Xu Jinsi’s career video came to an end.
Everyone applauded in unison.
Liu Qingye deliberately turned toward the camera and put on an impressed expression.
“That’s amazing.”
Only her and Lu Nanxun’s careers had yet to be revealed.
Ji Mingtian joked, “Your career must be pretty impressive too, right?”
Liu Qingye shyly smoothed the stray hairs by her temple.
“Not really.”
“Why don’t you all take a guess? It should suit me pretty well.”
Sitting beside her, Lu Nanxun had also noticed her interaction with Ji Mingtian, but his heart remained surprisingly calm.
He found that a little strange.
Just as he was thinking about it, the person beside him called him out.
“Nanxun, do you want to guess my career?”
Liu Qingye looked at him expectantly.
Lu Nanxun came back to himself and answered seriously, “Are you a designer?”
Although it wasn’t the right answer, Liu Qingye broke into a delighted smile. Covering her lips, she said coyly, “Oh my, do I really look that artistic?”
She slowly turned her head toward Xu Jinsi.
“What do you guys think?”
Xu Jinsi said nothing.
To avoid an awkward silence, Cen Yu guessed, “Yezi is really approachable. Are you a kindergarten teacher?”
The corner of Liu Qingye’s mouth twitched.
She really wanted to roll her eyes.
How could Cen Yu’s guess be so ridiculously far off?
None of the female guests spoke during the pause that followed, and Liu Qingye began to sense the awkwardness. Then she rolled her eyes, wondering if she could use this as a way to win everyone’s agreement.
She looked toward the other female guests, who were huddled together, with a pitiful, wounded expression.
“Before Liuyue’s career was revealed, you all made so many guesses. But now that it’s my turn… why is everyone so quiet?”
The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.
Wang Aitian reacted quickly. “It’s mainly because you’re too mysterious. We can’t figure you out. How about giving us a few keywords or clues?”
Liu Qingye cast a distant glance at Ji Liuyue.
With a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, she said, “It’s somewhat related to Liuyue’s career.”
Ji Liuyue had been quietly watching her performance from the beginning.
Wasn’t the production team trying to establish her as someone who stirred up trouble? Wouldn’t stealing the spotlight at a moment like this be even better?
Liuyue curled her lips into a smile.
Looking straight at Liu Qingye, she said word by word, “You’re an actress.”
Without the context from earlier, that might have sounded sarcastic.
But with everything that had just been said, it sounded perfectly ordinary.
It was merely a guess about her career.
Yet to Liu Qingye, those words carried an entirely different meaning.
Ji Liuyue had done it on purpose!
She was deliberately provoking her, humiliating her in front of everyone and the cameras, implying that she had been acting ever since she entered the dating show.
But with so many people watching—and the cameras rolling—Liu Qingye couldn’t lose her temper.
She could only force down her anger.
Pointing at the screen in front of them, she said, “You’ll know once you watch the video.”
The first scene of the career video showed Liu Qingye dressed in ancient costume, looking ethereal as she descended slowly from above on a wire, a long sword in hand.
“My name is Liu Qingye. I’m twenty-four years old, and I’m an actress.”
“I was very lucky that, shortly after entering the industry, I got to appear in…”
The screen cut to clips from various web dramas, showing her acting in scenes as the third- or fourth-billed female character.
“Why did you come on a dating show?”
“Because my social circle is too small, and I don’t get many chances to meet new people. I actually think life and work are equally important.”
“So I’m really looking forward to finding a sweet romance in the house.”
The video ended with Liu Qingye sitting beside a willow tree on a riverbank, a book in her hands. She lifted her face toward the sun and closed her eyes.
Sunlight streamed through the mottled green leaves, scattering across the side of her face.
A picture of peaceful beauty.
The video came to an end.
Liu Qingye looked a little embarrassed as she lifted a cushion from the sofa to hide behind it.
“Ah, it was so much fun when we filmed it. Why does it look so serious now that it’s been edited?”
Ji Mingtian praised her. “No wonder you looked familiar. You’re a famous actress! I think I’ve seen clips from your dramas on Douyin.”
Cen Yu chimed in, “Yes, yes. That’s really impressive.”
As he spoke, he gave her a thumbs-up.
Liu Qingye was pleased by the compliments, but they still weren’t enough. She slightly turned her head, appearing to glance at Lu Nanxun.
In reality, her gaze remained fixed on Xu Jinsi without leaving a trace.
She was eager to see how he would react.
But Xu Jinsi merely applauded along with everyone else in an almost robotic manner. There wasn’t the slightest emotion in those beautiful, peach-blossom eyes.
To be honest, Liu Qingye always felt that she couldn’t get a handle on Xu Jinsi.
This man was operating on an entirely different level. None of her usual little tricks could even catch his attention.
So she could only approach him carefully and cautiously.
The feeling was novel—and strangely addictive.
Since he wasn’t going to engage, Liu Qingye could only settle for the next-best option: the safe choice.
This time, she looked directly at Lu Nanxun and asked earnestly, “Nanxun, why have you been so quiet? Couldn’t you guess my career?”
Lu Nanxun pressed his lips together.
Looking at her sweet, rabbit-like features, he felt conflicted.
His ideal vision of a future partner had always been that they would each focus on work during the day, then curl up together and enjoy their time as a couple after work.
His own job followed a regular nine-to-five schedule, so he hoped his partner would be an ordinary office worker as well.
But neither Ji Liuyue nor Liu Qingye had a career that matched what he had imagined.
After a moment of silence, he said, “No, I couldn’t guess.”
As far as Liu Qingye was concerned, Lu Nanxun was the easiest fish to control.
He was her safe choice.
But from his answer, it seemed that her career hadn’t increased his interest in her at all. Liu Qingye was still a little disappointed.
Her tone remained coquettish, however. “Is it better than you expected, or…?”
She deliberately left the rest unsaid.
Lu Nanxun smiled.
His tone was as tactful as ever. “Of course it’s better than I expected. You look dazzling when you’re working.”
“Thank you!”
Having received unqualified praise and affirmation, Liu Qingye finally broke into a wide smile.
Covering her lips, she laughed shyly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the three female guests nearby. When her gaze landed on Ji Liuyue, it carried a faint trace of hostility and triumph.
It was as if she were saying, See? So what if Lu Nanxun went on a date with you today? His full attention is still on me.
Ji Liuyue naturally caught the look.
But she didn’t care.
The dating show had only just begun two days ago. Why celebrate victory at halftime?
She clapped her hands.
“Have we guessed everyone’s careers? Lu Nanxun is the only one left. Let’s all take a guess. I’ll go first.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand like a student in an elementary school classroom.
“I think he’s…”
Lu Nanxun’s attention was drawn over as well.
His narrow eyes flickered slightly.
He was a little curious to hear her answer.
