Breaking Up Couples on a Dating Show

After completing quick transmigration through three thousand worlds, Shi Ge could finally retire and enjoy her life. When the System asked what she wanted, she made just three requests: to be beautiful, rich, and not have to work. Great. She transmigrated into a celebrity who was hated by the entire internet. Beautiful? Obviously. How could the reigning Asian beauty pageant champion not be gorgeous? Rich? Her family had eight gold mines, more than a dozen islands, over a hundred luxury properties, and countless sports cars and yachts. Their company was listed on the Nasdaq. No need to work? Hated by the entire internet, she could simply leave showbiz and go home to inherit the family fortune. It was entirely reasonable and well justified. She wouldn’t have to work at all. But what was she supposed to do? She had already signed a contract for one last variety show before leaving the entertainment industry, so she might as well go on it. Which Couple Do You Love Most? was a reality dating show with twelve episodes. Each episode invited three couples to document their daily lives. After editing, three relationship experts and the audience would watch and discuss the footage live. The main goal, of course, was to ship the couples. But there was one discordant presence: Shi Ge. A pretty vase, a ditzy beauty, and completely lacking in emotional intelligence. Others: “Wow, the Best Actor and Best Actress got up early to make breakfast together. So sweet!” Shi Ge: “There’s no sign of anyone using the seasonings in the kitchen. They’re obviously brand new and just unwrapped. Looking at their schedules, they’ve met no more than three times all year, and one of those was a staged airport photo op.” Others: “Ahhh, the overbearing CEO only has eyes for his darling wife! The way he gets jealous is so cute!” Shi Ge: “Cute? The CEO is wearing V’s new Spring 2025 watch. It’s the same one his secretary has on. Oh, they’re a couple’s edition, too.” Others: “Sweet Sauce and Mr. Sheng have been together for eight years. They’ve spent six years sharing short videos of their wonderful life after marriage, and now they’re back at their old school, surrounded by a sea of roses, with a hundred drones proposing. So sweet! I’m sold!” Shi Ge: “Really? Sweet Sauce is allergic to pollen, and her husband, Mr. Sheng, doesn’t even know? Huh? There are photos of Mr. Sheng on Blue. How surprising.” (Though her expression showed no surprise at all.) Fans: “Ahhh, what kind of horrible little gremlin are you?!” “Do you have a grudge against shippers? You break up every couple you see!” “If you keep acting like this, do you not want to work in showbiz anymore?” Shi Ge shrugged. “Of course! Didn’t you know? This is my last variety show. I’m leaving showbiz to go home and inherit billions.” Netizens who loved watching the drama unfold: “Sis, ignore the fans! Quick, we have lots of other potential couples here. Let them on the show, all of them! Anyone who doesn’t dare appear on Which Couple Do You Love Most is automatically fake!” At last, another couple of victims, no, a newlywed couple with a marriage of convenience, appeared on Which Couple Do You Love Most. They stayed ten meters apart, each doing their own thing. In each other’s eyes, they might as well have been invisible. As everyone waited expectantly, the professional couple-buster unexpectedly fell silent. [Say something! Aren’t you usually so quick with your words?] [What’s wrong? Is this outside your area of expertise?] [Maybe they’re so fake there’s nothing to say.] Shi Ge turned awkwardly to one side. “This couple is real.” [Real what? Really fake?] Shi Ge: “Really in love.” [!!!!] [They’re really together??!!!] [How the hell can you tell?] Coming Soon: My Lady Has Always Been Ill When Ji Ping’an transmigrated into this world, she was already in the worst possible situation. An orphan from a merchant family, she had no one to rely on and had sought refuge with her relatives, the Song family. They held her marriage entirely in their hands. There was nowhere to go forward and no way back. Before long, the male lead, Song Huaizhang, would weave a vast net of love around her, lure her into his trap, take her as a concubine, seize all her property, raise a private army, and build his strength to kill the tyrant. And once the Song family raised its banner and seized the throne, she, a concubine who had outlived her usefulness, would have already died unnoticed in the inner quarters. Sigh, sigh, sigh. After three sighs, Ji Ping’an enlisted her maid Dongchun’s help in cultivating the persona of a frail invalid. From then on, Ji Ping’an gasped after every three steps and coughed after every five, turning herself into a “genuine,” “world-famous” beauty in poor health. Under the pretext of accumulating good karma, she traveled through the countryside, healing the sick and building a reputation she could rely on. At the same time, she carefully searched among her many patients for a reliable husband who could help her escape the Song family. After looking this way and that and taking her time to choose, Ji Ping’an settled on the taciturn hunter. He owned nothing, but at least his parents were both dead, and he had only a scholarly cousin living at home. There were no complicated relationships with sisters-in-law or mothers-in-law to manage, and no sinister schemes that made her tremble with fear and feel like she was walking on thin ice, as there were in the Song family. He was handsome, too, with sharp brows, bright eyes, and a spirited bearing. As for his health, Ji Ping’an had used treating him as an excuse to feel him up. He was as strong as a tiger. The only problem was his odd temper. Whenever she complained to her maid about how the tyrant in this book was capricious and stubborn, and would get overthrown sooner or later, he would stare at her with a strange look she couldn’t read, then let out a scoff from deep in his throat. No matter. He might have a strange temper, but she could train him a little after they married. One day, he would cut off Ji Ping’an’s head! Every time Zhou Sheng returned to the palace from having Ji Ping’an treat him, he flew into a terrible rage. Officials throughout the court trembled with fear, terrified that they had made some mistake and offended this “tyrant,” only to have their entire families executed in an instant. As the Son of Heaven, the lives of all the people and the fate of every corner of the realm were in his hands. And yet Zhou Sheng simply couldn’t kill Ji Ping’an. The reason was simple: Ji Ping’an was the only one who could currently treat his “hidden ailment.” The nine hundred and thirty-second time Zhou Sheng wanted to kill Ji Ping’an, she finally let him drag her into the palace. Fine. Since he couldn’t kill this petty, vindictive, sickly woman, he would keep her by his side and torment her properly. Everyone said the emperor loved the empress beyond measure. The empress was frail and short-tempered. The emperor feared she might grow angry or fall ill, and dreaded that they might not grow old together. He forced himself to overcome all his difficult habits and become a benevolent ruler, hoping to accumulate enough good karma to move Heaven and help the empress recover. The emperor and empress were a devoted couple, living in perfect harmony. But Dongchun, who had been by Ji Ping’an’s side since childhood, knew the truth. The emperor and empress had a small quarrel every three days and a huge fight every five. The empress used her illness as an excuse to refuse to give an inch whenever they disagreed, driving the emperor half mad with anger. “Ji Ping’an! I don’t think your body is sick. I think your head is! How did I end up marrying such a petty, unreasonable woman who can drive me to my grave?” Bang! Zhou Sheng slammed the door behind him. Dongchun was used to it by now. The emperor would come back at night anyway. The empress was frail, and he was afraid the argument would worsen her chronic illness, so he never had the heart to let a fight carry over into the night. But... Cold sweat ran down Dongchun’s back. If the emperor ever discovered that the empress’s illness was fake, would she and her lady keep their heads? Theme: Telling truth from falsehood