Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 11

Noodles plus fried dough sticks carb on carb.

Li Yue also boiled a pot of eggs, reuniting the “entire chicken family.”

Even the actors and celebrities, who usually had to maintain their physiques, stopped controlling themselves. They sat on small stools, each with a small bowl of noodles, a fried dough stick in hand, and a cup of soy milk, eating with their heads down.

The chicken in the pot was almost stewed to the point of dissolving. Li Yue had specifically cooked extra noodles to distribute to the staff. The camera captured a shot of Li Yue handing a bowl of noodles to Luo Mingzi’s manager.

“Li Yue, stop working and eat!” Luo Mingzi shouted, holding her bowl.

Li Yue nodded to Su Pei and turned to leave. Yu Bilan quickly leaned in and said to Su Pei, “Sister Su, our Da Li is very socially savvy. If there are good job opportunities in the future, please help recommend her. Love you.”

Su Pei’s mouth twitched. She thought to herself that Li Yue definitely didn’t send the noodles for job opportunities, she purely wanted to shut her mouth! Heh!

“You don’t know?” She looked at Yu Bilan. “Li Yue didn’t tell you?”

Yu Bilan was startled, her gaze toward Su Pei instantly becoming wary. She wondered if Su Pei was planning to “kill one of her own” and snatch Li Yue away from her. The hypocritical affection vanished instantly as Yu Bilan probed, “Why don’t you tell me?”

“Forget it, let her tell you herself.” Su Pei retracted her gaze and walked away with her bowl to eat, leaving Yu Bilan alone in suspense, mournfully wiping away imaginary tears.

Luo Mingzi moved her small stool to sit next to Li Yue, arm to arm, and whispered, “Chicken legs!”

A hen has two legs, and both were in her bowl. The top chicken leg spelled out “partiality,” and the bottom one spelled out “heart” (meaning favoritism/devotion).

You Yang took a huge slurp of noodles, his eyes widening. He stared at Li Yue with noodles hanging from his mouth, this image was likely to become a meme on social media the day the episode aired. He looked so moved he might cry, saying, “Delicious!”

Pi Dajun also remarked, “This really works. Li Yue, with these skills, you could earn just as much as a chef as you do as a singer!”

“Thank you,” Li Yue said, placing a peeled egg into Luo Mingzi’s bowl. The three guests paused simultaneously. Wu Xuezhen asked, “Did you two always play together when you were in school?”

Luo Mingzi nodded, saying proudly, “I was always clinging to her! Going to her house for free meals!”

You Yang said, “If I had a friend with such great cooking skills, I’d go for free meals every day too!”

Hearing You Yang say this, Luo Mingzi suddenly started laughing. She nudged Li Yue with her elbow, staring at Li Yue’s profile and saying, “Quick, tell everyone, what was your cooking level back then?”

Li Yue said modestly, “About the same as Teacher Luo.”

Luo Mingzi laughed. Sitting in the shade, the sunlight seemed to pass through the parasol and land in her eyes, casting a bright radiance. Looking even more proud and happy, the girl said, “The fact that Li Yue has such superb cooking skills now, I take 99% of the credit!”

She laughed and leaned against Li Yue, her head resting on Li Yue’s shoulder, instinctively rubbing her cheek against it.

Wu Xuezhen, sitting nearby, paused while drinking water and exchanged a look with Pi Dajun. Both of them saw the realization in each other’s eyes. As veteran actors who had played many roles and understood characters to their core, the subtle, indescribable atmosphere between these two was too obvious. It reminded Wu Xuezhen of when she was young and dating Pi Dajun.

“Ahem.” Pi Dajun cleared his throat and said, “Not bad. Meeting a good friend in school and still being together after entering society is a special kind of fate. For this fate, come, let’s have a toast!”

He raised his soy milk.

The five people under the parasol laughed and clinked glasses.

After breakfast, the couple Pi Dajun and Wu Xuezhen washed the dishes, You Yang went to the road to wait for the cement, and Luo Mingzi took Li Yue to tour the house. Li Yue’s luggage had been carried to the second floor by You Yang and left in the hallway.

Luo Mingzi spread her arms and did a beautiful spin. When she turned toward Li Yue, her gaze always landed on the wall nearby, unable to find a focus.

“Sister Xuezhen, Uncle Dajun, and You Yang all live downstairs. I live in the room furthest to the east on the second floor. If guests come, male guests stay on the west side, and female guests stay on the east side.” Luo Mingzi looked at the paintings on the wall and touched the wooden railing, her eyes glancing at Li Yue’s body bit by bit, reaching as high as her shoulder.

“For these two days, it’s just you. You can stay anywhere.” The audio director heard Teacher Luo’s voice getting lighter and softer, wondering in his heart if the microphone had a voice changing function.

In a voice that sounded soaked in honey water, she asked, “Where do you want to stay?”

Li Yue looked at Luo Mingzi’s shifting eyes and suddenly lowered her head, unable to stop herself from laughing out loud. Hearing Li Yue’s laughter, Luo Mingzi couldn’t hold it together either. She curled her lips, stomped her foot in feigned annoyance, and raised her voice to hide her guilt.

