Hero saves the day

Ding Xuefei was stunned by her words.

She likes Yu Songlin. Oh, it seems they went on their first date together too. It's not surprising that someone likes Yu Songlin...

Ding Xuefei refused to acknowledge the negative emotions gradually spreading in her heart. It wasn't jealousy, nor was it disappointment; it was just a bit...uncomfortable.

Stella noticed that Ding Xuefei remained silent, so she patted him and said, "What's wrong? Actually, it's not that you like him, it's just that you have a bit of a crush on him."

What should we say at this moment to end the conversation quickly while remaining natural?

Before Ding Xuefei could answer, Stella seemed to suddenly remember something.

"By the way, you're a guy too. Use your male intuition to tell me, do you think he's straight?"

Ding Xuefei never expected that he would be petrified a second time in those few dozen seconds.

It has to be said that asking Ding Xuefei this question was definitely the right question to ask, but he didn't want to come out on behalf of Yu Songlin under these circumstances.

Of course, he couldn't say that Yu Songlin was completely gay. Although, as far as Ding Xuefei knew, Yu Songlin had only dated him, he had never expressed any aversion to the opposite sex, had been rumored to be dating many women, and even now got along very well with the female guests on the show.

"Ah, well, I don't know... Anyway, I wish you success..."

*

At the same time, on the top floor of the TV tower, at the revolving restaurant.

Shang Rou finished the last bite of her dessert, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and was about to chat some more when she looked up and saw her date staring out the window, lost in thought.

She turned her head and looked over. In the distance were several landmark high-rise buildings in the city center, but Yu Songlin's gaze fell on a lower area, where there was a cluster of old residential buildings slated for demolition.

"What are you looking at?"

Yu Songlin turned his gaze back, showing no embarrassment whatsoever. He smiled at Shang Rou and said, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."

Yu Songlin is an impeccable date; he is gentle, considerate, and has just the right sense of propriety.

But Shang Rou always felt that something was missing. He was as perfect as a pre-programmed machine, making it impossible for anyone to know his true thoughts.

Shang Rou thought, how boring, she really didn't like this type at all.

I wonder what kind of person his future lover will be? She'll definitely have to be lively, or maybe a little slow on the uptake is fine too.

*

When Ding Xuefei and Stella returned to the Heartbeat House, it was already past 10 p.m.

The filming for today has ended. Only a floor lamp is on in the living room, and all the doors upstairs are closed.

Ke Ran hadn't returned yet. Ding Xuefei sat in the room for a while before going downstairs to get some water.

Every time a date ends, it feels strange; it's always hard to detach yourself from that noisy, joyful environment.

Actually, today's date went quite well, Ding Xuefei thought; at least they both enjoyed the meal...

How was your date today?

While she was thinking about something, Ding Xuefei was startled out of the blue.

You don't even need to look to know who he is; there's no camera and you don't need to worry about your image: "You walk so quietly!"

Yu Songlin was also holding a cup. He had changed into a set of home clothes. He had probably just taken a shower, as his hair was still wet and covered his eyes. When you got close, you could smell a faint warmth and fragrance emanating from his body.

Ding Xuefei felt that they were too close and wanted to push them away. But then he thought that they had just agreed to be friends yesterday, and besides, this distance was not even as close as the distance between him and Stella!

It's just that he was too nervous and couldn't adapt. Maybe with more time, he'll get used to it.

Ding Xuefei tried to remain calm and said, "It's alright, nothing serious."

“I thought you and Stella didn’t get along very well…” Yu Songlin sighed, sounding a little regretful, “I was hoping to hear some gossip.”

"There's no such thing!" Ding Xuefei glared at Yu Songlin, then suddenly realized, "How do you know I don't get along with her?"

To be honest, someone as oblivious as him only draws conclusions through various signs. If he were any more oblivious, he wouldn't even notice Stella's subtle quirks.

"I have eyes."

Every time Ding Xuefei heard Yu Songlin say those four words, her anger would surge up.

Just as Ding Xuefei was about to say she wouldn't bother with him, Yu Songlin stretched his head closer to Ding Xuefei and sniffed her gently like a puppy.

Yu Songlin slipped away before Ding Xuefei could get angry. He asked, "Did you go to Uncle Chen's restaurant?"

