Zuo Shanming cheerfully picked up a small bowl, glanced at the amount in the pot, then swapped it for a larger one. He scraped the pot clean and happily carried the bowl to the living room.
Cooking plain rice porridge required no skill—surely this time, his stomach wouldn’t suffer like yesterday, right?
Yesterday was the first day the guests arrived, and dinner was prepared by Lu Wanwan, as she was the only one among the guests who volunteered to cook. Then…
The guests’ stomachs endured a round of torment.
Sheng Qianyu and Wen Yiquan were already leisurely eating breakfast. Those who came downstairs later glanced at the three of them and went to the kitchen to help Lu Wanwan.
Zuo Shanming took a sip of the plain porridge but couldn’t taste much. He then picked up some cold shredded potatoes with his chopsticks.
His eyes lit up.
These shredded potatoes…
They were sweet and sour, crispy, refreshing, and appetizing.
Delicious!
Even Wen Yiquan was surprised by Sheng Qianyu’s cooking skills and took a few more bites of the cold shredded potatoes.
Lu Wanwan’s sandwiches were simple: using whatever ingredients were available in the fridge, she waited for others to prepare the components, pressed them in an electric griddle until cooked, and finally sandwiched them between two slices of bread. As for the taste… don’t expect anything delicious—edible was good enough.
Each person also heated a cup of milk and carried their breakfast out.
【Wanwan is so amazing! She made breakfast for so many people!】
【Wait, are Lu Wanwan’s fans so desperate to praise their idol that they’re calling this impressive? Making sandwiches is not only simple and easy but also doesn’t take much time. Everyone else helped wash and chop the ingredients—all she did was press them in an electric griddle. How is that amazing?】
【You said what I didn’t dare to say. Wasn’t breakfast a joint effort? Just because Lu Wanwan is the most famous now, does she get all the credit?】
【Why are you nitpicking! We never said it was all Wanwan’s doing! We just said she’s amazing! Do you think using an electric griddle is easy? You have to estimate the timing!】
【Have Lu Wanwan’s fans never used an electric griddle? The timing is adjustable.】
At the dining table, the others remained silent, eating the bland sandwiches. Almost everyone was inwardly criticizing Lu Wanwan for not even adding a sprinkle of black pepper…
The female guests could console themselves by treating it as a low-calorie meal, but among the male guests, especially the stylishly dressed Jingxuan, if it weren’t for the cameras, he would have almost turned and walked away. “What is this? It tastes awful.”
Lu Wanwan’s face flushed instantly.
She couldn’t help shrinking her neck, her eyes red with feeling wronged. “I-I’m sorry…”
【Wow! This Jingxuan is way too harsh!】
【Seriously, does he have any emotional intelligence? Even if it tastes bad, he shouldn’t say it to her face, especially with so many cameras around!】
【Emotional intelligence? Jingxuan is a rock singer—he’s all about being authentic and straightforward.】
【Jingxuan’s fans, stop making excuses. At best, he’s blunt; at worst, he’s just rude.】
Jingxuan froze.
He hadn’t expected the female guest to cry.
Most of the people he hung out with were in the rock scene, and even the women were strong-willed and wouldn’t cry so easily.
At only twenty years old, he didn’t know how to comfort someone and felt he had done something wrong. Embarrassed, he turned his head away and, to ease the awkwardness, took a symbolic bite of the sandwich… It still tasted terrible!
He felt utterly stifled—he had never been this stifled in his life!After taking two bites, he met Zuo Shanming’s gaze.
Zuo Shanming grinned at him and suggested, “Want me to get you a pair of chopsticks so you can eat some of Sister Qianyu’s cold potato shreds?”
Jingxuan looked at Sheng Qianyu, who nodded faintly. “Sure. I made so much potato shreds for everyone to share.”
She just hadn’t realized while cooking that one of the male guests had such a big appetite, so she hadn’t invited the others.
