Chapter 18: The Exchange of Reputations

“Ah, what? Who hit me?”

Chen Sisi suddenly jumped up from the bed.

Then she saw Xu Zhaozhao’s half-smiling, half-smirking eyes from the opposite bed.

“Xu Zhaozhao, what are you doing!”

Chen Sisi’s voice was sharp as she was about to rush over to hit her.

But Xu Zhaozhao gestured toward the camera on the wall, still recording.

Chen Sisi immediately lowered her voice and transformed into a “gentle” little lamb.

“Sisi, what are you doing? Why would you kick me out of the blue?”

“Could it be that you’re still holding a grudge because I didn’t help you tidy up the room last night?”

Her voice began to choke with emotion.

“I already explained to you—I wasn’t trying to avoid you on purpose. I just wanted to take a shower first and then help.”

“Could you please…”

Chen Sisi pleaded, feeling wronged, “Could you let this slide so we can get along well from now on?”

“I promise, next time you clean the room, I’ll always help you…”

Xu Zhaozhao pulled the blanket over her head, unwilling to look at that pretentious woman.

“The sky is already so bright, and you’re still not going out to exercise? Why are you still nagging here with me?”

“I thought I heard you had a morning workout habit? Even though you’re on a dating show now, habits don’t just vanish!”

“Ah!” Chen Sisi suddenly turned to look out the window.

The morning light was dim but fresh, the perfect time for exercise.

Actually, it wasn’t that she loved working out—it was because the movie king Ke Hao liked to exercise.

He once said in an interview that no matter how busy filming was, he would always insist on morning workouts.

“That’s right, Zhaozhao, you’re right…”

Chen Sisi lengthened her tone while scanning outside for the movie king’s figure, “I should go work out now!”

With that, she found her sexy workout clothes, went to the bathroom to carefully wash up and change, then began stretching in the yard with exaggerated motions.

At this moment, no one else had gotten up yet.

Everyone who worked in the fields yesterday was sore and swollen, so of course, they slept in a little longer.

But the disciplined movie king stepped out of his room right on time.

Surprised to see someone already exercising in the yard, Ke Hao said,

“Sisi, I didn’t expect you to work out in the morning too!”

“Yes, Movie King Ke, what a coincidence.”

Chen Sisi greeted him with neither arrogance nor humility, but the heat in her eyes was unmistakable.

“Since fate has brought us together so early, shall we work out together?”

[She’s out this early just hoping to bump into her idol, not really to exercise.]

[Movie King Ke, don’t be fooled. Don’t get too close to her, she’s the type to throw punches.]

[Xu Zhaozhao really worries about Chen Sisi!]

“Sure,” Ke Hao nodded.

---

Since he refused to team up with Chen Sisi yesterday, she hadn’t bothered him, even avoiding him by walking with Song Qing whenever they crossed paths.

Because of this, he only guarded against Xu Zhaozhao, not Chen Sisi.

[I just realized Chen Sisi’s acting is really bad. She puts everything right on her face—why did I only notice now?]

[Upstairs, you’re not alone. I was blind before too. I can’t tell the difference between a real green tea and a fake one.]

[I suspect that kick Xu Zhaozhao gave Chen Sisi just now wasn’t acting.]

[Haha, for someone who once oppressed me, a kick is the least I’d give. If it were me, I’d punch and kick!]

[The brilliant dating show assistants!]

[Woke up to see the follow-up from last night... Wait, what happened? Why is everyone suddenly praising Xu Zhaozhao?]

[Isn’t it obvious? Xu Zhaozhao’s fan army must have arrived.]

Many who missed the last night’s drama mistakenly thought those witnessing the fun were Xu Zhaozhao’s fans.

[Xu Zhaozhao is a small-time star. Can she really afford a fan army? Don’t overestimate her or underestimate us. By the way, if you just woke up, go check the trending topics.]

[What’s going on? I’m going to see.]

[Why is there such an uproar online? They act like nothing happened.]

[You don’t understand. Their phones were confiscated. The phones they have now can only make calls and send texts—no internet.]

