Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 10

Li Yue arrived earlier than anyone expected, meaning there was an extra person for breakfast.

Pi Dajun rubbed his hands together and asked, “So, who’s cooking today? Where are the lots we just drew?”

Wu Xuezhen and You Yang exchanged glances, then simultaneously looked toward the door at Luo Mingzi, who was busy poking at the new guest’s suitcase. All three resident guests wore expressions that clearly said, “Do I really have to eat this meal?”

You Yang whispered, “Instant noodles are actually fine. Mingzi has finally stopped adding dark soy sauce and light soy sauce after dumping in the entire seasoning packet on a whim.”

The memories were painful, the three of them looked genuinely distressed.

Among the four guests of Late Countryside, including two veteran artists who had been married for years, everyone’s cooking skills were “spectacular” in their own way. Fortunately, with the internet, they could usually follow recipes on their phones, everyone except Luo Mingzi.

It was as if she had a blood feud with pots and pans, every encounter ended in a “casualty.” Luckily, the victim was never a person. While the others didn’t want her in the kitchen, Luo Mingzi always insisted on rushing in with her sleeves rolled up, arguing that if everyone else was working, she should too.

The result was usually everyone happily eating instant noodles instead. If she tried to make plain white noodles, they were either undercooked or burnt to the bottom of the pot.

Regarding the discussion of her noodle-cooking skills, the person in question pretended not to hear. Luo Mingzi poked and prodded the suitcase until she triumphantly pulled out a bundle of green onions. “Li Yue bought so many groceries! We have real food to eat!” she cheered.

Hearing her joyful voice, Wu Xuezhen couldn’t help but laugh. “Look at you, all happy. Even with ingredients, you don’t know how to cook them.”

Luo Mingzi approached with a grin, waving the onions. She was wearing a sleeping cap, the brim drooping down to cover half her face and hiding her eyes, which were still slightly red. She poked Li Yue’s arm with the green stalks and said softly, “Li Yue knows how. Li Yue will do it.”

Li Yue, who had been standing by the door, nodded.

The other guests felt a bit awkward. They worried that ordering the new guest around as soon as she arrived was bad form, but on the other hand, they really didn’t want instant noodles today, the production crew was charging a highway-robbery price of a hundred yuan per bag.

“I’ll do it,” Li Yue said to the three guests in the living room. “Is chicken soup noodles okay?”

“I also bought some soy milk and fried dough sticks; they’re in the car. If you’re hungry, you can have those to tide you over.”

As soon as Li Yue finished speaking, the guests audibly gulped. You Yang practically jumped up. “Eat! We’re eating! They’re in the car, right? I’ll go grab them now!”

As he slipped on his shoes, he didn’t forget to shout back, “Sister, don’t touch the suitcase! Wait for me to come back and carry it up for you! Don’t move it!”

Luo Mingzi shouted indignantly at You Yang’s retreating back, “She’s not your sister! She’s the same age as me!”

You Yang just waved his hand in the air, performing a celebratory jump-shot motion as he headed out.

Pi Dajun and Wu Xuezhen were also excited, bustling about to set the table in the courtyard while incessantly thanking Li Yue. They were so warm they looked ready to adopt her as their own daughter.

The entire courtyard suddenly felt alive.

Li Yue smiled, pulling her suitcase full of groceries toward the kitchen adjacent to the small courtyard. Luo Mingzi followed behind her, waddling like a baby penguin.

“Since we started filming, it’s been so hard to get a decent meal, so everyone is very excited,” Luo Mingzi explained quietly to Li Yue’s back. “It’s a thirty-minute drive to the town from this courtyard. The village is closer, but it’s still a twenty-minute walk, and there are no breakfast stalls there.”

Li Yue said gently, “Mm, I know.”

Luo Mingzi leaned forward to peek at Li Yue’s face. Her black hair fell from beneath her hat, and her voice sounded inexplicably sweet and soft. “Did you watch the show?”

“Mm.”

“Is it good?”

Li Yue: “It’s good.”

Luo Mingzi immediately beamed, giggling to herself.

The cameraman lugging the equipment behind them couldn’t help but whisper, “Teacher Luo, could you let me through for a second?”

