However, a user named Shan Shan speculated about the plot and shared a detailed analysis:

“Guys, you’re all being shallow! How could Yan Sister write a simple love story? Let’s not talk about it, just look at this time’s cover!

Normally, Yan Sister’s covers are very bright and colorful, but this time it’s completely black. Look closely at the male lead on the left—what is he holding in his hand? I enlarged it several times and I’m sure, that’s a heart, definitely not a decoration! And look at the female lead in the middle. She looks normal, right? But check out the brainwave device on her wrist! The heart rate displayed is 0!

The brainwave device can display data, which means it’s working, but the heart rate is 0. Could it be that the female lead is already dead? But she looks like a normal person!

So, I boldly speculate that the male lead on the left is holding the heart of the female lead! He took her heart away!!

Now, let’s look at the male lead on the right. Does he look handsome with a good physique but not much else? Yes, you read it right, that’s how he looks! Hahaha.

And this time, the title of the drama seems different from Yan Sister’s previous ones.

Let’s not worry about all of this. Let’s analyze why the ex-boyfriend and the CEO are on a variety show together, and it’s a happy ending (HE) with the CEO, so it must be because the ex-boyfriend isn’t good enough.

So, look at the cover, and you’ll understand, right?

At this point, someone might say, ‘I get it! The male lead on the left, holding the female lead’s heart, is definitely the CEO who ends up with her because the CEO is a heart-stealer…’

But I want to say, my friend, I know you’re common, but don’t be that common!

Let’s think about Yan Sister’s previous three dramas and her view of love. How could she use this cover to express one person’s love for another? Besides, this cover is obviously a dark theme, so I dare to say that the one holding the female lead’s heart on the left is her ex-boyfriend, and the male lead on the right, who looks like he has nothing except being handsome, is the true CEO male lead this time!

Alright, that’s the analysis so far. I’m going to watch the drama now, and I’m ready for Yan Sister to come and slap me in the face at any time!”

Upon reading Shan Shan’s analysis, everyone became enlightened. However, considering the theme of dreams and reality for this round, Yan Yue’s title and cover didn’t seem to have these elements.

With that in mind, everyone’s anticipation for the actual episode grew stronger, and they were eagerly waiting for Yan Yue’s new drama!

Meanwhile, on the other side of things, after being eliminated in the previous round, An Xiaoyu received an invitation from a decent film and television company and officially became a special screenwriter for their company.

Today was the day when Su Manman and the others’ works were released. An Xiaoyu had come out of her creative warehouse early and was waiting for everyone’s works.

Just like last time, she decided to start by watching Yan Yue’s work.

Don’t ask her why; it’s because who can resist a melodramatic drama?

However, An Xiaoyu couldn’t help but feel that Yan Yue had changed her style this time.

As she started to watch Yan Yue’s drama, her younger sister, An Xiaoxue, came in with her pillow. “Sis, are you asleep?”

An Xiaoyu chuckled. “Come in.”

An Xiaoxue entered and saw her sister watching Yan Yue’s new drama. She immediately crawled into her sister’s bed, sat down beside her, and watched the drama together with her.

After the incident with Ye Tianming last time, An Xiaoxue had received psychological counseling for some time. Now she was much better. At the same time, she felt grateful to her sister and her sister’s friends for boldly exposing the darkness of the Ye family through their works, especially Yan Yue, whom she admired greatly!

So, the two sisters sat in the same bed, watching the drama together.

It started with the familiar opening, followed by the sight of a mecha design competition. The host was announcing the rankings for this round.

[Host: “Let’s congratulate the winner of this round’s competition—Su Kexin!”]

The camera followed the host’s voice and focused on Su Kexin, the first-place winner.

Su Kexin couldn’t hide her excitement as she received the trophy and delivered her winning speech.

Then, the host announced another piece of good news! In the next round, the top mecha designer, Xiao Li, will be present in person!

Upon hearing Xiao Li’s name, the audience fell silent for a few seconds, followed by an explosive cheer!

“Oh my god! The show actually managed to invite Xiao Li!”

“Ah ah ah, Xiao Li is coming to the scene? I had other plans for next week, but now that Xiao Li is coming, where else would I go! I must get tickets for the next round’s competition!!”

“Ah ah ah, the show’s team is amazing! They actually got my husband! I declare that from today on, I’ll be living outside the competition venue! I must be the first one to meet my husband!”

“No, why are you all so excited? Who is Xiao Li? Is he very powerful?”

“?? What? You don’t know Xiao Li? My goodness! Xiao Li is the most powerful mecha designer in the entire star system! The mechas used by the border generals are all designed by Xiao Li! He’s undoubtedly the mecha god! You actually don’t know him? Are you sure you’re from the star system?”

“I’m speechless. With all the contributions Xiao Li’s mechas have made to the border’s battlefield this year, there are still people who don’t know him. You’re really uninformed.”

In the drama, as the enthusiastic fans of Xiao Li were giving speeches, the audience outside the drama also learned who Xiao Li really was.

An Xiaoyu, while sipping on energy water, summarized, “Xiao Li is like the real-life Yang, right?”

