Looking at the two protagonists of the Sun Date on the bulletin board, Bai Baozhu tilted her head in confusion, her mind full of question marks.
“Xia Tiantian’s date… is with Lin Dong?”
Bai Baozhu stared blankly at the two names, instantly bewildered.
Didn’t Xia Tiantian say yesterday that she was giving up on Lin Dong and starting fresh?
Why was she asking Lin Dong out today?
A woman’s heart was truly too difficult to fathom!
Bai Baozhu blinked her eyes and decided not to waste any more brain cells on this unsolvable emotional problem!
Anyway, she didn’t plan on falling in love in this lifetime, so what did it matter what it meant or represented.
So, Bai Baozhu happily went to the kitchen again to make today’s delicious and nutritious breakfast—Yangzhou-style morning tea!
After getting all the ingredients she needed from the production team, Bai Baozhu tied her fluffy long hair into a low ponytail, put on an apron, and started making breakfast.
Due to limited time, Bai Baozhu didn’t plan to make too many dishes, only picking a few breakfast items she herself wanted to eat.
Jadeite shaomai, three-diced meat buns, crescent moon dumplings, braised shredded tofu, and shrimp roe dumpling noodles.
Although there were only these few items, making them was still quite troublesome.
Bai Baozhu first started kneading the dough, making all the pastry items and putting them in the steamer.
After kneading the dough, Bai Baozhu began processing all the ingredients, mixing them into fillings.
The first thing she made was the jadeite shaomai, one of the dishes known as the “Yangzhou Duo.”
Fresh seasonal vegetables were chopped into a paste, the excess juice filtered out, and then layer upon layer of white sugar was evenly sprinkled over the drained vegetable paste.
Finally, lard and salt were added to enhance the fragrance of the filling.
The camera guy, who hadn’t had time to eat any breakfast that morning, watched through the lens as Bai Baozhu deftly and skillfully made the breakfast items. He almost felt like kneeling down and calling her a goddess.
Even though the taste of the breakfast wasn’t ready yet, just watching Bai Baozhu so nimbly roll the dough wrappers paper-thin, wrap the filling inside, and form them into small, exquisite shaomai, finally sprinkling savory ham on top as a garnish—each one like a work of art—was enough to make anyone watching admire her.
After wrapping all the jadeite shaomai and placing them in the steamer, Bai Baozhu began making the other pastries—three-diced meat buns, crescent moon dumplings…
……
When all the dating guests woke up, finished washing up, and just walked into the first-floor dining room, waves of rich, savory fragrance wafted to their noses.
“It smells so good… Is Zhu Zhu already making breakfast?”
“There’s a chicken broth smell… and also a fresh shrimp scent!”
……
Everyone sniffed the air as they pushed open the kitchen door.
What they saw were several steamers emitting plumes of white steam. On the countertop of the cabinet were several bowls of shrimp roe dumpling noodles and a plate of braised shredded tofu.
As for Bai Baozhu?
She was brewing tea.
Under the soft light, the girl’s hands were fair and slender. The jade-green tea contrasted with her snow-white skin, creating an indescribable elegance.
Even though Bai Baozhu was still wearing an apron, somehow, facing her as she serenely brewed tea, she exuded an inexplicable noble aura, completely unlike the Bai Baozhu they knew.
“Good morning.”
Seeing someone enter the kitchen, Bai Baozhu smiled and greeted them.
Hearing Bai Baozhu’s clear, sweet voice, everyone finally snapped back to reality.
“Bai Baozhu, you’ve already finished making breakfast? You woke up so early.”
“Zhu Zhu! Why didn’t you wake me up when you got up! I could have at least helped you out a bit! Given you a hand!”
“Yeah, Zhu Zhu, you made all the breakfast by yourself like this, we really feel too bad…”
Listening to Xia Tiantian’s reproach and the other dating guests’ embarrassed expressions, Bai Baozhu didn’t take it seriously at all.
It was just making breakfast, why would she need help?
Now, forget just making breakfast for a few people, even if it were for hundreds of people, with her innate divine strength, it wouldn’t be any burden.
“It’s fine, it’s just making breakfast, it won’t tire me out.”
