Chu Ruochun’s recorded program “Coincidentally, I Like You Too” is a two-month-long romance observation and deduction show, with six guests participating in the discussion of the love processes of ordinary people.
Six ordinary men and women lived together under one roof for a month, during which the production team arranged many dating segments for them.
Before Chu Ruochun arrived, the program had already been recorded. Originally, this show was not meant to involve Chu Ruochun. However, coincidentally, one of the invited guests had a scheduling conflict due to filming commitments, so the producer collaborated with the Qingju Company to select a young and outspoken individual. Chu Ruochun, with his millions of Weibo followers and recent activity, perfectly matched the production team’s requirements.
He was the first to arrive at the recording location, and Fang Ming introduced him to the producer and director before taking him to the dressing room. While he was getting ready, the other guests began arriving one by one, and Chu Ruochun followed Fang Ming’s instructions to greet each of them.
The first to arrive was the host of this program, Tang Yujia, who was in her thirties and hosted a singing variety show on another channel. She said to the more familiar He Yanlang, “I’ve only spoken to Feng Qi once at an awards ceremony. I don’t know him well at all,” referring to Feng Qi who hadn’t arrived yet.
“I did collaborate with him on a movie once. He was extremely dedicated, did all his own stunts, never used a stunt double, and was very friendly with the crew. He often had the assistant bring us afternoon tea. I gained three kilograms in two weeks when I was on the set,” He Yanlang said with a laugh. He was a top-tier actor, and his evaluation of Feng Qi was very fair.
“Wow, I’m really looking forward to recording the program with Feng Qi,” Wei Su, a sweet-looking girl from a singing and dancing group, said.
The psychologist and Chu Ruochun just listened to their conversation. In reality, there were people filming in the dressing room, so they refrained from speaking.
Around 8:30 in the morning, Feng Qi finally arrived.
Today, he was dressed in a vest, matching shirt, and trousers, looking handsome and imposing. As soon as he appeared, he attracted the attention of all the women present, and even the men looked at him with a hint of envy.
He Yanlang said directly, “Feng Qi, you look incredibly handsome today.”
Feng Qi, in a gentlemanly manner, smiled and replied, “Thank you for the compliment, Lang Ge. You look very stylish today.”
He Yanlang burst into laughter, pleased with the praise.
As they all met for the first time, they each shook hands with Feng Qi. When it was Chu Ruochun’s turn, Feng Qi paused for a moment, thinking to himself that Gao Xuesheng hadn’t informed him that Chu Ruochun would be one of the guests. If he had known in advance, he might not have agreed to participate.
Chu Ruochun shook hands with him and said, “Feng Ge, we meet again.”
Feng Qi maintained his usual social demeanor and released his hand after the handshake, saying, “Happy to cooperate.” He sincerely hoped that Chu Ruochun wouldn’t try to forge any unnecessary connections with him on the program this time.
After everyone got to know each other a bit, the recording began.
The content of the first episode was to observe the initial meeting of the six male and female amateur guests in the program.
As a qualified host, Tang Yujia first livened up the atmosphere: “Welcome, everyone. These are our six love observation guests. Would you all like to introduce yourselves to the audience?”
He Yanlang spoke first: “Hello, everyone. I’m He Yanlang, and I hope to learn more about the love views of young people through this program.”
Wei Su said, “I’m Wei Su. I want to see sweet love stories, discover more romance, and see how sparks fly between different boys and girls.”
Professor Zhao said, “Love is the rush of hormones. It fascinates and excites people. Let’s appreciate the sweetness of love together.”
Tang Yujia turned her gaze to the less well-known Chu Ruochun. With six guests, she couldn’t show favoritism.
Chu Ruochun said, “Hello, everyone. I’m Chu Ruochun. Qian represents heaven, Kun represents earth, male is yang, female is yin. Heaven and earth, yin and yang, all are natural. I believe that love should also follow its natural course.”
His introduction was immediately different, and Tang Yujia made a little joke: “That makes sense. It reminds me of the saying, ‘The Dao of man follows the Dao of nature.’ Ruochun has a very different perspective!”
Lastly, it was Feng Qi’s turn: “I’m here to learn how to date.”
With just one sentence, he ignited everyone’s curiosity!
“Oh, oh, oh!”
“Can I gossip and ask Feng Ge what type of girls you like?”
