Chapter 174: Persona
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation | Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Tian Mei clutched her hand, which had been scratched by a wolf pup. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared at Xia Xin. “You let your pet attack me on a live show? If I don’t get a rabies shot, who knows what could happen? And if
I do, it’ll delay the production!”
Listening to Tian Mei, Xia Xin couldn’t help but frown. Jing MO, who was sitting beside Xia Xin, sensed her growing impatience. He interjected, “Tian Mei, it’s your fault for touching her pet without permission. Xia Xin didn’t encourage her pet to harm you.”
The set fell into silence. Tian Mei was taken aback. She found herself thinking that if she ignored his harsh words, Jing MO was still incredibly attractive. She apologized, “Jing MO, I’m just in so much pain, I’m sorry.”
Normally, an apology like that would evoke sympathy, but Jing MO was different. What he detested most were pretentious people like Tian Mei—no royal blood, but a heap of princess syndrome.
“The one you should apologize to isn’t me,” Jing MO told Tian Mei.
Tian Mei was flabbergasted. ‘I’d been scratched by Xia Xin’s pet and now he expects me to apologize to Xia Xin?’
“Look, there’s no need to apologize. This wolf pup was a stray I rescued. If you want someone to take responsibility, find its mother,” Xia Xin said coolly.
“A wolf pup?” Tian Mei exclaimed, quickly stepping back.
Wolves were known to be fierce, and despite the pup’s cuteness, it couldn’t hide its true nature.
“I-It’s okay. It’s my fault. I was too careless,” said Tian Mei.
The attention of the others shifted to the revelation that Xia Xin had rescued a wolf pup, no less. This meant her team was already ahead.
Zhou Lian looked envious and said, “Congrats.”
“I didn’t rescue him just to complete a task,” Xia Xin clarified. Even before the variety show, Xia Xin would rescue any injured little creatures when she saw them.
Zhou Lian nodded in agreement. She had heard of Xia Xin’s name as the benevolent zookeeper and never doubted her words.
Tian Mei, however, couldn’t help but make a snide remark. “It’s just so altruistic of you, Xia Xin! Funny how we didn’t encounter any injured animals on our path.”
Tian Mei’s comment set the show’s live audience abuzz with speculation about possible corruption within the production team.
[Is she implying that the show is rigged?]
[As far as I’m concerned, the show’s been rigged from the get-go. Besides, Tian
Mei has a point. Did they even encounter any injured animals?]
[Rigged! Rigged!]
[Looks like the top-scoring team is already pre-decided by the production team.]
[What are you talking about? There were seagulls everywhere. It’s not just Xia Xin and Jing MO who encountered them; the other teams did too and nobody fed them.]
[Tian Mei has a way of speaking that easily creates misunderstandings. Is she doing this on purpose?]
Xia Xin scoffed, “You chose your path before we did. If you didn’t encounter any injured animals, it’s just bad luck. The side task was to rescue an animal, not specifically an injured one.”
“Fine, but we didn’t even encounter any other animals. If I had taken your route, I would have,” Tian Mei argued.
“If you can’t urinate, would you blame it on your toilet for not being luxurious enough to stimulate you?” Xia Xin retorted before walking away.
Tian Mei looked at Xia Xin’s back, still convinced she wasn’t wrong. Just as Tian Mei was about to turn around, a bird narrowly missed her, landing just in front of her. She jumped in surprise and looked up to see seagulls flying overhead.
Excited, Tian Mei fetched some bread crumbs from her bag, scattering them on the ground, imagining a grand spectacle of seagulls descending to eat. But time passed, and no seagulls came. She was left standing awkwardly, not knowing whether to keep feeding or give up, her expression one of stifled tears.
Lu Shi watched from the side, his eyes narrowing as he mentally summed up Tian Mei. He thought to himself, ‘This woman is such an idiot..