In an ordinary amateur dating show, such a setup might create sweet and ambiguous CP moments, but among celebrities, it wasn’t nearly as appealing.
Wang Shu stared at the card, frowning deeply. “I don’t know how to cook.”
Li Ming shrugged. “Same here.”
The others didn’t speak; everyone lowered their heads in thought.
Ji Xiaoyun pressed his lips together. “When I studied abroad, I could make some Western food.”
Su An’an looked slightly embarrassed. “I can cook a little too… but it might not taste very good.”
After speaking, she turned to Bai Jin. “Miss Bai, I remember your cooking used to be very good. You could show it off more.”
Listen to that — Su An’an’s tone sounded as if she were deliberately helping Bai Jin shine on camera.
Bai Jin glanced at her indifferently and didn’t bother replying.
She was an actress — why would she need to “perform” cooking skills instead of acting?
Being targeted repeatedly, even someone with Bai Jin’s temper felt irritation rising.
In the original book, the original Bai Jin had unlocked the cooking skill, and because she had low status on variety shows, she often volunteered to cook to gain favor and resources.
So while Su An’an and the male guests flirted sweetly on camera, the original Bai Jin was exhausted in the kitchen.
The original could tolerate it — but this Bai Jin could not.
She hadn’t wanted to clash with Su An’an, but the other party kept pushing her limits.
【Ji Xiaoyun must be blind. What’s the point of being a devoted second male lead? In the end, Su An’an only has Gu Zhan in her heart.】
【Isn’t this just pure tragic love?】
Beside her, Ji Xiaoyun frowned slightly.
He had clearly been cold toward Su An’an — why couldn’t Bai Jin see that?
She kept pairing him with Su An’an again and again, which made him increasingly annoyed.
“Bai Jin, I asked you — can you cook or not?” Su An’an asked sharply when she saw Bai Jin ignoring her.
“What do you think?” Bai Jin shot back.
Su An’an snorted. “I guess you can’t. You look like you don’t even know grains from weeds.”
“You’re right.” Bai Jin nodded in agreement.
So after this, she hoped no one would ask her to cook — she just wanted to be a quiet background character on the show.
Su An’an opened her mouth to say more, but Gu Zhan suddenly glared at her, silencing her instantly.
Her heart sank.
As expected — Gu Zhan treated Bai Jin differently.
The thought made Su An’an burn with jealousy.
She had worked hard for years, yet Gu Zhan barely noticed her. But Bai Jin only drove him home once at night and suddenly seemed to replace her?
Her heart felt like it was bleeding.
Bai Jin sensed Su An’an’s hostility change, but thinking of Ji Xiaoyun’s recent shift in attitude, she felt much calmer.
If soldiers come, block them with troops; if water comes, cover it with earth.
She wouldn’t cause trouble — but she wasn’t afraid of it either. She was not the original Bai Jin.
In the original story, Bai Jin was completely invisible on variety shows, while all attention was on Su An’an.
Meanwhile, the livestream barrage exploded:
“What? Make our An’an cook?”
“Why should An’an cook for a nobody like Bai Jin?”
“This episode’s arrangement is clearly unfair.”
“But Gu Zhan defended Bai Jin — does he like her? Another CP unlocked!”
Sharp-eyed viewers didn’t miss that Gu Zhan had intentionally handed the first card to Su An’an.
“What’s this ‘delayed CP’? Bai Jin’s fans are desperate for popularity? If no male guest likes her, they start shipping her with female guests now?”
“Why must CP fans be Bai Jin’s fans? Su An’an started targeting Bai Jin first!”
Off-camera, Director Wang Ming finally sensed something was off.
Logically, it made sense that Ji Xiaoyun would join the show since he was publicly linked with Bai Jin.
But why was Gu Zhan here?
Could it be that two top tycoons both liked the same woman — Bai Jin?
Cold sweat broke out on his back.
How was he supposed to arrange future segments? If he accidentally offended one of them, his career in entertainment would be over.
And this chaos had already started in the very first segment.
At this point, only Gu Zhan hadn’t stated whether he could cook. But given his status, everyone assumed he probably couldn’t.
No one dared to casually sit next to Bai Jin and Ji Xiaoyun to “share food” either.
If Ji Xiaoyun cooked, it would only be for Bai Jin.
Su An’an’s eyes reddened slightly, but she quickly forced the gentlest smile of her life.
“President Ji, may I ask how your cooking skills are?”
Ji Xiaoyun casually glanced at Bai Jin, who was daydreaming, before replying lazily, “Just barely passable.”
【Oh my god, can you stop pretending?】
Bai Jin rolled her eyes internally. Watching Ji Xiaoyun’s attitude toward Su An’an, she even wondered if she had misremembered the original plot.
Su An’an looked surprised. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Why don’t those who can cook team up with those who can’t?”
In her mind, this was perfect — she could cook with Gu Zhan, bond in the kitchen, and maybe even reveal their relationship.
This was her long-time dream.
She knew about Bai Jin and Ji Xiaoyun’s relationship, but she believed more in her own charm.
Every time she saw Ji Xiaoyun favoring Bai Jin, she felt jealous and resentful.
Gu Zhan and Ji Xiaoyun were both top-tier men — and she was a popular star. Bai Jin was just a newcomer.
So why did Bai Jin get Ji Xiaoyun’s special treatment?
Ji Xiaoyun’s expression darkened.
He cooked for Bai Jin, not for Su An’an — yet she shamelessly tried to join in.
He looked at her with clear distaste, frowning. Was this really the “goddess” the novel described?
At that moment, Qi Dong spoke up. “If we split into four groups, won’t one group end up with people who can’t cook at all?”
Su An’an’s face stiffened, but no one backed her up.
Everyone had their own motives.
Among them, Bai Jin was the most carefree — as long as she wasn’t grouped with Gu Zhan.
She knew Su An’an would do everything possible to prevent other women from getting close to him anyway.
If there had to be male–female pairs, being with Ji Xiaoyun wasn’t bad.
Thinking of this, she glanced at him.
Wang Shu, already starving, finally spoke bluntly: “How about we just grab something simple for breakfast today and figure out groups later?”
Ji Xiaoyun immediately decided:
“I’ll only be in a group with Bai Jin. The rest of you can arrange yourselves.”
The barrage exploded again:
“So jealous of Bai Jin — she really has Ji Xiaoyun’s favor!”
“They’re the sweetest CP I’ve seen this year!”
“I still think Ji Xiaoyun and An’an are more compatible…”
Soon enough, Ji Xiaoyun + Bai Jin trended again.
Someone in the studio joked,
“President Ji, Jin Jin, stop showing off your love — at least consider us single people!”