Chapter 50: World Two【20】

In the past, Jing Ke was a kitchen novice who couldn’t even understand what “moderate amount” in a recipe meant. Her only redeeming skill was her knifework, capable of slicing tofu into hair-thin strands.

But now, not only was her knifework outstanding, she also had a deep understanding of the “moderate amount” measurement. A single casual scoop or spoonful was the perfect quantity; there was no need for measuring spoons at all.

Shao Qing was preparing to play a female swordswoman in February, so her diet was geared towards building muscle, with a relatively high protein ratio.

After shoving the thought that ‘something had three times the protein of beef’ out of her mind, Jing Ke started preparing Shao Qing’s exclusive nutritious meals in various ways.

Fish and shrimp were essential, red meat and white meat had to be reasonably balanced. Additionally, moderate amounts of delicious carbohydrates and a certain proportion of high-quality fats were also indispensable.

To be honest, half the reason Shao Qing relented and let Jing Ke take charge of her three daily meals was because she was moved by Jing Ke’s large, sincere eyes.

As for the other half, it was that Shao Qing wasn’t a picky eater. As long as it wasn’t unbearably awful, she didn’t care.

But this thought changed the moment she ate the first meal Jing Ke cooked. It even made Shao Qing feel a twinge of regret. Had she known Jing Ke’s cooking skills were as good as she claimed, she would have had Jing Ke start cooking from day one.

Forget a ten-thousand-a-month salary; Shao Qing would willingly pay a hundred thousand a month!

“Jing Ke, aren’t you a higher-dimensional being? And you were restricted by Xu Yin before. How did you end up with such great cooking skills?” The delicious food sparked a trace of curiosity in Shao Qing.

It seemed she had many misconceptions about Jing Ke. Although she verbally said she already treated Jing Ke as a friend, subconsciously, she was still guarded against her.

For instance, she still hadn’t fully believed everything Jing Ke had told her before. Her opinion of Jing Ke only changed each time she saw irrefutable facts.

“Someone very important taught me. As for why it tastes so good, it’s probably practice makes perfect,” Jing Ke said, tilting her head.

Jing Ke couldn’t remember who taught her how to cook, but she knew that the person who taught her was very important to her, an existence worthy of being hidden deep within her core.

Shao Qing understood the principle of stopping while ahead. After asking a couple of simple questions, she switched to a new topic.

–

According to the arrangements made by her agent, Sister Ke, Shao Qing basically had no scheduled activities in October. It was considered her rare vacation time.

The endorsements and variety show invitations coming in unsolicited weren’t very good. Most were trying to lock down a contract at a low price while Shao Qing hadn’t yet produced a new hit.

But there were always exceptions. Just as Jing Ke was preparing to acquire an entertainment company worth over a hundred million, an opportunity landed right in Shao Qing’s lap.

“Sister Ke, are you sure? I remember the main cast for the tribute film was decided long ago. Why would they invite me to play the female lead in a miniseries now?” Shao Qing didn’t believe in such heaven-sent pie in the entertainment industry, so she was very cautious.

Sister Ke: “I’m still looking into that, but I’ve confirmed it. The person who contacted me is indeed Director Hua. He’s the chief director of the tribute film; he wouldn’t joke around with us casually.”

“I also checked the schedule for you. The miniseries you’d be appearing in starts shooting next month. If there are no surprises, it’ll wrap before the Spring Festival and won’t affect your entry into Director Li’s drama crew.”

This opportunity was extremely rare in Sister Ke’s eyes. A tribute film wasn’t something just any artist could participate in, let alone as the female lead of a miniseries.

If Shao Qing successfully landed this role, it would be like registering with the official channels. If anyone tried to use her for hype again, they’d have to reconsider whether they had enough clout.

“Sister Ke, please help me stall for a few days. I’ll look into it first; I have a bad feeling about this.” Shao Qing wasn’t seduced by the benefits behind the tribute film; instead, she found the matter increasingly suspicious.

Everyone knew the theme of a tribute film. Generally, movies with this subject matter wouldn’t invite people with too many scandals to play leading roles.

Here, the truth of the scandals didn’t matter; what the higher-ups looked at were the number of anti-fans and netizen attitudes.

Shao Qing’s reputation had indeed improved slightly recently, but the number of anti-fans hadn’t decreased significantly. Only a portion of misled netizens had seen the truth. The controversy surrounding the rumors continued unabated.

After ending the call with her agent, Shao Qing decisively halted her day’s workout plan and sought out Jing Ke, who was handling ingredients in the kitchen, choosing to ask her for help.

Jing Ke frowned upon hearing this and immediately stopped what she was doing. “It does sound too coincidental. I’ll hack into it and take a look for you.”

After speaking, Jing Ke ran to her room to get her laptop, not even bothering to take off her apron. She set it up in front of Shao Qing and began frantically typing code.

In this world, Jing Ke’s skills were tantamount to a dimensional strike. After getting Director Hua’s email address from Shao Qing, Jing Ke embedded a small virus into an email, disguising it as a message from a well-known company and sent it.

Jing Ke’s luck was good. Director Hua clicked on the email quickly, and the virus inside soon packaged and sent back the data from his computer.

Director Hua’s invitation to Shao Qing was a recent event, so Jing Ke focused on the files added within the last seven days.

Shao Qing had no talent for computer programming and could only sit to the side, watching Jing Ke’s hands move across the keyboard in a blur.

After about an hour like this, Jing Ke heavily tapped the Enter key, then gently exhaled.

“I invaded his home network via the computer endpoint and hacked into Director Hua’s phone on the side, looking at his recent chat logs with friends.”

