“What were you two talking about in the kitchen?”
Just as Bo Shenyu’s heart was pounding ‘thump-thump’ wildly, stirred by Bai Baozhu’s words and her smiling, crescent-moon eyes.
A faint, pink bubble of atmosphere was brewing in the kitchen. But who could have known… a surprised, giggling female voice would suddenly cut in.
In an instant, all those pink bubbles in the kitchen vanished.
Bo Shenyu, who had originally wanted to say something more to Bai Baozhu, felt a twinge of annoyance as he looked toward the kitchen door. There, he saw Su Han smiling at them as she walked briskly in.
“Zhu Zhu, did you sneakily make something delicious again?”
Su Han chuckled as she sat on the stool next to Bai Baozhu, smiling at her while her eyes subtly swept over Bo Shenyu.
The sharp-eyed Su Han spotted the leftover, un-cleaned-up cream in the kitchen.
Her heart guessed that Bai Baozhu must have made another dessert for Bo Shenyu just now.
It was just too infuriating!
If she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have been so conservative, stubbornly waiting for the perfect timing and holding back from making desserts for Bo Shenyu.
Otherwise, this advantage with desserts wouldn’t have been snatched away by Bai Baozhu!
Now, because of those desserts Bai Baozhu made, Bo Shenyu’s attitude toward her was so special.
All of this… originally should have been hers…
Just as Su Han was filled with immense resentment, blaming Bai Baozhu for stealing her initiative.
Unexpectedly, the words that next came from Bai Baozhu’s mouth shocked and angered her so much she nearly cursed out loud!
“Huh? I didn’t make anything.”
Bai Baozhu waved her hand, looking utterly innocent at Su Han.
“Don’t lie to me, I saw the leftover cream you used.”
Su Han smiled at Bai Baozhu while internally dissing her for being such a good actress, even better than herself.
No wonder she was about to debut as an entertainer!
“No, that wasn’t me.”
“Mm, that wasn’t Zhu Zhu. I made it.”
Bai Baozhu and Bo Shenyu spoke in perfect unison, their words overlapping.
After speaking, they found it quite amusing and looked at each other, laughing.
This shocked Su Han so much her eyes nearly popped out!
Bo Shenyu, this man with such strong self-esteem and great concern for face, actually made a dessert on the show! In front of the cameras?!
That was absolutely impossible!
“You’re joking with me, right! Bo Shenyu can make desserts?”
Su Han looked at Bo Shenyu in disbelief, feeling this was far too absurd!
The novel never mentioned Bo Shenyu knowing how to make desserts, nor did it mention him making any during his time on Love Cottage!
“Yeah, yeah! Not only can Bo Shenyu make them, he makes them really well!”
Seeing Su Han share her own initial shock at Bo Shenyu’s dessert-making skills, Bai Baozhu said with a laugh.
“Sister Hanhan, I had the exact same reaction as you when I watched him make it.”
As she spoke, Bai Baozhu looked over at Bo Shenyu and said playfully,
“Bo Shenyu, you really are full of hidden depths.”
“It’s nothing much.”
Seeing Bai Baozhu’s attitude toward him, clearly different from her previous aloof, indifferent self, even joking with him now, Bo Shenyu felt his mood was exceptionally good.
“So modest!”
Witnessing Bai Baozhu and Bo Shenyu’s ‘exchanging glances’ and playful banter, Su Han’s smile stiffened terribly.
Usually adept at conversation, she suddenly felt she couldn’t wedge a single word between the two of them.
She pursed her lips, forcing the chaotic feelings in her heart to settle a bit, then looked at Bo Shenyu with curiosity and expectation in her eyes.
“Ah! Really? Does Brother Shen’s dessert taste that good? I suddenly really want to try it. Brother Shen, when are you making dessert next? Let me know.”
Su Han used a light, cheerful, slightly joking tone as she smiled and asked Bo Shenyu.
Generally, when a girl put it that way, any guy would exercise some gentlemanly manners and respond.
