Wow, the drama started on the very first day!
The livestream comments were excited to see the intensity unfold:
"Come on, fight, fight, fight!"
"Crying and whimpering all the time is really annoying."
"Zhong Ruanxing and Yao Jingshan have said it's fine, but she keeps insisting no one should get upset. She's just trying to make us think Zhong Ruanxing is petty!"
"Bai Yinyue is too aggressive. Just because she's from a wealthy family, she thinks she can bully a small-time actress?"
"On the show she's already being so arrogant and domineering, who knows how many ordinary people she's bullied in real life."
"Don't worry, she definitely won't bully you. You wouldn't even register in her elite social circles."
"This is too petty and mundane, I want to slap her too!"
"Anyway, we should still treat others kindly, Bai Yinyue is really hurting her likeability."
"Whoever makes the first move is despicable, Duan Mangyun was asking for it! I want to punch girls like her whenever I see them in real life!"
...
Bai Yinyue wasn't some idol who needed to protect her image. In the audience's eyes, she was just a rich socialite who came on the show to chase love and celebrities. The spoiled young miss did as she pleased, and her carefree personality was evident even on the first day of filming. She didn't care at all what others thought of her.
So when she said she wanted to slap you, she might actually go through with it.
Would the audience criticize her for bullying people? She didn't care. After the show, she would go back to her elite art circles, living a privileged life of luxury.
Duan Mangyun was so shocked by Bai Yinyue's petty threat that her face turned white and she didn't dare speak again.
The other guests were also surprised that Bai Yinyue would dare to be so aggressive on camera. Xia Xi didn't know why, but he kind of wanted to laugh. Still, this matter involved him, so he quickly pressed Bai Yinyue's hand down and said, "Sister Bai, Sister Bai, there's no need for that!"
Cheng Yaowen sat leisurely on the sofa and let out a mocking laugh.
Yang Ze pulled Duan Mangyun aside to change the subject. "Earlier, Jingshan and I found a box of instant noodles. Are you guys hungry? Why don't we just have instant noodles tonight?"
Yong Yun chimed in, "Sure, I want the spicy pepper flavor."
Yang Ze glanced back at her with a wink. "Okay, what about you guys?" He brought over the box of noodles. "We've got braised beef, sour cabbage, and chicken soup flavors."
And so the drama quickly defused. The big iron pot over the earthen stove now had a hole burned through it, but the kitchen still had a steamer and rice cooker they could use to cook the noodles.
After eating their fill, Duan Mangyun knew she hadn't made the best impression today. She wanted to regain some favor before the livestream ended, so she immediately volunteered to wash the dishes and tidy up the kitchen. The other guests deliberately let her take the stage, so while everyone else was getting ready to shower and rest, Duan Mangyun worked alone in the kitchen, looking rather pitiful. This evoked some sympathy from the audience, and her image recovered a bit.
Once everyone had finished showering, it was time for bed. But first, there was one routine activity required by the show producers before turning in for the night - voting for who you wanted to team up with tomorrow of the opposite sex.
Since this was the first night, the women chose the men. If multiple women chose the same man, the man would make the final choice. Anyone left unmatched would be paired up automatically.
This was a staple of dating shows. The choices revealed potential prospects - one-sided crushes, mutual attractions, even love triangles. For now, it was just a simple vote, revealing only the women's preferences.
Following the order of their bed positions, each person stepped outside one by one to drop their written card into the mailbox labeled with the men's names.
Zhong Ruanxing slept furthest out, so she went first.
She didn't hesitate before writing "Let's keep working hard tomorrow" and dropping it into Xia Xi's mailbox. Choosing Xia Xi was a balanced decision on her part. Cheng Yaowen was out of the question first of all. Yao Jingshan had too many fans, she didn't want to get tangled up in that. That left Yang Ze and Xia Xi.
Zhong Ruanxing decided to choose Xia Xi tonight and Yang Ze next time, keeping things fair and square as a perfect hostess.
Next was Bai Yinyue's turn. She drew a smiley face on her card, shot Zhong Ruanxing a knowing look on her way out, making it clear she was voting for Cheng Yaowen.