Bai Baozhu laughed heartily and said very casually.
Hearing Bai Baozhu’s words, everyone was at a loss for what to say.
Even without thinking too deeply, they had to admit that the current Bai Baozhu was too different from the past Bai Baozhu, as if she had become a different person.
However, this change was a good change.
“Alright, alright, since Zhu Zhu has already finished making breakfast, let’s just lend a hand and carry all this food to the table.”
Perhaps because she wanted to take care of this simple, kind-hearted, silly younger sister Bai Baozhu, the usually shy and quiet Xia Tiantian had also begun to change a lot.
Following Xia Tiantian’s words, the dating guests of Love Cottage all started moving, carrying plate after plate of the distinctive Yangzhou morning tea to the dining table.
Only after placing the breakfast on the table did everyone realize how particularly leisurely and elegant their breakfast was today!
“Yangzhou morning tea?”
Ye Jingyu looked at the breakfast and couldn’t help but glance at Bai Baozhu with admiration.
She was now certain that Bai Baozhu genuinely loved cooking, unlike Su Han, who pretended to love cooking to impress the male guests.
After all, just this one breakfast required a lot of effort.
It was much more complex than the crab roe soup dumplings made yesterday, as this involved several different dishes! And the craftsmanship for each dish was no simpler than the crab roe soup dumplings.
“That’s right, today’s breakfast theme is Yangzhou morning tea.”
Bai Baozhu nodded with a smile, had Xia Tiantian place teacups in front of each guest (except Jiang Boyan!), and then poured tea for each dating guest.
“Kui Long Zhu tea, the standard pairing for Yangzhou morning tea.”
Smelling the faint tea fragrance in the air and looking at the table full of exquisite, delicious breakfast items, everyone suddenly felt as if they were in Yangzhou, having morning tea at a hotel on vacation, with a sense of leisure and relaxation.
“Bai Baozhu, you worked hard.”
Bo Shenyu looked at the sumptuous breakfast before him and then at the girl sitting opposite him who laughed heartily and without pretense. His expression couldn’t help but soften.
It had to be said, ever since Bai Baozhu took over the kitchen, the food was indeed much tastier than the Western food Su Han used to make. Their sense of happiness in Love Cottage had also increased a lot.
“Yeah, Zhu Zhu, you really worked hard. Next time you cook, you must call us to help.”
Wei Wenbo also said somewhat apologetically.
Seeing everyone about to launch into another round of polite remarks, Bai Baozhu waved her hand impatiently and muttered.
“Alright, alright, I already said, it’s just cooking, it won’t kill anyone. Hurry up and eat, the food won’t taste good if it gets cold!”
At Bai Baozhu’s command, everyone also closed their mouths, picked up their chopsticks, and eagerly started eating!
Of course, among this group of eaters, Jiang Boyan was not included.
“Wow! These jadeite shaomai are too delicious! Sweet with a hint of saltiness, the saltiness doesn’t overpower the sweetness, the taste of sugar is faintly discernible, it’s absolutely fantastic!”
“This dried shredded tofu is soft and refreshing, the broth is rich and delicious, really tasty.”
……
Listening to the group, who acted as if they hadn’t eaten in eight lifetimes, tasting the breakfast while ‘writing little essays’ praising the dishes, Jiang Boyan, who was holding toast in his hand and chewing, almost flipped the table!
Who did he, Jiang Boyan, think he was! When had he ever suffered such indignity! And who would dare make him suffer such indignity!
But this woman, Bai Baozhu!
Jiang Boyan was glaring fiercely at Bai Baozhu, like a hungry wolf, extremely ferocious.
However, Bai Baozhu… gave Jiang Boyan a big eye-roll and even snorted disdainfully.
“Hmph—!”
Hearing that snort and seeing Bai Baozhu’s utterly disdainful look, Jiang Boyan crushed the toast in his hand!
“Jiang Boyan, that’s enough, just apologize to Bai Baozhu. At least the food will be much better.”
Lin Dong, sitting next to Jiang Boyan, watched Jiang Boyan being infuriated by Bai Baozhu and whispered advice.
But Jiang Boyan was—
“I’d rather die than apologize to her!”
