Chapter 61.1

Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong didn’t have a chance to check Weibo comments until they were waiting at the airport.

Zhang Mian’s show was titled Newlyweds and Golden Marriage. Just from the name, it was clear that the guests were couples, which was indeed fitting. Song Chaowen and Shen Li had been married for less than a year, so they counted as newlyweds, while Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong were even later to the game; that veteran couple had been married for fifty years.

The interaction styles between modern couples and long-time married couples would certainly differ.

This was one of the highlights of the show.

Xu Yuan and Meng Zhengrong had mentally prepared themselves before the show aired, believing that the audience would naturally focus on Song Chaowen and his wife. After all, they were celebrities, and with Song Chaowen’s popularity, most people tuned in for him. They assumed they would merely serve as background characters.

They didn’t expect the deluge of WeChat messages to say that they were stealing the spotlight from Song Chaowen and his wife.

How could that be?

When Xu Yuan opened Weibo, she was nearly overwhelmed. In just one night, someone had dug up her Weibo, and her follower count was skyrocketing!

Meng Zhengrong was also scrolling through Weibo, his expression serious. They both ignored each other and silently scrolled through comments in the waiting area, feeling anxious yet excited.

So far, the comments were overwhelmingly positive.

Several Weibo posts and comments had received a lot of likes and were prominently shared by many, making them quite noticeable.

—I’m a casual fan of Song Chaowen, and when I heard he was on a show, all the girls in my dorm went wild! We even turned down hot pot invitations! Honestly, when Song Chaowen’s face appeared on screen, all the girls in the building screamed. My god, he was so handsome! To be honest, I was focused on Song Chaowen and Shen Li the whole time; I barely paid attention to the other couples! Until I saw Meng Tai, aka Xu Yuan, catch stuffed toys! I was shaking with excitement! You know I have a grudge against claw machines; I’ve never managed to grab anything, and she got two in one go and gave them to her husband, directly hitting my inner girlish heart!

Xu Yuan felt her heart tremble when she read this comment.

She hadn’t expected her action to attract so much attention. Wasn’t clawing toys supposed to be an easy task?

She had thought only Meng Zhengrong was bad at it.

Well, she wouldn’t have to secretly look down on him anymore.

Meng Zhengrong was searching Weibo for good reviews about himself and found a stream of praise for him and his wife. He couldn’t care less about being at the airport; he chuckled lowly, feeling quite proud.

It seemed their rehearsals had really paid off.

—Am I the only one who was drawn to this couple from the beginning? I saw on Weibo and forums that Meng Zhengrong is the president of the Meng family; anyone slightly aware of the wealthy should know this, right? Meng Tai is the eldest daughter of the Xu family; I can’t help but imagine a classic romantic story of childhood sweethearts from distinguished families! Their chemistry is like something out of a novel or TV drama, and most importantly, their looks rival those of Song Chaowen and Shen Li! I hope Song’s fans won’t come after me; I’m just speaking the truth!

What’s more, this couple’s interactions seemed so natural and harmonious. Their relationship looked really good; right now, I’m more interested in them than the celebrity couples. I hope they can keep this up. Also, I just want to say, Meng Tai is truly stunning; those who look beautiful without makeup are the real beauties!

Meng Zhengrong felt a sense of pride as he stroked his chin; complimenting his wife was just as good as complimenting him.

This commenter had good taste! Although they had indeed amplified their chemistry for the show, their relationship was genuinely good in private.

He wanted to DM this commenter and ask for their bank account so he could send them some money for their good eye.

Alright, back to enjoying more compliments; this was truly a delightful experience. He started to feel that agreeing to be on this show was the right decision.

—Hahaha, Meng Zhengrong is so funny! He tried to catch stuffed toys to satisfy his wife’s girlhood heart, but after spending so much money, he still couldn’t get any! Hahaha, my family laughed so hard when they saw that scene! The best part is, who would have guessed his wife is the real claw machine master? Seriously, when Meng Tai caught those two toys, my mom was amazed! Isn’t that a case of trying to flirt but getting flirted with instead? Meng Zhengrong, has your inner girlhood heart exploded?

Who is this? Who is this?

Fortunately, Meng Zhengrong had already accepted the fact that clawing toys wasn’t his specialty over these past few days.

