Wan Tong sensed the malice of the production team—or rather, the vigilance from her uncle.
It was the last day, yet she still couldn’t find an opportunity to be alone with Chu Yuanxun. Right after breakfast, she was arranged to go to a waiting area.
It was a quiet café, one that felt familiar. Last season, she had also waited for male contestants here, and even turned down two of them in a row…
She had barely finished a cup of coffee when Zhong Jiaqi appeared.
There was no romantic atmosphere at all. As soon as he sat down, he casually ordered a coffee.
Several cameras were pointed on them, and both the on-site crew and the directors in the monitoring room held their breath. But the moment Zhong Jiaqi opened his mouth, he blurted out, “Hey, did I get here before Chu Yuanxun?”
“……”
Wan Tong nearly spat out her coffee.
“So why are you here?”
“To confess, of course,” Zhong Jiaqi stated matter-of-factly.
“……” Wan Tong gave him a once-over. “Are you saying… you like me?”
“Haven’t I made that obvious enough?” Zhong Jiaqi propped his elbows on the table, raising an eyebrow.
Wan Tong blinked silently.
Zhong Jiaqi chuckled and continued, “Honestly, we haven’t spent that much time together, and even that got interrupted by Chu Yuanxun. But you’re special, special enough that I want to keep getting to know you. Even after leaving the house, I still want to stay in touch with you.”
Though his tone was playful, his eyes were sincere.
Just then, the waiter placed their coffee on the table. Wan Tong lifted her cup in a small gesture. “To you.”
Zhong Jiaqi laughed, took a sip, then asked, “So, how do you feel?”
Wan Tong put on a serious, thoughtful expression. Her fair little face looked adorable, making Zhong Jiaqi’s heart itch. But all he could do was sigh.
“I think…”
She had just started to speak when Zhong Jiaqi finished for her, “…I’m a good person?”
Wan Tong stared at him blankly : “……”
He had already said what she was about to say. What else could she add?
Seeing her stunned reaction, Zhong Jiaqi burst into laughter. “Is this how you always reject people?”
Wan Tong tilted her head slightly, suddenly recalling the trending topic from the final episode of last season : #You’re A Good Person#.
She had used the same words to reject two outstanding and devoted contestants.
Their fans had been furious, accusing her of being insincere and toying with people’s feelings.
To avoid another backlash, Wan Tong quickly tried to think of another way to phrase it.
Inside the control room, Zheng Tianqiong clenched his fist, staring intently at the screen.
He should’ve taught Tongtong how to turn someone down politely without offending the fans.
“Damn, Tongtong is so cute!” Some male director blurted out in excitement.
Zheng Tianqiong’s sharp gaze immediately darted over. A young director flinched, turned stiffly, and weakly corrected himself, “Uh, I mean, Xiao Jian is so cute!”
Only then did Zheng Tianqiong shift his gaze away.
The young director clutched his chest and leaned against a colleague. Damn, Director Zheng was ridiculously protective.
On screen, Zhong Jiaqi couldn’t resist smiling at the girl sitting across from him. Her slight confusion and hint of panic were just too endearing. His dazzling grin made him look even more striking. “Forget it. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve gotten the ‘good person’ card. As long as I understand.”
Hearing this, Wan Tong didn’t bother coming up with another excuse. Holding her coffee cup, she spoke with calm sincerity, “Honestly, I really do think you’re a great person.”
At least in the house, he was someone she felt comfortable around.
Jian Wantong’s life was rather monotonous. Most of the people in her social circle were elders, and she always had to maintain a certain level of composure. Rarely did she interact so freely with people her age.
If she were only Jian Wantong, it might’ve been difficult for her to break out of her solitary nature or open up to others.
“Better than Chu Yuanxun?” Zhong Jiaqi teased.
Wan Tong actually gave it some thought before replying, “It’s different.”
“How so?”
Wan Tong didn’t answer. She simply smiled, the corners of her lips curving into a soft arc, subtle, but contagious. Anyone who saw it would unconsciously smile along.
Zhong Jiaqi’s heartbeat went haywire, but his gaze dimmed slightly.
He had originally joined the show just for fun. But now… he kind of regretted not taking it more seriously.
If he hadn’t approached her with prejudice at first, maybe he’d be standing here today with more confidence.
After Zhong Jiaqi left, Wan Tong waited another half-hour.
Logically, it shouldn’t have taken this long. After all, filming costs money.
At first, she was confident that Chu Yuanxun would come. But now, she wasn’t so sure.
Had she overestimated her own charm?
Still, whether he showed up or not, once the show was over, she was going to find him.
Another twenty minutes passed before a director nearby announced, “That’s a wrap.”