……
The ‘war’ between Bai Baozhu and Jiang Boyan was seen by everyone, and they were all a bit worried the two would become too hostile.
However, among this group, it did not include… Bo Shenyu.
At this moment, all of Bo Shenyu’s attention was focused on those small, cute jadeite shaomai!
With chrysanthemum-petal edges, thin wrappers enveloping the fresh vegetable filling, shaped like pomegranates, the base resembling coins, the emerald-green top exposed like a tousled head, garnished with a small amount of minced ham—the color was like jadeite, a joy to behold.
Of course, what attracted Bo Shenyu the most wasn’t the appearance of the jadeite shaomai, but—its taste!
Sweet oil filled the mouth, sweet and fragrant, the balance of salty and sweet was so gentle and delicate…
This moved Bo Shenyu, who hadn’t relaxed and eaten sweets like this in a long time, immensely!
After one small, cute, jade-like shaomai after another entered his stomach, Bo Shenyu’s favorability towards Bai Baozhu gradually rose, very quickly surpassing the other three female guests, making her the female guest he held in the highest regard in Love Cottage!
“Haha, Brother Shen seems to really love this jadeite shaomai? Feels like he ate a lot of them.”
The dating guests, chatting while eating morning tea, only noticed after the jadeite shaomai plate was cleared that Bo Shenyu seemed to have been quietly eating morning tea the whole time without saying a word.
Seeing that his non-stop eating had been discovered, Bo Shenyu maintained his usual calm and composed demeanor, saying very coolly.
“They were close by. I was hungry.”
Hearing this cool explanation, no one doubted it.
After all, this slightly sweet flavor didn’t seem like Bo Shenyu’s preferred taste.
“Huh? That hungry? Then I’ll make some snacks this afternoon. If you get hungry, you can have some anytime.”
Bai Baozhu’s suggestion was met with another round of cheers and increased favorability from the group, with Bo Shenyu being the most moved!
He just felt that this girl Bai Baozhu was good in every way! She was such a kind, good girl, it’s just… if she could make fewer desserts, reducing the risk of him exposing his sweet-tooth attribute, that would be even better! 〒-〒
However, while the guests of Love Cottage were all marveling at how Bai Baozhu was truly beautiful inside and out, and simply too good,
Bai Baozhu’s proposal to make snacks wasn’t purely for these dating guests! She was just… doing it entirely for herself! She wanted to advertise on the show, promoting the snack shop she might open in the future!
She thought that after the show ended, she could also open a small snack workshop and sell online. With the so-called ‘celebrity effect,’ the profits from snacks would definitely be considerable!
Of course, whether to open a restaurant or make snacks, she hadn’t decided yet.
Might as well advertise on the show first! No point in not taking the free publicity!
A leisurely, comfortable, and uniquely elegant Yangzhou morning tea was thus enjoyed for a full hour as everyone chatted and drank tea.
Everyone was very satisfied with today’s morning tea. Their bonds also grew closer over this meal, and everyone happily discussed what to eat for lunch.
However, this did not include Jiang Boyan, who left the table early, and Su Han, who sat among them, distracted…
Su Han stared blankly at the plate of jadeite shaomai that had been almost entirely eaten by Bo Shenyu alone. Her mood felt heavy, as if weighed down by dark clouds.
Others might not know that Bo Shenyu liked sweet food, but she knew.
She not only knew he liked sweets, but also knew he was a plushie lover.
She understood everything about him, knew his preferences. She felt that their meeting meant she was his destined one, and he was her destined one. They were a match made in heaven, and besides her, no one else could make him happy.
Originally, everything had been progressing smoothly according to her plan. Bo Shenyu’s gaze had also settled on her, and he had begun treating her differently from the other female guests.
But Bai Baozhu had ruined all her plans! Suddenly, she started cooking! Just cooking would have been fine, but then she started making desserts!
No! She couldn’t let Bai Baozhu keep making desserts! What if… what if…
Su Han didn’t dare to think about that possibility. She pressed her lips together tightly and finally made a decision—
“Zhu Zhu, I still think it’s too tiring for you to cook alone. Let’s take turns cooking from now on.”