8: Chapter 8: My hands are calloused, I'm afraid they'll hurt people.

Yin Ruoying sat on the armchair in the center, her tassel earrings swaying for the last time.

The VIP Hall was silent for a full two seconds.

Shen Jue had his mouth open, his facial muscles stuck at the crossroads of "should I praise or should I be afraid," and ultimately chose to keep his mouth shut.

Han Xubai adjusted his glasses, his polite smile didn't waver, but his gaze lingered on Yin Ruoying longer than on anyone else.

Cen Ye snorted through his nose and twisted the cigarette butt tucked behind his ear.

Li Li leaned against the sofa armrest, his thumb brushing over his wrist bone.

The rhythm of the heels, the choice of seat, the timing of opening her mouth—this woman, from entering the door to sitting down, twelve seconds, every detail was saying the same thing: She wanted this venue.

The bullet screen on the wall-mounted screen doubled in speed.

[Damn, Yin Ruoying! The Queen of Short Dramas is here!]

[Sister, are you here to date or to ascend the throne?]

Before anyone could respond to Yin Ruoying's "Were you waiting for me?", the frosted glass door of the VIP Hall was pushed open for the fourth time.

Two people entered, one after the other.

The one in front poked her head in first.

Half a face stretched in from the edge of the door frame, round almond eyes wide open, the whole person exuding an aura of "Wow, so nervous, wow, so many people."

Then she trotted in, pressed her palms together, and bowed deeply.

"Hello everyone, hello everyone! I'm Fang Ruowei! I'm late, I'm late, I'm sorry!"

The bow was at just the right angle, exposing the collarbone chain with a book-shaped pendant around her neck.

From entering the door to introducing herself, the whole process was smooth and flowing, standard enough to be a teaching video for variety shows.

Li Li's thumb paused for a beat on his wrist bone.

The HR at the annual meeting of his previous company had this exact vibe.

The sweeter they smiled, the higher the layoff percentage in the PPT.

The one behind was much quieter.

Chestnut-brown fishtail braid, a light blue ribbon tied at the end, holding a canvas bag against her chest, bulging, with envelopes and a cookie box visible inside.

Her shoelaces were loose, and she hadn't noticed.

"I... I'm Wen Ditang. This is my first time participating in a show like this, I'm a little nervous, please take care of me..."

Halfway through, she looked down and saw the shoelaces.

"Ah."

She crouched down to tie them, the canvas bag almost slipping out, and she hugged it in a flurry.

The bullet screen flooded with comments—

[Oh my god, what a cute little deer!]

[She didn't even know her shoelaces were loose, hahaha, so real.]

Li Li glanced at Wen Ditang.

In the fraction of a second before entering the door, she had scanned the four corners of the VIP Hall—fixed cameras were set up in every corner.

She had seen all of them.

Then she started being "nervous."

Whether the shoelaces were really loose or left untied on purpose was hard to say.

But confirming all the camera positions before starting the performance—this operation was quite professional.

As soon as the two stood still, Yin Ruoying shifted on the sofa.

"Oh my, you're finally here."

Her bright red lips curved into an arc, fully displaying the "big sister" aura.

She stood up, her high heels clicking on the floor, and she walked over, pulling Fang Ruowei with one hand and patting Wen Ditang's shoulder with the other.

"Why are you only here now? Everyone has been waiting for quite a while."

She said it with a smile.

But the five words "waiting for quite a while" landed, and Fang Ruowei's expression tightened for a moment.

Fang Ruowei's reaction speed was textbook—the smile returned, hands pressed together, head lowered slightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's our fault for keeping everyone waiting!"

Apologizing, playing the weak card, accepting the blame.

A combo of moves executed fluently.

Wen Ditang spoke up quietly from the side.

"Actually, the Production Team told us to wait for the notification before coming in..."

The voice wasn't loud, but the recording equipment was very sensitive.

The bullet screen exploded immediately.

[I heard it! The Production Team arranged it! It's not that they wanted to be late.]

[Is Yin Ruoying gaslighting them?]

Yin Ruoying's smile didn't change, and she waved her hand.

"Oh, I didn't know that, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

Turning the page.

Fast.

Clean.

Not giving anyone a chance to bite back.

Li Li watched this thirty-second micro-palace drama from the corner of the sofa.

The social combat power of this group was much fiercer than the old foxes fighting for projects at the design institute.

Fang Ruowei sat down next to Han Xubai.

Wen Ditang hugged her canvas bag and shrank into another corner of the U-shaped sofa, taking out a handmade cookie and taking small bites.