At this point, Zhong Ruanxing understood why Bai Yinyue had come on the show.
She was here to protect herself, it seemed.
By pursuing Cheng Yaowen openly, she was removing any chance he had with Zhong Ruanxing. Every time they teamed up, she would stick to Cheng Yaowen, leaving him no opportunity to bother Zhong Ruanxing instead.
What a self-sacrificing tactic! Zhong Ruanxing was truly touched.
The third contestant, Yong Yun, voted for Yao Jingshan, while the fourth, Duan Mangyun, chose Yang Ze. With no duplicates, the results would be announced tomorrow morning. The women turned in for the night after voting, ending the livestream. But online, the frenzy was just beginning.
On its premiere day, the ratings for Love by Instinct broke records, instantly becoming the highest rated live dating show in history. The hot search topics never stopped the whole day, with all eight contestants benefiting from the exposure. In one day, the Weibo account Bai Yinyue registered just for the show gained 500,000 followers.
But Zhong Ruanxing had the highest follower growth out of all the contestants, gaining a whopping 800,000 followers in a single day. Her performance on the show was eye-catching, aligning perfectly with the image she had previously portrayed to the public, attracting fans by the masses.
Speculation over who were real couples was also running high. Guesses were flying about everyone, but Bai Yinyue and Cheng Yaowen topped the polls on the show's official Weibo account. Surprisingly ranking second were the unexpected pairing of Zhong Ruanxing and Yao Jingshan.
Those who voted for them had simple reasoning: These two hadn't interacted all day, so as a real couple hiding their relationship, they would intentionally avoid each other to throw off suspicion! Their excessive avoidance was suspicious in itself!
In any case, Love by Instinct had a strong premiere. The investors and producers breathed a collective sigh of relief. At 8 am sharp the next morning, the livestream started up again.
Viewers logged on to see the contestants awake and eating breakfast. Breakfast was simple, just eggs and bread found in their supplies. Sitting across from Cheng Yaowen, Bai Yinyue smiled at him the whole time, giving him the creeps. He had a bad feeling about that smile.
Sure enough, when the producer announced the voting results after breakfast, Cheng Yaowen's premonition came true.
Bai Yinyue skipped gleefully to his side, an innocent look on her face. "Senior, I look forward to learning from you today as well."
Cheng Yaowen's expression darkened as he peered at her. Bai Yinyue blinked innocently and pretended to recoil in fear, clasping her chest. "What's wrong, Senior? You don't want to team up with me?"
Her father wanted her to take initiative, right? Her family wanted to arrange a marriage alliance with the Chengs, right?
Well, she was making a big effort for this elite marriage alliance. It wasn't her fault if the other party didn't cooperate.
Cheng Yaowen forced out an uneasy smile. "Of course not. It would be my pleasure to team up with you, Junior Sister."
Comments: [Seems a bit strange, unsure, need to ship more]
On the other side, Xia Xi, who had been chosen by Zhong Ruanxing, was overjoyed. He already had the highest regard for Zhong Ruanxing to begin with. Now that she had picked him, how was this any different from a mutual selection? His spring was finally here!
If Xia Xi had a tail, it would definitely be wagging right now.
The other two pairs had no objections about teaming up either. Whether it was Yao Jingshan or Yang Ze, both maintained a gentlemanly demeanor and were very considerate towards the women.
After splitting into pairs, it was time to begin today's tasks. After discussing their plans, they decided Xia Xi and Zhong Ruanxing, the pair with the strongest outdoor survival skills, would search for chickens. Cheng Yaowen and Bai Yinyue would explore the island for usable resources.
Yang Ze and Duan Mangyun were assigned to gather firewood and repair the dilapidated chicken coop. Yong Yun and Yao Jingshan would prepare lunch.
With the division of labor complete, they set off on their missions. Zhong Ruanxing confidently took her compass and lipstick, determined to catch any escaped chickens so she could enjoy egg drop soup every day. Looking at the area marked in red on the map, she could only pray the chickens wouldn't be foolish enough to wander into the island master's territory.
