Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

The two traversed the ring road around the island and had already heard the sound of the tide before even reaching the coast, overwhelmingly crashing in.

Continuing along the coastline, they came upon a small seaside village. The sound of the waves became soothing, and the heavens and earth seemed to expand.

Xu Qingyan carried a bag of clothes that Zhou Mian from the props team had hastily given him. The director's team disliked his clothes and had sent him a new set on short notice.

In fact, there were no strict requirements for the guests' clothing style for the photo shoot, but the production team wanted to enhance Xu Qingyan's on-screen presence, and so they spared no expense.

The clothes weren't cheap, roughly equivalent in price to the set Pei Muchan was wearing.

There was a small hill by the beach with a cable car on top of it, which was the planned photo shoot location for noon. The theme was 'Romantic Cable Car,' but the cable car looked somewhat ugly.

At the foot of the hill, red brick and grey tiled houses were everywhere, with the occasional blue tin-roofed house. Most had been transformed into trendy white coffee night bars, roofs adorned with colorful signs.

Under the canopy of the sky, the sun blazed down, and in the distance, some old village buildings sported flagpoles on their top floors.

Blue skies and white clouds unfurled, the bright day seared, and the bright red national flag danced in the wind.

"How much farther is the entrance to the mountain cable car?" Xu Qingyan didn't feel physically tired, but he felt somewhat weary at heart, "Is it necessary to go up the mountain just to get a shot?"

"It's necessary," the accompanying photo shoot photographer said, "Both of you, hang in there, you're young people, how can you not have more stamina than this old man?"

No one knew where the production team had found such an unusual old man, a sixty-something-year-old, who appeared kind-hearted, but climbed stairs with remarkable authenticity.

What a photographer, he was like an old man from Mount Tai.

"We're almost there, just hold on for a bit." Pei Muchan's forehead didn't even show a drop of sweat, and when Xu Qingyan got close, he could smell a faint fragrance from her.

He remembered reading a small article in high school on Yi Lin that said people could only smell a special fragrance from someone they liked.

Unlike scents made from shower gels or perfumes, it was a fragrance truly belonging to a heart beating with spring. The book stated that taking a whiff was intoxicating, able to keep one upright for half a day.

Xu Qingyan wasn't affected to that extent. Occasionally getting close and smelling the fragrance just made him feel a bit itchy in his heart every now and then.

All along the way, Pei Muchan seemed to be in high spirits, stepping in her white sneakers up the long stone steps, occasionally pausing to wait for Xu Qingyan.

She looked around everywhere, sometimes stopping at a small fountain at the base of the mountain, sometimes standing in front of a little teahouse on the roadside, curious, until he caught up to her.

Finally, seeing that time was running a bit short, Xu Qingyan had to hurry and grab Pei Muchan's hand, pulling her towards the cable car ticket window at the base of the hill.

The camera crew, carrying several dozen pounds of equipment, had already switched out twice as they climbed the stairs.

They were initially struggling, but as soon as they saw hands clasped together, they surged with energy as if injected with adrenaline. It wasn't just a hand being held, but a tangible bonus.

At that time, Xu Qingyan didn't have so many thoughts in his head. Her hand was slightly colder, feeling like holding a cool stone in the heat of summer. The warmth from his hot palm transferred bit by bit, gradually reaching a balance.

They finally reached the cable car ticket office, which was also at the base of the mountain, just on another side.

"Two tickets, thank you," he called out to the window.

"One hundred, WeChat or Alipay?" The ticket seller efficiently tore off two tickets and stamped them with a red stamp, handing them over.

"WeChat." Pei Muchan pursed her lips, and with a beep, she had paid.

In front of the screen, the audience was stupefied by this scene. What just happened? Xu called out, got the tickets, and Pei paid?

The barrage instantly surged, like a raging river.

"Wow, Xu Dog, you've got some nerve, letting Sister Pei pay on a date!"

"I thought Xu Dog would start acting normal once he started dating, but now I know I was wrong; he's still the same old dog. Damn, stay away from scheming poor guys!"

On the other side, Xu Qingyan turned his head with a hint of surprise.

"Why did you pay?"

"Hm? Is that not okay?" Pei Muchan blinked, seeing the corners of his mouth trembling as if he could barely hold back a smile, which made her laugh as well.

She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her eyes curving more tenderly than the summer sea breeze by just a touch.

"It's not that, it's just a bit regrettable," he coughed, "I was supposed to pay, but since you've already paid, let's leave quickly."

The cable car slowly slid up the tracks, broadening their view. The coastline gradually came into view, and both were pleasantly surprised, sticking their heads out.

On both sides of the track were lush trees, the rich green covering almost the entire hill; further away was a miniaturized village.

As they ascended, the sea took over the center of their view.

The portrait photographer looked like a younger Hayao Miyazaki, and when he smiled, even more so. He wore a vest with a camera hanging on his chest.

"Brother Xu, put on your clothes, we can start shooting now."

The cable car moved at a snail's pace, the wobbly journey taking about half an hour. The old man had calculated—half an hour up the mountain, half an hour down.

Anyway, it was just click, click, click, at a rate of thirty thousand per hour.

When Xu Qingyan found out the old man's hourly rate, he had only one thought. Wow, how can someone be so awesome, I'm so jealous.

If the old man worked for just one hour a day, Xu wouldn't be so shocked, but the key was there was another session in the afternoon themed 'Seaside Youth' at Heartbeat Photo Shoot.

(Fuck), the old man was making a killing.

Changing clothes was not troublesome; Xu Qingyan simply slipped on his jacket and pants right in front of the camera. Sure enough, clothes make the man; this guy's temperament instantly improved a notch.

Pei Muchan glanced at him, then inconspicuously turned away, absentmindedly twisting open a bottle of mineral water for a sip.

The barrage was a messy mix, with a small part criticizing and another part showing regret. They said things like... such a handsome face really had to grow on Xu Dog's body, I admire Xu Dog's looks ≠ I approve of his character.

The cable car gradually climbed higher, the sea breeze brushed through the lush woods, a dense forest.

"Move closer, right, Miss Pei's hand on Brother Xu's shoulder, make it natural," the old man adjusted the camera while instructing them to take heart-stirring photos.

Pei Muchan's hand rested on his shoulder, just like a wedding photo from a TV drama.

The photos were produced one after another, and their poses grew more intimate. Pei Muchan's head lingered for a moment, as if making a difficult decision, then slowly leaned on his shoulder.

Xu Qingyan's expression didn't change; smelling the faint fragrance lingering at his nose, his heart would occasionally speed up but he pressed it down, singing the Grass Song in his mind over and over.

Don't look at me as just a sheep, on the green grass I'm the most coquettish.

"Look at the camera, three, two, one... cheese!" The old man bent down and decisively pressed the shutter.