My Rival and I Join a Dating Show Together [Entertainment Industry]

[Please add this to your collection! Upcoming titles: Raising a Hated Child, Another Failure and I'm a Photographer in the Underworld. Blurbs at the end.]

Break

Everyone in the industry knew that Yu Xuexiao, a stunningly beautiful idol with nothing but looks to offer, and Xie Yunye, a newly acclaimed actor known for his talent, had been at odds for years.

Xie Yunye had once publicly said on a talk show that Yu Xuexiao had nothing that qualified him to be an idol.

Their fans had been at war ever since.

One side argued that serious actors and idols were naturally incompatible, and Xie Yunye had done nothing wrong by speaking the truth.

The other side insisted that Yu Xuexiao's looks were more than enough to make him an idol.

But recently, the two appeared on the live dating show Heartbeat Rhythm, leaving fans of both sides stunned.

Was this really a dating show and not a horror show!?

Who would go on a dating show with their rival!?

*

The day Heartbeat Rhythm premiered,

Yu Xuexiao was seated with the other guests when Xie Yunye strode in with a cold expression, ignoring everyone and looking down on them all.

Everyone wondered how much the production team had paid Xie Yunye to get him on the show.

Only Yu Xuexiao was thinking:

That clingy puppy who used to follow me around and call me "senior" has grown up to look like this.

*

Yu Xuexiao had always assumed that since neither of them ever brought up the past, they both thought nothing of it and hadn't taken their youthful feelings seriously.

Out of guilt, though, he kept an eye on the distance between them while doing his best to treat Xie Yunye well.

When the two became a hit couple, he also assumed they'd tacitly agreed to treat their on-screen romance as work, just as the production team had requested.

But later, out of sight of the cameras, Xie Yunye got drunk, buried his face in Yu Xuexiao's shoulder, and demanded with red-rimmed eyes, "Yu Xuexiao, why did you dump me back then?"

*

At the celebration for the dating show's huge success, someone egged on the very drunk head director to reveal how much the production team had paid Xie Yunye.

The director said smugly, "Not a single cent!"

Then he added, "All he asked was for us to arrange for him to spend time with one person. And you all know how it turned out: the Yunxiao couple became a sensation!"

A recording of the exchange was uploaded online and immediately shot to the top of the trending list.

Viewers who had just finished watching the livestream and were already obsessed with the couple rushed to watch.

"I don't want to ship them either, but the people involved are practically forcing me to!"

"Ye-ge, I'm actually crying. I spent the first half of the show cursing the production team for being awful and making them pair up with their rivals..."

"Who cares about appearance fees? No appearance fee is more important than your wife! Yunxiao is real!"

"Is there anyone who still hasn't watched Heartbeat Rhythm? Come see how the arrogant king turns into an obedient puppy in front of his wife!"

*Please note:

1. One-on-one romance, and each lead is the other's first love.

2. The entertainment industry is fictional, so don't scrutinize the details. The characters are not based on real people, so don't read them that way!!!

Blurb for Raising a Hated Child, Another Failure

Song Zhou spent years diligently playing the role of the universally hated one at the Transmigration Bureau. At last, he picked a world where he could retire, only to receive a last-minute assignment from his superiors.

The male lead, male supporting character, and villain in this world would all go off the rails after reaching adulthood, causing the storyline to collapse and the world to be destroyed.

Song Zhou let out a long sigh. All he wanted was to enjoy a proper vacation.

With no choice but to take on the assignment, Song Zhou halfheartedly went to approach the three of them.

He deliberately chose the time when they were young and easier to get close to, only to discover that each of them had it worse than the last.

The male lead's story was all about vengeance. His parents had both died in a car accident, leaving him alone at a young age. His relatives had taken over his home and stolen his inheritance, and now he was locked in a basement by himself, burning with fever.

The male supporting character's story was about a true and fake young master. His cruel adoptive parents had abused him as he grew up. He couldn't find a single clean set of clothes, and even in the dead of winter, he had to drag his sick little body around to wash dishes, do laundry, and cook for them.

The villain's story was about a gloomy, unstable boy. His mother died when he was young, and he had a terminal illness. He was constantly being sent to the ICU, and aside from the hospital, he had barely been anywhere. The last time he went out was when he secretly attended the full-month celebration for his stepmother's newborn son.

Song Zhou: Strike while they're sick and finish them off!

So he put on three different secret identities and approached each of them.

After finally getting the three prickly little boys to let go of some of their hostility and wariness, he looked at their trusting eyes.

Song Zhou was satisfied. Time to get out of here!

Back on the correct timeline,

the Transmigration Bureau told him he still had to complete the universally hated one mission.

The long-suffering wage slave Song Zhou gritted his teeth and accepted. But when he received the assignment, he fell silent.

[You're the playmate of a sickly young master. Your parents accepted money to leave you in his care, but you think he's too delicate and secretly bully him.]

[You're the school bully who leads the harassment of the real young master, then shamelessly tries to cozy up to him after he reunites with his birth family.]

[You're a has-been, low-ranking celebrity who covets the tycoon's money and tries to sleep your way into becoming a rich man's wife.]

"..."

Song Zhou: Could you repeat the names of the sickly young master, the real young master, and the tycoon?

The System repeated them in its cold, electronic voice.

Song Zhou forced an awkward laugh.

What a coincidence. They had the same names as the three little boys he'd raised.

Thinking about when he'd run away according to the timeline, Song Zhou nervously wondered if enough years had passed for the boys to have forgotten him.

Then reality hit him hard.

But the scariest part was when the three of them learned about one another and asked him coldly,

"He was the one you raised, so who am I?"

Song Zhou backed away. No, just hear me out...

Theme: Never forget why you started.