Even if he didn’t want to make it, he’d at least pay lip service.
But…
Bo Shenyu straightforwardly rejected Su Han, slapping her smiling face.
“Sorry, I’m actually not that fond of making desserts.”
Being rejected so immediately, without a second’s hesitation, made Su Han’s smile stiffen even further.
The atmosphere in the kitchen instantly became awkward.
For a moment, the air was very quiet.
“Ahem! It’s fine, Sister Hanhan. Actually, Bo Shenyu’s desserts aren’t that great. Mine are much better. If you want to eat some, I’ll make it for you.”
Bai Baozhu proactively broke the awkward silence, giving Su Han an out as she said with a smile.
However, Bai Baozhu’s good intentions, in Su Han’s eyes, were a mockery, a condescending display of superiority.
She forced a stiff smile, her expression looking as if she were about to cry. She glanced at Bo Shenyu and said in an utterly dejected voice.
“I… don’t feel too well. I’ll go back to my room first.”
Watching Su Han’s retreating back, Bai Baozhu gave Bo Shenyu a rather speechless look.
Bai Steel-Straight Man Baozhu silently complained in her heart, Bo Shenyu’s behavior was probably what Xia Tiantian had explained to her as ‘cluelessly direct male behavior’!
He really was a steel-straight man! Good thing his face was decent! Otherwise, probably no girl would like him…
Just as Bai Baozhu was silently complaining about Bo Shenyu for being a clueless straight man, Love Cottage Episode Fourteen aired on time at 8 PM on Sunday!
Because Bai Baozhu’s Sports Center feat the previous day had been so wildly popular, even getting clips edited and posted on YouTube abroad, the audience for this episode of Love Cottage wasn’t just Chinese viewers anymore!
There were quite a few international viewers too, it’s just… it was very troublesome for foreign friends to watch this dating reality show, and they couldn’t understand Chinese either╮(╯▽╰)╭
However, food knows no borders! Even if the language differed, deliciousness was universal!
Love Cottage Episode Fourteen had just begun, and all viewers, whether domestic or the small portion of international ones, were stunned by the massive table of All-Sweets Afternoon Tea that Bai Baozhu had prepared!
Countless desserts, complete in color, aroma, and taste, looked exceptionally tempting under the camera’s lens!
Even viewers who didn’t like sweets had to admit that facing these desserts, they felt a little tempted to try them!
Just as everyone was watching TV, drooling through the screen at that huge table of high-value desserts, no one expected the following scenes would make them stop drooling and instead let out excited screams!
“Oh my god! What am I seeing! Bo Shenyu is obediently eating the dessert Bai Baozhu handed him! Can we lock these two in already?”
“So sweet! These two must get together!”
Just like the Celebrity Observers on Love Cottage were excitedly exclaiming about how sweet the CP of Bai Baozhu and Bo Shenyu was, the viewers in front of their TVs were also screaming from the sweetness of this pair.
Watching Bo Shenyu, who hated sweets, facing the dessert Bai Baozhu offered and eating every last bite, everyone was sweetened into wearing wide, auntie-like grins.
【Ahhh! A Wei is dead again! What kind of Immortal CP is this! So sweet! Lock them in!】
【Brother Shen is so doting on Zhu Zhu! He clearly hates sweets so much, but for Zhu Zhu, he can eat it all. What kind of divine love is this! So touching!】
【Raising the banner of the Sweet CP high! Brother Shen and Zhu Zhu, charge! You are the most well-matched CP!】
…
Just as a group of Sweet CP fans were excitedly showing off and spreading sugar online, a small faction of Heretical CP fans, keeping to their own corner and happily obsessed, were also screaming excitedly——
【Third time’s the charm! I can now say with absolute certainty! Song Zhi must like our Zhu Zhu! The first two times his pen broke could be called coincidence, but this is the third time! There’s no way it’s a coincidence anymore!】
【When Brother Zhi saw Zhu Zhu feeding Bo Shenyu dessert, the veins on the back of his hand bulged. You can tell how much force he used to snap that pen! That was definitely jealousy!】
【Wahhh! This is so sweet. Our Brother Zhi and Zhu Zhu have an Immortal-level love! Zhu Zhu obviously doesn’t like Bo Shenyu, everyone else is just stirring things up.】
【Exactly! I even suspect Bo Shenyu doesn’t like Bai Baozhu either, he just likes eating dessert, right?】
【That guess… I think it’s somewhat reasonable!】
…
Love Cottage Episode Fourteen, amidst the discussions and gossip of various CP factions, quickly drew to a close.