“I have a cousin and a second cousin in my extended family. Would you mind…”
Tang Yujia immediately took control, “Hey, that’s enough, guys. Feng Qi just expressed his thoughts honestly; he’s not here for a blind date.”
After everyone introduced themselves, they formally entered the topic.
“Now, let’s take a look at the six guests who will soon be moving into the love nest.”
The program had already been pre-recorded before their arrival, and everyone turned their attention to the large screen set up by the production team.
Feng Qi wasn’t familiar with the program and remained silent.
People like Tang Yujia and He Yanlang, who often appeared on variety shows, started chatting more.
On the screen, the six, male and female, amateur guests began to appear.
The first man, dressed casually, carried luggage as he left a modern apartment. He went downstairs to hail a taxi. The second man, wearing a jacket, rode a black and white bicycle, looking slightly slimmer. The third man, in a suit that gave him a businessman’s appearance, left in his own car, with only his profile visible.
The three female guests also had their own distinctive ways of making their appearances. The first woman was a short-haired girl dressed in professional attire, sharp and smart. The second woman wore a short skirt and high heels, with chestnut-colored curly hair. The third woman had a conservative look with long sleeves and straight hair of medium length.
The guests also cooperated with the edited video and began to comment.
“Male one has a great physique, and he’s quite tall. He looks handsome. What do you think his profession is?”
“Looks a bit like a model.”
“So handsome!”
“Male two is charming too! When he was riding the bike, it reminded me of the campus heartthrob from our college days. He looks like the male lead in a campus romance idol drama.”
“Male three seems a bit serious.”
“The girls are here. Wow, the second girl is so cute, and she has such a sweet smile.”
“The first girl has a dominant aura, very assertive, and slightly aloof.”
“The third girl seems very quiet, standing there gracefully. Her eyes are so gentle when she looks at people.”
Afterward, the male and female guests had their first interactions and chats. Among the boys, there were handsome ones, cute ones, and mature and stable types.
Among the girls, there were the intellectual and dominant types, the cheerful and lively ones, and some who had relatively plain looks, embodying a gentle girl-next-door type.
Several guests at the scene pointed out the expressions captured on camera as conversation topics.
Tang Yujia: “After these six people met, who do you think might be attracted to whom?”
Everyone expressed their opinions.
After He Yanlang spoke, Wei Su followed, and Tang Yujia immediately turned to cue Feng Qi.
“Feng Qi, what do you think?”
When Feng Qi filmed movies, there were very few romantic scenes, let alone watching romance reality shows. Recently, after completing a variety show as a guest, Gao Xuesheng gave him a romantic drama script. The script was quite good, and even someone like him who didn’t like romance dramas was tempted.
Gao Xuesheng suggested that he could try a different direction. Not doing romance dramas would be a waste of his handsome face. However, taking on this role presented a problem for Feng Qi. He had been working for years and had never been in a relationship. He couldn’t grasp the complex emotions required for the role of the male lead in the script. That’s why he took on this reality dating show job—to try to understand the feeling of being in love.
He expressed his thoughts based on his intuition, “I think male one might have a crush on female one. When female one entered, he didn’t know where to put his hands. And male two might be attracted to the sweet-looking female two. As for male three, I can’t really tell at the moment.”
Tang Yujia then asked Chu Ruochun, “Ruochun, from the perspective of young men like you, who do you think the three gentlemen might be more attracted to?”
Chu Ruochun replied confidently, “Female three. She has a unique skill, and all three men have already been drawn to her.”
Feng Qi instinctively countered, “But they haven’t really paid much attention to female three.”
Other guests had differing opinions, and everyone engaged in lively discussions. Professor Zhao, the emotional psychology expert, used relevant psychological theories to challenge Chu Ruochun’s viewpoint. She added, “Maybe Ruochun is only nineteen and hasn’t reached that stage yet. These three types of men are distinct individuals. From the moment the girls entered, it was evident that their attention was more on female one and female two. Female three will need to assert herself more.”
Chu Ruochun didn’t argue but instead smiled at Professor Zhao, who was seated across from him. Both of them were the least well-known among the guests, so their seats were farthest from the host.
Without reaching a conclusion, everyone continued watching.
The six amateurs began preparing dinner, and the men were eager to showcase themselves. The women started chatting and working with the men they were interested in.
On the first evening, everyone remained polite and didn’t display strong aggression or possessiveness.
