I put you on a dating reality show, but I didn't make you a viral sensation!

Lin Zhou was startled and his mind went blank.

"An emotion value system?"

He had read the novel before and watched similar anime on short video platforms, so he knew what this so-called system was all about.

Logically, this should have been a perk for the guy who transmigrated into my body, but I never expected it to benefit me instead.

Lin Zhou's previously gloomy mood suddenly brightened.

After all, change requires capital; without capital, how can you talk about enjoying life?

Now, this golden opportunity has landed on his head, precisely hitting the nail on the head regarding his fantasy of an ideal life.

With a thought, a light blue, semi-transparent panel floated out of thin air in front of me, and a line of white text slowly appeared.

[System Function: Gain "Emotion Points" by evoking emotions in others. Accumulated Emotion Points will earn rewards. Every 100,000 Emotion Points earned will grant one chance to win a prize.]

[New Player Reward: "Random Skill Enhancement" has been distributed]

[Congratulations, host, you have acquired the "Beginner Cooking" skill.]

Immediately afterwards, a large amount of knowledge, all related to cooking, flooded Lin Zhou's mind.

He was somewhat dumbfounded as he accepted this knowledge.

The whole process didn't last long, only about ten seconds, as various culinary skills flowed into his body like a transfer of energy.

He once again refreshed his understanding of the systems in the novel.

This ability to acquire knowledge without studying is simply amazing.

Lin Zhou clenched his fist—from the angle of knife skills in cutting vegetables to the techniques of seasoning ratios, and even the control of the heat for different ingredients, it all seemed to be engraved in his muscle memory, and he knew exactly how to operate it as soon as he raised his hand.

"However, cooking skills... they don't seem to be of much use to me, do they?"

Do you mean you want him to become a head chef?

While his basic cooking skills are good, he doesn't need them right now. To completely escape this life of hardship, he needs more marketable skills.

Lin Zhou immediately opened the system panel again.

Current mood score: 0.5

[Stage Reward: 0.5/100000]

The system explains the emotion value as follows: the increase in the emotion value is related to the host's popularity, exposure, achievements, or reputation.

In other words, as long as someone experiences intense emotions such as shock, envy, jealousy, sadness, or happiness because of his actions, he can gain emotional points.

Therefore, his first task now is to gain emotional points.

After all, gaining emotional points is the only way to acquire more useful skills and have the opportunity to change one's current life.

But here's the problem: where is he supposed to get his emotional points?

The emotional value I just gained from my ex-girlfriend is less than 1 point. It's far from 100,000 emotional value points!

He would have to evoke intense emotions in 100,000 people, or cause 100,000 emotional fluctuations in a few people, to receive the reward.

This is a bit tricky.

He's not like those celebrities or internet influencers who can easily stir up fans' emotions with just a few actions.

Just as he was pondering this, his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.

[Douyin: The "Heartbeat Coast 2026" dating reality show you registered for will randomly select one lucky participant from among the millions of registered contestants in five minutes. Come and see if you are the lucky one!]

Lin Zhou stared at the message notification on his phone screen and blinked.

When did I sign up for this?

It's highly likely that he clicked on the "sign up for the lottery" pop-up while browsing Douyin (TikTok) and forgot about it.

It's likely that the platform created this registration portal specifically to generate buzz.

It is said that some wealthy second-generation individuals are willing to pay hundreds of thousands of yuan to buy the qualification of this guest.

At the time, I probably signed up with the idea of ​​giving it a try. What if I was the lucky one? Maybe I could even make a fortune by selling the spots.

But this thing is no less impressive than the so-called lucky draw event that Taobao launched back then.

The odds of winning are estimated to be even lower than winning the lottery.

After reading the message, Lin Zhou looked up at the time.

It's going to start in three minutes.

Driven by curiosity, Lin Zhou clicked in to take a look.

Inside the "Heartbeat Coast" live stream, the beautiful host had just finished explaining the rules of the lucky draw.

"As you can see, these tiny dots on the screen are the profile pictures of the netizens who participated in this event. Next, the system will randomly select one from them, and after we verify it, we will contact the lucky guest on the spot."

"Now, it's time to draw lots to determine the winners."

"Please stay tuned, let's see who our lucky guest is this time!"

"Director, please cut the camera, we're ready to begin!"

As the camera switched, a tiny dot of light began to dance on the screen. As the countdown ended, the dot of light finally landed on one of the avatars.

As the image zooms in, the selected profile picture gradually becomes clearer.