Seeing Ye Jingyu’s date with Bo Shenyu end in tragedy, many viewers sympathized with this nearly perfect, wealthy, beautiful woman, drawing a wave of tears from their CP fans.
However, just as everyone was affected by the plot, feeling some heartache for Ye Jingyu, no one expected the program’s finale——
“Wow! So fierce? Just after coming back with Ye Jingyu, Bo Shenyu directly initiates a Sun Date with another female guest?!”
“Did the production team edit out the conversation content from Bo Shenyu and Ye Jingyu’s date? Otherwise, Bo Shenyu wouldn’t possibly do something so rude, right?”
“I think it must be. During this date, Bo Shenyu was probably inspired by Ye Jingyu, realized his own feelings, and that’s why he couldn’t wait to initiate his own Sun Date right after finishing his date with her.”
“Now I’m a bit curious about what exactly Ye Jingyu and Bo Shenyu talked about.”
“So, Bo Shenyu and Bai Baozhu are locked in, right? After all, Bo Shenyu asked out Bai Baozhu.”
…
Watching the Celebrity Observers’ analysis on the program, the viewers in front of their TVs were both excited and wanted to curse!
Excited because Bo Shenyu asked out Bai Baozhu! Wanting to curse because——
【Hah! The Love Cottage editor really is an Orphan Editor! Have the guts to show the entire date conversation!】
【I really want to know what Ye Jingyu and Bo Shenyu talked about during their date now!】
【I don’t care what Bo Shenyu and Ye Jingyu talked about! I just want to see Bai Baozhu and Bo Shenyu’s date! Oh my god! Thinking I have to wait another week makes me want to DIE!】
…
Amidst the audience’s collective wails, Love Cottage Episode Fourteen finished airing.
That day, the Sweet CP of Bai Baozhu and Bo Shenyu trended on Hot Search again! Everyone was anticipating the romantic progression of these two dating guests and was extremely curious about what kind of date their outing would be.
Looking at the online discussions about Bo Shenyu and Bai Baozhu’s Sun Date, a certain top-tier male god who had already seen the episode was silently complaining to himself while reading the comments——
Hah! Their Sun Date had basically zero pink bubbles! These netizens are just reading too much into it! Where does Bai Baozhu like Bo Shenyu! It’s all just CP fan filter brainwashing!
This certain top-tier male god scrolled through Weibo while ranting wildly in his heart.
Moreover, when he saw some netizens saying he and Bai Baozhu were a better match, he couldn’t control his fingers and liked every single one of those comments!
In the end, it was a call from Cheng Yingda that pulled Song Zhi back from Weibo.
“Hey, Brother Cheng, is it done? When are Bai Baozhu and I collaborating on that game livestream?”
As soon as the call connected, before Cheng Yingda could even speak, Song Zhi beat him to it.
“Good. The Glory of Kings side also likes Bai Baozhu quite a bit. They agreed without any hesitation and are very optimistic about this livestream. Now we just have to wait for them to communicate with Bai Baozhu’s agency and negotiate the contract details.”
“How much longer will that take?”
Seeing that the matter was settled, the corners of Song Zhi’s mouth lifted slightly. For some reason, he felt a bit of sweetness in his heart, along with a touch of nervousness.
“That depends on Bai Baozhu’s agency. If it’s fast, maybe just a day or two. However, I’m actually a little worried for her, given the agency she’s signed with.”
As Cheng Yingda spoke of Bai Baozhu’s agency, his brow subconsciously furrowed.
