Chapter 94 Part 3

Live viewer count plummeted off a cliff. Gao Qin raged in the basement control room, powerless.

Live shows were like that—once it happened, no take-backs.

The director didn’t feed real-time barrage to Jiang Sisi. Per script, she shouldn’t even be here now.

But she probably grasped the situation. Even without production intel, she could guess the audience reaction.

Xu Xingche sensed the awkward silence around them and picked up on Lu Rui’s ploy. He started to explain, “Bai Rou and I…”

Jiang Sisi smiled and cut him off, addressing Lu Rui. “Last week was production testing the waters, scripting your date from start to finish. You took it seriously?”

Silence blanketed the scene.

Leng Xiang turned to Jiang Sisi, wordless. “…”

Hadn’t they agreed yesterday to play along, snag the nine million, and bounce? Why go full throttle on day one?

And air production’s dirt on live TV?

Whatever. Watch and see.

Lu Rui glared at her, face ashen. “You…!”

Jiang Sisi said, “Everyone knows production has scripts. This mess? Lu Rui, you know best why it turned out like this.”

Lu Rui’s lips quivered. After a long pause: “I… I didn’t do anything! Jiang Sisi, you’re slandering me!”

Jiang Sisi laughed. “Did I say you did something? Gao Qin edited Leng Xiang and Bai Rou into the dirt to prop you up. What a waste of his efforts with that brain of yours.”

The cameraman holding the camera couldn’t keep filming. He quickly contacted the director team in the basement, asking for instructions on what to do next.

Gao Qin was on the verge of exploding with rage. The entire director team exchanged uneasy glances, a thin layer of sweat breaking out on their faces, unsure how to clean up the mess.

The host had exposed the scripted nature of the show live on air. Could anything be more insane?

Gao Qin was so furious that his chest ached. He gripped the table, his whole body trembling, cold sweat beading layer after layer on his face. When the others in the director team saw his state and moved to support him, he snarled at them to back off.

Gao Qin flailed his hands wildly, knocking everything on the table to the floor in a chaotic crash that echoed deafeningly.

Gao Qin roared, “Cut the live stream! What the hell are we still broadcasting?!”

After Jiang Sisi finished speaking, all live streams across the internet shut down. The production team scrambled to contact media outlets to delete videos and suppress the story, but it was futile. Thirty million live viewers had witnessed it all. Even if they could scrub the videos and curb the spread, they couldn’t silence the masses.

Topics exploded on Weibo.

#LoveDiaryScript, #LoveDiaryInsider, #LuRui, #JiangSisiExposesProductionSecrets, and others shot straight to the top of Weibo’s trending list, occupying the first twenty spots.

The Love Diary show had won widespread love for its fresh, authentic live-stream format, but the sudden revelation of scripted elements blew up the internet.

“I knew Leng Xiang and Bai Rou weren’t like that!”

“The production team is disgusting. It’s all scripted—even the romance is fake. No wonder they brought in a bunch of actors.”

“Bai Rou and Leng Xiang got smeared so badly by the production team. If Sisi hadn’t spoken up, the internet would have torn them apart.”

“I knew these shows were scripted. When Lu Rui stood under the tree, something felt off… but I puked. The production team blatantly smearing people is just too vile.”

“What grudge does the production team have against Leng Xiang and Bai Rou?”

“Lu Rui is disgusting too. What did she do to get the show propping her up like this?”

“If it’s just manufacturing drama for hype by blackening people, it’s so low-class!!”

“Don’t air this show anymore. I’d rather watch a drama.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t you think with Sisi pulling this off, the show got way more interesting? Just watching guests fake-date is boring.”

After the morning live stream was halted, the incident fermented for half a day. Soon after came the announcement: Love Diary would undergo rectification and postpone broadcasts.

With the live stream cut, the card-finding game ended prematurely. The cameramen wrapped up, and everyone returned to the Love Cottage.

The director team halted all work and emerged from the basement looking defeated.

Now, with no cameras, no live stream, and no audience.

The six guests, plus Jiang Sisi, gathered in the Love Cottage living room with the production staff, staring at each other awkwardly.

Jiang Sisi held Leng Xiang’s hand as they sat on the sofa. Yi Jing and Qin Yang watched the drama unfold. Bai Rou and Xu Xingche whispered to each other on the side before sitting down.

Gao Qin crawled out from the basement. As soon as he surfaced, Lu Rui shot to her feet, calling out in utter grievance, “Director Gao.”

Gao Qin ignored her completely, his eyes fixed on Jiang Sisi.

Jiang Sisi met his gaze.

They were friends, after all. At the show’s start, Gao Qin had invited Jiang Sisi as a friend. She’d agreed because of Leng Xiang, but never imagined it would lead to this.

Yet neither would truly fall out. First, they were friends. Second, Gao Qin couldn’t afford to offend her.

Right now, Gao Qin didn’t even know how to react. He could rage at his staff in the basement, but under Jiang Sisi’s watchful eye, he didn’t dare raise his voice.

