Chapter 239 Choice (9,000 words!)
The sight of Meng Li bursting out shocked everyone.
There wasn't even time for anyone to react.
I don't know how to react.
Meng Li's action startled everyone.
Peng Zhixing stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Meng Li, what are you talking about? When did we gang up on you? Is there some misunderstanding?"
Meng Li said, "What are you all going to do together now? I wasn't even here, and you're just abandoning me like this. Aren't you ganging up on me?"
Peng Zhixing felt as if he was about to be wrongly accused and killed.
He couldn't understand why, when he thought he was just there to record a very ordinary program, things had gone wrong from the very beginning.
Although these setbacks were basically caused by Mengli alone.
Peng Zhixing immediately said, "We didn't abandon you. I sent a message in the group earlier, asking everyone to gather downstairs. You didn't come, so we all thought you didn't want to participate."
Meng Li, however, completely ignored what Peng Zhixing was saying.
"You chose to bully me with Li Zhibai. I know you're all in cahoots," Meng Li said angrily, pointing at them.
Li Zhibai's face was so dark it was almost dripping with water.
He glared at her angrily and said, "Meng Li, that's enough. It's one thing for you to target me, but it has nothing to do with them. Why are you taking your anger out on them?"
Meng Li sneered, her eyes filled with anger and hatred. "Fine, I won't take my anger out on them. Then tell them what you did to me! Go ahead and say it if you dare!"
Li Zhibai's fists were clenched tightly.
At this moment, the atmosphere became extremely tense, reaching its peak.
Lu Yanhe even felt that the whole atmosphere was like a balloon about to burst.
He could see Li Zhibai's struggle; at that moment, Li Zhibai must have been filled with torment.
Although Lu Yanhe knew that Li Zhibai's methods in secretly sending love letters to Meng Li were not quite right, at this moment he could only stand on Li Zhibai's side without hesitation.
“Ms. Meng, you seem a bit agitated right now. There are still many cameras filming here. Why don’t we all calm down first? Your agent is here too. We can talk things out later. What do you think?” Lu Yanhe asked Meng Li.
Lu Yanhe made a mistake.
He could say that to a rational person, but he couldn't say it to someone who was clearly in an irrational state.
Meng Li, like a ferocious beast eyeing its prey, glared at Lu Yanhe and said, "What can I say to you? Don't think I don't know that you and Li Zhibai are so close you'd share the same pants. You'd cover for him no matter what he does. Aren't you just afraid of letting everyone know what he's done? If you're so capable of doing it, why aren't you capable of talking about it? Li Zhibai, are you even a man?!"
Mengli's sharp tone was like a razor-sharp knife slashing at them.
Li Zhibai never imagined that one day he would be asked to his face, "Are you even a man?"
It was so absurd that he was at a loss for words.
But his moment of confusion lasted only a moment; immediately, Li Zhibai made up his mind.
“That’s right, I admit it. When I was filming, I deliberately wrote you a love letter to get back at you, making you mistakenly think that I liked you, okay?” Li Zhibai’s eyes widened as he blurted out, “I was wrong to do this and it hurt you. I apologize to you. What compensation do you need? Just tell me, and I will definitely compensate you. But this has nothing to do with anyone else. You don’t need to hurt others. If you have any problems, come at me!”
After Li Zhibai finished speaking, the entire audience fell silent.
Song Linxin and the others didn't even dare to look at each other, for fear of being caught on camera.
At the same moment, Meng Li's face was filled with surprise as she looked at Li Zhibai in disbelief—she never expected that Li Zhibai would actually admit it in front of everyone.
-
While the agents were still negotiating, someone suddenly came running over to them.
He looked completely panicked.
"Mengli broke down and cried!"
The agents were completely stunned when they heard this.
Especially Mengli's agent, Li Xia, showed a puzzled expression for a moment.
"Break down and cry?"
Li Xia suddenly realized what was happening, immediately got up, and hurriedly ran out of the room.
Zhou Pingan and Chen Ziyan followed closely behind.
