Chapter Sixty-Three: You Truly Are My Own Son

"The second male lead is pretty good—he’s warm to everyone and always finds something to talk about. His emotional intelligence is really high."
"I think the second male lead matches best with the female lead—they’re both lively."
"The third guy is all business, like he’s here to negotiate a deal!"
"Oh my, why does it feel like every male contestant is into Chen Siyang? As soon as she walked in, the whole atmosphere changed."
"Nonsense! My favorite, the first male lead, is holding strong. He’s gone back to his seat, hasn’t even relaxed his shoulders!"
"Hahaha… This is killing me. The first male lead is definitely not here for romance—he hasn’t even glanced at the female contestants!"

Once everyone had arrived, they all sat together and chatted. Most of the conversation was between the second male lead, Yang Jiaxing, and Zhou Yun, with Jiang Lan and Chen Siyang occasionally chiming in.

Tang Zhichu rarely spoke unless someone called on him, and even then, he responded with a noticeable delay, making him appear awkward.

Watching this, Tang Zhichu sped up the playback threefold. It was indeed a bit embarrassing.

Outside, Tang Maode was already swearing under his breath.

"Look at him—he dares to talk back to me? He goes dumb in front of a woman, can’t say a word. This is humiliating! If my buddies saw this, they’d laugh themselves senseless..."

Tang Xiuju rolled her eyes. "It’s a show. There are cameras everywhere. If you went, you might not do any better than Zhichu."

Tang Maode glared. "I wouldn’t? At his age, his mother was already pregnant with him, and I had several girls chasing after me. I barely spared them a glance!"

As the adults argued, Tao Bo covered his ears. But he kept his eyes glued to a certain figure on the screen, muttering softly, "That’s Chen Siyang—the visual queen of the idol group."

Tao Bo thought that if he were in his cousin’s place, he definitely wouldn’t do as well.

And besides, he believed his cousin wasn’t as awkward as he seemed on the show. He’d met the other two female contestants—they’d both sought out his cousin proactively.

With that thought, Tao Bo sighed.

He felt his own life was hopeless. Today was the only day he could rest because his cousin was back; otherwise, he’d be in the kitchen chopping vegetables at this hour.

What girl would ever fall for a guy who just chops vegetables all day?

The more he thought about it, the more disheartened Tao Bo became. He pulled out his phone, opened the “add friend” function, skillfully typed in a number, and sent a request.

Moments later, the friend request was accepted, and a question mark popped up.

"Sorry, I was drunk last time and accidentally deleted you."

"Who is this?"

Tao Bo: "…"

Since Tang Zhichu thought his performance in the first episode was rather poor, he skipped through parts of it. He was secretly relieved he’d claimed to be sick and gone upstairs—otherwise, he’d have seemed even more awkward.

When Tang Zhichu said he was ill and went upstairs, the live comment feed became more understanding. No wonder he seemed so out of it, even his eyes were listless—it turned out he really was sick. That made sense.

However, many viewers started to worry—wasn’t he starting at a disadvantage? First impressions are so important.

At the end of the first episode, the studio began guessing whom the male and female contestants would text for the first time.

The host said, "That went so quickly—I haven’t had enough! Alright, everyone, now it’s time for the Tianyi Good Milk Reasoning Moment!"

"So, who should we guess first?"

"Let’s try Jiaxing. That shouldn’t be too hard!"

"Easy—it has to be Siyang. He even played rock-paper-scissors with Zejun just to cook with her."

"I’m not so sure. Siyang is a celebrity, after all. If it were me, because of her special status, I might try to stir things up a bit too."

"Let’s vote!"

After a round of guesses, only two people stumped everyone: Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang.

No one could read Tang Zhichu, and for Chen Siyang, two of the male contestants had shown interest in her, making it unclear whom she would choose.

Since it was impossible to deduce, they just made their best guess. The person who interacted most with Tang Zhichu was Zhou Yun, who had made him congee and given him medicine. From Tang Zhichu’s perspective, that should have touched him, right?

