Romance Allergy [Book Transmigration] - Chapter 3

From the memories Dou Anyao had obtained, she knew that Qiu Shili real name Qiu Tang was a gold-medal manager at Huaqiu Entertainment. She was a career-driven alpha woman, decisive in her actions and highly capable.

In the past, many scandals or negative reports leaked by paparazzi or rivals had been neutralized under her public relations management. Most of the time, she could even steer the narrative to her advantage, using the momentum to push the original owner’s career to new heights.

Thinking of the woman’s perpetually composed posture and her sharp-tongued personality, Dou Anyao held her phone, a bit too afraid to move.

“Pick up quickly. How are you going to complete the task if you don’t answer?” the System urged at the right moment.

It spoke calmly, but Dou Anyao immediately understood the subtext: “If you don’t complete the task, you die.”

Dou Anyao’s hand shook, and she immediately swiped to answer.

“Hello?” her voice sounded weak and weary.

“Where were you messing around last night? Finally decided to answer the phone?” As soon as the call connected, a chilling voice came through.

Dou Anyao nervously licked her lips and did not dare to make a sound.

Qiu Shili did not seem to need a reply. She continued, “You’re flying to Hong Kong tomorrow to prepare for the filming of that dating reality show you accepted last time, Heartbeat Above All. Pack your things. We leave tomorrow morning at eight.”

Having finished the business talk in a professional manner, Qiu Shili intended to hang up. However, Dou Anyao, sensing her intent, hurriedly called out, “Wait, Ms. Qiu.”

For some reason, as soon as Dou Anyao spoke those few words, the other end of the line went mysteriously quiet. Only a faint, nearly inaudible static echoed in the silence.

Dou Anyao did not have the leisure to wonder why. Thinking of the System’s task, she was racking her brain to prepare a new round of “breakup” lines.

“Um… first of all, thank you for the reminder. I will definitely leave on time tomorrow morning.”

Dou Anyao took a deep breath. She politely responded to what the other woman had just said before starting her own topic.

“It’s like this. After a great deal of deep consideration, I feel it is better for us to maintain a simple, pure relationship as artist and manager from now on.”

Finishing her piece, Dou Anyao added thoughtfully, “Did I make myself clear? Can you understand what I mean?”

“…”

Qiu Shili had originally planned to spend only two minutes reminding Dou Anyao of the schedule. Because the girl had not answered the phone for a day and a night, she had already wasted more time than intended. Hearing these strange words, Qiu Shili’s brow furrowed even deeper.

She glanced at her phone screen to confirm she was indeed talking to Dou Anyao. For the first time, Qiu Shili, who was always confident in her speech and actions, spoke with a hint of uncertainty.

“Did you play too hard last night and lose your brain along the way?”

Normally, Dou Anyao would be acting cute in a high-pitched voice, hinting that Qiu Shili should use her connections to look after her during the show.

To be honest, Qiu Shili did not care much about the relationship between herself and Dou Anyao. She was perhaps the person who understood Dou Anyao best; she knew deep down that the girl had no heart.

What she had was ambition.

As for why Qiu Shili had not rejected the ambiguity between them, she simply viewed the girl as a tool for personal amusement. Since Dou Anyao was right there and her appearance and figure were to her liking, Qiu Shili did not mind granting her some convenience and privileges within reason. It was a mutual arrangement; there was no reason to refuse.

However, since Dou Anyao was the one who had clung to her to start this relationship, it was not her place to call it off.

Thinking of this, Qiu Shili was about to mock her, asking if she had found a better option, when she heard Dou Anyao continue on her own.

“I know. I am a rose that you personally watered and raised. My body is branded with your mark, something that can never be erased. But how can a rose dare to desire its master?”

“…”

From the moment the words “personally watered” came out, the veins on Qiu Shili’s forehead throbbed uncontrollably. No one knew how much effort it took for her to suppress the rage in her heart and not scream, “Are you an idiot?”

Feeling the goosebumps rising on her skin, Qiu Shili felt as if she were in a nightmare. Her grip on the phone tightened as she spoke through gritted teeth, enunciating every word.

“What kind of script are you reciting? You sound quite natural. Have your acting skills improved after a few days of rest?”

She gave a cold sneer, no longer hiding her biting sarcasm. “If you had put this much effort into that historical drama you did last time, people wouldn’t have spent three months mocking you, saying your breakup scene looked like you had won the lottery.”