The turn of events was so unexpected that they were all a little panicked. Zhou Ping'an was worried that Meng Li's breakdown and crying was caused by Li Zhibai, and Chen Ziyan was worried that Meng Li's breakdown and crying was caused by Lu Yanhe. In the eyes of the agents, their artists were not easy to deal with.
-
First floor, living room.
Mengli sat on the sofa, covering her face and crying uncontrollably.
Song Linxin and Xiao Yun had no choice but to sit on either side of her, gently comforting her.
The planned trip was completely ruined, and the scene was in complete chaos.
But at this point, they had no one to turn to for help.
The staff made it very clear that they would not participate in anything during the recording.
Li Zhibai sat on the other side, listening to Mengli's crying, and felt a splitting headache.
Standing behind him, Lu Yanhe looked at Mengli, whose shoulders were shaking from crying, and suddenly felt a sense of disillusionment with life.
The phone rang at that moment.
He took it out and glanced at it, discovering that someone had added him as a friend through his phone number.
The message read, "Hello, Lu Yanhe, I am your counselor Chen Shiqiu. Please accept my request."
Lu Yanhe never expected that his counselor from Zhenhua University would add him as a friend at this time.
Lu Yanhe immediately accepted the friend request.
—Hello, Teacher Chen, I am Lu Yanhe.
Yan Liang suddenly nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "Our agent is here."
Li Xia, Zhou Pingan, and Chen Ziyan arrived one after another, each with a solemn expression.
Li Xia walked up to Meng Li, squatted down, took her hands, and said, "Little Meng, Sister Xia is here."
With tears welling up in her eyes, Mengli looked up and saw Li Xia. Suddenly, like a daughter who had suffered a great injustice seeing her mother, the sobs that had finally subsided burst forth again. As she threw herself into Li Xia's arms, the crying reached its highest point in a continuous cycle.
Zhou Ping'an was completely dumbfounded when he saw this scene.
He really didn't know how to handle this scene of people crying their hearts out.
He looked at Li Zhibai helplessly.
"Alright, alright, don't cry, Sister Xia is here, it's alright now." Li Xia coaxed Mengli like a child, oblivious to everyone else.
Peng Zhixing and the others looked at each other, unsure of what to do or say.
The main issue is that the scene is so bizarre that it leaves everyone unsure how to react.
At this moment, Chen Ziyan suddenly waved to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe has passed away.
"Did you also have a few words with Mengli?"
"Was my... my exchange with her considered arguing?" Lu Yanhe asked, his face full of confusion.
"Anyway, something unpleasant happened, and you got dragged into it too, right?" Chen Ziyan asked.
"It wasn't that I was dragged into this; I just couldn't help myself and spoke up first," Lu Yanhe said sheepishly.
Chen Ziyan said, "This matter originally had nothing to do with us, but because of your relationship with Li Zhibai, and because you sided with him, Li Xia insisted on linking you and Li Zhibai together, saying that you and the others ganged up to bully Meng Li."
“She’s really interesting.” Lu Yanhe had a look on his face that said, “How can this person talk such nonsense?”
Chen Ziyan: "That's how things are right now. If Li Xia really makes a big deal out of this, you'll definitely be affected too."
Lu Yanhe couldn't help but frown.
"Are you saying I'm bullying a girl?"
"That's pretty much the gist of it," Chen Ziyan said. "Besides, this is an unavoidable argument. No matter what explanation we give, others will think it's just an excuse. In this matter, Li Zhibai is inherently in the wrong, and if you stand next to Li Zhibai, you're also inherently in the wrong."
"That sounds terrible, like we're just going to have to stand at attention and take the beating."
Chen Ziyan glared at Lu Yanhe. "Now you know you have to stand at attention and take the beating? Why were you so impulsive before? Didn't you know how to restrain yourself or be more patient?"
Lu Yanhe: "Sister Ziyan, you really don't know the situation. I think Mengli has something wrong with her brain. I'm not cursing her, I really think she's mentally unstable."
Chen Ziyan looked at Lu Yanhe with a puzzled expression.
