Chapter One Hundred and Eight: The Music Variety Show Goes Live

After breakfasting on porridge, Tang Zhichu sat on the sofa and watched television.

Original Music Alliance had gone live. This program was on a much grander scale than the dating show, and Penguin Video had even given it its own dedicated section.

Soon after, Zhou Yun came over again carrying a plate of sliced fruit. She set it down in front of Tang Zhichu and sat beside him as well.

“I watched it the day before yesterday,” she said. “Your show is insanely popular, but people online are also saying it might start strong and fade fast.”

Tang Zhichu nodded. Over the past few days he had seen the same talk online. It was not only netizens discussing it; people in the industry were talking about it too.

These days, variety shows with multiple artists were very much in vogue, but a show that had multiple artists making original music was genuinely rare.

The main reason was simple: for the artists, it was hard-earned money. Why not go on other variety shows instead, where they would not need to rack their brains writing songs? The alliance format was already a major compromise; it meant not everyone had to produce a song every episode. That was why people were willing to come.

“The first two episodes were all newcomers. Whether an original music show is good or not is actually very simple: if the work is good, it looks good. If the work is bad, then no amount of flashy editing will save it. So, I have to admit Director Yu really does have guts,” Tang Zhichu replied.

Zhou Yun leaned down to pick up the remote, then looked at him. Her fair face held a trace of anticipation.

“Why don’t we watch the dating show instead?”

“Up to you.”

She changed the channel, and it happened to land right in the middle of an episode that had already been playing for more than ten minutes.

Zhou Yun leaned back into the sofa and crossed her legs. Today she was wearing jeans, and when she folded her legs under herself, the fabric pulled tight.

“Oh, I watched part of this yesterday. Should I rewind it?”

Tang Zhichu glanced at her but did not expose her.

The screen had landed right on the moment when he had gone on a date with Zhou Yun. Episode five.

“Let’s just keep watching from where you are.”

“All right.”

As they watched, Tang Zhichu realized something was off. The location of his second date with Zhou Yun was a gym, and Zhou Yun was wearing yoga pants and a sports bra that showed her waist.

“Xiaoyun’s figure is seriously amazing. Too much!”

“She’s showing off her body on purpose, huh? Sugar God, you have to hold steady!”

“So scheming. Using this to test Sugar God? If you’ve got the nerve, let me do it.”

“Yanyang, come quick. Someone’s trying to steal your home.”

“Honestly, I just can’t like the female lead. I think she’s really manipulative. I already felt it when she sang in front of Yanyang in the second episode. That was no tribute; it was provocation. Good thing Sugar God saw through it!”

...

Amid the dense stream of comments, even without reading carefully, one could still see people insulting Zhou Yun.

Tang Zhichu looked at Zhou Yun, then picked up the remote and turned off the comments.

“Didn’t I tell you? For a girl to be so full of schemes is not a good thing. It will backfire,” he said softly.

Zhou Yun gave a quiet hum but said nothing.

After a while, though, she gradually leaned against Tang Zhichu, and slowly rested her head on his shoulder.

Because of the difference in height, Tang Zhichu stiffened slightly, but he still sank down a little so Zhou Yun could rest just right against his shoulder.

“You could win fans just by relying on your looks, and yet you insist on using schemes. In this internet age, everyone thinks they’re clever. They love nitpicking every detail, and if even one thing feels off, they’ll tear you apart. But you actually go and hand them something to tear apart. We’re past the era when being blackened could still make you famous...” Though he was scolding her, his voice was gentle and soft.

He had already seen plenty of people cursing her in the previous episode, and this one was even worse.

Zhou Yun listened to his lecture while softly murmuring agreement.

In truth, she was smiling inside right now. It was not just episode five; people had been cursing her from episode one.

That was expected, though it still took quite a bit of effort to get used to it. Otherwise, she would never have let Tang Zhichu watch this.