She glanced at Zuo Shanming, whose large bowl was already empty, then at her own half-full bowl, and finally at Wen Yiquan, who had only taken a couple of spoonfuls of plain congee.
A deep doubt arose in her mind.
Had she made enough for Zuo Shanming to eat?
Jingxuan looked at the potato shreds—they looked appetizing—and before Zuo Shanming could stand up, he hurried toward the kitchen himself. “No need, I’ll get them myself.”
Well, there was no need to ask Jingxuan if the food tasted good. The way he kept picking up the potato shreds with his chopsticks, not touching his sandwich again, said it all.
Zuo Shanming regretted it.
He shouldn’t have invited someone to compete for the food!
[Hahahaha! Jingxuan and Zuo Shanming are so funny. Did you see Zuo Shanming’s regretful face? Zuo Shanming: Why did I dig my own grave! Hahahaha!]
[Am I the only one who noticed Lu Wanwan’s terrible expression?]
[So what if her expression is bad? She made something awful and won’t let anyone say it? Lu Wanwan’s fans are hilarious, mocking others for being honest and calling them uncivilized. What? For your terrible food, I have to change my personality and earn your fans’ approval, is that it?]
[Well said, commenter above! Lu Wanwan’s tactics are too low-level. I went back and rewatched her breakout work. I hope she focuses on acting and stops appearing on variety shows—it’s too easy to expose her personality flaws.]
[The Film Emperor’s fans haven’t said a word. Lu Wanwan’s fans should learn from the Film Emperor!]
[No, right now the Film Emperor’s fans just want Lu Wanwan to stop leeching off him! The fans are sick of those rumors! If Lu Wanwan weren’t signed to the Film Emperor’s studio, they’d have already unleashed their full arsenal of curses.]
In the barrage of comments, Lu Wanwan was the most discussed, followed by Film Emperor Duan Ziheng. Duan Ziheng’s fans had remained silent until mentioned by casual viewers, after which they stopped pretending to be deaf and mute. Whenever they caught anyone spreading rumors or criticizing the Film Emperor, they could drown keyboard warriors in a flood of saliva!
Seeing Jingxuan and Zuo Shanming’s reactions at the dining table, Duan Ziheng looked at Sheng Qianyu in surprise. “You know how to cook?”
Yes.
On the first day, Duan Ziheng had revealed that he and the original host knew each other since childhood.
The Duan family had once been prosperous, but that was only known within upper-class circles. Ordinary people couldn’t dig up Duan Ziheng’s former family background, and with the Sheng family intentionally helping to conceal it to build Duan Ziheng’s grassroots persona, even though Duan Ziheng hadn’t deliberately distanced himself from the original host, netizens hadn’t connected Sheng Qianyu to the prominent Sheng family.
Sheng Qianyu nodded, paused for a moment, and added, “People change. After all, it’s been a long time since we last saw each other, so it’s normal you wouldn’t know this.”
People change…
Duan Ziheng opened his mouth but didn’t say anything more. He finished his sandwich in a few bites and headed upstairs.
Although he hadn’t hidden the fact that he knew Sheng Qianyu, in the eyes of others, the two were merely childhood playmates and acquaintances, not particularly close.
[That’s strange. I feel like Film Emperor Duan is angry?]
[Probably just an illusion? He only exchanged a couple of sentences with Sheng Qianyu just now. What’s there to be angry about?]【Illusion, illusion! Picking up Ziheng and running away! Our Ziheng is clearly the most easygoing in the entertainment industry. How could he possibly get angry over a single sentence? He must be rushing back to change clothes!】
After finishing their meals, the others also returned to their rooms to change clothes, as the production team had just issued the next task.
Zuo Shanming snatched Sheng Qianyu’s bowl and chopsticks, saying, “I can’t just eat your food for free, Sister Qianyu. Go change! I’ll wash these!”
Only then did Sheng Qianyu reveal her first faint smile since the live variety show began. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”