Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Pei Muchan almost ran out of the arrangement room like she was fleeing, hastily shutting the door behind her and hurrying to the end of the hallway, standing in front of the office's glass door.

She saw outside the corridor window, the temperature baking the lush greenery, the topmost leaves curling slightly.

In September's muggy heat, a heart left in the sun becomes scalding.

After calming her emotions a bit, Pei Muchan then entered the office. As she walked, she mulled over his speaking state just now, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like sleep talking.

Such behavior, it must have been sleep talking.

But... such sleep talk was too strange, wasn't it? Even if there might be a little bit of fondness for each other, it surely couldn't be described as love.

His sleep talking was really a bit too exaggerated.

She sat in front of the computer screen, intending to move the mouse subconsciously, but caught sight of her reflection on the dark screen and stopped moving the mouse again.

She touched her face involuntarily, adjusted her hair, and twirled a strand of hair behind her ear.

Once he wakes up, if he doesn't mention it, she would act as if she knew nothing. If he asked, she would just reply seriously, replying…

"Too fast, no, not at all, also not right."

Shaking her head, she couldn't help but cover her face with both hands, rubbing it for quite a while before calming down. She turned on the computer, planning to do some proper work and familiarize herself with the music sheet.

As she entered the startup password and began to read from the first line of the music sheet, she sang out bit by bit.

"I can't get over who I love—considering oneself..."

She was interrupted halfway through her singing as Pei Muchan's breathing became erratic. She always got stuck in odd places, "and yet you came closer, forcing our eyes to meet..."

With each line of lyric, certain images floated up in her mind.

Her heart was in turmoil, flaring up and then subsiding.

"Stand still or move forward, suddenly caring about this minute."

What was he thinking when he wrote this line? Was he perhaps also thinking about certain images, or maybe... about me?

With this thought, Pei Muchan pushed away from the table and slumped into her chair. Staring at the pristine ceiling with her head tilted back, she took a deep breath, feeling she was overthinking it.

After collecting her emotions for ten minutes, she sang through the entire song calmly. The rest was simple: find a staff member from the studio on the first floor to help with the accompaniment.

Noon.

Xu Qingyan woke up from his nap, his head still feeling heavy.

Staring at the dim ceiling for a while, he gradually came to his senses. The air conditioning was a bit cold, so he silently counted to three before getting up, folding the blanket, and placing it back in its original spot.

It was already half-past twelve as he left the arrangement room; the sunlight was casting a large swath on the end of the hallway wall.

Crossing the corridor and just entering the office, he suddenly paused.

He said, "You didn't go to lunch?"

Pei Muchan, sitting at her desk, looked up at him briefly and then quickly shifted her gaze away.

"Waiting to go with you."

"Oh, I see," Xu Qingyan glanced out the window, confused for a few seconds, generally feeling that something was odd, "Have you looked at the music sheets I sent you this morning?"

"I have, and I'm already preparing the accompaniment," she responded.

The atmosphere still felt a bit strange; he paused in his stride.

"Shall we go eat now?"

"Okay." Pei Muchan picked up her phone from the desk, stood up in one swift motion, showing no hesitation.

Xu Qingyan stared blankly, finding Pei Muchan's behavior today odd. She usually dallied a bit, so why did she seem so nervous today?

This peculiar atmosphere lasted all through lunch and on the way back when he couldn't help asking.

"Why do you seem so strange?"

"What... strange?"

She sat in the passenger seat, nervously pressing her thumb against the phone screen, imprinting a clear fingerprint.

"Kind of like we've just met on a blind date, with that tinge of awkwardness," Xu Qingyan casually said while squinting and stroking the steering wheel.

"Blind... blind date?!"

"It's just an analogy. I was sleeping in the arrangement room at noon; you didn't come in, did you?" He suddenly thought of a possibility, slowed down the car, and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Did I say something strange?"

"No, I was looking at the music sheet at noon. Were you sleeping?" She didn't know why, but she felt the urge to cover up her vulnerability.

"Yeah, I got up early to rush the composition."

Xu Qingyan heard her denial and didn't think further. Being disoriented and talking nonsense wasn't a big deal; it was mostly just a bit embarrassing, but it wasn't to be taken seriously.

That afternoon, when they returned to the studio, the atmosphere finally returned to normal.

Pei Muchan went to check on the progress of the accompaniment, leaving Xu Qingyan alone in the office, leaning back in his chair, scrolling through his phone.

Zhou Mian sent a message, "Bro, the fourth episode airs today."

The fourth episode?

He was bewildered for a good while before remembering the love reality show hadn't ended yet. The span of time was too long; between the live broadcast and the editing for airing, too many things had happened.

Back and forth, annoying black material.

It started recording at the end of July, editing in August. It wasn't sold until the end of the month for a scheduled broadcast, and it had been airing for two weeks now.

The first week, one episode aired, went viral, and then the TV station added an extra episode last week. Then, when more scandalous material came up, it was only after the program team aggressively sued that the situation calmed down.

And Xu Qingyan? He had been busy with writing songs, selling tracks, releasing music, and traveling. His memory of the love reality show was actually no longer clear, counting the time.

It has been almost two months, that love reality show...

Pei Muchan was just a glance away, and Lin Wanzhou was not much different. He also kept in touch with Shen Jinyue through WeChat, chatting occasionally, and if the conversation drifted off, he simply wouldn't reply.

He actually didn't care about the love reality show anymore, indifferent even to substantial traffic.

In the past, he may have thought that infamy was still a form of fame, and hellfire was still flame. But now, as the writer for two top-selling female artists, his image could impact the sales of his songs.