After Entering a Romance Reality Show Disguised as a Man to Win Over All the Female Leads - Chapter 8

The production team didn’t miss a beat with the rising popularity and quickly released the current vote counts.

Rong Yu x Mu Shuiqing: 89,204

Qin Wenhan x Lin Mengxing: 3,405

Sheng Ming x He Jiao: 1,023

Seven x He Huaiting: 23,808

Seven, huddled inside the tent he had struggled to pitch, was nearly dying of rage as he scrolled through the bullet chat in Rong Yu’s stream. He turned to check the CP fan data on the show’s official Weibo account. Seeing his 23,000 votes—entirely supported by his die-hard fanbase—being crushed by the 80,000 “passerby” votes for Rong Yu and Mu Shuiqing, he slammed his fist into the tent mattress.

The movement jarred his injured arm, causing him to let out a sharp yelp of pain.

Meanwhile, Mu Shuiqing’s meditation finally ended three hours later. She noticed an extra paper doll in her pocket, took off her jacket, and lay on the bed to check her phone. She found her WeChat notifications glowing with a red “99+.”

She clicked on a group chat titled “The Quartet.” The members were Lin Mengxing, He Jiao, and He Huaiting. This was a private group they had created before filming began.

Lin Mengxing: I’m over it. When will Qin Wenhan realize the “Overbearing CEO” trope is out of style? And what year is it that he’s asking me to mop the floor? Does he really think I’m his “Sweet Runaway Maid”? Ridiculous.

She followed up with a photo. In the picture, silver-white mental threads filled the entire bedroom, levitating miscellaneous items and placing them neatly where they belonged.

He Jiao: Hmph, still better than that “Old-School Professor” guy. Who does he think he is, trying to manage me?

He Huaiting: At least he’s better than a “Mama’s Boy.”

Lin Mengxing: Mama’s Boy? You mean Seven?

He Huaiting: Who?

Lin Mengxing: ……

He Jiao: …….

Lin Mengxing: The guy you’re paired with.

He Huaiting: Oh. Yes.

Lin Mengxing: Are there no normal men in this world? The gender binary in your world is so unnecessary. It’s not like our ABO world; we don’t care about male or female, only attributes.

He Huaiting: There were normal men, but during the Infinite Loop missions, most of them died in the dungeons.

He Jiao: .

Lin Mengxing: But after today, I noticed something. Rong Yu is a woman. Did you guys catch that?

He Huaiting: Yes. Her bone structure is quite obvious.

He Jiao: He’s a woman?!

Lin Mengxing: Didn’t you notice her height was off?

He Jiao: …… I thought he just became shorter in this life.

Lin Mengxing: Pfft. My mental power measured it; she is definitely female. Miss Lin (the manager) probably saw it too. Miss He, I feel like since your rebirth, the script has changed.

He Jiao: How could that be?! Impossible!

Lin Mengxing: I think she’s different from the “Rong Yu” you described. I hope it’s my turn to pair with her next round.

He Jiao: Suit yourself. Even with a different body, Rong Yu is still Rong Yu. You can know a person’s face but not their heart. Don’t let her trick you.

Lin Mengxing: I’m an Enigma. If she doesn’t behave, I’ll just mark her as my Omega. No big deal.

Mu Shuiqing watched the conversation from start to finish before finally interjecting:

Mu Shuiqing: She’s different.

Mu Shuiqing: I can feel it. She has a very clean and pure aura.

He Jiao: Heh, Miss Mu is too naive. You’ve only been together a few hours and you’re already being scammed.

Mu Shuiqing thought for a moment and offered a subtle piece of advice:

Mu Shuiqing: Established rules can have accidental variables. Especially since you’re a Rebirther, and as you and Lin Mengxing said, our personas are all different now. You shouldn’t look at things with such a fixed perspective.

He Jiao: You don’t understand anything! It seems those “Divination Master” claims were all lies. You’re just a charlatan!

He Huaiting: He Jiao.

Lin Mengxing: Don’t fight. Did you forget our agreement?

He Jiao: ……

He Jiao: Sorry. I got too emotional.

Mu Shuiqing: It’s okay.

He Jiao: I don’t know how he became a woman in this life, but in his previous life, he was a master actor. On the show, he would learn and do anything you needed, acting nearly perfect for the cameras. But once the show ended, his face changed instantly. He pocketed all the prize money, slandered me, and caused me to be killed by a crazed fan in a car accident. He waited until I was dead before calling the police. His acting is more terrifying than you can imagine. That’s all I can say.

The WeChat group fell silent. No one else spoke, though Lin Mengxing sent a “hug” emoji. Finally, Mu Shuiqing typed:

Mu Shuiqing: It’s also possible that this Rong Yu… isn’t him at all.

He Jiao: …… You really are obsessed. Did she put a curse on you?!

Mu Shuiqing: I’ve only heard of talismans. What is a curse?

He Jiao: ……

Lin Mengxing: Alright, alright. Let’s observe for two more days. If Rong Yu isn’t that person, it would be for the best.

