【Broke Defense? Ex-Husband Bro! Among the eight guests in the cabin, there are three pairs of ex-couples. After a full day of show content, with your eagle eyes, who do you think had a romance in the past? Hurry up and vote!】
(Up until 11:00 PM tonight, the top four options by vote count—if any are correct—will be announced on the spot, along with their CP status and every single chat detail from the “Bathhouse Night Talk” segment! If they’re wrong, those incorrect options get deleted from the top four, and they won’t be eligible for tomorrow’s voting!)
【Netizen Discussion Zone】
【Holy crap! 28 options! My eyes are crossing just trying to pick!】
【Hahaha, I’m dying! Because of one line from Shen Li, Yang Zhiqi x Ke Jiujiu’s cursed CP is already leading by a landslide!?】
【I looked closely, and honestly, there aren’t many pairs with real chemistry in this cabin. All I can smell is bitter ex vibes!】
【Help! They’re divorced! No chemistry makes total sense—who feels sparks with their ex-husband or ex-wife!?】
【Don’t even front—you can’t deny Brother Yang’s got something going on. He’s No. 2 with Zhao Yunzhi right now, and even No. 4 with Shen Li! We all know Yang would cheat on anyone without blinking, but I’m starting to think he’s got people botting votes. Holy shit, why is the whole top of the leaderboard Brother Yang?!】
【Fuck, I’m deleting Yang x Shen Li!!! Why, why, why does Shen Li want to pick Brother Yang for a date? Aaaaah, I’m terrified they’re actually a pair!】
【No way! During the quiz, Shen Li listed Brother Yang as his most hated guest, and for ex similarities, he wrote “overly strong sense of self”—that’s spot-on shade.】
【Not necessarily. Maybe Shen Li was too embarrassed to name anyone else and just wrote about his ex?】
【For real talk, though, Brother Yang’s actual ex has gotta be Zhao Yunzhi. They mutually picked each other for today’s date, and the whole thing was about kid stuff—total ex-spouse energy.】
【On a serious note, Lin Xu x Ke Jiujiu is a lock too, but it got bumped to fifth.】
【What about Kris? Anyone shipping her with Weiwei?】
【They barely interact. I get loving their looks this pair’s gorgeous, but there’s zero spark.】
【Aaaaah, someone on VB photoshopped Qian Xingzhi and Shen Li together! Holy shit!!! Peak visuals!!!! This is face-con heaven!!!!!!!!】
【I saw it too—probably a marketing account. They move fast.】
【LMAO, these two massive icebergs together? Who melts first?】
【What’s wrong with powerhouse ice king duo? Pour some tea on Daji, and boom—someone turns into a soft, fluffy hot cake.】
【Damn, upstairs… this ain’t the wild west, dude.】
【Anyone shipping Jiang Nan x Shen Li? He blocked the camera for him~】
【They don’t match perfectly, sure, but the prettier one being the bottom is normal.】
【Nah, emphasizing it’s a friendship pair makes it prime ship fuel! Exes who stay friends, you know?】
【Plus, midway through dinner, they both vanished. Bet the little lovebirds snuck off to the bathroom for some alone time!】
【Fainting. Who’s gonna reimburse me for reading that line? Y’all must be starving.】
【Word is, Jiang Nan’s a top exec at WCC Company, right? Why’s he on this show? Ke Jiujiu as a net celeb rubbing elbows is one thing, but Jiang Nan? Feels like a mismatch.】
【A massive traffic show like this? Showing up is winning. What’s weird about it?】
【If my ex were Shen Li, I’d take 100k to film 15 days of variety just to get back with him.】
【Dream on upstairs. You’re hilarious—should’ve had you on the Spring Festival Gala.】
【Y’all might be memeing, but Shen Li’s ex? He’s legit paying and chasing at the same time.】
【Fuck! Jealousy burning my eyes red!!!! Hope he never succeeds!!!! I’ll curse him forever!!!!!!!!】
Qian Xingzhi’s slender fingers flicked lightly across the screen, tapping a tiny heart on the “hope he never succeeds” comment without a flicker of expression. The system promptly folded away the disliked reply.
Still not satisfied, he tapped the user’s avatar and blocked them.
Qin Zhao’s voice drifted from behind, dripping with schadenfreude: “Whoa, that got under your skin? Even blacklisting? It was just a joke.”
Qian Xingzhi’s chiseled features tightened, his sharp gaze snapping to Qin Zhao with a fierce glare.
Qin Zhao waved his hands frantically. “Whoa, whoa, don’t look at me like that. I’m not intimidated.”
Qian Xingzhi snapped, “Quit yapping. If you’re done, get back to the studio. Ad time’s almost up.”
Qin Zhao turned serious at last, finally voicing the question he’d been holding all afternoon. “Look, I’ve been racking my brain—why does that Jiang Nan guy look so familiar? When he was having dinner with your ex earlier, it hit me. Isn’t he a WCC Company exec? Isn’t he with the Zhao Family?”
