I have a persona specifically for acting.

Tong Zhao spent five minutes explaining what a dating reality show is.

Wei Zekai was stunned.

He pointed to himself and asked, “Is it real dating? Not acting?”

Well, it’s not really real dating.

The scheming of people’s hearts in a reality show is different from reality. However, quite a few who pair up on the show end up seeing each other as soulmates afterward because they’ve seen the truest side of each other’s souls. “This show has a storyline and background setting. In a bit, we’ll draw identity cards. Who knows, you might go from being a rich second-generation heir to a pauper.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Wei Zekai seemed quite confident.

Tong Zhao thought it made sense, after all, he was a handsome guy, and there were always a lot of girls who liked him back in school.

But it turned out his confidence came from something else: “I am spiritually rich, and I have personal charisma.”

Tong Zhao glanced at him but didn’t see any sign of spiritual richness.

Just as she was about to ruffle his golden-brown hair, she saw a man with a strong, chiseled face, dressed in a casual suit, walking over and greeting the two of them, “Hello, I am Contestant No. 2, He Shun.” He pointed to the small square name tag on his chest and smiled at Tong Zhao. “I’m your fan. May I shake your hand?”

Tong Zhao politely shook his hand.

Although he claimed to be her fan, He Shun remained very restrained and didn’t take advantage of the situation. Maybe it was because the cameras were rolling. “I’m the boss of Feiteng Capital, so you could say I’m a somewhat well-known investor. But recently, my sharpest investment was still on the first episode of ‘The Legend of Emperor Ming’ when you appeared. Really, I knew you had potential from the very first episode.”

He looked down at Tong Zhao, his eyes burning with intensity.

It was the kind of gaze a man has when he sees someone he is attracted to.

Off to the side, Wei Zekai’s internal alarm bells went off, and he quickly cut in to introduce himself: “My surname is Wei, Wei Zekai. I mainly focus on charity… no, I mean, investment as well. I’ve been investing in Tong Zhao since a long time ago. Back in elementary school, when she played the lead role in a play, I cast my vote for her as the Best Young Actress.”

Tong Zhao was his only successful project to date.

The more popular Tong Zhao became, the more it proved that Wei Zekai had a good eye for investments.

Damn old man, he also wants to compete with him for the position of the first investor!

“……”

Tong Zhao felt a bit too embarrassed to watch.

Just then, the host called for everyone to gather and draw cards, so the three of them stopped talking and headed to the center of the room.

The walls of this room were painted pink, with red balloons and ribbons everywhere. The lighting created a shimmering visual effect, making the setup look like a proposal scene.

“Let me reintroduce our show.”

“The official name is *Beware of the Sea King*, but it can also be called *Sea King Killer*.”

In front of the host was a box, with a stack of demonstration cards next to it.

He held up a card featuring a person in black clothing wearing a dog mask: “This is the Judge. While enjoying the process of dating, whoever draws this card has the responsibility to identify the ‘Sea King’ hiding among you and expose the true nature of the players who are insincere in love! The Judge has a mysterious special ability, which only the player who draws this card will know about. For now, let’s keep it a secret.”

[Judge]

The second and third cards the host raised happened to be a pair of elegantly dressed man and woman standing back to back.

[Sea King]

“For the players who draw the Sea King card, your task is to make everyone fall in love with you within the given time and collect declarations of true love from all participants.”

“Note that among you six players, there will be one male Sea King and one female Sea King. Our show is very gender-equal; no matter whether you’re a man or a woman, everyone has a chance to experience the hardships of love.”

“And regardless of whether you are a Sea King, Judge, or a regular player, there is a ‘True Love’ app on your phone. This is the app you will use to express your feelings. Its function is quite simple.”

The host opened an app with a pink heart icon on their phone: “You can use it to send messages to other players, and you can also enter the name of the player you have feelings for.”

A huge peach-pink heart appeared, with a space in the middle where you could indeed enter a name.

Romantic music started playing at just the right moment—

“I have never been so certain, so sure, about who would be my destiny…”

“Please remember, once you enter a player’s name, it cannot be changed.”

“Until your halo descends into my dark night…”

A delicate-looking girl with glasses timidly raised her hand, “What if we realize the person is a Sea King after entering their name?”

The music stopped abruptly.

The host smiled slightly.

This smile was a bit different; it clashed slightly with the warm and sweet atmosphere of the setup:

“Then you still can’t change it. After all, in reality, even if most of us find out our partners are jerks, it’s hard to let them go.”

The girl with glasses pressed her lips together, her eyes turning red; she was also a player with a story.

“The condition for the commoners to win is to mutually become each other’s true love.”

“For the Sea King, the goal is to make everyone fall in love with them.”

“Note that if a player doesn’t feel moved or fall for anyone, and safely makes it through the entire show, they can win a cash prize and earn the title of [Solitary King]!”

Before drawing the cards, everyone had to introduce themselves. The girl with glasses was named Zhong Muxi. She said she no longer trusted men after being hurt by a jerk and didn’t need love anymore, claiming she would definitely not fall for the Sea King’s tricks: “On this show, not falling in love is the rule for winning, so as long as I don’t draw the Sea King card, I’m confident I’ll get the Solitary King’s prize.”

The crowd generously applauded her.

Concubine Chen was unimpressed: “The more someone claims they’ll never love again, the harder they usually fall the next time. Love and men are both wonderful things; it’s just that her experience with one was bad. Someone in their early twenties saying such naive things is likely to be deceived again.”

The female reporter laughed: “I suspect you’re talking about Master Lu Xian and even have evidence to prove it.”

