Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

"Invitation?" Xu Qingyan paused, waiting for Pei Muchan to catch up before continuing forward. After a moment, he asked, "The kind between friends?"

"What else did you think it was?" Pei Muchan unconsciously followed his pace. Perhaps not wanting to be overheard by the group up ahead, she instinctively lowered her voice.

He didn't know what to say, so he chose to remain silent.

From the beginning, he had never treated Pei Muchan like a celebrity, nor did he feel the need to respond as eagerly as a fan would. Besides, just because there is a response doesn't mean there will be an echo.

Caught off guard by Xu Qingyan's sudden indifference, Pei Muchan couldn't help feeling a bit suffocated. Thinking to herself how straightforward this guy was, she looked up to see him walking away and hurried to follow.

The open kitchen connected to a small living room, where a black and gold glass long table was set up, illuminated by lights that were far from bright. With the movement of female guests' high heels, graceful silhouettes danced about.

Thankfully, the dinner was buffet style, sparing them the task of cooking.

The table held over thirty dishes, mostly consisting of salads, desserts, and other healthy options. A few pieces of tender pink steak lay naked on the plates, slightly undercooked.

Xu Qingyan expressed his bafflement; even if he were to put his hand in a boiling kettle and then pull it out, it would be more cooked than this meat.

Green, buttery avocados filled ten little white plates; high-stemmed glasses brimmed with cocktails, vibrant slices of raw fish paired with sushi, little pieces of truffle, salmon, and foie gras, along with caviar served on thin fruit bread.

The production team's generous setup won unanimous praise from the guests, who couldn't stop complimenting it.

"What is this? Foie gras?" Shen Jinyue curiously asked.

"Yes," affirmed Liu Renzhi, who happened to be next to her. While replying, his gaze involuntarily locked onto Pei Muchan, the last to enter.

Under the interweaving dim lights, Pei Muchan's rounded denim jeans were like a ripened peach. Her walk was also quite distinctive, as she would gently thrust her hips forward, lightly placing her shoe on the floor.

She moved with the elegance and grace of ancient beauties, each step like a blooming lotus.

"Wow, isn't the quality of this caviar too high?" Bai Jinze exclaimed in amazement, hands pressed together, "Didn't expect the production team to be so rich!"

"It's okay, I guess," Song Enya, dripping with glamour, glanced down at the lavish spread of food and reluctantly picked up a plate to select some caviar and vegetable salad.

"Don't you like foie gras?" Chen Feiyu offered with a gentlemanly smile.

Song Enya leaned in closer to the table for a better look at the foie gras, but her vision was obstructed by her bulging clothing, immediately dampening her enthusiasm.

"The quality is mediocre, don't feel like eating it."

Liu Renzhi, not sure when, had quietly moved next to Pei Muchan, occasionally glancing at her.

At that moment, Pei Muchan's eyes were on the food, her body slightly leaning forward, not noticing the earnest gaze beside her. After struggling to choose a serving of vegetable salad, she didn't touch anything else on the table.

Turning around, she happened to catch Liu Renzhi's gaze and showed a puzzled expression, about to speak.

"You eat this much?"

A voice drew everyone's attention, including Pei Muchan and the others, who all halted and turned to look, and the camera lenses followed suit.

The speaker was Nian Shuyu, holding a small white plate in her hand, her slender, alabaster legs paired together, creating a pleasant scene.

The camera subtly shifted following her gaze; ultimately, it focused on Xu Qingyan's face.

He had taken two servings of steak, two of caviar, salmon, foie gras... In short, he had taken two of each type of food, having counted them carefully—not one more than necessary.

The male guests and female guests present were each holding a small white plate. Whatever they wanted to eat, they would just clip some, presenting a picture of elegance and harmony.

But when it came to Xu Qingyan, the style of the scene changed. He held a larger plate, which was filled with various small dishes. The arrangement was quite neat, with ten small plates leaning against the edge of the dish, tilting up at one end.

From a distance, it looked like the folded wings of a white bird.

All the guests suddenly fell silent, staring at the pile of food in Xu Qingyan's hands, which practically shriveled their brains.

"Brother, are you for real treating this like a buffet?"

The guests were shocked, and even the people from the production team behind the scenes were dumbfounded. A staff member's mouth hung open, thinking, Brother, aren't you being a bit too ostentatious in front of the female guests?

Turning to look at the director, the staff member found the director looking on with admiration.

"Xu is a genius, keep the camera on him."

"Director, this...."

"No need to worry, he's creating buzz. It's even better if he can't finish!" the director exclaimed in amazement, repeatedly saying that he didn't expect an amateur's reaction to be better than that of actors.

The recording continued, focusing on the reactions of the male and female guests.

"What's wrong?" Xu Qingyan was a bit puzzled.

"No... nothing, sorry." Nian Shuyu was a bit embarrassed, not expecting the camera to follow her surprise, "I was just surprised, you look so slim..."

"Slim? I'm not slim."

Xu Qingyan wore a loose white short-sleeve shirt. He steadied the plate with one hand while flexing his other arm, revealing his muscular, veiny biceps.

"Ah!" Nian Shuyu's face turned red with embarrassment.

"Wow, you have a great physique!" Shen Jinyue complimented, her high ponytail swaying slightly, blinking her eyes. "Do you work out regularly at the gym?"

"Uh, kind of." Xu Qingyan didn't want to say too much for fear of saying the wrong thing, and discussing the past might lead to speculation that he had a script from the production team.

Anyway, it was just seven days. It was best to stick to the script.

"I like working out too, we should hit the gym together sometime." Liu Renzhi raised his voice, saying with a smile, his gaze casually scanning over Pei Muchan.

"Sure." Xu Qingyan nodded, as he had built his muscles through part-time exercising.

But hardship was never something to brag about, and this wasn't the stage of 'The Voice of Summer' talent show, where one might gain sympathy but no real advantage.

The adorable Bai Jinze kept quiet, just curling his lips slightly and rolling his eyes the moment he turned his head.

He always looked down on those who obsessively built muscles. Muscles packed and bulging together, veins twisting grotesquely, he found it to be disgusting and not at all attractive.

The girls nowadays preferred his type, the so-called 'puppy' charm. As long as he acted sensible and gentle, not many women could resist his allure.

After picking out their food, the guests didn't immediately find seats because the small living room had only five tables, with each round table seating three people.

This meant the guests had many choices, and if one sat down first and no one joined, eating alone would be quite embarrassing.

While everyone was hesitating, Xu Qingyan turned with his plate and headed for the open kitchen.