I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

When Jiang Che led Song Yuqi out of the elevator, her palms were still sweating.

The corridor was quiet, and the morning sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the end, casting a warm yellow glow on the carpet.

Song Yuqi lowered her head, staring at the two clasped fingers, her mind filled with the words "From now on, everything will be yours" from the restaurant earlier.

This man speaks sweet nothings like reciting a menu, throwing them all out in one breath, without caring whether her heart can take it.

When they reached her room door, Jiang Che let go of her hand.

"Go back and rest."

Song Yuqi looked up at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

In the end, only one word came out: "Oh."

Jiang Che watched her swipe her card to open the door and walk in. Only after the door closed did he turn around and walk back to his floor.

He took a couple of steps, and his phone vibrated in his pocket.

It shook again.

And then it just kept going.

He took it out and saw that the number of unread messages had jumped to 9999+.

-

The moment Song Yuqi closed the door, she leaned against it, and all the roses in her hand fell onto the carpet.

She squatted down to pick up the flowers, but halfway through, her phone rang again.

Su Qing.

Song Yuqi composed herself and answered the phone.

"Yuqi, open Weibo now and take a look at the trending topics."

Su Qing's voice was much calmer than before, but she still spoke quickly.

Song Yuqi switched her phone to speakerphone and opened the Weibo app.

The homepage loaded in three seconds, and then a system message popped up: Too many people are currently accessing the site. Please try again later.

"I can't get in," Song Yuqi said.

"That's normal, it's crashed twice already."

Su Qing was flipping through something on the other end, making a rustling sound as she looked at the papers.

"The show's official account posted an edited video half an hour ago, which included everything from your confession last night to the restaurant scene this morning."

"An eleven-minute montage was shared over a million times in just eight minutes."

"Currently, seven out of the top ten trending topics are related to you."

Song Yuqi was stunned.

Seven?

"Let me read it to you."

Su Qing cleared her throat.

"First, Jiang Che and Song Yuqi officially announced their relationship, breaking news."

"Secondly, Jiang Che's entire confession was explosive."

Third, Song Yuqi, I like you, it's hot.

Fourth, Jiang Che's first love, passionate.

Fifth, the memorable scenes from the final night of the 5-man show were incredibly popular.

"Sixth, a kiss on the forehead, warm."

"Seventh, Jiang Che said that everything will be yours from now on, Xin."

Song Yuqi sat on the carpet, holding the pile of roses, feeling overwhelmed by information.

"And then comes the important part."

Su Qing's tone changed, revealing a professional excitement.

"From seven o'clock this morning until now, I have received a total of six calls from top-tier brands expressing their intention to cooperate."

"They all want to sign couple-branded endorsement deals."

"The offer is three times your current rate for a personal endorsement."

Song Yuqi didn't say anything.

"Yuqi, three times."

Su Qing repeated it, emphasizing the word "three".

"The highest bid was 28 million, for a one-year term, only for shooting two print ads and one TV commercial."

"You know exactly how much your endorsement fees used to be. Now these brands are practically fighting over you."

Song Yuqi buried her face in the flowers and mumbled something.

"Sister Qing, my mind isn't working too well right now. Could you tell me this later?"

Su Qing laughed on the other end of the line, her laughter full of smugness.

"Okay, take your time to process this. I'll handle the business matters for you."

Song Yuqi hummed in agreement and hung up the phone.

She sat on the ground holding the flowers, lost in thought for a long time.

The phone screen lit up again; this time it was Wuha's group chat.

Unread messages: 187.

When she opened it, Deng Chao and Chen He were having a long-running argument.

Deng Chao: [I'll say it again, I was the first person to realize that Jiang Zemin had something on his mind! The day at the Liberation Monument in Chongqing! Do you understand the expression on his face when he received Yuqi's call?!]

Chen He: [Bullshit, you call that figuring it out? You're just being wise after the event. I saw it right there at a late-night food stall in Wuhan; his hand was shaking when he poured her a drink.]

Deng Chao: [When has Jiang Che's hand ever trembled? If you're going to make something up, at least make it believable!]

Chen He: [Who cares if he's shaking or not! My intuition is more accurate than yours!]

Lu Han: [Can you two please shut up for a bit? The person involved is still in the group chat.]