Wan Tong finally stood up and walked out, a little dazed. She really couldn’t figure out what the boss was thinking.
Had he gone to find Yuan Qingqing?
Probably not. His favorability rating was only 30.
As soon as she stepped out of the café, Zheng Tianqiong was already waiting for her.
“Tongtong, let’s go. Your uncle booked a restaurant. We’re having a great meal tonight.” Zheng Tianqiong had deliberately shaved his stubble and tidied his hair, instantly giving him a more mature and charismatic appearance.
The staff still tidying up watched this scene, thinking they were hallucinating.
Damn, was Director Zheng always this handsome and approachable?
Wan Tong held onto his arm, looking listless. “Uncle, let me ask you something. Where did Chu Yuanxun go?”
Zheng Tianqiong’s eyes flickered slightly, but his voice remained steady. “He’s been in the cabin the whole time. He didn’t confess to the female guests. That counts as a spoiler for you, so don’t pout now.”
“Then, Uncle, can you give me his contact info?” Wan Tong pressed on.
Zheng Tianqiong maintained a stiff smile, but his other hand clenched into a fist. “I should have his contact details. I’ll have my assistant check later. Tongtong, stay at my place tonight, and tomorrow, we’ll go to G City together.”
“Alright, but Uncle, you have to remember to ask for his number for me,” Wan Tong reminded him.
“Tongtong, the production team requires to keep matters about the guests confidential. Even as your uncle, I can’t make an exception. Let’s wait until the show airs, okay?” In reality, some guests had already exchanged contact information privately. With their growing social media following, finding each other wasn’t hard.
But Chu Yuanxun was an exception. He had no Weibo, and Wan Tong knew nothing about him. That’s why she came to ask her uncle, feeling lost.
“…” Wan Tong was half-convinced, but knowing she wouldn’t get anything out of him, she dropped the subject.
Unexpectedly, after leaving S City, Wan Tong suddenly got extremely busy.
First, there were family gatherings, where she had to rack her brain to engage in deep conversations about art with her elders. Then, she flew abroad for several performances, leaving her with almost no personal time.
To the people in the show, she had said she was working as a music instructor at the family’s instrument store. But in reality, her main focus was performing.
After all, given her personality, she wasn’t really suited to being a teacher.
Once her international engagements ended, the first thing Wan Tong did was shake off her cousin, Jian Shitong, and fly straight to B City.
Jian Shitong was basically her manager, handling her performance schedule. Recently, he seemed to be following her uncle’s instructions, keeping an especially tight leash on her.
Inside a suite at a hotel in B City, Wan Tong slept soundly all afternoon, only waking up from hunger in the evening.
She ordered room service and ate dinner while watching TV. That was when she realized, <Falling for You> had already aired its sixth episode.
Hurriedly, she grabbed her tablet—practically a brick from how little she used it—and clicked on the show.
The first season of this program had been wildly popular, and the second season was even hotter. As she waited for the video to buffer, she checked the guest popularity rankings. Sure enough, Chu Yuanxun was at the top, followed by Yuan Qingqing.
The show’s cinematography was stunning, capturing the subtle undercurrents and budding emotions between guests, making viewers giddy with excitement.
Each of the three couples had a completely different dynamic—each one worthy of a 30-episode romantic drama.
And the comments section made that abundantly clear.
Watching strangers go from acquaintances to lovers let people imagine their own million-word love stories.
Compared to the other two couples’ undeniable chemistry, Yuan Qingqing and Chu Yuanxun were a classic ‘girl chases guy’ situation, except that the guy was as dense as a brick wall.
On-screen, Yuan Qingqing was sweet and adorable, and her bold affection for Chu Yuanxun won her admiration from the audience. As a result, their pairing received the most attention.
Some viewers even started scouring the guests’ Weibo accounts, searching for clues.
But due to the production team’s confidentiality rules, the guests only interacted online in subtle ways, without revealing their actual relationships.
Fans had already dug up old photos of Chu Yuanxun from his university days, where he had been the campus heartthrob. He was studying law and pursuing a PhD while running his own law firm. He was listed as a part-time model, but people quickly realized he had only done a handful of gigs.
At first, everyone assumed he joined the show to ride the wave into the entertainment industry. But now, despite skyrocketing popularity and fans begging him to debut, he hadn’t responded at all.
In fact, rumors were swirling that he had outright rejected offers from advertisers and talent agencies.
So maybe he wasn’t in it for the fame after all.
Wan Tong scrolled through comments while watching the show, practically straining her eyes from multitasking.
Her uncle was so unreliable. He didn’t even tell her the show had aired! And he still refused to give her Chu Yuanxun’s contact info.