She nodded in agreement. This setup indeed resembled Yang Xin…

However, for now, An Xiao Yu didn’t take it seriously, after all, the plot had just begun.

At this moment, many viewers also found that the character Xiao Li in the drama had a high resemblance to Yang Xin in real life. However, like An Xiao Yu, they refrained from making wild speculations, especially considering that Xiao Li was a mech designer while Yang Xin was a top-tier screenwriter. Their careers were quite different.

Inside the drama, after the fans finished explaining about Xiao Li, the camera shifted its focus to Su Ke Xin. It was evident that Su Ke Xin had an odd expression upon hearing about Xiao Li’s arrival, although the viewers inside the drama didn’t notice this, and they continued discussing Xiao Li’s appearance with great enthusiasm.

[At this point, Suo Yi, who had won third place in the mech design competition, noticed that Su Ke Xin’s expression was not right. She approached her and inquired. Su Ke Xin shook her head and said it was nothing. Suo Yi didn’t press further.

However, at that moment, Suo Yi’s light brain suddenly vibrated. Anxious, she returned to her resting area and checked her light brain. An invitation to a private space popped up. She accepted it and, in the blink of an eye, found herself in a dark, empty space.

Then, a male voice sounded, “Why haven’t you completed the task I assigned to you?”

The voice was filled with sternness, making Suo Yi shiver uncontrollably. She was afraid and said, “I can’t do that. Ke Xin has helped me a lot on the show. I can’t repay her with harm… ”

The man coldly chuckled, “So, you want to repay me with harm? Suo Yi, have you forgotten who helped you when you were in your most difficult times, giving you a chance to enter this competition? Have you also forgotten that you promised to help me with anything back then?”

Suo Yi couldn’t help but sob, “I’m sorry, I really can’t do it. I know you’ve helped me a lot, and after this competition, I’ll give you all the prize money! Consider it my repayment, or if you want anything else as a reward, I can do it. But I really can’t do that to Ke Xin…”

The man suddenly burst into laughter. However, his laughter sent shivers down her spine. “Well, of course, you don’t have to do it.”

His words seemed to give Suo Yi hope, and her eyes lit up for a moment. But the next second, the man crushed that glimmer of hope mercilessly, just like he crushed Suo Yi herself, into pieces.

He said, “Do you know what happens to useless people in my world? Furthermore, now that you know my secret…”

The man’s threat, combined with the fact that only Suo Yi was visible on screen while the man’s face remained hidden, created a terrifying atmosphere. The background music intensified this feeling, with Suo Yi’s nervous and irregular breathing and heartbeat adding to the tension.

The tension escalated to its peak, causing even An Xiao Yu and An Xiao Xue to unconsciously hold their breath. An Xiao Xue clung to her sister’s arm in fear!

The viewers were similarly frightened by the sudden change in atmosphere, and the barrage of comments reflected their anxiety:]

【Don’t panic, everyone, don’t panic. I’ll protect you all!!】

【What’s going on? Why is it so intense right from the start?? Who is this guy? He’s really scaring us!】

【Mom!! Someone wants to kill me, wuwuwu…】

【Before clicking, I thought it was a romantic drama. But now that I’ve clicked, you’re telling me it’s a horror film!】

【Isn’t it a bit unnecessary for Sister Yan to change the style every episode? Revenge last time, a comedy last episode, and now straight-up horror. I’m so scared, guys! Let’s send more comments!!】

【No way, is this guy really going to kill Suo Yi? Is another outlaw being added to the story?】

The viewers were terrified, but the feared event did not occur. The mysterious man did not harm Suo Yi further. Instead, he offered her another chance. If Suo Yi didn’t want to harm Su Ke Xin, then she should win the final victory in this competition herself. In return, he would help her enter the prestigious XX Mech Group, a dream for all mech designers in the entire galaxy.

Upon hearing this, Suo Yi immediately agreed.

However, the mysterious man quickly delivered a blow to her.

[The man laughed lightly, his words coming out casually but chilling.

He said, “If you don’t win the final victory in this competition…”

“I told you just now, people who know too much in my world shouldn’t exist.”

“Do you understand?”

With a “smack,” the screen darkened, and when it lit up again, Suo Yi opened her eyes, her gaze filled with terror…

Right now, she only had one path to take…

At this point, the camera shifted back to Su Ke Xin.

Su Ke Xin, at this moment, was watching an interview video.]

According to the video’s upload time and title, the audience quickly figured out:

[Wow! This is Xiao Li!]

[This interview video was just released, meaning Xiao Li had just finished the interview.]