It didn’t matter; he had subtly asked a few friends, and even once dragged Song Chaowen to eat and play with the claw machine. Song Chaowen wasn’t any better; at least he had come close to catching a toy a few times.

Thinking about it, Meng Zhengrong felt a lot better.

There were some things he was better at than Xu Yuan, and there were some things that were her strong points. Although he had unexpectedly become the punchline of the show, he wasn’t going to go crazy over something so trivial.

Meanwhile, Xu Yuan was truly in a daze looking at the comments.

—Don’t you think the funniest part of this episode was when Meng Tai was singing? I originally thought that someone so beautiful with such a sweet voice would definitely sing well, but I was totally wrong! Hahaha, she’s tone-deaf! Hahaha, her lack of pitch is hilarious! The best part was when everyone’s expressions got close-ups; I saw even the usually calm Song Chaowen was bewildered, as if his soul was hit! I can’t take it anymore; I need to rewatch this again! With this editing, I could laugh all day!

She was tone-deaf? When did that happen? She had no idea!

—Exactly! When I saw that, I laughed so hard, but you could tell that Meng Zhengrong truly loves Meng Tai; his expression was still so enjoyable. So, here’s the question: Does Meng Zhengrong know his wife can’t sing on pitch? I bet he does!

Xu Yuan looked at Meng Zhengrong, who seemed engrossed in whatever he was reading, his face full of joy.

He didn’t even know how confused she was inside. Xu Yuan tugged at Meng Zhengrong’s sleeve, and when he looked over, she slowly and softly asked, “Do I sing off-key?”

Heaven knew she had always thought her singing sounded good!

Meng Zhengrong felt a sense of dread. Zhang Mian had really not edited this out!

He knew his response was very important. If he said he knew, it was easy to imagine how angry Xu Yuan would be; at least for the next two days, he’d have a hard time.

Next was the peak of Meng Zhengrong’s acting skills.

He frowned slightly, looking very serious, with just the right amount of confusion in his eyes. “You sing off-key?”

As if he was completely unaware.

Xu Yuan wasn’t sure whether Meng Zhengrong was lying; his expression was so sincere that it was hard to tell. “You really don’t know?”

There were countless comments online about that moment, and Xu Yuan wasn’t blindly confident enough to think the audience had poor hearing; the only possibility was that she really sang off-key and was tone-deaf.

At the time, she had been immersed in her singing and hadn’t paid attention to everyone else’s expressions. Now, seeing the small video edited by netizens, she noticed that the others’ expressions were indeed a bit off, as if they were holding back laughter. It seemed she really was tone-deaf.

It wouldn’t have been a big deal; singing poorly wasn’t a serious flaw. However, she had sung on the show, and now countless viewers had seen it, which made it different.

Xu Yuan felt a strange restlessness inside, especially when she saw Meng Zhengrong’s expression.

Meng Zhengrong sang beautifully; he must have received plenty of praise for it throughout his life. So the question was, as someone who sang well and had good hearing, did he really not know she was off-key?

Xu Yuan didn’t believe it.

She used to like singing while taking a shower, and he had heard her before. If he knew she was off-key and was aware that there was a singing segment in the script, and he didn’t stop or remind her, what was his intention?

If he knew and was lying now, that would make her even angrier.

The test of his acting skills had arrived. Meng Zhengrong looked innocent and said, “I really don’t know. Why? Did someone say you can’t sing?”

“Just look for yourself.” Xu Yuan tossed her phone to him, signaling him to check the comments.

Heaven knew how much effort it took for Meng Zhengrong to resist laughing while reading those comments.

If he laughed, all would be lost, not to mention his wife would definitely blame him for everything.

Meng Zhengrong silently returned the phone to Xu Yuan and hugged her. “I don’t think you sing off-key, and that’s enough. Just sing for me from now on; no one else will hear it anyway.”

Such sweet words had some effect on Xu Yuan, albeit minor; she couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing Xu Yuan smile, Meng Zhengrong finally let out a sigh of relief. Couldn’t the netizens just pretend they didn’t hear that segment? Why did they have to comment, and when they did, they had to keep laughing? Those comments were too conspicuous; if Xu Yuan didn’t notice, she must really need to see an eye doctor.

Of course, Meng Zhengrong completely forgot that Xu Yuan could hold a grudge.

However, just because she wasn’t angry at the moment didn’t mean she wouldn’t be later.