As the seconds ticked by, Lin Ziyao anxiously watched the guests who’d already arrived. She hadn’t expected all the next guests to be men—she’d gone out of her way to look for girls first.

At long last, a girl with twin tails showed up. Lin Ziyao went over to her and tried to strike up a friendly conversation. “Hey, sis, you’re so pretty.”

But before she could finish, the girl with twin tails cut her off. “You don’t have to say it. I can tell what you’re going to say next just by looking at you.”

“You’re going to ask me what makeup I use, aren’t you? Unlike you, who can only go around bare-faced!” After saying that, the girl with twin tails gave Lin Ziyao a disdainful look and patted her on the shoulder. “You’re way out of your depth. You need a lot more practice.”

Damn it! I was just trying to get close to you and ask if you wanted a lap pillow!

Lin Ziyao pressed her lips together, doing her best to keep the cameras from catching her clenched teeth. But to everyone else, she looked as if the twin-tailed girl’s blunt words had wounded her, leaving her with a pitiful, heartbroken expression.

Director Chen, watching the little monitor nearby, couldn’t help giving her a thumbs-up. Now that was skill!

The audience wouldn’t care about all the little details. They’d only see what the director wanted them to see. That one scene alone would give the show plenty to talk about. With a little editing, they could turn it into a great bit of conflict, and the audience would be eager to see what other trouble Lin Ziyao’s sweet-and-innocent act would stir up.

When the second girl arrived, Lin Ziyao—having just been shot down—didn’t go over to greet her. She waited until the girl was seated before introducing herself. But the other girl seemed completely uninterested, so Lin Ziyao didn’t press her luck.

Watching this, Director Chen couldn’t help wondering.

Had Lin Ziyao really never acted before? How could she play the sweet-and-innocent type so convincingly?

Lin Ziyao was in a hurry to finish her task and had no idea what Director Chen was thinking. Right now, she had only one thing on her mind: find a way to complete this damn task, or she wouldn’t get the reward!

There wasn’t much time left to complete the task, and with nearly all the guests there, a lap pillow seemed out of the question. Lin Ziyao’s eyes darted from side to side as she searched for a suitable candidate. Just imagining a man lying across her thighs was enough to raise goosebumps on her skin.

Wait. There was someone who hadn’t arrived yet!

Lin Ziyao remembered that the production staff had given her profiles for seven guests. Even counting herself, there were only six people here. She checked the guests against the profiles one by one and found the name of the person who hadn’t arrived yet.

Qin Yu was a newly debuted idol, but her talent stood out even more than her looks. Her debut single had shot straight to the top of the new releases chart and stayed there for a whole month. That was an impressive achievement by any measure.

“Sorry I’m late!”

The moment Lin Ziyao thought of Qin Yu, she appeared on set. Long hair spilled down her back like a waterfall, catching faint glimmers of light. Her brows curved like willow branches, and her eyes seemed to shimmer.

If Lin Ziyao was a bold, showy peony, then Qin Yu was a quiet, cool lotus, still waiting to bloom.

Determined to seize her last chance, Lin Ziyao braced herself and walked up to Qin Yu. Qin Yu was so tall that Lin Ziyao barely reached her chin. Looking up at her, Lin Ziyao said, “Hi, I’m Lin Ziyao!”

Then she held out her hand, waiting to see how Qin Yu would respond.

“Qin Yu!” Qin Yu reached out her slender hand and shook Lin Ziyao’s.

Then Lin Ziyao lowered her voice so only the two of them could hear. “Have you ever considered fake-dating for the show?”

There was no way Qin Yu would agree if Lin Ziyao just asked her for a lap pillow outright, not based on what Lin Ziyao had gathered about her personality. So she’d take the indirect route: pretend to pair up with Qin Yu first, then bring up the lap pillow. Perfect!

Sure enough, that got Qin Yu interested. “With you? Why ask me?”

As far as Qin Yu was concerned, Lin Ziyao was just a hired hand Director Chen had brought in to help the guests drum up publicity.

“You could ask Yang Tian, or one of the other male guests.”

“I need a lot of money, so I need the exposure. And I don’t feel comfortable doing it with a man. We’re both girls, so pairing up is safer!”

Lin Ziyao’s reasoning made sense, but Qin Yu wasn’t so easily convinced. Seeing that, Lin Ziyao pressed her advantage and played her trump card.

“I can give you a song that fits what you’re looking for. One you’ll absolutely love.”

As far as Lin Ziyao was concerned, this was a profitable deal. All she had to do was pay the price of one song to get Qin Yu to team up with her on the show. If the system gave her more tasks involving the guests, Qin Yu could help her complete them. She’d also get a chance to build a relationship with Qin Yu. Lin Ziyao’s plans were clicking into place—this deal couldn’t lose.

The deal did tempt Qin Yu. Her debut single had helped her establish herself in the industry, and now she was in urgent need of songs written specifically for her. Inspiration didn’t strike every day, after all.

“I can agree, but the deal won’t officially start until I’ve checked out the song you give me.”

To be on the safe side, Qin Yu wanted to hear the song Lin Ziyao offered before agreeing to the deal.

“That’s not fair to me. What if you listen to the song and use it anyway? How’s a little nobody like me supposed to compete with a hot idol like you?” Lin Ziyao immediately protested.

“Then tell me what you want.” Qin Yu’s vivid lips curled into a smile, like they’d been touched with rose nectar. She wanted to see what this little fox was up to.

“How about this? In a little while, you lie down with your head on my lap in front of the cameras. The show’s crew will definitely keep that footage. We’ll count it as the down payment on our deal.”

“Deal!” Qin Yu readily agreed to her request.

Their conversation didn’t take long. Lin Ziyao bounced ahead, leading Qin Yu back to the seats by the hand, and Qin Yu sat down beside her.

“All right, now that everyone’s here, I’ll go over the plans for the show.” Director Chen came out from backstage with a sheet of paper in hand.

Lin Ziyao signaled with her eyes for Qin Yu to hurry up and hold up her end of the deal. She even patted her own shapely thigh, urging Qin Yu to rest her head there.

Lin Ziyao didn’t notice Qin Yu’s arm quietly slipping behind her. While she wasn’t paying attention, Qin Yu draped it over her shoulder and yanked her hard toward herself.

“???”

Lin Ziyao stared in confusion, still unable to figure out what had happened. All she knew was that her field of vision had tilted ninety degrees—and that she could see the twin-tailed girl sitting across from her with both hands over her mouth.

Then Qin Yu’s cool voice reached only her ears. “I think it makes more sense for you to lean on me than for me to rest on your lap.”