Chapter 344
Chapter 344
Beauty was firmly within Lin Junruo’s area of expertise.
As she styled herself, she seemingly casually shared some beauty tips.
Jokes were not the only way to hold an audience’s attention. Useful information could keep viewers watching too.
Lin Junruo’s guess proved correct. As she explained beauty techniques, her Popularity continued to rise. The gains were not large, but they climbed steadily, making them a rather good source of income.
Zhou Jingying watched Lin Junruo with considerable relief.
If only everyone could be as sensible as Lin Junruo. She was talking about Yang Zhen and Yellow Hair!
By doing little more than talking, Lin Junruo finished styling herself and gained a wave of Popularity. The staff also informed her that she could go meet the other cast members.
Their variety show was being filmed in a beautiful little courtyard.
Yellow Hair had already followed the staff into the courtyard.
Besides him, there were three cast members played by NPCs.
Yellow Hair had no interest in these NPCs.
However, when the NPCs began chatting, he occasionally added a few words so that he would not seem too out of place.
Once the four men had talked for a while, it was time for the female cast members to enter.
The show featured both genuine couples and pretend couples matched for the program. Thus, the teams were formed from the very start.
As soon as the women appeared, each of the four male cast members went to greet his assigned partner.
Yellow Hair was stunned when he saw Lin Junruo appear.
In a red dress with a haughty expression, she looked every inch a queen.
She was beautiful to begin with, and after dressing up, she looked even more beautiful. Yellow Hair felt his heartbeat quicken considerably.
Lin Junruo was equally stunned when she saw Yellow Hair.
Yellow Hair was actually rather good-looking? And that silver hair suited him surprisingly well. It had even given him a hint of sophistication?
Lin Junruo found it inconceivable.
And so, the two stood opposite each other, looking back and forth without saying a word.
The other three couples, dutiful NPCs that they were, had already moved straight into exchanging gifts.
All three couples finished giving their gifts, yet Yellow Hair and Lin Junruo were still staring at each other.
Is that really Yellow Hair? I must be hallucinating.
Fuck, has Lin Junruo always been this beautiful?
Huh? Why does he keep staring at me? This is kind of embarrassing.
Oh god. Does she think this new hairstyle makes me even uglier? I miss my yellow hair.
…
Neither said a word, but their thoughts were exceptionally lively.
What snapped them out of it was a notification sounding in their minds.
For no apparent reason, they gained a wave of Popularity.
“What are they doing? Why aren’t they talking?”
“Hahahaha, are they both stunned by how good the other looks?”
“She’s so cool and beautiful. I’m completely into her!”
“The handsome guy looks great too.”
“Behold the importance of styling.”
“Looking at them now, this pair wins on looks alone.”
“I don’t care. They’re a perfect match in looks. You’re all shipping them with me–no arguments!”
“…”
Yellow Hair was baffled.
Lin Junruo was baffled too.
The two finally returned to their senses.
Yellow Hair withdrew his gaze and cleared his throat. Then, remembering something, he hurriedly brought out the roses he had been hiding behind his back and presented them to her.
Lin Junruo froze for a moment, then accepted them with a smile. “I really like them.”
The NPCs had chosen their gifts with care: beautiful bracelets and necklaces, a handmade dessert, and even a complete set of every lipstick shade from a certain brand. Yellow Hair, meanwhile…
His bouquet had lost, but not completely.
The moment Lin Junruo held the flowers, the viewers came alive again.
The bullet comments filled with declarations of “I’m into this,” and their Popularity somehow increased yet again.
“I thought flowers were clichéd until she accepted them.”
“A beauty with roses! Ahhh, I’m dead!”
“Absolutely gorgeous!”
“The roses are the best thing here. No objections, right?”
“…”
It was all rather difficult to understand.
Once the gifts had been exchanged, the four couples would separate and begin their individual dates.
Yellow Hair first took Lin Junruo out for a meal.
Once no other NPCs were nearby, Yellow Hair leaned closer to Lin Junruo and lowered his voice. “What’s going on now?”
Lin Junruo shook her head.
How would she know?
“Popularity alone definitely won’t work. There has to be another way. We can’t rely entirely on Jian Fan and the others. We have to find a solution ourselves.” Yellow Hair spoke with complete seriousness. Then he abruptly stopped. His face twisted, and his entire body began trembling uncontrollably.
Lin Junruo stared blankly, then burst out laughing.
It was not that she wanted to laugh. The sight was simply too funny.
Ordinarily, she never laughed–unless she could not hold it in.
If Qin Nan and the others had been there, they would have noticed that Yellow Hair’s condition looked extremely similar to what had happened to Qin Nan earlier.
In short, Yellow Hair had also been struck by lightning for mentioning something unrelated to the variety show.
It was… exhausting.
Yellow Hair went numb.
After recovering, Yellow Hair felt that he would never love again. He only wanted to die in numb resignation.
Of course, he could only think about it. He still had to cooperate and continue filming the variety show.
According to the previous notification, there would be three rounds. That meant they would probably be evaluated at some point between them. Perhaps they would have a chance to meet Qin Nan and the others again?
Yellow Hair could only pin his hopes on that.
Otherwise, if they could not communicate during the variety show, were they supposed to rely on his brain alone to come up with a solution?
That gave him far too much credit.
With chaotic thoughts running through his mind, Yellow Hair took Lin Junruo to eat.
The two knew each other quite well, but this was the first time they had interacted this way. Neither could relax. They were visibly stiff as they exchanged one polite courtesy after another. Then their eyes suddenly met, and neither could hold back. Both burst into laughter.
“Let’s just act naturally,” Lin Junruo said.
Yellow Hair nodded. “I think so too.”
As he spoke, his entire body relaxed into a slouch. Acting so formal and respectful had been unbearably uncomfortable.
Neither expected that relaxing would earn them another wave of Popularity.
It was not much, but as always, something was better than nothing.
After the meal, Yellow Hair took Lin Junruo to see a movie.
Yellow Hair had never dated, but he had heard plenty about it.
People said that a man should take his girlfriend to a haunted house or a horror movie. That way, she would become frightened and throw herself into his arms.
Yellow Hair felt that to create a romantic atmosphere, he simply had to choose a horror movie.
Now the two sat in the theater, watching the horror movie on the big screen. Yellow Hair glanced at Lin Junruo beside him, who remained utterly calm, and went numb.
Still, Yellow Hair felt he should try a little harder.
“Are you scared?” Yellow Hair asked. Then he added considerately, “If you are, you can lean on my shoulder.”
Lin Junruo thought something was wrong with him. She frowned. “This? What’s there to be afraid of?”
Yellow Hair fell silent.
Okay. Failed.
After a while, however, Yellow Hair refused to give up. “Are you really not scared? I think they made it pretty frightening.”
“Frightening?” Lin Junruo found the idea inconceivable.
Had they not encountered far more terrifying things in the Realm of Death? This trashy movie was nothing by comparison.
Yellow Hair fell silent again.
Yellow Hair was deeply exhausted.
They were supposed to be dating! How were they meant to gain Popularity like this?
Seeing Yellow Hair frown, Lin Junruo thought for a moment and said considerately, “If you’re scared, you can lean on my shoulder too.”
Yellow Hair fell silent once more.