CSGM - Chapter 156
Chapter 156: Extra - Love Reality Show
Today's lunch menu was:
Braised pork belly.
Green bean fried rice.
Pan-fried chicken wing tips.
A platter of boiled vegetables.
And a tofu and fish soup.
The head chef was Chu Xi.
She walked to the stove, tied on an apron, and muttered to herself.
"Welcome to the private kitchen edition of Our Restaurant, Season Four."
Ren Zhi followed her out.
Hearing her muttering, she smiled and chimed in:
"Wow, the master chef is online. I'll be your assistant."
But she had only taken a few steps toward the kitchen area before Chu Xi pushed her out, politely refusing.
"No, no. Baby, you go play. I'll do it."
"Can you handle it all?" Ren Zhi asked.
"Absolutely no problem. I just need your moral support," Chu Xi said confidently.
Ren Zhi gently kissed her from the tip of her nose to the corner of her mouth. She didn't insist further and went outside as she said she would.
"Then I'll go sunbathe outside."
Chu Xi: "Okay, go ahead. I'll call you when it's ready."
In reality, Ren Zhi didn't go outside to sunbathe.
She had previously learned how to sand bamboo for handicrafts from a teacher on a film set.
She first went up the mountain and picked up a piece of bamboo with a local bamboo shoot digger, borrowed their tools to chop it into several sections, then returned to use her own craft kit to carve and sand it.
She couldn't make anything too exquisite, but following the original shape of the bamboo, she could still make a decent bamboo cup.
While Chu Xi cooked inside, she sanded a simple cup by the doorway.
Ren Zhi often paused to hold the rustic "water cup" in her hand, turning it a few times and observing it carefully to prevent its shape from going askew as she worked.
The bamboo shavings from the sandpaper accumulated on the ground, layer by layer.
The air was filled with a rustling sound.
Sniffing the outer shell of the bamboo, one could still smell its original fresh fragrance.
Time passed pleasantly, and soon the aroma of braised pork belly wafted from the house.
It was like the alleys on the way home from school as a child, where you could smell the cooking from every household, the exhaust fans betraying each family's menu for the night.
These aromas, accompanied by the deep yellow afterglow of the distant sunset, were a reminder that it was time for those busy outside to come home for dinner.
"Baby-"
Chu Xi's voice carried out. Ren Zhi blew the bamboo shavings off the cup, patting it with her hand as she stood up and hurried back.
"I'm back. It smells so good! Honey, are you done already?"
The apartment was designed with the kitchen and living room connected on the first floor. The house was filled with the fragrant aroma of food, which assailed the senses.
It was the middle of summer, and after standing in front of the stove for so long, Chu Xi's face had become shiny and covered in a layer of hot steam.
"It's ready, Baby. Come and see, I made a huge pot of meat."
Chu Xi stood behind the kitchen counter, her eyes fixed on the new object in Ren Zhi's hand.
Ren Zhi held it up and gave it a little shake.
"I made a cup myself. It still has the fresh scent of bamboo. We can use it as a pen holder or to grow a flower."
She looked at it again and realized that its shape was probably not practical for drinking water. The rim was too thick and felt awkward.
Her craftsmanship wasn't that skilled, after all, but settling for using it for something else wasn't a bad idea.
Chu Xi's eyes were sparkling, completely unaffected by the steam rising from the stove. She looked at her brightly and praised:
"Baby, you're amazing. What a novel cup."
"It's because no one else would be shameless enough to sell one made like this, so you've never seen one before."
"Hehe..."
Ren Zhi walked over, wanting to wipe the sweat from her face, but when she raised her hand, she saw it was covered in fine, dense fuzz from sanding the bamboo.
Her palm looked like it had just patted a pile of pencil shavings and couldn't stand up to close inspection.
Chu Xi glanced down. "You got your hands so dirty."
She immediately grabbed both of Ren Zhi's hands, wiped them on her own apron to brush off the fuzz, and then led her to the sink to wash them.
As she let Chu Xi scrub her hands, Ren Zhi looked at her. "Your face is also covered in sweat."
Chu Xi explained, "It's not sweat, it's steam."
