Another social death

"Wow, am I dreaming?" Xu Yimeng blinked her big eyes at Yu Songlin, her eyes full of shock and admiration. "Actor Yu, I'm such a fan! I've watched 'The Other Side of the Sea' three times! You're even more handsome in person than in the movie! Oh my god, I'm speechless, Brother Lin!"

Ding Xuefei was terrified by the words "Brother Lin" again.

He only made eye contact with Yu Songlin for a second before stiffly turning his eyes away, trying to find something to do.

But nothing was left for him; the sink was empty, and the countertop was spotless. He had no choice but to open the refrigerator and look for some food he didn't want to find.

He heard Yu Songlin's slightly embarrassed voice: "Thank you for liking it... Was breakfast good?"

Xu Yimeng said, "It's delicious! It tastes even better knowing that it was made by Actor Yu!"

Shang Rou chimed in, "It really is delicious, and Xue Fei especially likes it too."

Why are you even calling him?! Ding Xuefei wished she could crawl into a refrigerator and freeze to death rather than die of embarrassment.

Damn it, he should have guessed it the moment he tasted the mango sago pudding. Now he can't even throw up!

Xu Yimeng noticed he'd been sitting by the refrigerator for a while and asked, "What is Xuefei looking for?"

Ding Xuefei felt ashamed of being caught, which caused his subsequent actions to become distorted.

He closed the refrigerator door, turned around dramatically, trying to laugh but unable to, his ambiguous smile was quite funny.

"Looking for, uh, looking for, nothing, I'm just looking around..."

Yu Songlin had already arrived at the island platform, a few steps away from Ding Xuefei.

Ding Xuefei had already begun calculating the shortest escape route in her mind.

Of course, it wasn't that he was afraid of Yu Songlin, it's just that he wasn't ready to confront Yu Songlin in front of the camera yet, and his acting skills weren't as good as Yu Songlin's.

"Do you like this? I made it especially for you."

When Yu Songlin suddenly asked her this question, Ding Xuefei almost jumped up, took a step back, and pressed her back against the refrigerator door.

As expected of a dating reality show, their opening remarks were so provocative, it was quite unsettling for Ding Xuefei.

Ding Xuefei's mind raced uncontrollably, and a blush spread from her neck to her ears.

He seemed relatively calm, but he had actually been walking for a while.

Even the two girls noticed something was wrong, and their questioning gazes fell on him simultaneously.

"Oh, I suddenly remembered I haven't finished packing. I'll go upstairs and tidy up before coming down, haha." Ding Xuefei avoided Yu Songlin's gaze, staring at a certain spot in the void, trying to leave Yu Songlin's side without looking at him.

The other three clearly found it a bit strange, but politely kept quiet.

Ding Xuefei kept an eye on the distance between herself and Yu Songlin out of the corner of her eye.

A second before the accident, he only noticed Yu Songlin's hesitation and didn't notice the wet stains under his feet.

With a loud "boom," Ding Xuefei disappeared behind the island platform in an instant.

A sharp pain shot through my buttocks, and my entire back went numb from the shock. My right slipper flew far away, leaving me looking completely disheveled.

How embarrassing!

"Are you alright?" Yu Songlin was the closest, so naturally he was the first to arrive. He looked down at Ding Xuefei.

Ding Xuefei wished he could just close his eyes and faint! Then the production team would send him to the emergency room, and he could conveniently leave the show—what a perfect plan!

System, what system? Can it be of any use in a critical moment?

【。】

A pink bubble appears in the air, meaning the system is playing dead.

So Ding Xuefei could only watch as Yu Songlin squatted down and asked him, "Are you alright? Can you get up? Do you need me to carry you?"

Upon hearing his third sentence, Ding Xuefei felt all her pain disappear. She used her hands to support herself as she struggled to sit up, her voice trembling, "I'm perfectly fine!"

"That's good."

Before Ding Xuefei could react, Yu Songlin grabbed his hand, pulled him up, and then immediately let go.

Ding Xuefei ran upstairs as if fleeing, and at that moment he thought: it seems that every time he runs into Yu Songlin, he is particularly unlucky.

Bullet comments:

"Ahhh, who saw their favorite character while watching the show?! It's me! It's Yu Songlin, we love you!"

"I never expected the Best Actor to be so handsome, a great actor, and a good cook. From today onwards, you're my ideal type."

"What's Ding Xuebeng up to now? Is this how he welcomes new guests? [Sweating soybeans]"

"Could this be some way of getting the attention of a movie star? I saw this episode of a Taiwanese idol drama twenty years ago..."

At 9:30, Ding Xuefei finally emerged slowly from her room.

He noticed that the living room downstairs had been lively for a while. Yu Songlin didn't say much, but he was obviously the center of attention. All the other guests had gone downstairs, and Ding Xuefei couldn't find any other reason to linger, so he had to find a place to sit in the corner of the living room furthest from Yu Songlin.

Then I tried to minimize my presence, either looking at my fingers or playing with the toys next to the sofa, and even the logo of the production team on the coffee table became something to study.

Just as she feared, Ke Ran shouted, "Brother Xuefei, you're finally here! We've already introduced you to Brother Lin, and now we're just missing you."

