The O Posing as a B is Fought Over in a Dating Show Shambles - Chapter 10

The group trekked down the potholed path for about ten minutes before they finally spotted human figures in the small village ahead.

The host looked as if she’d finally found salvation, her pace involuntarily quickening. After all, “earning a living isn’t always pretty”; if the boss hadn’t paid so much, who would be willing to play servant to a bunch of high-maintenance young masters?

Another seven or eight minutes passed before they arrived in front of a dilapidated little courtyard.

From the outside, the two-meter-high adobe walls were pitted and scarred by years of wind and rain. The wild grass growing along the top of the walls was a lush, vibrant green, excessively so. The gate was cobbled together from several irregular wooden planks; likely due to year-round humidity, the wood looked blackened and rotten, appearing as though it might fall apart at the slightest touch.

Standing at the entrance, Xi Qingli could already hear the sharp squeals of piglets and the high-pitched, aggressive honking of geese coming from inside.

It sounded quite “lively.”

The host offered a bright, friendly smile. “Teachers, this little courtyard is our resting place!”

In other words, this was the guests’ destination, their “home.”

Xie Yunzhao stared at the crumbling walls, his brow furrowed deeply enough to crush a fly. “People can actually live in a place like this?”

He marched to the gate and reached out, intending to test if it would fall over, but it was so filthy he couldn’t bring himself to touch it.

“I could overlook the muddy path, but now you want me to live in a dump like this? Is the production crew torturing us on purpose?”

“Get the director over here. I want to change locations!”

The host maintained her smile. “We spend our lives in bustling cities; experiencing the hardships of the common folk occasionally is a very meaningful thing.”

“When two people are in love, the person who constantly says ‘I love you’ might not truly mean it. But if they are willing to silently stay by your side through poverty and hardship, that is true love.”

“And that is the ‘Theme of Love’ for this episode.”

[The host said that with so much emotion, I almost believed her.]

[LOL, it looks like Xie Yunzhao actually fell for it.]

Xie Yunzhao was indeed stunned by her speech. Gripping his umbrella, he instinctively glanced at Xi Qingli. The latter was currently surveying the surroundings with genuine interest and didn’t notice his gaze.

Xie Yunzhao bit his lip and didn’t fire back a retort.

Taking advantage of the moment, the host quickly pushed open the wooden gate. “Teachers, you must be tired after a day of travel. Please, come inside.”

As they entered, Xi Qingli noticed that the white pheromone auras on the other guests were fluctuating to varying degrees. This indicated they were all feeling some level of resistance toward their new environment.

The only exception was Yan Yizhi. His expression remained unchanged, and the white pheromones surrounding him were perfectly calm, without a single ripple.

“Is something wrong?” the man asked, his deep, soul-piercing eyes shifting toward him.

Xi Qingli blinked. “Nothing.”

This Alpha seems difficult to handle. Unless it’s an absolute emergency, he shouldn’t be put on the backup list.

Inside the courtyard, things were slightly better than they appeared from the street. At least the ground wasn’t dirt but was paved with flat cement.

There was a sturdy longan tree in the yard, a hand-pumped well a few steps away, and farm tools like hoes leaning nearby.

In the corner, there was a small pen enclosed by low mud walls. Inside was a pink piglet and two large white geese. At that moment, the piglet was being chased in circles by the two geese.

It certainly had the atmosphere of farm life.

Likely seeing the sudden influx of people, the two geese abandoned the piglet. They arched their long necks and honked fiercely at the group, as if asserting their dominance.

Wen Zhenmian leaned in. “Wow, look! Large white geese! They look so enthusiastic. Are they welcoming us?”

[Beauty, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word ‘enthusiastic’?]

Chu Mo’an also leaned over the fence, his eyes sparkling. “They’re so cute! Can I hug them?”

Seeing that the geese were about to lung forward to peck them, Xi Qingli grabbed both men and pulled them back. “Careful, they’ll attack.”

“Attack?” Wen Zhenmian didn’t believe it. “They look so passionate, why would they attack us?”

Xi Qingli tilted his chin toward the interior of the pen. “Look at that piglet.”

Wen Zhenmian turned to look.

The pink piglet had several distinct red marks on its body. Judging by the shape, they were clearly peck marks from the geese.

“Whoa, that’s so cool! Are they really that fierce?”

Xi Qingli: “?”

Wen Zhenmian excitedly pulled out his phone and shoved it into Xi Qingli’s hands. He then backed up against the fence and flashed a peace sign. “Could you take a few photos for me? Make sure to get the geese in the shot!”

Xi Qingli stared at him in silence for a few seconds, then shifted his gaze to the “Golden Retriever” who was also eager to join. He asked slowly, “Do you want to be in it too?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Chu Mo’an ran over to stand next to Wen Zhenmian, grinning brilliantly. “Brother, is it okay if I stand here?”

Xi Qingli checked their distance through the camera lens. They were close, but not touching.

The Golden Retriever has good boundaries, Xi Qingli noted.

He pressed the shutter ten times in rapid succession before answering Chu Mo’an. “It’s fine.”

He then handed the phone back to Wen Zhenmian. “Done.”

Wen Zhenmian was skeptical. “Done already?”

Xi Qingli: “Mhm.”

“But you didn’t even tell me if my smile was natural enough, or if the lighting where I was standing was good.”

Wen Zhenmian looked down and swiped through the photos. After nearly ten seconds of silence, he spoke in a heavy tone. “Did you actually look at the photos you took?”

“I didn’t,” Xi Qingli said sincerely. “I think you both are very photogenic. You look good even without checking.”

Wen Zhenmian:

The cameraman silently zoomed in on Wen Zhenmian’s phone screen.

In the photos, due to the lighting and the angle, Wen Zhenmian appeared to have short legs and an unnaturally long torso. His face looked sallow and distorted, and his slightly long black hair had been blown by the wind into something resembling a bird’s nest.

It wasn’t “good” by any stretch of the imagination. To even call it “not ugly” would require a complete abandonment of one’s conscience.

[Hahahaha! Wen Zhenmian’s expression is killing me.]

[Xi Qingli did that on purpose, right? These low-tier celebrities are so petty!]

[How was that on purpose? I saw him taking the photos very seriously just now.]

[Clicking ten times in a row is ‘serious’?]

[Actually, Chu-god’s long legs weren’t ruined by Xi Qingli’s photography.]

[So positioning is everything. Anyway, cameraman, be a professional and stop laughing! The camera is shaking so much I can’t see the handsome faces!]

Looking at the photos on his phone, Wen Zhenmian didn’t mention photography ever again.

Xi Qingli noticed that Wen Zhenmian’s white pheromones remained calm; he clearly wasn’t angry.

Mm… he has a good temper. He can be added to the emergency list.

Chu Mo’an looked at Wen Zhenmian expectantly. “Mian-mian Ge, can you help me take a photo with Brother?”

“I’m ‘Mian-mian Ge,’ but Teacher Xi is ‘Brother’?” Wen Zhenmian raised an eyebrow. “Chu Xiao’an, that’s blatant favoritism.”

“It’s just to tell you two apart,” Chu Mo’an said earnestly. “Mian-mian Ge will always be the cutest in my heart.”

The host seized the opportunity. “How about this? Why don’t we take a group ‘family’ photo together?”

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