My Deceased Wife Came Back and Joined Me in a Romantic Reality Show - Chapter 26

Luan Yi’s eyes slightly widened. Each touch from Wen Yang in the past had been brief, but this time, their palms rested together through the blanket as if they were holding hands.

All the tangled emotions became weightless.

 He suddenly regained his senses and pushed Wen Yang away. He stood up hastily and said, “Wait for me, I need to do something.”

His movements were too hurried, and he didn’t even bother to properly remove the blanket that half-covered Wen Yang’s shoulders.

Holding onto the staircase railing, he rushed downstairs, almost reaching the last two minutes provided by the program team. Panting, he opened up Wen Yang’s update post.

As he opened the page, the small star in the corner finally became tangible, sparkling and hanging above.

Wen Yang’s post was a picture taken at the seaside, with a blue sky as the backdrop. A hand was placed in front of the camera, holding a cute, chubby and pink piglet doll, which belonged to the same series as the pig emoticons Luan Yi usually sent.

Although Wen Yang was on a date with Jiang Zhirui, he still viewed the post of Luan Yi. His mood immediately transformed into that of the piglet in the photo, feeling lively and adorable.

After doing so, Luan Yi immediately wanted to head back.

Halfway, he encountered Wen Yang coming down from the terrace. He immediately asked him, “Did you buy that doll at the seaside?”

The pink piglet was so adorable that Luan Yi wanted to have it right away.

“Yeah,” Wen Yang nodded, “it was sold at a souvenir shop by the beach.”

“Then next time,” Luan Yi wanted to say that he would buy it next time, but he didn’t expect Wen Yang to suddenly reach out and take something from his pocket.

The pink plush doll jumped in front of Luan Yi, and was held by the lanyard in Wen Yang’s hand. The piglet toy struck a pose with its hooves on its hips, dangling in front of Luanyi.

Though Luan Yi didn’t say anything, a smile instantly spread across his face.

The fourth episode of “Time Difference In Love” ended around this point. However, what Luan Yi could see from his perspective was only a small part of the whole episode. Viewers, watching from an omniscient standpoint, experienced even more emotional ups and downs than him.

As the popularity of “Time Difference in Love” continued to rise, viewers had high expectations for the mysterious guests mentioned in the preview. There were constant leaks and rumors online, but most of them turned out to be empty or just attempts to gain attention.

Even though viewers tried to guess who the guests might be, they couldn’t have imagined that Jiang Zhirui would be one of them.

Before this, some of Jiang Zhirui’s fans had expressed opinions like “We won’t watch without him” or “We’re not interested in dating shows”, but all of those comments were instantly rendered ironic. However, that was secondary.

Regardless of being fans or not, everyone couldn’t wait to see how Jiang Zhirui would perform on the dating show.

When news about him appearing on the show leaked, there were various conspiracy theories circulating online. Since Luan Yi and Jiang Zhirui belonged to the same company, some speculated that it was initially supposed to be Jiang Zhirui on the show, and Luan Yi had somehow taken his place through questionable means.

However, after the fourth episode aired, these rumors were debunked.

“I knew this theory was unreliable… Even if the company wanted to promote newcomers with Jiang Zhirui, does that mean Jiang Zhirui is a puppet? Can he tolerate such a thing?”

“The key is, even if they wanted to promote someone through Jiang Zhirui, it would require significant connections. It’s just not feasible.”

“When Luan Yi and Jiang Zhirui greeted each other, their auras were in harmony. Cough, cough, they even looked perfect together for a second. Damn it, I’ve shipped foodies and chefs, wives and bosses before, and now I’m shipping this for a second. I’m guilty.”

“To be honest, I’ve slightly changed my perception of Jiang Zhirui. When he said he knew Luan Yi, I always thought he would be someone who looks down on others and wouldn’t bother to remember small actors he had worked with before.”

“But whether he looks down on others or not doesn’t seem to matter much, right? With Jiang Zhirui’s popularity and the number of people he has worked with, it’s quite impressive that he remembers Luan Yi from the previous show.”

“Don’t confuse me, I still firmly ship Luan Yi and Wen Yang!”

During the candid segment where Luan Yi and Wen Yang were walking together, the show only aired their backs as there was no close-up footage. Viewers had no idea what they were talking about, but it still felt sweet like candy.

It was only when the camera zoomed in that Jiang Zhirui drove by, and the three of them appeared in the same frame.

“Though there are only three people, I see three pairs of CP with different dynamics.”

“Wow, why do I sense a faint hint of a thrilling showdown?”