[No wonder Chen Sisi kept acting so calmly—she really didn’t know!]

[Absolutely didn’t know, or else she wouldn’t have acted so composed!]

[Ah, can we finally talk about it? I always thought Chen Sisi was a bad actress—same expressions and moves in every drama. Her acting was obvious to fans.]

[Disagree. Sisi is quite talented; she just needs to work with a good production team to really shine.]

[Are you sure it’s not because veteran actors guided her? Good scripts bring out good acting; bad scripts don’t—classic selective actor’s professionalism!]

“I’m so hungry, what are we having for breakfast?”

Amid the heated debate in the comments, a lively and playful voice addressed the camera.

[Wow, I’m melted by the little prince’s cuteness!]

This was Zhan Wang, a young musician known to fans as the “Music Little Prince.”

Gradually, the other male and female guests also arrived in the yard.

Everyone was woken up by hunger.

“Since everyone’s up, I’ll announce the rules for the rest of the day…”

The director’s voice rang out again in the yard.

“Can’t you just announce everything at the start?”

Xu Zhaozhao was the last to come out of her room, lazily leaning against the doorframe.

Hearing her voice, Shen Mu, standing outside the crowd, glanced at Xu Zhaozhao.

Her long wavy hair draped down, her skin pale and flawless, relaxed and carefree—he couldn’t help recalling the passionate, romantic nights on the island.

He admitted Xu Zhaozhao was very charming.

Otherwise, how could he have willingly entered a lightning-fast marriage with her?

But…

Forget it, he shook his head.

He had decided last night not to linger on the dating show and planned to leave today.

The more he thought about it, the more it would hold him back.

---

“The rules change daily.”

The director was used to being snapped at by Xu Zhaozhao repeatedly.

“First, the dating show does not provide meals; everyone must prepare their own food.”

“Second, staff will give each person one hundred yuan.”

“That’s everyone’s entire living allowance until the show ends. No out-of-pocket spending allowed. You must live strictly on the money provided by the production!”

“If you spend all your money early, you’ll be eliminated.”

“What? One hundred yuan for ten days’ living expenses?”

Everyone was used to Xu Zhaozhao’s complaints.

But seeing her remain silent, someone else asked instead.

“That’s right,” the director said, “Any other questions?”

Everyone was silent.

“Since there are no questions, today the male and female guests will form pairs to complete and share all three meals.”

“Finally, I wish everyone… can last until the end of the dating show!”

Hearing they had to pair up again, Chen Sisi’s eyes lit up.

Once again, she was the first to walk straight toward the movie king.

“Movie King Ke…” Chen Sisi said sincerely, “Would you be my partner?”

Ke Hao thought that if he refused Chen Sisi again, it would be truly disrespectful.

He hadn’t expected her to be so persistent after one rejection.

But that was fine.

If he always teamed up with Song Qing, fans would know he favored her, and Song Qing would have endless trouble.

Especially seeing Xu Zhaozhao subtly trying to move closer to him, he immediately nodded.

“Alright, Sisi, I agree to be your partner.”

[Haha, look at the movie king’s expression! He’s really afraid of being tangled up by Xu Zhaozhao!]

[Must say, Xu Zhaozhao’s acting is impressive—she actually fooled the movie king.]

[By the way, if Xu Zhaozhao’s acting is so good, why wasn’t she popular before?]

[Same question.]

[I went to watch the dramas Xu Zhaozhao acted in, guess what?]

[What happened?]

[Some quick bloggers already made compilations of her work. You can check it out.]

[I finished watching. I can only say… if you splice all of Xu Zhaozhao’s roles together, it’s enough to make a whole drama.]

[That’s crazy. What roles did she play? I have to go see.]

When Chen Sisi wasn’t cast alongside her, Liu Li gave Xu Zhaozhao every role imaginable.

Student, farmer’s wife, madam of a brothel, old woman, courtesan, foolish girl—she even played a man.

Of course, the roles she played most were the villainous second female leads.