Chapter 71

Jiang Sisi was still smiling, unmoving in the living room.

Leng Xiang and Qin Yang cooking together was part of the script. The production team had originally intended to pair them up—the wild masculine guy with the aloof beauty was a perfect match. However, they hadn’t arranged for Jiang Sisi to interrupt them at this moment.

Men and women working together made the job less tiring, but the ambiguous buzz between Leng Xiang and Jiang Sisi needed to be there too, to stir up topics.

The director group had calculated everything perfectly, but they hadn’t expected Jiang Sisi to call Leng Xiang over to her side right then.

The director group screamed silently in their hearts.

Teacher Jiang, take it easy! Don’t go too far! This is still a live broadcast! If things blew up in the first episode, the show would be done for! It would get axed!

The barrage comments continued to flood the screen.

“Tsk.”

“Tsk!!”

“Can’t watch this!!”

“Sisi V5, so dominant!! Steal her away! Steal her!”

“They’re jealous of each other, my teeth are aching from the sourness, damn it.”

“So sweet, wuwuwuwu!!”

Leng Xiang was puzzled and looked at Jiang Sisi, questioning her silently with her eyes.

What for?

Jiang Sisi kept her smile unchanged and looked at her. “You’ll know when you come over.”

Leng Xiang thought to herself, If I go just because you tell me to, won’t I lose face?

She set aside the seasonings prepared for marinating the beef, took off her gloves, and walked over to Jiang Sisi. “What is it?”

Jiang Sisi said, “Come a bit closer.”

Leng Xiang, still puzzled, moved a little nearer.

The two of them were very close.

Jiang Sisi was a bit taller than her. She reached out, brushed over the top of her head, and plucked off a small leaf stuck to the end of her hair.

It had gotten caught there earlier when she was washing and peeling the tomatoes.

Jiang Sisi held the small leaf in her palm and showed it to her, curving her lips. “There, all good. Go back to what you were doing.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Her face flushed slightly. She opened her mouth but said nothing, then walked back to the kitchen, put on her gloves, and continued making the braised beef.

Tens of millions of netizens went crazy.

“This is straight-up declaring sovereignty, friends!!!”

“Sorry, I take back what I said about Qin Yang and Leng Xiang being a good match! Sorry!! I didn’t betray the group!! I didn’t! I’d throw my head on the line and spill hot blood for Si Xiang CP!!”

“I can’t take it anymore. I was just enjoying the handsome guy and beauty cooking together, but Teacher Jiang swoops in, and Qin Yang instantly becomes background.”

“And Xiangxiang blushed…”

“Damn!! Xiangxiang!! Mom won’t let you make that face!! Control yourself! Where’s your acting? You’re an actress!”

“Teacher Jiang’s level is just too high, way higher. She one-shotted Qin Yang—no contest!”

Jiang Sisi listened to the barrage comments relayed to her in real-time through her earpiece, and the smile on her lips deepened.

Two hours later, lunch was ready and served on the table.

The seven people gathered around. The table held three meat dishes, three veggie ones, and a soup—colorful, aromatic, and appetizing.

Jiang Sisi reached out and knocked away the chopsticks Yi Jing had already extended to grab some food. “It’s the first day of filming. Let’s introduce ourselves to the thirty million viewers first.”

The camera zoomed in.

The vast netizen audience then realized that the live broadcast had started at eight in the morning, and only four hours had passed so far.

“I thought I’d been watching for ages, but it’s only been half a day…”

“Feels like forever +1”

“Probably because we were so hooked hhhhh”

Yi Jing’s hand got knocked, and he pitifully withdrew it.

Qin Yang, sitting next to him, chuckled softly.

Yi Jing turned to look at him. “What’re you laughing at?”

Yi Jing had felt a bit annoyed earlier watching Leng Xiang and Qin Yang cook together.

The first time he’d seen Leng Xiang at the KTV over New Year’s, he’d been stunned by her beauty. He hadn’t even spoken much to her yet, and this big lug had beaten him to it.

Qin Yang said seriously, “Nothing.”

Jiang Sisi took it all in.

She said, “You two guys over there, no flirting on camera. It’s live, bad for the image.”

The netizen barrage exploded again.

“This is a romance variety show, BG direction!!”

“Hahahaha, I think Jiang Sisi’s just diverting the fire to herself!”

Yi Jing glared at Qin Yang, then ignored him.

Jiang Sisi said, “Let’s go in order, starting with Lu Rui.”

Lu Rui was poised and gracious. She smiled sweetly at the camera. “Hi everyone, I’m Lu Rui. I just wrapped Harem, and the drama’s about to air soon. Please show it lots of love.”

Plugging her work on a variety show—pretty professional.

The others clapped perfunctorily.

The rest weren’t talkative either, just giving simple name intros, which made Lu Rui’s sudden ad feel a bit awkward.

After the meal, they chatted on the sofa for a bit before heading back to their rooms for naps.

Nap time lasted until three in the afternoon. During this period, the live stream didn’t shut down, but the main cameras were supposed to be off.

The production team pulled the camera operators, but they left one camera in the living room, aimed at the sofa. When retreating for rest, they slyly didn’t turn it off.

None of the guests knew.

During nap time, the netizens didn’t want to stare at an empty sofa and went off to do other things.

The thirty million online viewers dropped sharply, though some diehards stuck around.

Leng Xiang didn’t nap. She lingered in the living room. Wang Linlin came into the Love Cottage hugging a stack of scripts, spotted Leng Xiang, and greeted her. “Sister Leng Xiang.”

