After the Scheming Girl Joined a Dating Show - Chapter 13

Normal breakfast was replaced on the table, but after the series of “charcoal shockwaves” hit her taste buds, Xia Mozhu no longer had the energy to eat. The smell of food actually made her feel a bit nauseous; the aftertaste was potent. She could only sit there like a pitiful little thing, watching her older sisters eat.

An Nuo said with a smile, “It seems Teacher Su’s skills are even better than the head chef at Ou-style Dim Sum. Our little sister Bamboo had such a great appetite just now, but now she can’t eat a bite.”

There were still a few lingering tears in Xia Mozhu’s eyes as she narrowed them into a sweet smile. “That dish contained all of Teacher Su’s hard work; it’s something you can’t buy anywhere else. If it weren’t for my small stomach, I definitely would have finished the whole bowl.”

Fans familiar with her appetite knew that if her manager, Sister Li, wasn’t watching, she’d eat out of a basin every time. It had to be something truly terrible for her to feel “full” after only a few small bites.

Su Qin sat nearby, back straight as a ramrod. She didn’t say a word while eating, but after setting down her utensils, she spoke leisurely: “I’ll cook for you again when there’s a chance in the future.”

The light instantly vanished from Xia Mozhu’s eyes as she forced a smile. “Then I truly am the luckiest person in the world.”

Song Yanran tried to stifle a laugh while eating, nearly spraying food out of her nose. She couldn’t help but feel that Teacher Su had a bit of a mischievous streak when it came to teasing the younger girl—different from the rumors she’d heard.

Seeing Teacher Su on the first day, refusing to film when she didn’t want to, Song Yanran thought she was a high-maintenance diva. But after interacting over the past two days, she realized that while Su Qin wasn’t exactly warm, she looked out for everyone in many ways. Furthermore, her innate class and politeness were genuinely charming. If Song Yanran were a male guest, she might have already started her “offensive” in the show.

Speak of the devil: once breakfast was over and the table cleared, the Film Emperor Liang Shu and the “monkey” Qi Tian knocked on the villa door.

As soon as Qi Tian entered, words started popping out of his mouth like popcorn: “Lu Siyu and Ji Ming were suddenly called away by their film crew to reshoot a scene. Today it’s just me and Brother Liang—we’re an endangered species!”

When Qi Tian stayed quiet, he actually looked like a cool, handsome “ascetic” type, but unfortunately, he had a mouth.

Xia Mozhu spotted the yogurt in Qi Tian’s hand immediately. Being not at all polite, she didn’t even look at his face; she just pointed at the bag and said, “Can I have some?”

“Of course! I’m a walking snack treasury! Drink up!” Qi Tian pulled a bottle out, even helping her insert the straw before handing it over.

“Thanks.” Xia Mozhu drained the bottle in one go. Qi Tian was truly her savior. The lingering taste of Su Qin’s macaroni was still haunting her stomach and intestines; she felt like if she burped, it would taste like charcoal.

Su Qin glanced over and then sat down on a single armchair as far away from Xia Mozhu as possible.

After Qi Tian did a round promoting his yogurt, he sat down next to Xia Mozhu, nudged her arm, and whispered behind his hand, “Don’t I have one dating opportunity? I want to invite Sister Qin. What do you think?”

Xia Mozhu shook her head with a look of feigned depth.

“Why?” Qi Tian looked bewildered, then touched. “Are you afraid my fans will be unhappy and unfollow me? You’re so thoughtful for me!”

Xia Mozhu blinked, then shook her head again. “I didn’t think that far.”

Well, his gratitude was for nothing.

Qi Tian scratched the back of his head. “Then why?”

He hadn’t had much chance to date yet, so when faced with this, he wanted to consult someone. He didn’t realize the person he was consulting had even less experience than he did. But one was brave enough to ask, and the other was brave enough to answer.

“You have to learn the ‘cat and mouse’ game—playing hard to get,” Xia Mozhu said.

“Hard to get?” Qi Tian pondered. “My training instructors did say the distance from fans shouldn’t be too close or too far, which is a kind of playing hard to get. But how can I do that with my goddess?”

Xia Mozhu wagged a finger back and forth. “NO NO NO! Because she’s a goddess, plenty of people like her. She can have whoever she wants. Everyone thinks like you, so they can’t play hard to get. Everyone rushes to stick to her, so it’s not special. You have to flirt with someone else and make her jealous of you.”

It was pure nonsense—in fact, it was reverse-psychology sabotage. She was here to stir up trouble for her brother, not to help a rival score points.

Qi Tian chewed on it and thought it made sense. “You’re right. A ‘simp’ has no future.”

“Mm-hmm, you’re so smart, you get it instantly.” Xia Mozhu acted like an old master at a private school, feeling gratified that her student had mastered the knowledge. She patted his shoulder with a smile.

Qi Tian: “Then I can’t waste this dating chance either. How about I ask you out?”

