Song Zhi’s sudden attack truly left Xu Bingying stunned.
Xu Bingying, who had always been one to pick fights with everyone on the show with her sharp words, now seemed like a deflated balloon, completely wilted.
Her pale face was filled with boundless panic and helplessness.
She understood just how influential Song Zhi was, and she also understood what kind of trouble she might face if this conversation between her and Song Zhi was broadcast.
Not to mention anything else, just the sheer size of Song Zhi’s fanbase meant that if each of them spat once, she would be drowned.
At this moment, she truly felt some regret.
She regretted that she shouldn’t have been so aggressive, that she should have quit while she was ahead. If she had held back just a little bit more in her words, things between her and Song Zhi wouldn’t have escalated to this point.
After all, Song Zhi had always been a very gentlemanly and reasonable man, and he never bothered to argue with women…
The more she thought about it, the more regretful Xu Bingying felt.
But now, no matter how much she regretted, it was already too late…
Episode Nine of Love Cottage was recorded amidst this awkward atmosphere.
Xu Bingying, having been thoroughly rebuked by Song Zhi, was clearly not in her right state. Unlike her usual active and enthusiastic self, she now resembled a frost-bitten eggplant, completely listless and devoid of spirit.
Even when it came to the final connection segment, where Bai Baozhu once again ‘acted up’ and, to everyone’s surprise, sent a very childish text message to Lin Dong, Xu Bingying did not ‘step forward’ to criticize Bai Baozhu.
The recording of the latter half of Love Cottage Episode Nine, devoid of Xu Bingying’s sharp and caustic commentary, actually made the other five celebrity observers feel much more at ease.
Moreover, they all secretly thought to themselves that if Xu Bingying could remain this ‘quiet and peaceful’ for the next few episodes, that would be for the best!
Unfortunately, this wish of the several celebrity observers was destined to go unfulfilled.
Because—
For the sake of the show’s harmony, it was decided that the dialogue between Song Zhi and Xu Bingying would be selectively edited. The final, more intense segment would be deleted, leaving only the more ‘rational’ conversation.
Only after the production team gave this information did Xu Bingying’s perpetually anxious heart finally settle down.
……
“Song Zhi, I heard from the production team that you got into an argument with Xu Bingying during the recording?”
Not long after the program recording ended, Song Zhi’s manager, Cheng Yingda, called.
Hearing his manager’s question, Song Zhi responded with a low, muffled ‘mm-hmm’.
“Sigh, I know what you’re thinking, and I understand how you feel. But, you can’t get into an argument with a female guest on the show either, it’s beneath your status…”
“Brother Cheng, I’m a bit tired.”
Having taken off his white suit, Song Zhi rubbed his temples wearily and spoke in a deep voice.
“Wait, don’t hang up yet. I haven’t finished. I called for two reasons. First, to let you know that the Love Cottage production team just called me to discuss things. They said the segment where you argued with Xu Bingying probably won’t be edited into the show…”
Listening to Cheng Yingda’s words, Song Zhi’s hand stiffened slightly, and a faint trace of mockery flashed in his dark eyes.
“The second thing is, you need to take the Glory of Kings livestream seriously. During the pandemic, all our work has been canceled. The Glory of Kings full-channel promotional livestream is pretty much the biggest exposure channel you have right now. Plus, you can gain a huge wave of fans while everyone is resting during the pandemic.
Let me tell you, a lot of celebrities are eyeing this full-channel promotional livestream spot. If I hadn’t been quick on the draw…”
Seeing his chatterbox manager ramble on again with a bunch of nonsense, Song Zhi helplessly curved the corner of his lips.
“Alright, Brother Cheng, I got it. I’m hanging up.”
Amidst Cheng Yingda’s incessant chatter, Song Zhi hung up the phone.
Tossing his phone aside, Song Zhi walked to the cocktail bar and mixed himself a beautifully colored cocktail.
Taking a small sip and savoring the crisp taste of the alcohol in his mouth, Song Zhi recalled the memory of his argument with Xu Bingying during the Love Cottage recording earlier and suddenly felt like laughing.
He never thought that even someone as self-possessed and calm as him would have an impulsive day one day.
And it was an impulse for a complete stranger…
Perhaps it was sympathy at work? Perhaps she reminded him of someone? Or perhaps… because the food she made looked delicious?
“Mmm… I really want to eat some crab roe soup dumplings…”
……
Just as a certain celebrity observer was muttering about wanting to eat the crab roe soup dumplings made by Bai Baozhu, Bai Baozhu herself was busy gaming!
“Zhu Zhu, is the game really that fun?”
After Xia Tiantian finished her shower and returned to the bedroom, she saw Bai Baozhu still curled up in the beanbag chair playing games. She shook her head helplessly.
She suspected that if it weren’t for the program recording, her roommate would probably game for a whole day without eating or drinking.
