Dating the Heartthrob Superstar-Chapter 36: Obvious Change

Chapter 36: Obvious Changes

After receiving a warning, Meng Chao stopped being so blatant about letting Lin Qin win. But when Lin Qin came over to snatch musical notes from him, Meng Chao’s hand would still "slip," and the notes would easily end up in Lin Qin’s hands.

After this happened a few times, Lin Qin caught on and slyly "slipped" a few notes back to Meng Chao as well.

Han Zhi noticed and raised an objection.

The staff burst out laughing uncontrollably. The director repeated his earlier comment, this time with an exaggeratedly serious tone: "As the referee here, I’m issuing a warning to certain contestants: This is a formal, fair, and impartial competition. Please respect the integrity of the game, treat your teammates fairly, and refrain from force-feeding the audience unnecessary public displays of affection. If certain individuals repeat this behavior, they will automatically form a team, and their teammates will form another team. I’ve already got your team names figured out: The Tone-deaf Team and the Music God Team."

The laughter on set grew even louder. "Tone-deaf Team" and "Music God Team"? If Chen Jingqing and Han Zhi ended up on a team together, those two award-winning actors would be crushed in seconds! The evening’s songwriting session and concert would definitely fall apart!

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lin Qin and Meng Chao stopped holding back for each other and went all out in digging up the buried musical notes from the sand, fighting tooth and nail.

Getting two tone-deaf individuals to compose and sing a song in front of an audience? They’d rather be put out of their misery.

And so, the four of them could finally be seen battling it out on the square-shaped beach. Neither backing down, the intensity soared.

After three rounds, the Legendary Team narrowly eked out a victory. Chen Jingqing was then allowed to assign a musical note to the Fresh Meat Team.

In the next two games, Lin Qin and Meng Chao refrained from letting each other win, ending with one victory and one loss apiece.

To everyone’s surprise, the production team was rather humane this time, sparing Lin Qin and Meng Chao from preparing lunch. Instead, they provided a fairly sumptuous meal themselves.

After a busy morning, the four of them were famished by lunchtime. They didn’t even care how the food tasted—filling their stomachs was the top priority.

After lunch, they sat together and chatted for a while before heading back to their rooms for a nap. Meng Chao, however, didn’t return to his room. Instead, he went to find the director.

The director knew exactly why Meng Chao was there. In fact, throughout the filming period, Meng Chao would often use breaks to ask for playback of earlier recordings.

At first, the director didn’t understand Meng Chao’s purpose. But through observation, he realized Meng Chao was studying Lin Qin’s behavior.

As usual, Meng Chao walked in, requested the morning’s footage, and settled down to watch. An hour passed in this manner.

The director commented, "Lin Qin seems a lot more relaxed today. Not as nervous and uneasy as before."

The director had always been mindful of Lin Qin’s behavior. Initially, he thought Lin Qin was simply stiff because it was his first time on a reality show and he hadn’t adjusted yet.

But over time, the director noticed something deeper. Lin Qin wasn’t just reserved—he didn’t know how to let loose. Whether interacting with the staff or the guest participants, his reactions were the same.

Nervousness, trembling, sweating palms.

These were all classic signs of social anxiety. The director had suspected it early on but chose not to voice it.

What he could see, though, was Lin Qin’s effort—his effort to accept those around him, his effort to step out of his shell.

Clearly, Lin Qin’s hard work was paying off. His performance today was exceptional. He let loose during the games, laughed wholeheartedly, and didn’t jerk away when there was physical contact with others, avoiding those once-awkward moments.

What the director could perceive, Meng Chao also noticed.

Watching Lin Qin laugh carefreely in the recording, Meng Chao couldn’t help but smile himself.

But he knew this was only the beginning. Lin Qin would slowly get better, embracing the sunlight, the rain, and the gazes of others just like anybody else.

The director noticed Meng Chao’s smile, and a sudden thought crossed his mind.

He tentatively asked, "Meng Chao, are you and Lin Qin... together?"

Meng Chao had never been secretive about his feelings for Lin Qin. With poise, he nodded. "Yes, we’re together."

Despite suspecting it, the director was still surprised to hear the confirmation. But on second thought, it wasn’t too shocking. Even on camera, the two hadn’t shied away from being close—acting naturally affectionate without hesitation.

The director now faced a dilemma. With Meng Chao so openly admitting their relationship, how was he supposed to handle this during editing?

Too much ambiguity in the footage could inadvertently expose their romance to the public.

Understanding the director’s concern, Meng Chao took the initiative to say, "I want our relationship to be revealed on our own terms."

The director got the message immediately and promised, "Don’t worry. I’ll personally oversee the editing process."

"Thank you for your trouble." Checking the time, Meng Chao noted that Lin Qin’s nap was nearly over. With that, he said his goodbyes and headed back to the villa.

In the afternoon, it was songwriting time, with Chen Jingqing and Han Zhi leading the charge. The two tone-deaf actors could only sit and stare blankly.

However, during the lyrics-writing phase, Lin Qin and Meng Chao managed to contribute, offering a few suggestions that were all adopted by the two singers.

Unknowingly, the sun began to set after three hours of songwriting. Right on time, Chen Jingqing and Han Zhi finished composing the song, and it was handed off to the staff to prepare for the evening concert.

Rushing through dinner, the four of them boarded the production team’s vehicle to a public beach.

A small concert stage had already been set up there, with instruments all arranged and ready. They were just waiting for the show to begin.

The production team hadn’t announced the event in advance—too afraid of a crowd spiraling out of control. Still, all the necessary measures were taken: filing records with the police and hiring security. Everything was ready; they just needed nightfall to begin the concert.

When Lin Qin and Meng Chao learned they’d also be going on stage, their faces immediately turned dark.

Meng Chao: "The song was only just written. We haven’t learned it yet."

Lin Qin: "Exactly! We don’t know how to sing it. What if we ruin the concert?" He was already breaking into a sweat.

The director remained unmoved. "What, you think if I gave you time to practice, you’d magically learn it? Here, I’ll test you. ’Under the bridge near my house swam a group of ducks.’ Sing it!"

Meng Chao: "..."

Lin Qin: "..."

The director tried to reassure them. "Don’t worry. King Chen and Han Zhi will back you up. There won’t be any disasters."

But even he didn’t sound very confident, tacking on a weak, "Probably?"

Meng Chao: "..."

Lin Qin: "..."

Meng Chao grabbed Lin Qin’s hand and walked off. This show? Unfilmmable. He was going on strike!