"Ask the production team for the clips of the arguments that happened today, and you'll know what's going on," Lu Yanhe said. "Li Zhibai has really been very tolerant of her, but she's inexplicably lost her temper several times without any warning. Well, you could say there were no warnings, but it was just random. Just now, Peng Zhixing clearly sent a message in the group chat asking everyone to gather downstairs, but she didn't come down herself. Then she came down and blamed us for not including her, saying we were ganging up on her. Isn't she crazy?"
Lu Yanhe's aversion to Mengli had reached its peak.
Chen Ziyan smiled and said, "This is nothing. You've just met too many normal people before, so you think they're sick just because you meet one who's not quite normal. Let me tell you, you'll meet even more in the future. You still have the nerve to say that? You know they're mentally ill, but instead of avoiding them, you run right up to them, as if you're afraid they won't remember you, right?"
After being confronted by Chen Ziyan, Lu Yanhe realized he was in the wrong.
After a while, he said, "Well, there's nothing I can do. I can't just watch Li Zhibai get harassed by her."
-
Peng Zhixing and his group made a cup of coffee for everyone and then quietly left.
There were only four people: him, Qin Zhibai, Song Linxin, and Xiao Yun.
The four of them breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they got on the bus.
Two cameras were also installed in the car, and the PD even handed one to Qin Zhibai so he could film Peng Zhixing, who was driving.
Qin Zhibai was somewhat surprised when the handheld camera was handed to him and asked, "Do you want me to film again?"
The PD said, "You guys keep arguing, we'll keep filming, that's our job."
Qin Zhibai remained silent for a while before saying, "We didn't argue, it was them."
Peng Zhixing did not start the car immediately, but turned to look at Qin Zhibai.
Qin Zhibai also glanced at him.
The two girls behind them did the same thing, and neither of them said a word.
"Before coming to record this program, did you expect it to turn out like this?" Peng Zhixing, being a former host, broke the silence and asked with a helpless, bitter smile.
Song Linxin: "I was completely stunned. This is completely different from the show I imagined."
“Yes,” Peng Zhixing nodded, “I was completely dumbfounded too.”
Xiao Yun: "I didn't dare to breathe loudly inside."
Peng Zhixing: "I feel that with Li Zhibai and Meng Li in this state, one of them will definitely have to leave."
"Who do you think will leave?" Xiao Yun asked.
Everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke.
Answering this question would be too offensive.
What if he didn't leave in the end?
The main problem is that there are several cameras inside the car, and everything they say will be recorded, so they can't really let go of their psychological burdens and speak without any restraint.
-
"Let's sit down together and discuss what to do next," Chen Ziyan said, seeing that the situation had stalled and made no progress, and that Chen Biqiu and Li Zhenzhen were not showing up. She had no choice but to step in and break the deadlock. "Zhou Ping'an, Li Xia, do you think it's better if the three of us discuss this, or should we bring the artists along?"
Li Xia glanced at Meng Li with concern.
Meng Li's eyes were red and swollen, but her tone still carried a hint of skepticism, "What are we discussing? What's there to discuss? You're all ganging up on me!"
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Ziyan's eyes. "Is that so? Since this is a show where everyone bullies you, why don't you just quit?"
Chen Ziyan looked down at Meng Li with a blank expression and no pity. Her powerful aura left Meng Li stunned and unsure how to respond.
Li Xia, protecting Meng Li, said angrily, "Can't you speak more politely? Xiao Meng is emotional right now, do you have to provoke her like this?"
Chen Ziyan looked at her coldly, completely ignoring her.
"Did I provoke her, or is she throwing a tantrum, thinking that the squeaky wheel gets the grease? Li Xia, she's your artist. I advise you to understand one thing: how to resolve her issues with Li Zhibai is your business. Don't drag others into it, and don't affect others." Chen Ziyan crossed her arms and sneered, "We didn't know Li Zhibai and Meng Li had a conflict, but didn't you? You knew perfectly well that Meng Li and Li Zhibai had a conflict, yet you still let Meng Li record this program. What are you pretending to be innocent for now?"
Li Xia was so angry that her cheeks turned red and her body was trembling.