“Of course it’s fun! I’ve discovered that gaming is even more interesting than cooking!”
Cooking was an enjoyment, but gaming was pure fun!
Especially since the female heroes in the game were all so beautiful~
“Gaming is indeed quite fun, but I still can’t understand what’s so fun about you playing solo in the beginner training camp against the computer.”
Watching Bai Baozhu once again in a 1v1 against a computer-controlled hero, Xia Tiantian frowned in incomprehension.
She was a homebody herself and occasionally played games when holed up at home during holidays, and it was indeed quite fun.
But! That was limited to playing with other netizens online, not playing solo against the computer!
That was just way too boring!
“You don’t get it. My current skill level isn’t ready for prime time yet! Once I feel my skills are up to par, I’ll go out and play with other players.”
“It’s just a game, are you really taking it that seriously?”
“Even if it’s just a game, you should still take it seriously. I don’t like being a burden to others…”
Bai Baozhu mumbled.
Hearing Bai Baozhu’s words, Xia Tiantian was shocked. She realized then that Bai Baozhu wasn’t just a bit of a ‘straight man’ in daily life.
She never expected that even when gaming, she was such a ‘straight man’! Her competitive spirit and pride were not ordinary at all!
In any case, they far exceeded those of the average girl!
“Alright, as long as you’re happy. But once this match is over, you can’t play anymore. It’s almost time to send the text messages.”
“Got it, got it! I’ll finish this battle right away!”
Bai Baozhu nodded like a chick pecking at rice, not even looking up.
After a solo match ended, Bai Baozhu reluctantly returned the phone dedicated to gaming to the production team.
When Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian walked together to the girls’ small living room, they found they were once again the last to arrive.
Su Han and Ye Jingyu had apparently arrived long ago. Each was holding a book, sitting on their respective sofas, waiting for the time to send today’s love text messages.
The four of them exchanged greetings. Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian had just sat down when the time to send today’s love text messages arrived.
While everyone was editing their love text messages, Bai Baozhu once again skillfully took out her exclusive ‘Green Head Plaque’. Using her phone and clothes as cover, she stealthily selected the recipient for today’s love text message!
Having perfunctorily and hastily sent out tonight’s love text message, Bai Baozhu began to space out, waiting for this boring mandatory task time to end sooner.
Just as Bai Baozhu was bored, waiting for the love text message segment to end quickly so she could go back to sleep, something she never expected happened—she hit the jackpot today! She received four love text messages!
“Buzz—!”
“Buzz—!”
“Buzz—!”
“Buzz—!”
Her phone actually vibrated four times! Bai Baozhu was completely dumbfounded!
This time, her phone must really be broken!
How could she possibly receive four love text messages?! That’s insane!
Bai Baozhu stared at her phone in utter disbelief, hardly daring to believe her eyes.
Feeling a bit guilty, Bai Baozhu swallowed hard. Her little eyes sneakily glanced at the other girls around her. Seeing that the others didn’t seem to have noticed and were still waiting for love text messages, Bai Baozhu shifted her gaze back to her own phone. Then, cautiously, she opened these four messages one by one.
[Your dance today was beautiful. Good night.]
[I suddenly realized you are the legendary Treasure Girl. It feels like you often bring surprises to people.]
[Sorry, Loyalty to the Country is on my playlist, and it’s a song I really like. But today, you interpreted the dance for this song perfectly. It gave me a lot of creative inspiration watching it. Thank you very much.]
[Although your dance wasn’t very graceful, it was still somewhat nice to look at.]
Seeing that all these messages mentioned the ‘dance’ she performed today and were praising her ‘dancing,’ the corner of Bai Baozhu’s mouth twitched slightly. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
Heaven knew… what she performed today wasn’t a ‘dance’ at all, but ‘martial arts’!
Or perhaps, she actually had quite a talent for dancing?
That night, apart from Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian, the other two female guests, Ye Jingyu and Su Han, both suffered from insomnia!
Because, for the first time recently, neither of them had received a single text message!
Ye Jingyu was somewhat okay, but the one with the strongest reaction was Su Han!
Because… she had gone from three votes, to one vote, and then from one vote, to zero votes!
Now, not only had Bo Shenyu and Jiang Boyan changed their votes, but even her longtime backup option, Wei Wenbo, had switched his support!
Such a blow was almost devastating for Su Han!
For a moment, she didn’t even know what the point of her participating in this show was anymore!
She even began to doubt her own charm…
However, that night, it wasn’t just Su Han and Ye Jingyu who suffered from insomnia; the vast number of netizens online were also kept awake!
Because, someone suddenly leaked online that during the recording of Love Cottage, a celebrity guest had gotten into an argument with a female guest on the show!
Once this piece of gossip broke, who could possibly sleep?