Over here, Gu Chen’s side was negotiating contract issues with the show’s production team.

Gu Chen raised his hand slightly and politely said, “Please, have some tea. Take your time, no rush.”

The production team staff felt that Mr. Gu and his team already had an overwhelming advantage, yet he still didn’t show any arrogance. He remained courteous and well-mannered. It’s truly extraordinary… This kind of calm and collected demeanor is the real pressure. Just where did this mysterious big shot come from?

Aunt Zhang served tea to the guests, but the staff and legal team looked at the teacups with even more pressure, thinking, could these also be worth tens of thousands per set?

Thus, the living room held three distinctly different atmospheres. Gu Chen had a book on his lap, leisurely reading and occasionally looking up to listen to their discussions; Lawyer He’s team exuded clear logic and professional pressure; while the production team was breaking out in cold sweat.

In the end, facing Gu Chen’s side, they could only say awkwardly, “Mr. Gu, you indeed don’t have to pay the penalty. But no matter what, this is a dating show. Your partner should still participate.”

Gu Chen, flipping through his book, directly pointed out the key issue, “Actually, it’s very simple. My partner never signed this contract, so there’s no need for them to participate.”

The original owner indeed wanted to have a career of his own, but before the arranged marriage, he had spent almost all his time in school, not close to either his father or mother, and thus unable to use their resources. Therefore, getting this dating show opportunity was already very difficult for him. He didn’t expect that a high school classmate who introduced this opportunity did so with malicious intent.

At that time, it was easy for him to sign the contract himself, but let alone making Li Tingqin sign the contract, the original owner didn’t even dare to tell him about it.

And Du Ruiqing, eager for Gu Chen to be this rookie guest, didn’t pay attention to these details and never imagined that Gu Chen’s husband simply wouldn’t come.

Gu Chen lifted his eyes from the book and glanced at Lawyer He, smiling slightly, “I believe I don’t have the authority to sign a contract on behalf of Mr. Li, do I?”

Lawyer He nodded, “That’s correct.” The contract issue posed no difficulty at all.

The opposing legal team had been utterly defeated by Lawyer He earlier and had already given up, with their focus entirely elsewhere: “?”

Mr. Li? Who is that? Isn’t the contract signed by Mr. Gu’s young spouse?

The staff were almost in tears, saying, “So… you mean your partner won’t appear, and you’ll continue to participate in the second episode alone?”

“Correct.” Gu Chen nodded.

He had no intention of changing any plot; he would continue to be a background character in this show.

“Uh…” the opposing legal counsel had a sudden idea, “How about we pay you the penalty fee, and we’ll replace you with someone else for the next episode?”

Gu Chen replied, “No need.”

The legal counsel almost cried, realizing they were dealing with a big shot who wouldn’t care about such a small amount of money.

“But,” Gu Chen continued, “I want you to edit out any footage of my face when the show airs, and minimize my screen time as much as possible.”

Since they were renegotiating the contract, he wanted this stipulation clearly documented.

The staff were shocked. Who participates in a show and then asks to have their screen time reduced? But since this was Gu Chen’s request, they couldn’t complain later.

However, since it was a request from the other side, the staff didn’t agree immediately but seized the chance to negotiate: “Mr. Gu, this is a dating show. If your partner doesn’t appear, we really can’t film it properly. How about this, we heard your partner is on a business trip abroad. They don’t need to attend in person, but we hope you can show your relationship through phone calls, video chats, and other remote means. In exchange, we’ll edit as you requested. Is that acceptable to you?”

Gu Chen nodded, “That works.”

This production team was really strange. In the original plot, Li Tingqin didn’t appear, and the production team was happy to showcase the protagonist’s misery, creating topics like “marrying up and swallowing needles” and “the tragic, lonely life of marrying into a wealthy family.” They were eager for Li Tingqin not to appear. Now that he was explicitly preventing Li Tingqin from appearing, they were begging him to join?

“Alright,” the legal counsel finally breathed a sigh of relief, “I’ll draft a new agreement. Once Lawyer He reviews it and you confirm it’s fine, we’ll sign it again.”

After sending off the production team and the lawyers, Gu Chen unexpectedly received a text from Li Tingqin: 【Do you need me to come back to accompany you for the show?】

Hmm? Indeed, Mr. Li’s focus was on overseas work for the time being, but as long as he coordinated his work arrangements, it wasn’t impossible for him to find time to return to China. However, would Mr. Li really have the leisure to accompany someone like him, a retired and unemployed person, to participate in such things? He knew from his experience with Li’s persona that this would ruin the image of a domineering CEO.

Gu Chen replied: 【No need, thank you. Lawyer He has already resolved the matter for me, so you don’t need to participate.】

On the other end, Li Tingqin sighed slightly. This was, after all, Gu’s first career endeavor after marrying him, and he should express his support and encouragement. However, Gu was still too polite.

Moreover, according to Lawyer He, Gu had even requested not to appear on the show. It seemed that his introversion and social anxiety were still hard to overcome.

Gu Chen looked at the news of Li Tingqin dominating the business world and the photos of him looking indifferent and imposing at a summit. He still preferred this version.

So he sent another message: 【Mr. Li, I have a question. Are you always this gentle and patient with your spouse?】

Seeing this question, Li Tingqin smiled and replied: 【Not with my spouse.】 Just with the little one.

If it were his partner… he pondered… he would hope it was someone like himself.

But since they were already married, it didn’t make sense to think about these things. He had a responsibility towards this poor young man.

Gu Chen saw the reply and chuckled softly. Not for a spouse, but a child’s care.