Mu Shuiqing gripped her phone and frowned. She wanted to keep typing but didn’t know how to explain. She just felt that the Rong Yu she knew and the one He Jiao described were not the same person.

As she lay there, a sudden ominous premonition washed over her. The peach wood sword beside her began to vibrate with heat, pivoting on the nightstand to point directly toward Rong Yu’s room.

Mu Shuiqing’s brow furrowed. She grabbed the sword, rushed out of her room, and ran toward Rong Yu’s bedroom.

The viewers still lingering in the live stream were flabbergasted:

【Wh-What is she doing?】

【Ahem, is she going for the ‘forced encounter’ move?】

【Sister above, tell me more about this ‘forced encounter.’】

【For real? My ‘friend’ wants to see.】

When Mu Shuiqing burst into the room, she felt a chilling, eerie pressure weighing down. Transparent ice crystals formed on the wooden walls, and a layer of thin frost appeared on the floor. On the canopy bed in the center, Rong Yu lay pale and pinned under her blankets. A semi-transparent humanoid shadow hovered over her—mist-like yet seemingly solid—descending toward Rong Yu’s face.

Mu Shuiqing drew her sword, performed a swift flourish, and whispered an incantation. The peach wood sword let out a resonant ring. With a precise strike, the sword flew from her hand, piercing straight toward the dark shadow—

When Rong Yu opened her eyes, she found herself back in the hospital ward. The neural equipment was still over her head, and the room was a blinding white. Dr. Lin, standing beside her, turned off the device and helped her sit up.

Rong Yu immediately turned to look at the bed next to her. Lian Langsheng was there, wearing the same equipment, still deep in a peaceful slumber. Under the semi-transparent shell of the device, Lian’s face appeared pale and bloodless from long-term nutrient injections. The face was sixty to seventy percent similar to He Jiao’s, but even more vivid and striking—exquisite like a piece of fine art. The lack of color didn’t diminish her beauty; instead, it added a cold, fragile sense of “shattered” grace.

Rong Yu stared at her for a long time until Dr. Lin began going over the latest observations.

“To let you safely exit the Brain World without Lian noticing, we had to script a ‘sleep paralysis’ scenario. Time flows slower there, but in case Mu Shuiqing notices something, I’ll keep this brief.”

Dr. Lin brushed her hair back. “Based on the monitoring of Lian’s Brain World, we found that the ‘first-person’ screen time for all four female guests is identical. I suspect—”

“All four of them are Lian Langsheng’s conscious entities, aren’t they?” Rong Yu turned to her.

Dr. Lin paused, adjusting her glasses. “You figured it out?”

“It’s just a guess,” Rong Yu shook her head. “The plot of her world follows one of my novels, but the personas are different—they’re like characters from other stories I’ve written.”

“I see,” Dr. Lin realized. “Lian cared about you so much, it’s natural she’s read your work. Generally, people can’t imagine things out of thin air; dreams are made of people and things we’ve seen before. Since the Brain World is similar to a dream, it makes sense.”

“I woke you to warn you of this. Now that you’ve guessed it, get back quickly,” Dr. Lin said seriously.

Rong Yu suddenly remembered: “How exactly do I wake her up?”

The doctor shook her head. “I’m sorry. You are the first participant in this type of treatment. We haven’t developed a specific protocol yet; you’ll have to figure it out yourself.”

Dr. Lin handed her a tray. “Eat this. It’s a nutrient meal specifically for you.”

Rong Yu hesitated. Dr. Lin saw through her: “You aren’t Lian. Don’t play the ‘I won’t eat if she doesn’t’ game. Her nerves are damaged and her consumption is low. If you want to stay in the Brain World longer, you need to maintain your strength.”

This time, Rong Yu didn’t refuse. She quickly finished the meal and put the equipment back on. As the system began to emit a rhythmic “tick-tick” sound, her consciousness began to blur.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back in Lian Langsheng’s Brain World. She looked up to see Mu Shuiqing pinning her down, holding both her wrists.

Rong Yu blinked. Mu Shuiqing looked down, and as their eyes met, they fell into a silent standoff. Rong Yu never expected to wake up to this. Mu Shuiqing’s body was pressing against her, her silky black hair falling beside their faces, smelling of fresh oranges.

In her peripheral vision, Rong Yu saw the humanoid ghost hanging from the rafters while eight paper dolls were busy kicking and punching it against a pillar.

“……” Though she knew the shadow was just virtual data created by Dr. Lin to mask her exit, she still felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

Just as she was about to speak, Mu Shuiqing leaned in closer and kissed her on the lips.

The sensation was incredibly soft, like being enveloped by a rose after the rain. A slight bit of pressure brought out a hint of sweet nectar. Rong Yu felt a numbing shiver through the wrists Mu Shuiqing was holding. It felt as if someone in her mind was screaming with excitement, wanting more.

But Mu Shuiqing pulled back then, propping herself up on her arms. Catching Rong Yu’s gaze, her face instantly turned a faint red. Her throat tightened. “I… I was just transferring…” Yang energy.

The rest of her words were swallowed. Rong Yu didn’t give her a chance to speak; she flipped her over, pinned her down, and kissed her back.