WS - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
The entertainment circle is neither small nor that big.
Anyway, all these years, Zhuang Jiachuan hadn't had any collaboration with Yu Nianbing. Most of what he knew about her came from entertainment news, and of course, what that person told him.
However, after spending this day together, Zhuang Jiachuan faintly felt that Yu Nianbing didn't seem as cold and hard to approach as the rumors said. Apart from being a bit quiet, she was still someone you could communicate and get along with, even showing some subtle consideration.
But now, he was starting to feel the truth of the rumors.
"Who told you?"
When Yu Nianbing asked this, her eyes didn't hold much questioning; rather, an indescribable chill, through those cool, clear eyes, persistently seeped into Zhuang Jiachuan's heart.
Who?
Not where did you see it, but who told you?
For a moment, Zhuang Jiachuan almost felt that Yu Nianbing had seen right through him to that person. He couldn't even manage a casual laugh or change the subject.
Yu Nianbing's gaze was so earnest, from the moment she asked, she never looked away from Zhuang Jiachuan. She didn't seem to care about his hesitation, his unease, nor that they were livestreaming, being watched by countless viewers.
Zhuang Jiachuan deeply felt it: this person... was truly as cold and unsympathetic as the rumors said.
"The... the crew, someone mentioned it, haha." Zhuang Jiachuan forced himself to speak, then deeply regretted the inexplicable stutter at the start.
He wasn't acting, nor was he in a superior-subordinate relationship, so why was he so thoroughly suppressed...
Fortunately, what was clearly an excuse to anyone was apparently accepted by Yu Nianbing; she shifted her gaze away.
Zhuang Jiachuan let out a breath of relief, and striving to maintain his composure, slowly exhaled.
"The crew doesn't know about this." Yu Nianbing spoke lightly, then stood up and began clearing the plates.
Zhuang Jiachuan choked on the half-exhaled breath and coughed half to death.
Truly, a world with people is very complicated.
Song Shiyue pretended not to understand the hidden meaning in their words and started helping to clear up.
Tonight's dinner was truly delicious, ranking alongside the chicken soup feast from a while back as the most beautiful in the new world.
Actually, Song Shiyue had felt earlier that both the barbecue and the chicken soup methods were very similar to those in Yu Nianbing's movie, and this time the big-plate chicken was also a dish the protagonist had made in another of Yu Nianbing's films. When Yu Nianbing first mentioned "big-plate chicken" at noon, Song Shiyue began to suspect: could it be that Yu Nianbing only knows how to make the dishes her movie characters cooked?
Tonight, after drinking the mixed vegetable and mushroom soup that hadn't appeared in any movie and tasted rather ordinary, and now hearing Zhuang Jiachuan's implications, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Ah, that's such a pity.
Recently, Song Shiyue had been confined at home by Wang Mancang, doing nothing but ordering takeout and watching movies. Because of her next-door neighbor, naturally she watched Yu Nianbing's films first.
The dishes Yu Nianbing personally cooked on screen could be counted on two hands.
That makes one, two, three... she had tasted three already, each one top-notch compared to the two worlds Song Shiyue had experienced.
What a pity. She's a legendary chef held back by acting...
While clearing the dishes, Song Shiyue couldn't help but start praying: after Yu Nianbing's contract with Senxin Entertainment ends, Wang Mancang must do his best to sign her. If only she could film a food drama, preferably a daily one, over 800 episodes.
"What are you smiling about?" Yu Nianbing put two basins in the sink, turned around, and saw Song Shiyue standing half-way holding some dishes, smiling foolishly at some thought, clearly having forgotten they were still on livestream.
Song Shiyue had already started gleefully naming each episode in her mind, thinking using dish names would be wonderful. Called out by Yu Nianbing, she didn't immediately collect herself and said with a beaming smile, "I was thinking, you—cough—Teacher Yu, it's really great that you learn the knowledge from the scripts in advance. In the future, if Teacher Yu takes on more food dramas, we'll have even more treats." Song Shiyue still wasn't used to these people calling each other "teacher," but she was trying.
As soon as she said that, before Yu Nianbing could respond, Zhuang Jiachuan laughed first. He let out a laugh, then halfway realized it was inappropriate and stifled it.
But the half-stifled laughter only made it seem funnier.
