After the Scheming Girl Joined a Dating Show - Chapter 3

Su Qin taking the initiative to team up with Xia Mozhu essentially broke the balance of having one man and one woman per group.

However, since filming had just begun and considering the guests might still be feeling shy, the original “one man, one woman” pairing was changed to “two men or two women” per team. To keep the game fair, the original four competing pairs were merged into two large teams.

The Red Team consisted of the all-female duo Su Qin and Xia Mozhu, alongside the all-male duo Qi Tian and Lu Siyu. The remaining four participants formed the Blue Team.

“The game we are about to play is ‘Back-to-Back Balloon Pop.’ Whichever side pops the most balloons within the time limit wins,” the director announced. “Let’s add a bit of difficulty: the pairs must have their hands tied together with a ribbon. If the ribbon falls off, that pair is eliminated early.”

“I wondered what the game would be—I’m an expert at this!” Song Yanran glanced at her partner, An Nuo, and folded her arms. “Sister An Nuo, don’t drag me down.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t drag me down,” An Nuo shot back.

Xia Mozhu looked at Su Qin’s slender, seemingly fragile frame. I hope I don’t break her by bumping into her.

But clearly, she had overthought it.

Once their hands were tied together and the whistle blew, Su Qin turned into a bumper car with its engine floored. She stuffed balloons between their backs one after another, dragging Xia Mozhu’s hands along as they slammed into each other—pop, pop, pop, pop!

Xia Mozhu was jolted until she was dizzy, seeing stars before her eyes.

She finally understood why the director had looked so pained when Su Qin suggested they team up. According to the standard procedure of a dating show, this game was supposed to be the best way to create the first physical contact between male and female guests, potentially sparking romantic “pink bubbles.”

But right now, Xia Mozhu’s internal organs were churning so much that the only thing she was likely to spark were soap bubbles from her mouth.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven… three, two, one!”

“Time’s up!”

The stars in front of Xia Mozhu finally stopped spinning. It was over. Before they started, she was worried she would break Su Qin; in the end, it was her own little body that was nearly broken by Su Qin!

“Uh… the Red Team completed a total of 50, and the Blue Team did 20. Obviously, the Red Team wins.” The staff member responsible for counting felt like they didn’t even need to count—Teacher Su had already won on sheer momentum.

An Nuo said to her partner, who had been so confident before they started, “Didn’t you say you were an expert at this game?”

Song Yanran: “…” I was playing a game; Su the Celestial was playing for her life!

To keep the ribbon from slipping, Su Qin had been firmly gripping Xia Mozhu’s hand since the start of the game. She hadn’t let go yet—perhaps she had forgotten. Xia Mozhu didn’t dare remind her, so she just stood there like a dazed idiot.

“Next, we will announce the rewards and punishments,” the staff member said through a megaphone. “The winning side will receive a ‘Dating Fund’ provided by the crew, which can be used to invite a guest they are interested in for a one-on-one date. As for the losing side… they will be responsible for everyone’s three meals for the day.”

“This really is many times worse than not giving us food!” Song Yanran threatened the crew. “Aren’t you afraid we’ll burn the kitchen down?”

Ji Ming, an actor who hadn’t had much screen time yet, patted her shoulder and comforted her, “Don’t worry, leave it all to me.”

An Nuo folded her arms and squeezed between them. “It’s just cooking a meal, how hard can it be?”

The moment Su Qin received her envelope containing the Dating Fund, she handed it directly to Xia Mozhu.

Xia Mozhu’s eyes widened in confusion.

Su Qin: “We live in the same room.”

Xia Mozhu nodded: “Mm.” And?

Su Qin: “It’s safer to keep them together.”

Xia Mozhu: “…” Surely no one here is going to steal the money!

A staff member filming behind-the-scenes footage grinned like a matchmaking auntie. “The way Teacher Su does things… it looks so much like a husband coming home to hand over his paycheck to his wife the moment he gets paid!”

These words reached Xia Mozhu’s ears clearly. For some reason, she blurted out: “Where is the husband? This is clearly a wife handing over her paycheck to another wife.”

Su Qin looked over at the sound of her voice, her gaze a bit complex.

Xia Mozhu hurriedly clarified, “She started the joke first, I was just correcting a mistake.”

