The staff of the Love Cottage production team never could have imagined that Bai Baozhu, just by casually playing a game, would run into a fellow celebrity guest from the same show’s recording, and that this celebrity guest would be Song Zhi, the most famous person on the program!
This was simply… too unbelievable!
Of course, what they found even more unimaginable was that Bai Baozhu, just by playing a game, could actually end up on the Hot Search!
That was even more bizarre…
However, for Bai Baozhu at this moment, neither of these things was good news.
After all, the whole situation was just too coincidental, so coincidental that it made people suspect it was a publicity stunt deliberately arranged by the production team!
“What should we do? If we expose now that Little Fairy is Bai Baozhu, it actually wouldn’t be good timing for her.”
“That’s right. Zhu Zhu hasn’t been completely rehabilitated yet, and the show hasn’t aired the part where she plays games. If we expose it now, I’m afraid the audience, whose impression of her hasn’t changed, will dislike her even more, thinking this is all a setup by the production team to deliberately whitewash her.”
“Yeah, it really is too much of a coincidence. If I didn’t know that Bai Baozhu and Song Zhi have absolutely no connection, I’d also suspect this was a plot deliberately arranged by the production team.”
……
At this moment, the staff who saw Bai Baozhu’s gaming session trending on Hot Search weren’t happy at all. Instead, they were somewhat worried for her.
Given the current situation, before Bai Baozhu was fully rehabilitated, if it were exposed that the Little Fairy who played games with Song Zhi was Bai Baozhu, it would likely invite some unnecessary trouble.
And so…
After much deliberation, the staff of Love Cottage who were in the know decided it was best not to expose this matter for now. However, that didn’t mean they should never reveal that Little Fairy was Bai Baozhu.
They hoped the timing for this exposure would be at a perfect moment.
It would be best to wait until Bai Baozhu’s image had reversed, and the show naturally aired the part where she played games. Lay the groundwork first, then release the behind-the-scenes gaming footage…
Just as the Love Cottage staff were worrying themselves sick over Bai Baozhu’s situation, unsure how to handle her trending on Hot Search, all the online searches related to Little Fairy were suddenly taken down.
The action was so swift that everyone didn’t even have time to dig into whether Bai Baozhu and Little Fairy were the same person.
Although most people didn’t believe Bai Baozhu was Little Fairy, the fact that the search terms for Little Fairy were scrubbed from the web actually drew more attention from the melon-eating masses.
After all, you can’t just get on or off the Hot Search list that easily.
So, even though Little Fairy’s Hot Search entries were removed, many people were still discussing the relationship between Little Fairy and Song Zhi…
“My dear ancestor! I just asked you to do a simple game stream. How did you manage to start a dating rumor? Aren’t you usually very cautious?”
After helping Song Zhi take down the Hot Search entries, Cheng Yingda’s frantic barrage of calls came through.
This really left Song Zhi feeling a bit helpless.
“The netizens are overthinking it.”
“Overthinking? If you hadn’t played games alone with that so-called Little Fairy, would the netizens overthink it? Tell me, what possessed you to play games with that Little Fairy?”
Cheng Yingda kept repeating this line, practically drilling it into Song Zhi’s head until it ached.
Actually, he himself now felt that he must have had his judgment clouded back then. Wondering if Little Fairy was Bai Baozhu, he had, as if bewitched, invited Little Fairy to play games.
“Brother Cheng, let’s not talk about this anymore. The Hot Search is down anyway, and something like this won’t happen again.”
“Alright, alright, alright. I won’t say anymore. It’s just, Song Zhi, you’re not a boy band idol anymore. I’m not saying you can’t date now, but you should at least give everyone some buffer time, especially me! Give me some time to maneuver…”
Seeing that Cheng Yingda still suspected he had some relationship with Little Fairy, Song Zhi found it almost laughable.
Even if he liked someone, it definitely wouldn’t be that Little Fairy he’d only played a few games with!
“Brother Cheng, rest assured, there’s really nothing between me and that Little Fairy.”
“Rest assured? I’m not assured at all! This is the first dating rumor you’ve had since your debut! How can I possibly rest assured!”
It wasn’t unreasonable for Cheng Yingda to be worried. After all, this was the first time he’d seen Song Zhi act so specially towards a woman. Even if it was just playing a game alone together, for Song Zhi, that was special!
Regardless of what relationship Song Zhi had with that Little Fairy, first and foremost, Song Zhi was definitely interested in her.
And usually, isn’t the beginning of liking someone often sparked by curiosity?
After being lectured by Cheng Yingda for a while longer, Song Zhi was finally let off the hook and hung up the phone.
After ending the call with his manager, Song Zhi felt his head was spinning, the words Cheng Yingda had just said echoing in his mind.
‘This is completely unlike your usual style. You’re just curious about that girl! You’re interested! If you weren’t interested, would you play games alone with her?’