To Zhuang Jiachuan's surprise, even though it was teasing the same point, Yu Nianbing didn't turn on her cooling mode at all. She just helplessly shook her head and took the things from Song Shiyue's hands, her eyes even seeming to carry a hint of a smile.
"Whether we get that treat or not..." Yu Nianbing put the items in the sink again, pointed at the refrigerator, then looked at Song Shiyue, "depends on you tomorrow morning."
That was her way of telling Song Shiyue to make breakfast.
Someone who didn't know better might think Yu Nianbing was a bit bossy.
But someone like Zhuang Jiachuan understood at once: this was giving Song Shiyue a chance to shine on camera.
In a variety show with a larger cast, what do artists fear most? They fear not knowing what to do, fear becoming someone else's backdrop, the kind that's dispensable set decoration.
They're not afraid of working; they're afraid of having nothing to do.
Huh?
Zhuang Jiachuan was momentarily stunned; this situation seemed a bit...
Ah...
Zhuang Jiachuan then realized: after being intimidated by Yu Nianbing's glare earlier, he had just sat there at the table listening to the commotion, while the two girls had already made two trips to carry plates.
Though this dazed moment was brief, only a minute or two, to the livestream viewers, it clearly appeared that Zhuang Jiachuan was being inconsiderate.
The considerate gentleman image he had painstakingly built was crumbling... Zhuang Jiachuan inwardly cursed his bad luck, but at this point, there was nothing to say; he could only quickly stand up and help, trying to salvage the situation.
But thanks to Song Shiyue's interruption, the atmosphere in the kitchen lightened considerably.
On StarNet, many people were discussing the exchange between Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan; they felt the two were speaking in riddles, but unfortunately, there was too little data to analyze it.
However, many fans of both paid extra attention, making a mental note of the matter.
Compared to that exchange, which was loaded with implications but too profound to decipher, it was obvious that tonight, Song Shiyue, who had focused earnestly on eating, was the brightest star at the dinner table.
As Yu Nianbing had thought, some things could be concealed, but they couldn't be completely hidden.
The livestream viewers, under the influence of the delicious food, had discovered Song Shiyue's radiance much earlier than the momentarily bewitched Zhuang Jiachuan. Many viewers were even sending danmaku tallying how many pieces of chicken, how many pieces of potato, how many strips of belt noodle, and how many sips of soup Song Shiyue had consumed.
As the food in the basin dwindled, more and more viewers joined the tallying. If the livestream page for The Wilderness Journey hadn't disabled betting, they probably would have placed bets on how much Song Shiyue could ultimately eat.
In the StarNet era, competitive eaters still existed. But due to the intelligent nature of StarNet livestreaming, they had to be much more genuine.
Song Shiyue's appetite could be considered that of a competitive eater, and the type who finished eating and immediately got up to do chores, genuinely not throwing up. It truly came as a delightful surprise to the viewers.
As they might say in Song Shiyue's original Earth terms, "Huh, you thought she was just bronze, but turns out she's a king."
After dinner ended, a rough calculation showed Song Shiyue alone had polished off at least a whole chicken and a half, plus at least fifteen potatoes... Of course, for an accurate count, they'd have to go back and check the video archives.
But Song Shiyue's reputation as the big eater of the entertainment industry was firmly established.
This brought up another matter: since Song Shiyue could eat so much, why did she eat so little at noon? Was Zhuang Jiachuan's cooking really as good as he had shown on other variety shows?
Of course, this was yet another battle on StarNet that the artists were unaware of.
Since the end of dinner hadn't been terribly cheerful, Zhuang Jiachuan gave up on his earlier plan to invite the two to play cards that evening.
To be precise, after a whole day, Zhuang Jiachuan had more or less figured out that neither of them cared much about the livestream effect. One still cared a bit about food, while the other probably didn't care about anything. Even if the atmosphere was good and he extended an invitation, they'd likely refuse.
After cleaning up the kitchen, the three agreed on a breakfast time for the next day, exchanged polite farewells, and returned to their respective rooms.
The room on the spaceship was like an ordinary bedroom, completely different from the sci-fi films Song Shiyue had watched back on Earth. Hmm... and utterly different from Earth-tech space capsules.
This was a new and fascinating world.