Ren Zhi chuckled, dried her own hands, and then took a tissue to wipe Chu Xi's face clean.
Chu Xi let out a breath, feeling her whole face become clear and refreshed.
She said, "It feels like I just came out of a sauna."
Her face was indeed very fair and delicate, in such good condition that it was comparable to a baby's skin. After the steam was wiped away, the revealed skin was as smooth as a freshly peeled egg.
Ren Zhi couldn't resist pressing her lips against it. The touch was soft and warm.
It felt as if Chu Xi's face was giving her own lips a hot compress massage.
Chu Xi instinctively wrapped her arms around her waist. Just as her heart fluttered and she was about to lean in for a kiss, Ren Zhi suddenly pulled back.
"Alright, no more kissing."
Chu Xi: "???"
How come it ended when it was her turn?
She looked questioning and shocked, as if she'd been tricked. Ren Zhi burst out laughing.
"The braised pork will get cold. We should hurry and take it to everyone."
Chu Xi had made a large pot precisely because Ren Zhi had said they should share it with the other three couples today.
As Ren Zhi spoke, she lifted the pot lid to look at the braised pork simmering inside. The moment the lid came off, a rich aroma instantly billowed out.
"It smells amazing." She quickly pressed the lid back on. "Let's just take this pot, and grab a ladle..."
Her words paused as Chu Xi pulled her over for a fierce kiss.
"Okay, let's go," Chu Xi finally said.
Chu Xi carried the large stainless steel pot with both hands, while Ren Zhi held a matching large ladle. They started visiting the others.
When they arrived, Ren Zhi would say with a warm smile, "Come on, come on, get a bowl out, and I'll serve you some."
She wasn't happy with bowls that were too small and would ask them to get a bigger one.
"Such a small bowl can't hold much. Chenchen, go get a bigger one... Aiya, don't be so polite with us. Look how much Xiao Xi made. You have to eat a lot to finish it."
Yu Shen and Bai Mengyun were also cooking. Bai Mengyun had made braised meat and said she wanted to share some with them.
It wasn't that Ren Zhi was too embarrassed to take it, but she glanced at Chu Xi's occupied hands and the ladle in her own, and regretfully declined:
"Not this time, Sister Yun. It's not convenient to carry. We'll come mooch a meal off you next time, don't worry, we'll definitely come."
She interacted with the other families with ease, while Chu Xi watched her the entire time with a doting expression, her eyes almost never leaving her, the corners of her mouth never turning down.
Bai Mengyun sat back down at her dining table and mused to Yu Shen, "It's so nice. Young people just don't find being clingy annoying at all. Xiao Chu's mind is completely filled with Xiao Zhi. You know that term people use online now, what is it... love-struck brain? There's really some truth to it..."
Chu Xi and Ren Zhi finally arrived at Song Xu and Tang Rang's door. It was Tang Rang who opened it. Her expression wasn't very good, and she showed a hint of surprise and awkwardness at their arrival.
-It seemed they had come at a bad time.
Chu Xi noticed the corners of her eyes were moister than usual.
Although it was a subtle change, she could still tell that Tang Rang had likely been crying.
Ren Zhi, on the other hand, intuitively sensed that Tang Rang was forcing a smile and was actually in low spirits.
Song Xu never showed his face from beginning to end.
Ren Zhi asked casually, thinking it might be a domestic issue. If Tang Rang wanted to talk, she would; if not, that was fine too.
Tang Rang gave a bitter smile. "He's upstairs, angry with me."
Others might not have heard it, but Chu Xi heard several "thumps" as Song Xu forcefully kicked some solid object, perhaps a cabinet.
-Violent maniac.
she thought.
"Xiao Xi's braised pork today is exceptionally good. Have a good taste, and let us know if you want more later." Ren Zhi smiled and patted Tang Rang's shoulder, then left with Chu Xi.
It wasn't their place to meddle in other people's family affairs.
But not long after leaving Song Xu and Tang Rang's house, on the way back, Chu Xi frowned and said:
"Baby, why are they like that?"
Ren Zhi pressed her index finger to her lips, another gesture reminding her to watch her words.
"Let's not get involved in their business."