During the “Truth or Dare” game, Luan Yi lost two rounds in a row, and just when he was about to surrender, Wen Yang’s mistake and his candid admission of “I do” caused the live chat to explode with excitement.

“Ah, how is this any different from a marriage proposal on the spot!”

But even so, Jiang Zhirui’s addition added uncertainty to the whole show, even prompting some openly enthusiastic shipping discussions.

“Sorry, but I have to admit that I ship Wen Yang and Jiang Zhirui for a moment. Their looks are just too top-tier.”

After Wen Yang and Jiang Zhirui got the date to go to the seaside, their presence indeed gained some attention, although it still couldn’t surpass the popularity of Wen Yang and Luan Yi’s CP fans. However, these CP fans did receive a considerable amount of focus.

Yet as the footage of their date was aired, their emotions instantly plummeted to a freezing point.

In the scene, Wen Yang stood at the entrance of a souvenir shop, while Jiang Zhirui got out of the car with sunglasses on. The sunlight shining on them should have created a beautiful picture, but the moment they saw each other, their expressions could only be described as indescribable.

“Hahaha, The Boss: Frowning deeply.”

“Both of them have a ‘how is it you’ expression, hahaha.”

“Just a moment of shipping, and it instantly sank.”

Then, in the part where Wen Yang and Jiang Zhirui took a walk on the beach, both of them contributed textbook-level awkwardness, making the live chat beg for mercy.

“This awkward atmosphere, a sea monster could kill me directly.”

“Ah ah ah, I’m getting goosebumps.”

“It’s the first time I’ve so directly felt ‘clashing auras’. Seriously, it’s giving me goosebumps.”

“I command them to never appear in the same space again!”

Clearly, the producers intentionally played with the audience’s emotions. After showing the footage of Wen Yang and Jiang Zhirui, they immediately followed it with scenes of Luan Yi and Chi Xingyi. They even put both scenes together in the same frame for a second.

“Hahaha, this is soul-crushing!”

“The post-production team of Octopus Platform is really skilled at teasing, hahaha.”

“The Wife: Hahaha, the coffee is delicious.”

Along with the dates, the show also released post-date interviews, asking the guests about the reasons behind their different choices. Except for Jiang Zhirui, who simply wanted to enjoy the sea breeze, the other guests explained their reasoning.

After watching this part, CP fans, who were initially feeling a bit disappointed because Wen Yang and Luan Yi didn’t choose the same location, suddenly felt alive again. It turned out that it wasn’t that their CP lacked tacit understanding; it was just that they both chose what they thought the other would choose, and everyone felt the same.

“We’ve shipped it! We’ve shipped it!”

“Ah, yes, that’s it!”

After waiting anxiously for the guests to return to the villa, the new rule for watching each other’s social media posts was announced. People were eager to know what the guests would say during this segment and whom they would choose to watch.

The “Octopus Monster” teased the audience by not revealing the answer directly, instead choosing to show the clock in the living room with a close-up shot, creating a sense of urgency. This made the viewers anticipate what everyone should have seen already.

Then, they finally showed Wen Yang viewing Luan Yi’s post.

When Wen Yang opened Luan Yi’s post and only saw a pig emoticon sighing, without the sparkling star, the viewers were shocked, scared, and saddened.

“What’s going on?!”

“Wife, whose post did you see? Sob, sob.”

As Wen Yang caught Luan Yi on the terrace, the camera finally took a close-up on the latter wrapped in a blanket.

The blanket covered Luan Yi’s shoulders as he curled up on the sofa. The fixed camera on the terrace was positioned high, shooting him from a bird’s eye angle, almost aligning with Wen Yang’s line of sight.

Then, the audience heard Luan Yi’s response about not daring to check the update post.

“Wow, wow, when the blanket covered the wife, his face looked like a cute little animal.”

“I’m already overwhelmed by this perspective, not to mention the Boss!?”

When Wen Yang knelt down, almost half-kneeling, to pull the blanket more securely around Luan Yi, and gently touched his cheek as he said, “I have no intention of dating other guests”, the live chat became a spectacular display of colorful fireworks. Different font styles and special effects exclusive to members flooded the chat.

“I just noticed how small my wife’s face looks compared to Wen Yang’s hands.”

“What a heartwarming line!”

“Ugh, this feeling of security is incredible.”

“Someone please kill me to cheer them on TAT!”

“Why haven’t they kissed yet?!?!”

“Did the Octopus Platform cut the kissing scene and make it premium content? Damn you, Octo-dog Platform!!”