Whether it was the technologically advanced main planet with its towering steel structures, the subsidiary planets supporting various facilities, or newly developed planets like Amusement Planet and Wilderness Planet, for Song Shiyue, it was all incredibly appealing.
Now, what she needed to do was pay off her debts properly, then properly see and eat her way through this world.
The beds in the ship's cabins were very soft.
Perhaps it was to let them enjoy one last bit of comfort.
Wilderness survival was never easy.
Such a good living environment would no longer exist in the next ten-plus days, she thought.
Song Shiyue let herself sink into the warm, soft bed and drifted into a fragrant dream.
What fragrance?
The fragrance of eggs, bread, bacon, cheese, milk...
Song Shiyue thought she could get a good night's sleep before the suffering began again. Yet in her dream, she was constantly cooking, specifically... making breakfast. It was like being trapped in an endless mode of a cooking mini-game, until she was woken by her alarm in the early morning.
Although she was a little tired, it was obvious that the dozen-plus days of eating normal meals in the new world had a huge positive effect on her mental state.
If she were still in the Apocalypse, she would never dream of cooking these normal foods properly. More likely, she'd be fighting mutated beasts for most of the night, and then in the early morning before being woken up, desperately eating a piece of possibly undercooked, gamey mutated beast meat in her dream.
Hah, why not eat it cooked?
If she waited for it to cook, she'd be woken up and wouldn't get a single bite.
Ah, it's good to be in a normal world.
Song Shiyue got up, freshened up, changed into another set of clothes, and tied her belt.
If the schedule went smoothly, tonight they would enter Wilderness Planet and begin their true wilderness journey.
Song Shiyue adjusted her cuffs, felt her belt again, steadied her mind, and then went out to prepare breakfast.
But she didn't make the things she had dreamed about all night.
Before the Apocalypse, Song Shiyue was a programmer, the 996 kind... her cooking skills were never developed and had already atrophied. During the Apocalypse, even less so; being able to eat a mouthful of non-poisonous cooked food was a stroke of luck, and all aspirations remained mere fantasies.
The crispy, golden-brown bread and the beautiful sunny-side-up eggs with runny yolks from her dream... Song Shiyue could already imagine what they'd look like if she tried to make them. Anyway, she had to consider that she still needed to take on acting roles to repay her debts, so her image couldn't hit rock bottom.
At this moment, she could only bring out the secret weapon from her programmer days.
Yu Nianbing had specifically set an alarm the night before, and she arrived at the kitchen in the morning a bit earlier than their agreed breakfast time.
As she approached the kitchen, even before entering, Yu Nianbing caught a rich, strong aroma.
One whiff told her it was definitely not simple congee or light dishes; it had to be a substantial meat dish.
Yu Nianbing felt a bit helpless, yet also vaguely unsurprised. If Song Shiyue had only made a light and simple breakfast, that would have seemed stranger to Yu Nianbing.
So, what kind of meat had been stewed?
Yu Nianbing's steps unconsciously quickened.
Different perspectives, different worlds.
On StarNet, the viewers in Yu Nianbing's livestream window crowded together; they couldn't smell the meat, but as Yu Nianbing neared the kitchen, the faint smile that slowly rose to her brows after a moment of distraction captivated their hearts.
Was Yu Nianbing beautiful? As a film queen with hundreds of millions of fans who had won two Golden Planet Awards at a young age, Yu Nianbing was undoubtedly beautiful.
But this beauty, for a long time, belonged to those ethereal, fairy-like roles in movies that seemed to subsist on dew and wind. Even as the plot developed and the ice melted, the chilliness molded into the character still permeated the entire film, making viewers cherish her like a fragile treasure in their hearts.
But now, outside the kitchen, this light, unidentifiable gladness, gently moistening her eyes, needed careful watching to be appreciated; it was even more captivating than those scripted smiles.
It felt as if the tip of the heart was gently tethered by a thread thinner than spider silk, then softly, tugged.
Those fans who, seven days ago, had stormed StarNet like stampeding alpacas, determined to trample The Wilderness Journey production team and Senxin Entertainment's website to prevent Yu Nianbing from participating in this boring and arduous variety show...
At this moment, they all fell silent.
Reality shows, so delicious.
Speaking of which, whether reality shows were delicious or not, Yu Nianbing didn't know.
