Chapter 76: The Past and Present of the Sickly Devoted Fish – The Male Guests Are Going Crazy with Jealousy…

Gu Si, sitting next to them, was also feeling stifled. His sharp tongue made him feel smug most of the time, but seeing Ning Qingyan step in to defend the young boy, take him to eat, and even allow him to hold onto her sleeve, he instantly felt unhappy. His chest tightened with frustration.

Now, seeing them have such an intimate and familiar conversation, Gu Si felt like his own blunt remarks earlier paled in comparison. Why did Yun Danyi get special treatment from Ning Qingyan while he didn’t?

If she was so determined to reject him because she liked girls, then why was she acting so close to this newly arrived boy? Couldn’t she tell that he harbored the same feelings toward her?

Meanwhile, the show’s director, watching through the camera, was so delighted that he couldn’t help but slap his thigh. Yes, this was exactly what he wanted! Let them turn against each other! Good job, Yun Danyi!

The reason they introduced a special guest in the final episode was precisely because they feared that the male guests, like Gu Si, would completely disregard the show’s purpose and openly confess their feelings to Ning Qingyan. The new guest was meant to stir up conflict and create misunderstandings between her and the others.

Otherwise, if the final episode turned into a massive love confession, and all the male guests ended up confessing to Ning Qingyan instead of their respective female guests, then what was the point of this variety show? It was supposed to be about a celebrity female lead and ordinary male guests!

Sure, some fans might ship different CPs on the livestream or Weibo, but things couldn’t get too real. Once the show was over, they could do whatever they wanted, but before that, they had to keep things under control.

Since this was a mainstream variety show, there was even a chance it would be rebroadcast on national TV. The last thing they needed was some kind of scandal ruining it.

…

Among the three male guests, only Wen Shijin remained calm. Seeing Ning Qingyan momentarily speechless and struggling to explain herself, he helped smooth things over while serving her some food.

“Xiaoyan is such a foodie—she likes anything delicious. There’s no such thing as a ‘favorite’ dish for her. Those dishes just now might not be common, but back at the island villa, she cooked some of them for us quite a few times. Since he’s a fan of hers and watches all the behind-the-scenes clips, it’s only natural that he’d know about her preferences.”

Wen Shijin’s clear and logical explanation made a lot of sense. Hearing this, the other two male guests calmed down a bit.

Ning Qingyan, relieved, cast a grateful glance at Wen Shijin before turning to explain to Huo Qi.

“I really did just meet Danyi today. If he’s my fan, of course, he’d know what I like. After all, I’ve gained some popularity because of this variety show. I even did a self-introduction interview before.”

With Ning Qingyan’s lighthearted tone, both Huo Qi and Gu Si’s expressions softened. She exhaled in relief and continued,

“I’ve eaten tons of delicious food, not just what Danyi mentioned. There are plenty of snacks you guys have never even seen before. I’ll cook some for you when there’s time. But for now, there’s already enough food, so let’s not order any more.”

After finishing, she informed the waiter, who nodded in understanding before heading back to the kitchen. Then, she served food to each of them and focused on eating again.

At that moment, all three male guests had the same thought:

“Yan Yan gave me food! And so much of it! She must be comforting me! She must care about my feelings!”

“What? She gave food to the others too? That must be just to avoid making them jealous!”

—Green Tea System:

“Wen Shijin’s favorability +1.”
“Huo Qi’s favorability +1.”
“Gu Si’s favorability has reached 90+, unable to calculate further.”

…So easy to appease.

Ning Qingyan was secretly relieved. All those days of feeding them hadn’t gone to waste. The only downside? Now that they were all happy, they each started giving her even more food!

Looking at the mountain of food in front of her, she could only bury her head and eat.

Meanwhile, Yun Danyi sat silently, eating his meal, but his heart felt heavier.

Listening to Wen Shijin’s explanation, he suddenly realized—so, in this life, she already knew how to cook those dishes? That meant she had probably loved them from the start. And here he was, foolishly hoping…

If Ning Qingyan had also been reborn like him, it would mean everything to him. But no matter how much he tested her, he kept being disappointed.

The Ning Qingyan in front of him, so different from the one in his past life, felt completely unfamiliar.

In his previous life, Ning Qingyan’s family went bankrupt, her father committed suicide, and in the very first episode of the variety show, she was falsely accused and kicked out. She was hated by the entire internet, buried in debt, and constantly pursued by aggressive debt collectors. She struggled through countless hardships and only started truly living again with his companionship.

That Ning Qingyan was nothing like the cheerful, warm, and carefree girl sitting before him now.

In this life, her family never went bankrupt. Her father was still alive. If anything happened, he would bear the burden first. She never got kicked out of the show and instead became a sensation, adored by all the guests. She was no longer that pitiful girl trapped in the gutter with him, the one who had clung to him just to survive.

This wasn’t their old world—it was a parallel one.

The person he had dreamed of, the one he had loved so deeply that she was like a part of his own flesh and blood, didn’t exist here.

Stuffing food into his mouth, Yun Danyi suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of grief. Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, and before he knew it, he had run out of the restaurant, leaning against the wall, retching violently.

Watching his trembling back, Ning Qingyan sighed. She whispered something to a waiter, then had them take a bottle of water to Yun Danyi.

As the waiter patted his back and handed him the water, Yun Danyi’s heart clenched. He turned around excitedly, only to see the waiter’s face.

In an instant, the light in his eyes dimmed. His entire being turned hollow, and his heart felt like it had died.

The next moment, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed.

The waiter hurriedly caught him, panicking.

“Someone, help! Your friend just passed out!”

—Live Stream Comments:

“WTF WTF?! He just coughed up blood?!”
“Damn, no wonder he looked so sickly. That’s terrifying.”
“How did the show not check his health beforehand? I was just enjoying my meal, and now I can’t eat anymore.”
“Seriously, it’s the last episode, and they just throw in a random male guest? Obvious clout-chasing. Which entertainment company sent him?”

The internet erupted in debate. Since Heartbeat Acceleration was such a huge hit, the topic quickly trended on Weibo.

Some people blamed the show, some accused Yun Danyi of chasing fame, while others criticized how slow the medical response was.

Netizens were desperate to dig up information about Yun Danyi.

…

Meanwhile, on set, things were chaotic.

Yun Danyi was just a student, still young. The male guests, though they didn’t like him, weren’t heartless enough to leave him in such a dire state.

Gu Si hoisted him onto his back, grumbling, “If you’re sick, go to the hospital instead of collapsing on us.”

Huo Qi helped steady the convulsing boy while they ran toward the medical tent. Wen Shijin dialed emergency services, calmly reporting their location and Yun Danyi’s condition.

Ning Qingyan, following behind them, looked at Yun Danyi’s pale face with a complicated expression.

Her heart was in turmoil.