17 – Cоllесtivе Dеmеntiа
Beсаusе Jiаng Ning wаs unwilling to team uр with Yе Chen, Yе Chen арреаrеd to hаvе nо сhoicе but to partner with Jiаng Zhi fоr a tаlеnt реrfоrmanсе tо earn mоnеy.
Тhus, within the same grоup, thе two pairs оncе agаin wеnt their seрarate wауs.
Jiаng Ning сhose tо gо with Gu Сhi tо the pаstry shоp to еarn monеy, which wаs both exресted аnd unеxpeсted fоr Gu Сhi.
He glаnced аt Jiang Ning, his dаrk еуes sеcretlу filled with joу, sраrkling like stars.
His thin lips pursed slightly, the соrners of his mouth curling uрwаrd.
Jiang Ning could sеnsе his happiness. Under the scorching sun, she turned her gaze toward Gu Chi. His dark, bright eyes seemed to hold an entire world, and in that world, there was only her.
That passionate, fervent emotion was laid bare before her without any concealment.
Meeting his pure and determined gaze, Jiang Ning inexplicably felt her face grow warm.
She cleared her throat lightly, deliberately changing the subject: “Let’s go discuss with the pastry shop owner.”
The two arrived at the pastry shop, where the owner was a man in his thirties. Just as Jiang Ning was about to speak to him, Gu Chi had already stepped forward and struck up a conversation.
The owner’s younger sister was obsessed with celebrities to the point of no return, so the owner disliked celebrities and held little goodwill toward them.
Seeing Gu Chi, he instinctively snorted through his nostrils.
Hearing Gu Chi say he wanted to help make pastries to earn money, the owner replied dismissively: “No, not hiring.”
After all, the production team had said they could act entirely on their own whims and didn’t need to cater to celebrities for the sake of the show.
Little did he know, the director wanted precisely this kind of difficulty for the celebrities.
Gu Chi remembered the director saying that every shop owner’s identity in the show corresponded to their real-life profession, so this man was a genuine pastry chef.
After being rejected, Gu Chi didn’t waste words. He simply said: “May I taste the pastries you make?”
The production team required them to earn money, so Gu Chi’s request to taste the pastries took the pastry chef by surprise.
Since someone was asking for food rather than offering money or work, the pastry chef faltered for a moment before saying: “Fine, fine, but just a little.”
His attitude was as if he were handing out scraps to a beggar.
Gu Chi didn’t take offense. With his slender fingers, he calmly accepted the tiny portion the pastry chef scooped over with a fork and tasted it.
His serious expression and elegant movements made the pastry chef feel as though he were a food critic. No pastry chef is indifferent to others’ opinions of their creations.
They thrive on every bit of praise.
After Gu Chi finished tasting, the pastry chef instinctively asked: “How does it taste?”
Jiang Ning also looked at Gu Chi curiously.
“Technique is poor, not good.”
He spoke bluntly and directly, leaving no room for courtesy.
His furrowed brow made it seem as though he were eating something utterly unpalatable.
Jiang Ning nearly couldn’t hold back her laughter.
It almost seemed as if Gu Chi were a hired hater for the show—specifically, a hater of pastry chefs.
Fans in the live stream were also stunned, expressing their surprise.
“Are you sure you’re there to find work and earn money, not to get beaten up?”
“Suddenly feeling sorry for my goddess for choosing to go with him, this is hilarious.”
These were the more lighthearted fans.
The less friendly fans once again criticized Gu Chi for being rude.
The pastry chef seemed deeply offended and insulted, his voice nearly cracking: “What did you say? You think what I make tastes bad?”
“Yes, it’s bad,” Gu Chi replied with a straight face.The pastry chef opened a dessert shop in the southern part of the city, and business was booming with a large number of repeat customers. Everyone loved the pastries he made, so when he heard a negative review for the first time, his face turned green with anger, and he felt extremely indignant.
Why hadn’t he refused that beggar-like behavior earlier?
He spat in disgust.
Trembling, he pointed at Gu Chi: “You, you, you—you just said you wanted to help make desserts, right? It seems you know how to do it. If you have the skills, go ahead and make one. I want to see what you’re capable of, daring to look down on my desserts.”
“Alright, no problem.”
Gu Chi agreed readily, his dark eyes gleaming with shrewd calculation: “But I have a condition. If what I make tastes better than yours, you have to let me work in your dessert shop for a day, and we split the earnings fifty-fifty.”
“Deal!” The pastry chef agreed without hesitation. “Who will be the judge?”
Since they were competing to see whose dessert tasted better, there had to be a judge, right?
Gu Chi looked at the pastry chef, confident and composed: “You.”
“Me?” The pastry chef was provoked by his arrogance. “Fine, it’s settled.”
Only after agreeing did he realize he had been goaded into it.
Yet, what was terrifying was that even though he knew he had been provoked, he still wanted to see what Gu Chi was capable of, daring to look down on his pastries.
The pastry chef was so angry his nose almost twisted. The feeling of knowingly walking into a trap yet willingly continuing to jump in was utterly frustrating.
Jiang Ning also saw through Gu Chi’s plan and glanced at him in surprise, a smile flickering in her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to have such a crafty side.
Her eyes curved gently, her expression soft, and the fans in the livestream were nearly moved to tears.
“Mom, the goddess finally smiled.”
“Is this the first time the goddess smiled today? Wuwu, Brother Gu Chi is amazing.”
“The goddess looks so beautiful when she smiles. I hope she stays happy forever.”
The cameraman followed them throughout. Gu Chi and Jiang Ning went to the kitchen together, while the pastry chef deliberately sat outside, pretending to be aloof.
