Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

I didn't fall asleep until midnight.

Her dream was filled with colorful ribbons, a huge cream cake, and a handsome man standing at the sun-drenched gate of a manor, smiling and waving at her.

She woke up smiling the next morning.

Song Mingxi sat on the bed, hugging the quilt, and savored the dream for a while before getting out of bed, satisfied, to go wash up.

However, just as she strolled past the dressing mirror, she glanced casually at her reflection out of the corner of her eye—and then froze.

She stared at her waist in the mirror for a full ten seconds, and the smile on her face gradually faded.

I've gained weight.

She put down her toothbrush, rushed to the full-length mirror, and incredulously pinched the small roll of fat around her waist, feeling as if the sky had fallen.

To be fair, Song Mingxi is naturally beautiful and has a slender frame. Even though she indulged in delicious food without restraint during her month in Hong Kong, she only gained a couple of pounds.

Her waist remains graceful and charming, and her delicate oval face shows no signs of change. She is still a beautiful sight that attracts a lot of attention when walking on the tree-lined paths of HKU.

But girls' demands on their figures are never reasonable.

Song Mingxi stood in front of the mirror, turning left and right, up and down, and the more she looked, the more she felt that her waist didn't belong to her.

Thinking about all the delicious food she had devoured over the past month—pineapple buns at the tea restaurant, egg waffles at the street corner, char siu at the roast meat shop, mango pomelo sago at the dessert shop, and the Sichuan hot pot she ate last night until she was so full she could barely walk out… the more she recalled it, the more she felt that all that delicious food was turning into clumps of fat, accumulating around her waist.

"Song Mingxi, oh Song Mingxi," she cried out in anguish, looking at her reflection in the mirror, "how could you be so greedy!"

She took a deep breath, clenched her fist, patted her belly, and gritted her teeth—she had to lose weight!

So, over the next five days, Song Myung-hee finally understood what it meant to "gain weight in an instant, but lose weight for a lifetime".

Breakfast consisted of a cup of black coffee and a boiled egg; lunch was a salad with chicken breast; and dinner was skipped altogether. At 8 PM sharp, she would appear at the gym near the University of Hong Kong, running on the treadmill until she was drenched in sweat, followed by forty minutes of various strength training exercises such as squats and deadlifts, until she was so exhausted she had to hold onto the handrails to catch her breath.

During that time, she ate with Lee Boo-jin several times, each time only daring to order salad. Lee Boo-jin looked at the pot of salad in front of her, hesitating to speak: "Myung-hee unnie... are you sure this is enough?"

"Enough!" Song Mingxi gritted her teeth and grumbled as she chewed on the broccoli. "I've given it up!"

After five days of grueling training, it's hard to say whether she lost weight or not, but the swelling did go down—at least when you look down, her waist has regained its former slenderness and firmness.

On Saturday night, she examined herself in the mirror several times before finally nodding in satisfaction.

……

On Sunday morning, Song Mingxi woke up early.

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the open wardrobe, caught in the second biggest dilemma a girl faces before a date—what to wear today?

She first pulled out a pale yellow dress, held it up against herself for a moment, then shook her head and put it down. After all, this was a party, not a banquet, and wearing a dress would be too extravagant.

After agonizing for almost an hour, she finally chose a beige dress and paired it with a white headband.

Clean and refreshing, just right.

She twirled gracefully in front of the full-length mirror, her skirt billowing gently. She nodded in satisfaction, a hint of girlish nervousness and anticipation barely concealed on her small face.

It was 4:30 in the afternoon when the cell phone on the table rang its clear ringtone on time.

"Ms. Song? I'm the driver Mr. Lu arranged to pick you up. We're at your school gate now."

"Okay, okay, I'll be right down!"

Song Mingxi grabbed her handbag, looked in the mirror again, took a deep breath, and went downstairs.

Upon arriving at the university gate, Song Mingxi immediately spotted the white Mercedes parked to the side. Its gleaming body shone with a soft sheen in the afternoon sunlight.

As soon as the driver in the black suit saw her walk out of the school gate, he skillfully opened the back door and bowed slightly, saying, "Ms. Song, please get in the car."

"Thanks."

The car drove out of Robinson Road, through the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, and wound its way up Garden Road. Song Mingxi sat in the back seat, gazing out the window at the skyscrapers rushing past and the increasingly lush shadows of the hillside trees, her heart pounding faster and faster.

After driving for about half an hour, the car finally came to a stop in front of a wide wrought iron gate. The gate slowly slid open, and the convoy entered the estate, circled the stone-built water feature, and stopped in front of the main building.

Song Mingxi got out of the car, stood at the entrance of the main building, looked up, and froze.

This building... was completely different from what she had imagined.

There are no glittering marble columns, no ornate European-style domes. The entire main building is modern in style, with clean, simple lines, and large glass curtain walls that gleam coolly in the afternoon sun.

Stepping into the high-ceilinged foyer, the interior is even more futuristic—the light in the high-ceilinged space changes brightness with each step; control panels are embedded in the walls, and the glass changes color when powered on, automatically switching from transparent to semi-transparent as she approaches, gently filtering out the harsh sunlight.

"Wow..." Song Mingxi's beautiful eyes sparkled, and she couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Miss Song."

Song Mingxi hurriedly turned around, her heart skipping a beat.

Lu Chen walked over from the other end of the corridor. He wasn't wearing a suit today; instead, he was wearing a light-colored polo shirt, making him seem much more approachable than he had in Seoul.

He walked up to her, a slight smile playing on his lips, and extended his hand: "Welcome to Hong Kong Island. Was the journey smooth?"

"Sure, all the best!" Song Mingxi grasped his hand, then quickly let go, realizing her palms might be sweaty. "Mr. Lu... thank you for inviting me."

"Don't mention it," Lu Chen smiled. "There's a party at home today, lots of people and it'll be lively. You can come and relax too."

"Um!"

"Oh, right," Lu Chen glanced towards the door, "wait a moment, another guest is coming soon, we'll go in together in a bit."

"Okay, okay!" Song Mingxi nodded obediently, stood beside him, and looked towards the direction of the manor gate with him.

The afternoon sun shone on the lawn, and the sound of the fountain rippled softly in the breeze. Standing beside Lu Chen, Song Mingxi felt as if she barely dared to breathe.

She racked her brains trying to find a topic to talk about, but her usually quick wit seemed to have run out of words at this moment, and she couldn't say a single sentence.

Fortunately, not long after, the sound of a car engine came from the manor gate again. Then a black Mercedes slowly drove into the manor and stopped in front of the fountain.

The car door opened, and a slender and elegant woman slowly stepped out—she wore a high-quality white shirt, her long black hair was casually tied into a low ponytail, and a polite smile graced her delicate face.

Song Mingxi's mouth slowly opened wide, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.

"...Tomijin?"

The girl who got off the bus also looked up when she heard the sound. When her gaze fell on Song Mingxi in the lobby, the shock and astonishment on her face were almost identical.

"Myung-hee unnie?"

The two stood a few steps apart, looking at each other. The afternoon breeze blew between them, carrying the scent of grass and flowers.

Lu Chen stood to the side, watching the two South Korean girls staring at each other, and chuckled: "So you two know each other?"