During these three months of filming, Wang Linlin would stay by Leng Xiang’s side, but she wouldn’t appear in the Love Cottage when cameras were rolling, to avoid accidentally getting on frame.

Wang Linlin plopped the scripts on the living room coffee table with a thud.

She wiped her sweat and said, “Sister Shen Cheng said you’re pretty free filming this show, so pick some scripts first. After this variety wraps, you can jump straight into a production.”

The live stream barrage quietly picked up again.

“What are they saying? Who’s this?”

“Probably Leng Xiang’s assistant. I remember her from that video of Leng Xiang’s birthday on set last time.”

“What’s with all these? The guests’ mics seem muted; can’t hear them.”

“Work stuff?”

“Working while on a variety show? So tough.”

Leng Xiang nodded, sat on the sofa, and casually picked up a script to read.

The stack included both movies and TV dramas. Ever since Excellence Media stopped blacklisting her and with Jiang Sisi’s boost, countless productions had sent scripts to Shen Cheng, inquiring about Leng Xiang’s schedule.

Overnight, she’d gone from an buried eighteenth-tier actress to a hot A-lister.

And after this variety show ended, she’d get even hotter.

Wang Linlin reminded her, “Take your time picking. Sister Shen Cheng said no rush this time—tons of roles, whatever you want to shoot.”

Leng Xiang felt a surge of emotion and softly hummed in acknowledgment.

After delivering the scripts, Wang Linlin went to rest. Leng Xiang hauled the stack upstairs first, then grabbed two at random, returned to the living room, and sat on the sofa reading.

At that moment, she was like a still painting. Aside from occasionally turning a page, she didn’t move.

The barrage scrolled quietly.

“Don’t even wanna post comments…”

“So beautiful, like a beauty in a painting…”

“What’s wrong with you all? Liven it up!!!!!”

“Liven what? Even an exclamation mark feels like disturbing the painting. Don’t disturb.”

“…”

When Jiang Sisi came downstairs with her laptop, this was the scene she saw.

Leng Xiang wore a white sweater and casual jeans, sitting on the sofa flipping through a script.

A few strands of hair fell over her face, half-hiding her profile. Her lips were pursed, her gaze fixed intently on the script on her lap.

Time itself seemed to stand still.

Jiang Sisi didn’t disturb her and sat beside her with the laptop.

Jiang Sisi opened her computer and got to work.

Leng Xiang glanced up at her, then back down.

The solo painting became a duo.

Netizens called their friends, and the live viewer count shot back up.

The guests’ mics were off during nap time, and the camera was too far to pick up sound.

The barrage blackened the screen.

“They don’t know we’re watching!!”

“Probably, mics are off. Feels like the crew just left this one on by accident while resting.”

“Are they talking?? Are they??”

“Doesn’t look like it, mouths aren’t moving.”

“They did!! Mouth moved just now!!”

“What are they saying!!! I wanna know so bad!!”

Leng Xiang did exchange a few words with Jiang Sisi.

Ever since Jiang Sisi sat next to her with the laptop, Leng Xiang couldn’t focus on the script anymore.

She watched Jiang Sisi typing away, then glanced back down at her own script.

She couldn’t read it at all.

Leng Xiang said, “Not napping?”

Jiang Sisi didn’t look up. “Don’t have the habit. Perfect time to get some work done.”

Jiang Sisi added, “Picking scripts?”

Leng Xiang nodded.

Jiang Sisi sat up straight, set the laptop aside, and said, “Let me see.”

Leng Xiang handed over the script and scooted a bit closer to Jiang Sisi.

The gap between them shrank.

The barrage went utterly feral, and the live viewer peak even surpassed the morning’s record.

“What old married couple vibe is this? Feels like a couple married for years…”

“They’re naturally leaning together after just a couple words. I’m crying!!”

“Wuwuwuwu, so moving. I think they’re real!!”

“Will I see them come out in this show?! Aaaah I’m losing it!!”

“My Si Xiang CP is real!! Real!! If not, I’ll eat shit on stream!!”

Jiang Sisi skimmed the first couple pages and shook her head. “This script’s no good. The concept’s weak.”

Leng Xiang nodded. “Yeah, lacks punch.”

Leng Xiang picked up another script. Jiang Sisi looked up, scanned the whole living room, and her gaze landed on the lone camera in the corner.

The barrage panicked.

“Sisi seems to have noticed us…”

“Hahaha, look at Sisi’s face—she just realized there’s a camera still on.”

“Teacher Jiang, don’t turn it off!! Don’t!! I wanna keep watching!!”

“Aaah don’t!!”

Jiang Sisi stood up and mercilessly switched off the camera.

At three in the afternoon, the production staff returned to the Love Cottage.

The camera guy came in shouldering his gear. The director group greeted Jiang Sisi a bit guiltily. “Teacher Jiang, no nap at noon?”

Jiang Sisi gave a half-smile. “Nope. If I really rested, you wouldn’t have anything to film, right?”

Cold sweat beaded on the director group’s foreheads.

The other male and female guests came downstairs too.

Once everyone gathered in the living room, Jiang Sisi pulled out the stack of task cards she carried and glanced at one. “Our afternoon task is big shopping—buy some decorations to spruce up the rooms.”

“This time, default teams are guys together and girls together, roommates pair up to chat easily.”

Jiang Sisi added, “Of course, guests can form their own teams.”