Everyone in the living room was stunned by Xi Ming's declaration, and there was an eerie silence.
Wan Annie's excited voice broke the silence: "God Xi, you actually caught up with me! Oh my God!"
It seems that she is also an insider.
Chang Jinbo heard the noise downstairs and came over. He was standing on a higher step with a gloomy face.
He boasted of his superior family background, connections, and abilities, making him the most competitive guest in Love House. But now, with Xi Ming's arrival, he was completely outmatched. Even more unbearable for him was the fact that Zhuang Li's eyes were glued to Xi Ming, oblivious to anyone else!
For the first time in his life he felt jealous.
Xi Ming waved and greeted Wan Annie.
Zhuang Li took his suitcase naturally and said, "I'll take you back to your room to pack your things. You'll live with me for the next twenty days."
"Okay." Xi Ming smiled happily.
At this moment, the director walked into the Love Room with a woman and shouted, "Everyone, stay here, come and meet the new male and female guests, number five. Sit down and have a good chat, because this is the part we want to focus on shooting."
After saying that, he turned and left.
When other dating variety shows have new guests, the production team will create some suspense or tricks. But the director didn't play tricks at all, he just introduced the guests directly and that was it.
Everyone looked towards the door.
The new female guest looked very heroic, with neat short hair. She was wearing a black suit with a very thin waistline and very long legs. Her height of 1.8 meters was already outstanding among the crowd, but she was still wearing eight-centimeter high heels, looking beautiful and cool.
All the male guests would be immediately eclipsed when they stood in front of her. She is an androgynous top beauty.
Of course, Xi Ming is not among those who are suppressed. His strong aura and proud height are enough to make him stand out in any occasion.
Even more amazing was that Zhuang Li's charm wasn't even stolen by the new female guest and Xi Ming. He moved between them like a free-flowing breeze.
"Then let's sit down and have a proper meeting." Zhuang Li sat on the sofa first and patted the armrest.
Everyone finally woke up from their dream and took their seats one after another, their eyes all fixed on the two newcomers.
The system reminded: "This woman is S-level!"
Meng Lan immediately began to look at the woman and guess her background.
"Hello, I am female guest number five, my name is Yi Jiangnan." The woman introduced herself briefly.
As everyone looked at her, her sharp eyes swept over everyone.
When she met Xi Ming's gaze, she did not dodge or evade, and even looked quite provocative. However, when her gaze met Zhuang Li's half-smile, she immediately lowered her head.
She smelled the scent of her own kind, and a powerful one at that.
"What do you do?" Lin Caixiu asked curiously.
"Guess." Yi Jiangnan raised his head, curled the corners of his lips, and his smile was actually a little evil.
"I guess you're a model." Wan Annie immediately raised her hand, her eyes full of stars. "You're so handsome! I was so inspired when I saw you. I want to design lots of clothes for you!"
Yi Jiangnan looked at Wan Anni intently and admired her wholeheartedly: "You are also very beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that you are charming?"
Wan Annie retracted her hand and blushed. She was usually carefree and straightforward, but this was never the case.
Yi Jiangnan stared at Wan Anni, oblivious to the crowd. Some speculated she was a doctor, others an artist, and even a CEO, but she simply shook her head, never even looking them in the eye. This was a truly arrogant attitude.
Xi Ming didn't guess at all, but sat down next to Zhuang Li, put his long arms on the back of the sofa, pretending to hold the little curly-haired boy in his arms.
After everyone finished guessing, Zhuang Li chuckled and said, "I guess you work at the central bank. Next time you wear a suit, don't forget to change your cufflinks."
Yi Jiangnan raised his wrist and found that he was wearing cufflinks with the central bank logo printed on them.
She burst into laughter. "You discovered such a small thing. Yes, I'm an employee of the Central Bank."
She didn't introduce herself specifically, so everyone assumed she was a teller. Only Meng Lan knew that an ordinary teller would never be rated S-level. This woman must be hiding something deeper.
