Chapter 40
Chapter 40
When the guests returned to their rooms for an afternoon rest, Wei Lan asked her younger brother, “You’ve taken a fancy to that Zhu Yin?”
Wei Sheng lounged against the sofa, replying to messages, and answered lazily, “What about it? Don’t you think she’s interesting?”
Both cousins were exceptionally beautiful, but the older one’s personality seemed a little more challenging.
“She is interesting,” Wei Lan said in warning, “but she also looks like someone you don’t want to mess with. Landi Entertainment is supporting her, so restrain yourself.”
She clearly knew Wei Sheng’s habits. In her eyes, being promiscuous was no great flaw as long as he did not cause trouble.
Wei Sheng curved his lips confidently. “Don’t worry. When it comes to understanding women, if I rank second, no one dares claim first.”
That evening, the guests had to work together to prepare dinner.
“Zhu Yin, Lu Yao, which of you can cook?”
Lu Yao was about to say she could make a few simple home-style dishes when Zhu Yin enthusiastically raised her hand. “I can!”
Lu Yao looked at her in confusion. “You can cook?”
Since Zhu Yin arrived, Lu Yao had never seen her cook for herself.
Zhu Yin thought for one second, then said confidently, “It’s true that I’ve never made food for humans, but I have extensive experience. It won’t be a problem.”
A question mark slowly appeared over Lu Yao’s head. She thought Zhu Yin might have mixed up the word order and meant that she had never cooked for someone else.
Lu Yao was a little worried, but seeing Zhu Yin’s confidence and eagerness, she swallowed the words on her lips.
She silently made a decision: no matter how it tasted, she would eat plenty.
Lu Yao dutifully went to prepare ingredients, while Zhu Yin strolled into the kitchen.
Zhong Lingling smiled when she saw her. “It looks like you’re here to cook. What dishes are you good at?”
Zhu Yin thought for a moment. “Soup, perhaps.” Her potions were all brewed, after all.
Zhong Lingling looked pleasantly surprised. “Wonderful. We’ll leave tonight’s soup to you.”
“Don’t worry! No problem!” Zhu Yin said confidently.
Of the other groups, the child-star pairing naturally sent the mother. Surprisingly, Wei Sheng came to the kitchen on behalf of the sibling pair.
After all, he had previously said that he rarely entered a kitchen.
[That’s far too obvious! Is it because Zhu Yin is here?]
[Why do I kind of ship them?]
[This is a family show, not a dating show. Can people who want to ship couples go watch a dating show?]
The kitchen prepared for the guests was enormous. Zhu Yin seriously examined the available food and began selecting ingredients for her soup.
One had to admit that she was pleasing to the eye. She focused intently as she selected vegetables and washed everything with great care.
Some viewers found their attention inexplicably drawn to her.
[Of course beautiful women look good doing anything.]
[No, she’s only making soup. Why does it look like she’s conducting an experiment?]
[Zhu Yin looks very professional. I’m looking forward to the finished dish.]
[Wait… isn’t she choosing too many ingredients?]
The viewers quickly realized something was wrong and gradually fell silent.
Seafood, bones, vegetables, mushrooms–she even washed an entire plate of fruit…
A glittering subscriber comment drifted across the screen:
[Ummmm… she isn’t planning to make soup with all of that, is she?]
Zhong Lingling had clearly noticed the situation, but said nothing.
Xu Xinchen’s mother, who had joined the show with her daughter, spoke even less.
Only Wei Sheng, who was clumsily chopping vegetables, suddenly came over and looked at the ingredients with distaste. “You aren’t going to put all of that in the soup, are you?”
Zhu Yin was calculating the optimal proportions. “Mm.”
Wei Sheng stared. “…Will the result even be edible?”
Zhu Yin could not tolerate that. “You don’t have to eat it.”
[What the hell? She’s so rude.]
[Now I finally understand why her younger cousin is the celebrity and she can only be an assistant. With manners like those, she’d be torn apart if she became an artist.]
Wei Sheng had been pampered since childhood too. After such a blunt retort, his instinct was to turn and leave.
Then he remembered that they were live. He glanced at Zhu Yin, who was bending over her ingredients, and an idea occurred to him.
“Hah. If you won’t let me eat it, then I insist on eating it.”
[I told you. He’s hopelessly in love.]
[Help! Since when has Wei Sheng had such a good temper? If this isn’t lovesickness, what is? I’m really going to start shipping them.]
[Son, I’m speechless. Even if you must fall in love at first sight, choose the younger cousin. At least she has manners.]
Zhu Yin looked at him impatiently. “I’m only responsible for making it. Eat it or don’t. Now please move away from me and stop interrupting me while I brew my po–make my soup.”
On camera, Wei Sheng did not argue. He obediently moved away.
The incident inexplicably attracted a wave of shippers, and the screen filled with comments mourning Wei Sheng’s unrequited sincerity and feeling sorry for him.
Zhu Yin could see them, but did not care.
She had never intended to let him off.
Pot on. Water in. Bring it to a boil.
Zhu Yin placed more than twenty cleaned ingredients into the pot in sequence.
[…I can’t believe I actually expected something from her.]
[Isn’t the most outrageous part her confident expression?]
Zhong Lingling had resolved not to intervene, but she watched Zhu Yin pour dozens of ingredients into the pot in one sweep and then begin sprinkling in seasonings.
Zhu Yin added so many things that Zhong Lingling did not even notice whether the seasonings had originally been in the kitchen.
She walked closer. Dark-red bubbles burbled in the large pot crammed with ingredients, presenting a somewhat frightening sight.
The veteran actress, ordinarily unshakable, looked impressed. “Zhu Yin, what kind of soup is this?”
[I’m dying at Ms. Zhong Lingling’s stunned expression.]
[She looks like she’s staring at a pot of arsenic.]
“This is my first time making it, so I haven’t named it yet,” Zhu Yin said.
After a moment’s thought, she said, “Mm, I used twenty-nine ingredients, so let’s call it No. 29.”
Zhong Lingling was silent for a moment. “Very distinctive.”
She departed with a grave expression.
[How did she keep herself from laughing?]
[Isn’t Zhu Yin’s expression the most outrageous part? She looks so serious, as if she truly believes she’s preparing a proper dish.]
Barbara was stunned too. It might have been a new system, but basic knowledge had been implanted into it.
This method of making soup was utterly unheard of.
It asked carefully, “Host, what does this pot of soup do?”
“It’s nourishing,” Zhu Yin said. “I observed the guests, and apart from Yao, every one of them is frail. I’ll perform one good deed today.”
In truth, Lu Yao was frail too. But after drinking Zhu Yin’s potions for so many days, she was already much stronger than the others.
Zhu Yin continued brewing her potion. Song Shu entered the kitchen once and left with a stunned expression.
Over the next hour, every guest found an excuse to come and observe it once.
Xie Taotao and Xu Xinchen came too.
Unlike the adults, the two children were fascinated by the bubbling red liquid in the pot.
“Zhu Yin, this soup looks a little like the potion a witch makes for a princess in a fairy tale,” Xie Taotao assessed seriously.
She had no idea how close she had come to the truth.
“You have a good eye, child.” Zhu Yin smiled happily. “Perhaps this really is a pot of potion.”