Jing Ke said, “Sister Ke might have forgotten to tell you, but the male lead for that miniseries is Xu Yin. Director Hua thinking of you is partially related to Xu Yin’s recommendation.”

“Also, Director Hua has that Mr. Yuan in his phone contacts. The Mr. Yuan you met at the charity gala before, the one with nothing clean about him.”

Jing Ke’s brows furrowed slightly. “Judging from Director Hua’s attitude, choosing you is probably the result of multiple factors. Half is Xu Yin’s recommendation and Mr. Yuan’s suggestion; the other half is your outstanding acting skills impressing him.”

To put it simply, although Director Hua’s personal morals were questionable, he was extremely serious and rigorous when it came to the tribute film. Only after verifying from multiple sources that Shao Qing was a talented actress did he conveniently kill two birds with one stone, doing two favors for others with one action.

“Both Xu Yin and Mr. Yuan recommended me?” Shao Qing was a bit confused.

The latter recommending her made sense—perhaps he wanted to demonstrate his influence, hoping she’d bow her head to him for resources.

But why would Xu Yin voluntarily recommend her? Wasn’t he coveting her fortune? If her fame increased, wouldn’t Xu Yin’s own fortune decrease accordingly?

“Yes. I can’t recover the audio and video, but judging from the text-form conversations, Xu Yin didn’t say anything unnecessary when recommending you.” Jing Ke also found it confusing.

In Jing Ke’s impression, Xu Yin wasn’t such a selfless person.

When he first obtained the System, he had been hesitant to use it. But after tasting the benefits, Xu Yin’s actions grew bolder step by step, and his ambition was slowly nurtured.

For Xu Yin, the best scenario was for Shao Qing to be hated by netizens, hidden away by her company, and ultimately retire from the industry for good.

Voluntarily giving Shao Qing a resource was, to Xu Yin, no different from cutting off his own arms, actively exposing his weakness to his opponent.

Thinking it over, Jing Ke suddenly thought of another possibility. Her expression instantly became complicated, bearing the nausea of biting into half a worm while eating.

“What’s wrong? Did you find something off?” Shao Qing noticed the change.

“I might know why Xu Yin did that.” Jing Ke’s frown was deep, the creases between her brows tight enough to trap many mosquitoes.

“Xu Yin needs the fortune on you to maintain his current luck. There are two ways for him to obtain your fortune. One is to suppress you, causing your fortune to flow to him. And the other…”

Jing Ke paused for a moment, giving Shao Qing half a minute to prepare, before continuing.

“The other way is to develop an intimate relationship with you. That way, he can share the fortune on you.”

Upon hearing Jing Ke’s words, a question mark couldn’t help but pop up over Shao Qing’s head. She instantly thought of the time Xu Yin deliberately asked for her contact information in front of a live stream camera.

“What if I don’t actually develop an intimate relationship with him, but many netizens believe we’re together? Would Xu Yin still steal my fortune in that case?” Shao Qing’s mind raced through many thoughts in that short instant.

“Wouldn’t those people who try to tie their hype to me also siphon off my fortune?” Shao Qing asked.

Jing Ke shook her head. “Others probably can’t. Xu Yin can only share your luck because he performed some rituals before, establishing a weak connection with you.”

“If you play lovers on screen, what you’re worried about might happen.”

“To be safe, I suggest you turn down the female lead role in this miniseries.” Jing Ke analyzed. “That way, you can avoid being used by Xu Yin, and also avoid too much interaction with Mr. Yuan.”

“As for film and television resources, don’t worry too much.” Jing Ke said. Her acquisition was already in the final public notification phase. In a few more days, she would be the boss of a company.

The worst-case scenario was just spending her own money to tailor-make scripts for Shao Qing, using over a billion in foreign currency to lift her up and give her a chance to step onto the international stage.

Shao Qing nodded. She had persisted for three years; she wasn’t about to lose her head now and do something irrational for the miniseries female lead role in a tribute film.

“Jing Ke, thank you. If it weren’t for you, Sister Ke and I would probably have been kept in the dark.” Shao Qing slowly exhaled and smiled at Jing Ke.

“Is there anything you need me to do for you? I can’t just keep accepting your help without giving back.” Shao Qing said.

Jing Ke rubbed her chin. “Then help me prepare the ingredients? Finding that information took up quite a bit of time; I might need a kitchen helper.”

“Alright, I’ll assist you. Just tell me directly what you need me to do.” Shao Qing agreed with a smile, and soon she was donning an identical apron.

–

“You want to turn down this role? Are you sure?” Sister Ke, who was still playing tai chi with Director Hua, couldn’t help but raise her voice, her tone full of disbelief.

Sister Ke: “Shao Qing, don’t you know what a great opportunity this is? The moment Director Hua announces you’re starring as the female lead in a tribute film, your endorsement fee can increase by at least twenty percent.”

Shao Qing: “Sister Ke, I know everything you’re saying. This is my decision after careful consideration. I asked a friend of mine; the female lead in this tribute film is a person with a physical disability. If I were to play this role, I’d need to lose weight, but I’m currently trying to gain muscle.”

Shao Qing: “It’s a choice between the tribute film and the second female lead role in Director Li’s drama. Sister Ke, you know which one I’ll choose.”

“Are you really sure?” Sister Ke asked.

Shao Qing: “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Alright, I won’t force it then,” Sister Ke said. “But you need to keep the day after tomorrow free. I’ll take you to meet Director Hua in person to explain, so he doesn’t think you’re disrespecting him and make things difficult for you later.”