Superstar Assistant [GL] - Chapter 57

Chapter 57

When Li Ziyu arrived at the livestream location, the staff had already prepared everything. The director told her, “In the past, you’ve mostly done stir-fries and stews. Today, let’s try making a pizza.”

Li Ziyu hesitated slightly. “I’ve never made pizza before. I don’t know how it will turn out.”

The director said, “That’s fine. We’ve invited a guest, though she’s currently stuck in traffic.”

Li Ziyu nodded slightly, showing no particular emotion. She went to the livestream area to familiarize herself with the brand’s kitchenware; it would be a “broadcast accident” if the spokesperson didn’t know how to use the products during the live show.

She was focused on the manual, specifically checking the various functions of the oven, when a staff member came over to inform her that the special guest had arrived.

She had forgotten to ask who the guest was, and the director hadn’t mentioned it. The moment she turned around, she nearly lost her composure, though she recovered a second later.

A smile touched Li Ziyu’s lips as she looked at the guest, An Ning, who had just walked into the studio. “Teacher An, hello.”

An Ning had a sweet smile on her face. “Hello. I’m here today to ride on your coattails and borrow some of your popularity.”

Li Ziyu quickly bowed slightly in a humble gesture. “Teacher An, you’re joking.”

An Ning was a very low-profile star in the entertainment industry; her fans often felt she wasn’t even a celebrity anymore. She had debuted at sixteen in a film that went international, traveled the world attending various award ceremonies, and won a very prestigious Best Actress award. Since then, her works were few but every single one was a masterpiece.

To Li Ziyu, An Ning was special for another reason: she was the only celebrity Li Ziyu genuinely liked. Li Ziyu had entered the acting world because of An Ning, wanting to experience the charm of performing. Of course, she also hoped to have a chance to collaborate with her.

In terms of appearance and temperament, An Ning shared similarities with Zhou Tiantian—both belonged to the “sweet and soft” type. However, while Zhou Tiantian was sweet and soft nearly all the time—her voice remaining soft even when her gaze was firm—An Ning was a chameleon in her work, capable of portraying whoever the script required.

Li Ziyu took a deep breath. “It is an honor to collaborate with Teacher An.”

The director laughed. “Since you’ve met, we can start the livestream. Teacher An is quite good at Western pastries and cuisine. Her new movie is about to be released, and since she happened to be free today, she came over to do some promotion.”

Li Ziyu understood the director’s intent. This livestream was a collaboration between the kitchenware brand and the streaming platform. The brand needed Li Ziyu to cook to promote their products, while the platform needed to promote An Ning’s upcoming film. Li Ziyu had experienced this kind of cross-promotion many times and knew exactly how to “cue” An Ning during the show.

Once the livestream began, An Ning’s appearance indeed made the audience go wild. They never imagined that Li Ziyu would be doing a livestream with An Ning.

As An Ning began teaching Li Ziyu how to make pizza, she smiled and said, “I heard your ‘dark cuisine’ is quite famous. No matter how bad it looks, it supposedly tastes great.”

Li Ziyu replied humbly, “I think the internet rumors are a bit exaggerated. I have my failures too.”

An Ning was quite curious. “Is that so? I watched your previous shows and videos; everyone who tasted it was full of praise.”

Li Ziyu said, “That’s because I only made things I was confident in. I’ve never made pizza before, so it might turn out looking bad and tasting worse.”

An Ning suggested, “In that case, you can follow me to make one, and then make another one according to your own ideas.”

This was an excellent suggestion. The director immediately signaled from behind the camera, and Li Ziyu agreed.

An Ning’s words immediately brought out Li Ziyu’s anti-fans.

“Li Ziyu is going to crash and burn this time. That ‘dark cuisine’ thing was just a persona built by her company. The dishes she made before were all designed by chefs; otherwise, do you really think they’d taste that good?”

“Holy crap, how does a C-lister like Li Ziyu deserve to do a livestream with a top-tier international Best Actress? Is she even worthy?”

“An Ning’s acting is a box office guarantee. Why is she devaluing herself by participating in this kind of livestream?”

However, even as the anti-fans increased, the viewership continued to climb. When it hit one million, the fans and audience weren’t surprised, as Li Ziyu usually had millions of viewers anyway. But as the numbers hit five million and kept rising, the director, the platform, and the brand began to get excited.

The streaming platform immediately ordered: “Send two more people to monitor this! With popularity this high, we cannot afford a server crash or any other broadcast accidents.”

The hashtag #AnNingLiZiyuLivestream# quickly climbed to the number one spot on the hot search list.

Despite the audience exceeding five million, people continued to pour into the room from various channels. An obsessive An Ning fan entered and immediately started cursing.

“Li Ziyu is so shameless! Riding on An Ning’s popularity. Our An Ning is an international superstar! Li Ziyu, get out of the livestream!”

The moment she posted that, countless bullet comments slapped her down and buried her.

“Coming over from the forums! Heard Li Ziyu is challenging ‘Dark Pizza’! She’s finally stretching her hands toward Western food!”

“Reporting from the entertainment boards! Li Ziyu destroyed my fantasies about so many foods. I’m here today to learn how to bake pizza with her. I can’t learn Chinese cooking, so I’m struggling one last time with Western food!”

“Heard Li Ziyu started a livestream, came to see how she’s going to hit the hot search today!”

While An Ning was a top-tier star, her status was so high that she rarely appeared in public outside of movies. This time, the one promoted in advance was Li Ziyu, and An Ning was the mystery guest, so most people had initially come for Li Ziyu.

Once they entered and saw An Ning, the audience burst out laughing.

“I’ve never seen the Goddess have such an expression of despair on her face!”

“I have the same expression as Goddess An right now. Li Ziyu, what are you putting on that pizza?!”