Chu Xi dropped the subject. "Oh..."
She just wanted to say that those two were too strange.
One was downstairs shedding tears, while the other was upstairs raging and throwing a tantrum. Was this a married couple?
How could a married couple be like that?
This completely deviated from Chu Xi's idea of what married life should be like.
This kind of situation would be impossible for her and Ren Zhi.
Halfway back, Chu Xi, still finding what she had just witnessed unbelievable, suddenly spoke again.
"Baby, I will never make you cry."
She couldn't bear to see Ren Zhi cry. It felt like just the thought of it made her heart clench.
Yet Song Xu could actually ignore Tang Rang. Seriously, your wife is downstairs crying, how can you have no reaction at all?
Ever since learning about this, Chu Xi felt that Song Xu and Tang Rang's relationship was abnormal.
Literally abnormal. An abnormal marital relationship.
"I don't cry that easily," Ren Zhi said, amused by her.
The two only started serving their own lunch after they got home.
While eating, Chu Xi remembered the morning's events and suddenly became very curious about the identity of the N-list, no-name singer who had "annoyed" Ren Zhi.
Frustratingly, there wasn't even an introductory sign at the supermarket entrance. Chu Xi had only heard the three characters of her name announced by a supermarket employee.
The surname was Li, nothing much to say about that; that character was most likely fixed.
For the last two characters, Chu Xi tried searching for several homophones online. After more than ten tries, she finally got lucky and found the person.
She didn't even have a proper Baidu Baike entry. The only thing was a small news report about this Li Hanlin participating in the XXXX Singer Competition and achieving a certain rank in the regional contest, which was her historical achievement.
Other information consisted of videos of her singing at various venues. It seemed she was using that achievement to get commercial gigs.
After scrolling halfway down the page, the browser recommended some related search tags for the name.
The first one was "Li Hanlin Ren Zhi classmate."
Chu Xi's eyebrows raised slightly, and she clicked on it.
The new page was interesting. The news reports under this tag were far more numerous than the reports about Li Hanlin herself.
Ren Zhi's name was plastered all over the headlines, while Li Hanlin's only appeared in the body of the text.
Anyone in the news media knew whose name would generate clicks.
Chu Xi clicked on a few reports and learned that this person often went around claiming to be Ren Zhi's middle school classmate, seemingly to gain fame.
Sometimes her phrasing was shameless, like, "I also know some classmates in the entertainment industry, like Ren Zhi. Actually, we were middle school classmates."
Chu Xi silently played one of her interviews. It had subtitles, and with every sentence, she was trying to build herself up, as if having been Ren Zhi's classmate was something she could show off.
The last question asked was, does Ren Zhi still attend class reunions?
Chu Xi glanced at her phone, stunned. Only then did it occur to her: Ren Zhi seemed to have never attended any class reunions.
She had never even heard Baby mention her school days.
Sure enough, the self-promoter's answer was that Ren Zhi was quite busy and didn't really come to reunions.
Chu Xi looked at Ren Zhi, who was sitting opposite her, eating quietly and earnestly.
Did she "not really attend," or did she "never attend"? A sudden curiosity arose in her.
"Baby." Chu Xi hadn't eaten much while looking at her phone, so her mouth was empty. She suddenly called out.
Ren Zhi lifted her eyelids, a slight smile on her face.
"What is it?"
"I have a question for you."
"Go ahead."
Chu Xi asked, "Have you attended any of your old class reunions since you entered the entertainment industry?"
Ren Zhi suddenly paused, the speed of her chewing slowly decreasing.
"No. Why do you ask?"
Not just since entering the entertainment industry, but ever since graduation.
"Oh, just curious. Now that your classmates know you're a big star, they'd probably feel very proud if they could meet up with you," Chu Xi said with amusement.
Isn't there an idiom? When one person achieves enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
Ren Zhi let out a laugh with an unreadable meaning.
Chu Xi was a bit dense and didn't notice the slight change in her expression. She was still thinking:
Those classmates hadn't even seen Ren Zhi again, yet they had the nerve to brag about knowing her. If they met again, who knows how long they'd brag with a photo.
So vain.
And that Li Hanlin. Baby is annoyed with her, doesn't she know that herself?
