Shao Ye gave her a faint glance before finally saying, “Alright.”
The host called out, “Timer starts now.”
During the thirty-second stare, Lai Haier’s gaze burned into him—unapologetically bold and filled with desire. But her intentions landed flat. Shao Ye remained completely unfazed, unmoved by the heat in her eyes, his expression unchanging.
When the time ended, Lai Haier’s face had turned sour. What a block of stone! Absolutely clueless about flirting!
The host stepped forward with a laugh, “Looks like our male guest number three has some serious self-control. Not even our gorgeous Haier could shake him. Now, let’s see if the remaining two ladies can manage to win his heart.” He paused, then looked between Mu Fu and Lian Tingmei. “So, who wants to go next?”
Lian Tingmei smiled sweetly. “I’ll go first—let me give Mu Fu a demonstration.” Though her tone was gentle, her glance at Mu Fu was laced with challenge.
Mu Fu returned her a wide, brilliant smile. Lian Tingmei lowered her gaze, a bit unsettled. Why is Mu Fu so confident? Could she already know male guest number three?
Once both were ready, the host began the countdown. As the seconds ticked by, Lian Tingmei started to panic. Shao Ye’s expression remained utterly calm, unaffected. She hadn’t expected to meet a man today who could ignore her charm completely.
Out of the audience’s view, she held her breath until her cheeks flushed red—just as she wanted—giving her that delicate, blushing look of a love-struck girl. Then she tilted her face to what she knew was her most alluring angle, and let her eyes soften with practiced shyness. But Shao Ye simply watched her performance with a calm gaze.
What Lian Tingmei didn’t realize was that he had already seen straight through her—the ambition, the coldness she couldn’t quite hide behind those eyes. In the end, she failed too—unable to draw a single extra flicker of emotion from him.
Shao Ye figured the fact that he didn’t scowl or show any signs of disgust was already being quite generous—he didn’t even want to spare her a second glance.
As yet another female contestant failed, all eyes naturally turned to Mu Fu. Especially the audience members who shipped her and Shao Ye—they were full of anticipation, hoping that Mu Fu would turn out to be the one who could break through his stoic shell.
Lian Tingmei pressed her lips together, her expression dark and fierce. With her back to the others, her face twisted into something far less composed than usual. That damn Mu Fu. And that bizarre man, Shao Ye! Was there something wrong with him? Could it be that… he doesn’t even like women?
Of course, Shao Ye had no idea that this little game had sparked doubts in Lian Tingmei about his sexuality.
Under the spotlight of the crowd’s expectant gaze, Mu Fu stepped up to face Shao Ye. And she didn’t disappoint—because the moment their eyes met, Shao Ye’s expression clearly changed. It was subtle, but unmistakably different from how he’d looked at the previous two women. There was a softness in his gaze that even he didn’t notice himself.
Mu Fu made a series of playful expressions, trying to communicate something through her eyes, but Shao Ye stared back at her, utterly baffled. His face was full of curiosity and confusion.
For some reason, seeing him look so adorably blank made Mu Fu want to laugh. Her lips curved into a smile, and her eyes lit up, carrying a charm even she wasn’t fully aware of.
Shao Ye felt a jolt—like electricity shooting through him. He involuntarily shivered.
Mu Fu tilted her head, puzzled. “What’s wrong with you?”
Shao Ye felt his body heating up, his face flushed. “It’s a bit cold in here. The air conditioning’s too strong.”
…What? Seriously?
Mu Fu raised an eyebrow. You’re wearing a full suit jacket and you’re cold? I’m the one in a dress, and I feel fine.
But she held back and didn’t blurt out her disbelief.
Time flew by, and soon, the thirty seconds were up. As soon as the timer ended, Shao Ye quickly turned his head away, looking flustered and unsure of what to do with himself. Realizing how obvious and awkward his reaction looked, he gave a small cough, sneaking a glance at Mu Fu. When he saw that she didn’t seem to notice his little moment, he let out a quiet breath of relief.
But in truth, Mu Fu had seen everything. She watched as he tried so hard to act casual and pretended not to notice a thing. Her slightly upturned lips, however, betrayed her amusement.
A lot of people might be fooled by Shao Ye’s appearance—thinking he must be dominant, sharp, and intense. But after two interactions, Mu Fu could tell: beneath that bossy exterior was a bit of a clueless puppy.
Once the three female guests had returned to their seats, the host smiled and said, “That round was a bit too short. How about we let our third male guest and female guest try a little skit together? What do you all think?” He turned to both the audience and the other guests. I mean, with a male guest this handsome, how could they not take the opportunity to stir up a bit more chemistry?
The audience shouted back: “Yes!”
“We support it!”
“We want more!”
Brother Jin chuckled. “Well, the audience has spoken. Let’s take a ten-minute break so our staff can get the props ready. After that, we’ll pick up where we left off!”
