Flirted Then Forgot Everything - Chapter 11.2

Jian Li wondered why Yu Cheng chose that specific dish for the first day. He glanced at Manman’s fresh noodles and swallowed hard, guessing that the actors’ portions might have been packed earlier than the staff’s, which is why they had sat out longer.

He considered asking Manman to swap with him, but then decided against being a “diva” on his first day. When Manman offered to trade hers for his, he refused and picked up his chopsticks.

The texture of the clumped noodles was terrible, but the sauce was actually quite good. Jian Li wasn’t a picky eater and ate contentedly.

He had only taken a couple of bites when Yu Cheng suddenly walked past. The water bottle in Yu Cheng’s hand dropped to the ground with a thud.

He bent down to pick up the bottle. As he straightened, his gaze fell on the noodles in Jian Li’s lunch box. His brow furrowed at the sight of the congealed, sauce-heavy mass of doughy paste.

Remembering how Yu Cheng had inexplicably docked two points from his favorability score, Jian Li didn’t quite dare to speak to him.

Yu Cheng didn’t seem to have any intention of speaking to him either; he simply picked up his bottle and walked away.

Shortly after he left, a staff member came running over, breathless, and handed Jian Li a standard plastic takeaway box of soybean paste noodles.

“So sorry, Jian-ge! We delivered the wrong noodles earlier. This one is yours.”

Jian Li immediately handed the clumped mess back to the staff member and happily tucked into his fresh replacement.

Meanwhile, in Yu Cheng’s dressing room, Zhou Qingbai looked at the insulated lunch box the staff member had just brought back.

“Why did you ask for it back?” he asked, puzzled.

Yu Cheng tossed the lunch box directly into the trash. “It’s soggy,” he said flatly.

Zhou Qingbai couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course it is. You made it early this morning, and it’s a long drive from your place to the set. Homemade can’t stay fresh as long as a local delivery.”

Yu Cheng turned to look at Zhou Qingbai, his expression stone-cold. “Why didn’t you remind me sooner?” he asked icily.

Zhou Qingbai shut his mouth instantly, pulled out his phone, and walked out the door pretending to take a call. “Hello? What? A new endorsement invitation?”

Jian Li, entirely unaware of the drama in the other room, took a photo of his noodles and a selfie. He uploaded them to Xunsheng for a bit of fan engagement, captioning it:

“My first meal since joining the set—soybean paste noodles. They’re actually pretty good.”

Not long after the post went up, Yu Cheng reposted it with his own caption:

“My treat.”

Simultaneous with Yu Cheng’s post, the system’s mechanical voice chimed in:

“Warning: Fluctuation detected in target Yu Cheng’s favorability. Favorability -1. Current score is now failing. Host, please restore favorability within one minute, or else.”

Jian Li’s breath hitched. He bolted to his feet. “Manman, wait for me, I have something to take care of!”

As he ran, he managed to snag another box of noodles from a staff member, shaking the box vigorously as he sprinted. He dashed straight to Yu Cheng’s dressing room and pushed the door open without even knocking.

Yu Cheng was sitting on the sofa with his phone. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Jian Li burst in.

Jian Li walked toward him, panting, and held out the takeaway box. “I, I saw you haven’t eaten. Do you want some, some noodles? They’re really good!”

Yu Cheng placed his phone face down and sat with his legs crossed. He didn’t refuse. “Alright.”

Jian Li quickly opened the lid. Because he had been shaking the box the whole way, the noodles and sauce were already perfectly mixed. He sat down next to Yu Cheng, twirled a mouthful of noodles onto the chopsticks, blew on them gently to cool them down, and held them to Yu Cheng’s lips.

Yu Cheng gave Jian Li a long, searching look before leaning down to take the bite. He didn’t object to being fed.

At the same time, the system reported:

“Target Yu Cheng favorability +1. Current score: 60. Keep up the good work, Host!”

Jian Li let out a long, weary sigh. When will this torture end?

Yu Cheng, however, misinterpreted the sigh. “Still hungry?”

Jian Li shook his head, but Yu Cheng was already pushing the chopsticks back toward him. “You eat them.”

Under Yu Cheng’s watchful eye, Jian Li had no choice but to tearfully finish the second bowl of noodles.

Sob.

I’m so full.