My girlfriend is from the future!

"It seems you're satisfied with her answer, so you gave her more time."

Somewhere a street away from the phone booth, watching He Tianran listen to the warm and cool recording sent by the program team, Bai Lingye smiled and teased.

"I'm a pretty honest and fair person. I don't usually play any tricks when playing games; I just do what I'm supposed to do..."

He Tianran shrugged and complained in a mournful tone:

"But someone's 'possession' skill is really powerful. It can force an NPC or guest to act with you, and all the benefits gained during that time must be yours..."

"Hiss, no wonder you were alone when I first met you. You must have already been bound to a man in black back then, which is why you were so fearless against the group of NPCs chasing me. I actually believed you when you first said your skill was 'Salvation.' What a great actor! I wonder who's more of a 'liar' between us."

"Of course it's you, Mr. 'Lies.' I've told you my secret. Now, can you tell me?"

"Me? My skill only allows NPCs to help me deceive other guests. Now it's completely useless. After all, the symbiotic groups can unconditionally judge lies, so it's practically useless."

Speaking of this, He Tianran was somewhat reserved and indeed helpless. He initially thought his skill was quite overpowered, but he didn't expect to only use it once and then have no more room to demonstrate it.

Bai Lingye, unsuspecting, continued to press, "Perhaps there will be a chance for you to prove yourself... So, what about Wen Liang's 'jealousy'? What is its purpose?"

He Tianran scratched the back of his head, muttered something for a few seconds, and then blurted out:
"Uh... I don't know."

Bai Lingye was taken aback, then narrowed her eyes, raised her wrist, and tapped her finger to operate the device. The man was instantly detained for another thirty minutes.

"no……"

"As you know, these days you can easily deduct time for lying."

This exotic beauty was quite confident in her judgment, while He Tianran beside her was on the verge of tears, almost bursting into sobs as to protest her injustice:

"No, I... sigh, I'm telling the truth! Even if you take away all my time, I still don't know what her skill's effect is! It's just 'Jealousy'!"

Bai Lingye still looked incredulous, but now that his survival time had been reduced, the man's aggrieved expression didn't reveal any flaws, which made her even more suspicious:
"Didn't you reveal or discuss each other's skills beforehand?"

"...No, it was only when the butler confronted us that we realized we had been hiding it all along. After we left the mansion, we forgot about it. We came together, so we didn't have a chance to discuss it."

"What happened during the few hours you spent together?"

"Just... play it, experience the story."

He Tianran scratched his face and gave an embarrassed dry laugh.

Seeing his reaction, Bai Lingye couldn't help but complain:
"Boss, you didn't actually think you were here on vacation when you came to this variety show, did you?"

You know it's just a gig, but you're taking it so seriously. You don't actually want to win, do you?

He Tianran had a firsthand experience of Bai Lingye's competitive spirit, silently retorting in his heart while continuing to play dumb and change the subject, not daring to show any emotion on his face.
"But I don't understand. You were so eager to team up with your junior before, but now you're taking me along and leaving her out. What does that mean?"

"Boss, are you playing dumb? You two are such good friends. If only one person can successfully escape in the end, and I'm with both of you, then that person definitely won't be me."

Bai Lingye was quite aware of this, deliberately making sarcastic remarks that made He Tianran feel a little embarrassed, and he just laughed awkwardly:

"Hey, what a beautiful woman, have some confidence in yourself, okay? I'm not that loyal, I love to lie, everyone knows that."

"Ha, what you said is actually the truth."

"So, you think you have a higher chance of winning if you're alone with me?"

"Boss, you're a liar, I wouldn't dare think that way. But if it were you versus both of us instead of me facing you and Wen Liang, then I think I still have a chance of winning."

"The two of you?"

Just as He Tianran was trying to figure out the meaning behind the other person's words, he saw two figures running towards him from the street corner not far away. Sui Chulang was running ahead, and his photographer was following behind, panting heavily.

His appearance surprised He Tianran, who sighed in admiration.

"Wow, you two are really good at playing together! You've broken up but you can still get back together?"

"No way, boss, don't you know that those who are meant to be yours will come back to you even if you part ways?"

To be honest, this young woman could be quite sarcastic and unpredictable, and He Tianran didn't know how to respond for a while.

Upon seeing Sui Chulang appear, Bai Lingye waved in a good mood. It seems that their team has done a lot of work for the show's effect so far, giving off a strange sense of a couple who are secretly up to no good.

"Didn't they find out?" "No, I have a mission that forces the three of us to separate. I came to see you alone, so they won't know."

Listening to their conversation, He Tianran couldn't help but say:
"Good heavens, you guys are playing a spy game, aren't you? You two weren't deliberately separated in the mansion just now, were you?"

Sui Chulang smiled:

"Separation is definitely necessary. I'm 'dependent,' right? My skill requires me to be bound to a guest. If I die, she dies; if she doesn't die, I don't die. But if only she dies, I'll break the bond. Since I used this skill on Reiya from the beginning, her possession of me has no effect. It's better to grab another helper."

He Tianran understood:
"Oh, so now you bind to her, she binds to me, and then I'll be the scapegoat, the helper? Thank you so much for being so polite."