At that moment, everyone who heard Chen Ziyan's words secretly cheered in their hearts.
Meng Li's behavior today left many people speechless—but because she is a celebrity, no one dared to say anything, and could only watch her go crazy and act erratically.
Chen Ziyan's blunt words have now pierced through this barrier.
The staff members who were annoyed by the actions of the staff member who was covered up felt a sense of relief that their own feelings had been expressed.
-
Li Xia was so angry that her cheeks were twitching.
Chen Ziyan's words were completely merciless; it felt like she and Meng Li had been slapped twice in front of everyone.
However, Li Xia had no way to refute it.
Or rather, she didn't know how to refute it.
She and Zhou Ping'an had already reached an agreement, anticipating the conflict between Li Zhibai and Meng Li, and even considered using it to create a media frenzy—but neither of them expected the conflict to escalate to this point, becoming so difficult to resolve. Now, of course, she couldn't question Li Zhibai's actions towards Meng Li. On this matter, she and Zhou Ping'an had reached a consensus, and she couldn't go back on her word. Since Li Zhibai had recklessly revealed his affair with Meng Li, she no longer had any leverage to blackmail Zhou Ping'an.
Could she possibly threaten Zhou Ping'an again with "I'm going to expose what Li Zhibai has done"?
Li Zhibai himself has exposed it.
Li Xia brought Mengli to her car.
"Lili, tell Xia-jie the truth, are you still willing to record this show?" Li Xia asked.
Mengli concealed her grievances and vulnerability, her eyes revealing anger and hatred.
"Sister Xia, it doesn't matter whether I record this show or not, but I want Li Zhibai to pay the price!" Meng Li said through gritted teeth.
Li Xia looked at Meng Li helplessly and said, "Li Li, Li Zhibai is not someone we can easily shake. I know he hurt you. I promise you, we will definitely teach him a lesson in the future, but for now, we have no way to deal with him."
“Why is there no way? I want everyone to know what he did to me on set, how he made fun of me!” Meng Li said.
"But, Lili, if you two start a fight over this, can you be sure that someone in the crew will speak up for you?"
Li Xia didn't express herself very clearly, but what she was actually worried about was that Meng Li was disliked and hated by almost all the actors in "Take You to the End of the World".
Li Zhibai would slip love letters into Meng Li's room to tease her; this was something several people did.
This approach is certainly wrong, but once the matter is exposed, Meng Li's annoying behavior on set will also be revealed.
For Mengli, this is also a case of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of their own.
Li Xia was certainly unwilling to let Meng Li do this.
Meng Li immediately understood what Li Xia meant.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Sister Xia, I really hate Li Zhibai now. I wish he would be hit by a car and die."
“I understand you’re upset, but you can tell me, but you can’t tell anyone else.” Li Xia held Meng Li’s hand. “Li Zhibai has Zhou Ping’an backing him up and his parents as support. If we openly fight him, we might not have the upper hand.”
Meng Li: "Doesn't Li Zhenzhen want to drive Li Zhibai away?"
A bitter smile crept across Li Xia's lips.
Mengli's straightforward naiveté left Li Xia speechless—Li Zhibai's popularity and buzz remained high, so what right did they have to persuade the production team to remove Li Zhibai?
Meng Li suddenly thought of something, and a smile appeared on her lips, filled with a chilling and vicious hatred. She said, "If we can't get rid of Li Zhibai, what about Lu Yanhe? He has repeatedly helped Li Zhibai to ridicule and attack me. Sister Xia, tell Li Zhenzhen that I don't want to record the show with Lu Yanhe. Either let him go, or I will leave. I brought two business sponsorships to the production team. I don't believe the production team will be willing to give me up."
Li Xia was taken aback and didn't know what to say.
-
"Meng Li wants Lu Yanhe to leave the show?"
Chen Ziyan raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile on her face, and said, "Where does she get the audacity to say such things?"
Li Zhenzhen smiled helplessly and said, "I have already rejected their unreasonable request. I didn't expect them to make such an unreasonable request. It is clearly a matter between her and Li Zhibai, yet they are asking Xiao Lu to leave."