Shao Ye had seen this dating show before. Whenever a guest got a strong reaction from the audience, the producers usually gave them more screen time. Looks like it was his turn now.
During the break, Mu Fu finally realized she was a bit thirsty. She left the women’s section and made her way off the stage. Shao Ye, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her, noticed immediately. He quickly got up and followed her down the stairs on his side.
When he saw her heading for the snacks and drinks table, he rushed ahead, grabbed a bottle of water just before she reached it, and held it out. “Do you want this?” There weren’t many staff members backstage at the moment.
Mu Fu had been slightly annoyed when she saw him snatch the water first—but when she realized it was meant for her, that mood vanished instantly. Since you grabbed it for me… I’ll forgive you.
She smiled softly, her tone playfully teasing. “What are you doing down here?”
“It was boring up there, so I came down for a walk.”
Seeing him try so hard to act nonchalant, Mu Fu couldn’t help but giggle. He was adorable. At that moment, Shao Ye realized just how lame his excuse sounded. He lowered his head a little, his expression slightly twisted as he internally screamed at himself—That was so awkward! But when he looked up again, his face was as calm and composed as ever.
Mu Fu asked, “I’m heading back up. What about you?”
“You go ahead, I’ll be up in a bit.”
Assuming he still had something to take care of, Mu Fu nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll see you up there.”
“Alright,” he replied.
After she returned to her seat, she saw Shao Ye walking back from the opposite direction. Only once Mu Fu had returned to her spot did he start moving. There were too many people around, and too many eyes. If anyone caught wind of a private moment backstage between the two of them, there might be some gossip.
During the short break, the crew brought out a long bench onto the stage. Beside it, they set up a streetlamp, complete with a patch of grass and fresh flowers. Once everything was in place, the host stepped forward with a smile. “Big thanks to our crew for setting this up so quickly! The stage is now ready. Any ladies interested in joining our male guest number three for a little scene?”
Brother Jin glanced over at the ladies’ section. Even though four lights had been turned off earlier, there were still quite a few contestants eager to interact with him. The same three who were up earlier—Mu Fu, Lian Tingmei, and Lai Haier—raised their hands once again.
“I see that female contestants one, two, and four have raised their hands again,” the host chuckled. “Hoping for a little more time with our male guest?” The women all nodded in agreement, confirming his guess.
Meanwhile, some of the ladies who hadn’t had a turn yet looked frustrated and muttered under their breath, “Seriously? They already had their moment and still want more screen time?”
Not everyone came on this show to find love seriously—some were just here to get their face out there and pave a path into the entertainment industry.
Sure enough, Quan Xiaoyu, who had turned off her light earlier, suddenly lit it back up. The host caught it immediately. Quan Xiaoyu was one of the more entertaining contestants on the show. She was lively and expressive, often clashing with the other female guests—but that just made for better TV, didn’t it?
The host smiled and said, “Let’s welcome our female guests number one, two, seven, and ten to the stage.” This time, contestant number four, Lai Haier, was not called up. She watched Mu Fu and the others take the stage with cheerful smiles, her eyes flashing with envy. Why am I the only one left out? The production team clearly plays favorites! Every time a decent male guest shows up, the producers always send Mu Fu and Lian Tingmei on stage. Don’t think she hadn’t noticed. All the other women could see the favoritism, and they couldn’t help but feel a sting of jealousy.
Meanwhile, Quan Xiaoyu looked smug when she heard her name. Hmph. Let’s see how she planned to mess with him later. And “him” was clearly referring to Shao Ye. Looked like she was still holding a grudge for earlier when he ignored her. Even though she’d acted cold toward the male guest the whole time, the way she kept watching his every move showed her real feelings. She clearly liked him. Her little tantrums were just like a child trying to get their parent’s attention—all those antics were just to make Shao Ye notice her.
The host continued, “Alright, let’s bring out the props.” A staff member stepped forward, holding a tray with three folded slips of paper. “Ladies, please each draw a prompt.”
Mu Fu’s read: You and your boyfriend are arguing over some small issues in daily life, and you want to make peace with him.
Cheering someone up? That caught Mu Fu off guard—she was usually the one being comforted, not the other way around.
Lian Tingmei drew: Your boyfriend is upset because you were late—how do you handle it?
Quan Xiaoyu’s was: You want to take a trip with friends, but your boyfriend isn’t happy about it. Try to convince him.
Once the set was ready, Lian Tingmei gave the host a signal that she’d go first. She thought her prompt was pretty similar to Mu Fu’s—both were about reconciling after a fight. If she nailed it, there wouldn’t be much room for the others to shine.
Mu Fu didn’t mind letting her go first. But standing to the side, Quan Xiaoyu rolled her eyes when Lian Tingmei stepped forward. She hated how Lian always took the lead without checking in with the rest of them. She wanted to go first too, okay?
Axolotl Translations 
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