Chapter 90 Part 2

【No no no! You can eat any rice, but you can’t say any words. You’re just thinking of your own laughs—have you considered Teacher Shen’s feelings?!】

Bai Qian blinked in surprise. Shen Yunchu getting into the crew through connections? How had she never heard that?

Oblivious to Shen Yunchu’s presence, she started gossiping about someone else “behind their back” with Little Dog. “How do you know she got in through connections?”

“With acting that bad, without pull, which crew would take her? And she almost always plays the lead—total backdoor entry!”

Bai Qian: “…”

Hearing Little Dog roast Shen Yunchu’s skills yet again, Bai Qian decided to try correcting her skewed tastes. “You keep saying her acting sucks, but have you ever thought about this: if she were really that bad, why are all the netizens praising her?”

Little Dog replied matter-of-factly, “I know. A thousand readers, a thousand Hamlets. With so many people online, even if she stinks, some are bound to like her. Just like how some say your acting sucks.”

Bai Qian: No, it’s completely different!

“Bai Qian, just remember one thing,” He Nianyou encouraged her. “The silent majority has your back! All those who think you’re a great actress, like me, are the ones staying quiet!”

“…” She decided to make one last attempt. “Have you ever heard a certain joke?”

He Xiaogou looked surprised. “You’re actually going to tell me a joke of your own accord?”

Little Drama Queen’s attitude shifted instantly upon hearing that. “What’s that supposed to mean? Can’t I tell a joke? Do you think all I’m good for is throwing tantrums?”

“I didn’t say you throw tantrums,” He Xiaogou hurried to explain. “You don’t at all—Chi Hua’s the one who does that. You’re just a bit impatient, but that’s totally fine with me. Besides, you’re my good friend. Even if you had a ton of flaws, I’d put up with them all. So, what joke did you want to tell me?”

The pampered Bai Kitty huffed. “I don’t want to tell it anymore.”

“Come on, I really don’t think you throw tantrums. If you don’t believe me, I’ll swear on it. That good enough?”

Normally, most people would take the out she’d offered, but the spoiled Little Drama Queen wasn’t about to let it go that easily. She turned her head away, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes fluttering in a way that made one’s heart skip a beat.

“Then swear.”

He Xiaogou immediately set down the spoon she’d been holding and raised her right hand in the classic swearing pose. Gazing at her intently, she said solemnly, word by word, “I swear, if I was lying to you just now, may I never become a top singer in this lifetime.”

As if afraid the heavens might overhear, she added softly, “This is my first time swearing, and it’s the harshest vow I could think of for myself. You believe me now, right?”

“…” Don’t you know you were never going to become a top singer anyway?

With her fur smoothed down, Bai Kitty’s expression softened. “Fine, I’ll tell you. The joke goes like this: A guy’s driving when he gets a call from his wife. She’s worried and tells him there’s a car driving the wrong way on his route home, ignoring all the traffic rules—be careful, she says. So, guess what the guy replies?”

He Xiaogou shook her head innocently.

“He says, ‘Honey, it’s not just one car driving the wrong way. They all are.’”

“Hahahahahaha! That guy’s such an idiot—the one driving the wrong way is him, right? Hahaha, so dumb!”

Bai Qian waited silently for her to finish laughing before asking, with a hint of expectation, “So, what did you take away from that joke?”

He Nianyou blinked. “Huh? Do jokes these days come with life lessons now? Let me think… Is it warning people not to take calls while driving?”

Bai Qian gave up entirely on fixing her sense of humor. “I must’ve remembered wrong. This joke has no point at all. Now shut up and let me finish my meal.”

He Xiaogou scratched her head. “Okay.”

Bai Qian had just picked up her spoon again when a female voice sounded from behind her.

“Bai Qian.”

The original host had been timid to the extreme—the kind of person who’d get teary-eyed if someone merely burped behind her.

A burp could make her eyes go red; now, suddenly hearing her own name called out of nowhere, the skittish little cat naturally burst into tears on the spot.

Her spoon clattered onto the table. Little Drama Queen twisted around, whining pitifully, “Shen Yunchu, what was that for? Calling out to me like that from behind!”

She was beautiful at the best of times, but now, startled as she was, those already shimmering almond eyes were veiled in a thin mist, making their clear, bright depths all the more captivating.

A faint redness bloomed at the corners of Kitty’s eyes—not deep, but the sort that seemed to invite a gentle press of fingers, leaving a mark that would bloom just for you.

Fingers itched faintly.

It brought to mind the soft tenderness of her cheek from not long ago.

The hidden thought was concealed beneath a cool, indifferent facade—like a woman’s impeccable acting, not a trace to be found when she willed it so.

She reached out and naturally brushed the corner of the girl’s eye. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Little Drama Queen glared at her fiercely. “Don’t touch me! Don’t you know some people hate being called from behind out of nowhere?”

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

Shen Yunchu withdrew her hand to her side and, in a camera blind spot, gently rubbed away the trace of a tear.

She pulled out the chair to Bai Qian’s left, her tone even gentler. “My mistake. If a simple apology doesn’t cut it for you, what else can I do?”

“Until I calm down, I don’t want to talk to you.”

He Xiaogou, who couldn’t get a word in edgewise, gloated inwardly. Oh ho, she’d thought Shen Yunchu was a formidable rival, but it turned out she wasn’t so tough after all—maybe even weaker than expected!

Why not ask Bai Qian tonight if she wants to switch rooms?

No sooner had she thought that than she heard Shen Yunchu calmly turn down Bai Qian’s words. “That’s not the attitude someone should have after making a mistake. I was the one at fault first, so I definitely can’t let you keep stewing in silence like this. How about this—after dinner, I’ll take you out for a stroll to blow off some sea breeze and help you unwind. What do you think?”