"That's because she herself knows very well that you definitely won't drive Li Zhibai away for her sake."
"Then we won't drive Lu Yanhe away for her sake. What is she thinking?"
"That's not necessarily true. Aren't two of the brands she endorses yours?"
"You mean she'll get the brands she endorses to withdraw their investment?"
“It’s not impossible, it depends on how crazy she is.” Chen Ziyan smiled slightly. “Actually, I came here today to talk to you about this matter.”
"Huh?" Li Zhenzhen didn't realize what Chen Ziyan was trying to say.
"Let's talk about it together when Chen Biqiu arrives." Chen Ziyan had just finished speaking when Chen Biqiu arrived.
Chen Biqiu's face was dark, as if someone owed him a hundred million.
"Director Chen, who has upset you again? Your face is so dark."
Chen Biqiu said, "Li Xia just contacted me, and what she implied was that if we don't give her a satisfactory solution, both Bihu and Shining Star will withdraw their sponsorship."
Bihu and Shining Star are both sponsors of "Days of Youth," and if they withdraw their sponsorship, the show will lose a significant amount of revenue.
From this perspective, Li Xia and Meng Li went all out with this move.
Clearly, a major reason why Bihu and Shining Star were willing to sponsor the program was because of their spokesperson, Monel.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhenzhen frowned and looked at Chen Biqiu with some concern.
She knew Chen Biqiu well and knew that, given his personality, even if he disliked Li Xia and Meng Li's behavior, he would eventually succumb to the sponsoring brand's money.
She was worried that Chen Biqiu was really considering getting Lu Yanhe to quit the recording.
Chen Ziyan looked at Chen Biqiu calmly, smiled slightly, and said, "I also guessed that they would do this, which is why I came here today."
"Hmm?" Chen Biqiu looked at Chen Ziyan with some surprise. "You know that Li Xia and Meng Li want Lu Yanhe to quit the recording."
“I know that once they clash with Li Zhibai and Zhou Pingan, they won’t be able to get Li Zhibai off the show because his commercial value is higher than hers. They’ll settle for second best and target Xiao Lu,” Chen Ziyan said. “Taking their anger out on others to establish their authority—isn’t that how Mengli has risen to power in recent years?”
Chen Biqiu: "Her method is indeed quite effective."
"It's crazy enough, after all," Chen Ziyan said. "Let's be frank. The reason we're here is that Xiao Lu has a brand that endorses, and we heard that he's recording this show, so we'd like to become a sponsor. What do you two think?"
Chen Ziyan looked at Chen Biqiu and Li Zhenzhen with confidence.
-
Li Xia gave Meng Li a reassuring look and said, "Don't worry, Chen Biqiu wouldn't ignore the sponsors' opinions and force a minor celebrity to appear on stage. No matter how much the media praises him or how high his college entrance exam score is, variety shows don't care about those things. Whoever pays the money is the boss."
Meng Li added bitterly, "It's a pity we can't get rid of Li Zhibai."
Li Xia said, "Can we stop dreaming about this? When you can gain the upper hand, you can drive him away."
Meng Li said, "It's fine if Lu Yanhe can be humiliated this time, but if you dare to join Li Zhibai in making fun of me, don't blame me."
Li Xia: "Lu Yanhe was driven away by us this time, and we've made enemies ever since, Lili."
"So what if we have a feud? Why should I be afraid of him?" Meng Li said. "Someone who has been in the industry for so many years and hasn't become famous, how long can he stay famous just because of his college entrance exam score? If high college entrance exam scores are all it takes to become famous, then what's the point of having us?"
Li Xia glanced at Meng Li helplessly and said, "That's true, but no one can predict the future. This time, we have no choice but to do it this way. If we don't, others will just think of you as a pushover and everyone will take advantage of you."
"Do they dare? Apart from Li Zhibai, they're all newcomers. Do they think I've been wasting my time all these years?" Meng Li sneered.
Li Xia: "You always say things like that, even though you've only been in the industry for a few years."