As for Chen Siyang, most people leaned toward Yang Jiaxing.

So far, the couples with the strongest chemistry seemed to be Huang Zejun and Jiang Lan—both mature types—and then Chen Siyang and Yang Jiaxing.

So they guessed Tang Zhichu would send his message to Zhou Yun, and Chen Siyang would send hers to Yang Jiaxing.

The audience was divided along the same lines.

But when the results were revealed, both the studio guests and the viewers were stunned.

Tang Zhichu had sent his message to Chen Siyang. That was understandable—after all, she was the center of attention. Both Yang Jiaxing and Huang Zejun had messaged her, so one more from Tang Zhichu didn’t make a difference.

But shockingly, Chen Siyang had also messaged Tang Zhichu.

So, did that mean the two of them reciprocated each other’s feelings?

"Holy crap, how did this guy pull that off?"

"I don’t get it!"

"What’s so hard to understand? Look at his face! The third guy is too businesslike, the second guy is a bit effeminate, but the first male lead? Handsomely clueless, full of youthful energy, they’re a perfect match!"

"Ten-year Chen-Tang CP fan here, uninvited but present!"

"Chen-Tang CP? Why not just make it Chentang Pass while you’re at it?"

…

No matter how surprised the comment section was, the results were out, and the studio’s observation panel had to come up with explanations—otherwise, they’d seem unprofessional.

The host turned to one of the guests. "Lin’er, you used to be in an idol group, too. Tell us, why did Siyang send her message to Zhichu?"

Jin Lin’er quickly played the fool. "Because he’s good-looking! If it were me, I’d pick Zhichu too. When Zhou Yun brought him medicine and he smiled, wow—it was like a flower blooming."

Because she’d been in a girl group herself, she didn’t dare say anything careless. She wasn’t in the same group as Siyang, but Jin Lin’er knew people would compare them, so she stuck to safe answers.

After a few lighthearted exchanges, a psychologist on the panel began analyzing.

"I think, as a celebrity on a dating show, there’s huge pressure already. Being too enthusiastic can backfire. And if you observe Siyang’s personality, she’s quite quiet. Zhichu has his own obvious traits—his looks, his speech, his manner—all completely non-aggressive. Socially, this offers a sense of safety that makes people want to get closer…"

Listening to the author’s serious nonsense, Tang Zhichu exited the playback.

He did a quick review in his mind.

As for selling points: the female contestants’ looks counted, Chen Siyang was a big draw, and his own accidental persona as the clueless, funny guy added to the appeal. The episode ending with him and Chen Siyang exchanging messages was another highlight.

Chen Siyang’s participation could be spun into a topic beyond the show itself, and the romance show’s audience had plenty to discuss.

Not a bad start.

Tang Zhichu glanced at the view count—over thirty million in less than two hours, safely above the passing line.

In the living room outside—

Tao Bo was still absorbing it all.

He counted on his fingers: one goddess driving a sports car, another goddess in a city SUV, and now an incredibly beautiful superstar!

Damn! Isn’t this even more impressive than Big Uncle’s eldest son?

"What does this mean?" Tang Maode asked, pointing at the TV.

Tang Xiuju wasn’t sure either—she rarely watched reality shows—but nudged Tao Jianshe beside her. "He’s asking you. Don’t you love these shows?"

Tao Jianshe gritted his teeth. "It’s a good thing. The prettiest one sent her message to Zhichu—it probably means she’s interested in him."

Tang Xiuju asked, "The prettiest one?"

Tao Jianshe looked defeated. "No, that’s not my personal opinion. It’s what the audience thinks. She’s a big star, so of course she’s pretty."

Tao Bo raised his hand. "Mom, don’t listen to Dad. He sits at home watching girl group competitions all day. He loves those idol girls. He even used Chen Siyang’s photo as his phone wallpa—mmph—"

Before Tao Bo could finish, Tao Jianshe covered his mouth, muttering fiercely, "You really are my own son!"