“What are you laughing at! Do you still want to sleep tonight? I’m telling you, I’m the boss of this ten-mile radius. If you offend me, I’ll go pull the plug on your electric mosquito repellent in the middle of the night!”

How “vicious”!

Li Yue surrendered, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and said warmly, “I’ll stay on the east side, in the room across from Teacher Luo’s.”

Luo Mingzi pressed down the corners of her mouth and reluctantly said, “Fine!” Seeing Li Yue about to head over, she uttered an “Eh,” gathered her skirt, and sat unhesitatingly on Li Yue’s suitcase, saying, “I’m tired. Pull me over.”

Fine.

Teacher Li Yue had a very good temper and was very indulgent toward her former classmate and current “old friend.” She pushed the two large items to the east end.

Facing each other were two rooms. Li Yue tilted her head; the door to Luo Mingzi’s room was closed, with a Bichon Frise plushie wearing a pink bow hanging on the door.

Even though they had arrived, Teacher Luo still wouldn’t “get off the bus.” She pointed to her room and said to Li Yue, “This is this Princess’s palace. Unless there is an urgent matter, do not intrude!”

Li Yue glanced at Luo Mingzi with a meaningful look that made Luo Mingzi stiffen her shoulders. She couldn’t help but lick her lips and said, “If it’s you, you can intrude a little.”

The person who was “permitted” pushed open the guest room door, pushing both the person and the suitcase inside. Li Yue said urbanely, “It’s alright. I have always been polite. Unless the host invites me, I will not do anything that crosses the line.”

Luo Mingzi whispered, “I’m inviting you.”

Li Yue said, “Then I’ll have to think about it.”

You actually have to think about it! Luo Mingzi took a deep breath, grabbed the handle of Li Yue’s suitcase, rested her head on it, and said, “I’m inviting you to stay with me!”

Li Yue said, “As a guest, I must maintain a sense of boundaries for the host.”

“This place is quite good.”

Having said that, Li Yue leaned over, her slender arms hooking around Luo Mingzi’s waist, easily lifting her off the suitcase. Luo Mingzi’s pupils contracted uncontrollably, her arms instinctively wrapped around Li Yue’s neck. Just as her fingertips touched Li Yue’s shoulder, Li Yue, who had already set her down, took a step back and gave Luo Mingzi a gentle smile.

“Teacher Luo, aren’t you going to prepare the bedding and blankets for the guest?”

Luo Mingzi: “…”

She looked at her palms, gave a soft huff, and walked out toward the storage room. That vigorous, striding silhouette showed no trace of her previous claim of being tired.

Li Yue’s smile deepened as she unpacked.

The camera on the corner cabinet moved, focusing on the suitcase. It saw the smiling, elegant Teacher Li pull out an item from the medium sized suitcase that took up half the space, a clay pot.

In the director’s booth, Director Liu, staring at the screen, hissed in surprise.

The others followed: Hiss.

An assistant director asked, “Teacher Li Yue is truly a loyal viewer of our show. I remember in the first episode when the regular guests met, Teacher Luo wanted to boil chicken soup for everyone but broke the clay pot. We haven’t replaced it since, and they haven’t been able to use one.”

Director Liu was also thinking about this. She scratched her chin and said, “Teacher Li is quite thoughtful. Let’s ask her later if she’s leaving the pot behind.”

Having finished tidying the kitchen, Wu Xuezhen came over to see how they were settling in. Seeing Luo Mingzi wobbling over while clutching a duvet, she hurried to help. The two of them placed the bedding on the bed and looked over to see what else Li Yue had brought.

When Wu Xuezhen saw the clay pot, she asked the same shocked question as the staff.

Li Yue took out a few pieces of clothing and a toiletry bag, nodding: “I’m leaving it.”

Wu Xuezhen smiled and said, “Thank you for saving us money!”

When the recording for the first episode of Life in the Late Countryside began, the production team had given the regular guests a sum of “startup funds” for their life there. They had to use this money to buy daily necessities, fix up the small courtyard, and buy seeds to grow vegetables.

Pantian City had mountains and rivers; the water was clean and unpolluted, and the forests were lush with wild trees and fruit everywhere. In the production team’s original vision, the guests would rise with the sun and rest at its setting, cultivating a small vegetable patch outside the yard, catching fish and shrimp by the river, and picking wild fruit and mushrooms in the mountains. When it rained, they would sit under the porch, watching the raindrops and sharing their hearts, when the sun was high, they would eat watermelon while enjoying the mountain breeze.

It was meant to be a mix of the hardships of labor and the satisfaction of a harvest, gazing at the distant city from the countryside while discussing their lives.

However, the reality was: they bought the wrong seeds for the season. The few that managed to break through the soil withered and died under the sun. The sole survivor had to be transplanted indoors for protection, jokingly dubbed by the audience as “The Little Cabbage,” even more delicate than Luo Mingzi.

In this place, fish were hard to catch. Even if they caught one, they didn’t dare kill it and had to carry it to the village to ask for help. Even after it was killed, cooking it was an ordeal. Every episode, everyone ended up taking the same path.

Buying instant noodles.