“Oh!” Luo Mingzi moved out of the shot.

Li Yue glanced back at Luo Mingzi and curled her lips into a smile. “Go wash your face.”

Reminded that she hadn’t even brushed her teeth yet, Luo Mingzi’s smile froze. She suddenly slapped both hands over her cheeks, let out a startled squeak, and turned to bolt back into the house, her footsteps pitter-pattering away.

Wu Xuezhen, who was brewing tea for Li Yue, looked toward the courtyard in surprise. “Whose tea kettle is whistling?”

The “whistling kettle” dashed inside and went thump-thump-thump up the stairs.

“That’s not a kettle, it’s a train,” Pi Dajun said with a grin. “Going choo-choo-choo.”

Wu Xuezhen rolled her eyes at him. A train that climbs stairs? Honestly.

In the Kitchen

In the kitchen, listening to the “little train” sail away, Li Yue’s smile deepened. She took a pink apron off the wall and put it on. The apron cinched her slender waist, the pink ribbons forming a pretty bow against the snowy white fabric of her shirt.

The production crew had specially renovated the courtyard for the show. The kitchen sat opposite the main house, paved with ancient-looking stone bricks. To accommodate the guests’ needs, the kitchen was quite large, featuring a long wooden table wide enough for five people to dine comfortably.

Li Yue acted as if she were in her own home. She walked to the stove, picked up the lighter, and began preparing to start a fire.

The husband and wife duo, Wu Xuezhen and Pi Dajun, peered in from the doorway. Seeing Li Yue about to start the fire, they hurried over. “Let Uncle Jun do that! He studied fire starting for a wuxia drama back in the day, he’s a pro!”

“I’ll do it!” Pi Dajun exclaimed excitedly, pulling a fire starter from the woodpile and waving it at Li Yue like a trophy. Li Yue stepped aside with a smile. “Then I’ll have to witness the power of this legendary tool firsthand.”

The two regulars could tell Li Yue had definitely watched the show, and their liking for her grew. When the fire was lit and Li Yue poured the chicken soup from a thermal container into the pot, the aroma filled the room, making their eyes go wide. To be fair, at their age and status, they had eaten all sorts of delicacies, but after a week without a good meal, they were starving.

You Yang, returning with a large bag of fried dough sticks, leaned against the doorframe, tears of joy practically in his eyes. “Can I finally stop dieting?”

Life is all about eating and drinking. Food had been a major struggle on Late Countryside. When You Yang promoted the show on social media, he joked that sometimes it felt less like Life in the Countryside and more like Life on a Diet.

His fans had comforted him, saying he was easy to feed, unlike the “hard to please” Luo Mingzi, who could barely swallow a bite and looked much thinner than when filming began.

You Yang swallowed his saliva and heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and froze.

The “hard to please” Luo Mingzi had somehow changed her clothes. She was now wearing a loose, floral print short-sleeved dress and white sneakers, skipping along. Her long black hair was braided into two messy, casual pigtails.

If she hadn’t tucked two small white daisies into the braids, You Yang might have believed it was an accident.

You’re moving into the idol lane now?! he thought.

“Mingzi, smell this! Chicken soup! It smells amazing!” You Yang pointed to the busy woman inside. “Chicken soup, your favorite, right?”

Luo Mingzi lifted her chin. “I love it!”

Paying the Fee

The “beloved” chicken soup had been simmered in a clay pot for over an hour. Once the excess oil was skimmed off, it revealed a clear, golden broth bubbling away with goji berries and red dates swirling against the dark pot walls.

It looked incredibly healthy!

Wu Xuezhen held her teacup, standing on her tiptoes to peek over Li Yue’s shoulder. “It’s stewed perfectly. It would look even better in a ceramic pot.”

They had a ceramic pot, but there were too many hungry mouths to feed, and some people were already looking on with desperate eyes. The newly dressed Luo Mingzi stood at the door with her hands behind her back, the sunlight hitting her. She looked as fresh as a college freshman, innocent and cute.

Luo Mingzi played with her shadow, occasionally glancing into the kitchen. Four out of five times, she caught the chef’s eye.