"Yeah, is that not allowed?"

Yu Songlin hesitated for a moment, but quickly recovered and said, "Nothing is impossible."

Ding Xuefei was a little tired today, or perhaps too oblivious, to the point that she overlooked some obvious things, such as why Yu Songlin knew who her date was, and why Yu Songlin suddenly appeared here.

If Shang Rou were to witness this scene, she would surely be astonished by Yu Songlin's vividness.

There was a moment of silence. Ding Xuefei noticed that Yu Songlin's mood was declining. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he asked, "How about you?"

Yu Songlin was so flattered he exaggeratedly asked, "Brother Xuefei is concerned about me?"

"Aren't you annoying?!"

*

the next day.

Ding Xuefei went out to record a variety show, and on his way back, he specially bought a cake that he loves to eat.

Upon opening the door, Shang Rou and Xu Yimeng, who were watching TV in the living room, apologized to him, saying they were currently controlling their weight and couldn't eat much.

He took it to the restaurant, where Bai Mu and Ke Ran pointed to the food on the table and told him they were full and didn't want cake.

Stella came downstairs and said to him rather rudely, "You should eat less of this cheap cream!"

Because the recording was still in progress, Ding Xuefei couldn't say much, and he couldn't even show too much disappointment in his expression. He held the cake, unsure whether to put it down or throw it away.

He suddenly realized, something's not right. It seems like there's still one person missing, the person he's looking for.

"Brother Fei, wake up! We're almost there!"

Ding Xuefei suddenly woke up from her dream and found herself sitting in a familiar nanny van, with Xiao Bai in the driver's seat.

Taking advantage of the red light, Xiao Bai turned around and said, "Three more minutes, bro, are you awake yet?"

"Ah, I'm awake."

Ding Xuefei paused for a moment before remembering that he had gotten up very early that day. Xiao Bai had picked him up to record a variety show, and he had just taken a nap in the car. It hadn't even been half an hour.

It seems he had a dream, one that was somewhat related to reality, that made him feel unwell, but he couldn't remember it clearly.

"Brother, wake up! Come chat with me for a bit. I'm really curious about how your dating reality show is going!" As soon as Xiao Bai saw that his boss was awake, he started chattering nonstop.

"What's there to be curious about? They're all the same!" Ding Xuefei said, but couldn't help laughing.

"Brother, how about it? Do you have someone you like? Tell me secretly, I promise I won't tell anyone!" Xiao Bai pointed three fingers to the sky and swore.

Ding Xuefei slapped his hand away: "Just drive properly!"

"Oh right, why is Yu Yingdi, the movie star we met in Japan, here too?"

This is a classic case of bringing up the very thing you don't want to talk about.

Ding Xuefei snorted and didn't say anything, but Xiao Bai continued to ramble on: "I think you two are really destined for each other! I'm starting to ship you two..."

Ding Xuefei angrily tapped Xiao Bai on the back of the head: "Do you have pica?! You even eat this?!"

Xiao Bai exclaimed "Ouch!" and defended himself, "It's not like I'm the only one shipping them. It's a celebrity dating reality show, so there are all sorts of people shipping them... Bro, you know what, there are quite a few people shipping you two online, and you even have a couple name now."

These days, netizens are really indiscriminate. They can even ship these bizarre pairings. Ding Xuefei thought to herself, "There's not much interaction between them on the show. Aside from being handcuffed together in a cave with poor lighting and bad live streaming quality, I wonder how the audience will react when it airs..."

Ding Xuefei raised an eyebrow. "What's your name?"

Xiao Bai was smug: "Blood Wind and Snow Metaphor, how about that, isn't it amazing?"

Ding Xuefei almost choked.

You know what, you really don't know... Just the combination of their infamous idol and young film emperor, those four words are a perfect depiction of what it's like when their individual fans fight. Not to mention what the effect would be if those past events were known.

If the fans really start fighting, will Xiao Ji side with her brother or her brother Lin? That's a real question...

The variety show that Ding Xuefei went to record today is a talk show on Xigua TV. Each time, several guests are invited to chat. The recording time is not long and it is very popular among young people.

Ding Xuefei was almost forgotten, so he shouldn't have been on this kind of show. It was probably because of his appearance on "Heartbeat Mystery" that he was invited to record this show.