The “sold out” staff member: “…” Even though I was thrown under the bus, that was too sweet!

Afraid that Su Qin would misunderstand, Xia Mozhu followed closely behind her as they went upstairs, taking every chance to say: “I have zero interest in dating, I only want to focus on my career! I have zero interest in your paycheck either!”

When they reached the bedroom door, Su Qin finally spoke, but not to Xia Mozhu.

She looked at the cameraman following them and said, “The material from just now is plenty. There’s no need to follow us into the room to film.”

Only then did Xia Mozhu remember the cameras were there. That meant all her muttering along the way was…

She faced the camera, pressing her hands together: “Please, please, Editors, please cut out the part I just said.”

The behind-the-scenes staff member laughed nearby. “Even if the main show cuts it, I still have a copy right here.”

“Behind-the-scenes Sister!” Xia Mozhu pulled out her ultimate skill—acting spoiled. She said to the staff member, “Save some face for me! Please? Pretty please?”

Staff member: “This part was recorded, too.” With her looking so cute, the fans will go crazy! Great! No need to worry about my KPIs now.

Xia Mozhu: “…”

Su Qin: “If you aren’t coming in, I’m closing the door.”

“Wait for me!” Xia Mozhu rushed into the room with her head down, her heart filled with despair. If those clips were released, wouldn’t the audience think she was a bit “slow”?

Su Qin had to take half the responsibility for this!

Xia Mozhu barked “Woof woof woof!” at Su Qin in her head again.

Today was the first day the crew had arrived at the filming location. Everyone was exhausted from the journey, so no heavy filming tasks were scheduled.

In the evening, only the fixed cameras in the house were still running; the staff had long since left the guests’ villa.

In the entertainment industry, socializing is part of the job.

Song Yanran, having her own regular variety show, naturally knew how to make friends on set. In this show, An Nuo was her well-known arch-rival, so there was no point in socializing there. Su Qin was like a “Flower on a High Mountain”—too difficult to approach. That left the little sister Xia Mozhu, who was cute and seemed the easiest to talk to.

“Your fans call you ‘Little Bamboo,’ is it okay if I call you that too?” Song Yanran saw Xia Mozhu sitting on the sofa eating fruit and sat down next to her.

“Sure.” Xia Mozhu had several cherry tomatoes stuffed in her mouth, looking like a hamster.

Song Yanran couldn’t resist reaching out to poke her cheek. “You are so cute.”

Xia Mozhu chewed and swallowed, then held out a box of cut fruit to Song Yanran. “Do you want some?”

Song Yanran shook her head. “I’m on a diet.”

“Oh, then I’ll eat it myself.” Xia Mozhu had just stabbed a piece of pineapple and was about to put it in her mouth when she felt two unignorable gazes fixed on her.

She turned around. Su Qin had come downstairs at some point, but her eyes weren’t looking this way.

The reason Xia Mozhu had run out here to sit was that Su Qin was reading in the room, and she was afraid her crunching would disturb her.

Su Qin walked to a single armchair and sat down without saying a word.

Xia Mozhu continued eating the pineapple, thinking the gaze must have been an illusion. But after a few more bites, she felt someone watching her again.

This time she looked up and locked eyes perfectly with Su Qin.

“Is it good?” Su Qin asked.

Xia Mozhu was busy chewing and could only manage a muffled “Mm.”

Unlike Xia Mozhu, who slumped her shoulders and loosened her posture the moment she hit the sofa, Su Qin sat perfectly upright. She didn’t even cross her legs. It was the kind of “proper sitting posture” that the older generation would praise endlessly.

But having such a person sitting nearby put immense pressure on someone like Xia Mozhu, who had no posture to speak of.

Seeing Su Qin still looking her way, Xia Mozhu looked down at the fruit box, which was now half-empty, and asked tentatively, “Do you want to eat some?”

Su Qin didn’t speak.

Xia Mozhu stabbed the largest piece of melon. “I’ll feed you.” As she spoke, she lifted her hand and sent the melon toward Su Qin’s mouth.

Su Qin clearly hadn’t reacted in time. She froze for two seconds before raising a hand to cover her mouth, chewing and swallowing the giant piece of food. The camera caught the sight of her cheeks puffed out.

