Heart-Pounding Lover was the hottest large-scale reality dating show of the moment.
It was now in its third season.
The show was filmed and edited in real time, with only a one-week gap between the actual filming schedule and the broadcast.
And today was the first day of filming for Heart-Pounding Lover.
The studio had been decorated to feel like a home. Ji Liuyue was directed to sit on the sofa at the exact center of the camera frame.
She wore a red V-neck gown provided by the production team. The spotlight shining down from above spilled across her chestnut-brown, softly curled hair.
Her features were as exquisite as a painting, and her makeup was immaculate.
With the makeup artist’s deliberate techniques, her already striking features looked bright and sharp, exuding a powerful sense of competitiveness.
The production team had assigned her a persona: a scheming, domineering beauty with dazzling looks.
Ji Liuyue had no intention of changing it. It suited her perfectly.
A staff member prompted her, “Read the activity card.”
Her slender, elegant fingers appeared in front of the camera as her red lips parted.
“Dear new friend, welcome to Heart-Pounding Lover. Have you ever dreamed of beginning a mature relationship? Or perhaps imagined that, at some moment, the person who makes your heart race might meet you here?”
“Maybe you’re already prepared. Maybe you’re still hesitating and wavering. But no matter what, the moment you step into Heart-Pounding Lover, a brand-new journey awaits you.”
“Now, please begin your first date. From the four cards below, choose the lucky message that belongs to you.”
Ji Liuyue picked up the four cards on the table.
Each one bore a different message.
The first read: “I’m used to keeping everything within a range I can predict, including my emotions. But if someone could make me lose control every once in a while, I’d look forward to that, too.”
When Ji Liuyue saw this card, she couldn’t help smiling.
Classic cold, domineering-boss talk.
It was obviously Xu Jinsi’s card.
The second read: “I’ve always felt that the hardest kind of relationship between two people is the kind where you can sit together even in moments when neither of you says a word. I hope to meet someone with whom we don’t have to keep searching for things to talk about, and with whom silence never feels awkward. We can simply be together.”
It sounded fairly conventional. Probably an introvert.
The third read: “I don’t know what kind of person I’ll meet, and I’ve never thought about setting any standards in advance. I’ll see how things go. I’ll take it as it comes, and let things develop naturally.”
A very bland and laid-back statement.
Ji Liuyue smiled again.
This was probably Lu Nanxun’s card. He was a doctor who spent his days hovering between life and death, so even when appearing on a dating show, he maintained that same detached attitude.
Back then, Liu Qingye’s first date on the show had been with Lu Nanxun.
Ji Liuyue had chosen the same card, too. Just as the two of them were chatting happily on their date, she had suddenly appeared, stealing the camera’s attention and deliberately drawing Lu Nanxun’s focus toward her.
Liu Qingye had sat awkwardly across from them, saying nothing and looking utterly uncomfortable.
Because of that scene, many viewers had instinctively formed the impression that she was rude, socially inept, and selfish.
The fourth card read: “Since we’re already here, whatever is meant to happen will happen. There’s no point worrying about what isn’t meant to be.”
It was equally bland and revealed nothing.
In truth, Ji Liuyue only needed to identify the two male guests she intended to pursue. That was enough.
The staff member said, “Please make your choice.”
Ji Liuyue rubbed her fingertip over the cards, then slowly gave the camera a dazzling, charming smile.
She asked, “There are only four cards. If another female guest chooses the same one, will the three of us go on a date together?”
Her tone was light, carrying a hint of genuine curiosity about the show’s format.
Every season of Heart-Pounding Lover began differently. For example, the previous season had started with the contestants chatting in a group under virtual IDs.
This season, however, they would begin by choosing their first dates based on the different cards.
Asking—or not asking—made a huge difference.
If she learned in advance that the format made it inevitable for three people to run into each other during the dates, then stealing someone’s date would be perfectly reasonable.
The staff member replied, “Two dates will be arranged at the same location.”
Ji Liuyue covered her lips with one hand, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
“The same place? Then what if I happen to run into another female guest coming or going?”
