Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

As they stepped out, the sky was not yet completely dark.

Rain drizzled outside the studio. They grabbed an umbrella and descended the stairs together.

The outdoor stairs on the second floor were rather narrow. With a 'bang', an orange umbrella opened first. A few steps behind, a black umbrella bloomed in the rain.

"Just now....." he couldn't help saying.

Pei Muchan paused and turned slightly, showing half of her face.

"The thing is, we can't shoot the MV."

"Huh?" Xu Qingyan was momentarily stunned. After a couple of seconds, he tentatively asked the most likely reason, "Is it because we don't have the money to film the MV?"

"Sort of." Pei Muchan sighed in relief, finally sidestepping that topic.

If he mentioned it again, he might as well jump off the second floor.

Fortunately, until they got into the car, Xu Qingyan didn't bring up anything about the cold remedy, merely asking a few simple questions about the MV.

"I heard that even if the MV turns out poorly, it starts at two hundred thousand?" He lightly stepped on the accelerator, and the Audi moved smoothly forward, its tires rolling over the hardened surface of the technology park road.

"Yes, that's right." She leaned in the passenger seat and sighed, "The most expensive part of making an album isn't recording songs. Even with the utmost precision, it's barely more than a hundred thousand."

"We'd avoid shooting an MV if possible," Qing Tian, "didn't shoot one during her release because there just wasn't enough money. I'm just a pauper living in a luxury house with no money in the bank."

Living in a luxury house, yet a pauper? That's just insane.

Pei Muchan, an 'older sister' type who wasn't prone to jokes, could drop such classics when speaking seriously. What does 'living in a luxury house yet being a pauper' even mean? It's bloody absurd.

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So what would you call Xu Qingyan, a beggar who picked up three hundred thousand?

"You have more than one property, don't you? And making a single song should earn quite a bit, right?" Xu Qingyan asked while driving, "Could the filming be simplified to cut costs?"

"Well, we could record a few shots for the MV during the recording session. Some rough cuts might do to get by." She laughed, "Or we could film a segment while strolling around the tech park, and add a black and white filter in post-production."

"That might be a bit too extreme, over-saving."

"True talent shines everywhere. If we really wanted to save money, just making a few PPTs would be even cheaper." Pei Muchan was in good spirits, smirking in the car, "Some singers just don't wear clothes and sing in front of a camera to save on costumes."

"Not wearing anything?" he asked in surprise, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

Pei Muchan choked for a moment, aware that he wasn't asking about her, but still felt as if she'd been scanned by his gaze. Her breath hitched, and her mind buzzed.

Damn it, what nonsense am I thinking about!

"Of course not, it's just the camera focusing on the upper body with a fancy gray filter." Pei Muchan said, "It's a form of monologue technique, not perversion."

"Oh, I know." He said casually.

No, you know nothing!

The moment she turned her head, she bit her lower lip, her reflection mirrored on the passenger window. The car just happened to pass by a high wall, turning the window into a black mirror.

Xu Qingyan glanced sideways while driving, and their gazes met in the reflection. The second their eyes locked, words failed to describe the surge of emotions, as if they melted away in an instant.

There was no emotion, yet ambitions were clearly revealed.

Fortunately, Xu Qingyan was still driving, and it was just a fleeting glance. A second later, he averted his eyes, leaving Pei Muchan stunned for several seconds before she gradually regained composure.

She didn't know what ambiguity meant, no one had taught her.

The night deepened, and they parked in front of a private restaurant in the old city district. After two 'bangs', they still carried their umbrellas side by side until they reached the entrance of an alley.

"Why come here?" Pei Muchan asked.

"Last time you mentioned you wanted to try this place, and it's less crowded now with university students back in session." He stopped, the light from a bulb at the alley entrance was pale, the rain shimmering gold.

He turned around, his eyes appearing softer under the streetlight. The slight imperfections on his face dissolved in the light like snow, alarmingly handsome.

Last time? Memories came flooding back, and Pei Muchan finally remembered. Once while scrolling through her phone during a break in the office, she came across someone mentioning that the private food at the entrance of an alleyway in the old west city was good.

On a whim, she mentioned it to him, not expecting him to remember.

"Was it hard to get a reservation?" She pursed her lips, asking.

"Not really, it's not busy due to the rain. Someone canceled their reservation." Xu Qingyan stated plainly, "I also wanted to try it, and since the opportunity came, we went together."

"Thanks then." Pei Muchan felt somewhat embarrassed, "I had just told you yesterday to give the script a try, and then I changed my mind the next day."

"It's fine, don't stand around here, let's go in and eat." He glanced down the alley, where he could vaguely see a sign hanging from red lanterns.

Gurgle, her stomach growled inappropriately. Her face immediately flushed red, and she instinctively covered her stomach, her cheeks burning as she walked towards the alley entrance.

Turning and walking away would be total social suicide.

Pei Muchan suddenly realized that their relationship was enigmatic, neither close nor distant. They spent every day together for the sake of work and the future.

They were clearly self-restraint, and sometimes even avoided each other. Neither had crossed a boundary; most of the time they talked about work, and in private, they were more like friends.

Only, their relationship was a bit closer than that of friends, yet also genuinely platonic. After all, neither had that sort of intention, and logically, that should not lead to any unnecessary feelings.

But...

As they walked into the alley, the path of blue bricks narrowed. Thankfully, there were no puddles on the ground; otherwise, it would have taken ten minutes to traverse this stretch.

The walls were adorned with dim lights divergent from the harsh white light at the entrance.