Dou Anyao, who felt she had performed with total sincerity and had even dug up lines she found online, felt as though she had been hit over the head by this wave of cold mockery.

This is not quite how I expected this to go.

Forget it. Dou Anyao treated herself as if she were deaf, immersing herself in her lines. “Ahem. I think a short pain is better than a long one. If our relationship becomes simpler, it counts as setting you free.”

“Let’s leave it at that. You are too excellent. From now on, we…”

“Whatever you want.”

Dou Anyao wanted to say more, but Qiu Shili could not listen to another syllable.

“Whether you forgot to put your brain on today or you have some other plan, mark my words: this is what you wanted. Just don’t come crawling back to me in the future.”

With a click, Qiu Shili hung up the phone in a strange fit of anger.

She understood Dou Anyao’s meaning. It was simply that they should have no contact outside of official business. Remembering how the girl used to flirt with her overtly and covertly, only to now be the one calling it off, Qiu Shili felt as if she had swallowed a fly.

Looking at the guest list for Heartbeat Above All on her desk, Qiu Shili let out an indecipherable snort and told her assistant to throw the files into the shredder.

On the other end, Dou Anyao, who thought it would take much more talking to complete the task, blinked at her phone screen.

The other party just agreed like that?

After a moment, she sighed. “As expected, everyone is quite dignified.”

They followed the principle of “breaking up amicably” without making a scene.

The System, seeing its host’s potential, praised her generously. “Host did very well. Keep it up. Three hundred and sixty-five days will pass quickly.”

**[Congratulations to Host. The task “Sever all ambiguous relations with Qiu Shili” is complete. Reward: 30 Points.

Remember, our slogan is: Uphold Purity! Treat Others with Sincerity!]**

Checking her status panel, Dou Anyao felt a bit strange. “Why was the task for Xu Tianse worth twenty points, while Qiu Shili was worth thirty?”

System: “Logically, because the original owner had more contact with Qiu Shili, the task was judged to be more difficult, thus yielding higher points.”

Dou Anyao nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, she remembered something.

“Just now, Qiu Shili said I’m going to some filming tomorrow?”

“Heartbeat Above All, a dating reality show,” the System replied dutifully.

Dou Anyao sat bolt upright. “Wait, that’s not right. Our main mission is to stay single for a year. Single! And no flirting allowed! Why am I going on a dating show?”

This wasn’t just going on a show; this was clearly seeking a death sentence!

The System was silent for a long while. “This is an engagement the original owner had already signed a contract for.”

Heartbeat Above All had already aired one season. There were two broadcast methods: live streaming during filming and a produced version aired in episodes later.

Supposedly, there was no script. Because the guests in the first season had been so unpredictable, there were all sorts of plot twists. For example, a guest might spend the afternoon being intimate with one person, only to immediately cast their “heartbeat letter” to someone else that night.

It allowed the audience to enjoy the “sweetness” while simultaneously playing detective, analyzing every detail of the guests’ intentions. People were hooked. The show was a massive success, leading to the preparation of the second season.

Since the first season was a hit, the show became the hottest variety program. Ratings were staggering, and the original guests saw their value skyrocket. Consequently, as soon as the second season was announced, countless people applied.

The original owner had only secured a spot because her manager, Qiu Shili, had extensive connections. Because the show was so popular and slots were limited, the production team had included some seemingly unfair clauses to ensure no one flaked out. For instance, if a guest could not attend due to scheduling conflicts, the compensation fee was ten times the original amount, plus damages for the cost of finding a replacement.

Dou Anyao pulled out the contract and calculated the compensation, then thought about the original owner’s bank balance. She asked a deafening question: “Which is more terrifying: being crippled by debt or death?”

After the person and the system stared at each other metaphorically for a while, the System spoke first.

“I believe in you, Host. Others go to dating shows for romance, but you are different. You are there for the fame and exposure.”

This was likely why the original owner had tried so hard to get on the show in the first place.

“I believe you can turn a dating show into a regular variety show.”

Dou Anyao felt that made sense. She couldn’t give up money just to avoid ambiguity. Without money, she wouldn’t even need to fail a task, she would just starve to death.

Having decided to go, Dou Anyao discovered a new problem. “But I’ve never been on a variety show. What am I supposed to do there?”

After some careful thought, the System said, “Just treat it as a vacation.”

And so, the human and the system reached a perfect consensus.

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