The profile picture is very ordinary; it's just a kitten holding a McDonald's and a Coke.

Immediately afterwards, the name appeared next to it—Xiao Zhou.

Lin Zhou's heart skipped a beat.

Wow, this profile picture and name look so much like mine?

However, many people have been using this avatar recently, and Lin Zhou just thought it was a coincidence.

With such a small probability, how could you possibly be chosen?

The beautiful host smiled and said, "Alright, the lucky guest for today has been successfully selected. Our staff is verifying their identity. If there are no problems, we will contact them on the spot."

Meanwhile, the chat in the live stream room had already become lively.

[Whoever gave me the password, I'll never forgive them!]

I don't believe it. It's a rigged game. I strongly suggest a re-draw.

Please, please don't meet the requirements!

[The person who gets drawn must be ugly!]

Holy crap, luck is something that runs out first and then it's over!

Just as Lin Zhou was in a daze, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Looking down, I saw the caller ID of the "Heartbeat Coast" program flashing on the screen.

Lin Zhou stared at the string of numbers, his mind not yet fully processing it.

Did a one in a million chance really happen to him?

When did my luck become so good?

No, with so many people in the live stream, wouldn't the emotional value skyrocket?

Lin Zhou was overjoyed, but after checking his points, he found that there had been no change.

The system explained: "Emotions can only be earned by actions personally performed by the host."

Okay, these rules...

Sparrow's Beaver!

As he pondered the system's "emotional value" rules, his mind suddenly became clear.

If you can get rewards for triggering strong emotional fluctuations in others, then isn't the variety show with so many guests and viewers the perfect opportunity to gain emotional points?

We have to go!

With this thought in mind, Lin Zhou quickly pressed the answer button.

"Hello! Are you Mr. Lin Zhou, user 'Xiao Zhou'? Congratulations on being selected as the only amateur guest for 'Heartbeat Coast 2026'! We are currently live streaming. Would you mind saying hello to the audience?"

Lin Zhou composed himself and tried his best to make his voice sound as steady as possible.

"Hello everyone, it's convenient."

On the screen:

"Hey bro, you've got it wrong. I'm the one who actually won. How about this, you give me two hundred bucks and I'll take your spot, okay?"

[Damn it, I'm not having it! What gives this kid the right to be the class monitor? I don't like this!]

[The voice sounds quite refreshing; I wonder if the protagonist's appearance matches.]

"Congratulations. Now, please answer our questions truthfully."

"it is good."

Would you be willing to participate in the recording of "Heartbeat Coast"?

"willing."

Only a fool would refuse.

This is a golden opportunity to escape his life of hardship, and he can't afford to miss it.

"So what kind of work do you do now?"

Lin Zhou: "Programmer."

Programmers should just stick to coding! Why are you participating in dating reality shows?

[Bald, in poor health, laid off at 35—why not me?]

"Okay, next we need to verify a few basic details with you. Could you please tell me your age and current city of residence? By the way, our recording session might last for a month. Will that conflict with your work schedule?"

"24 years old, single, currently in Jiangcheng City," Lin Zhou answered crisply. He glanced at the comments on the screen, all hoping he would give up his spot because of work, and smiled faintly.

"As for my job, I'll resign immediately; there won't be any conflict!"

[666, this guy's interesting.]

[This is incredible! Listen to me, bro, don't quit your job. Let's work hard, try to buy an apartment in a first-tier city with a loan, marry a woman from Jiangxi, and have a big, healthy son. Isn't that much more interesting than appearing on dating reality shows?]

【...】

The beautiful host was taken aback for a moment upon hearing Lin Zhou's answer, but she was clearly experienced and quickly recovered.

"Okay, our staff will add you on WeChat shortly and send you the detailed itinerary and information form. Just fill it out and reply~ We will have a car to pick you up from Jiangcheng at 9:00 AM tomorrow to go to the island. Please don't be late."

"OK."

As the call ended, Lin Zhou looked at the schedule notification on his phone and let out a deep breath.

How could such a good thing actually happen to me?

Lin Zhou was even more stunned when he looked at the emotion value again. It was already over 20,000?

It seems that his answer just now stirred up emotions among many viewers in the live stream.

Hmm, thinking about it this way, it seems that earning emotional points isn't too difficult.

As long as he can appear on camera, given this trend, he can gain emotional points no matter what he does.

Lin Zhou plopped down on the bed and let out a long sigh of relief.

This move into dating reality shows was the right one!

Next, he had something even more important to do!