Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 27

Li Yue unpacked the takeout containers on the table. Before she could put on disposable gloves, her phone vibrated. She tapped the message to see a GIF of a sneaky little dog peeking around a corner. Li Yue replied with a meme of a puppy holding a baby bottle in its mouth.

Luo Mingzi: “What are you eating? Drooling face”

Li Yue: “Crawfish.”

Luo Mingzi was shocked: “What?! You’re secretly eating crawfish behind my back? You never used to like them, you said they were a hassle to peel and the meat was too small! Wait… did you buy beer too?!”

Luo Mingzi: “I remember crystal clear how you got that stomach ache from drinking beer before!”

Li Yue: “Just a little bit.”

Li Yue: “Puppy tilting its head pleadingly.gif”

Seeing how cute the puppy was, Luo Mingzi huffed twice but conceded, giving Li Yue permission to pair the crawfish with beer.

“I’ve already arrived in Panshan City, on the way to Wanxiang. Work starts again tomorrow,” Luo Mingzi said happily. “I wonder who the guest is. Thinking about it, this ‘blind box’ feeling is quite fun, as long as the person isn’t someone I hate.” This time, she was traveling from Shangjing to Pantian with Wu Xuezhen and the Pi Dajun couple. Since her relationship with the guests had improved, filming felt much more comfortable.

Luo Mingzi asked Li Yue: “Are you watching the show?”

“Mm, Episode 5.” Li Yue glanced at the TV and pressed play. Amidst the soothing background music, the narrator’s voice was as gentle as ever. A tidal wave of bullet comments (danmu) surged across the screen.

[REPORTING…The melon-eating crowd is in position! Slices of melon are ready!]

[Attention all units! Beware of spoilers! Turn off comments for the full melon experience!]

[I don’t want spoilers! I want to watch from the start! I want to see what the hell is going on and if the production team edited this for hype!]

[Luo Mingzi’s Girlfriend’s Trial Court is now in session. Ready to preside at any moment.]

[Mother-in-law faction reporting for duty, arms crossed and ready to play the evil mother-in-law!]

[Rumor Refusal Team is here! My eyes are a ruler, no script can hide from my gaze!]

[The ‘Intro is Too Long and Boring’ group is here… it’s been five days, why are you guys still so excited? I’ve calmed down. The rational fans are right: how could Luo Mingzi possibly have a girlfriend?]

Dense comments floated by. Li Yue calmly peeled a shrimp. Beside her, a glass was filled with ice-cold beer, condensation beading on its surface.

On screen, a small courtyard appeared amidst rolling green mountains. The camera zoomed in from a high angle. The familiar guests woke up slowly, lingering in bed.

Wu Xuezhen, her voice husky from sleep, said to the already washed-up Pi Dajun: “A new day, time to cook again.”

Pi Dajun gave a heavy sigh: “Sigh!”

The audience burst into laughter.

[Eating is such a beautiful thing, yet in ‘Wanxiang,’ it’s a torture!]

[Didn’t the director consider finding a guest who can actually cook before filming?]

[The director probably thinks they can’t just bully one guest into cooking, they had to pick a balanced cast.]

[So they picked four people who can’t cook! Hahaha!]

In another room, You Yang scrambled out of bed and ran to the kitchen. Finding bags of instant noodles, he patted his chest in relief. He held a bag of noodles up to the camera and whispered: “One bag for a hundred yuan!”

[Understood! Contacting the Price Bureau immediately!]

Small text at the bottom of the screen: All guest expenses in the program will be donated to the Free Lunch Project.

Once the three gathered, a pink figure wobbled down the stairs. Wu Xuezhen looked up at her, pursed her lips, and said: “Careful.”

Luo Mingzi drifted over like a wandering ghost. “I’m here.”

[AHHH the female lead appears!]

[Luo Shen, who is your girlfriend?! WHO IS IT!]

[She just woke up and her skin is clearer than mine after two layers of powder! WHY!!]

[So beautiful.]

The “beautiful” Luo Mingzi put on a hat to hide her messy hair and sat on the sofa, staring blankly ahead. The other guests were equally silent. Ellipses appeared on the screen as cicadas buzzed, the four guests were edited into grayscale.

[A sight we love to see.]

[Living in Wanxiang? More like living in starvation!]

[Poor things… I’ll take a bite of braised pork over white rice in their honor!]

Amidst the silence, they practiced their routine of taking out the drawing straws. Everyone looked solemn. This segment had been in the preview, but this version was longer, showing their awkward expressions after the draw.

The relief was that they didn’t have to cook, the stress was having to eat what someone else made!

[Hahaha, the moment of truth! Let’s see who it is this time!]

[Nice, I see You Yang breathing a sigh of relief!]

[It’s not Wu Xuezhen, not Pi Dajun, and not You Yang… so… GASP!!]

[Heavens! A cloud of doom over her head!] [Run! This isn’t a drill! A pot of overcooked instant noodles is waving at you!]

Amidst the anticipation, the scene shifted. The sound of a suitcase rolling on asphalt rang out. A slender, beautiful hand flashed across the screen. Before the comments could even start “licking” the hand, they heard the staff gasp. Then, a silver-white suitcase “whirred” as it drove itself down the road.

A voiceover, soft as a mountain spring and tinged with a hint of a smile, said: “Leave it to the suitcase.”

[Ahhh, that voice is so pleasant!]

[Girlfriend! Girlfriend! The girlfriend has appeared!]

[Comrades, I’m so excited! Who is it?! I want to drag the camera myself!]

But the director knew exactly what the audience wanted. Even as the camera pulled back, the guest was obscured by a mosaic until she reached the small courtyard and pressed the doorbell.

The shot lingered on her back.

Brilliant sunlight poured down, painting bright highlights on her long black hair. The new guest stood tall with excellent posture, appearing very calm, quietly scanning the courtyard behind the low wall while waiting for the door to open.

[Wait, I feel like this is familiar… Hiss…no way? Impossible!]

Before the audience could even type out their realizations, the director provided a high-angle shot. A door separated two people. The person inside raised a hand, the person outside lowered her head.

Click.

The door swung open. The camera perfectly captured Luo Mingzi’s face, her eyes widening instantly, her pupils trembling with shock. The bullet comments surged wildly past her raised fingertips.

At this moment, in thousands of homes, people huddled on sofas, lying in bed, or eating dinner in dorms while watching the show felt the hair on their arms stand up. They subconsciously clenched their fists, stopping their movements in excitement.

“You look so much like my girlfriend!”

Luo Mingzi’s trembling words and her bewildered expression were laid bare for the audience. The speculation that had been boiling for a week started here. If this wasn’t a “coming out,” why was Luo Mingzi’s emotion so intense? Even her acting wasn’t this real!

The next second, the camera cut to the other person.

She had officially debuted only three months ago, exploding in popularity on “Voice for You” due to her exquisite timbre, incredible vocal technique, and powerful stage presence. Known as “The Light Cloud” for her cool and detached persona, she was showing a completely different side that trended again this week. This beautiful woman, who seemed to have nothing to do with the top-tier star Luo Mingzi, crinkled her eyes in a smile.

Her gentle words were like a breeze, her low voice scattering in the early summer wind.

Li Yue said: “Thank you for the love. I like Teacher Luo, too.”

[?] [??] [AAAAAAHHHH!!!!]

At 8:22 PM that day, the two names that had been grabbing attention lately topped the trending searches once again.

But this time, their names were together.

#LuoMingziLiYueMutualAttraction

#ILikeTeacherLuoToo