Ling Yan was almost self-torturing. She watched that episode over and over again, especially the part where Xu Yanfeng appeared. She kept scrolling the progress bar just to see clearly Xu Yanfeng's preference for Xia Xi.

He affectionately called Xia Xi "Madam" in front of outsiders, but respectfully called her "fiancée" in front of Xia Xi.

Every time she watched it, Ling Yan felt that she was pitiful, ridiculous, and sad.

Xia Xi had disappeared for six years, leaving Xu Yanfeng with a vacant place. For over two thousand days and nights, she had racked her brains and given everything she had, but still hadn't been able to fill that void. As soon as Xia Xi returned, the spot by Xu Yanfeng's side was given to her, for no apparent reason.

Late at night, the light from the screen covered Ling Yan's face, and tear marks were clearly visible.

She had cried enough, and with a cold face, she wiped away the tears bit by bit, and the sadness in her eyes turned into resentment.

What was there for Xia Xi to be proud of? With her ordinary family background, she was not at all worthy of the attention of the elders in Xu Yanfeng's family, not to mention that she had cheated on her husband and was two-timing him.

Is it that easy to get into the Xu family? If her affair with another man were to be exposed, no matter how glorious she is now, the backlash would be just as terrible. Those who support and like her would turn around and abuse her, feeling deceived and fooled.

At that time, Xia Xi will not only be disgraced, but will also be despised by Xu Yanfeng's family, and will never be able to enter the Xu family in this life.

Ling Yan's fingers rubbed the skin beneath her eyes fiercely. After her tears dried, her skin became taut, and the pain from the friction cleared her mind. She picked up the remote control and pressed the red button. The only light in the room went out, plunging her into complete darkness.

Her figure was hidden in the darkness, and she did not move for a long time. Crazy ideas kept popping up in her mind, gushing out like a spring, and she couldn't stop it.

*

After a night of fermentation, both the variety show and the discussion about Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi became very popular.

Lu Mingji also saw it. He suppressed the slight bitterness in his heart and sent congratulations to Xia Xi on WeChat - she had not come to the company recently, so he could not congratulate her in person.

Lu Mingji: "Congratulations, it seems the show is very successful."

Xia Xi didn't know what to reply, but she couldn't just ignore it, so she picked out an emoticon to reply to him.

Lu Mingji sent another message: "It was a good choice to choose you to be on the show."

Xia Xi: “…”

Lu Mingji: "What's wrong? Are you not used to the popularity?"

Xia Xi: "I'm thinking about how to assassinate you."

Lu Mingji: "Haha, if you want to usurp the throne, just tell me and I'll let you be the boss. No need to silence me."

Xia Xi: "Then I'll spare your life."

Lu Mingji: "Hold on a little longer, isn't it almost over?"

Xia Xi: "Yeah."

There are nine episodes in total in the program, and more than half of them have been recorded, with only a little content left. After the recording, she will be completely liberated.

After cleaning up at home, Xia Xi went directly to the villa site. It is currently under construction and will be completed soon.

They stayed at the scene for most of the day. In the evening, the program crew's car came to pick up Xia Xi and take him to the office building where the first episode was recorded.

Several designers have been busy with their own houses recently, and even the interview was at the construction site, so we haven't met each other. When we met, it felt like we hadn't seen each other for a long time.

When the others saw Xia Xi, they couldn't help but joke, "Thanks to Xia Gong, our show has become popular. Many people around me come to me to ask for gossip. To be honest, if I hadn't watched the show last night, I wouldn't have known about you and the owner of the villa... ahem."

At that time, they each had their own landlord to contact, and no one except Liao Wanhua had ever seen Xu Yanfeng.

From yesterday to today, Xia Xi had heard and seen so many teasing remarks that she had already developed a steely mentality. At this moment, she smiled slightly and said, "It's all thanks to everyone."

Someone quickly waved his hand: "We dare not take credit for it, so don't be so modest."

Someone else echoed: "Yeah, yeah, it's a good thing that the show is popular, and we get to benefit from it too."

Liao Wanhua, who had been silent the entire time, said indifferently, "No wonder it was useless for me to argue with Mr. Xu back then. It turns out I was the clown. If I had known you were related, I wouldn't have wasted my time. It's a pity that I was so tired of talking."

The smile on Xia Xi's lips faded a little, and he was speechless.

Someone nearby heard Liao Wanhua's sarcasm and, guessing she was feeling unbalanced, offered comfort, "The rule is that the homeowner can choose the designer, too. The director made it clear from the beginning that it's a two-way choice. Think about it, haven't I already changed the house I chose?"

"People don't make the rules." Liao Wanhua laughed at him for being so naive despite having worked for many years. "The Xu Corporation is the sponsor of our show. How dare the director disobey the sponsor's orders?"

This was a serious remark, implying that Xu Yanfeng was the one who made the rules, and it was no longer a joke. Everyone fell silent, their faces turning awkward.

Xia Xi didn't argue or explain to Liao Wanhua. There's a saying, "Once suspicion arises, the accusation is established." No matter what she said, the other person's mind wouldn't change easily. Moreover, from an outsider's perspective, one would indeed suspect Xu Yanfeng of changing the rules, or even suspect that everything was under his control.

After completing the task arranged by the program team, Xia Xi prepared to leave.

The director said in the group that there would be a dinner party in the evening and a private room had been booked, so everyone was invited to come over to celebrate the successful launch of the show and its good results.

Worried that they hadn't seen the group message, the director specifically asked someone to notify them. When Xiao He found Xia Xi, she was waiting for the elevator. Xiao He was out of breath from running, with one hand on his waist, unable to stand straight: "It's a good thing you didn't leave. Director Li asked me to inform you that we're having a dinner tonight, a celebration party. Teacher Xia, did you miss the group message?"

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!