CSGM - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Behind-the-Scenes Interview

On the second day of the live broadcast of Our Restaurant, the members officially had their procurement day.

Today's tasks were to finish decorating the restaurant, create a menu, purchase ingredients, test the dishes, and prep the food, making ample preparations for the official opening.

Thanks to Ren Zhi's advance preparations the night before, the members' work efficiency was exceptionally high today.

Ren Zhi had prepared a rough plan for almost every step, letting everyone vote on their choices before refining the details for their chosen target.

This saved everyone an unknown amount of time and effort.

By noon, the Our Restaurant members had bought enough ingredients, as well as some kitchen supplies, tableware, and decorations for the RV restaurant. From the afternoon into the evening, they smoothly completed their food prep.

After the five of them took turns showing off their skills in the kitchen, they finally decided that Chu Xi, Li Xiling, and Luo Yangtian would be in charge of the back kitchen, while Ren Zhi and Xiao Han would handle greeting customers at the front.

The day passed almost completely without a hitch.

The biggest highlight of today's program was the fact that "Ren Zhi had done her homework in advance for everyone's food prep."

The production team seized on this and conducted a behind-the-scenes interview with the other four members.

In the interview room was a large white backdrop and a small stool. The artists were invited in to sit and listen to the production team's questions.

Question: "Were you surprised that Ren Zhi prepared so many plans for everyone in advance? What are your thoughts on this?"

Luo Yangtian's expression was very honest, his eyes widening. "Surprised, I was so surprised! Wow..."

"Actually, I've heard many of my fellow actors say that Sister Zhi is very serious about her work, but I never expected her to be so dedicated. Our live broadcast ended at nine last night, but the next day I saw she had written a whole notebook full of notes... Wow, you know? At that moment, I was just stunned!"

"But later, thinking about it, I felt a little guilty. After all, in this restaurant, everyone else is an older brother or sister, and I'm the youngest, so I should be the one doing more work... But last night, we let Sister Zhi work all by herself. It was truly my dereliction of duty. I still hope that if there's anything in the future, Sister Zhi can tell us and let us help share the burden. I'm actually very good at working overtime!"

Finally, Luo Yangtian flashed a smile showing eight teeth, ending his interview with a vibrant grin.

He went out, and Xiao Han came in.

After hearing the question, Xiao Han maintained his unsmiling, icy CEO face. He knew his fans ate this up, and he often looked in the mirror and thought he looked very handsome this way.

Xiao Han nodded lightly, his voice deep. "I was very surprised today. I just felt that even though we were all doing the same thing, Zhizhi would consider much more than us... But because I'm a relatively chill person myself and don't like to do things deliberately or steal the spotlight, I might seem more 'negligent' in some aspects. Hmm... but people are creatures of difference. I think I'll continue to maintain my own pace, not competing or grabbing, just finishing the work at hand."

After straightening his tie, Xiao Han walked out with a swagger. The recording assistant looked at the director.

She was a fan of Ren Zhi and originally had a decent impression of Xiao Han, but after this interview, it was completely gone.

Xiao Han in person was exactly as his anti-fans described: too arrogant, putting on airs with everything he did, and possessing a strange sort of self-confidence! He was practically oozing oil!

The key point was that his interview today was clearly a passive-aggressive jab at Ren Zhi!

What did Zhizhi do? Zhizhi worked hard to prepare today's plan in advance for everyone, which was the only reason the restaurant's work went so smoothly. But coming from Xiao Han's mouth, it became "deliberate" and "stealing the spotlight"!

Seriously, how could this man be so clueless?

Ren Zhi brought in half of this show's viewership. Even if she did nothing, she would still be the most dazzling star in the crowd!

Compete? Grab? Does Zhizhi need to?!

He's mediocre himself but blames others for being too outstanding. What a narrow-minded way of thinking!

The recording assistant, who favored Ren Zhi, silently denounced Xiao Han in her heart, then asked the director if this segment would be broadcast.

"Broadcast it. Broadcast it as normal, why not? We'll put it in the extended bonus content later," the director replied without a hint of hesitation, and even smiled.

If there wasn't a bit of conflict between the artists, a reality show wouldn't be interesting.

Next up for the behind-the-scenes interview was Li Xiling.

Li Xiling's frankness revealed her admiration for Ren Zhi.

"I didn't expect that little lady to be so dedicated. I was surprised, really surprised! I think with her here, our restaurant will definitely get better and better. She's highly capable and has her own opinions. I was even thinking of appointing her 'Restaurant Manager,' hahahahahaha..."

The production team laughed too. A staff member asked, "Sister Ling, what are you holding in your hand?"

Ever since Li Xiling came in for the interview, her right hand had been clenched, hiding something inside. Her hand looked like a round little bun.

She smiled and opened her fingers, laughing. "Chu Xi got these for me. Walnuts. She said eating some would help me remember lyrics. I hadn't finished them when you guys called me in for the interview."

The director nodded in satisfaction, pleased that some of the Our Restaurant members were already getting along so harmoniously and lovingly.

It seemed Chu Xi was not only smart but also warm-hearted and polite.

However, three minutes later, Chu Xi came in and shattered the director's superfluous and mistaken assumptions.

When asked if she was surprised by Ren Zhi's actions, she smiled nonchalantly.

"Not surprised. I slept with her last night, so I already knew."

A staff member quickly followed up, "So did you contribute to those plans last night?"

Chu Xi: "No."

The staff members were all stunned. "..."

So blunt? Doesn't she even know how to take credit?

They then asked Chu Xi for her thoughts on the matter.

Chu Xi: "No thoughts."

Staff member: "You were with Ren Zhi. Weren't you moved by her hard work?"