Qian Xingzhi’s long, strong fingers slid the phone smoothly into his pocket. He responded absentmindedly, “Yeah.”
Qin Zhao sucked in a sharp breath, leaning into the gossip. “Hiss, big bro, it’s your investment show. Don’t you vet the guests’ backgrounds? How’d a Zhao Family lapdog slip in?”
Qian Xingzhi dipped his head slightly, and in that instant, the air around them seemed to freeze. “Do you think I’m an idiot? That I wouldn’t check?”
“So you…?” Qin Zhao blinked. “You let him in on purpose?”
“Of course.”
“Fuck, guy’s a creep, and your ex is drop-dead gorgeous. You aren’t worried he’ll try something?”
Qian Xingzhi’s face remained impassive. “Shen Li isn’t some fragile vine.”
“Fine, fine, your ex is a man-eating flower then. But what’s your angle? WCC hasn’t messed with you in years. Let Jiang Nan in, and if he stirs shit up, your fragile truce with them goes up in flames. You’ll have your hands full again.”
Qian Xingzhi took a graceful sip of tea before replying calmly, “Their existence is a mistake. They shouldn’t even be around.”
Qin Zhao froze again, letting out a sigh. His eyes dimmed from bright curiosity to shadowed unease, a flicker of emotion passing through.
After a long pause, he said slowly, “You’re not doing this because of that 16-year-old trainee thing… are you? But the cops are on it. Case is filed—0225 Case. Even if they deserve it, the police will handle it…”
“Hmph.”
Qian Xingzhi slammed his empty teacup on the table with a sharp clack, his icy gaze sweeping over his friend’s face.
“Those WCC pimps all have backers. Unless I make waves, how do the cops dig deeper?”
Qin Zhao shot back, “That’s not your problem! Your ex quit the force, remember? Even to protect him, you shouldn’t drag him into this!”
Qian Xingzhi’s expression darkened further. “I told you, Shen Li doesn’t need coddling. When I do the right thing, he’s happier than me about it.”
Qin Zhao couldn’t argue with that, but something still felt off.
He mulled it over, then gasped. “Hiss, so you made this show to take down WCC? Not to get back with your ex? You’re using him as bait?”
Qian Xingzhi lowered his head, gaze sliding away from Qin Zhao’s face. His expression stormy, he stood, glanced at the time, and stalked irritably toward the lounge door. “None of your business. Back to work.”
Qin Zhao hurried after him. “Tsk tsk, look at you, flying off the handle again. With that temper, it’s a miracle Shen Li put up with you for years.”
Qian Xingzhi’s face stayed cold. “I just can’t talk to your black-and-white thinking.”
“Oh, so you want both ways?”
Qin Zhao scoffed, firing back. “I’m not debating with a split-personality hothead like you! Fix that attitude, or you talk to Shen Li like that too?”
Qian Xingzhi’s steps finally halted.
The wall light cast shadows across his straight nose, his perfect face half-lit, half-dark. The distant look in his eyes and the firm line of his lips radiated an effortless authority.
Qin Zhao’s heart skipped. Shit, did he actually piss him off? He was about to crack a joke, smooth things over.
But Qian Xingzhi’s brows furrowed awkwardly, thin lips parting with clear reluctance.
“Is my temper… really that bad?”
Qin Zhao blinked, caught off guard.
“Uh… hiss… how to put it?”
“Be straight.”
Qin Zhao nodded vigorously. “Not exactly mood swings, more like unpredictable. You come off harsh.”
Qian Xingzhi: .
Qin Zhao rushed on. “But it’s fixable! Think about it—your ex stuck with you that long, so he knew your flaws. Still, it’s a flaw. If you want him back, you gotta change. Show some effort, or he’ll be disappointed.”
Qian Xingzhi: .
“Uh, just my two cents. Ignore if it doesn’t fit…”
“Thanks.”
Qian Xingzhi straightened proudly, staring ahead as he said curtly, “Let’s go.”
The thanks sounded almost unlike him.
By the time they returned to the Live Observation Room, the brand’s sales host had just packed up the products, and the camera guy was about to switch shots.
He hadn’t clocked out yet and accidentally captured Qian Xingzhi’s pants.
Next to the crotch, in his pants pocket, Qian Xingzhi’s slender left hand was fiddling with something.
Round. Like a ring.
The cameraman squinted, startled, but before he could zoom in, the director barked.
“Tch, what the hell are you filming? Fix that angle! What’re you doing?!”
The cameraman shivered, quickly adjusting to frame Qian Xingzhi’s handsome face.
Still, the netizen barrage exploded from those few seconds:
【Whoa, looks huge】
【Even soft it’s that big?】
【Ads over and we get this bonus? They let us peek there?】
Qian Xingzhi clearly saw the flood of comments, his gaze irritably shifting from the screen filming him.
His face darkened considerably as he withdrew his plain left hand from the pocket.
These netizens were hopeless.
Couldn’t even spot the obvious ring in plain sight? Just staring at his balls?
