Forced Cohabitation After a Hit Romance Variety Show with My Rival Actress - Chapter 8

A high-bridged nose, crimson lips, and a pair of stunning eyes, misty and luminous.

Chi Yu felt as if time and space had warped around her.

If Kuang Baibai hadn’t been beside her, covering her mouth with her fists and squealing in hushed excitement, Chi Yu might have remained lost in the shock of this long-awaited reunion, unable to snap out of her daze.

“Oh my god, oh my god! It’s Gu Yuan, the Best Actress with divine beauty! She’s even more stunning in person!”

“Sister Chi Yu, you’re going to be working on the same show as Gu Yuan! Should I ask for an autograph now? Would that be too forward?”

“I can’t believe I’m actually meeting Gu Yuan, the Best Actress! Waaah~”

“She’s like a sacred, untouchable flower on a distant peak! Awooo~”

“……”

Gu Yuan listened to Kuang Baibai’s fervent praise, her words soaring from the heavens to the earth, from the Tropic of Cancer to Antarctica.

The admiration was palpable, portraying Gu Yuan as a sacred, inviolable flower on a distant peak. Chi Yu couldn’t help but wonder: if she told Kuang Baibai that she had plucked this “untouchable flower” from its lofty perch, would the girl completely lose it?

Chi Yu’s smile felt strained. “Is it really that serious…?”

Though she spoke softly, the makeup room suddenly fell silent. Everyone seemed slightly surprised, their gazes turning toward her.

“…?”

Only someone as oblivious as Kuang Baibai seemed unaware of the attention. “What do you mean, ‘not serious’?”

“…?”

Chi Yu cleared her throat lightly. When she looked up again, her doe-like eyes curved into a pure, radiant smile.

On her fair, delicate face, her slightly plump lips curved into a smile, revealing two faint dimples at the corners—subtle, yet overwhelmingly sweet.

Tilting her head playfully, she smiled even more charmingly.

“We were just teasing each other. Sorry for disturbing everyone.”

In truth, whenever she wanted, her deceptively innocent appearance could help her smooth over almost any trouble.

This time was no exception. The attention that had been focused on her immediately dissipated.

Only Gu Yuan didn’t avert her gaze, continuing to observe Chi Yu through the warm-toned bulbs of the vanity mirror.

Her expression remained serene, her flawless face presented calmly before Chi Yu.

Chi Yu swallowed nervously, her practiced smile faltering. Deciding to drop the act, she smiled even more sweetly at Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan’s slightly elongated eyes narrowed slightly as she watched this scene unfold.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Gu Yuan set down her book, stood up, and turned around.

With her arms crossed, she strolled leisurely toward Chi Yu, her steps measured and unhurried.

Though the room buzzed with activity, many were merely feigning busyness, their curious glances covertly directed toward the pair.

The hushed whispers made it clear: everyone suspected Gu Yuan was angry and anticipated a spectacle.

Gu Yuan gazed silently at Chi Yu for a long moment, her gaze deep and inscrutable.

Finally, she frowned slightly. “What should I call you, Teacher?”

The remark drew little reaction from the onlookers. If anything, they seemed disappointed at the lack of drama.

But Chi Yu’s doe-like eyes clouded with confusion.

Four years ago, during her senior year of high school, she had secretly dated Gu Yuan, her sister’s classmate who was then a second-year graduate student. Even after all this time, her appearance couldn’t have changed that much, right?

Had she really become unrecognizable?

Chi Yu hesitated for a few seconds before a sudden realization struck her. Of course! The Best Actress is surrounded by people. Not recognizing me could be genuine, or it could be a deliberate attempt to distance herself from her past.

“I understand!” Chi Yu said, lifting her gaze to meet Gu Yuan’s fair and radiant face.

Then, speaking slowly and deliberately, she said, “Chi Hao.”

Gu Yuan’s crimson lips slowly curved into a smile as she leaned forward slightly, her cascading hair slipping from her shoulder.

Under the dressing room’s overhead lights, Gu Yuan’s long hair shimmered with a wine-red glow.

