blood pressure soared. She realized that all her efforts to act cool before were in vain! Why couldn’t she handle the scare back then?
In the following decryption phase for each group, they quickly discovered Bai Jin’s abnormal behavior and realized she was the mole.
Coincidentally, at that moment, Yan Chi found the candlestick, triggering a thrilling game of decoding while hunting down the mole.
No one expected such an exciting twist with the mole hunting. Everyone became excited.
However, after the unexpected incident, the “Silent Gaze” group focused on solving the case, and even stopped holding hands, using the candlestick for illumination.
The barrage cried out:
[I hate how teacher Yan is like a wooden block with no interest in women, only obsessed with unraveling mysteries! Also, Tong Mei, can you show the cuteness you displayed before to teacher Yan? Let us see it, this child is starving!]
So, everyone began to hope that Bai Jin capturing someone would provide some external help for the two.
Viewers had already noticed Bai Jin’s attention towards Gu Qingtong, but because of “Silent Gaze,” most people assumed she was assisting the two.
As the bell for capturing someone rang, the audience could clearly see that she seemed to be heading in the direction of Gu Qingtong and Yan Chi again.
Unable to help but worry, and even looking forward to her assisting them more fiercely.
“Silent Gaze” obviously knew that Bai Jin was getting closer step by step, but what the audience didn’t expect was that they would choose to hide in the closet.
Under the night vision camera, the half-open closet remained silent, and the situation inside couldn’t be seen at all, only some sounds of fabric and skin rubbing, and slightly heavier breathing.
In the silent darkness, these sounds sparked people’s imaginations, especially when they thought about two beautiful women pressed together in such a small closet, quietly hiding; it seemed very alluring.
The barrage was filled with comments:
[Someone paint a vivid picture of what’s inside the closet!!]
[Is there anything that our esteemed VIPs can’t see?]
[Don’t just play the sounds, let us see it!]
Gu Qingtong finally realized that fortunately, there were no cameras inside the closet, and she was suddenly filled with a sense of relief, almost breaking into a cold sweat.
As Bai Jin chased after them, the calls in the barrage grew even louder. Everyone watched as Bai Jin slowly approached the closet, thinking that the two would be discovered, and their hearts raced.
However, before seeing the final result, “Love Game” Episode 1 suddenly ended like this?!