Deng Chao: [@Song Yuqi, you be the judge, was I the first to discover this?]

Chen He: [@Song Yuqi Don't listen to him, he's just trying to pat himself on the back. Ask Jiang Zemin, who was threatened by him first? The one who was threatened was the one who truly saw through it!]

Deng Chao: [Isn't that still me! Wasn't his insistence on me hiring a foreign teacher a targeted attack?]

Chen He: [You were warned, I was silenced. The fact that he still remembers me stealing chestnuts shows what? It shows I was the first to uncover the truth!]

Lu Han: [This means you have a sweet tooth.]

Deng Chao: [Hahahaha, Brother Han's comment was brilliant!]

Chen He: [You two are ganging up on me, aren't you?]

Deng Chao: [Yes.]

Lu Han: [Yes.]

Song Yuqi looked at the screen and couldn't help but laugh.

These people have been arguing since last night; they really have boundless energy.

She didn't reply in the group chat, locked her phone, and threw it on the bed.

Then he picked it up again and opened Jiang Che's chat window.

The dialog box is empty.

She typed a few words in the input field, then deleted them, then typed them again.

Finally, I sent a period.

Three seconds later, Jiang Che replied.

[I'll call you for lunch.]

Song Yuqi stared at those five words for a long time.

Is this person really in a relationship? Are you sure it's not just work-related?

She rolled her eyes and put her phone face down under her pillow.

Then she turned over, buried her face in the blanket, and laughed silently for a long time.

-

Inside the broadcast van, three monitors were lit up simultaneously.

Wu Zheng sat in front of the largest screen, constantly refreshing the background data on his phone.

The assistant director ran in from outside, holding a stack of printing papers in his hand.

"Director Wu, the official video has surpassed 200 million views in just 47 minutes since it was released."

"The number of likes for the pinned comment 'Blessing' exceeded the number of shares of the video itself."

"The Weibo server crashed for the first time at 7:03 this morning, and after being repaired at 7:18, it crashed again at 7:29."

"The official customer service issued a statement saying that they are urgently expanding capacity."

Wu Zheng put down his coffee cup, the bottom of which tapped on the table.

"What about the brand side?"

"Currently, we have confirmed cooperation intentions with six first-tier brands and eleven second-tier brands."

The assistant director flipped through the papers in his hand.

"Three of them explicitly stated that as long as Jiang Che and Song Yuqi appear on screen together, there is no budget limit."

Wu Zheng leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head.

He stared at the ceiling for five seconds, his mind racing.

"Notify the execution team that the Sanya station will be extended by two days."

The assistant director looked up at him.

"An additional special episode featuring couples will be recorded, edited separately, and released as a bonus episode for the final season."

"I'll come up with the shooting plan this afternoon. You can go and coordinate the venue and rooms at the hotel first."

The assistant director nodded and took note, then turned to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Wu Zheng called out to him.

"I need to discuss this with Jiang Che first."

He picked up his phone, found Jiang Che's number in his contacts, and dialed it.

It rang three times before being answered.

"Lyricist, did I disturb you?"

What do you think?

Jiang Che's voice was languid, slightly hoarse from just waking up.

"I have something to tell you. The station and the sponsors both hope that the Sanya episode will be extended by two days, with an additional special episode for couples."

Wu Zheng carefully considered his words.

"The content is simple, just your daily interactions with Yuqi. It's a relaxed shoot, without any high-intensity tasks."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Wu Zheng thought he was considering the scheduling issue and was about to add, "The cost is negotiable."

Jiang Che spoke.

"You asked her if she was tired?"

Wu Zheng's words were stuck in his throat.

He paused for a moment, his pen hovering in mid-air.

Filming took place in Chongqing, then in Seoul, and then in Sanya. Song Yuqi worked non-stop with the entire production team for almost two months.

This period included the stage, the mission, the controversy, the chaotic situation, and last night's final live broadcast.

Wu Zheng has been working on variety shows for over a decade, and has collaborated with at least 80 to 100 artists.

Upon hearing the notification of additional recording, my first reaction wasn't to ask about the money, the schedule, or my screen time, but rather to ask if my partner was tired.

This is the first one.

Wu Zheng held his phone for a long time before he came to his senses.

"Then... I'll go ask her opinion."