She still has the gall to mention Ren Zhi, as if they were so close. It's hilarious.
As Chu Xi mentally disdained the person, her body swayed gently in her seat.
After enjoying a few more bites of the hot meal she had cooked, she asked with concern:
"Baby, were you on bad terms with that person today? Were you close?"
Chu Xi tilted her head and continued asking questions one after another:
"I don't think I've ever heard you talk about your school days. I don't know anything about it."
"Can you tell me about it?"
"Baby, you must have been a top student back then," Chu Xi said with a grin.
Ren Zhi kept her head down, eating, and didn't even look up at her.
"You're overthinking it. My grades were just average back then." She merely maintained a deliberately casual tone.
"No way. You're such a try-hard... and your IQ is so high, Baby. If you were average, your school probably didn't have any good students, ehehe." Chu Xi chuckled, thinking Ren Zhi was just being modest.
"They were just average. Eat your food and talk less."
Chu Xi scratched her head. Alright, talk less it is.
It wasn't the first or second time Ren Zhi had ordered her to talk less, anyway.
Chu Xi didn't understand if she had said something wrong again, but she obediently listened and buried her head in her food, focusing completely on eating.
A leisurely day at the seaside resort passed, and night fell.
Chu Xi pestered Ren Zhi into the shower, and the two took a "mandarin duck bath" together. She pressed Ren Zhi against the wall, leaning on her shoulder.
"Baby, I fell by accident."
Chu Xi had a mischievous smile on her face.
Her hand moved below, and amidst the splashing water, an unguarded, soft moan escaped.
"Baby, your body is too slippery. I slipped in by accident."
Ren Zhi leaned against the cool ceramic tiles, which were covered in warm, dense steam: "..."
Hazy steam filled the space between their kisses, and the soft moans drifted up like the steam before disappearing.
After an hour of entanglement, a satisfied Chu Xi carried Ren Zhi out of the shower.
Chu Xi had already cut the power to the cameras in the bedroom. It would be too much if the production team tried to peep into their private world late at night.
She carried Ren Zhi to the bed. Ren Zhi called out, "My clothes."
"Don't wear any, Baby."
Chu Xi pulled up the covers, jumped in, and wrapped them both up.
Their scorching skin pressed together. Chu Xi's hands were clasped around Ren Zhi's waist, like a piece of sticky toffee.
Ren Zhi was helpless against her. "You should at least bring the clothes over for tomorrow morning."
Chu Xi, completely unwilling to let go, said, "I'll get them tomorrow morning, I'll get them tomorrow morning."
"You..."
Chu Xi kissed her, shutting her up.
Ren Zhi: "..." Hooligan!
After the deep kiss ended, Chu Xi straightened her messy hair and sighed from the bottom of her heart:
"Baby, life here is so peaceful."
No seas of people, no countless machines surrounding them, no frantic staff, no day-and-night reversal from a rushed film schedule.
Chu Xi felt as if she were living a life of seclusion.
Except for the two cameramen who still followed them around during the day.
But this was already very good. With just two cameras, Chu Xi could manage to ignore them.
Ren Zhi said, "No wonder you insisted on pestering me to come. Don't be like this next time."
Chu Xi frowned, looking disappointed and hurt. "Ah..."
Ren Zhi suddenly smiled. "Next time, just tell me directly, and I'll willingly come with you."
Chu Xi's eyes lit up. "Aww, Baby, you're the best!"
She muttered, "If only we could vacation like this 360 days a year..."
Ren Zhi immediately corrected her, "That's not possible. We still have to work."
Chu Xi pouted. "Career-minded."
Ren Zhi lay on the pillow, looking at her and rubbing her head.
"Have you forgotten what I told you?"
"I know."
"Then say it."
"¥#%... is a duty."
"What?"
"##¥@%... is a citizen's duty."
Ren Zhi narrowed her eyes. "Say it clearly."
Chu Xi was forced to recite with great ideological awareness, "Labor is a citizen's duty."
Ren Zhi pressed her head down against herself and patted it gently. "That's right."
Chu Xi sighed softly. "Baby, it's a shame you're not a capitalist. You're too conscientious as a boss now."
