I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

The campfire in the middle flickered, casting dappled light on everyone's faces.

The barrage of comments exploded:

[Gu Yan is the grand finale! His black double-breasted suit is absolutely stunning! This outfit is incredible, both restrained and sexy!]

He's sitting between Shen Yihuai and Jiang Yunyou, with Shu Zi opposite them! They're gazing at each other across the campfire—the composition is amazing, brimming with a sense of destiny!

Fang Yutong and Yu Shize are worlds apart; their relationship is undeniably superficial, they don't even exchange glances.

[Three beauties from Shuzi's group are in the same frame, the scene is too beautiful for me to bear, tonight is a feast for the eyes! Hehehe~]

Although Shen Yihuai and Sister Han weren't sitting together, there's definitely a chance for them! I saw him glancing at Sister Han several times!

[Yu Shize sitting alone on a high stool seems to be isolated, haha, it's a bit pathetic but strangely funny.]

I caught that glance Gu Yan gave Shu Zi! It was brief, but definitely meaningful!

[Shen Yihuai and Gu Yan sitting together, two aloof male gods in the same frame, I could watch this scene all night!]

[The cast, the costumes, the set design—the production team really went all out tonight! No wonder it's the second episode!]

[Where are the rankings? Release the rankings now! I'm so anxious! Who is number one and who has the right to choose?]

[Rankings! Quick! Urgent!]

[President Gu, choose Shuzi! Otherwise, I'll cry!]

The scene shifts to the location, where a gentle sea breeze blows, a campfire crackles, and the sound of string music flows through the night.

The host, holding cue cards, walked up to the eight people with a broad smile:

"Good evening, viewers! Welcome to the second episode of 'Heartbeat with You'! And welcome to our eight special guests!"

After a brief greeting and routine self-introduction, the host's voice suddenly rose:

"I'm sure everyone watching the live stream right now is as excited as I am, their hearts pounding with anticipation!"

"Because next, we will reveal the answer to tonight's fate, a decision you yourselves will make by voting—"

"Final Rankings of the Heart-Fluttering Power List!"

A more energetic drumbeat suddenly rang out, and the screen changed to a dynamic ranking list full of technology and suspense.

The words "Heartbeat Power Ranking" shone brightly in gold, and the names of the eight guests below were covered by cool animated question marks. The vote count bar chart next to them was empty, waiting to be revealed.

The lights in the entire venue dimmed, leaving only a few strong spotlights shining on the host and guests.

Su Yanhuan leaned closer to Shu Zi and whispered, "Sister Zizi, you'll definitely be in the top three! No, in the top two!"

The host took a deep breath and, amidst a flurry of virtual effects and the music reaching its climax, announced loudly:

"Now, let's reveal the rankings for the first task of the second episode of 'Heartbeat With You.' Eighth place goes to—"

[Ahhh, it's going to be announced! I'm so nervous I can't breathe!]

[Gu Yan is number one! Shu Zi is number two!]

[Shen Yihuai and Han Jingxue made it into the top four! I want to see!]

[Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Gu Yan chose Shu Zi!]

"Let's welcome Director Liu!!!!"

"Winning over girls, huh—"

The catchy background music suddenly burst out without warning, instantly shattering the tense and suspenseful atmosphere from before.

The lights in the entire venue suddenly turned on.

Director Liu had somehow reached the edge of the platform, dressed in a completely different outfit than he usually wore behind the monitor.

He wore a floral shirt with beach shorts, fluorescent flip-flops, and styled his hair with hairspray in what he thought was a cool look.

Instead of a walkie-talkie, he carried a small megaphone from the production team and made a dazzling entrance with an extremely arrogant gait, accompanied by background music.

【? ? ? 】

【? ? ? ? ? ? 】

【？？？？？？？？？？】

Can anyone tell me what this thing is?

[Emmm...it seems like, maybe, perhaps, it's a person...right?]

The eight guests in the audience collectively froze, their expressions blank.

Director Liu walked to the center of the platform and even gave the main camera a greasy wink.

Director Liu stopped, snatched the microphone from the host's hand, and used both hands simultaneously, holding a megaphone in one hand and the microphone in the other.

He cleared his throat:

"Ahem! Well, viewers, are you surprised? Unexpected? Exciting?"

"That's right, it's none other than your handsome, dashing, and talented Director Liu himself!"

The scene was deathly silent.

Only the sea breeze blew awkwardly by.

Shu Zi couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, collapsing onto Han Jingxue, her shoulders shaking.

Su Yanhuan also laughed out loud, patting Han Jingxue's thigh as she laughed.

Han Jingxue shook her head helplessly, but a smile played on her lips.

Even Gu Yan and Shen Yihuai, who usually don't show much expression, had a barely perceptible twitch at the corner of their mouths.

Jiang Yunyou stared wide-eyed, mouth slightly agape, with an innocent and bewildered look on his face, as if wondering, "Who am I? Where am I? Does this director have some kind of serious illness?" He looked exceptionally gullible.

Yu Shize's expression was quite interesting. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, his lips twitching as if he were being electrocuted. In the end, he could only force himself to lower his head and pretend to study the seashells on the beach.

Fang Yutong's flawless smile visibly froze, and a hint of "Is this director toxic?" flashed across her eyes in disbelief.

But her professionalism allowed her to maintain her composure, though the curve of her lips looked forced no matter how you looked at it.

After a brief moment of confusion, the live chat was instantly flooded with "hahahahaha".

[Hahahaha, help! Director Liu's performance was so hilarious that the motion-activated lights for miles around were flashing for me!]

【What the hell is this "fighting for girls"?! It's hilarious!】

[Shu Zi burst out laughing! Sister Han was caught in the crossfire! Huan Huan slapped her thigh! The scene was too real!]

[This stage design! This background music! This floral shirt! This plastic rubber duck! I laughed so hard my neighbor called the police!]

[Director Liu, you're truly something else! You're a pro at creating drama! Otherwise, your show wouldn't be so popular!]

[This is amazing! Hahaha, what the heck is this?! A tropical fruit shirt with sunglasses, and she's even doing the Yangko dance!]

Gu Yan's brow furrowed! He definitely thinks Director Liu is toxic too!

[Hahaha, even Han Jie laughed! A beauty looks even better when she smiles!]

Fang Yutong's facial expressions are about to spiral out of control! Yu Shize's face is completely frozen!

[Director Liu: Didn't expect that, did you? I'm the biggest embarrassment tonight!]

[Warming up the atmosphere? Director Liu, you're blowing the place up! You're scaring me half to death!]

My nervousness fed the dog! You better have something on your mind (smile) (smile)

Director Liu was completely unconcerned about the deathly silence on set and the guests' indescribable expressions.

He was engrossed in his performance, holding a microphone and megaphone, swaying his head and shaking his head.

"Why me? Of course, it's not because nobody chose me for eighth place!"

"Mainly, I think, a talented director with ambition, creativity, and a sense of humor can't always hide behind the scenes!"

He patted the floral shirt on his chest:

"See that? That's attitude! Enjoying the fun with the guests and having a blast with the audience!"

"Tonight's guardian mission isn't fun just for you guys to play around with; our production team needs to get involved too, to add some... uh, uncontrollable factors? No, I mean, surprise factors!"

He waved his hand, pointing to the large screen:

"So, that eighth place finisher was just a cameo appearance by the director, meant to calm everyone down and lighten the mood!"

"Now, please watch the video—no, look at the big screen! The real rankings will be revealed shortly!"