The show began recording, and the guests exchanged greetings. Despite Nuofeng’s deep-seated animosity toward Shen Que, he joined the other regulars in welcoming the guest stars in front of the cameras.
The three guest stars introduced themselves one by one. Shen Que was the second to speak, visibly nervous. However, Wen Rou naturally placed a hand on his shoulder and, after he finished, warmly remarked, “Such an adorable omega—my heart is melting just looking at you~”
Shen Que smiled. “Thank you, Sister Wen Rou~”
“And so sweet-tongued too!” Wen Rou playfully poked his cheek, making sure to give him as much screen time as possible. “Stick with me later, okay? Such a sweet omega must make desserts that are just as delicious!”
Although it was Nuofeng’s first day as a regular, he had never seen Wen Rou praise any omega so highly at other events. Gradually, hostility crept into his eyes.
“Sister Wen Rou, you can’t play favorites~” Nuofeng teased.
Wen Rou replied with a forced smile. “Nuofeng is so capable—you don’t need my help to win.”
Nuofeng let out a faint, dismissive snort and didn’t press the issue further.
After this brief interlude, the camera finally shifted to Chen Dan, who had been rather inconspicuous. True to his name, Chen Dan gave a plain and unremarkable self-introduction, showing no concern for whether the other guests liked him or for his own image.
The guests resumed their casual chatter. To ride the wave of popularity, Nuofeng kept bringing up the pairing of Duan Ruirui and Yang Xuan.
Wen Rou responded intermittently, but her attention was clearly fixed on Shen Que.
Guest stars on this variety show either had massive popularity or powerful financial backing. Duan Ruirui fell into the former category, while Chen Dan belonged to the latter. As for this young star personally brought in by Dong Xiangyu—who exactly was backing him?
The director announced, “Due to a change in one of the regular cast members of Beautiful Life and in response to numerous fan requests, this episode will be recorded entirely without a script. This means the winner is completely unpredictable—you’ll be facing an unprecedented challenge.”
Everyone was already aware of this.
The director’s explanation was meant for the audience.
“We’ll randomly divide into groups of three for the pastry shop challenge. Each team will start with 1,000 yuan as initial capital for ingredients. The production phase will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., during which you can promote your shop in the surrounding area. Sales will take place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The winning team will be determined based on total revenue and evaluations from professional pastry chefs. The victorious team will also earn the right to serve as the main culinary team for the next Beautiful Life celebration banquet, with menu decision-making authority~”
Random grouping was done via a lottery on the big screen. However, Yang Xuan raised his hand and insisted on being in the same group as Duan Ruirui, so only one more guest needed to be selected to join them.
When the name on the screen settled on Chen Dan, Shen Que finally realized—he would be teaming up with Nuofeng?
A sense of foreboding washed over him. Today’s filming was going to be anything but smooth.
“Each group, please select a shop manager.”
“Of course, it should be Sister Wen Rou~” Nuofeng fawned. “Sister Wen Rou is the most capable.”
Chen Dan’s group chose Duan Ruirui.
“And who will handle the cash register?”
Managing the cash register involved handling money and tallying revenue—a thankless and exhausting task.
None of the remaining four wanted to take it on.
Nuofeng’s eyes gleamed with a sly idea, and he smiled sweetly. “How about letting Brother Shen handle it?”
In reality, Shen Que was two years older than Nuofeng.
The timed bomb was thrown right into his lap, and Shen Que couldn’t dodge it. He curled his lips into a smile. “I really don’t have much experience. How about we do the accounting together?”
“I can’t do that,” Nuo Feng insisted on making things difficult for him.
“Counting money—can’t you even handle basic addition and subtraction?”
Wen Rou stifled a laugh, surprised that Shen Que, who seemed so gentle and delicate, could speak so sharply.
Nuo Feng didn’t dare admit he couldn’t do it—otherwise, wouldn’t he look like a fool who couldn’t even handle two-digit arithmetic?
But if he worked the cash register with Shen Que, even if he wanted to frame Shen Que by tampering with the money, he’d be implicated too.
Who would have thought Shen Que had some tricks up his sleeve?
Dong Xiangyu, who had been worried Shen Que wouldn’t be able to handle it, was now completely reassured.
Seeing that neither side was arguing anymore, the director tacitly agreed to let Nuo Feng and Shen Que manage the accounts together.
Once everything was arranged, the two groups were sent to the supermarket for supplies. With only a thousand yuan in hand, their options were limited, so they had to decide what to make.
Wen Rou first asked for Shen Que’s opinion.
Shen Que thought for a moment. “Let’s make simple fruit cupcakes. They’re colorful, easy to make, and appeal to a wide age range.”
Wen Rou thought that with two delicate omegas in the team, they’d definitely attract many young girls when it came to promotion. Shen Que’s suggestion seemed good.
“Actually, I think mousse cake might be better, don’t you think?” Nuo Feng asked softly.
“Mousse cake?” That was much more difficult to make than cupcakes. Wen Rou didn’t want to complicate things.
Nuo Feng nudged Shen Que aside and leaned closer to Wen Rou. “Sister Wen Rou, nowadays everyone likes things they can take photos of and share. Cupcakes are too ordinary. We could make heart-shaped mousse cakes…”
Nuo Feng painted such a beautiful picture for Wen Rou, his sweet talk nearly swaying her. Just as Wen Rou was about to decide on mousse, Shen Que spoke up. “Have you considered that mousse might melt?”
Wen Rou frowned and listened as he continued.
“We’ll be selling for four hours, and the weather isn’t too cold yet. Even if we keep the mousse in insulated boxes, it’ll still melt. Once it does, both the shape and texture will suffer.”
Mousse was complicated to make, and Nuo Feng’s insistence on it meant he must have come prepared. Shen Que didn’t know how to make it and didn’t want to be set up.
