Chapter 93

After breakfast came the game segment.

The six guests gathered in the living room, where Jiang Sisi announced the rules to them.

Jiang Sisi drew the second task card and read aloud, “The production team has hidden thirty cards throughout the entire Love Cottage. Some are blank cards, some are task cards, and others are Mystery Surprise Cards waiting to be discovered.”

“Now, you have one hour to form teams freely, search for these cards, and complete the actions specified on them to unlock and view the card contents.”

Yi Jing raised his hand and asked, “What’s a Mystery Surprise Card?”

Jiang Sisi explained, “For example, a Date Card. If you get this one, you can invite any guest on a date, and they cannot refuse.”

Qin Yang raised his hand and asked, “Can we invite a same-sex guest on a date?”

Jiang Sisi pondered for a moment before replying, “Theoretically, yes. The production team hasn’t specified otherwise.”

Qin Yang grinned and flashed an OK sign, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Jiang Sisi glanced at the time on her phone and said, “It’s nine o’clock now. We’ll reconvene here at ten. Time starts now.”

The teams were naturally arranged by the director team, as always. The ever-favored Lu Rui and Xu Xingche paired up, Bai Rou walked with Qin Yang, and that left Leng Xiang with Yi Jing.

These thirty cards weren’t hidden just inside the Love Cottage; some were out in the garden too.

At Jiang Sisi’s command, the six guests sprang into action.

The live broadcast split into three camera feeds again for tracking shots.

For this hour, the script had Jiang Sisi sitting out the guests’ card-hunting activity. The director team wanted the show to focus on the guests’ romances, so she respected Gao Qin’s vision and didn’t interfere, handing the spotlight back to the guests.

She returned to her room on the third floor and pulled up the recorded broadcast of the first episode of Love Diary that had gone live the night before, settling onto the bed.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that the live barrage feedback today was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.

There had to be a reason.

This recorded episode—if she remembered right—covered the first date, filmed the previous Monday and Tuesday.

All the cameramen had gone off to follow the guests, and with cards hidden throughout the Love Cottage and garden, she could hear the guests rummaging around even through the door.

No one had come to her room yet, so she stayed alone, watching the show.

Jiang Sisi watched the phone screen, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

She sped it up to double time. Lu Rui and Xu Xingche’s parts alone took up an hour, so she skipped them. A two-and-a-half-hour episode finished in just over forty minutes.

The editing on this episode was seriously problematic.

The editing team had spliced in footage from last week’s live stream of Xu Xingche and Bai Rou cooking, cleverly inserting it into this episode’s lovey-dovey date plot between Lu Rui and Xu Xingche. There was even a segment where Lu Rui asked Xu Xingche how Bai Rou’s cooking was.

Xu Xingche said her cooking was great.

The show’s direction was crystal clear. Jiang Sisi watched with the barrage on and instantly saw through the editors’ intentions.

The director team had paired Lu Rui and Xu Xingche early on. Their interactions had gotten plenty of screen time last episode too, and over the week, the team had hyped them online with sweet snippets. They’d built a fanbase for the Si Xiang CP—no, wait, for Lu Rui and Xu Xingche—and fans were happily shipping them.

This edit turned Bai Rou straight into the homewrecking third wheel.

“Bai Rou’s look at Xu Xingche screams bad intentions.”

“So obvious…”

“But aren’t Xu Xingche and Lu Rui doing great? Feeding cats at the Cat Cafe felt full of romantic sparks—at least they like each other.”

“Bai Rou’s going too far. There’s a thing called first come, first served.”

Jiang Sisi swiped past that and kept watching.

In the afternoon, Bai Rou, Leng Xiang, Yi Jing, and Qin Yang went to the Rock Climbing Gym together. Bai Rou was a regular there, agile as a monkey. She scaled the wall in no time and waved down at them from the top with a smile.

Leng Xiang wasn’t as fit. She’d never tried it before. Gripping the rocks, every step up felt precarious, like she’d plummet any second.