If Station Head Jiang learned his daughter was unhappy here, Gao Qin could kiss satellite broadcasts goodbye.

Gao Qin coughed and said, “Can we talk?”

Jiang Sisi nodded noncommittally and stood.

Before leaving, she gently kissed Leng Xiang’s cheek, lingering with her hand in hers, utterly unconcerned about the others present.

Leng Xiang froze for a moment, then instinctively gripped back.

They’d agreed to be more discreet, but why was Jiang Sisi suddenly acting so coquettish?

It was so unlike her.

…But this Jiang Sisi was adorable.

Leng Xiang turned into a love-brained fool in romance. With Jiang Sisi quietly coquettish toward her, she couldn’t let go of their clasped hands.

They murmured a few words until Yi Jing coughed nearby, subtly reminding them it was a public setting. Jiang Sisi shot him a glance and reluctantly pulled away.

The others in the Love Cottage hadn’t expected a ton of dog food even now. Their relationship was an open secret, but no one anticipated Jiang Sisi being so bold.

Lu Rui stood trembling with fury on the side, but no one cared. Gao Qin never had, and to him, Jiang Sisi mattered far more. Jiang Sisi had never regarded Lu Rui at all—like a discarded pawn, a clown forgotten after the laughter faded.

Gao Qin and Jiang Sisi stepped out alone, heading into the garden.

They leaned under the big banyan tree. Early spring sun filtered down, everything awakening, a bit warm.

Gao Qin offered his cigarette pack. Jiang Sisi waved it off.

He lit one for himself. Smoke curled upward. After a long silence, he demanded, “Jiang Sisi, we’re friends at least. If you don’t like me, fine—but did you have to go this far?”

Jiang Sisi said, “I don’t dislike you.”

Gao Qin took a deep drag, flicked ash, veins throbbing on his forehead. “Then what was today? Playing games with me?”

Jiang Sisi smiled. “You messed with my people first. You expect me to swallow it and play along?”

Gao Qin fell silent.

He knew he’d been in the wrong from the start, leaving him no ground in negotiations.

Gao Qin suddenly said, “The thing with Leng Xiang—I was wrong. But we could’ve discussed it. There are plenty of ways to whitewash her afterward. With good scripting and buzz, she could’ve gotten even more famous. Like that…”

Wasn’t that fine?

Jiang Sisi cut him off. “But before using Leng Xiang for hype, did you discuss it with me?”

Gao Qin had no reply.

He’d wronged her first, so he couldn’t blame her for turning hostile.

Jiang Sisi continued, “Leng Xiang doesn’t need fame from your show—fame from fake dating? What’s the point? She’s an actress. Whatever she wants, I’ll give her. But you made her unhappy, and that made me unhappy.”

“When I’m unhappy, others get unhappy too.”

Gao Qin endured it awhile, then snapped, “That’s how entertainment works, Jiang Sisi. After all these years, being this willful—aren’t you afraid it’ll backfire on you someday?”

“All these years.” Jiang Sisi repeated it, savoring the words with a wry laugh. “Yeah, all these years. You’ve changed a lot. You know my temper. Nothing to discuss. I don’t think I was wrong. You shouldn’t have invited me in the first place—at least we’d still be friends.”

“I’ll pay double the penalty fee. Leng Xiang and I will both leave the production.”

“Our values don’t align. Let’s part ways—no need for future contact.”

“That’s it.”

Her words landed lightly, sealing the matter.

Gao Qin called after her, “Wait!”

Jiang Sisi paused and turned.

Gao Qin took two deep breaths. “You just walk away, leaving me this mess? Have you thought about what I do now?”

Jiang Sisi said, “Isn’t that for you to figure out?”

Gao Qin fumed, “You—!”

Jiang Sisi pondered, then offered, “I do have a suggestion. Variety shows need novelty. Real-people dating shows flood the market, mostly bland. Your live card stunt was interesting—insider scripts and all. You’ve got the buzz now. Why not lean into it? Build around that.”

“And get Lu Rui off the show. With her, it won’t work.”

Gao Qin looked up. “What do you mean?”

Jiang Sisi smiled, said nothing, and left.

That evening after the Love Diary live fiasco, following an emergency director meeting, the official Love Diary Weibo announced with regret: Starting today, female guests Leng Xiang and Lu Rui exited the production. Jiang Sisi would no longer host Love Diary and left the show.

Love Diary would rest and reorganize for half a month. The next episode in half a month would feature new female guests. The format of recorded and live broadcasts remained unchanged.

The announcement sparked another uproar.

“Sisi and Xiangxiang left—any point watching anymore?”

“Nope.”

“Nope +max”

“Don’t say that. I’m kinda looking forward to how they handle it now.”

“Such a scandal and they don’t cancel? Production’s got guts.”

“I get the scripting now. Pretty hyped lol!!!”

“I get Sisi leaving, Lu Rui has no face left—but why Leng Xiang? She’s got nothing to do with it.”

“Don’t ask. It’s just Si Xiang CP is real.”

“Xiangxiang left with Sisi, so Si Xiang forever!!”