Lectured by Cheng Yingda like this, Song Zhi felt a bit brainwashed. For a moment, he even started to doubt himself… (Major misconception!)
Could it be that he really was interested in, or curious about, Little Fairy… or rather, Bai Baozhu? (Super major misconception!)
Just as Song Zhi was doubting himself, his phone suddenly received a video message from Wei Haoyang.
He casually opened it and found that the video was actually a fan-edited compilation of sweet moments between him and Little Fairy as a gaming CP.
After watching the video, he realized that every time he played games with Little Fairy, they had used Couple Heroes so many times!
Moreover, in the game, they often went out of their way to save each other…
One had to admit, the UP Master who made this video was truly talented! The editing was excellent, and they had even added in Song Zhi’s voice and some sound effects in post-production. It was really well-made and engaging.
As he watched, Song Zhi actually started to feel… well, it was kind of addictive? It really was… pretty sweet?
【Wei Haoyang: KSWL (I’m dying!)! Bro! I ship your Immortal CP with Little Fairy! (/≧▽≦)/】
Song Zhi: ???
……
At this moment, the other protagonist of the so-called Immortal CP was using a warm patch on her stomach, wearing a sour expression, and doing her daily personal interview.
“Zhu Zhu, on Love Cottage, you’ve sent love text messages to all four male guests. Can you tell us what different feelings you have for each of the four male guests?”
“No.”
“……”
Staff: The tsundere Zhu has appeared again. Ignore, ignore.
“May I ask, what do you think of Wei Wenbo? What kind of person is he?”
“A nagging old big brother.”
Staff: …O-old big brother?
“May I ask, what do you think of Lin Dong?”
“He’s a Big Pig’s Trotters.”
Staff: …
“May I ask, what do you think of Bo Shenyu?”
“Not very familiar with him.”
Staff: …It’s been over half a month, and you even went on a date once. N-not familiar?
“Then, what about Jiang Boyan?”
“An annoying pest who’s a bit of a nuisance.”
Staff: Suddenly feeling a bit sorry for Jiang Boyan, who kept sending messages to Bai Baozhu…
……
After the personal interview ended, the staff once again felt that Bai Baozhu simply wasn’t here to fall in love…
Judging by today’s interview, Bai Baozhu had zero interest in any of the four male guests!
Could this really lead to a Happy Ending (HE)!
Could Bai Baozhu really find a boyfriend on this show! Pondering deeply…
……
The next day, at noon.
Since Love Cottage always aired two episodes back-to-back, the content of the Love Cottage Premium Version was also released two episodes at a time.
Following the release of the first episode of the Love Cottage Premium Version yesterday, the second episode of the Premium Version also aired promptly at noon on Wednesday!
Because the first episode of the Love Cottage Premium Version was very well-received, when the second episode aired, the viewership was even higher!
The second episode that aired that day undoubtedly made it onto the Hot Search!
Although the second Premium Version episode enriched the process of Su Han’s four-person date and also aired the sweet solo date between Su Han and Bo Shenyu, with quite a bit of screen time at that.
However! What was more attractive in the second episode was not Su Han and Bo Shenyu, the two popular CP candidates!
It was—
Bai Baozhu.
To be more precise, it was the delicious food Bai Baozhu made!
Although everyone had already seen Bai Baozhu make one dish that made everyone drool in Episode Eight, in the Premium Version, the production team showed the entire process of Bai Baozhu cooking!
For a moment, everyone felt like they were watching a food show, not a dating show!
Moreover, the second Premium Version episode also explained why Bai Baozhu knew how to cook. The post-production guys really went all out, using fast-forward editing to clip in every single cooking video Bai Baozhu had watched.
They completely portrayed Bai Baozhu as a quasi-chef with super-strong culinary talent!
However, if there was another attractive point in the second Premium Version episode besides the food, it was that—Bai Baozhu’s smile was really too beautiful!
【Ah! I think I’m turning from a hater into a fan! Bai Baozhu’s smile is too beautiful! It’s much prettier than her previous affected, pretentious ‘goddess-style’ shallow smiles.】
【Am I the only one who thinks Bai Baozhu is getting more and more beautiful, and her aura is getting better and better too! I can’t take it! I can’t hold on! My principles are going to follow her looks. Goodbye, friends, I’m defecting /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~】
【What Tian Tian said is so right! If I were a male guest, I’d choose Bai Baozhu too! The more I watch the Premium Version, the more I feel Bai Baozhu is just too cute! I hope the regular version edits Bai Baozhu more normally!】
……
After the second Premium Version episode aired, it gained Bai Baozhu quite a few more fans, further weakening her persona as a Green Tea and Fish Pond Manager. At this point, the production team staff quietly waited for the airing of Episode Nine. That would be the true beginning of Bai Baozhu’s great reversal.