Shen Jue ran back and forth in the middle, acting as a human mood-warmer.

The frosted glass door of the VIP Hall was pushed open for the fifth time.

No sound of high heels.

No trotting.

No "wow, so nervous."

A woman stood in the door frame, backlit.

Oval face, long straight black hair reaching her waist.

Morandi-colored cotton and linen dress, a plain silver ring on the ring finger of her right hand.

She didn't look at the sofa area, nor did she look at the cameras.

She glanced out of the floor-to-ceiling window, then turned and walked in.

Qi Wanyin.

Everyone in the sofa area stood up.

Shen Jue jumped up first, almost kicking over the coffee table.

Han Xubai stood up faster than rising in court.

Yin Ruoying's tassel earrings swung, and the arc of her bright red lips softened by two degrees—the aura she could manage with anyone automatically dropped a notch in front of Qi Wanyin.

Cen Ye took the cigarette butt off his ear and held it in his hand while standing.

Jiang Rumu stood up and nodded.

Li Li was the last to stand up.

It wasn't about putting on airs.

In his previous life, when delivering food, stars would walk past him and he wouldn't even lift his head; looking for an extra second meant one less delivery.

Qi Wanyin walked over slowly, shaking hands with each person.

Composed, unhurried, giving each person just the right amount of time.

Shen Jue's voice rose by half a tone: "Hello Teacher Qi! I really like your 'Moonfall'!"

"Thank you, I've seen the younger brother you played, it was quite good."

She reached Yin Ruoying.

Yin Ruoying rarely didn't interrupt.

"Long time no see."

"I've seen a few of your short dramas."

She didn't say whether they were good or not.

Yin Ruoying didn't ask further.

The four people in the middle were shaken hands with in turn, polite, neither more nor less.

When she reached Jiang Rumu, Qi Wanyin held her hand for two extra seconds.

"Little Jiang, long time no see."

"Sister Yin."

Two words.

The weight was not in the same league as her response of "Oh, is that so" to Gu Zeyan.

Finally, Li Li.

At the end of the line, half a meter away from the front.

Qi Wanyin reached out her hand.

Li Li shook it.

His palm was dry, and the thin calluses scratched against her knuckles.

"Li Li. Amateur."

Qi Wanyin lowered her head and glanced at the calluses on his hand.

She looked up and nodded.

Shen Jue couldn't hold it in.

"Brother Li, can you not add the word 'amateur' every time you introduce yourself? You're more concise than a business card."

Han Xubai chimed in at the right time.

"And when you shake hands, you're as stiff as—as an intern doing a debriefing report."

Cen Ye added a knife from behind.

"If you're so shy, why did you come to a Dating Reality Show? You might as well go to a matchmaking corner."

The VIP Hall burst into laughter.

The bullet screen—

[Hahahaha, the amateur is being besieged.]

[Matchmaking corner, hahaha, Cen Ye, your mouth is too vicious.]

[But that stiffness is so real, I would be the same if it were me.]

Li Li brushed his thumb over his wrist bone.

"I'm not shy."

He paused.

"It's mainly because I have calluses on my hands, I'm afraid of scratching people."

Shen Jue was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant.

"Damn, why is this sentence kind of handsome?!"

The bullet screen exploded like a waterfall.

[Calluses on his hands, afraid of scratching people??? What kind of gentlemanly statement is this?]

[I declare this the best quote of the day.]

[Men from construction sites are just different (not).]

Diagonally opposite the U-shaped sofa, Jiang Rumu's thumb unconsciously rubbed her own fingertips.

The sensation of that layer of callus scratching her palm when shaking hands and saying thank you in the corridor.

She turned her face away and stared at the fire sprinkler on the ceiling again.

At the end of the corridor, the temporary office of the Production Team.

In the six-grid screen of the monitor, Director Pei Zhao's fingertip pointed at Li Li's grid.

"This amateur."

He smiled.

"A bit interesting."

The chief director next to him leaned over.

"Director Pei, after the first round of free interaction, should we go straight to the drawing lots?"

Director Pei Zhao didn't answer.

He stared at the distance of half a sofa cushion between Li Li and Jiang Rumu on the monitor, and the three strings of fortune beads on his wrist twisted twice.

"Draw lots first."

He paused.

"But the rules—change them slightly."

The chief director's pen hovered above the notebook.

"Let the guests choose each other."

"...Choose each other?"

"Men and women each write a name, and those who choose the same pair will form a team directly."

"Those who don't—"

Director Pei Zhao leaned back into his chair, his bright red nails tapping on the frame of the monitor.

"Then there will be a good show to watch."