Ji Liuyue was washing the dishes.
Who would have thought that Xu Jinsi would suddenly jog over to her and say, “I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t help feeling a little bewildered.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Jinsi took a deep breath, crushing all that laughable pride of his and laying the pieces before her.
His amber eyes fixed on her earnestly as he said, word by word, “Yueyue, I’m sorry for inviting you out so rudely before.”
“You were right. What I did was awful—honestly, it was downright disgusting. I didn’t respect you at all. I was only taking advantage of the emotional support you gave me.”
“I’m actually not as confident as I seem. I’m afraid. I’m afraid you’ll hesitate, afraid you’ll think other people are better than me.”
“Lu Nanxun is gentle and considerate, while Ji Xizhou is so passionate and upfront. I kept looking ahead and worrying about everything. I finally worked up the courage to take a step forward, only to get scared and retreat again. That’s all my problem.”
Ji Liuyue froze for a moment.
Not because his words sounded almost like a confession.
It was because the system had informed her that Xu Jinsi’s affection level had risen by another five percent.
As expected, Xu Jinsi really was better suited to a tortured romance.
Seeing that Liuyue remained silent, Xu Jinsi grew even more anxious and hurriedly added, “I just received an invitation from the new female guest. I know we’ve only gone on a few dates and haven’t officially committed to each other. But I still thought I should tell you about it.”
“I’m only going to meet her for a meal, as required by the show’s rules. Nothing else will happen.”
A mischievous mood stirred in Ji Liuyue. The corners of her lips curved upward as she countered, “Xu Jinsi, don’t be so sure.”
“You haven’t even met her yet. What if this new fifth female guest turns out to be exactly your type?”
She knew what had happened in the original plot.
While the love triangle between Liu Qingye and the two men was at its most tense, the new fifth female guest had arrived as a catfish entrant. Not only was she beautiful, but her family background and career were also similar to Xu Jinsi’s.
In terms of their objective circumstances, the two of them were the best match.
Liu Qingye hadn’t gained the upper hand against her, either. She had nearly fallen out with Xu Jinsi because of a misunderstanding caused by the new female guest. In the end, the two of them had gone on a little date together the night before the public confession.
They talked everything through during that date and finally chose each other.
Xu Jinsi’s gaze remained serious.
“I know you won’t believe me no matter what I say. So just watch what I do.”
After saying that, he was called away by the staff, who were urging him to hurry.
Producer Chengcheng also took the opportunity to approach and remind her, “This conversation of yours won’t be included in the main broadcast. It’ll only be shown later if you two officially choose each other. Yueyue, the confession night will begin a week after the island segment ends.
“It’s about time for you to make a decision. Have you thought about it?”
“Chengcheng, I’ll give it serious consideration.” Ji Liuyue smiled sweetly, her almond-shaped eyes deep and unreadable.
…
Heartthrob Lovers aired again, and the audience had been eagerly awaiting it.
The official account had also opened voting for viewers’ favorite contestants from the third season of the dating show. Ji Liuyue was far ahead in first place.
She had plenty of fans, but just as many people hated her.
She was an extremely controversial figure.
Liu Qingye ranked second. Given her original popularity, she should have taken first place, but the “name change incident” had badly damaged her reputation.
Even after it was clarified that Liu Qingye was merely her stage name—and that she had claimed this on the show because she was insecure about her unpleasant-sounding real name—her popularity among casual viewers had still taken a hit.
At exactly noon, Zhang Xiaotao opened her favorite lunchtime reality show.
The previous episode had ended after the contestants’ occupations were revealed and the heart-fluttering text messages were sent.
She was looking forward to seeing whether the romantic signals between the male and female guests would become more obvious in the new episode.
The video opened with an aerial shot of the entire Heartbeat House. Decorative text appeared across the screen:
“A beautiful new morning begins at Heartbeat House.”
A smaller caption underneath read:
“Workday.”
The camera cut to a close-up.
A delicate, porcelain-white face appeared on-screen, its smooth, glowing skin nearly flawless and completely free of visible pores.
Ji Liuyue was wearing loose linen-cotton loungewear. Even without makeup, her skin gleamed like a peeled egg, smooth and soft enough to bounce light.
Her long black hair was loosely twisted into a casual bun with a blue-and-white checkered scrunchie.
A few wisps had fallen around her temples.
Lazy, natural, and utterly captivating.
[Beauty overload!!!]
[Ahhh, that’s my wife Yueyue! Someone help me carry her away.]
[Ji Liuyue’s skin looks amazing. How does she take care of it? Does she use face masks every day?]
[Don’t you think her bone structure is incredible?]
[She is a model, after all. That face really is made for the camera.]
Everyone was still praising her stunning beauty one second earlier.
Then, in the very next second, the Ji Liuyue on-screen opened the refrigerator and took out several bottles of strawberry milk in a row.
Liu Qingye’s fans instantly lost their composure.
[! That’s the strawberry milk Dr. Lu bought for our Yezi! How does she have the nerve to drink it?]
[Fine, drink it if you want. Our Yezi isn’t stingy. But did you really have to take two or three bottles?]
[She has such ugly table manners. Has she never had anything good in her life?]
[Ji Liuyue is so poor she can’t even afford strawberry milk? Does she have to mooch off our Yezi?]
The comments section descended into chaos.
Among the female guests, Zhang Xiaotao had always favored Ji Liuyue. She had liked her best from the very beginning.
But watching this scene unfold, she couldn’t help questioning her own judgment.
Could Ji Liuyue really be nothing more than a pretty face—a vase with poor character and questionable morals underneath?
She wondered to herself.
She didn’t immediately post a comment, deciding to watch a little longer.
Meanwhile, Liu Qingye’s fans could no longer hold themselves back. They paused the video and rushed to social media, where they began cursing her out.
Before long, the hashtag “Ji Liuyue Steals Strawberry Milk” was trending.
Even people who didn’t usually watch dating shows, but followed their favorite stars in the entertainment industry, came across it. Just seeing the title left them puzzled.
Steal strawberry milk?
Did that really warrant a fight? Were they that poor?
They clicked in to take a look, only to discover that Ji Liuyue, a female guest on a dating show, had drunk the strawberry milk Lu Nanxun had bought for another female guest, Liu Qingye.
Abuse, conspiracy theories, speculation, and malice came rushing toward her from every direction.
Many casual viewers had clicked in merely to watch the drama. But then they genuinely became curious.
Was there really such an “awful” female guest? What kind of bizarre move was this?
Driven by curiosity, one person after another clicked on the third season of Heartbeat Lovers.
The show’s behind-the-scenes viewership numbers climbed rapidly.
A staff member reported the news to the director.
“Director, the buzz for season three has already broken the ratings records of the first two seasons! And we’ve only released the third episode. We’re already getting calls from tons of brands asking to sponsor us and place advertisements.”
The director was overjoyed. “What happened? I remember there wasn’t anything particularly hot in the third episode. Why have the ratings suddenly gone up?”
The previous incident involving Liu Qingye’s real name—Liu Cuicui—had also given the show a small boost, so the director had always had a favorable attitude toward Liu Qingye.
The staff member replied, “It’s because this episode showed the female guest Ji Liuyue drinking the strawberry milk…”
