Chapter 23 She indulges in heavily oily, salty, spicy, and sugary foods...

"Alright, alright, stop lamenting!" Qin Youyou grabbed her and pushed her towards the bedroom. "We can't watch Chai Yundu's live stream replay right now; it won't be online until the production team finishes editing at 8 PM. Come on, I'll treat you to something delicious!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qingting's eyes immediately lit up.

Despite her slender figure and graceful, flowing muscle lines typical of dancers, she is actually a huge foodie.

She loves foods that are high in oil, salt, spice, and sugar, from spicy hot pot to cream cakes, from barbecue skewers to delicate desserts—she accepts them all.

It's also thanks to the high-intensity dance training and running every day that I'm able to burn off all those calories I've been consuming.

"I'm going to that food desert of Europe tomorrow, so I have to eat all my favorite foods today!" Zhu Qingting changed her clothes, took Qin Youyou's hand, and they went out together.

Two elegant and beautiful women sat in an authentic Chongqing hot pot restaurant.

The chili oil simmered in the nine-compartment pot, filling the air with the aroma of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Zhu Qingting picked up a piece of goose intestine, dipped it in the boiling broth, then coated it with minced garlic and sesame oil. She ate until her nose was sweating and she hissed and gasped from the spiciness, but she still couldn't stop eating.

"Eat slowly," Qin Youyou said with a smile as she poured her some chilled plum juice. "Look at you, your lips are all red from the spiciness."

Zhu Qingting squinted her eyes with satisfaction, "This is life! Thinking about eating Western food for the next month, I'm going to remember this delicious food now."

Then they went to a beauty salon for skin care. Feeling the beautician's gentle massage on her face and the cool mask on her face, Zhu Qingting almost fell asleep.

They enjoyed an exquisite afternoon tea at a five-star hotel. The three-tiered dessert table was filled with delicate desserts, macarons, mousse cakes, and fruit tarts, accompanied by fragrant black tea. Zhu Qingting sipped the desserts, her eyes crinkling with happiness.

They went to a Chinese massage parlor. The scent of sandalwood filled the room. Long-term dance training had kept her muscles constantly tense, and even though she could use a foam roller to relieve the tension, the effect was practically zero.

The masseuse's fingers pressed precisely on her tense muscles, the tingling sensation making her feel both pain and pleasure.

At 7:30 p.m., they drove to Qushui Lanting, Shanghai's most upscale bathhouse. They had timed it perfectly; the 12-hour bath pass would cover dinner, a late-night snack, and breakfast, so Qin Youyou could leave directly for work the next day.

After parking their car, the two smiled at each other and unanimously recalled the scene when they were taking a fellow member of the Northeast troupe, Zhao Qing, to experience the bathing culture during their first performance in Harbin.

"Do you remember how shy we were back then?" Qin Youyou said with a smile. "We didn't even dare to take off our clothes. It was only with the encouragement of Zhao Qing, a Northeasterner, that we mustered up the courage to go for a hot spring bath and back scrub."

Zhu Qingting laughed too, "Yes, I only realized how wonderful that feeling was later. Especially the milk bath, after which my skin felt as smooth as silk."

They're now regulars at the bathhouse. As they walked naked into the tub, Qin Youyou couldn't help but exclaim, "Zhu Zhu, Chai Yundu really hit the jackpot! Your breasts, your hips, your milky skin… I even want to touch them!"

Zhu Qingting blushed deeply and quickly hid in the warm pool water, saying, "Don't talk nonsense!"

The warm water enveloped their bodies, relaxing every pore. After the bath, they experienced a back scrub, feeling the masseuse skillfully removing dead skin cells, leaving them feeling completely transformed.

After showering and changing their clothes, the two went to the restaurant area.

Zhu Qingting's eyes widened at the dazzling array of food on the menu.

"I'm going to eat my fill today!" She excitedly ordered a whole host of signature dishes, including braised baby lobster with Sichuan peppercorns, fish maw in sour soup, boiled deep-sea yellow croaker, sea cucumber congee, clear broth mutton, and oxtail soup.

When the oil-soaked Sichuan peppercorn baby lobster was served, the bright red lobster was immersed in the fragrant Sichuan peppercorn oil, making it incredibly tempting. The sour soup with fish maw had a rich, golden broth that was super appetizing, and many thick slices of fish maw were soft, chewy, and flavorful. The boiled deep-sea yellow croaker was spicy and fragrant, with tender and smooth fish meat. The sea cucumber congee was thick and delicious, containing a whole, large sea cucumber. The clear broth mutton was fragrant and not gamey, and the oxtail soup was rich and nourishing. Every dish was so tempting that the two of them ate from a little after 8 p.m. until after 10 p.m., chatting and enjoying themselves immensely.

After dinner, they checked into a 999 yuan room to rest. The room was equipped with a huge projection screen, which was perfect for watching the preview of the program that would be released that night.

"Here it comes!" Qin Youyou excitedly opened the video, and the two sat cross-legged on the soft bed.

This program was played in alphabetical order of surnames, with Zhu Qingting's segment appearing first.

When the camera panned across the walls of her dance studio covered with posters of Chai Yundu, the comments section exploded.

"My God! This is a true fan!"

