“I think I’ve fallen for a girl. So, I want to pursue her.”
Cheng Yingda never could have imagined that this was what his artist wanted to talk to him about!
The heart he had been holding up instantly settled back down.
He thought to himself, so what if he’s fallen for a girl? What’s the big deal!
He’d been focusing on his career and single for so many years. Now that he was successful, it was about time he fell in love.
Besides, Song Zhi wasn’t some idol who relied on fan economics anymore. He was now an actor with skill, acting chops, and resources.
While being in a relationship might have some impact, it wouldn’t be that significant.
In short, compared to quitting the industry, falling in love was nothing!
But, Cheng Yingda never could have imagined that the girl his artist liked was no ordinary girl!
“You have a girl you like? That’s good news! Who is it? Is it Lin Yaqiu, the female lead from the movie you collaborated on a while back, or is it Xiong Mengmeng from the show you’re recording recently?”
As Song Zhi’s agent, Cheng Yingda knew his artist’s schedule inside out. So, after Song Zhi said he had a girl he liked, after thinking it over, there were only those two candidates.
After all, in the last few months, Song Zhi had only been in contact with those two women who were around his age and had considerable interaction with him…
Just as Cheng Yingda on the other end of the phone was considering whether it was the talented and popular young actress Lin Yaqiu or the cute and ditsy girl group idol Xiong Mengmeng…
He heard Song Zhi slowly drop a bomb on him!
“Neither. The girl I like… her name is Bai Baozhu.”
“Bai Baozhu? That’s a nice name. Sounds a bit familiar too. Which agency’s artist is she…”
For a moment, Cheng Yingda, who hadn’t yet processed it, just felt the name was way too familiar, but he didn’t seem to know this person.
As he spoke, Cheng Yingda seemed to think of something. He fell silent, then cautiously asked.
“Song Zhi, the Bai Baozhu you’re talking about… she can’t be the Bai Baozhu I’m thinking of, right…”
It couldn’t be…
No matter how Cheng Yingda thought about it, it just seemed impossible!
But! Reality slapped him hard across the face.
“She’s exactly the Bai Baozhu you’re thinking of. The girl I like is that Bai Baozhu who’s recording the same variety show as me. The reason I took the Glory of Kings endorsement ad was also because of her.”
Song Zhi spoke calmly as he confessed to his agent, his demeanor so composed it was as if the person he liked was just an ordinary, completely average person.
However—
“Holy shit! Are you crazy or am I crazy?! You like Bai Baozhu? That Bai Baozhu who’s currently on a dating show, dating other male guests, and has a bunch of popular CPs online?!”
Cheng Yingda felt the world had become utterly surreal!
The girl Song Zhi liked was actually Bai Baozhu! This was just too absurd!
“No, you’re joking with me, right! Have you two even met? Have you talked? You two are basically complete strangers who don’t know each other! How could you possibly like her?”
“We’ve met. We saw each other every day while recording the show.”
“……” Cheng Yingda: He wanted to crack open Song Zhi’s head and see what was inside!
“We’ve talked. In the game, we spoke.”
“……” Cheng Yingda: Okay, he was sure now. It wasn’t him who was crazy, it was Song Zhi!
“Song Zhi, why does it have to be Bai Baozhu, of all people? Do you think there’s any possible future for you two? I can say without exaggeration, once this dating reality show Love Cottage finishes airing, she’ll be someone else’s girlfriend. You will definitely get your heart broken!”
Cheng Yingda roared, feeling utterly exhausted!
“That’s exactly why, Brother Cheng, I said I want to pursue her.”
Facing Cheng Yingda’s roar, Song Zhi replied with utter calm.
“……”
Hearing Song Zhi’s airy words, Cheng Yingda was momentarily at a loss for what to say!
“No, how are you going to pursue her?”
“So, Brother Cheng, that’s where I need your help. Go talk to Glory of Kings. Arrange for me and Bai Baozhu to do a gaming livestream together.”
“……？？？”
“Bai Baozhu is currently the advertising spokesperson for Glory of Kings, and she’s also very good at gaming. She has a lot of gaming fans. So, I don’t think Glory of Kings would refuse this proposal.”
“……？？？”
Cheng Yingda finally understood! Why Song Zhi suddenly confessed his feelings to him! So, in Song Zhi’s eyes, he was just a useful tool!
“Song Zhi, let me tell you, this kind of home-wrecking behavior is no good. Think about it, what’s your status? What’s her status…”
Before Cheng Yingda could finish his earnest persuasion, Song Zhi cut him off.
“I’m a man, she’s a woman. A perfect match.”