Xia Mozhu choked on her own saliva and coughed several times, waving her hands frantically. “No no no, I’m just a kid, find someone else.”

“True. If we paired up, it would be like playing house. Sister Qin definitely wouldn’t get jealous.” Qi Tian looked around the room, then leaned into Xia Mozhu’s ear again. “Then what about Sister An Nuo? They’re both ‘sisters’—maybe they’ll fight over me.”

“You are so confident.” Xia Mozhu punctured his fantasy with a finger. “Keep your dreams realistic.”

Qi Tian made a dejected face. “Woman, you are so special. Other women at this point would only praise my handsomeness and want to get spicy with me.”

If anyone else had said that, it would have seemed greasy, but Qi Tian was the living embodiment of a “rich man’s silly son.”

Xia Mozhu stared at him like he was mentally challenged for a long time, thinking: Su Qin surely wouldn’t have such a weird taste. Brother’s rival -1.

Qi Tian was a man of action. Having made his decision, he walked over to An Nuo and issued the date invitation. Along the way, he felt Su Qin’s gaze following him. Had he already caught the Goddess’s attention? Little Bamboo is a pretty good dating coach!

Without Qi Tian’s constant chatter, Xia Mozhu felt a bit bored. She looked around, saw Su Qin looking her way, and gave her a bright, sunny smile. But halfway through the smile, she saw Su Qin turn her head away with a cold, expressionless look.

Is Senior Su Qin in a bad mood today?

Xia Mozhu had a flash of inspiration. Right! Su Qin didn’t like being called “Teacher,” so she’d just call her “Senior.” Thinking this, Xia Mozhu felt triumphant. Her little brain was so smart!

At that moment, Liang Shu, who had just finished talking to the crew, came over and sat on the long sofa next to Su Qin. “The first private date—do you have a candidate yet?”

He had worked with Su Qin on several films and was older, so he wasn’t as constrained as the others. During filming, he had been attracted to her, but he never showed it. He had played many roles and experienced a lot; he knew someone like Su Qin wouldn’t easily fall into the mortal world. He couldn’t even imagine what kind of man would be worthy of her. Rather than annoying her, he chose to treat her like the moon hanging in the sky, watching from afar. People say one can “reach for the stars,” but trying to pluck the moon would be too arrogant. He only came to this show to return a favor.

Su Qin only said two words: “Don’t want.”

Liang Shu laughed. “Typical for you.”

Xia Mozhu saw the Film Emperor and Su Qin seemingly chatting happily, and an alarm went off in her head. Since the first day, she felt he was the biggest threat—steady, wealthy, successful, and talented. Compared to her brother… She pouted; she couldn’t let the enemy look good. Her brother was better.

She stood up, took quick little steps over, and stopped in front of Su Qin, asking the same question: “Senior Su Qin, do you have a date candidate yet?”

Su Qin looked up at her and said, “I don’t want to tell you.”

The Film Emperor felt inexplicably slighted—three more words than she gave him.

Xia Mozhu felt Su Qin’s gaze was icy, and her words were cold, very different from usual. Usually, she was calm, but… but… anyway, it was different.

Xia Mozhu used her peripheral vision to glance at the “big threat”—Liang Shu. Maybe Teacher Liang was the one Su Qin had in mind, so she couldn’t say it to her face.

“Any other questions?” Su Qin spoke again.

“No more.”

Xia Mozhu swallowed the rest of her words. They lived in the same room; there would be chances to ask later. With her intelligence, she could surely make Su Qin change her mind. But who should she “persuade”—no, convince—Senior Su Qin to date? Xia Mozhu sank into thought. It seemed no one was good enough. She suddenly felt a bit of regret—if only she had lost the go-kart race.

While thinking, she drifted off elsewhere with her head down. An Nuo saw Xia Mozhu looking like she’d lost her soul and asked with concern, “What’s wrong, little sister?”

Xia Mozhu snapped back. “Sister An Nuo, do you think Teacher Su is being weird today? Like she’s in a bad mood.”

An Nuo: “Hasn’t Teacher Su always been aloof?”

Xia Mozhu pouted, her eyes full of confusion. “Really?”

An Nuo found her expression so cute she wanted to poke her cheek, but Song Yanran grabbed An Nuo’s finger and yanked her away, nearly snapping the digit.

“What are you doing?” An Nuo was furious.

Song Yanran was also livid. “I was going to ask you what you think you’re doing! Are you crazy, agreeing to a date with Qi Tian? Don’t you know female stars who collaborate with him get their whole families harassed by fans? No, they dig up eighteen generations of your ancestors to insult! You’d be better off dating me than him. I don’t know what’s in your head!”

Their conversation reached Xia Mozhu’s ears.

Wait. Xia Mozhu found the key point. She thought: Don’t I have the right to invite someone on a date too?

Her gaze lingered on Liang Shu and Su Qin for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she ran over and said to Su Qin: “I want to invite Senior Su Qin on a date. Is that okay?”