This had caused the price of instant noodles sold by the production team to skyrocket.

Luo Mingzi took the initiative to make the bed for Li Yue. As she spread the sheets, she said happily, “Li Yue bought a lot of vegetables and even meat! We don’t have to spend money on groceries this week!”

Wu Xuezhen clapped happily: “Ohhh!”

Li Yue took out two vacuum-sealed free range chickens from her suitcase and said ruthlessly, “The weather is hot, and vegetables won’t last long. If we can buy fresh, we should buy fresh. Can your stomach handle it?”

She asked Luo Mingzi.

Luo Mingzi said blissfully, “I have you, don’t I?”

Wu Xuezhen: “Cough, Mingzi, are you making a bed for Li Yue or building her a nest? Can anyone even sleep on this?”

Li Yue took the last bit of luggage out of her suitcase, stood up, and glanced back, unable to help but laugh. On the bed, the sheets and the mattress pad underneath were clinging to each other in a tangled mess of twists and turns, valleys meeting peaks, each higher than the last. Even a soup dumpling would look at those folds and admit defeat.

Luo Mingzi, with her rear in the air, was busy stuffing the sheet under the mattress, saying defiantly, “I’m not finished yet! I’m working on it!”

Wu Xuezhen shook her head. “It’s obvious you’re someone who never touches ‘spring water’ at home and has never done a lick of housework. Let me help you.”

Li Yue stood by with her arms crossed, watching the two of them stand at the head and foot of the bed. They finally got the sheets flat, but then they began researching how to put the duvet cover on. The courtyard near the mountains still got cold at night.

After a long while, the two of them tossed the twisted ball of a duvet onto the bed.

Luo Mingzi, frustrated by the duvet, said without turning around, “Forget it, Li Yue should just sleep with me tonight.”

Wu Xuezhen thought this was a good idea.

Li Yue brushed them aside and said in a calm, casual tone, “Let me.”

The two of them stood aside with their hands down, watching with respectful gazes as Li Yue effortlessly “clothed” the duvet. Li Yue folded the duvet neatly and tilted her head toward Wu Xuezhen: “Teacher Wu has seen ‘Bailu Qiu’ (White Dew Autumn).”

Hearing this, Teacher Wu patted Li Yue on the shoulder and burst out laughing: “I’ll give you both the ‘Spring Water’ and the ‘White Dew Autumn,’ just stop teasing me. At home, aside from the housekeeper, your Uncle Dajun does all of this.”

“And don’t call me Teacher Wu, call me Sister.”

Calling Teacher Wu “Sister” and Teacher Wu’s husband “Uncle” no problem at all.

Li Yue accepted the instruction humbly and called her Sister Xuezhen.

The already exhausted Luo Mingzi collapsed onto the bed, staring at Li Yue’s clothes on the nightstand.

Li Yue’s suitcase contained only two outfits and a light toiletry bag; it looked like she wasn’t planning to stay long. Luo Mingzi kicked the air and patted Li Yue’s hand. When Li Yue looked over, she pointed to a paper bag pressed under the clothes.

The paper bag was opaque and very thick.

Luo Mingzi raised an eyebrow.

Li Yue’s hanging hand moved slightly, her index finger and thumb rubbing together once. Just once.

Luo Mingzi, who had been lying leisurely, widened her eyes and tilted her head.

Li Yue raised her hand and made a fist.

Wu Xuezhen, watching the exchange from the side, was full of question marks until she saw Luo Mingzi let out a loud “Hiss” and bolt upright. She grabbed Li Yue’s hand, her eyes sparkling.

“What is it? What happened?” Wu Xuezhen gestured for them to include her.

The excited Luo Mingzi quickly pulled Wu Xuezhen over. The three of them huddled together, and Luo Mingzi started whispering.

A minute later, Pi Dajun and You Yang, who were outside studying how to mix cement, heard a loud shout from upstairs: “REALLY?!”

The two men: “?”

Wu Xuezhen poked her head out of the window, waved excitedly, and said, “You two work hard! We’re having a feast tonight! You can eat whatever you want!”

You Yang, holding a shovel, looked up and said, “Sister, I want to eat an ice cream bar.”

Wu Xuezhen gave a grand wave of her hand: “Buy it! Fix the road today, and I’ll buy you a whole fridge full tomorrow!”

You Yang was both pleasantly surprised and terrified: “Has our family become rich?”

Luo Mingzi squeezed through and raised an eyebrow triumphantly.

In the director’s booth, the audio director scratched his head and reported to Director Liu: “Sister Liu, Teacher Li didn’t just buy groceries… she… she also brought 100,000 yuan.”

“100,000!”

With 100,000 yuan, even if the price of instant noodles rose tenfold, the guests could still afford them!

Director Liu, who was squatting in front of the screen eating a leftover fried dough stick from breakfast, nearly choked to death. she turned around in horror.

What?

Everyone else is here to work and earn money, so why is someone paying to come work?! 100,000 is way too much!

Director Liu sprang up from her “deathbed,” pounded her chest to force the food down, and pointed at the recording courtyard with a scream:

“Search them! Take that 100,000 yuan down!”