After adjusting her own emotions, she thought she should not have those insults for free, should she?

Even if she could not become black and red, she still needed to let Tang Zhichu see it. She refused to believe he would not feel sorry for her.

“It’s all my fault. I thought too simply. I originally planned to steal some spotlight from Yanyang with one of the male guests and then go viral. Who knew Yanyang’s fans would be that terrifying? Of course, that has nothing to do with Yanyang. I’m not that petty. It was expected, and I’m used to it...” Zhou Yun said softly.

Tang Zhichu shook his head helplessly, then took her hand as well.

Her hand was very graceful and very white. Maybe because she worked out all the time, it did not have the delicate softness of Sister Lan’s, but it was still supple.

Then he suddenly felt Zhou Yun shiver against him. From his angle, he could only see the top of her hair, and he frowned in suspicion.

“Are you laughing?”

“I... I’m not laughing. You’re the one taking advantage of me, okay!”

From where Tang Zhichu could not see, Zhou Yun really was smiling, though she was stubbornly keeping a straight face, and her cheeks were beginning to flush.

So this was what it felt like to lean against a man’s body!

It was intoxicating. Was it not completely normal to smile a little? This fool.

“I’ll recommend a brand of body wash to you. It smells really nice. I’ll send you the name on WeChat later.”

Tang Zhichu: “...”

Resting against Tang Zhichu like this, Zhou Yun felt certain that she really did like him. The body never lied.

Zhou Yun was the kind of person who was used to sorting out her thoughts clearly, which was why she was so decisive.

She had to admit that Chen Siyang was a hurdle. In Zhou Yun’s eyes, Tang Zhichu had taken the initiative to step back for Chen Siyang’s development.

That was not because he did not like her. It had to be because he liked her too much.

There was a hurdle like that. What to do? Of course, cross it.

Feelings could be cultivated. So she would keep adding weight to her side of the scale and strike only when the timing, place, and people were all in her favor.

That was why she had transferred a sum of money to Huang Zejun in Tang Zhichu’s name. On one hand, it really could help him; on the other, it was also a subtle reminder to Huang Zejun that Chen Siyang was already a thing of the past. As for who the future mistress of the house would be, who could say?

As for Jiang Lan, she might also like Tang Zhichu. Mainly because Tang Zhichu had performed so well on the dating show. But in Zhou Yun’s eyes, the greatest threat at the moment was still Chen Siyang.

Holding Tang Zhichu’s large hand, Zhou Yun let her thoughts drift.

Tang Zhichu did not go any further either, simply letting Zhou Yun lean there. In his view, Zhou Yun was different from Jiang Lan.

Sister Lan had no petty schemes, but her vision was certainly broader than Zhou Yun’s. She was too decisive, and truly sincere, and she was adorable too. Tang Zhichu had no way of resisting her at all.

Zhou Yun was different. She was absolutely subjective and full of little calculations. Tang Zhichu did not dislike that, nor could he bring himself to be angry with her.

Pouty lips, eyes that seemed to speak, cute and sweet, with a body this incredible—so what if she had a little scheming of her own?

“Xiaoyun.”

“Mm?”

“Help me pick out a few gifts.”

“What for?”

“When I go back to Yuzhou, I want to give them to Sister Lan. When my father died, she helped me a lot, and she even lent me her car.”

After hearing that, Zhou Yun squeezed herself a little closer against Tang Zhichu, the smile on her face almost overflowing.

See? He still cared about her. Even the gifts for Sister Lan were going to be chosen by her.

Zhou Yun felt that her guess was correct. The biggest hurdle still had to be Chen Siyang. Sister Lan could be set aside for now.

Just then, the dating show happened to play the date between Tang Zhichu and Jiang Lan.

It was rather absurd: the two of them simply fell asleep on their separate lounge chairs like that.

But if one turned on the comments, one could see many people praising Jiang Lan, and the so-called Jiang-Tang pairing had become more and more popular.