Concubine Chen: “Let’s all chant together like Master Lu Xian: ‘Solitary, solitary, solitary, solitary, solitary.'”

It was Wei Zekai’s turn. He swaggered up to draw a card, only to have his hand held back by the host, who told him he needed to introduce himself first.

Young Master Wei was a bit stunned. Wherever he went before, everyone already knew who he was.

But in the entertainment industry, he was a nobody.

The male guests all seemed to want to showcase themselves, especially He Shun, who earlier had an impressive self-introduction, boasting his title as an investor and sharing his shining success stories. However, Tong Zhao knew that, at present, Wei Zekai was just a student taking online courses, not good at anything, and best known for losing money.

Sure enough, he said, “I’m Wei Zekai, born into the wealthy second-generation by talent, currently a university student, and planning to transition into an investor in the future.”

Amid the uproarious laughter, Tong Zhao really wanted to turn her face away and not look at this fool.

However, the female guest Chang Xiaonian, who had previously said she’d never been in a relationship, was staring at him with bright eyes, as if she genuinely saw his spiritual richness and extraordinary personal charm.

Tong Zhao was the last to go up, the finale.

“Do I also have to introduce myself?”

She was the only celebrity among them, and the host smiled and nodded.

Tong Zhao naturally showcased herself in front of the camera, her flawless beauty radiating a confident ease. As she casually glanced around, her dazzling presence captivated everyone, leaving both men and women momentarily stunned. “I’m Tong Zhao, a newcomer in Instinct Films. Fans on Weibo often say they’re curious about what I’d be like in a relationship. Since dating in real life isn’t possible, I’ve come on this show to have some fun.”

The host seized the opportunity to ask curiously, “Why can’t you date in real life? Does your manager not allow it?”

“No time.”

Tong Zhao spread her hands in a helpless gesture.

It’s partly because she’s busy, and partly because it’s hard to please everyone.

Although each persona is still her, just as a woman’s preferences in partners can change throughout her life, each of her different personas has its own slight preferences. Then there’s Han Zhi, who she can’t quite figure out if he likes men or women.

So, until she meets a man who can accept her fully…

Forget it, no need to trouble anyone.

Finally, the host let her draw a card.

Everyone would draw two cards: one for their apparent role setting and one for their special identity card.

The two cards Tong Zhao drew were…

[Student]

Message: With zero dating experience, only by studying hard can you earn life points.

[Sea King]

Message: A great beauty wants to keep multiple suitors—there’s no one you can’t take away.

After reading the contents of the cards, Tong Zhao put them away without a hint of emotion on her face. She could feel that she was the focus of everyone’s gaze, with each person observing her expression for clues. Since this was just a warm-up promo, lingering too long wouldn’t be good, so after everyone had drawn their cards, the host announced that the filming for the day was over.

Wei Zekai eagerly came over and whispered, “I drew a super awesome identity, but I won’t tell you now!”

“Even if you told me, you’d forget such key information after entering the reality show,” she replied.

Tong Zhao waved goodbye to the host, director, and crew.

Wei Zekai asked, “Shall I give you a ride back? Today, I’m driving a green car—it goes perfectly with my outfit today.”

Young Master Wei’s level of material wealth was just that ridiculous.

While an average rich second-generation might choose a car based on their mood, he had the same model in every color, just to match his daily outfits.

“Sister Chu assigned me an assistant and a driver, so I don’t need a ride.”

“Oh.”

The two walked side by side to the underground parking lot. Young Master Wei glanced in the direction Tong Zhao indicated and spotted a dull gray nanny van, showing a look of barely concealed disdain.

Tong Zhao knew he was about to give his “high opinions” again, so she reminded him, “Keep it high EQ.”

“This car of yours…”

Wei Zekai managed to squeeze out a compliment: “It’s pretty safe. Just looking at it, you can tell it won’t get hijacked.”

※

The preview video of this reality show aired, and it unexpectedly received a good response.

Tong Zhao was recently in the spotlight, and netizens were very curious about her. She was a treasure yet to be fully discovered, especially since she was appearing on a reality show that couldn’t hide one’s true nature… It was quite bold, and netizens’ prying curiosity reached new heights, with discussions on major forums and websites fervently rising:

“Anyone who has seen *Countdown* knows Tong Zhao is set to be the Solitary Queen. She’s stunning on her own and doesn’t need a man.”

“Waiting to see Concubine Chen slay the entire scene. Is there really a man who can escape the Empress’s grasp?”

“The wealthy second-generation is hilarious! Seems like he already knows Tong Zhao? Could he be her boyfriend outside the industry?”

Opinions on Tong Zhao among drama fans were as polarized as a diode.

Those from *The Legend of Emperor Ming* thought she was the Sea King.

Those who got into the fandom from *Countdown* felt she didn’t need a man at all and seemed like a tough, ironclad woman.

Controversy breeds heat, and the director felt his decision to involve Wei Zekai was absolutely correct. This handsome and charismatic young man was a natural focal point. Netizens quickly dug up his Weibo, Instagram, and even his gaming affiliations, discovering that he was a genuine wealthy second-generation heir, but…

“The second-generation heir photo dug up from Wei Zekai’s Weibo—The question is, whose old, shabby background is that?”

This post generated a lot of discussion and went viral that afternoon.

Wei Zekai was shocked.

His first thought wasn’t about his privacy being violated.

He sent two WeChat messages to Tong Zhao:

“I told you the place you rented couldn’t be lived in!”

“It seems this generation of netizens isn’t very emotionally intelligent either!”