Not a Good Match

■ Mixed-race, laid-back, teasing supermodel vs. rough, rowdy, dad-like king of the road

■ Age gap | Skin-tone difference | Size difference | A pretty little doll takes a lone wolf hiding his tail in hand

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One night, Mi Lang's cheating actor boyfriend sends him trending online. By daybreak, Mi Lang has used filming a variety show as an excuse to hide away in a small mountain village for some peace and quiet.

His agent calls to comfort him, saying that since he has struck out in love, his career is bound to take off.

Mi Lang glances down at his suitcase, which has lost a wheel, then looks up at the gravel road stretching hundreds of meters ahead. The corner of his mouth twitches.

Haha. Is this a sign that his career is off to a bad start?!

Mi Lang moves under the shade of a tree and takes out his phone to ask the production team for help. The director hadn't expected a guest to arrive three days early, and hurriedly promised to send someone over right away.

Sleep-deprived, Mi Lang waits with his head drooping. By the time he reaches his eighth yawn, an electric scooter finally pulls up in front of him.

The man has broad shoulders, long legs, and perfect proportions, with sharp, handsome features. It's a shame about the bedhead and the greasy mechanic's coveralls he's wearing.

Mi Lang sighs inwardly, then arches his fine brows and greets the man with a thank-you. Once the pleasantries are over, he picks up the suitcase and sets it on the scooter's footboard.

Then, all at once, Mi Lang sheds his lazy air and strides ahead with a spring in his step.

Luo Zhengyan shoots a sidelong glance at the slender figure walking away. As the cold snort escaping his clenched teeth vanishes with a puff of smoke, he pulls back the hand he'd been about to use to take off his dirty clothes.

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To help promote his hometown, Luo Zhengyan lends his farmhouse to the variety-show crew for filming, free of charge. So every day, the moment he wakes up, he settles in to watch the polished celebrities turn into fully automated troublemakers, especially one fussy, mixed-race neat freak.

But after watching for several days and seeing Mi Lang handle all kinds of farm work with ease, Luo Zhengyan realizes he may have misjudged him.

He leans back on the steps outside the house, pondering this as he takes a bite of a wild fruit. It is so sour that his brows draw together. Just as he is about to spit it out, Mi Lang happens to pass by, and the sweeping broom in his hand grazes Luo Zhengyan's toes.

Well, perhaps he wasn't completely wrong.

At least the disdain in those beautiful amber eyes is genuine...

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During the final episode's filming, Mi Lang's actor ex-boyfriend shows up as a guest star, bringing his new lover along.

After losing a challenge, the new lover, still smarting, taunts him. "I didn't expect you and the mechanic to work together so well, Supermodel Mi. You look like a perfect match!"

Mi Lang lazily lifts his eyelids. "You're too kind. We can't compare to you and Actor Yu. A gold-digger with a well-connected star, now that's a perfect match."

That evening, after the group dinner breaks up, in a secluded corner of the mountain campsite...

The calluses on Luo Zhengyan's fingers lightly brush Mi Lang's flushed cheek. "How are we any less suited to each other than the rest? Tell me, and I'll change."

◎ Same-sex marriage is legal in this setting. Much of the variety-show content is invented.

◎ The setting is partially fictionalized, and the characters aren't based on real people. Please don't take it too seriously.

--☆★ Coming soon: "Socially Anxious, But Online Dating at an American University" ★☆--

■ A timid quail in person, a wild flirt online, snowboarding prodigy

■ A stuffy daddy in person, cries "baby" online, hockey center and absolute menace

■ Size difference | Height difference | Competitive-sports couple | Online romance revealed | Older, doting daddy type

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Yan Lue is a snowboarding prodigy who slays on the slopes but has been single since birth.

After winning a North American tour stop, as he so often does, he lands on X's trending topics for what looks like an insulting gesture toward the crowd during an interview.

His teammate and friend Yu Haohao rubs his forehead helplessly. "You're supposed to wink, not roll your eyes! You're supposed to smile and make a heart, not purse your lips and throw a punch!"

Who would have thought that Yan Lue, whose presence on the course could easily overpower everyone, would be socially anxious in private? The media and public often mock him as an arrogant poser because he never smiles or celebrates after a competition.

This time, he hopes to improve his image by interacting with the fans, but things go awry. In the blink of an eye, he goes from being a poser to being a jerk.

As Yan Lue pats his friend on the back to calm him down, he tries to defend himself. "There were too many people watching the interview. It wasn't the right time for a socially anxious person to push his limits."

Yu Haohao rolls his eyes, but still takes pity on him and plays along. "So you need me to find you one stranger at a time, so you can practice one-on-one?"

Yan Lue is eager to shift the blame, so he nods vigorously. The next day, his incredibly efficient friend takes him to a costume party to find a suitable target...

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Vincent Cooper is the NHL's hottest Russian center and a menace on the ice.

He never backs down from a collision with an opponent, but when he goes to a dance with his little sister, he gets ambushed by a fluffy, human-shaped rabbit.

The little bunny only comes up to his chest, and the snowboard hanging behind them performs a perfect edge change against the inside of his thigh.

Vincent grits his teeth through the pain and grabs the rabbit ears.

The person inside the costume is bundled up from head to toe, with only a pair of reddened eyes barely visible. Their body is still trembling uncontrollably.

"I didn't hit you. You're crying too soon."

Vincent shakes his head with an amused smile and reluctantly gives in. "Say something nice to me, and I'll let you go."

The rabbit freezes for a moment, then reaches into the costume's pocket and rummages around for a while before tremblingly presenting a card with their contact information.

Yan, aka Rabbit, Lue stammers, his voice barely audible: "They said online... it's okay?"

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Two months later, Yu Haohao asks how Yan Lue's social-anxiety training is going, teasing him about whether he's already driven his online friend away.

"He hasn't left."

Yan Lue runs a fingertip along the edge of his snowboard, looking troubled. "But something seems a little off..."

"What's off?"

"He keeps calling me baby."

"That's normal!"

"But sometimes he wants me to call him daddy, too. Is that normal?"

Yu Haohao hesitates. "When do you mean by sometimes?"

"When we video chat at night..."

Yan Lue's cheeks flush without him realizing it. "When he says he wants to see my legs."

Theme: When you love each other, you're a perfect match.