As expected, people of the same kind think alike.

This marriage seemed to be getting interesting.

So he said, 【I don’t really like being called Xiao Gu. Could Mr. Li address me as Mr. Gu in the future?】

Li Tingqin replied, 【Alright.】

Was it the child’s pride?

…

“Gu Chen’s husband is confirmed not to participate, and Gu Chen won’t show his face either?!” Du Ruiqing was ecstatic when he received feedback from the production team. “Although we didn’t get the penalty fee, you’ve done well.”

His intention was never really about Gu Chen’s penalty fee.

“Yes.” The production team didn’t dare mention their humiliating defeat after their aggressive meeting with Gu Chen. They simply claimed that getting Gu Chen to agree to not show his face and to reduce his screen time was their negotiating victory. “And even though Mr. Gu’s partner won’t participate, we’ve arranged for Mr. Gu to have phone and video calls with his partner to showcase their daily interactions.”

Du Ruiqing felt all his goals had been achieved and said contentedly, “That’s great. I look forward to the filming of the second episode.”

Three days later, the production team finally coordinated all 8 couples, totaling 16 guests, and began filming the second episode.

The second episode used a combination of live streaming and edited broadcasts the next day, with each couple having their own live stream room for the audience to choose from.

At the start of the live broadcast, the production team would do a “surprise visit” to the love nests of the couples, filming a segment at their homes before bringing them to the central filming location.

The other seven couples had their own highlights—either waking up together in a sweet and warm morning scene, amusing bickering between rivals, or a tantalizing interaction between a movie star and her young lover—keeping the audience engaged and excited.

Until they got to Gu Chen…

His cameraman, Xiao Liu, held the camera and introduced, “Now we are heading to Mr. Gu’s home. Can anyone guess what he might be doing right now?”

Due to the buzz from the previous episode, although he was still far from being a celebrity, Gu Chen’s live stream attracted some curious viewers eager to unravel the mystery surrounding him.

So there were some comments in the chat responding to Xiao Liu:

【Cuddling his little sweet partner? And then his partner can’t get out of bed?】

【Maybe having breakfast while listening to his secretary report the schedule?】

Everyone was guessing about Mr. Gu’s domineering CEO lifestyle.

As Xiao Liu walked into the yard, more comments followed:

【He really lives in the mountains, how mysterious…】

【A reclusive big shot?】

But then…

【Cameraman? What are you doing? Where are you pointing the camera?】

【= = I feel like this livestream looks like some undercover operation, just missing the ‘Unauthorized Footage’ disclaimer.】

Xiao Liu was at a loss. He didn’t know how to film a livestream where the main subject didn’t want to show his face, so he had the camera angled at 45° towards the ground.

However, viewers could still see Gu Chen’s hands and legs moving in the yard.

Xiao Liu didn’t expect that while Mr. Gu used to do morning mountain exercises, he had now switched to practicing Tai Chi?!

While the other livestream rooms were filled with excitement and drama, no one could have guessed that Gu Chen would be doing Tai Chi. The viewership of the livestream plummeted, and the screen was filled with question marks.

【?????】

【?????】

【Totally killed the mood! I thought it might be dull, but I didn’t expect it to be this dull!】

【This is too ascetic! Mr. Gu, where’s your little sweet partner?】

【This level of tranquility is practically monastic…】

Xiao Liu cleared his throat and awkwardly approached to move the show along: “Mr. Gu, since your partner isn’t here, how about you give him a video call so he can greet everyone? That way, it counts as participating in the show together.”

The viewers were incredulous:

【Wait, isn’t your production team known for stirring up drama? You’re being this lenient with a big shot?】

【Come on, stir things up! Let’s see Mr. Gu’s sweet partner!】

Gu Chen picked up his phone and said, “Wait a minute, I don’t think I have his WeChat. Can’t do a video call.”

【?????】

【?????】

The chat was once again flooded with question marks.

【Wait, Mr. Gu, are you saying you don’t have your partners WeChat?】

【Mr. Gu, do you not love your partner at all?!】【Where’s our story about a loving, pampered life in a wealthy family???】

Gu Chen said, “Alright, I’ll give everyone a live demonstration of adding a WeChat account.”

Gu Chen searched using Li Tingqin’s phone number, but found nothing, and sighed, “Oh, it seems he has set it to not allow number searches.”

【？？？？？？】

【Things are getting weirder and weirder.】

【He seems pretty happy that he can’t add his partner’s WeChat.】

【Mr. Gu, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of scumbag.】

Xiao Liu looked at him with pleading eyes, suggesting, “Could you try contacting him again?”

Gu Chen said, “Alright, I’ll contact his assistant and ask him to give me a business card.”

【Huh? His partner has an assistant?】

Xiao Liu was anxious, watching Gu Chen operate slowly, with twists and turns, he finally added the contact. Then, he looked at him with pleading eyes again, afraid that he wouldn’t make a video call.

Gu Chen kept his word and actually made a video call, and the other side answered. Gu Chen politely and respectfully said, “Mr. Li, good evening, I’m sorry to disturb you so late.”

【Mr. Li?!!!】

【？？？The situation is getting strange.？？？】

【Isn’t it his little partner?？？？】

The live stream viewers couldn’t see the image, only Gu Chen’s long legs, but the voice coming from the phone was completely different from what they had imagined.

They heard a low, magnetic male voice, pausing for a moment, with a hint of amusement, saying, “Mr. Gu, good morning, it’s not a disturbance.”

The few remaining comments in the live chat exploded.