Although the show nominally divided the six people into two teams, the fact that only one person could win in the end was bound to make everyone act independently and have ulterior motives. Moreover, how could the show's arranged pairings compare to the "first love" couples who had already chosen each other in the previous round?
Thinking about it this way, it's normal that Bai Lingye felt it was dangerous and left one of her people to find Sui Chulang. He Tianran wasn't pretending to be confused or slow to realize things, because he genuinely hadn't cared about the final outcome of the show, and hadn't even thought about it. So when he encountered a player who "played games with his brain," he naturally had to admit defeat.

"The information I received is that we need to find a driver NPC who can help us escape. The location is in the south of the city, but only Su Xiaotong knows the exact location. Moreover, I haven't seen any means of transportation along the way. If it were a car, we could probably just steal the keys and drive away ourselves."

Sui Chulang is refined and courteous when everyone is together, but he is very decisive in his work when it comes to private matters. It seems that he has truly immersed himself in the filming of this apocalyptic and treacherous human nature.

"It can't move. It's not a car, it should be a train. That's the information I got. So we have to find a driver. We'll head south of the city first, the train station is over there."

Bai Lingye wasn't stupid either; she quickly matched the information obtained by the two groups.

While listening to the two exchanging information, He Tianran's mind had already been racing. Just as the three were about to take action, he said something to Bai Lingye:
Are you sure your 'knight' wants to come with us?

"if not?"

"You haven't forgotten why you left Wenliang behind, have you? Rule number two: if you don't interact with the symbiotic group within ten minutes, your survival time will be reduced by 20 minutes. Although you and him have a skill bond and are in the same boat, you don't belong to the symbiotic group now. If he's exposed now and is with us, and his companions find out and become suspicious of him, deliberately ignoring him and accusing him of lying, then he's finished. If he's finished, won't you be dead too? The most important thing right now is to go back to where you came from and clear your name. You two are still acting together? Do you even know how to play this game?"

He Tianran spoke like a rapid-fire monologue, his words logical and well-reasoned, leaving the two frozen in place. For solo players who had left the symbiotic group, ten minutes was equivalent to half an hour. Although everyone had plenty of time now, no one knew what they would face next.

So in the end, He Tianran took a few steps forward on his own, then turned back to the two of them and urged them on:

"Oh, you two go first. Since you have time, you can spend more time getting to know each other. Once you get there, you can secretly separate. I didn't see anything."

In fact, the man's seemingly casual words hit a fatal spot between Sui and Bai: Bai Lingye had abandoned Wen Liang and couldn't fully trust He Tianran. Among the six people, she could only bet all in on her previous partner, Sui Chulang. But now Sui Chulang couldn't openly stand on her side. Although there were no direct competitions between the two teams, the fact that only one person could escape meant that everyone would eventually have to flip the table. Anyway, it was better to sacrifice a friend than oneself. At that time, Sui Chulang's "dependence" on her would truly become a noose around his neck.

"Don't worry, Director He is just using psychological tactics to sow discord between us. Our alliance is unbreakable, and I will never betray you."

Sui Chulang, being the male lead in "Wild in My Heart," knew He Tianran's temperament to some extent. Moreover, having acted in several military-themed films before, he knew exactly what to say now. He was quick to use fancy words to express his loyalty without hesitation. To be honest, such behavior at this moment was quite reassuring for the girl.

"I know, his thoughts are written all over his face."

Bai Lingye didn't panic, thinking she wouldn't fall into He Tianran's trap so easily. Little did she know, that was exactly what the man was waiting for—to say those words.

"You're lying!"

"How can I not!"

The man remained calm and smirked, ignoring Bai Lingye's protests, and continued to operate his watch, deducting thirty minutes from the woman's survival time.

Just as he had expected, after the Bailingye watch sent a "ding" notification, Sui Chulang's watch also vibrated twice.

He Tianran looked the two of them back and forth with great interest, finally fixing his gaze on the woman, and said with a grin:

"If he dies, you die too, but if you lose time, it seems like his time will also be lost, right?"

This was originally just a conjecture after hearing about Sui Chulang's "dependence" skill. Anyone who plays games a lot knows that with skills like this "shared fate", the damage is shared. Either the damage is 50/50, or one person takes 80% and the other takes 20%. It's impossible for one person to completely block the other's attack. Otherwise, this skill would be too overpowered. As long as someone is bound to it, they will never die.

However, since Bai Lingye had previously deducted time from He Tianran, who was "occupied" by her, and Bai Lingye was not affected, it can be concluded that what Bai Lingye said was true. All the benefits will go to her in the future, while He Tianran will suffer the detrimental benefits himself.

But now, the flaw in Sui Chulang's "dependency" skill has indeed given He Tianran an opportunity to take advantage of him.

This was likely the first time either of them had encountered this situation, as they usually operated separately without interfering with each other. A hint of panic was visibly appearing on Sui Chulang's face. Bai Lingye lowered her wrist and asked:

"How much was deducted from your account?"

"...your half."

“That’s good too. Early detection and early prevention are key. If time is going to be deducted, I’ll be the one who gets it deducted first. Anyway…” Bai Lingye was giving each other a heads-up, but then she remembered that He Tianran had inexplicably tricked her, and she gritted her teeth: “If there are any tasks that deduct time in the future, I will not do them again!”

"It's okay, it's okay, I'll do it, if anyone's going to be penalized, it'll be mine."

He Tianran was overjoyed and raised his hand to be the first to go. He now thought that this program design was actually quite interesting. (End of this chapter)