The recording went fairly smoothly. As expected, the host brought up "The Mystery of Heartbeat" at the beginning of the show and asked Ding Xuefei a few interesting but not outrageous questions. The rest of the time, they chatted about topics given by the production team.

The incident occurred after the recording had finished.

After the recording ended, there was a small interview. Ding Xuefei stood in the middle, surrounded by a group of reporters.

Undoubtedly, the questions mainly revolved around "The Mystery of My Heart". The initial questions were relatively normal, and Ding Xuefei answered a few of the more normal ones.

But as the questioning progressed, perhaps because Ding Xuefei seemed relatively cooperative, the questions became increasingly excessive.

"Ding Xuefei, did you take Stella to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to sabotage the dating show? Were you deliberately targeting her?"

"Recently, old photos of Shang Rou have been released online. Do you think Shang Rou has had plastic surgery?"

"Ding Xuefei, do you prefer men or women? Are you on this show to come out?"

In the past, Ding Xuefei would have pushed them all away without hesitation and then cursed them to express his dissatisfaction. However, since his public image has recently deteriorated, Guo Chu has repeatedly warned him to learn to control his emotions, not to talk nonsense in public, not to have a bad face, and not to be angry.

Xiao Bai stood protectively in front of Ding Xuefei, pretending to be professional as he said, "Please don't ask irrelevant questions." In reality, his voice was very weak. Moreover, he was only one person, so he couldn't attend to both sides at the same time. As a result, microphones were constantly being shoved in front of Ding Xuefei, almost poking him in the face.

Ding Xuefei's patience was about to run out. He knew that the expression on his face had become ugly. These people probably also knew that they would not get the answers to their questions. The questions that followed were becoming increasingly unbearable. They probably did not expect to get any answers. They just wanted to provoke him so that they might get a big news story like "Ding Xuefei beats up a reporter".

Seeing that there was no way to escape, Ding Xuefei was gathering her anger, wanting to say some harsh words.

Just then, a voice came from the side. It was not loud, and the tone was gentle, but it was very powerful and left no room for argument.

"Alright, shouldn't everyone focus more on today's program itself? Celebrities are not obligated to answer every question, especially the ones that are offensive."

The reporters, feeling somewhat embarrassed, softened their tone when they asked questions afterward. Ding Xuefei answered a few, and the matter was considered closed.

After it was over, the first thing Ding Xuefei wanted to do was to find the person who had spoken up to help earlier—the voice sounded familiar, and he was sure he hadn't misheard.

Ding Xuefei suddenly grabbed Xiao Bai: "Did you see who just spoke?"

Xiao Bai shook his head: "It seems to be a male celebrity being interviewed next door, tall and quite handsome, I think he's a singer, what's his name again..."

"It's Fang Jinyu! My idol!"

If they weren't in a public place, Ding Xuefei would have grabbed Xiao Bai by the collar and shaken him hard—he saw his idol! And his idol even spoke up for him!

Fang Jinyu is a well-known singer who rose to fame at a young age. He has many popular hit songs and is still active in the music scene. He has recently become a mentor on a popular music variety show.

Ding Xuefei liked Fang Jinyu even before he debuted, and he still follows Fang Jinyu's activities. His fans know this, but in order to reduce the suspicion of trying to gain popularity, Ding Xuefei tries not to mention this matter anymore.

Ding Xuefei had had a few opportunities to share the stage with Fang Jinyu before, but they were all fleeting glimpses. The most she had ever interacted with was a few words exchanged. Ding Xuefei suspected that Fang Jinyu didn't even remember her.

Even in such a situation, his idol still took the initiative to help him out. What does that show? It shows that his idol is a really good person! He wasn't wrong about him!

Ding Xuefei originally intended to thank the other party properly, but after hearing from the staff that Fang Jinyu had already gone to record, she decided not to bother her anymore.

In a good mood, Ding Xuefei returned to the Heartbeat House. It was three or four in the afternoon. She had only been gone for a few hours, but she already missed it a little.

"I'm back."

Ding Xuefei pushed open the door and saw someone who shouldn't be there.

He must have opened it wrong. Close the door and open it again...

The other person remained in the same spot, not only not disappearing, but also giving him a bright smile.

Elio smiled radiantly: "Brother Xuefei, I've been waiting for you for ages."