But over the past two months, Chu Yuanxun’s favorability toward Yuan Qingqing hadn’t changed at all, probably because of the long-distance separation.
Recalling his minimal screen time in the first episode, she figured her uncle must really have been targeting him. So, she simply skipped straight to episode six.
By then, Zhong Jiaqi had already made a surprise entrance. Yuan Qingqing had cooked for the first time and even received a letter from Chu Yuanxun. The panelists were screaming, and the comments were flooded with [XunYuan CP forever!] and [Get the marriage license ready!]
After finishing episode six, she saw a brief preview. It hinted at a new guest and even had a few glimpses of her, though nothing too revealing.
Given her uncle’s influence, the editing had been careful to avoid painting her in a negative light.
If not for that, the headline would probably have been : [New Female Guest Arrives—XunYuan Couple in Jeopardy!]
Just as she was sighing over this, episode seven auto-played. It had just been released at 8 PM.
Among the six panelists, four were hardcore XunYuan shippers, so the excitement was palpable from the start. The comment section was just as enthusiastic.
Her phone buzzed multiple times, calls from Zheng Tianqiong and Jian Shitong. She put it on airplane mode, leaving only WiFi on, and quietly continued watching.
An hour later, Wan Tong sighed and covered her face before turning off the tablet. Despite her uncle’s best efforts in editing, she was still getting plenty of hate.
People accused her of using connections to keep playing with male guests, trying to whitewash her image, shamelessly interfering in XunYuan CP, and being a scheming ‘green tea b*tch’ who seduced Chu Yuanxun the moment she arrived.
A small, weak group of people dared to say she was beautiful, talented, and elegant, better suited for Xiao Chu. But the next second, the barrage of comments drowned them out.
Even Chu Yuanxun, who had always been loved by the audience, was now being scolded, burdened with the label of a ‘scumbag.’ The comments were full of resentment, saying the two of them were a perfect match, scumbag and manipulative woman.
Wan Tong searched Weibo, took note of some information, then stepped out of her room.
No matter what, she had to find Chu Yuanxun first.
She had deliberately booked a hotel close to B University, just a few minutes’ walk away. She might as well take it as a way to digest.
From the detailed background information dug up by netizens, she knew that Chu Yuanxun had been staying in the school dormitory recently. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to find him tonight.
On the way, she searched ‘Chu Yuanxun’ on Weibo again.
To her surprise, there was a verified account under the name [Chu Yuanxun], with over three million followers and a profile picture of Chu Yuanxun himself.
What puzzled her was that, in the original storyline, Chu Yuanxun never opened a Weibo account, not until after the show ended. So why did he suddenly have one now?
And he only had a single post, which was just the default system-generated one…
So that meant he had created the account on the day the filming ended.
At past nine in the evening, B University was still bustling with energy. Young, vibrant students filled the campus, their lively chatter filling the night air.
Wan Tong found a stone bench to sit on and started registering a Weibo account step by step.
Afterward, she followed Chu Yuanxun and opened the private message chat window.
What should she send him?
She still hadn’t figured out why he never came to confess to her.
And she was also worried that this account might not even be managed by Chu Yuanxun himself… Could it have been created to gather followers for some other purpose?
Before she could even finish typing a sentence, her phone suddenly started pinging nonstop.
Private messages flooded in—
[Are you the real Jian Wantong???]
[Holy sh*t, Jian Wantong just made a Weibo?!]
[Fake! Just another clout chaser!]
…
Wan Tong : ???
After Episode 7 aired, Chu Yuanxun was dragged to a bar near the university by his friends.
“A’Xun, what were you thinking? You didn’t really follow the script to stir up drama on purpose, did you?” Leng Jing nudged Chu Yuanxun with his elbow. “Isn’t that Jian Wantong a total manipulative b*tch? You actually dared to get involved with her? Be honest, you were in a bad mood on the day filming ended. Was it because she rejected you?”
As Chu Yuanxun’s friend of eight years, Leng Jing considered himself to know him pretty well. But ever since the show started, Leng Jing had found him harder and harder to understand.
The firm was so busy, and there was research to be done, yet Chu Yuanxun had actually made time to join a ridiculous reality show?
And now he had a Weibo account, was gathering followers, and making his personal information public…
If Leng Jing hadn’t seen him reject a talent agency with his own eyes, he would have thought Chu Yuanxun was planning to debut as a celebrity!
“Don’t ask. Even if you ask, I won’t say.” Chu Yuanxun lowered his head slightly, his long fingers tapping absentmindedly on his dark phone screen.
Leng Jing shook his head and dropped the topic.
But suddenly, Chu Yuanxun’s gaze locked onto his phone screen, which had just lit up.