“……Is that the issue? The most critical thing right now is that you two are recording the same dating reality show! You two are really not suitable. If this gets exposed, what will your fans think? What will netizens think? Aren’t you just sabotaging the very premise of that dating show?”
“Brother Cheng, you know me. Once I’ve decided on something, it’s basically impossible to change.”
Hearing Song Zhi’s words, Cheng Yingda felt a massive headache coming on.
He really didn’t know now whether he should be relieved that Song Zhi wasn’t planning to quit the entertainment circle, but was just planning to have a bizarre romance…
“Brother Cheng, my future happiness depends on you. Thank you.”
Faced with such heavy words from Song Zhi.
In the end, Cheng Yingda compromised. As the pitiful, miserable ‘tool’, he had no choice but to go negotiate cooperation with the Glory of Kings officials again.
What could he do? After all, Song Zhi was the artist he personally signed!
Of course, as a golden agent, this time he also incidentally took on the role of agent for Bai Baozhu, that complete unknown from who-knows-where.
Well, his current job title might be more accurately described as ‘matchmaker’. _(:з”∠)_
Just as Cheng Yingda was fighting for Song Zhi and Bai Baozhu’s ‘ca(reer) (love)’, the protagonist herself, Bai Baozhu, had no idea that outside the show, her fifth male guest was about to make his entrance.
At that moment, she was frantically practicing the game, preparing for the final battle!
Time, unnoticed by all, arrived at Saturday amidst the efforts and struggles of countless people.
At eight o’clock that night, countless viewers sat in front of their TVs, waiting for the Hollywood action blockbuster that Love Cottage would broadcast that evening.
After the commercial break, the thirteenth episode of Love Cottage began to air.
Right from the start of this episode, before the real protagonists of the show—the dating guests—even appeared, all the viewers felt immense satisfaction!
Because starting from this episode, Xu Bingying formally withdrew from the program!
From now on, all viewers would never have to see Xu Bingying’s ugly face again, with her penchant for stirring up drama and throwing mud at people.
Although the celebrity observers were down one person, the viewers watching the show discovered that the five-person celebrity observer panel was far more harmonious than when it had six people!
Amidst the chat and analysis of the celebrity observers, the camera soon shifted to the dating guests living in Love Cottage.
Right at the opening, when the dating guests appeared, even though it was past dinner time and viewers had already eaten, they felt hungry again!
The reason was simple! The Love Cottage production team was poisoning the late-night airwaves again!
The opening scene once again showed Bai Baozhu standing in the kitchen, her hair tied up, wearing an apron, making breakfast.
Stir-fried beef ribs, glistening with red oil, white and tender tofu pudding, translucent noodles…
A bowl of beef tofu pudding noodles practically had the viewers sitting in front of their TVs salivating, constantly swallowing.
Even through the screen, everyone looking at that bowl of beef tofu pudding noodles, complete in color, aroma, and taste, felt as if they could smell the fragrant, savory scent…
[Wahhh! I want to go on Love Cottage too! Not to date, just to be able to eat the food Bai Baozhu makes!]
[Ever since I started following Love Cottage, I’ve gained a full ten pounds! This isn’t a dating show, it’s clearly a food show!]
[Praying that after the show ends, Zhu Zhu really does switch careers and become a chef!]
[I’m starting to think that with Bai Baozhu’s skills, all four male guests in Love Cottage will fall for her!]
…
As the show’s plot gradually developed, soon all the viewers were captivated by Jiang Boyan’s Sun Date invitation to Bai Baozhu.
Most netizens had seen spoilers online, so they were full of anticipation for this Sun Date, hailed as a Hollywood action blockbuster.
Everyone watched Bai Baozhu and Jiang Boyan’s Sun Date with great anticipation.
Yet, there was a group of Heretical CP fans who, once again, were desperately scraping for crumbs within the show!
[Sisters! Did you see that! The pen in Song Zhi’s hand broke again!]
[I saw it! Right when Jiang Boyan was on his Sun Date with Bai Baozhu, Song Zhi snapped the pen in his hand again!]
[Hehehe! He’s jealous, he’s jealous! Song Zhi is jealousy incarnate! The date hasn’t even started properly, and he can’t hold back anymore.]
[The pen breaking is a signal! It means our Brother Zhi is starting to go green with envy over the male guests on the show again.]
[My heart aches for Brother Zhi. His love is in his heart but hard to speak! It’s like an untouchable lover, so tragic!]
…
“Wow! This kid Jiang Boyan, not bad. Taking a delicate girl like Bai Baozhu on a stadium date. Looks like he’s planning to show off his boyfriend power.”
“Meng Meng, do you like this kind of sports-themed date?”
“Archery, rock climbing… I think those sound fun. I probably wouldn’t dislike it.”