He Xiaogou: ???

Huh?

Huh huh??

Huh huh huh???

Why was this so different from what she would do? Shouldn’t she be going along with Bai Qian at a time like this to let her cool off???

【He Xiaogou VS Teacher Shen: Total Defeat!】

【I thought Teacher Shen would just obediently agree like she did when they first met, but turns out I was the clown. Teacher Shen rejected singledom through sheer strength—impressive, so impressive!】

【Poor He Xiaogou, though. She’s the only one getting pinned down and bullied by Catcat. So pitiful.】

【He Xiaogou was so arrogant when she ignored Teacher Shen earlier; she must be feeling just as miserable inside now.】

Bai Qian ignored her completely and shot back in a spoiled whine, “No way! You’re the one who made me mad. Why should I go walking with you?”

Shen Yunchu explained patiently with good humor, “It’s not you keeping me company—it’s that I want you to get over your anger sooner, so this is a sensible suggestion. If you don’t like this idea, you can make your own request instead. I’ll fulfill whatever it is, just to apologize to you.”

【First time seeing someone so eager to let the other person make a demand and then satisfy it. Is this what love is?】

“I don’t need anything! Stop talking. I don’t want to talk to you right now!”

Shen Yunchu really did fall silent then. She pulled out her phone, fiddled with it for a moment, then stopped typing and began reading the words on the screen.

Her delivery and acting were as flawless as ever. Even just reading an encyclopedia entry, she made it ring out clear and captivating: “If a girl doesn’t relieve her sulking right away, it can cause the following irreversible damages to the body. First, it leads to hair loss. As everyone knows, human hair is connected to…”

【Does Baidu Baike really have such spot-on entries? Are you sure this isn’t an ad?】

【Report to the one above: I just checked all the major search engines, and practical proof shows no website has the exact stuff Teacher Shen is reading right now.】

【So Teacher Shen is just straight-up making shit up in front of everyone?】

【Teacher Shen, how many little tricks are you gonna pull to trick Bai Kitty into that romantic walk?】

【Teacher Shen, how many secrets do you still have that I don’t know about?】

The more Bai Qian listened, the deeper her frown grew—hair loss, irregular periods, worsening skin…

She finally couldn’t take it anymore and cut her off with an ugly expression. “Stop reading. I don’t want to hear it.”

Shen Yunchu obediently put her phone away, her gaze steady and utterly calm. “Then after you finish eating, we’ll go for that walk?”

“No way. It’s late at night—who goes walking?” Once Bai Kitty finished refusing, her big eyes darted around, and she came up with an idea.

She pushed the pineapple fried rice over toward Shen Yunchu and made a willful demand in a spoiled voice: “The fried rice has gone cold. Eat it all, and I’ll forgive you.”

Bai Qian kept a straight face, but inside, she was toying with her a bit.

In the original plot, the female protagonist had mysophobia when it came to food. Even after falling in love with the scumbag man later on, she still couldn’t share a drink from the same cup with him.

The spoon she gave her had been thoroughly used by her own mouth— for someone with mysophobia, it would probably be disgustingly repulsive, enough to make their scalp crawl.

Didn’t you insist on forcing me to forgive you?

Well, here’s your chance!

And then Teacher Shen seized the opportunity.

The woman took the bowl without batting an eye. Right in front of her, she boldly scooped up a big mouthful of rice, chewed it slowly and deliberately, and swallowed it down.

“It’s cold.”

That was Shen Mysophobe’s one and only comment on the pineapple fried rice.

Bai Qian: ???

Playing me with the original plot?

Where’s the mysophobia?!!

He Xiaogou, who had been thoroughly ignored this whole time, finally had her chance to step in openly. “She’s lying to you. The rice is still hot. Bai Qian, you absolutely cannot be friends with someone who loves to lie like this.”

The woman wasn’t annoyed at all. Instead, she asked, “Yours went cold—how can you prove mine did too?”

“We all got the same fried rice! Mine isn’t cold, so how could yours be?”

“Then why don’t we let Bai Qian judge for herself.”

With that, Shen Yunchu naturally scooped up another fresh bite and held it right up to Bai Qian’s lips. “Give it a taste. Otherwise, she won’t believe me.”

Adding up new grudges and old hatreds, He Xiaogou now felt extremely displeased whenever she looked at her. Upon hearing this, she puffed up angrily and spoke: “Bai Qian, I only trust you! Eat the rice and tell me if it’s really cold, so I can slap her face hard!”

【This year’s Assist Awarding Ceremony has begun. Let’s congratulate this year’s Assist King—He Xiaogou!】

【I’m heartbroken. My Cat-Dog romance ultimately lost to the little dog who doesn’t understand love. Wuwuwu, I just jumped into the pit, and it went BE so quickly. It was even the main character herself who personally delivered her to the rival’s hands, turning this storyline into a BE. Wuwuwu, why am I so miserable?!!】

【Sister upstairs, don’t cry. Cat-Dog romance may be dead, but their friendship is still alive. That’s sugar too, and it’s so shippable!】

【I’m not shipping Cat-Dog CP anymore. Who watches a variety show and ships friendship instead of romance? I’m switching to the Sheng Qian group!】

【Indirect kisses have already happened, so real kisses can’t be far away, right?】

【If kisses come, can bathroom play be far behind?】

【Sister upstairs???】

Bai Qian ignored everyone, sharply turned her face away, and directly left the restaurant to go upstairs.

He Xiaogou made a move to chase after her, but she instantly stopped upon hearing Shen Yunchu’s next words.

“She just told me she won’t be friends with people who waste food. I brought my phone, so I can take a photo for you and send it to her.”