But inside this kitchen, it really was delicious-smelling.
The rich meat aroma mingled with the vegetable scents, very homey, yet unexpectedly arousing one's appetite.
"You're up?" Song Shiyue heard Yu Nianbing's footsteps behind her, stirred the pot with the ladle, scooped a spoonful of soup into a small bowl, and smiled, "Perfect, come help me taste this?"
Yu Nianbing, who had stepped in with deliberately soft footsteps, saw the large pot still bubbling away beside Song Shiyue.
Hmm... the same large pot she had specially asked the production team for last night to make the big-plate chicken.
But luckily, it looked like it was only about half full by now.
Eating too much for breakfast would make you sleepy.
Yu Nianbing picked up the small bowl and saw in the amber soup broth some braised-to-softness cabbage, already tender bean vermicelli, torn-up oil tofu puffs, some soybean sprouts, and oh, this. Yu Nianbing took the small spoon Song Shiyue handed over, gently stirred the bowl twice, and a piece of pre-fried pork belly hidden under the vegetables was revealed.
"I was afraid you'd find it too greasy, so I seared it first," Song Shiyue said with a smile.
No wonder the kitchen smelled so fragrant.
Yu Nianbing looked up and saw the girl's two bright, sparkling eyes fixed on her, full of anticipation. She was slightly taken aback for a moment before taking a spoonful of soup to taste.
Just like the aroma she had smelled before, this bowl of soup hadn't been complicatedly seasoned; it was simply stewed with some soy sauce, and the taste was quite homey.
The cabbage and bean vermicelli had been cooked until very soft; if not melt-in-your-mouth, they were extremely tender. The torn oil tofu puffs had soaked up the broth fully and, chewed together with the still-crunchy soybean sprouts, offered a unique flavor. And of course, that specially seared meat was much more fragrant than directly using fresh pork belly slices, and not nearly as greasy. Mixed in with all the vegetables, it gave an even greater sense of satisfaction. Naturally, the soup that had simmered with so many ingredients was, while not a stock, still rich and flavorful; two mouthfuls warmed the stomach nicely.
It wasn't an extraordinary skill or anything particularly special, but... it was really quite tasty.
"Very delicious." Yu Nianbing earnestly tasted the broth and every ingredient in it before looking up, then glanced at the iron pot and couldn't help adding, "Very good."
Both Song Shiyue and the viewers thought Yu Nianbing's two "very goods" were both praising the delicious soup.
Only Yu Nianbing herself knew that the latter was for Song Shiyue: this time when she cooked, although the pot still looked full, it was much less than she had imagined. Although she had already glimpsed Song Shiyue's strange traits of eating a lot and being strong, Yu Nianbing still hoped that while on camera, she could manage to stay within the... normal human range. As for whether there were other secrets, Yu Nianbing had no intention of digging deeper for now.
Receiving a compliment from Yu Nianbing, Song Shiyue finally felt relieved.
People's tastes always differ somewhat. She wasn't a great cook, and what she made wasn't anything impressive; it was a relief that Yu Nianbing found it acceptable, or she would have felt a bit embarrassed. After all, she had eaten many meals made by Yu Nianbing before...
"Hey? I haven't added the garlic greens yet..." Relaxed, Song Shiyue suddenly realized something was off; the seasoning garlic greens hadn't been put in, and she had rushed Yu Nianbing to taste the soup.
"It's fine, adding them now is still fine." Yu Nianbing walked over to look.
"Right, put them in now, and when Teacher Zhuang arrives, I'll stir-fry the bread, and we'll eat." Song Shiyue tossed the chopped garlic greens into the pot, perking up again.
"Bread?" Yu Nianbing caught the sensitive word.
"That's right, bread has to be stir-fried fresh, eaten hot." Song Shiyue raised her hand and pointed to a nearby counter.
Yu Nianbing took a couple of steps toward the counter.
Hmm... the same basin she had borrowed last night for the big-plate chicken.
It was piled high with chopped-up mantou pieces...
And by the looks of it, they'd all been coated in egg mixture and seasoned, looking golden-yellow.
"Oh, you..." Yu Nianbing turned her head to meet Song Shiyue's innocent face and immediately found herself at a loss for words.
As expected.
How could there only be half a pot of soup?
I'm still too young.
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