Both of them put on aprons.
Jiang Ning glanced sideways at Gu Chi. He was almost a head taller than her, with a tall and straight posture and a smooth, attractive profile.
Unable to help herself, she said, “I don’t know how to make pastries. Is there anything I can do to help?”
In her good mood, the siren-like quality of her voice became uncontrollable again—clear, pleasant, and melodious, like pearls falling onto a plate, soft and beautiful.
Hearing her gentle, delicate voice, the tips of Gu Chi’s ears turned red. He wanted to tell her she didn’t need to do anything, but the program required everyone to contribute labor.
After thinking for a moment, Gu Chi finally came up with something that involved labor but wouldn’t tire her out. He said, “You can bring the dessert out to the boss later.”
“Huh?” Jiang Ning opened her watery eyes wide, looking at Gu Chi in utter disbelief. “What did you say?”
Gu Chi pursed his lips. “Is it too tiring? If so, you can just call the boss in to taste it.”
Ah… this…
Jiang Ning knew Gu Chi liked her, but she hadn’t realized he would go to such lengths without any bottom line.
Was she some kind of fairy? It wasn’t as if she was so delicate that she couldn’t even lift a finger. Carrying something out wasn’t that tiring.
Jiang Ning didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, especially since he wore such a serious expression.
“It’s fine, I can do it. Is there anything else I need to do?”
Gu Chi shook his head. “No.”
Everything else might dirty her hands.
The barrage of comments was already going wild with laughter.
Everyone was laughing at how Gu Chi could say “Is it too tiring?” with such a straight face.”No one else thinks the scene is inexplicably doting? Aww, this damn man.”
“Hahaha, Ningning truly has boundless charm, no one can escape her grasp.”
“Laughing to tears, what the hell does ‘too tired’ even mean? In Little Junior Brother’s eyes, the goddess must be made of noodles, right?”
“Betting that Xiao Chi is also a fan of the goddess—isn’t this exactly what a fan would say?”
Jiang Ning carried a very pleasant fragrance, light and refreshing.
Breathing in that faint, lingering scent, Gu Chi’s thin lips curved into a small smile, his eyes bright and sparkling as he lowered his head.
By Jiang Ning’s side, all of Gu Chi’s violent emotions could be soothed.
Since childhood, he had suffered from a condition—an inability to control his emotions, simply put, poor emotional management skills.
Strangely, no psychologist could solve his problem. Even Gu Chi himself didn’t understand. He came from a privileged family, his parents were loving and treated him exceptionally well, so why did he have this inexplicable condition?
And no matter what, it couldn’t be cured.
He wallowed in self-pity for a long time. It wasn’t until he met Jiang Ning at the age of 15 that he began to strive to control his emotions.
Yet, even with effort, his inner turmoil and irritability remained, his thoughts constantly teetering on the edge of danger.
Only by her side did his emotions stabilize, both inside and out.
Worried that some fans might criticize Gu Chi’s earlier behavior as impolite, Jiang Ning deliberately asked him, “Was the owner’s pastry really that bad?”
In a good mood, Gu Chi’s voice carried a hint of cheerfulness, his tone lifting. “Not bad at all, it was quite good.”
Just as Jiang Ning had guessed, she smiled and asked, “Then why did you deliberately say the owner’s pastries were bad?”
With Jiang Ning, Gu Chi possessed immense patience.
His voice was deep, soothing, and gentle as he explained word by word, “When we first entered the shop, the owner didn’t look too pleased to see us. He probably wasn’t just an ordinary passerby—maybe he really dislikes celebrities. Using other methods might not have convinced him to let us stay. No pastry chef can stand someone deliberately calling their creations bad.”
“So you said that to go against expectations, deliberately provoke him, and make him agree to let you stay?”
“Mhm.” Gu Chi pressed his lips into a faint smile, his gaze toward Jiang Ning tender to the extreme, even hiding an obsession others couldn’t decipher.
As he made pastries, he chatted with Jiang Ning. When his deep voice softened, it could melt straight into one’s heart.
Most of the fans watching the split-screen livestream were Jiang Ning’s followers.
Hearing Gu Chi’s voice and seeing his excessively cool, handsome face, they nearly swooned.
“Help, Gu Chi is so gentle and captivating, what do I do?”
“Sis, I feel the same way. The goddess and Gu Chi really are a perfect match.”
Jiang Ning sighed helplessly, “But you said you’d let the owner be the judge. Are you sure he won’t favor himself or deliberately make things difficult for you?”
Gu Chi shook his head. “Pastry chefs have their own pride.”
There was another thought he didn’t voice, afraid Jiang Ning might find him arrogant.
If the skill gap was small, perhaps the owner could still lie and claim his own pastries were better.
But what if the difference was like heaven and earth?
Besides, with others present, the owner probably wouldn’t be that shameless.
This conversation successfully shifted most fans’ opinions of Gu Chi.
Those who had called him impolite quickly apologized in the comments.
“Sorry, we were being shallow… Little bro actually had this in mind all along.”In fact, most fans had already understood why Gu Chi said what he did when he made the bet with the boss.
However, a small portion of fans only saw things on the surface and would stubbornly stick to their misunderstanding without a clear explanation.
Both Gu Chi and Jiang Ning possessed stunning looks, and seeing the heartwarming scenes of them getting along, fans inexplicably felt a sense of affection and compatibility between the two.
In the barrage, one person commented, “Sorry, Ye Chen, I’m going to lose my mind for a while.” Within seconds, this phrase instantly flooded the screen—everywhere you looked, people were declaring they were about to lose their minds.