The Fake Daughter is a Max-Level Green Tea [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Black Tea Cake

When the faint sound of a key sliding into the lock reached her ears, Lu Chaoqing was already slumped over the table, half-asleep. The small noise made her nerves snap to attention. She opened her eyes and saw a familiar silhouette walking through the door. Her drowsiness vanished instantly.

“Sister.”

Since the household register had been swapped and corrected, Lu Chaoqing had returned to the habit of calling her “Sister.” Seeing Lin Chumu, she eagerly went to meet her, cautiously observing her expression. Only after confirming there was no lingering coldness on the other woman’s face did she breathe a sigh of relief.

She followed up by asking, “Sister, have you eaten yet?”

“It was a business gala. There were too many people, so I only drank a little water,” Lin Chumu answered naturally.

Upon hearing this, the corners of Lu Chaoqing’s lips curled upward. “Then wait a moment!”

The Lu parents were rarely home, always busy with business banquets or trips. The nanny, who lived on the top floor, couldn’t hear what they were saying, so Lu Chaoqing boldly raised her voice. Under Lin Chumu’s confused gaze, she pulled her over to sit at the table and said softly, “Close your eyes.”

Lin Chumu’s lips moved as if she wanted to ask what she was up to, but seeing Lu Chaoqing’s serious and expectant look, she remained silent and closed her eyes as requested.

Footsteps hurried away and then returned. A faint, sweet aroma began to permeate the air—a combination of black tea and sugar. The scent immediately stimulated the appetite of someone who had consumed nothing but water all afternoon. The forced endurance Lin Chumu had practiced at the gala crumbled in the face of this temptation.

She opened her eyes at the sound of the girl’s sweet voice, and her gaze met Lu Chaoqing’s. The girl’s watery eyes were full of anticipation. She used her body to partially block Lin Chumu’s view of the kitchen while pushing a ceramic plate with a small cake forward. “I wish I were as smart as Sister. But I made you a little cake… is there a reward for me?”

The cake was her favorite black tea flavor. The rich tea fragrance slightly mellowed the sweetness of the sugar, making it light enough to enjoy even late at night. The soft cake layers were filled with crushed nuts and sparkling blueberry jam—soft, sweet, and smooth with every bite.

It seemed… exactly like the one she had seen a staff member eating on set that day.

She couldn’t fathom how a pampered young lady, who had grown up being served by nannies, could make such a complex dessert and remember her preferences so precisely.

Those were details and a level of passion that couldn’t be faked by acting.

In that moment, a slight pang in the depths of her heart made Lin Chumu freeze. She didn’t even answer immediately when Lu Chaoqing asked if it tasted good. The girl got nervous, thinking something had gone wrong with the process and the cake was only good on the outside. She muttered piteously, “I worked on it all aftern—”

“It’s delicious.” Lin Chumu suddenly snapped back to reality. She reached out with a clean hand and gently patted the girl’s head. Her expression was more tender and sincere than ever before. “Thank you.”

Before Lu Chaoqing could react, Lin Chumu stood up and walked toward the kitchen. She moved so fast that Lu Chaoqing couldn’t block her in time, forced to watch as Lin Chumu walked right into the mess she had left behind.

It was Lu Chaoqing’s first time truly working alone in a kitchen. She had realized during the process that cooking was much more exhausting than she imagined, especially the fine-tuning of details. Consequently, she hadn’t bothered to clean up, intending to let the cleaning lady help the next day. She never expected Lin Chumu would be interested in taking a look after finishing the dessert.

—But on the other hand, did this mean she wasn’t angry anymore?

Lin Chumu did a quick sweep of the kitchen before coming back out, a faint smile on her lips. “What reward do you want?”

“Let’s… save it for now! Sister won’t go back on her word, right?”

Lu Chaoqing’s original plan was just to coax Lin Chumu out of her anger. Seeing that the anger was gone, she relaxed and felt like joking. Heaven knew how nervous she had been staring at Lin Chumu’s face, feeling like a college student waiting for final exam results.

The woman gave a radiant smile, and Lu Chaoqing felt a wave of relief.

