Chapter 10: Would You Still Pursue Someone Who Has a Girlfriend?

At exactly seven in the evening, the delayed program finally began.

After reading the opening commercial lines, Zhao Kang briefly explained the reason for the delay. Of course, it was no longer the reason Pei Baoyuan had overheard in the makeup room; instead, it was due to a malfunction in the live broadcast equipment.

Song Yiren, the guest star for this episode, was saved for a grand introduction at the end.

Dressed in a dazzling sequin slip dress, Song Yiren maintained impeccable composure in front of the camera. “Hello everyone, I’m Xiao Song, Song Yiren. I’m very happy to be on this show to meet you all and look forward to having more interactions with everyone later.”

Chu Yunbo praised, “Finally, in our third episode, we have a stunning beauty guest!”

Pei Baoyuan raised an eyebrow and asked, “Teacher Chu, do you mean that I’m not pretty?”

“Of course not; I mean the guest star. Teacher Pei, you’re the most beautiful among the regulars!” Chu Yunbo wiped the sweat off his forehead, relieved he hadn’t fallen into a trap.

“I thought you were still thinking about how I praised Su Xinzhen on the last show,” Pei Baoyuan joked, then, recalling something, asked, “By the way, I think Yiren and Su Xinzhen are good friends, right? How would you evaluate his performance on the last episode?”

Song Yiren: ...

She did know Su Xinzhen but had never mentioned it on camera; how would Pei Baoyuan know?

Song Yiren kept smiling, “I’m not very close to Teacher Su Xinzhen, but I did watch the last episode. His performance was commendable, and I hope I can do as well as him today.”

“Oh, really~”

The seats in the studio were relatively comfortable. The three regular guests sat on a three-person sofa, while the guest star sat in a single armchair. Pei Baoyuan’s seat was to the right, directly opposite Song Yiren.

Pei Baoyuan said, “When I chatted with Su Xinzhen last time, he told me you two had a good relationship. If he hears you say that, he’d be so heartbroken.”

Song Yiren’s smile looked more like a grimace.

She silently scolded Su Xinzhen from head to toe in her mind.

Seeing Song Yiren’s reaction, Pei Baoyuan had a good idea.

There must be something going on between them.

After some speculation, perhaps Su Xinzhen held some scandal that could ruin Song Yiren’s reputation, which was why she helped him after his downfall.

What could it be?

[Is the supporting female crazy, trying to trouble our Yiren baby?]

[How could the supporting female know that our Xiao Song and Su Xinzhen are friends if she’s not in the entertainment circle?]

Pei Baoyuan didn’t try to dig out Song Yiren’s secrets all at once but decided to proceed gradually and quickly shifted the topic back to the regular program flow.

Starting from the second episode, the production team had been receiving letters, so today’s program added a segment for reading letters, making it longer than usual.

The production team selected four letters placed on the studio table for the four of them to read—one letter each.

The letter Pei Baoyuan received happened to be addressed to her.

The gist of the letter was as follows:

Dear Miss Pei Baoyuan,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I’m delighted to see you again on the show. I still remember when I first saw you two years ago on Imperial Capital Financial TV; you were an intern host then.

The first time I saw you, I was captivated by your appearance and deeply impressed by your professionalism. Although just an intern, your speech was clear and logical, and sometimes you offered unique insights.

As someone who rarely watched financial news, I was deeply drawn to you.

I watched every episode you hosted afterward until... I no longer saw you on TV.

At the start of the show, no one knew you, but I knew you were an excellent host.

It’s been two years. I’m very happy to see you again on the show and wish you all the best as you continue your hosting career.

Signed, “Always supporting you, NG_AB.”

Pei Baoyuan felt a warmth in her eyes after reading.

Two years ago, she had just graduated from Imperial Capital Media University. She interned at the financial channel because her family ran a business in that field, which she understood well.

The financial channel had always been a low-rating segment. As an intern, she only had the chance to appear on camera twice a week and never thought anyone would remember her until she saw this letter today.

Zhao Kang said, “Xiao Pei didn’t expect this, right?”

Pei Baoyuan’s nose tingled, “I had just graduated and worked for two months, so I didn’t get many chances to host in front of the camera. Later, I went abroad for further studies. I didn’t expect anyone would still remember me after I returned. Thank you.”

“Thanks for your support. I’ll treasure this letter,” Pei Baoyuan said, folding the letter carefully and placing it into the envelope.

The final segment was a phone-in session.

During the forty minutes, seven or eight calls came from Song Yiren’s fans, showing how popular she was now.

The next call was from a friend named “Big Orange.”

Big Orange shared that she often chatted with her crush on WeChat. The crush was quite responsive and sometimes even asked if she wanted to go to the library together, so she thought the crush liked her back.

Big Orange tearfully confessed on the show, “I thought directly confessing ‘I like you’ was too awkward and stiff, so I looked up some confession jokes online.

I sent him a message saying, ‘I saw your girlfriend today.’ I was supposed to say I saw her in the mirror, but instead!!!

He replied, ‘How did you know? I just successfully confessed, and you caught me,’ wuwuwu...”

“I’ve been chatting with him for three months. He even asked me what girls liked, but I didn’t expect he was pursuing someone else.”

Pei Baoyuan: ...

Having just gone through a failed relationship, all she could do was remain silent.

Song Yiren remembered she was on the show to win over the audience and began comforting Big Orange like a caring older sister.

Big Orange ignored Song Yiren’s comfort and noticed Pei Baoyuan’s serious expression on the live stream, so she asked, “Sister Baoyuan, what do you think?”

“...” Pei Baoyuan thought for a long time and replied, “This teaches us not to confess; it can bring bad luck.”

“...”

The studio fell silent for three seconds, all frozen by Pei Baoyuan’s dry joke.

[What is the supporting female saying? Our little Song baby is much gentler and more understanding.]

[Supporting female is just a supporting female, incomparable to our big female lead.]

Pei Baoyuan cleared her throat twice. “Um... I think next time you find a crush, you should keep your eyes wide open. This guy has been treating you as a backup. If he hadn’t succeeded with the other girl, maybe he would have accepted your confession. I believe confessing requires caution, at least you must see the other person’s true character.”

“I don’t agree with Sister Pei,” Song Yiren countered, “If you like someone, you should boldly pursue your love.”

“What if the other person has a girlfriend? Would you still pursue him?” Pei Baoyuan asked.

She was quite curious how Song Yiren would answer this on camera.

Song Yiren took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress the fire in her chest. “...Of course not.”

“Oh?” Pei Baoyuan sounded surprised and looked at her intently.

After the show, Pei Baoyuan headed straight to the backstage makeup room. Sure enough, she saw Huang Zhenyu and Huo Yanci in the public lounge area.

Pei Baoyuan ran up enthusiastically and linked arms with Huo Yanci, her voice the most playful ever: “Yanci, you came too~”

It had been a long time since anyone had seen such warmth from Pei Baoyuan. Huo Yanci replied softly, “I happened to be with him, so I came along.”

Huang Zhenyu flattered them, “Sister-in-law, I didn’t know you wanted to see me.”

On the way from the studio to the backstage, Song Yiren was slowly walking over, supported by her assistant...