“I feel like the Goddess’s worldview is being reconstructed. During the tasting later, she’ll definitely look for a way to escape!”

As more passersby joined, the anti-fans slowly lost their presence and vanished.

As the livestream neared its end, the two took out their pizzas. The Goddess’s pizza looked beautiful. The one Li Ziyu made following her was okay, but its “visual value” was much lower than An Ning’s.

Then, when Li Ziyu brought out her “custom” pizza—a slightly blackened creation—the bullet comments peaked.

“It’s here! The Secret of Deliciousness! Dark Pizza!”

“I’m looking forward to the moment the Goddess tastes it!”

“God, I can’t even look at the Goddess’s face anymore!”

“A Best Actress is different; even her expression of collapse is so subtle. Everyone, learn from her as we collapse together!”

Inside the studio, An Ning’s expression was so vivid that Li Ziyu couldn’t be sure if her creation was actually okay. She said to An Ning, “Let’s just not taste this ugly one.”

The bullet comments frantically rejected this proposal, and the director relayed the audience’s wishes. An Ning forced a polite yet strained smile. “Since you worked so hard to make it, and your ‘dark cuisine’ is so famous, I should try it.”

Li Ziyu first cut a small, nice-looking piece for An Ning. After eating it, An Ning nodded. “It’s good.”

Then, Li Ziyu cut a much smaller piece of the ugly pizza and handed it to An Ning with an expression as if she were facing execution. An Ning had already prepared herself mentally and ate the piece without much burden.

Then, her expression changed. She looked at Li Ziyu in instant shock.

Li Ziyu understood immediately. “It tastes good?”

The bullet comments started a frenzy of “23333” (laughter).

“Holy crap, I feel like the Goddess has fallen into deep thought: why is there something so ugly yet so delicious in this world!”

“Waaaah, is this a staged effect? Why do I suddenly want to eat it too, even though it clearly looks like a lump of…!”

“I’m a Li Ziyu fan; I stan her just for the chance to be picked at fan meets to taste her food!”

“I tasted Ziyu’s cooking at a meet-and-greet, it was seriously delicious! Looking at this pizza now, I’m drooling.”

Shortly after, the livestream ended. Both Li Ziyu and An Ning breathed a sigh of relief; being on screen for such a long time was quite high-pressure.

As they said goodbye, An Ning smiled. “Your culinary skills are truly great. I look forward to our next collaboration.”

Li Ziyu nodded. “Yes, I look forward to it too.”

…

In the car back to the hospital, Li Ziyu watched the heavy traffic outside, her mind filled with the scene of meeting An Ning. Meeting An Ning was an unexpected dream come true, even if it wasn’t for a movie but just a livestream.

However, Li Ziyu felt it was a bit of a pity; An Ning’s actual personality didn’t seem as “soft and cute” as her appearance suggested. She wasn’t like Zhou Tiantian, who was soft to the core.

Zhou Tiantian had watched the entire livestream. The first moment she saw An Ning, she felt a trace of familiarity. Before becoming Li Ziyu’s assistant, Tiantian hadn’t known much about the entertainment industry. While she had met many stars since then, most were active on screen. Low-profile figures like An Ning were names she had heard, but today was the first time she had actually seen her.

She raised a hand to her chest, feeling a slight tightness. A woman’s intuition is often accurate; although there was nothing ambiguous about the livestream—and Li Ziyu’s attitude toward An Ning was professional and even respectful—Zhou Tiantian could still feel a “different” aura between them. That aura didn’t even necessarily come from both of them; it felt like it originated solely from Li Ziyu, but Tiantian felt it sensitively.

She was just about to do something to relax when the door was pushed open. The person who had just been on the livestream appeared in Tiantian’s ward.

“I’m back.” Seeing Zhou Tiantian, Li Ziyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Tiantian gave a faint smile. “I watched your livestream today. The peak popularity reached eight million. You’re amazing.”

Li Ziyu raised a proud eyebrow and came to her side. She pecked Tiantian’s lips before saying, “Of course. This concerns the future life of the two babies in my house; how could I not take it seriously?”

Zhou Tiantian pursed her lips and withdrew her smile. Li Ziyu leaned down to kiss her again. Her kiss was gentle yet carried a strong sense of aggression—much like her person. She was so good to Tiantian, yet she also possessed a powerful, attacking force, entering her life forcefully and binding them together.

They separated, breathing slightly hard. Li Ziyu touched Tiantian’s soft earlobe. “What’s wrong? You were absent-minded during the kiss.”

Zhou Tiantian’s ears turned red. “Nothing.”

Li Ziyu gave a light laugh, then looked at her. “Did something happen after I left? You look like you’re in a bad mood.”

“I really don’t,” Tiantian said.

Li Ziyu suddenly narrowed her eyes. “You just said you were watching the livestream the whole time?”

Tiantian nodded. Using her own woman’s intuition, Li Ziyu suddenly understood. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? Because I did the livestream with Teacher An today, you’re jealous.”

Zhou Tiantian felt a wave of embarrassment and anger. “I am not!”

Li Ziyu continued to smile. “Because my attitude toward Teacher An was a bit different compared to other female stars, you think I might like her? She happens to be the same ‘type’ as you, doesn’t she?”

Zhou Tiantian pushed her away. “No!”

Li Ziyu stroked her hair. “Alright, she’s just my idol. Meeting an idol is bound to be different from meeting others. So don’t be jealous. We’re an old ‘married’ couple with a child; if you’re jealous, the baby won’t be happy either.”

Zhou Tiantian looked down. “…I wasn’t jealous.”

Li Ziyu gritted her teeth playfully. “Why can’t you just admit it! Can’t you be jealous for me just once!”