Chapter 22: Fake Couple?

Meng Yan suddenly started laughing.

He began to feel glad that he had roped Xie Zhiyi into that dating reality show.

Otherwise, how would he have discovered someone like Jiang Wan—a hidden gem of the acting world—just by watching the drama unfold?

Not only was she a great actress herself, but she also managed to raise Jiang Qi’s acting level by more than a notch in such a short time.

Suddenly, he found himself really looking forward to the official filming.

The performance ended.

Jiang Qi was so nervous that his Adam’s apple bobbed. He stood there awkwardly like a stiff tree, back straight as a board.

Jiang Wan blinked at Meng Yan, unable to wait any longer. “Well? How was it?”

Meng Yan didn’t answer directly. Instead, he smiled and turned to Xie Zhiyi. “What do you think?”

Xie Zhiyi lowered his gaze. “It’s obvious.”

In terms of overall acting ability, Wei Hao and Jiang Qi weren’t too far apart—they were almost on the same level.

But even with Wei Hao’s strengths pitted against Jiang Qi’s weaknesses, it was still a 50-50 fight. That made the outcome pretty clear.

What’s more, Jiang Qi had outperformed himself in both of his most recent performances—shattering the stereotypes that others had about him.

And the reason Jiang Qi had improved so drastically…

Xie Zhiyi set down the script and slowly looked up.

His eyes landed squarely on Jiang Wan.

Jiang Wan: “……”

For some reason, she shivered slightly.

Why was Xie Zhiyi looking at her like that?

She immediately forced a polite, fake smile.

Xie Zhiyi calmly looked away.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

When Jiang Qi casually mentioned that she had stayed up rehearsing lines with him the night before, only then did Xie Zhiyi’s expression soften again.

Jiang Wan and Jiang Qi both signed the contract and felt a great weight lifted off their shoulders.

The sun was shining brightly.

As a token of gratitude, Young Master Jiang offered to treat them to lunch.

Inside a private dining room—

Jiang Qi was happily peeling crawfish with gloves on. When he looked up and saw Jiang Wan sitting across from him frowning, he urged, “Why aren’t you eating? Did your tastes change so much lately? Don’t tell me you don’t even like crawfish anymore?”

After all—

Jiang Wan had once won first place in her university’s crawfish-eating contest.

Jiang Wan sipped through her straw and said, “It’s not that. I just feel like… we forgot something.”

She was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice how naturally familiar Jiang Qi’s tone had become, nor how casually he had brought up their past.

Their eyes met.

Jiang Qi slowly took off his gloves and asked the staff for two power banks.

Both “bricks” powered on at the same time—and immediately, both phones began ringing with incoming calls.

Both of their agents cursed them out so fiercely over the phone, it felt like getting dunked in cold water.

Then the two agents heard each other’s voices through the calls and started arguing with each other.

For the sake of world peace, Jiang Wan and Jiang Qi hung up in unison and, with trembling hands, opened the trending searches.

Even though they had mentally prepared themselves, they were still shocked by how far gossip bloggers could stretch the truth.

The number one trending topic had become:
#JiangWanJiangQi_ElopeFeeling

Clicking into the tag revealed a paparazzi-style candid photo of the two running from a subway station, with the caption:

“Caught this live—what’s the difference between this and eloping?”

The weather had been beautiful that day. Outside the subway station, it was all green trees and sunlight.

Jiang Wan was wearing a green dress, the hem fluttering in the breeze. Under the warm sunlight, even her every flying strand of hair seemed to radiate beauty, vitality, and freedom.

Jiang Qi was tightly gripping her wrist. Lean and fit, he was wearing a sleeveless athletic tank, showing off the defined muscle lines on his arms.

His skin wasn’t dark, but also not pale enough to be called a “pretty boy.” Among male celebrities, he had a healthy and well-balanced skin tone.

Jiang Wan, however, had that classic cool fair complexion. Against his, the skin-tone contrast was… striking.

The scene had an unexpectedly cinematic vibe—like something straight out of a romantic drama. Even Jiang Qi’s slightly-too-small pair of pink slippers didn’t seem so out of place anymore.

[Holy crap… Are they not filming a drama right now?]

[Honestly could pass for a fashion magazine shoot!]

[AHHH this is totally “the heiress and the bodyguard” energy! I’m picturing the whole runaway love story!!!]

[So… are they actually dating?]

[Neither agency has issued a statement. They got photographed running off and haven’t denied it… Looks like it’s basically confirmed!]

[Who here hasn’t seen that clip of Jiang Qi standing up for Jiang Wan on the bus? He really gave off strong boyfriend energy… cocky but hot.]

[They already had sparks on the show—how is the off-screen chemistry even better?!]

[I always thought their chemistry on the show was borderline terrifying. Rivals-to-lovers trope—can I say that?]

The netizens believed it.

The companies believed it too.

Though neither agent was happy, they were generally on the same page.

If they were dating, they might as well go public.

After all, the whole point of the variety show was romance. Fans would be more accepting, and general public response was decent. If they stubbornly denied it and got proven wrong, that would be a mess.

The moment they saw the paparazzi, Jiang Wan and Jiang Qi both knew it was a misunderstanding—but they hadn’t expected it to spiral this far.

But then again…

A man and woman spending the night alone together—of course people would assume things. Hard to convince the public they were totally innocent.

If it weren’t for the fact that Jiang Qi’s home had surveillance cameras, even Jiang Wan wouldn’t have dared to be so reckless.

Jiang Qi also seemed to lose his appetite. He muttered, “Now it’s a real mess.”

Jiang Wan panicked too. “Your home security cameras… They’re not just for show, right?”

She was pretty sure the indicator lights were on!

Jiang Qi: “Of course they work. But we can’t release the footage.”

Jiang Wan was confused. “Why not? Wouldn’t that prove we’re innocent?”

She didn’t understand. Something so simple—what was there to hesitate about?

Jiang Qi gave her a half-smile and countered, “Prove it? You want everyone to know you came over just to rehearse lines? That we’re purely innocent?”

Jiang Wan nodded.

Yeah. Simple.

Jiang Qi flicked her forehead with his finger. “Are you stupid? Can’t you use your brain a little?”

Jiang Wan: “……?”

What was wrong with that?

Since when did Jiang Qi get to call her dumb?

Jiang Wan forced a fake smile. “You’re the smart one, so go ahead—enlighten me.”

Jiang Qi’s tone turned serious. “Wei Hao is the top star in his company. There are countless people who rely on him to make a living. His team is powerful and has already stolen tons of resources from me.”

Jiang Wan, of course, knew that.

If Wei Hao weren’t the company’s golden boy—its crown prince—he wouldn’t have dared to mess around with so many female artists. Nor would it have taken Fu Siyue several weeks to gather enough evidence against him.

“So,” Jiang Qi continued, “if that surveillance video comes out and he loses a confirmed role to me, he’s definitely going to blame you for helping me. As far as I know, your company doesn’t treat you very well. Only your agent still cares a little, but if Wei Hao decides to go after you, even she won’t be able to protect you.”

What he said actually made a lot of sense—at least on the surface. It was enough to scare someone into backing off.

Then, after a short pause, Jiang Qi suddenly mumbled in a tiny voice, like a mosquito buzzing:

“I mean, you did help me a ton this time. I don’t mind letting you ride the wave of this hype.

Since everyone’s shipping us anyway… why not just admit we’re dating?
Uh—I mean, pretend to be a couple for a while. Don’t overthink it!”