CHAPTER 21 (PART 2)

Wen Heng looked at the tiny little shop, with a menu where nothing cost more than ten yuan, and felt an odd sense of emotion.

It was the first time someone had treated him to a meal in a place like this. And he knew she wasn’t exactly well-off either.

Wen Heng ate that bowl of noodles with complete seriousness.

A top movie star and a rich girl eating a meal that cost a grand total of twenty yuan—the fans watching the stream were nearly moved to tears.

[Ugh, my poor bro and sis TT]

[I don’t know who to yell at, so I’ll just curse the damn production team!!!]

[But I’m seriously touched… this must be what it means to be a couple]

After dinner, they hadn’t walked far when they saw the Rules of Happiness sign again—calling them back for another chance to earn money.

This time, the game was “Lip Reading Challenge.”

The staff greeted them with a smile and explained the rules: “This game is a competition. You’ll need to wait for the other couples to join before it begins. The rules are simple—one partner wears noise-canceling headphones while the other says the word, and you guess what they’re saying just by reading their lips. The couple who guesses the most correctly within the time limit will win a 200-yuan prize!”

Moved by that bowl of noodles, Wen Heng decided to take the competition seriously. As for Gu Sheng—of course, she didn’t mind making more money.

Unfortunately, their opponents this time turned out to be the “Qingtian couple.”

Song Qingzhi thought about the 200 yuan prize and felt it was absolutely necessary to win—tomorrow night was the show’s planned “Couples’ Night.” At such a suggestive time, her and Qin Tian’s team had already prepared for a joint marketing push. They were determined to turn themselves into a nationwide “it couple,” fully surpassing the popularity of the WenSheng couple.

Seeing how enthusiastic Gu Sheng looked, Song Qingzhi covered her mouth with a smile. “Tian-ge and I will give it a try. Hopefully our chemistry is good enough~”

What was originally just a fun mini-game was now elevated by her words into a full-blown “test of couple synergy.” Viewers in the livestream comment section unconsciously started splitting into teams.

Gu Sheng didn’t care about her little mind games. She already knew that she and Wen Heng wouldn’t have any chemistry—and for this game, having chemistry was actually the least fun.

—If you can guess all the answers easily, what’s left for the audience to enjoy? Dumb.

Gu Sheng asked, “You guess, or me?”

Wen Heng thought for a moment. “I’ll guess.”

Gu Sheng: “Ok.”

The staff raised the cue cards. The game began.

First phrase: [Love and Harmony]

Gu Sheng slowly enunciated each word: “Love— and— harmony—”

Wen Heng, wearing noise-cancelling headphones, stared at her lips moving. After a beat, he guessed uncertainly: “No cilantro?”

Gu Sheng: “……”

[HAHAHAHAHAHA]

[HAHAHAHAHA now we know Wen-shen hates cilantro, next one please]

On the other side, Song Qingzhi and Qin Tian were indeed very in sync—they nailed the first phrase right away.

Gu Sheng threw exaggerated finger hearts and flying kisses at Wen Heng, desperately trying to mime “love” and “affection.” Wen Heng eventually guessed “Love and Harmony,” and quickly pulled off his headphones.

The two of them silently switched spots, now with Gu Sheng guessing.

Gu Sheng: Stupid man’s too dumb! If I guess, we’ll definitely win!

Next phrase: [Wish to Slim Down]

Wen Heng frowned slightly, then clearly and deliberately mouthed each word: “Wish—to—slim—down.”

Gu Sheng’s eyes lit up. These kinds of games usually followed current trends, and just from the feel of it, she could tell it was a trending phrase!

Wen Heng saw her reaction and thought to himself—Gu Sheng really is sharp. Good thing they switched.

And then she shouted her answer with full confidence: “Rot and stink!”

Wen Heng: “……?”

The comment section exploded into a sea of laughter. No one even cared that the Qingtian couple were playing flawlessly. Everyone just wanted to see what ridiculous answer Wen Heng and his wife would blurt out next.

Wen Heng waved his hand. Next phrase: [Secretly Observing]

This time, Wen Heng learned from experience and threw in some simple gestures, miming “sneaky” and “watching,” while once again carefully pronouncing each word: “Secret—ly—ob—serve.”