“Oh, I’ve met you before,” he said, his eyes meeting Yu Songlin’s before quickly looking away. “I’m Ding Xuefei, former leader of a boy band. I’ve worked in film, television, and variety shows. Nice to meet you.”

Since they were too far apart, there was no need to shake hands or anything; Ding Xuefei simply nodded in acknowledgment.

He had already taken care of himself in the room, part of it.

All my words can be summed up in four words: Since we're already here.

He's here, and Yu Songlin is here too. The show is being broadcast live, so if he suddenly quits, it would look very suspicious! Plus, he'd have to pay a penalty for breach of contract, which is too expensive!

Since they don't plan to leave and are all on the same show, it's unrealistic to not interact at all. The best solution is to pretend they don't know each other, stay out of the way until the show ends, and keep to themselves. That's fine.

"Hello, Brother Xuefei." Yu Songlin nodded to him, showing no sign of anything amiss. "I am Yu Songlin, an actor. Please give me your guidance."

"I've heard so much about you, please give me your guidance." Ding Xuefei felt uncomfortable being addressed like that, and it took a lot of effort to maintain a nonchalant expression as she gave a perfunctory compliment.

The conversation continued to revolve around Yu Songlin, first discussing why he suddenly came to participate in the variety show. Yu Songlin honestly replied, "Because my manager accepted this job."

Everyone laughed at him. Stella said, "I found that Yu Yingdi isn't as aloof as the rumors say. He's actually quite humorous, the kind of humor that's very serious!"

"That's right!"

Yes, yes!

Ding Xuefei smirked: "Please, is this funny? I've never seen anyone with such a poor sense of humor."

Xu Yimeng boldly asked, "Since we're already on the show, can I secretly ask what type of actor Yu likes?"

Ding Xuefei remained outwardly calm but inwardly disgusted. However, she still pricked up her ears, secretly observing Yu Songlin's reaction.

Amidst the gasps of surprise, Yu Songlin didn't react much. He smiled, his eyes sparkling, and his slender fingers tapped lightly on the coffee table.

Ding Xuefei was afraid the other person would look over, so she immediately turned her gaze away, afraid of being discovered.

"A specific type? That's hard to say..." Yu Songlin looked very serious, and thought for a while before saying:

"I think I prefer cute types."

Several guests took turns showing their support.

Bai Mu asked, "Do you like the type who can act cute? Or the type who talks a lot? Or the type who looks like a doll?"

"Not really," Yu Songlin explained. "I'm not talking about appearance, but personality. She can be affectionate with me."

Everyone exclaimed, "Oh~" and "That sounds like there's a story behind it~".

Only Ding Xuefei sat silently to the side: Well, it has nothing to do with him! That's normal! There's nothing wrong with it! Yu Songlin must have felt so wronged being with him back then!

It seems Yu Songlin was right; the two of them were indeed not a good match.

Everyone cheered, but Yu Songlin didn't respond. His gaze fell on Ding Xuefei's increasingly unpleasant face, and he couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

*

Everyone was having a great time chatting when the production team delivered today's task.

"Dear guests, today is your second day staying at the Heartbeat House. Today we're going out for some fun! We'll be splitting into three groups of 2, 2, and 3 people each, and then we'll go our separate ways!"

The grouping method is by drawing lots! Please enter the room one by one to draw a date hint.

As usual, the three female guests were given priority, and Ding Xuefei was the last one to draw a name, so she had no choice left.

Ding Xuefei got into the car arranged by the production team with a nervous heart, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Shang Rou in the passenger seat.

To be honest, he's fine with anyone as long as he's in the same group as Yu Songlin.

Shang Rou had her hair up today and was dressed more smartly, which made her look quite different. Seeing that Ding Xuefei's reaction wasn't particularly strong, she smiled and asked, "Are you satisfied or disappointed?"

"Of course I'm satisfied!" Ding Xuefei smiled as she fastened her seatbelt. "I couldn't be happier to have lunch with such a beautiful woman."

"Oh, then you might be disappointed."

Before Shang Rou could finish speaking, Ding Xuefei was still wondering when he suddenly heard a "whoosh" from the back seat. He was so startled that he trembled all over before he realized it was Ke Ran.

Shang Rou and Ke Ran laughed loudly, and Ding Xuefei's mood also relaxed.

While adjusting the navigation, Ding Xuefei said to the rearview mirror, "Ke Ran, let me tell you, you're not sleeping tonight!"

"Hehe!" Shang Rou covered her mouth and laughed in perfect unison, "I bumped into someone!"

The three chatted and laughed as the car drove out of the villa area.

Ke Ran and Shang Rou were discussing the voting and group assignments. Shang Rou said that the three female guests should each choose a group.

In other words, Yu Songlin should be on a date with a girl right now.

Thinking of this, Ding Xuefei's upturned lips couldn't quite hold back anymore.

Shang Rou keenly noticed this and asked, "Xuefei, I've noticed that your mood fluctuates."

Ding Xuefei feigned ignorance: "Really? I don't think so."

"Could it be that your favorite guest is on a date with someone else, and you're nervous?" Ke Ran said, leaning between the two people in the front seat.

"That's not true..." Ding Xuefei replaced her true emotions with a professional smile and deliberately exaggerated, "My favorite guest is sitting in this car."