Before the staff member could answer, she continued on her own, “That’s pretty great. I’ll get to meet two guests at once. Doesn’t that mean I’m getting a bargain?”
“Then I’ll choose the first card.”
She still wore a bright, radiant smile as she spoke.
She looked exactly like a beautiful, airheaded girl—blatantly outspoken, dazzling, and lacking in social awareness.
By making sure the audience immediately saw her as a vicious, foolish, yet incredibly beautiful airhead, she would make everyone more forgiving toward her.
Before filming ended, the staff also asked her to write a message of her own.
Ji Liuyue tilted her head curiously. “Will the male guests choose based on this message too, just like they do with the cards?”
The staff member nodded.
Holding the pen, Ji Liuyue confidently wrote on the blank sheet of paper:
“I came on this show for no other reason than to make everyone like me.”
After writing it, she even lifted the note beside her face and waved it at the camera.
For a moment, everyone in the studio was dumbfounded.
They couldn’t tell whether this girl was simply a skilled actress who had become completely immersed in the persona assigned to her by the production team, or whether she really was clueless enough to show this to the male guests.
Wasn’t she practically announcing it to the male guests and the audience?
You came on a dating show to become famous?
Although many people joined such shows with that goal—and with their own schemes—at the very least, everyone tried to conceal it in public.
Once filming ended, even the program’s PD director felt reluctant to let this beautiful fool walk straight into a trap.
As she escorted Ji Liuyue out of the studio, she lowered her voice and said, “The production team is using some attention-grabbing comments in the preview episode for publicity, so be careful when you film the rest of the show.”
Be careful?
Be careful about what?
Of course, she meant that Ji Liuyue needed to watch what she said and speak cautiously. Otherwise, once the show aired, the audience would tear her apart.
Ji Liuyue blinked her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
She looked a little confused and asked softly, “But wasn’t the agreement I signed saying that I was supposed to stir up trouble? If I behave too normally, won’t that count as a breach of contract?”
She looked completely sincere, like an honest, unsuspecting girl.
The PD director’s lips twitched. She offered another reminder: “As long as you stay within the boundaries of your assigned persona, you can control the extent yourself. It won’t count as a breach of contract.”
Ji Liuyue raised her red lips in a brilliantly sincere smile.
“Chengcheng, you’re so nice.”
Her PD director was a woman named Chen Cheng, though everyone called her Chengcheng.
At first, the role of this female guest had been created specifically to provide a scapegoat who could be hated by the audience.
As it happened, Ji Liuyue’s senior from the same university worked as a manager. When she heard that the show needed a female guest to serve as cannon fodder, she immediately said she had a model under her.
Chengcheng had worriedly asked, “Senior, this is a huge risk. She could become famous, sure, but what if she becomes infamous instead?”
Her senior had waved a hand dismissively.
“Being infamous is still being famous. As long as she can land some commercial deals, that’s enough. Besides, I have plenty of models working under me. If she doesn’t work out, I can always replace her and focus on someone else.”
Chengcheng hadn’t said anything at the time.
After all, the entertainment industry was a brutally realistic place.
If you were popular and had a following, people would flatter and support you.
But if you had no resources, no connections, and no popularity, people would trample all over you.
Whether you could rise depended entirely on fate.
Originally, Chengcheng hadn’t wanted to get involved.
But after meeting Ji Liuyue that day, she realized that the girl was a beautiful airhead, and couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.
Hearing Ji Liuyue say that she was wonderful, Chengcheng couldn’t help letting out a bitter laugh.
She had no idea that even she herself—and the entire production crew—were planning to set her up.
Before she could react, a faint floral fragrance drifted beneath her nose.
By the time she came to her senses, Ji Liuyue had already wrapped her arms around her. Her fair, tender skin was as white as snow, and it felt wonderfully soft to the touch.
“Then I’ll head back for now. See you tomorrow when the official recording begins.”
Chengcheng was stunned, and an uncontrollable blush spread across her cheeks. “…”
She was straight, for goodness’ sake. Then why on earth was she blushing?!