Gu Sheng frowned, then her eyes lit up in sudden realization.

Wen Heng, for some reason, no longer had faith in her so-called realizations. He repeated: “Se-cret-ly—ob-serve.”

Gu Sheng nodded confidently. Then, in front of the whole internet and Wen Heng’s expectant gaze, she yelled: “Falling! For! A! Pick-me!”

Wen Heng: “You dare!!”

[LOLLLLLLLL]

[Help me I’m dying someone call 911 I’m laughing too hard]

No one cared anymore about how well the Qingtian couple were doing. The whole internet was cracking up.

[There’s no way they’re winning money!!!]

[“Falling for a pick-me girl” LOL Gu-jie is a true comedy queen]

[Wen-ge’s “You dare!” was so loud while still being totally shippable, I’m going insane]

…

In the end, of course Gu Sheng and Wen Heng didn’t win the challenge or earn any money.

But they did end up trending on several more hashtags.

That night, the couples gathered again at the hotel entrance. Each pair wore a different expression.

The production team, having monitored everyone’s movements all day, began setting the stage: “After a day of hard work, has your money grown or shrunk? I’m sure by now you all have some guess about how much others might have earned~”

“We’ll now reveal that the highest possible amount is—five thousand yuan~!”

The contestants’ expressions instantly shifted. The viewers, watching closely, immediately started noticing factions forming.

[Lu Yiyi is definitely broke LMAO she looked so shocked at that number]

[And Qin Tian too hahahaha his face completely gave it away]

[Wen-ge looks so calm. I have this feeling he’s the one who got the 5k]

[So what’s the lowest amount? Five yuan?? This production team is brutal, I’m dying to know who got the five]

Song Qingzhi maintained an elegant expression. She already knew Wang He and his wife had drawn a high amount—but five thousand? Turns out giving away one thousand wasn’t even that generous.

Gu Sheng stood among the group, hiding her achievements and keeping a low profile.

She didn’t expect the director to suddenly say: “Now, to help everyone understand their standings and give it their all for tomorrow’s Couples’ Night, we’re going to reveal the current rankings—”

Gu Sheng: Wait what??

Wen Heng noticed her momentary tension and thought she was feeling embarrassed. He gently patted her back.

“It’s fine.”

“—Don’t worry, we won’t reveal which couple is which. Just the rankings and total amounts!” the director said. “Counting from the bottom, the fourth-place couple has: 828 yuan.”

The Shan-Lu couple couldn’t hold back their expressions—they were the poorest?!

“Third place: 1,450 yuan.”

“Second place: 1,500 yuan.”

Song Qingzhi frowned. They were only third?! Practically tied with Gu Sheng’s group!

Then the production team smiled mysteriously. “And in first place, the couple with a total of 5,085 yuan.”

That massive gap in wealth instantly captivated the audience. The entire internet erupted in speculation—just who was the richest couple?

Gu Sheng now had a very clear understanding of just how rich she was.

But on the way back to the hotel, she realized something.

Very soon, Wen Heng also realized something.

Eighty-five yuan. That leftover amount—how did that happen?

Gu Sheng knew she was the one who got 5000.

Wen Heng knew he had 105.

After deducting the 20 yuan they spent on noodles.

So…

Gu Sheng: “You only have five yuan?!” And you were showing off??

Wen Heng: “You drew five thousand?” And then treated me to ten-yuan noodles?

“…”

“…”

A few seconds later, Gu Sheng cursed the dog man for being a blood-sucking leech and stormed off in a fury.

Wen Heng thought of the flutter in his heart.

Thought of the touch of emotion stirred by that bowl of noodles.

Gu Sheng turned back and shouted, “What good are you?! I’m going to fall in love with a green tea bitch!”

“…” Wen Heng clenched his fists, facing the wind, took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

A few seconds later, he asked the system, “Did you randomly trigger a pain point?”

System: “No.”

Wen Heng pressed his upper right abdomen: “Then why does this spot hurt?”

System: “…”

System: “That’s your liver. You’re angry.”

Wen Heng: “…”

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