【This Xiao Li seems to be the male lead on the left side of the cover! I read Shan Shan’s analysis post, and according to her, Xiao Li is the former boyfriend of the female lead, Su Ke Xin.】

【Oh my! When the main stage host mentioned Xiao Li coming to the show earlier, Su Ke Xin’s expression turned ugly. If Xiao Li is Su Ke Xin’s ex-boyfriend, her reaction makes sense.】

【So, if we look at it this way, they probably had an unpleasant breakup before. But if you listen to Xiao Li’s words in the interview video, he keeps talking about coming to the show for a long-lost acquaintance. Doesn’t that mean he’s here for Su Ke Xin?】

【Ah? It might not have been an unpleasant breakup, though. Su Ke Xin is watching the video right now, and her eyes are red. Clearly, she hasn’t forgotten Xiao Li. Isn’t this a possible reconciliation?】

【Wow! Isn’t this like a real-life version of Yang Xin and Su Man Man? People, I’ve got my popcorn ready!】

【It really does seem a bit like Yang Xin and Su Man Man! Yang Xin also came to the show for Su Man Man. The way they looked at each other on the main stage, it’s like…! What they call “soulful gazes”! That’s it!! Yang Xin’s gaze at Su Man Man at the time… I’m crying, he was so in love!】

【Ah, didn’t expect to find fellow fans of Yang and Man Man here!! I seriously suspect that Yan Jie is not pure, she might be a fan of Yang and Man Man like us. We should thoroughly investigate if she has any other CP videos of Yang and Man Man in her light brain!】

The direction of the barrage gradually took a strange turn. Many people began to draw parallels between Xiao Li and Su Ke Xin and Yang Xin and Su Man Man. The upcoming plot developments left these fans ecstatic:

[When the host asked about Xiao Li’s personal life, he smiled slightly at the camera and said, “I’m currently on my way to meet someone I like…”]

The host immediately got curious and asked if the person Xiao Li was talking about was the recent popular contestant from “Mech Battle.”

Xiao Li neither confirmed nor denied it, but in the host’s eyes, that was as good as confirmation!

The host continued, “I recall that there were netizens who said you had a deeply meaningful relationship during your university days. Is this person your first love?”

This time, Xiao Li answered directly, “Yes.”

The interview ended there, and this video, as expected, shot up to the top of the trending charts.

Beneath all the gossip online, someone quickly uncovered Xiao Li’s mentioned first love. Not only did they discover the identity of his first love, but they also found out that Xiao Li and this first love had been childhood friends!

Viewers outside the drama: !!!

【What the heck!! Is Yan Jie really promoting her own ship, Yang and Man Man, even here? Her personal bias is too heavy!】

【Although I’m a fan of Yang and Man Man too, seeing Yan Jie promoting her ship so blatantly feels strange…】

【Yan Jie, my Yan Jie, it’s fine if you indulge in private, but this is a competition, and what you’re doing… I can’t really say it’s right.】

【The guy before, I’ll be frank, I’ve lost respect for him…】

At this moment, a barrage comment stood out amidst the crowd criticizing Yan Jie’s promotion:

【Is it possible that Yan Jie is only using real-life comparisons to tell us something?】

This comment was quickly drowned out.

Later, the viewers saw that the past relationship between Xiao Li and Su Ke Xin, which the fans inside the drama had dug up, was almost identical to the relationship between Yang Xin and Su Man Man in real life!

Those who originally didn’t believe that Yan Yue would boldly promote her favorite CP during the competition were now completely convinced otherwise.

Whether they were regular viewers or hardcore shippers, they could ship their favorite CP privately, but when a legitimate screenwriter, who was currently competing, directly brought her favorite real-life CP into the public eye, trying to make everyone ship it with her? Sorry, they declined this kind of promotion!

As a result, after half an hour of the drama airing, the barrage was filled with curses against Yan Yue, as if they had returned to the time not long ago when Xiao You was eliminated, and Yan Yue was deeply embroiled in public opinion…

At this point, An Xiao Xue was undeniably a loyal supporter of Yan Yue! As for An Xiao Yu, it goes without saying. She knew Yan Yue’s character better than anyone else. Yan Yue was definitely not someone who couldn’t distinguish between personal and professional matters. She must have a reason for writing this drama!

Seeing more and more barrage comments attacking Yan Yue, An Xiao Xue couldn’t take it anymore. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to argue with these non-independent-thinking haters. She vented her anger while speaking to her sister, “Sis, believe me, there’s definitely going to be a plot twist later! What’s wrong with these people? Clearly, in all of Yan Jie’s three previous dramas, there were twists, turns, and more twists, making it impossible to guess her thought process. How come this time, everyone is blindly questioning her based on the early plot without any independent thinking?”

An Xiao Xue spoke with increasing frustration but didn’t hear her sister’s response. She thought her sister was also questioning Yan Yue’s promotion of real-life CP like these people. An Xiao Xue felt sorry for Yan Yue’s plight and was about to educate her sister. However, when she turned her head, she saw her sister’s fingers flying across the light keyboard, typing furiously. Then, she glanced at what her sister had typed!

An Xiao Xue: “!!!”

Forgive me, forgive me!

To argue with the haters, and it turns out the person defending herself is the scriptwriter!

The two sisters were fervently defending Yan Yue. Just as they were getting ready for a major plot twist, the camera suddenly shifted to Xiao Li’s sleeping face. The next moment, the camera “swooshed” into Xiao Li’s “mind”!

The two sisters: Here comes the twist!

Other viewers: What just happened??】

As the camera entered Xiao Li’s “mind,” a filter specific to Yan Yue’s memory scenes was applied.