To be honest, although Ren Zhi now had her own capital foothold in the entertainment industry, she was genuinely good to her company's artists and employees and never exploited their labor.
Ren Zhi let out a soft laugh.
"I like working."
Chu Xi said, full of resentment, "I know."
Ren Zhi smiled. "But I like Xiao Xi more. Be good and go to sleep."
"I like you the most too, Baby."
The two chatted idly like this for a while. Words like "I like you" and "I love you" were things Chu Xi said almost every day.
Oh, it wasn't just saying them, but rather that she couldn't help but voice the most ardent feelings in her heart.
The night was quiet and peaceful. The chirping of cicadas and the rustling of trees were the night's solo performance.
Before falling asleep, Ren Zhi was still thinking that just one peaceful and ordinary day like this was already a gift from heaven.
She drifted off to sleep with a heart as still as water.
Ren Zhi believed in a certain saying-
People always resent past hurts because they are currently at a low point, trapped in a mire, and their subconscious inevitably believes that their current failures are caused by their unbearable past.
Only after reaching a certain status can one attain the state of mind where "a light boat has passed through ten thousand mountains."
The past had long been severed from her. The her of today had already said goodbye to the her of yesterday. The people and things of the past were not worth mentioning, let alone capable of affecting her current happy life.
When she was awake, she always thought this way, taking past hurts lightly.
But only in her dreams would Ren Zhi discover that those hateful emotions had long since disappeared from the surface of her body, only to seep into every inch of her blood vessels, her very bones.
Whenever she returned to the dreamscapes of the past, she would always feel the indignant rage burning in her chest.
The exclusion and bullying in middle school, the isolation and ridicule in high school.
She didn't have a single school graduation photo in her home.
Perhaps that group photo, with her figure in it, had become a source of pride for those classmates to talk about. But who knew that it was a past she detested and hated.
In the yellowed lens of her memory, she saw the dirty, broken blue door of the middle school girls' restroom. The smell of evaporated sewage in summer and the ammonia scent of the toilet seemed to flood her nostrils.
The door that wouldn't open and the dripping mop on top of it made her think of her own pathetic face, like a stray dog.
Compared to the laughter outside the door, it was as if they were people from different worlds.
When she escaped, she was filthy and smelly. She saw the disgusted gazes and furrowed brows of others, and the footsteps that hurried past to avoid her.
Everyone's indifference and avoidance were just as unforgettable as the active harm.
She couldn't imagine what she looked like in the eyes of the other students at school back then.
Was it a source of pride for them to talk about, or was their now-famous classmate a past that added to their own prestige?
Ren Zhi suddenly cried out, breaking through the dream into reality. The yellowed, dim lens shattered.
Chu Xi was startled awake. Her mind hadn't caught up yet, but her arms subconsciously wrapped around her.
"Baby, Baby, did you have a nightmare? Don't be scared, don't be scared, I'm here, it's all fake..."
Chu Xi muttered as she slowly woke up.
Ren Zhi buried her face by Chu Xi's collarbone, hugging herself tightly. She suddenly cried out twice more, grinding her teeth abnormally, her voice filled with an emotion that could have been vexation, regret, or hatred.
It felt like desperately wanting to grab something, or do something, but failing, which brought about a chest-pounding, foot-stomping rage.
Chu Xi kept patting her back gently. "Baby, I'm here, don't be scared. Dreams are the opposite of reality, be good..."
Ren Zhi trembled in her arms. The hotter her eyes felt, the clearer her mood became.
It turned out she hated every face she saw in her dream, and even more, she hated her own youthful ignorance and powerlessness.
Hearing the sound of her sobbing, Chu Xi was frightened and sat up to turn on the warm-toned bedside lamp.
She wanted to cup Ren Zhi's face, but Ren Zhi covered it with her hands, hot, crystalline liquid seeping through her fingers.
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Ren Zhi murmured.
"Baby..." Chu Xi was almost stupefied. She was terrified, hugging her tightly, not knowing what to do.
After a long time, Ren Zhi finally spoke slowly.
"I was just thinking, if I could go back to the past, I would never be as weak as I once was..."
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