After the Scheming Girl Joined a Dating Show - Chapter 20

Xia Mozhu clutched Su Qin’s phone, her eyes full of innocent confusion as she asked, “Why is everyone looking at me?”

“It’s nothing, nothing. It’s just because you’re so cute, everyone can’t help but take a few extra looks,” the BTS staff lady said while filming with her lightweight professional gear. She was coaxing—no, not coaxing—comforting Xia Mozhu.

Artists these days were all “old oil sticks” (shrewd veterans); even seventeen or eighteen-year-olds were trained to be flawless and two-dimensional on camera. It was boring. There weren’t many left with a natural variety sense like Little Bamboo; this seedling had to be protected!

“Right, right, right,” another staff member chimed in.

Xia Mozhu didn’t doubt them for a second. Although her looks weren’t purely in the “cute” category, she had been called cute since she was a child and was already used to it.

To make traveling easier today, she wore a pair of cool cargo pants with many pockets. She casually slipped the phone she had just used into a pocket, completely forgetting that it wasn’t her own.

Su Qin watched her phone enter someone else’s pocket but remained silent.

The BTS lady was ecstatic internally, her head spinning from the “ship.” Her hand holding the equipment nearly trembled. Whether it was roommate vibes or sisterhood, this “old married couple” mode of interaction provided sugar at every turn. In her mind, she classified it all as romance.

Xia Mozhu stood up and ran behind Su Qin. “I’ll push you on the swing! When I was little, I loved it when my mom pushed me from behind, rocking back and forth!”

Before Su Qin could speak, she was pushed out. Her “Flower on a High Mountain” mask nearly slipped; only her pupils couldn’t lie, shrinking into tiny dots like a cat’s. Clearly, she hadn’t expected to experience such sudden playfulness.

As Xia Mozhu pushed the swing, she began to recite a nursery rhyme: “Rock and sway, rock and sway, rock to Grandmother’s bridge. Grandma calls me a good baby. A bag of candy, a bag of fruit, a bag of fruit, a bag of fruit…” The girl reciting the rhyme scratched the back of her head, her brow furrowed. What were the next lines?

Su Qin said softly: “A bag of candy, a bag of fruit, Grandma buys a fish to braise.”

“You know it too!” Xia Mozhu’s eyes crinkled with joy. “I thought only kids from the South heard this nursery rhyme.”

“My grandmother is a girl from Jiangnan,” Su Qin replied casually.

Xia Mozhu pushed the swing even harder. “Then if there’s a chance, let’s invite her to our house to play!”

If only my brother is capable enough…

Some people on the crew hadn’t known Xia Mozhu was a girl from a “water town.” Although her personality was indeed soft and sweet, her height wasn’t petite for a girl; she was a bit different from the typical image of a Southern girl, appearing only an inch or two shorter than Teacher Su.

Teacher Su’s official height was 169 cm, though no one would actually take a ruler to measure it.

But more surprising than that was the fact that Little Bamboo hadn’t just met the family elder on the first date, but had even invited the elder to her own home. No matter how you looked at it, this felt like meeting the in-laws!

It was a good thing the Celestial was a female guest; otherwise, at this rate, by the time the show finished recording, a baby would be popping out!

Su Qin seemed to have grown accustomed to Xia Mozhu’s “enthusiasm” and calmly responded, “Mm.”

The crew’s jaws dropped again. Teacher Su hadn’t just not refused; she had agreed so decisively. They truly didn’t understand this world anymore.

Su Qin suddenly grabbed Xia Mozhu’s hand behind her. “Stop pushing.”

Xia Mozhu asked cautiously, “You don’t like it?”

Su Qin simply said, “Come sit with me.”

“Okay.” Xia Mozhu stretched her wrists. “My hands are actually a bit sore. This is too much exercise!”

The show’s cameras hungrily devoured the footage; every frame was a precious record of a “romance novice’s” growth.

The conservatory was comfortable, filled with a faint floral scent and a warm atmosphere. Even without speaking, one could sit quietly for a long time, feeling leisurely and refreshed.

Su Qin didn’t like sweets, but the afternoon tea desserts were still prepared abundantly. Two three-tiered dessert towers were set out, and every item used seasonal fresh flowers as ingredients—both thoughtful and sophisticated.

Xia Mozhu took a small bite and blurted out: “Was this made with flowers stolen from Grandma?”

Su Qin took a deep breath and made a small gesture with her hand, looking very much like she wanted to hit someone but was forcing herself to hold back. Of course, Xia Mozhu couldn’t see it; only the camera captured it all.

“Oh! Right!” Xia Mozhu let out a startled cry, wiped her hands, and reached into her pocket for the phone.

The other onlookers thought Xia Mozhu had finally realized she had “swiped” Su Qin’s phone. Instead, they saw Little Bamboo frowning as she said, “Why won’t the facial recognition unlock my phone?”

The BTS lady thought to herself: Could it be because this phone needs the face of the person sitting next to you to unlock?

Su Qin: “What do you want to do with the phone?”

Xia Mozhu: “With something this high in calories, I have to report to Sister Li.”

After saying this, she leaned into Su Qin’s ear and lowered her voice: “Otherwise, when she sees the show, she’ll nag in my ear forever like a monk!”

Su Qin was silent for a moment, then asked, “Who is Sister Li?”

“Sister Li is my manager.”

Xia Mozhu then faced the camera very seriously and said: “My Sister Li is a professional and responsible manager. She frequently provides me with professional and reasonable advice to help me manage my figure and onscreen image. I respect her very much.”

She interpreted the role of a “little flatterer” with great precision.

Su Qin finally couldn’t help but ask: “Why have you never called me Su Qin…” Sister.

But those last two words were truly hard to say.

Xia Mozhu looked embarrassed. “So you prefer me to call you directly by your name? But that would make the audience think I’m impolite.”

Su Qin started to say: “Forget it, cut this—” Before she could finish the word “part,” Xia Mozhu had already provided a solution.

“I can call you ‘Senior’ on the show, and call you Su… Su Qin when we go back to the room.”

The cameraman remained as steady as a mountain on the outside, but inside, he was being swept away by earthquakes, tsunamis, and every other giant geological disaster imaginable. Cut it? Impossible. He had already thought of the perfect bullet-chat comment for the viewers: “I don’t understand, but I am deeply shocked.”

Su Qin’s face was a bit stiff, but she usually had few expressions in private anyway, so it wasn’t very obvious. She grabbed a remote from the side and pressed it; a screen descended from the ceiling of the conservatory, forcibly ending the topic.

Once the screen was down, a nature documentary automatically started playing: a snow leopard mother and her cub looking for food on a cold mountain. The cub was hidden in a rocky cave by the mother, its tiny pink tongue sticking out as it slept soundly.

Xia Mozhu let out a “Wow,” mimicking the cub by sticking out her tongue. Her heart was melting. “So cute~”

She was still a “child” herself, yet her eyes were full of maternal affection.

Su Qin looked at her. “You like snow leopards?”

Xia Mozhu said in a wheedling tone, “I like kitties.” As she spoke, treating this place as if she were at home, she habitually slumped softly against Su Qin’s shoulder and nuzzled her. “I like kitties~” she repeated in an even softer voice.