After briefly getting to know each other, Gu Chen had a general understanding of the other seven pairs of guests participating in the show.

There were four unmarried pairs. The first was the top-tier idols Lu Qingyue and Yu Xingzhou, who the production team aimed to promote as former rivals turned lovers. The second pair consisted of Du Ruiqing and Qiao Kunping, a wealthy CEO and his young spouse. The third pair was actress Jiang Shuli and her non-celebrity boyfriend, embodying an artistic and genuine love. The fourth pair featured Mu Yunting, a young master from a wealthy family who entered the entertainment industry, and his childhood friend, highlighting a childhood sweetheart romance.

Among the married couples, besides himself and Li Tingqin, there was a pair of university professors married for many years, an artist couple from H country, and the most notable pair—renowned actress Lin Yisu and her husband, who is ten years younger than her.

Overall, there were four same-sex couples and four opposite-sex couples, achieving a balanced representation. However, under normal circumstances, the proportion of same-sex couples in this show was unusually high, partly due to Du Ruiqing joining and insisting on bringing Gu Chen along.

After the initial introductions and necessary greetings, everyone started to engage in conversations based on their familiarity with each other, giving the event a casual tea party atmosphere.

Du Ruiqing still harbored resentment towards Gu Chen for not giving him face and attending the class reunion last time. So, this time, he deliberately ignored Gu Chen, engaging in lively conversations with everyone else to highlight Gu Chen’s isolation. Du Ruiqing was adept at this tactic; since the others were not familiar with Gu Chen and had already greeted him at the start, they naturally didn’t pay him much attention.

Gradually, there wasn’t a single comment in the live chat focusing on Gu Chen.

However, the situation was different for Lu Qingyue and Yu Xingzhou. Despite their experience and works being far less significant than some of the senior guests present, their top-tier status meant they were constantly brought into the conversation due to their popularity and active fanbase, forcing them to participate in various discussions.

Gu Chen noticed their attention being diverted and felt a sense of relief, enjoying the peace and quiet. By the sofa in the corner, there was a magazine rack. Gu Chen casually picked up a magazine and began to flip through it leisurely, occasionally sipping his tea, looking completely relaxed.

Observing the social scene, the young man beside Lin Yisu showed an expression of “you people are really terrifying” before pulling out his phone and starting to play games.

As lunchtime approached, the conversations seemed to wind down. Lu Qingyue finally returned to his seat and looked at Gu Chen enviously, saying, “Mr. Gu, you really have some kind of ‘solitude king’ buff… Why isn’t anyone talking to you?”

Yu Xingzhou smacked Lu Qingyue on the head and said, “What buff? Can’t you speak properly?”

Lu Qingyue grabbed Yu Xingzhou’s hand, saying, “How many times have I told you, a man’s head shouldn’t be slapped.”

With their return, the live chat finally noticed this corner again:

【Hahaha, who’s that person in the corner? His partner didn’t come, and now he’s sandwiched between these two. Poor guy, haha!】

【These two keep showing off their relationship and feeding Mr. Gu dog food by sandwiching him.】

【Hey, weren’t you two just about to fight? Why are you pulling and tugging in front of Mr. Gu now? Haha!】

Gu Chen just sat there, watching them, finding it quite amusing.

They were the main characters in the original story, with him as one of the supporting characters meant to highlight their “sweet romance.” Seeing this play out, he thought the book was quite accurate. Though he no longer needed to highlight their love with his loneliness, he still, in a literal sense, remained a “background board.”

Lu Qingyue noticed the delicate bone china cup on the small table beside Gu Chen, the clear red tea inside emitting a pleasant aroma. Thirsty after all the talking, he couldn’t help but swallow. Looking at Gu Chen leisurely flipping through a fashion magazine, he found him exceptionally elegant.

Curious, Lu Qingyue asked, “How do you manage to make filming this lousy show feel like sitting in a café? This tea looks really nice. Where did you buy it, and how much is it per pound?”

Gu Chen smiled and said, “It’s not bad. Just fifty thousand per can. I left it in the kitchen’s tea bar. I should have brought a teapot.”

Lu Qingyue, now excited, jumped up, saying, “Mr. Gu, wait here. I’ll go find a teapot.”

As Lu Qingyue walked away, Du Ruiqing seemed to finally notice Gu Chen being ignored by everyone and said, “Oh, Xiao Gu, why haven’t you been talking today? Don’t be so unsociable.”

He stood up, casually picking up the teapot prepared by the production team. “Here, let’s all have some tea together. Don’t worry, everyone here is easygoing,” he said to Gu Chen, still in the mindset of treating him as a follower, not having improved much in their relationship within the production team.

Professor Kong Fusheng frowned slightly but smiled politely, “No need to bother, Ruiqing. It’s almost time for dinner.”

However, Du Ruiqing looked at Gu Chen and said, “It’s alright, Professor Kong. This is what we younger ones should do, right, Xiao Gu?”

Gu Chen was about to say something when Lu Qingyue returned with the teapot and exclaimed, “Wait! Let me do it! I’m the youngest! I’m the true junior here!”

Du Ruiqing looked puzzled.

Lu Qingyue first poured tea for Gu Chen and said loudly, “Mr. Gu, as the boss, you go first.”

Gu Chen took a sip and remarked, “Xiao Lu, the water is too hot.”

“Oh!” Lu Qingyue nodded understandingly, “I’ll be more careful next time.”

Barrage:【???】

【Who is this person? How can they make the unstoppable Lu Qingyue serve tea?】

Gu Chen’s fans, who had been waiting for a chance to promote him, finally seized the opportunity: 【Have you ever heard of the mysterious Mr. Gu?】

Since everyone had tea prepared by the show, Yu Xingzhou had to help Lu Qingyue get new cups to pour tea for everyone.