Wen Rou smiled faintly.
Shen Que might seem soft, but his personality was quite firm.
He knew how to protect himself.
Nuo Feng insisted on making mousse, wanting to outshine Shen Que with his skills.
Given Mr. Xuan’s influence, Wen Rou didn’t dare offend Nuo Feng too much, but Shen Que was also a mystery. She could only play peacemaker. “Each of you gets five hundred yuan. Make what you want—we’ll sell both mousse and cupcakes! It’ll be interesting to see which one customers prefer.”
Wen Rou’s ability to navigate variety shows with ease was no accident. She could reduce friction among the guests while adding fun for the sake of ratings.
After shopping and returning to the shop, Wen Rou helped them out. Shen Que followed the process he used at home, adding some new designs and colors. Two or three hours later, he had already made over a dozen cupcakes, while Nuo Feng was still figuring out the mousse recipe.
So he didn’t know how to make it after all.
“I’m back,” Wen Rou entered the shop with flyers and lunch, heading straight to Shen Que’s counter. “These are so cute, and they smell amazing—they make my mouth water!”
Shen Que handed her a strawberry-flavored one. “Try one, sis.”
Wen Rou took a bite and let out an exaggerated “Mmm!” before holding it up to the camera. “The texture is incredibly soft, and the cream isn’t too sweet but very fragrant. I never expected our little brother Shen to be so skilled! Your future alpha will be truly blessed!”
Mentioning an alpha made Shen Que blush, reminding him of the kiss from Mr. Xuan that morning.
Wen Rou caught his expression. “Could it be that little brother Shen already has an alpha?”
Shen Que was momentarily taken aback and didn’t answer directly. “Sister Wen Rou, you’re an alpha too. Teasing me like this makes me shy!”
“Hmph,” Nuo Feng gritted his teeth in frustration. “Could you stop being such a green tea?”
Shen Que frowned, not understanding what he meant.
Nuo Feng tossed aside his spoon and put his hands on his hips. “With that soft, delicate voice, who are you trying to seduce?”
Wen Rou remembered working with Nuo Feng before—the kid used to be quite polite. Why was he acting like a powder keg today?
Shen Que didn’t take the bait and turned back to continue preparing the cupcakes.
Wen Rou couldn’t figure them out and, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, quietly slipped away to eat before heading back outside to hand out flyers.
Nuo Feng had wasted most of his ingredients without managing to make a decent mousse, while Shen Que’s cupcakes were nearly finished. At this rate, he was definitely going to lose to Shen Que!
He glanced at the camera and adjusted his emotions.
“Brother Shen, I was wrong to speak like that earlier. Could you help me make the mousse together?”
Nuo Feng stood beside him with a bowl, looking dejected.
The sudden closeness startled Shen Que, and that slight flinch caused the bowl in Nuo Feng’s hands to fly out, splattering mousse sauce all over the floor.
Nuo Feng immediately looked wronged, tears welling up instantly. “Brother Shen, calling you green tea was just a joke… you… sob.”
The sudden turn of events left Shen Que stunned. He hadn’t even touched Nuo Feng—the bowl had clearly been thrown by Nuo Feng himself.
Nuo Feng cried with such genuine sorrow that if he could act this well on screen, he wouldn’t need Mr. Xuan to become a star.
Several cameras closed in, closely monitoring the situation.
“Brother Shen, I know I speak too quickly. I even criticized your cupcakes when choosing ingredients earlier. I know I was wrong. Can you forgive me?”
Just as Shen Que was about to speak, Nuo Feng continued tearfully, “I think we’re a team and should help each other. If Brother Shen doesn’t like me, I…”
“I’ll help you,” Shen Que interrupted him.
Nuo Feng’s crying stopped abruptly, clearly not expecting Shen Que to remain so calm.
Shen Que bent down to pick up the bowl, while Nuo Feng hurriedly ran to grab a mop, hovering around him eagerly.
Hmph, once the edited footage airs, the fans will tear you apart.
Shen Que wasn’t very skilled at making mousse either, but by following the tutorial, he managed to help Nuo Feng finish it within the time limit.
Though the presentation left much to be desired.
Nuo Feng inwardly sneered at the lopsided mousse but outwardly hugged Shen Que excitedly. “Brother Shen, you’re amazing!”
“Wow!” Wen Rou ran back in, panting heavily, and as soon as she entered, she saw the two omegas hugging. She couldn’t help but complain, “I’ve been running around outside, desperately avoiding Yang Xuan, and here you two are, all lovey-dovey in the shop?!”
Nuo Feng chuckled shyly and kissed Shen Que on the cheek. “Brother Shen helped me, so of course I have to repay him!”
Shen Que had no idea that Nuo Feng’s seemingly harmless actions would later cause him so much trouble.
As night fell, the three of them hurried to the night market stall with the prepared cakes.
The stall was decorated by Wen Rou in a dazzling, sparkling way, with twinkling hanging lights, a rotating cake stand, and two omegas dressed up as little cakes—it was simply too eye-catching.
Many of the passing customers recognized Nuo Feng and Wen Rou, rushing to buy, but they all unanimously chose the beautiful and delicate cupcakes.
Nuo Feng was too busy to handle it all, so he handed the payment QR code to Shen Que.
Wen Rou, not one to shy away from stirring things up, added, “Looks like the little mousse is going to fail!”
Nuo Feng tilted his head and glanced at Shen Que. “It’s fine. I’d be happy if Brother Shen wins, but if our team wins, I’d be even happier!”
After all, the next episode of Beautiful Life featured a grand banquet with an invitation to Mr. Xuan. Just thinking about making desserts for Mr. Xuan in front of the camera made Nuo Feng feel incredibly proud.