“Song Zhi, if you were to ask a girl out, would you go to a sports center?”
“Hah, no.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“When a girl dresses up beautifully, she probably doesn’t actually want to come to a place like a sports center to exercise, right? Jiang Boyan’s date plan is a bit lacking in consideration.”
“I kind of agree with Brother Zhi again. It’s true, when I dress up beautifully, I just want a pretty, aesthetic date.”
…
[I agree with Song Zhi. I dress up beautifully to go out on a date with you, I don’t want to go do some sport.]
[Speaking of which, does the so-called Hollywood action blockbuster just mean Jiang Boyan showing off his archery and rock climbing to us? Suddenly feeling a bit disappointed!]
[Rock climbing and archery? What kind of Hollywood action blockbuster is that? No appeal, no appeal.]
Just as the celebrity observers on the show and the viewers sitting in front of their TVs were arguing about this date, something no one expected happened!
They saw Bai Baozhu, wearing form-fitting athletic wear that showed off her beautiful curves, ignore Jiang Boyan, pick up the bow and arrow placed to the side…
The moment the arrow was released, whether it was the celebrity observers or the viewers in front of their TVs, everyone’s eyes widened in utter shock as they stared at Bai Baozhu.
Even after Bai Baozhu shot ten arrows in a row, everyone still stared in disbelief.
Only after rock climbing, ice skating, and other sports activities were all played through by Bai Baozhu and Jiang Boyan did everyone gradually begin to clearly realize…
[Holy shit! It really is a Hollywood action blockbuster! Did you see Bai Baozhu’s rock climbing speed?! It was like she knew qinggong and could fly! Her arm strength is insane!]
[Ten shots, ten bullseyes, and it was Bai Baozhu’s first time trying archery! Too awesome! And her archery posture was absolutely beautiful!]
[The ice skating part had me dying of laughter. Jiang Boyan was so pitiful. After being utterly crushed in the first two events, he still wanted to salvage his pride, only to be completely obliterated into dust by Bai Baozhu’s perfect jump with a fast mid-air spin!]
[Bai Baozhu really is a Treasure Girl! Is she really a dance student? She’s clearly a sports student! No! Even a sports student couldn’t be as all-around talented as her! Whether it’s archery, rock climbing, or ice skating, she’s just too incredible!]
‘Does anyone remember what host Liu An said about Bai Baozhu at the very beginning? A delicate girl, hahaha! After watching this episode, I find it a bit hard to look directly at the word “delicate”! And I also find it a bit hard to look directly at Zhu Zhu!’
‘I think the person who truly can’t look directly at Bai Baozhu should be Jiang Boyan. His male dignity was utterly crushed! Even through the screen, I could feel Jiang Boyan’s despair during this date.’
‘Hahaha, although this Little Fairy persona of Bai Baozhu’s is a bit different from what I imagined, but! After watching this episode, I love Bai Baozhu, this little fairy, even more!’
‘Ying ying ying! The little fairy is really full of a domineering aura! I’m also going to switch sides and become one of the little fairy’s wife fans! She was just too handsome! Her boyfriend power is off the charts!’
……
After the thirteenth episode of Love Cottage finished airing, Bai Baozhu’s persona as a virtuous goddess who cooked incredibly well and was also extremely beautiful completely collapsed!
However, even though her persona crumbled, her fan count didn’t drop. Instead, it kept rising crazily! A large number of viewers, after the program ended, flooded into Bai Baozhu’s Weibo page, frantically posting comments like—
‘Ying ying ying, husband, I want to have your babies—!’
For a female artist, the comments under her Weibo were indeed utterly bizarre in style.
After the episode aired, Bai Baozhu’s fairy persona instantly transformed into a ‘boyfriend power MAX’ husband persona, and it even became a new hot search term, trending on Weibo, sparking endless discussion and comments.
However, the biggest buzz from this episode of Love Cottage wasn’t the ‘Bai Baozhu Boyfriend Power’ hot search term.
The hot search term that truly generated massive traffic was—
Bai Baozhu, the Motherland’s Olympics Needs a Talent Like You!#
After this episode aired, the keyword that truly caused massive breakout popularity was—coaches from various events of the national sports team came out of the woodwork, taking to Weibo to call out and invite Bai Baozhu!
And the source of this sensational breakout popularity was Bai Baozhu’s gorgeous jump on the skating rink during the show, that rapid mid-air spinning maneuver!
That was no ordinary skating sequence. It was a figure skating move with an extremely high difficulty coefficient, considered top-tier, one that very few people could pull off—the spread eagle into axel triple jump!
No wonder it shocked the various big shots in the sports world so much they couldn’t sit still!