The next day, the two of them received a notification from the sponsor of Reversal. They were to film a three-minute short as promotion for the side-couple CP line and to advertise a cosmetics brand. The script required them to film the scene where Xiang Yunchen, after being bullied, appears again in Cinderella cosplay. Lu Chaoqing began mentalizing the emotions while still in the car.

This was an officially announced public schedule. Upon arrival, a sea of people was visible through the car window. Ever since Lu Chaoqing had confronted that trainee on the show, the clip of their solo battle had gone viral, attracting a wave of new fans. Purple support sticks filled her vision, their swaying lights merging into a shimmering ocean under the overcast sky.

Unlike previous times, however, she didn’t greet the fans or show much excitement when she got out of the car. She simply gave a wave to the fans who had come to support the schedule and didn’t interact further.

Some of the “330” (her fan group) members who were attending an offline event for the first time screamed her name but received no response. They watched as Lu Chaoqing and Lin Chumu walked through the doors together.

The issue of “an idol treating fans coldly” could have had serious consequences if it fermented online. However, because the veteran fans had experienced many misunderstandings or rumors before, they calmed the new fans down, telling everyone to wait patiently.

After they finished recording, they went elsewhere to take photos per the brand’s request, so they didn’t leave through the fan entrance. They did, however, have security pass along a message. Many fans went home slightly disappointed, but soon after, they received a notification that her Weibo was live-streaming.

Lu Chaoqing hadn’t even had time to remove her makeup or change clothes in the company lounge. She opened the stream while wiping away sweat, saying “hi” to her fans with a big smile.

“I’m sorry everyone! I was just filming a short play and was staying in character, so I couldn’t break it to say hello. I’m here to make it up to you now!”

The stream title was simply “1-Hour Stream”. Viewers were pouring in. Those who had been slightly dissatisfied immediately understood after the explanation and began joking with her in the chat.

“Xiaoqing’s birthday is next week! I really want to see my daughter dance on the offline support screens! I hope no trash sasaengs follow her this time, last time scared me to death.”

“The sasaeng was sued by MT. MT’s legal and PR departments are always on point.”

“Don’t laugh, but an anonymous ‘big fan’ bought support screens for Xiaoqing in several cities.”

“Yes! The big bar announced it, but they blurred the personal info. One person bought the whole thing! They didn’t even need to sell fan merchandise to fund it…”

“Support screens?” The bullet comments were moving so fast they were a blur, but Lu Chaoqing noticed them. “Which cities?”

The chat scrambled to name several cities. Lu Chaoqing didn’t know the market price, but she knew those locations were in bustling downtown areas. The cost would be astronomical. Just as she was about to say “don’t waste money” but realizing it might sound ungrateful, she saw new comments.

“But they get a lot of exclusive, limited-edition, and custom merchandise! Standees and pillows that aren’t for sale to the public! I want a life-sized ‘daughter’ at home too!!! (Poor person’s scream)”

“And Xiaoqing’s matching clothes!! I can’t wait to see if that mysterious tycoon posts an unboxing video. I get excited just thinking about a house filled with merch.”

“Will the tycoon not show up offline? No way? Spending that much on support screens and not seeing them in person? Which city is the boss going to? I want to know if I have a chance to see a rich woman.”

“To be honest, 100,000 yuan isn’t a ‘rich woman,’ it’s a tycoon.”

One hundred… thousand?

Lu Chaoqing had seen fans spend money on their “husbands and wives,” but the most she’d seen was around ten or twenty thousand. She had never seen someone drop a hundred thousand so casually in real life. Her hand holding her coffee froze, nearly spilling the dark liquid. The chat immediately teased her for being shocked.

“I hope everyone stays rational. Don’t spend so much money in the future. Just use it to buy yourselves something good to eat and drink.”

Even if those things brought her traffic and fans, she didn’t want people to chase stars at the expense of their own lives. But just as she cleared her throat to give a long speech, the nanny called.

Normally, the nanny wouldn’t call her during work hours unless it was important. Lu Chaoqing apologized to the stream and muted herself to answer. The woman on the other end sounded confused, making a rustling sound as if rummaging through items. After a moment, she asked carefully:

“Xiaoqing… someone just delivered a whole truckload of packages… are these yours?”