CSGM - Chapter 36
Chapter 36: I'll Go Debunk the Rumor
Feeling Chu Xi's rejection, Zhao Shiqing's expression soured, and she walked away, pretending not to have seen anything.
Chu Xi didn't like her, and she didn't like Chu Xi. Since Chu Xi was being so blunt about it, she decided to drop the act as well. There was no need for her to suck up and put on a friendly face for Chu Xi.
To be blunt, who did Chu Xi think she was? An irrelevant nobody with no resources and no fame. If they were to become friends, Zhao Shiqing would look down on her for having no exploitable value!
Ren Zhi took off her gloves, washed her hands, and came over.
She looked down at the small, square tomato jellies on the white porcelain plate. They were a dark red, crystal clear, and jiggled elastically when she tapped one with a fork, looking as if the fresh fruit fragrance inside was about to spill out.
She was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Did you come up with a new dish?"
Seeing her hesitate, Chu Xi speared a piece of the tomato jelly with a small disposable fork, fed it to her, and said:
"No, I made it just for you. You ate very little for lunch, so you need to replenish your energy this afternoon to avoid low blood sugar."
Ren Zhi let out a muffled "Mmm," her pupils dilating. "A dessert?!"
She didn't eat sugar!
After this show, she had to join a new film crew immediately. She needed to strictly control her food intake at every meal!
Chu Xi laughed. "You look like a panicked hamster."
What a great comparison!
Ren Zhi shot her a glare and was about to spit out the dessert, but Chu Xi's reflexes were faster. She reached out and covered Ren Zhi's mouth.
"Don't waste food. I didn't put any sugar in it; I made it especially for you with only tomatoes and sugar-free milk. These are local black tomatoes, which are more nutritious than regular ones."
Only then did Ren Zhi chew and slowly swallow the tomato jelly.
Chu Xi said, "Don't worry, I used all low-fat ingredients."
Leaving the fork and plate behind, Chu Xi returned to the kitchen to continue prepping ingredients.
The Director watched them, thoughtfully rubbing the web of his thumb...
Good heavens, he thought. Could it be that... Chu Xi has a one-sided crush?
He was the director, the head of the entire show, yet Chu Xi had never been this gentle with him. On the contrary, she was always doing things that made his blood run cold!
So why was she suddenly so considerate when it came to Ren Zhi?
The Director let out a sneaky "hehe," feeling as if he had discovered something.
In the afternoon, the six cast members sat down for a meeting to do something important: go over the books. They needed to calculate how far they were from the Director's target and assess their progress.
Xiao Han was the first to speak. "Our revenue from lunch today was 3,219 yuan. This morning, we spent a total of 1,767 yuan on groceries and breakfast, so our net income for the day so far is 1,454 yuan. But since we don't need to buy any more ingredients this afternoon, the evening's revenue can basically be counted as net income..."
Xiao Han silently estimated, "We should have no problem reaching today's goal."
Luo Yangtian asked, "Brother Han, how much money does the restaurant have right now?"
Xiao Han glanced at his notebook and answered, "36,296 yuan."
Luo Yangtian's eyes darted. As Chu Xi's first student, his mental arithmetic skills had improved significantly in recent days.
He quickly mumbled his calculations, "Eighty thousand minus thirty-six thousand... we're still short forty-four thousand. With five and a half days left, that's eleven meals... which means our average net income for every meal from now on has to be over four thousand yuan!"
A net income of four thousand. Luo Yangtian's math was correct, but the figure put pressure on everyone present.
Li Xiling frowned. "But our total revenue for lunch wasn't even four thousand."
Needing that much in pure profit seemed like an impossible fantasy.
Ren Zhi pointed out the key issue. "Fewer customers drink alcohol at lunch. Last night, for example, we sold two bottles of red wine, which brought in three thousand yuan by themselves."
"We still need to do what Sister Xi said and recommend good red wine to our customers!" Luo Yangtian said.
"Right, right," Li Xiling added with a nod.
Zhao Shiqing didn't like these people. Why was every single one of them praising an irrelevant nobody like Chu Xi to the heavens? Why was everything Chu Xi said automatically correct? Especially Luo Yangtian—he was so young, yet he seemed to praise Chu Xi at every opportunity, like he'd become her follower.
Honestly, can't he think for himself?
She decided to try and win Luo Yangtian over. They were close in age, and perhaps they'd have a chance to work together in the future.
After the meeting ended.
Zhao Shiqing found Luo Yangtian in private. Putting on a modest act, she asked with starry eyes, "Hey, Xiao Tian, you're still in university, right?"
"Yeah, Sister Shiqing. What's up?" Luo Yangtian replied, turning to face her.
"I just realized your math skills are amazing! You're so smart!" Zhao Shiqing praised.
"Ah, that... not really... It's just average." Luo Yangtian was baffled by her praise. What was she talking about? Compared to Sister Xi, his skills were nothing.
"Really? But I think you're incredible. You calculated those numbers in the thousands and tens of thousands in an instant."
Luo Yangtian grew even more embarrassed.
There's really no need to praise me like that, is there? This feels a little fake.
He could only offer an awkward but polite smile and say:
"Sister Shiqing, I was just estimating. For something like three thousand-something minus one thousand-something, I just rounded it to three thousand minus one thousand, which is easy to figure out."
Isn't that elementary school level?
But Zhao Shiqing paused, blinking her eyes in a ditzy, cute way. She looked at him and said, "Huh? I can't even do addition and subtraction for numbers under ten!"
Luo Yangtian stared, his expression frozen for three seconds. "...Huh? You can't?"