In that moment, as she leaned in, her shoulders and back were draped in a luminous veil of light and shadow.

Their faces were only a short distance apart, creating an intimate atmosphere.

Gu Yuan’s radiant eyebrows and eyes, her high, straight nose, and her crimson lips were magnified before Chi Yu’s eyes.

Chi Yu’s gaze was filled with this beauty, and her heart seemed to skip a beat.

Her heart pounded wildly, as if someone had tapped her chest.

But after only a few seconds, Chi Yu realized this wasn’t an illusion. Her chest had indeed been touched—by the delicate, jade-white fingertip of Gu Yuan’s hand.

Gu Yuan’s finger tapped Chi Yu’s name tag. “You’re quite pretty,” she said.

Then, tilting her head slightly, she chuckled softly. “Still lying so smoothly.”

Her fingertip remained pressed against Chi Yu’s name tag, lingering for a moment.

The two women remained in this position, but the placement of Gu Yuan’s fingertip seemed too subtle, too intimate, making the scene appear rather suggestive to any onlookers.

Finally, after her initial daze, a sweet, gentle smile slowly bloomed on Chi Yu’s cheeks.

Her eyes curved into crescents with laughter, and the two faint dimples at the corners of her lips seemed to glow with an irresistible charm.

Smiling sweetly, she gazed into Gu Yuan’s eyes, who stood just inches away. After a long moment, her slightly plump lips parted gently. “Even though you know lying is wrong, why are you still learning it, Senior?”

“……”

A sudden tension filled the air, as if sparks were flying between them.

Though the crew on set wasn’t large, there were still seven or eight people present, not counting the Best Actress’s team and the staff waiting outside the dressing room to greet them.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, a wave of hushed whispers erupted among the onlookers.

“Oh my god, who is this girl? Is she the guest who got in through a last-minute spot? How is she already confronting the Best Actress head-on before the show even starts?”

“When the Best Actress asked who she was, I thought it would just be a casual exchange of pleasantries. After all, look how stunning this girl is—if I were her, I’d want to get to know her too. But what happened next was completely unexpected.”

“Right? I was shocked too when the Best Actress said she was lying.”

“Of course she was lying! Her name is clearly Chi Yu, and she’s even wearing a name tag on her chest. Caught red-handed right there—so embarrassing.”

“Didn’t she just say, ‘Is that really necessary?’ There was definitely some tension in the air. I’m sending this clip to the production team now. It might become a viral moment when they officially announce it later.”

A staff member, eager for drama, recorded the scene and immediately sent it to the production team.

Director Zhou and Teacher Zhu, the head screenwriter, were reviewing final preparations.

The head of the photography team approached, holding up his phone with an excited expression.

“Director Zhou, Teacher Zhu, you have to see this.”

Teacher Zhu, the head screenwriter for Love’s Heartbeat, was currently scribbling in her notebook, trying to map out the romantic arcs for the contestants.

Abruptly interrupted, she frowned, but as she watched the phone’s video, she pushed her thick, bottle-bottom glasses up to her brow and leaned so close to the screen she nearly pressed her face against it.

“Where did this come from?” Director Zhou asked.

The photography director pointed at the screen. “One of my floor managers just witnessed this in the dressing room…”

He recounted the entire scene verbatim. After he finished, the head director and head writer exchanged glances.

“Isn’t this the girl we finalized just the day before yesterday… what was her name again?” Teacher Zhu flipped through the papers in his hand. “Chi Yu, that’s it.”

“Exactly. To put it bluntly, she was a last-minute addition, but who knows, maybe we struck gold,” Director Zhou mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Look how smoothly the Best Actress tapped her chest—it’s like they have a history.”

“Wait, she pretended not to know her name? Could there be something between them?”

“You know what? These two are definitely something else. This dating reality show is about to get wild.”

“I heard Ruan Feiyu, the one who caused that viral scandal last time, is also on the show. This is going to be a real battleground.”

“I’m adjusting the couple pairings and adding a conflict arc right now. We’re going all-in this season!” Teacher Zhu’s eyes gleamed behind his thick-rimmed glasses. “I can’t wait to see how this unfolds.”