Xia Mozhu was usually a carefree little foodie who didn’t care much about her image in front of the camera, but not everyone was like her. Realizing this, she felt a surge of secret regret. Would Su Qin blame her for ruining her onscreen image?

Guiltily, Xia Mozhu asked, “The melon is pretty good, isn’t it?”

“Mm.” Surprisingly, Su Qin didn’t appear unhappy.

Xia Mozhu happily scooted closer to Su Qin. “The mango is very sweet, too.”

Su Qin: “I’m allergic.”

Xia Mozhu looked disappointed. “Then you’re missing out.” She immediately switched to something else. “Then have an orange; it’ll replenish your Vitamin C.”

This time Su Qin said nothing. Xia Mozhu took it as silent consent, picked out a piece of orange she thought looked the best, and fed it to Su Qin.

Song Yanran, watching from the side, nearly had her jaw drop. She had never seen another person act so “familiar” with Su the Celestial. Even just saying a word to Su Qin felt high-pressure to her.

Xia Mozhu didn’t think that much. To her, food was everything, and sharing food was a joyful thing. More importantly, her manager wasn’t watching her right now, so she had to grab what happiness she could.

“So lively here.” An Nuo came out after her shower, her head wrapped in a towel and her face covered by a gold-foiled sheet mask.

“Is Sister An Nuo afraid her bare face will scare off the audience, so she deliberately put on a mask?” Song Yanran always had a few sarcastic remarks ready whenever she faced An Nuo.

“Sorry, you guessed wrong,” An Nuo shot back. “I’m just afraid my beauty will make you feel inferior.”

Song Yanran huffed and moved a bit closer to Xia Mozhu to give An Nuo a place to sit.

The moment An Nuo appeared, Xia Mozhu’s chest began to heave violently. Her lips gradually turned pale, and her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.

Su Qin calmly took the fruit box from her hand and placed it on the table. “Your lipstick has been eaten off. Go touch it up.”

With that, she took Xia Mozhu’s hand and led her toward the first-floor bathroom.

Xia Mozhu followed dizzily, being led by Su Qin like an obedient puppy.

Inside the bathroom, Su Qin handed Xia Mozhu a paper towel. “Here, wipe the sweat off your palms.”

Xia Mozhu crumpled the paper in her hand, leaning half her body against the sink. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Su Qin turned on the faucet. The sound of rushing water was loud enough to cover their conversation.

“Do you want to go upstairs to rest?” Su Qin asked.

Xia Mozhu waved her hand and lowered her head. “I’m fine. I’ll be okay after I wash my face.”

“Mm.” Su Qin didn’t press for the reason why Xia Mozhu had suddenly become unwell.

Xia Mozhu put her hands under the cold running water and took a few deep breaths. Her gaze was a bit hollow.

Back when she was in middle school, she had seen a girl in her class being bullied by others and stepped in to stop them. As a result, the next day, the girl she had saved helped the bullies lie. They lured her to a sports equipment warehouse—a warehouse with no windows. It was very, very dark.

…

Years had passed, and she could no longer remember the faces of those three girls clearly. Fortunately, someone had saved her back then. Emerging from a beam of light, like a god.

After coming out of the bathroom, Xia Mozhu intentionally avoided looking at Su Qin. This way, she could pretend there was one less person in the room.

She knew clearly it was a post-traumatic stress response, but every time she realized she had to be in a confined space with three other girls, she felt heart palpitations that she couldn’t control. When she participated in the girl group survival show before, she almost gave up because of this.

Xia Mozhu couldn’t help but steal a glance at Su Qin. Back then, I should have thanked her.

The silently working cameras dutifully captured the shot of Xia Mozhu first averting her eyes and then stealing a shy glance at Su Qin.

Song Yanran also happened to see Xia Mozhu come out looking like a delicate flower and stealing glances at Su the Celestial. Feeling mischievous, she bumped Xia Mozhu’s shoulder. “Why did it take you so long to touch up your lipstick? Next time, I’ll help you touch it up with my mouth; it’s much faster.”

Xia Mozhu had recovered some spirit and felt like joking back. She pouted her lips and said, “Then help me right now.”

At that moment, Su Qin’s cold voice rang out: “Go upstairs to sleep.”

She stood up unhurriedly and walked toward the stairs.