Zhao Shiqing shook her head with a vacant, cute expression, her eyes wide and round. She pouted. "Nope, I've been bad at it since I was a kid... If you ask me to calculate 8 minus 3... oh, that's so hard!"
She started counting on her fingers, suddenly acting coquettishly.
She was confident that no man could resist this kind of behavior.
But then, Chu Xi's voice drifted over from out of nowhere, sharp as an invisible knife.
"Useless."
The word was ice-cold, part mockery, part insult.
But she wasn't speaking to Zhao Shiqing.
Zhao Shiqing's expression changed, and she whipped her head around. Chu Xi held up a calculator and waved it, giving her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Oh, I was talking about this calculator. It's completely useless. It can't even calculate the fourteenth root of a sixteen-digit number. Truly useless."
Zhao Shiqing licked her lips and turned her head back, her face pale with anger.
What was all that about roots and digits? Chu Xi was clearly making an indirect jab at her, being passive-aggressive!
Chu Xi had insulted her and then made it impossible for her to take it personally. She had suffered a silent blow, unable to vent her anger even after being cursed out!
"It's okay, Sister Shiqing. Brother Han is handling the finances, so you can just focus on what you're good at," Luo Yangtian said with an awkward smile before quickly making his escape.
There was clearly a conflict between the two female cast members, and he didn't dare get caught in the crossfire!
Besides, it looked like Sister Xi was perfectly capable of handling herself; she didn't need him to step in and play mediator.
Anyone in the live stream chat who wasn't blind could see that Chu Xi and Zhao Shiqing couldn't stand the sight of each other.
【I love realistic variety shows like this. It's so satisfying!】
【Chu Xi really knows how to be passive-aggressive.】
【You can't blame her. Didn't Zhao Shiqing backstab her first? If I were a normal person with any sort of temper, I wouldn't be able to feel good about Zhao either. All you can say is that Chu Xi is being authentic.】
【Uhh, she can't do addition and subtraction for numbers under ten... Is she serious...?】
【This contrast really shows how much Chu Xi likes Ren Zhi...】
【Seriously, her double standards are hilarious, hahahahahahahaha!】
【So Chu Xi is the type to wear her feelings on her sleeve? Someone hurry up and investigate whether she and Ren Zhi are actually dating!】
【Director, are you watching? Say something! Are those two using your show to have a publicly funded romance??】
The Director was watching.
And the Director wanted to say something.
But what he wanted to say was that he didn't know either! Just like this crowd of gossiping netizens, he wanted to know the truth!
What was the deal with these two? Were they really dating? That couldn't be possible, could it? It was so confusing!
The hours of service that evening seemed to drag on longer than usual.
After an agonizingly long day of work, the moment it was over, the Director couldn't wait to shut down the live stream.
"Alright! That's a wrap for today! Work is over!"
He beckoned to Ren Zhi, then to Chu Xi. Ren Zhi went over, and Chu Xi slowly followed her.
He whispered to them, "You two! Go sort your business out, quickly!"
After being hounded by questions in the live chat all day, the Director had grown anxious. If this wasn't resolved, he'd be left in the dark, his mind racing with possibilities.
So, were the two celebrities on his show dating or not!?
Ren Zhi and Chu Xi looked at each other, their expressions equally confused.
Neither of them knew what the Director was talking about.
After a full day of filming, what trouble had they caused now?
This time, even Chu Xi was clueless.
The two returned to their rooms, completely baffled. Only after going online did they figure out what was happening.
Chu Xi laughed after reading about it. The media these days were getting better and better at making things up.
One picture to start, and the rest of the story is pure fabrication.
Ren Zhi felt helpless and exasperated. Are the paparazzi insane?
She had to clarify things in the group chat with her manager and assistants: 【It's not true. It's impossible. Don't you all worry.】
Her assistants were so overjoyed they could have cried. They celebrated wildly, flooding the screen with "excited.jpg" sticker packs.
【Sob, sob, sob, Sister Zhi only cares about her career! We knew it was fake!!!!】
【We're contacting the PR team now to come up with a solution for you!!】
Their artist wasn't in a relationship, and her career wasn't collapsing. This was a huge relief for the entire team.
As a manager, Yu Yixue's reaction was much calmer. She only sent Chu Xi a single message:
【It's fake, right?】
She was almost certain of the answer. She simply didn't believe Chu Xi could end up with Ren Zhi.
The artist she had just signed turning out to be the girlfriend of a top-tier celebrity? If she had that kind of luck, she would have been destined for greatness long ago.
The odds of that were lower than smoke rising from her ancestral graves.
That evening, Chu Xi sent back an unsurprising reply:
【It's fake. I'll go debunk the rumor.】
Even though it was fake.
Chu Xi was in a surprisingly good mood. She was amused that such wild paparazzi gossip was flying around and that people actually believed it.
Does the internet radiate the brain and affect its development?
She opened the photo the paparazzi had posted and admired it. The previous night had been hazy. Ren Zhi's silhouette at the window was exquisite, her waistline like a quiet, elegant river. The outline of her shadow, illuminated by the moonlight, was soft and beautiful.
And there she was in front of her, sitting as meekly as could be.
In the dark room, the corners of Chu Xi's mouth lifted into a playful smile.
Ren Zhi must be furious with the paparazzi right now. She should go see her.
Intent on resolving the matter, Chu Xi left her room, walked next door, and knocked on Ren Zhi's door.
The moment the door opened, she looked at the beauty standing under the room's bright lights.
Chu Xi smiled. "Hi, girlfriend."
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