Finally, they reached the segment the guests had been eagerly anticipating: every evening, the boys and girls could send an anonymous message to someone they were interested in.
“Now it’s time for us to do the quiz. Please write on your respective answer boards the names of the six guests to whom you sent messages on the first night! A correct match earns you a rose stamp. At the end of the show, we will tally the rose stamps earned by each person, and the one with the most will be crowned the King of Deduction!”
Everyone began silently making their pairings.
He Yanlang joked, “I didn’t analyze exam questions this carefully even during my college entrance exams.”
Wei Su replied with joy, “But this is the most enjoyable quiz I’ve ever done. It’s so interesting!”
Tang Yujia called a halt, and everyone stopped writing. “Let’s see how the three men and three women made their choices, and then we’ll match up the answers! Let’s start with the guys!”
“Male one chose…”
He Yanlang said, “It’s definitely female one!”
Wei Su agreed, “I’m sure of it too!”
Feng Qi added, “I think so too.”
Professor Zhao concurred, “I agree.”
The last voice was Chu Ruochun’s, “It’s number three.”
Tang Yujia exclaimed, “Let’s reveal the answer!”
The screen displayed the heartthrob selection of male one.
Everyone, except for Chu Ruochun, fell silent.
He Yanlang jumped up, “What? Number three? Didn’t he just help female one with the tomato peeling? They were even chatting about the latest movie they watched, and they were both so happy in the kitchen!”
Wei Su chimed in, “I don’t quite understand his choice either!”
Tang Yujia said, “So, only Ruochun got it right. Let’s continue with male two and male three.”
Chu Ruochun’s answers remained the same, selecting female three.
The other guests thought he had simply guessed.
As they continued to watch, things unexpectedly took an uncontrollable turn…
Male two and male three also chose female three!
When it came to selecting the women they were interested in, Chu Ruochun’s answers were all correct!
Tang Yujia couldn’t believe it and exaggeratedly asked, covering her face, “Ruochun, are you telling me you didn’t ask the director for the answers?”
Chu Ruochun replied seriously, “Of course not, I calculated them with my divine calculations.”
Everyone burst into laughter, finding him quite amusing.
Only Feng Qi smiled perfunctorily, not particularly interested in Chu Ruochun’s mystical persona in this dating observation reality show.
However, today’s spotlight didn’t shine on Chu Ruochun, who got all the answers right. Instead, it went to Feng Qi because he perfectly missed all the correct answers, not earning a single rose stamp. He ended up with a zero.
Tang Yujia said, “Feng Qi, you’re quite something.”
Feng Qi, feeling a bit embarrassed: “…”
The recording of the first episode lasted for the entire morning, and after a hurried lunch, everyone was rushing off to their other commitments. Chu Ruochun, on the other hand, wasn’t in such a hurry and decided to use the restroom. He stood at the sink, washing his hands when someone walked in. Through the mirror, he saw that it was Feng Qi.
Feng Qi, for some reason, didn’t notice the “Wet Paint, Do Not Touch” sign next to the door when he entered. His hand accidentally brushed against the freshly painted door frame. In a hurry to clean it off, he rushed into the restroom. He spent a considerable amount of time washing his hands with soap, only to realize when he looked up that Chu Ruochun was the person next to him, and their eyes met through the mirror.
Feng Qi initially had no intention of speaking to him, but his mouth was quicker than his brain. “Asking the director for answers won’t improve the show’s quality. Please don’t do it again next time.”
Chu Ruochun explained, “Feng Ge, you’ve got it wrong. I didn’t ask the director for answers.”
Feng Qi remained silent, fixing his hair in the mirror. Clearly, he didn’t believe Chu Ruochun.
Chu Ruochun asked, “Do you not trust me?”
Feng Qi replied, “I’m just giving you some advice.”
Chu Ruochun chuckled instead of getting angry. “Well, then I’ll give you some advice too, Feng Ge. Stay away from water today.”
Feng Qi thought to himself that Chu Ruochun was up to his usual tricks and ignored him, walking away.
Chu Ruochun continued to fix his hair in the mirror, counting quietly, “Three, two, one.”
At the same time, there came a loud crash in the corridor, the sound of a bucket falling, followed by a short, miserable scream from Feng Qi.
Chu Ruochun remained entirely composed and thought to himself, “He must be soaked.”