As Lu Qingyue poured the tea, he said, “This is the 50,000 yuan per can red tea I got from Mr. Gu.”

Although he earns a lot of money, he wouldn’t spend it on tea, so he found it quite surprising.

Barrage: 【Lu Qingyue: Thank you everyone, this is our celebratory tea from Xingzhou and me.】

【Hahaha, this is hilarious. But the scene of them pouring tea together really looks like they’re handing out wedding candies, oh no, wedding tea.】

Gu Chen sipped his tea, remaining a quiet background figure.

【Lu Qingyue and Yu Xingzhou are the youngest in the program group, and indeed, they are juniors in the industry. I really don’t understand why Du Ruiqing sent Mr. Gu on errands. Even if they’re old classmates, that’s still quite impolite, right?】

【However, I noticed that Mr. Gu seems quite unsociable. He barely spoke all morning.】

【Qingqing has always been enthusiastic. Seeing that his wife didn’t come, he wanted to liven things up and help him integrate into the group.】

After everyone had lunch and took a short break, the program arranged for everyone to sit together.

Married couples were invited to share a love story with their partners, providing insight for the unmarried couples to understand, judge, and choose.

Starting with the elders, Professor Kong Fusheng’s wife, Yu Hong, began to speak gently: “Professor Kong and I, when we were young, were both PhD students at the same university. We secretly liked each other, but neither of us knew. One time, Professor Kong deliberately brought an unresolved academic problem to ask for my advice, wanting to discuss it with me. And I, wanting to present my best self in front of him and not show any weakness, took the problem back and spent several days and nights researching and experimenting before I dared to discuss it with him.”

Professor Kong, smiling, continued: “After hearing Yu’s argument, I couldn’t follow her reasoning at all. I felt utterly ashamed and thought I had embarrassed myself in front of her. So, I took it back and studied it for another half month before I dared to approach her again. This way, we researched back and forth for a year without confessing our feelings, and the problem remained unsolved.”

At this point, Professor Kong changed his tone: “However, in the end, our professors made significant progress on this problem, finally freeing us from it, hahaha…”

Everyone laughed. The love stories from that era were truly beautiful and pure.

Gu Chen watched the elderly couple, a slight ripple in his usually calm and serene eyes.

Gu Chen, his name means undeterred, passionate, and relentless.

However, having spent a long time in the past playing different roles, completing various tasks, and pursuing everything in all fields, all his passion had been exhausted. Now, he could finally “play himself.” A peaceful and serene life was indeed his expectation, but as a real person, what more could he desire?

Yu Xingzhou, resting his chin in his hands, added, “That’s so wonderful…”

After the elderly couple finished speaking, it was Lin Yisu and her husband’s turn. Leaning back on the sofa, she twirled her hair with her fingers, her red lips curving into a smile as she happily said, “Xiaoyuan and I met through playing games…”

Listening to Lin Yisu, Gu Chen learned that her husband, Shen Yuan, was a professional eSports player.

Their love story wasn’t about a young boy falling for a movie star, but rather, they discovered each other’s identities after playing games together for a long time. Everyone exclaimed how sweet it was.

Many viewers watched this program specifically to hear celebrities share their love stories. Before this, Lin Yisu had never exposed her romantic journey in any interview-based show.

Next were the artists from country H. While they shared their love story, their pride and condescension toward other countries’ art were evident, causing everyone to frown.

Finally, it was Gu Chen’s turn. He remained seated in a corner of the sofa, and the live stream audience could only see his long legs crossed, listening to his voice.

Du Ruiqing thought to himself: Here it comes, the moment he had been waiting for. He was eager to see what Gu Chen would say.

He began plainly: “Mr. Li and I have a business marriage. He is currently on a business trip, and we do not live together.”

Du Ruiqing: “?” Can you really say that directly?

Barrage: 【Hahaha, I knew it would turn out like this. Mr. Gu can make any love story dull.】

【I shouldn’t have expected anything from you, Mr. Gu.】

【What’s dull about it? Many love stories start this way with an arranged marriage. Don’t dismiss it so quickly, young couples face many challenges. Hahaha.】

Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Gu Chen continued, “This morning, at the request of the program team, I had my first video call with him. I found out he’s quite good-looking. I said good evening to him, and he said good morning to me.”

Everyone waited for him to continue, but after a long pause, they realized he had stopped, as if he had finished speaking.

Lu Qingyue asked eagerly, “Is that all?”

Gu Chen nodded, “That’s all.”

Du Ruiqing opened his mouth and said, “Uh… is that even a love story?”

How could Gu Chen openly admit that Mr. Li didn’t love or care about him?

Gu Chen didn’t argue, “It’s indeed not much of a love story. After all, we just got married and only had time for this much to happen.”

“How is that not a love story?!” Lu Qingyue exclaimed excitedly, “Coach, I want to learn this! Mr. Gu, I’ve decided, I choose you!”

Barrage: 【Hahaha, Xiao Lu, you can’t get rid of Mr. Gu’s “lonely king” label, can you?】

【Yue Yuezi, I advise you not to learn this. I feel something is off, really off.】

【Yue Yuezi, I advise you to run away!!! As soon as I hear ‘business marriage,’ I know it’s the start of a love-after-marriage story. You’re too naive, hahaha.】

【Listen to what he said, finding Mr. Li good-looking, saying good evening and good morning. Don’t you think it’s quite sweet?】

【Good evening, good morning, greetings across time zones. It is quite sweet, isn’t it?】

【Only had time for this? Means there’s more to come~】

【Wait a minute, with so many sweet real couples before this, why are we trying to find sugar in the “love story” of Mr. Gu, the lonely king, with just two sentences?】