He was a golden agent in the entertainment circle and had a good understanding of the artists, big and small, and the agencies within the industry.
Bai Baozhu’s agency was very small and didn’t have any famous artists, but it was something of an open secret among those with connections in the circle that the boss of this company was a rich second-generation heir with a bit of background.
“What’s wrong? Is her agency not good?”
Hearing Cheng Yingda say this, Song Zhi became very concerned and pressed for details.
“Yeah, it’s a very small company, and it’s not run in a very professional manner. Their boss is just a rich second-generation heir dabbling in the business. That in itself wouldn’t be a huge issue, but…”
“But what?”
Hearing this ‘but’ from Cheng Yingda, Song Zhi’s heart immediately leapt into his throat.
“But, according to my sources, the family of that rich second-generation boss of Bai Baozhu’s agency… seems to have run into some trouble…”
“……”
After learning about the problems with Bai Baozhu’s agency, the joy he had felt at being able to do a livestream with her vanished. Now, his mind was completely occupied with worry for Bai Baozhu.
“Brother Cheng, can we sign Bai Baozhu over to us?”
“It’s very difficult right now. No one is a fool. After all, Bai Baozhu is currently a cash cow. How could they possibly just let her go so easily?”
……
“Zhu Zhu, don’t listen to your agent’s nonsense. Becoming an A-list star isn’t something you can just decide to do that easily. He’s just trying to trick you!”
At that moment, Bai Baozhu, whom Song Zhi was so worried about, was also pondering the question of whether or not to become a star, and whether to breach her contract or not.
However, after watching a female-led inspirational drama about the entertainment industry with Xia Tiantian, Bai Baozhu made her decision—
“Forget it! Becoming an A-list star is way too hard! That Fei Ping really was just trying to trick me!”
Having learned a lot of ‘knowledge’ from the TV, Bai Baozhu watched as the female lead in the drama Starry Dreams was betrayed! Mocked! Slandered! Framed! Had rotten eggs thrown at her by fans! … and so on, suffering a whole series of distressing events before finally becoming an A-list superstar in the end. Watching the drama left her heart-weary and emotionally drained. She was so frustrated she wanted to rush into the TV and give the useless female lead a good shake to wake her up. She felt that the entertainment circle really wasn’t for her!
Hmm… the original host’s star dream was just too heavy! Just as Bo Shenyu had said, the person was gone. Even if she helped fulfill that dream for her, what would it matter?
She shouldn’t force herself so much QAQ.
“Sister Tian Tian, my breach of contract penalty is five hundred thousand. Do you think if I film more ads during the show, I could earn that five hundred thousand pretty quickly?”
Bai Baozhu quietly began to consider the issue of her penalty fee.
“I don’t know too much about your industry, but if you don’t have enough for the penalty, I can lend it to you!”
Xia Tiantian, who came from a comfortably well-off family, had a good job, and was a fairly renowned original painter in her field, declared quite boldly to Bai Baozhu.
“Wow! Sister Tian Tian! You’re really the best! But, I’d better try to earn the money myself first. If I’m really far short and truly can’t hold on any longer, I’ll borrow from you then. But thank you anyway, Sister Tian Tian!”
Bai Baozhu happily hugged Xia Tiantian’s arm, speaking with immense gratitude.
However, Bai Baozhu was also a bit of a staunch independent woman. She didn’t like owing others, especially money, so she cheerfully refused.
“Alright. But Zhu Zhu, you absolutely must not force yourself. Your sister has money. I might not be able to pull out five million, but five hundred thousand is easy. Don’t feel awkward or worry about burdening me and not borrow from me.”
Xia Tiantian patted Bai Baozhu’s head and said with a smile.
“Mhm!”
Bai Baozhu nodded, deeply moved, feeling incredibly fortunate to have come to this show and met a good sister like Xia Tiantian.
“Sister Tian Tian, tell me… besides being a singer or actor, what other ways are there to become an A-list star that the whole nation loves?”
Well, within the limits of her capabilities!