Chapter 79: The Hated Miss of the Dating Show (28)

**Chapter 79 – The Unpopular Heiress in the Dating Show (28)**

When Tang Qing returned to the dating villa, she was surprised to find everyone already gathered in the living room—including the new male contestant.

"Tang Qing, you're back?" Wen Yixuan greeted her first. Unlike usual, her eyes were slightly red, as if she had just been crying.

Ex-boyfriend effect?

Tang Qing glanced at Xie Jinran, the new contestant. Just like in the storyline, he was a polished college professor with a handsome face and an air of quiet sophistication.

"Everyone was waiting for you!"

The heiress frowned. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"The staff arranged it—because there's a new contestant," Wen Yixuan replied, clearly still uneasy about mentioning him. "Also, tonight’s crush texts will be announced downstairs."

Downstairs?

So everyone would immediately hear how many messages each person received?

The producers sure had their ways.

Understanding the show’s intention, Tang Qing casually settled into a corner of the sofa and greeted the new contestant. "Hi, I'm Tang Qing."

"Hi, I'm Xie Jinran." His voice was pleasant, carrying a natural bookish vibe.

After the brief introductions, Tang Qing started observing the faces around her. Judging by their expressions, today’s dates hadn’t gone well. Sweet-faced An Shenshen, in particular, couldn't keep her cool—she must’ve had a rough time with Xiang Xiuran.

Shi Jia also looked unhappy, clearly dissatisfied with Su Chengwen’s date plans.

"Tang Qing, you were with Mi Yang again today..." Wen Yixuan, clearly not eager to get close to Xie Jinran, slid next to Tang Qing and leaned in to gossip. "How did things go between you two?"

Though she whispered, the silence in the room made her question perfectly audible to everyone.

"Played assistant to the rich kid at work," Tang Qing said matter-of-factly. "Then we had dinner."

"Huh? So you didn’t even go on a date?"

Wen Yixuan caught the key point instantly. She stared at Mi Yang in shock. "He took you to work for your date?"

What kind of date is that?

Her eyes darted between them, and Wen Yixuan was certain once again—they were definitely frenemies.

Mi Yang turned pink under her gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's not against the rules for a date to involve work…" The rich boy muttered, sounding defensive as he hovered awkwardly nearby, his eyes keep darting toward Tang Qing.

After watching him a few times too many, Xiang Xiuran suddenly shifted seats, strategically moving to block Mi Yang’s view.

"What’s your problem?" Mi Yang shot him a glare.

Xiang Xiuran, acting oblivious, stayed right where he was. Pushing up his glasses, he smiled gently—still the calm and collected Dr. Xiang.

Finally, it was time to send the flirty texts. Tang Qing didn’t hesitate and was the first to finish sending hers.

"Next time you ask me to stay late with you, you're paying me. Thanks."

As soon as Tang Qing sent hers, Mi Yang’s phone was the first to ding.

Instantly, everyone’s gaze turned toward Mi Yang…

Was this from Tang Qing?

"Why is everyone staring at me?!" Sensing the attention, Mi Yang’s neck turned red again. When he saw the message was indeed from Tang Qing, he couldn’t help but feel strangely pleased.

Looks like tonight’s singing paid off—Tang Qing still sent her crush text to him.

"My singing fees are pretty high too, LOL ???"

Reading the rich boy’s text, Tang Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He's really into that emoji, huh? Just as she was enjoying herself, another flirty text popped up on her phone:

"What did Mi Yang send you that’s got you so happy?"

Looking up, she met Xiang Xiuran’s dark look. Even from a distance, Tang Qing could tell—he was in a bad mood.

The usually gentle man was now pressing his lips together, showing a trace of barely hidden annoyance.

"Tang Qing, detected a fluctuation in Dr. Xiang’s love meter—it took a 2-point hit, now at 39," the system whispered. "When Mi Yang received your message earlier, Dr. Xiang dropped by 1…"

"And seeing you laugh just now made it drop another point…"

"Oh? Looks like our Dr. Xiang is upset." Tang Qing understood. That sandwich had been his secret cue, and since she hadn’t chosen him, he was probably brooding now.

"Too bad we couldn't spend today together…"

A third message arrived—this one from Su Chengwen.

With three consecutive notifications, Tang Qing’s phone was the busiest of them all. In that moment, the guys became acutely aware of their rivalry.

They exchanged glances, none of them speaking.

Shi Jia was the first to break the silence, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Some people, who knows what tricks they used…"

"Are you jealous?" The princess cut in bluntly. "If you could just talk to me properly, I wouldn’t mind teaching another hopeless case how to speak in a way that makes men like them."

"You—tch!"

Damn it! Shi Jia was fuming.

Why? What was so great about this entitled princess? Xiang and the others must be blind to favor someone like her!

"Me what?"

"I’m beautiful, smooth, and irresistible—shouldn’t that be obvious?" Same old tone, every word precisely hitting Shi Jia’s sore spots.

Every time Tang Qing opened her mouth, she could get Shi Jia squawking like a mad chicken.

The two were going at it again, and the live chat blew up:

"Here we go again, here we go again—the princess just shut Shi Jia down once more."

"Too bad we only got a few clips of the princess and Mi Yang today because of his secret new album. Did she sing today or something?"

"Dang~ I thought those guys were up to something last time, and sure enough! They're all after the young lady..."

"Hahaha, Shi Jia must be fuming. Her date with Su Chengwen today was a total trainwreck, and later that night, he still gave his crush text to Tang Qing."

An Shenshen's day sucked too. She had hoped Xiang Xiuran would at least show her some gentlemanly courtesy, but...

Xiang Xiuran looked pissed the second he saw her.

Even though he didn’t say a word, An Shenshen could clearly tell—Xiang Xiuran had zero interest in their date.

He stayed expressionless the whole time, and ditched the date after barely two hours...

The person he wanted to be with on that date was clearly not her.

When the final results of the crush texts were announced, Tang Qing received three, Wen Yixuan got one from Xie Jinran, while An Shenshen and Shi Jia got zilch.

"Dang~ Who remembers how the young lady used to be the least popular female guest?"

"There’s something sketchy going on between the new male guest and Wen Yixuan—they’ve got this weird vibe, like they’re too in sync for no reason..."

"If I were a guy, I’d go for the young lady too, hahaha. Gorgeous, great at cooking, bold and passionate—who wouldn’t love a girl like that? She’s got that fire!"