"Remember to hide it better next time. Some of the marks are really too obvious." Zhuang Li warned, his eyes sweeping over the luggage that Yi Jiangnan placed at the door.
Others only saw a pile of items, but Zhuang Li saw a military-grade laptop computer case. Ordinary people wouldn't need such a thing.
"Okay, I understand." Yi Jiangnan nodded seriously.
Xi Ming immediately retracted his outstretched arms, leaned forward slightly, and locked eyes with Yi Jiangnan. He could sense that this woman's attitude towards the curly-haired boy was different and more cautious.
This is who he needs to guard against.
Just then, Meng Lan smiled and said, "Zhuang Li, you're always so good at guessing other people's occupations, but what about your own? What do you do? Which school did you graduate from? Why don't you tell us about it?"
Zhuang Li glanced at her with a half-smile, and was about to speak when Xi Ming said in a deep voice, "Why don't I chat first? Because my family was poor, I dropped out of high school. At the age of sixteen, I came to City B to work. I moved bricks and sold midnight snacks. Later, I followed my master to the MAX Club as a mechanic and worked there for two years.
"When I was 19, my grandmother had cancer and needed surgery, so I had to sell my life to the club. From then on, I started learning racing, and I had to get as close to death as possible to afford my grandmother's high medical expenses.
"My parents divorced when I was six. They didn't want me anymore, so my grandmother raised me by collecting scrap. Life was tough, so I never had a single piece of new clothing; I only had discarded scraps. Because of this, the kids around me called me 'little trash'. I grew up surrounded by abuse.
"I haven't been to college, haven't studied abroad, and don't have a prominent family background. Are you satisfied with this?"
Xi Ming stared at Meng Lan and asked slowly, "Does this satisfy your sense of superiority? You know that others have shameful pasts, but you still keep asking. What do you want to do? Don't you just want me to open up my past wounds and show you the blood? If I open them up, will you see enough? Do you feel happy about rubbing salt into other people's wounds?"
Meng Lan: “…”
She forgot that Xi Ming had a very miserable childhood, and also forgot that Xi Ming was a person who climbed up step by step from the bottom.
When she kept asking about Zhuang Li's shameful past, she should have thought about how these words would stimulate Xi Ming and how much disgust they would cause him.
Her behavior was like a knife stabbing into Xi Ming's heart.
A layer of cold sweat slowly formed on Meng Lan's forehead. It seemed like she had messed up the task right after they met!
All the guests were looking at her, with expressions of contempt, anger, or complexity on their faces.
They didn't believe Meng Lan hadn't read Han Kun's explosive post, but she still kept chasing Zhuang Li and asking him about his past. What was her purpose? No matter what Zhuang Li did wrong, it was no excuse for Meng Lan to humiliate him.
How is Meng Lan's behavior different from those of cyber thugs?
If Xi Ming hadn't exposed it, it might have been a long time before everyone present realized that Meng Lan was deliberately rubbing salt into Zhuang Li's wounds. Zhuang Li was too insignificant to allow them to pay attention to each other's inner feelings at all times.
Chang Jinbo was the first to break the silence: "What does Zhuang Li do for a living? No one else asks, but you do. It makes you look like you have a foul mouth and are good at spewing shit, doesn't it?"
Chang Jinbo was a master of venomous tongues. He stared at Meng Lan with utter disgust and wariness in his eyes. He finally realized that this woman was not cute at all, much less kind. She was simply a gossipy woman who loved to stir up trouble.
He hated gossipy women who always tried to stir up trouble. Bah! He was blind before!
Meng Lan's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She had no idea that Xi Ming would target her so sharply for just two small questions.
Xi Ming cared too much about Zhuang Li's feelings. For this reason, he was willing to cut open his own wounds to protect Zhuang Li from all harm.