"I'm so envious, I want a space like that too."

"Being able to participate in the same program as your idol, what an amazing way to be a fan!"

In addition, some discordant voices have also emerged:

"They're already trying to ride the coattails of the hype before they've even set off?"

"A dancer wants to get into the entertainment industry?"

"Waiting for them to dig up dirt on us!"

"Two hours have passed, where's the dirt?"

"Take my brother away, no thanks!"

Interspersed among these negative comments were voices defending Zhu Qingting:

"She's the principal dancer of the Haicheng Song and Dance Troupe, okay? Does she need to ride on his coattails?"

"Winner of the Lotus Cup Gold Medal, lead dancer at the Spring Festival Gala, does she need to piggyback on her talent?"

"Some fans shouldn't be so impulsive!"

Qin Youyou looked at Zhu Qingting with concern, but found her expression calm.

“Don’t worry,” Zhu Qingting said softly, “I expected all of this. And you see, there are still more rational voices than rational ones.”

They continued watching clips of other guests, and finally got to Chai Yundu's segment.

When he appeared in front of the camera with a neat buzz cut, the screen was instantly flooded with comments like "Ahhh, brother, face me head-on!"

Zhu Qingting was also impressed by his handsome look; it's been a long time since she's seen him in this style.

While packing her luggage, Zhu Qingting noticed that Chai Yundu had the same type of plasters and medicated oils as her.

Other fans naturally noticed as well, and the comments section started scrolling.

"Hey, it's the same style as Zhu Qingting's!"

"She must have deliberately bought the same item as Brother Du! What a scheming woman!"

Then, Chai Yundu took out a can of Longjing tea, which sparked a new round of discussion.

"Oh, Zhu Qingting also brought tea."

"Tea is also a part of traditional Chinese culture, which is perfectly normal and doesn't need to be over-interpreted."

In the scene, Chai Yundu walks to the entrance, carries two large bags of supermarket purchases, and dumps them into the half-empty suitcase.

Everyone was stunned. Although the production team blurred the images, sharp-eyed fans could tell that they were snail rice noodles, hot and sour rice noodles, fatty rice noodles, spicy chicken noodles, spicy strips, biscuits, chicken feet, pork jerky...

"My goodness, does my brother really love snacks that much?"

"How do you maintain that figure?"

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"Even the snail rice noodles are the same as Zhu Qingting's!"

“Take my brother away, this is the hottest brand, how could they even cobble this together?”

Seeing this, Zhu Qingting felt a warm glow in her heart. She had recommended those plasters and medicated oils to him. She had also told him about his love of tea back in Hengdian, and this jar of Longjing tea was a gift from her. And those snacks were all her favorite kinds.

I was worried that bringing snacks would ruin my image, so I was embarrassed to bring them and eat them on the show. The two packets of snail rice noodles that I secretly hid were also to prevent myself from craving them.

Thinking that Chai Yundu had specially packed these things she liked when packing her luggage, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.

"Let's go," she suddenly stood up, in high spirits, "let's go to the bar for a few drinks!"

At the same time, Chai Yundu also watched Zhu Qingting's recorded video and discovered that in the house he had never been to, there was actually a space full of his posters.

There was also the scene where she openly admitted to being his fan in front of the camera, her eyes seemed to sparkle, and an indescribable joy spread through Chai Yundu's chest.

He could no longer contain himself, grabbed his phone and car keys, and rushed out of the house. He drove around two intersections before arriving at Zhu Qingting's residential complex.

This time, he didn't wait downstairs, but went straight upstairs and knocked on her door.

No one answered the door.

He knocked several more times, but there was still no response.

He pressed his ear against the door, trying to listen carefully, but there was no sound.

A terrible thought suddenly entered my mind.

Did she go out with that man? She's going abroad for a month, and they had a date before she left?

This idea was like a bucket of cold water poured over his heart.

One hour, two hours, four hours passed... but Zhu Qingting still hadn't returned.

Chai Yundu slumped down in the corner of the wall in front of her house, burying her head in her knees. Fortunately, her house was a one-apartment-per-floor layout, so it wouldn't bother anyone else.

Various images swirled in his mind: her having dinner with that man, chatting happily; them strolling hand in hand in the night; perhaps right now, she was in that man's house...

"Come back, Zhu Qingting..." he murmured softly, his voice hoarse, "Don't torture me anymore... don't give me hope only to disappoint me again..."

He spent the night in the cold stairwell, leaning against the wall, his eyes wide open the entire time. Every minute felt like torture; the sound of the elevator moving made his heart leap and sink.

The next morning around 7 a.m., Zhu Qingting and Qin Youyou enjoyed one last fragrant bath at the bathhouse, followed by a sumptuous breakfast with a wide variety of dishes including steamed chicken feet, spare ribs with fermented black beans, glutinous rice cakes, roasted sweet potatoes, and milk skin yogurt.

After breakfast, the two parted reluctantly; one went to work at the dance troupe, while the other hummed a little tune as she went home.

When the elevator doors opened, Zhu Qingting was startled to see Chai Yundu sitting in the doorway. He looked up, his bloodshot eyes brimming with tears, and stubble on his chin; he looked utterly haggard.