The Stand-In Alpha Goes Viral on a Dating Show - Chapter 16

Logically speaking, someone dropping their chopsticks and picking them up shouldn’t have drawn much attention. But of all people, the one who bent down was Chi Wan—and she wasn’t even retrieving her own chopsticks.

Earlier, because of the scene where Chi Wan had helped someone serve food, Lu Xin and the others were already feeling sour. They couldn’t help thinking: Why is she serving that person and not me?

Now seeing her go out of her way again, the bitterness in their hearts only deepened. Outwardly, they continued eating as usual, but their eyes kept drifting beneath the table. Internally, they grumbled: It’s just a pair of chopsticks—does it take this long to pick them up?

Under the cover of the tablecloth, what appeared to be a simple gesture had become something else entirely. Chi Wan and An Ran’s fingers were tightly interlocked, their hearts racing faster and faster. They could vaguely sense the shifting legs and uneasy postures of a few others at the table.

Any one of them could lift the tablecloth and expose them at any moment!

But the system hadn’t indicated the task was complete yet, so Chi Wan couldn’t let go. She could only pretend that their hands had touched by accident and that she hadn’t noticed, even though the prolonged contact now seemed far too deliberate. Still, in the name of the mission, there was no room for hesitation.

Finally, the system gave a soft ding!

【Congratulations, Host! Temporary task completed! Plot preview initiated. Real-time updates will follow.】

Chi Wan silently digested the message. Even as she pulled her hand back, her movements were intentionally slow, letting her fingernails graze lightly across the back of An Ran’s hand.

That patch of skin was thin and especially sensitive. The brief contact made An Ran feel an unbearable itch—it was as if the sensation had burrowed straight into her heart. She awkwardly curled her fingers into a loose fist and rested it at her side in a posture that screamed self-consciousness.

Chi Wan finally let go and picked up the two fallen chopsticks from the ground. Just as she straightened up, one corner of the tablecloth suddenly lifted. A gust of cool air from the air conditioner swept in beneath the table, and the dim lighting under the table brightened.

An Ran instinctively looked up—and to her shock, the hand lifting the cloth belonged to none other than Mingyu!

Chi Wan noticed the movement as well. Instead of immediately checking who it was, she mentally noted the direction the hand had come from. Then she climbed out from under the table, wiped the chopsticks clean, placed them neatly on the table, and then looked up to see who it had been.

When she realized it was Mingyu, she was genuinely taken aback. She had assumed one of her exes would lose patience first—not the so-called “main character.” The irony wasn’t lost on her.

In truth, the exes had wanted to lift that tablecloth. They’d been dying to. But they were all secretly competing with one another and none of them wanted to be the first to show they still cared about Chi Wan.

After all, the more they cared about the stand-in, the more it would feel like a slap to their white moonlight’s face. They were still trying to win Mingyu over and didn’t want to do anything that might upset her.

But what none of them expected… was that it would be Mingyu who pulled back the tablecloth first.

Facing all the curious stares around the table, Mingyu merely smiled and said softly, “I just wanted to check if anyone needed help.”

To those who admired her, she was the embodiment of beauty and kindness. But Lu Xin and the others couldn’t help but feel a flicker of unease. Had Mingyu found out about their past with Chi Wan?

After the meal, everyone took a casual stroll around the villa.

Right on cue, Chu Rou reappeared and announced the next segment—they would all gather in the living room for a group chat session.

Chi Wan quickly caught on: this was clearly a round of self-introductions. And during the chat, every guest was required to answer at least two questions from others.

It was a clever setup. Normally, since most people were meeting for the first time, the questions wouldn’t be too personal or aggressive. But Chi Wan keenly noticed that after Chu Rou finished explaining the rules, she shot her a meaningful glance. Lu Xin and her friends immediately exchanged looks as if something had been prearranged.

Chi Wan’s heart sank. And sure enough—

Right after she finished introducing herself, Mo Wei—the one she’d recently had a disagreement with—spoke up:

“Miss Chi, online rumors say you’ve had quite a few ex-girlfriends. So tell us, how many relationships have you actually had? And in those breakups, were you the one who walked away—or the one who got dumped?”

Though Chi Wan had mentally prepared herself for something like this, she was still a little taken aback. She glanced sideways at Mo Wei and smiled:

“Isn’t that two questions?”

“Then just answer the second one,” Mo Wei replied with a smug lift of her chin, eyes flashing with disdain. Her tone was arrogant, but due to the camera angle, it didn’t come off as too overt on screen.

Chi Wan knew she couldn’t avoid answering. After all, Chu Rou had emphasized that each guest must respond—otherwise, it would seem like she couldn’t take the heat.

She lowered her head, putting on an air of quiet sorrow. “You’re digging up old wounds. Honestly, I entered every relationship thinking it could lead to marriage. I never expected they’d all end in heartbreak. I think that says enough, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does,” Mo Wei replied with a sneer, her meaning clear: So all your exes dumped you, huh?

“Next question.” Chi Wan rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers, pretending to be troubled. The expression wasn’t for the other guests—it was for the audience watching the livestream.

Chu Rou glanced at the bullet screen. While some comments blamed Chi Wan for being materialistic and getting what she deserved, many viewers were already expressing sympathy for her. Chu Rou was just about to signal for someone to go easy with the next question—but Lu Xin jumped in too quickly.

“Chi Wan, who was your favorite ex?”

The room fell silent. All eyes turned toward her.

Su Yao and Ruan Xiao instinctively stomped on Lu Xin’s foot. Su Yao even leaned in to whisper harshly:

“Are you crazy? How could you ask that? What if Chi Wan actually names someone?”

Lu Xin realized her blunder too late and rushed to correct herself:

“I—I mean, forget that one. Doesn’t count. Let me change it. When was your first kiss?”

She looked intently at Chi Wan, waiting for her answer. After all, when she had dated Chi Wan, they hadn’t kissed or slept together. At most, they’d held hands and hugged. She’d always seen Chi Wan as a substitute—kissing or more than that would’ve felt like she was losing out.

She had never asked Chi Wan about her experiences with the others. She had assumed they’d all been similar. But now, for some reason, she really wanted to know.

And it wasn’t just her. Even Su Yao and Ruan Xiao were staring at Chi Wan, waiting for her response.