The system screamed angrily, "Host, are you an idiot? Didn't you just say you were a fan of Xi Ming? Don't you know Xi Ming's background? Why did you mention his profession and education? Don't you know that's Xi Ming's secret? If you could afford a favorability monitor, you would see that Xi Ming's favorability towards you has plummeted! You idiot, idiot, idiot!"
Meng Lan's skull was almost shattered by the system's roar.
"I'm warning you, if the mission fails, you will be wiped out by the Lord God! There is no way to repair your soul, and you will disappear forever!" the system said angrily.
Meng Lan was embarrassed, frightened, and ashamed. Her face had turned from purple to pale, and she was anxiously thinking about what to say and do to quickly regain Xi Ming's favor.
But at this moment, Zhuang Li held Xi Ming's hand and interlocked their fingers.
He shook their tightly linked arms and said softly, "What a coincidence! I also have no parents, I never went to college, and I've been scolded badly. We've had similar experiences. What a coincidence, don't you think?"
Xi Ming's face, which was full of anger, softened instantly. He smiled softly and nodded gently: "Yes."
Curly's comfort completely melted his hardened heart.
Meng Lan's question not only did not create a barrier or rift between the two of them, but instead greatly narrowed the distance between them and made their hearts closer.
Wan Annie held her face in her hands, looking at the couple dreamily. Nothing could be more touching than a love that tolerates each other and never leaves.
The exasperated system said, "I don't think you're trying to win over Xi Ming. You're trying to set him up with this F guy! You idiot!"
Meng Lan: “…”
Zhou Banxia clenched her fists and spoke slowly, "Actually, I don't have any parents. My parents died in a car accident when I was three, and I was raised by my aunt. She had her own children and family to support, so the burden was heavy. I've been working outside since high school. I took out a loan to pay for college, and it took me several years of work to pay it off."
This is the wound he hides beneath his brilliant resume, and it is also the past he is ashamed to talk about.
His birth seemed like original sin to him.
But seeing Xi Ming and Zhuang Li speaking openly and forgiving each other, he suddenly felt the urge to speak out everything himself. If one truly wanted to develop a serious relationship, these things couldn't be avoided.
After saying this, he lowered his head and didn't dare to look to the side.
The living room was silent, and everyone was embarrassed. Meng Lan was really a troublemaker, and she hurt three people with just a few words.
After more than ten seconds, the slow-witted Xu Jingjing finally clapped her hands vigorously, her eyes sparkling. "Xia Xia, you're amazing! Studying medicine is very expensive. Did you manage to get all the loans through working part-time? Xia Xia, you're awesome!"
Zhou Banxia: “…”
His clenched fists suddenly loosened, the wonderful feeling of redemption almost bringing him to tears. The girl he had loved for so long was indeed more beautiful than he had imagined.
The heavy atmosphere suddenly became relaxed and everyone was applauding.
Lin Caixiu said sincerely, "A hero is not judged by his background. No matter what happened in the past, we are successful as long as we have what we have today! There is red wine in the refrigerator. Come on, let's have a drink! For our past, for our present, and for our future!"
Everyone raised their hands and cheered, and the room was filled with warmth.
The director looked at the monitor with great satisfaction and sighed, "Everyone is beginning to discover a better version of themselves. This is the true meaning of love."
The assistant director frowned and said, "I feel like Meng Lan is the rat shit in this pot of porridge. I feel uncomfortable looking at the boss."
Chief Director: "Without Meng Lan's catalysis, how could Zhou Banxia's breakthroughs, Xi Ming's confrontational scenes, and Mr. Zhuang's gentle comfort be possible? Her contribution is enormous. A drama has a protagonist and a villain, otherwise the audience wouldn't be interested."
"Towards the end of the show, Meng Lan will be scolded to death by the audience." The assistant director was still a little worried.
The director threw up his hands helplessly, "She deserves the consequences for daring to come to the show. No one forced her; she was the one who found ways to embarrass Mr. Zhuang. When editing, I won't deliberately blacken her; I'll only show her true performance."
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