Li Yue’s lips curled up. “Next time.”

“Next time,” Wu Xuezhen echoed casually. But she knew that for a guest, “next time” could be years away or even next century, it was an indefinite future in her eyes. Guest stars had limited filming schedules. The regulars filmed two weeks a month, hosting new guests two or three times a week.

“Li Yue, how many days are you staying?” Wu Xuezhen asked. For the sake of the show’s surprises, the guests’ durations were kept secret.

Li Yue… actually wasn’t sure.

She had been in such a rush to get here that Yu Bilan hadn’t mentioned it. Li Yue looked through the window at Director Liu, who held up a hand to signal a number.

“Two days.” Li Yue looked down, placing the noodles into the boiling soup and stirring them with chopsticks. The rising steam swirled around her long, straight eyelashes, blurring her expression.

“I’m staying for two days.”

Director Liu nodded.

Given Li Yue’s status as a newcomer, two days of exposure on this show was plenty especially since she was the only guest for these two days! If they had stuck to the original contract, she wouldn’t have been alone.

Director Liu thought this was a great chance for Li Yue to show her personality. Just as she was thinking about trying to snag a bowl of noodles later, the assistant director nudged her. “Director, Teacher Luo just shot you a very fierce glare!”

What!

Director Liu was shocked and felt quite innocent. She hadn’t done anything! She was a blameless director! She immediately looked for Luo Mingzi’s manager, only to see Su Pei standing with her arms crossed, accompanied by an unfamiliar woman.

The great Manager Su was glaring at Luo Mingzi with an even fiercer look, as if she were about to “delete” someone at any moment!

In the shot, Luo Mingzi gave a small huff and kicked a pebble.

“Sister Xuezhen, aren’t we supposed to fix the road today?” she asked loudly.

Pi Dajun and You Yang, who were setting up an awning, replied, “Right. The cement we ordered is being delivered today. Fixing the road is a job for me and You Yang. After the three of you eat, go see what chores you can find nearby.”

“Pick up firewood?” You Yang looked at the pile by the wall, hesitating. “Chop wood? Forget it, I’ll do the chopping when I get back.”

Who are you looking down on!

Luo Mingzi immediately snapped, “Then we’ll pick up and chop the wood! Let me tell you, when Li Yue and I went to a farmhouse in college, we chopped all the wood ourselves. It’s super easy!”

So there was such a thing!

They had just heard Luo Mingzi say they were alumni, but hearing this, it was clear they weren’t just schoolmates, they were good friends. Wu Xuezhen walked out of the kitchen and tugged on Luo Mingzi’s sleeve, laughing. “Then why are you just standing here? Go in and help Li Yue. Better yet, try to steal a few secret techniques so we can rely on you for food from now on!”

Luo Mingzi pouted instinctively and muttered, “Even if I stand there and stare at her openly, I still won’t learn it.”

Inside the kitchen, Li Yue, who was putting groceries in the fridge, ducked her head to hide a smile. Luo Mingzi caught her. Looking a bit embarrassed and annoyed, Luo Mingzi raised her voice on purpose. “Li Yue! Teach me how to cook!”

Li Yue plucked a torn leaf off a vegetable, staring at it. Her lips quirked up as she spoke to the leaf, “Sure. But you have to pay tuition.”

Luo Mingzi paused. A memory flashed through her mind of a time when someone had smiled and said, “I don’t need you [to help].” They weren’t even halfway through the “seven year itch,” and yet she had already changed her tune!

How times have changed!

Feeling a mock sense of sorrow, Luo Mingzi plucked the little flower from her hair. She walked over and handed it across the crate to the crouching woman.

“Tuition!” Luo Mingzi said righteously.

Li Yue looked at the white flower with its tiny petals and said in surprise, “This much? I don’t have change.”

Luo Mingzi: “Hmph! I’m rich. Just take it and teach me, okay?”

“Okay.” Li Yue pinched the flower between her fingers, looking at it closely with a soft laugh. “Next time, I will definitely teach Teacher Luo how to cook noodles.”

Luo Mingzi’s lips curled up too.

There would be a next time.