Chapter 5: The Evening’s Entertainment and a Fateful Call

Since Qin Yu only specialized in preparing vegetables, Lin Ziyao had her assist. Their cooperation was surprisingly smooth, and in no time, all the ingredients were prepped.

Cooking for seven people was no small feat, and it was unrealistic for Lin Ziyao to manage it all alone. Thus, she turned to Qin Yu beside her and asked, “Can you manage to stir-fry these vegetables?”

Following Lin Ziyao’s gaze, Qin Yu saw that the indicated dishes were mostly vegetables. Lin Ziyao had already taken sole responsibility for all the meat dishes. Qin Yu simply nodded. “No problem!”

After assigning the vegetables to Qin Yu, Lin Ziyao heated the pan and began cooking.

When the male guests, who had been busy all afternoon, finally entered, they were immediately greeted by the enticing aroma of food.

“It smells so good!” Yang Tian inhaled deeply, his steps unconsciously leading him toward the table laden with dishes. The tantalizing scent had already awakened his appetite. Seizing a moment when no one was looking, he reached out to snatch a piece of spare rib.

Smack!

A red mark from a chopstick appeared on Yang Tian’s hand, causing him to hiss repeatedly through gritted teeth.

Feng Qiqi retracted her chopsticks, then glanced at Tang Wenjie, who had also been eyeing a sneaky bite. “Go wash your hands first!”

Tang Wenjie, however, hadn’t been as quick as Yang Tian, thus avoiding the smack. The two men obediently followed Feng Qiqi’s instruction to wash their hands, coincidentally bumping into Xu Li, who had just emerged from the restroom.

At that moment, Lin Ziyao carried the last dish, a steaming bowl of soup, out from the kitchen. Seeing this, Xu Li remarked with a half-joking smile, “I thought we wouldn’t get to eat until much later tonight.”

Lin Ziyao smoothly picked up the conversation, exchanging pleasantries. “If there’s an opportunity, I’d love to try your cooking, Xu Li.”

“Sounds good. Then I’ll cook tomorrow!” Xu Li replied with a laugh.

Lin Ziyao and Qin Yu’s culinary efforts were evidently a great success. Yang Tian and Tang Wenjie, at the very least, had several bowls of rice, and even Dai Wen, who usually meticulously managed her figure, uncharacteristically added half a bowl more.

After eating their fill, Lin Ziyao finally realized something. She turned to ask the male guests present, “Where is Director Chen? Wasn’t he with you?”

Normally, Director Chen, as both director and a semi-host, shouldn’t have missed dinner. Yet, only the three men had returned to the villa. Lin Ziyao, engrossed in her meal earlier, hadn’t noticed, but now, with a full stomach, the anomaly became clear.

Yang Tian had just put down his chopsticks. “Director Chen, it seems he has something urgent to attend to. He told us not to wait for him.”

Once Feng Qiqi and Dai Wen finished clearing the dishes, Director Chen returned to the villa. The moment he stepped inside, he asked everyone, “Have you all eaten?”

After receiving their affirmative replies, he immediately announced, “If you’re all full, let’s begin our evening activities!”

“Gather in the front garden in half an hour. The talent show segment will commence then.”

One advantage of reality shows is that they allow the audience to see the participants’ true selves on camera. Many individuals have used reality TV to showcase a different side of themselves, earning them the title of ‘hidden gems’ from viewers.

Everyone present had come prepared, so naturally, they had no objections to Director Chen’s talent show proposal, especially with half an hour left to prepare.

“Director Chen.” Lin Ziyao, finding a blind spot from the cameras, subtly approached Director Chen and whispered.

Director Chen, noticing her slightly hesitant demeanor, asked, “Ziyao, what’s wrong?”

“Could you please give me my phone? I want to call my grandma. She only recognizes my old number.”

She had just tried calling her grandma using the villa’s phone, but her grandma hadn’t answered. No matter how many times she called, the calls were dismissed as unknown numbers.

Recalling why Lin Ziyao was participating in the show, Director Chen readily agreed to her request. “Go find Xiao Li later; I’ll inform him.”

Watching Lin Ziyao walk away to find Xiao Li, Director Chen’s eyes deepened as he reminisced about the circumstances of inviting her to the program.

At that time, a hint of worry still lingered between Lin Ziyao’s brows, and her eyes betrayed an undeniable weariness. Days of continuous work had taken a toll on her body.

“Director Chen, could you possibly pay me half the fee upfront?” Lin Ziyao asked cautiously.

Pressing his burning cigarette into the ashtray, Director Chen looked at the girl before him and asked with interest, “I can, but you’ll need to give me a reason.”

After listening to Lin Ziyao’s explanation, Director Chen pondered for a moment. “How about this: I’ll add a bit more to your fee, within the allowed limits.”

The young girl’s eyes immediately lit up. “Thank you, Director Chen!”

Despite the girl’s gratitude, Director Chen gave her a preemptive warning. “Don’t thank me too soon. I can only add a few thousand yuan for you here.”

What Director Chen considered a small sum, however, thrilled Lin Ziyao. “That’s more than enough! I only earn a few thousand yuan working here for a month.”

“If you have any other talents, go back and prepare well. Take this opportunity to showcase them. On this stage called a reality show, go and win the audience’s favor.” Director Chen re-lit his cigarette, left his contact information with Lin Ziyao, and then departed.

Some people, given just a wisp of an east wind, can ride it to soar high and straight. Whether they emerge as a butterfly or bind themselves in a cocoon ultimately depends on their own abilities.

After finishing her call with her grandma and reminding her to listen to the doctor, Lin Ziyao returned to her room. Pushing open the door, she saw Qin Yu holding a guitar and tuning it.

Noticing her roommate’s return, Qin Yu paused her tuning, looked up, and greeted her. Her voice was as cool and clear as ever. “You’re back? Have you decided what talent you’ll perform later?”

“I have.”

“Are you going to tell me what it is?” Qin Yu was genuinely curious about her roommate’s performance. After all, in her impression, her roommate was only a nominal individual trainee, essentially an ordinary person.

Lin Ziyao, lying on her bed, quite frankly revealed what she would be performing later. “It’s a new song, I suppose.”

When Lin Ziyao mentioned it was a new song, interest sparked in Qin Yu’s cool, clear eyes. “Oh? Could it be…?”

“It’s different, but also somewhat related.”

“Then I’ll have to thoroughly test your songwriting skills.” Handing her guitar to Lin Ziyao, Qin Yu said, “Could you play it for me first?”

Lin Ziyao took the guitar but didn’t immediately engage Qin Yu in conversation. She was currently sifting through her task rewards via the system. In fact, she had already considered several potential songs for Qin Yu while cooking.

However, she hadn’t finalized her choice yet, and these songs all shared a subtle connection. Thus, she intended to use the talent show as an opportunity to first solidify her impression in the audience’s minds.

‘Then I’ll choose this one. For Qin Yu’s song, I’ll pick another later.’ Lin Ziyao looked at the two songs she had selected on the system panel and proceeded to redeem the first one.