Chu Xi smiled, and an inexplicable premonition that "a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory" rose in the director's heart.

As expected-

"Hard work is for idiots."

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Chu Xi was mocking Ren Zhi.

But Chu Xi really wasn't.

Her expression didn't even change much. Her gaze was like a wisp of faint, untethered smoke at the tail of a cloud. She was simply stating an ironclad fact with great calm.

After Chu Xi left, the director instructed the rest of the production team, "Don't air this segment. Cut it."

---

On the third day of the Our Restaurant live broadcast, the RV restaurant, jointly run by the five resident members, officially opened for business!

Today's restaurant theme was-"Classmates' After-School Gathering."

This meant they would only accept class gatherings with three or more people per table. Customers also had to be currently enrolled students and provide a student ID to dine in the RV restaurant.

This wasn't the production team being arrogant. It was just that by changing the theme daily, narrowing the scope, and screening customers, they could adjust and control the flow of traffic to the RV restaurant.

Otherwise, the fans of the several celebrities here would hear the news, swarm over, and pack the restaurant in an instant.

Ren Zhi was in charge of taking orders from the arriving customers, and the gazes of several tables were fixed on her.

"Hello, this is our menu. Please take a look at what you'd like to eat."

Ren Zhi wasn't dressed formally today, just wearing a yellow plaid T-shirt and casual pants. Her thick, soft hair was tied in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck, and her every move exuded the kindness of a girl next door.

But her eyes were glistening and moist, the corners alluring, and her lips were full and sensual. When she spoke, they parted and closed, the corners of her mouth turned up in a slight smile.

The order-taker's smile was both sweet and charming. Who could withstand that!!!

A table of female university students was completely stunned, even stammering nervously as they spoke. "You... you order for us... whatever you order... we'll eat..."

Ren Zhi was amused by them. "You're the customers, of course you should order what you want to eat."

Although the menu was in their hands, they barely glanced at it. Their eyes, however, remained fixed on Ren Zhi, unable to look away.

"Then... then could you give us some recommendations... which dishes are better?"

For some fans, this was their first time getting so close to their idol, and their attention wasn't on the food at all.

Of course, Ren Zhi's gentleness and politeness had their limits.

Some clueless male fan from who-knows-where said something that made her cringe hard.

"Sister, I don't want to order. I'm full just looking at you. Do you know why? Because you're a feast for the eyes."

Ren Zhi's expression changed instantly. The corners of her lips pressed down, and she transformed into a bottle of emotionless dish soap.

"Alright, shut up. If you don't order, I'm moving to the next table."

That table of fans quickly called Ren Zhi back, corrected their attitude, and ordered properly.

A bunch of people on the bullet comments were enjoying the show.

【Hahahaha, well done, Zhizhi!】

【Help, how are people still using cheesy pickup lines from the last century? So oily!】

【Ren Zhi: You just can't spoil some of you fans.】

【Has anyone noticed that Zhizhi has a serious double standard for her female and male fans, hahahahahaha.】

【I think they were being obnoxious. They brought it on themselves, lmao.】

Ren Zhi had a gentle and kind appearance, but her fans all knew about the strength that lay within.

But believe it or not, many fans loved her assertive side even more. There were even some who pathologically wanted to be scolded by her...

The back kitchen also had a live camera. Ren Zhi jogged from the front to the kitchen, handed over the order slip, and called out the dishes.

"Table 3, one Braised Yellow River Carp, one Spicy Diced Chicken, one Stir-fried Water Spinach, and one Three Delicacies Soup..."

"Got it!" Li Xiling's flustered voice replied.

Chu Xi stood by the wok, waiting for the sauce in it to boil. She casually picked up a can of beer, bit the pull tab with her canine tooth, and tilted her head back, popping it open with a clang. Strands of hair flew up across her forehead.

She poured the beer and added the carp. Her cooking speed was not slow, flowing like clouds and water.

It was just that her actions were utterly startling.

The audience, too, was dazed for a few seconds by the camera shot before coming back to their senses.

Seriously, this-this-this-this-this, how was it that Chu Xi actually looked kind of cool?

On the restaurant's opening day, the members were clearly not yet familiar with their respective duties. Coupled with the large number of customers, they couldn't escape the fate of being frantically busy during lunch and dinner. Xiao Han, as the cashier, even nearly miscalculated a customer's bill.

But fortunately, despite the close calls, they still managed to complete the day's business smoothly. Every table of customers arrived with excitement and left with satisfaction, sent off happily by the crew.

At 8:30 PM, the restaurant closed.

After all the customers had left and the place was cleared, all that remained were countless tables of dirty dishes and the five members.

Luo Yangtian let out a long sigh of relief, turned the electronic review board showing all five-star ratings towards the camera, and smiled. "Yay! One hundred percent positive reviews!"

Li Xiling sat on a chair, holding her lower back and frowning. "Oh my god, I'm dead tired. I've never done this much work at home!"

Chu Xi nonchalantly sprayed alcohol on her hand, applied a bandage, and treated a cut she had accidentally gotten in the kitchen.

The director asked his routine question: "Finance, please report today's income."

At that moment, Ren Zhi and Xiao Han were at the cashier's counter, shuffling through a pile of papers. Xiao Han held a stack of receipts, staring blankly at Ren Zhi.

Ren Zhi was also stunned, and the two of them stared at each other across the counter.

No one answered the director's question.

The others looked over, not understanding what was happening. The air in the restaurant suddenly fell silent. Li Xiling broke the quiet, asking, "What's wrong?"

Could it be that after a full day of work, this group of novices had really overlooked something?

Chu Xi looked at their dazed expressions and calmly delivered the final blow: "If nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected must have happened."

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