Even with the safety harness, Jiang Sisi watched from off-screen with her heart in her throat.

Yi Jing and Qin Yang had better stamina than Leng Xiang. Qin Yang seemed experienced too. The three helped each other and finally reached the top.

The editors’ scheming was blatant. They cherry-picked solo contact shots between Leng Xiang and Yi Jing, and Leng Xiang and Qin Yang—arm touches and body contact during the climb, zoomed in and highlighted like it was a crime scene.

Ambiguous, hazy vibes. They even captured Leng Xiang’s glances at Qin Yang and Yi Jing, adding on-screen text guides, slowing it down under a microscope for the audience.

The barrage was a cesspool.

“Emmm, no offense, but rubbing up on two guys like that? Not cool.”

“Total slut vibes.”

“I stan Si Xiang CP and love Leng Xiang with Jiang Sisi, but this is a dating show. Her behavior’s sus.”

“Such a fake. That slip was obviously on purpose, just waiting for Qin Yang to catch her.”

“One foot in two boats? Using both as backups?”

“Slutty and two-faced. Can’t watch.”

Jiang Sisi finished the episode and shut off her phone.

She took a deep breath, tempted to storm downstairs to the basement and confront Gao Qin.

What was Gao Qin playing at?

She could tolerate the scripted stuff, play along for the show.

But this malicious spin, stirring up drama on purpose? Way over the line.

And targeting Leng Xiang, of all people?

Everyone in the industry knew Leng Xiang was her person.

No wonder the director team’s barrage reports that morning had sounded so weird.

They were guilty, scared she’d find out.

Just then, someone knocked on her door.

Jiang Sisi pocketed her phone, composed her expression to calm neutrality, and went to open it.

Bai Rou and Qin Yang stood outside, a few ordinary cards in hand—no Mystery Surprise Cards.

Bai Rou greeted her at the door. “Teacher Jiang, can we come in?”

Jiang Sisi stepped aside to let them search for cards.

She glanced back at the cameraman trailing them, her gaze icy.

The barrage exploded again.

“Three feeds at once, no Sisi for forty minutes—turns out she’s here!”

“Is this Sisi’s room?!”

“Looks like it!!”

“Sisi just eyed the camera. That look scared me.”

“Scared +1. Still shook, so intimidating QAQ”

“Is Sisi in a bad mood? Something happen?”

Jiang Sisi turned to Bai Rou. “Where are Leng Xiang and Lu Rui?”

Bai Rou had stuck to the Love Cottage the whole time, never stepping out.

She’d seen Leng Xiang in the living room earlier, and Lu Rui too, but not now.

Bai Rou said, “Probably downstairs.”

Jiang Sisi brushed past the cameraman without a word and headed down.

No one was in the living room. The guests had torn through it, snagging most cards. Only a Love Diary staffer remained, tidying up.

Jiang Sisi asked the staffer, “Where are they?”

The staffer flinched, avoiding her eyes, and pointed to the garden. “Out in the garden.”

Jiang Sisi left the Love Cottage and headed to the garden.

A tall tree in the garden held a Little Tree House up top, big enough for one person to crawl in, read a book, and soak up the sun.

Nearly fifty minutes into the game, the guests had scoured every inch of the Love Cottage inside and out. The director team watched the live feeds streaming to the basement, feeling pleased.

Apart from minor hiccups, the plot matched the script perfectly.

The three main live feeds held steady online viewers, totaling fifty million—more than the previous episode.

Lu Rui and Xu Xingche’s feed outpaced the others by a lot, with mostly positive comments calling them sweet.

Just what the director team wanted.

Yesterday’s episode had blown up online, drawing crowds of passersby to this live stream for the drama.

The production team loved it—perfect for a variety show. No buzz, no viewers.

With buzz and romance in spades, the directors were thrilled, gearing up for the next episode.

As they celebrated, a new figure crashed into Lu Rui and Xu Xingche’s live feed.

Jiang Sisi had arrived.

Gao Qin saw her on camera and broke out in cold sweat.