“That’s still longer than theirs,” Mengli said.
Just then, Li Xia's phone rang.
"Li Zhenzhen is calling," Li Xia said. "I'll answer the phone first."
Mengli immediately said, "Turn it on speaker, I want to hear it."
Li Xia didn't think it was a problem and simply turned on the speakerphone.
"Hey, Director Li." Li Xia's voice was light and cheerful, clearly confident about what Li Zhenzhen was about to say.
"Sister Xia, I've discussed some of the suggestions you gave me before with Brother Biqiu." The moment Li Zhenzhen spoke, Li Xia suddenly felt something was off; this wasn't the tone she expected.
"We finally reached an agreement. We sincerely hope that Mengli can continue to participate in our subsequent recordings. Of course, we also respect your choice. If, after weighing the pros and cons, you feel that you really cannot continue with the subsequent recordings, we cannot force you. Forced productions are never good. This applies to making a show, and it also applies to being a person."
Li Zhenzhen chuckled softly as she said this, "As for the sponsorship fee, well, it's alright. If they want to go with Ms. Meng, there's nothing we can say. Anyway, the contract is signed in black and white, and we'll deal with whatever comes next. I understand you and Ms. Meng, and I ask you and Ms. Meng to understand me as well. Everyone knows that this is my first time doing a show, and having such a bad start has become a fixed part of my career. I can only continue with this unpleasant beginning. Sister Xia, if Ms. Meng is still willing to continue recording, I am grateful and will remember this kindness. I know that it must be out of respect for me. If Ms. Meng really can't accept it, that's fine too. Let's part amicably and have a long future together."
The carriage was completely silent.
Li Xia was stunned.
The granules also became sluggish.
Li Xia opened her mouth and said, "Director Li, these two companies together have a sponsorship fee of over ten million."
"Fortunately, 'The Days of Youth' is not a program that costs a lot of money, so we can afford this kind of loss." Li Zhenzhen remained unmoved. "I care more about long-term things than temporary gains and losses."
Li Xia suddenly became anxious.
"No, director, you know how Li Zhibai and Lu Yanhe have been bullying our Xiaoli. Are we just going to let this go like this?"
“I am also a woman, and of course I think it is immoral to tease a girl by writing love letters. Therefore, I do not plan to cut out the part where he admits to it. I will put it in the main film. At that time, he will take the responsibility he should take. He himself has also agreed to this.”
"How could you put that in the main feature? This will cause such a huge uproar!"
“But shouldn’t this make many viewers sympathize with Miss Meng and stand on her side?” Li Zhenzhen asked. “I think this is the way to help Miss Meng get real justice.”
Li Xia: "No, director, this part absolutely cannot be broadcast."
"Sister Xia, the contract you signed with us clearly stated that the final editing and broadcasting rights for all footage shot during the recording process belong to our production team," Li Zhenzhen said calmly.
"Director, let's be frank. Tell me, how can we prevent this segment from airing?" Li Xia took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and asked.
Li Zhenzhen said, "If Ms. Meng can finish filming the program amicably with Li Zhibai and there is enough good content, then we are certainly willing to release less content that will cause controversy."
Li Xia clenched her fingers into her palm.
At this moment, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
-
"Don't worry, nothing will affect you." Chen Ziyan said to Lu Yanhe while sitting in the car. "I've told you before, just focus on doing your own thing. Leave everything else to me. Li Xia and Meng Li are just monkeys who are kings in the absence of a tiger. They've been arrogant and domineering for a long time and have tasted a lot of sweetness. They think that their tantrums and whining will work anywhere. Unfortunately for them, they've met me."
Lu Yanhe didn't know what to say, but every time he heard Chen Ziyan speak like that, he felt exceptionally safe.
"Sister Ziyan, will Mengli continue recording our program?"
“If she’s not stupid, she will,” Chen Ziyan said. “Her agent seems shrewd, but is actually incredibly foolish. Li Zhibai’s actions were inappropriate, no matter how justified they were. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would know how to use this to their advantage and get what they can. But she was completely fooled by Zhou Ping’an and thought she was so great. She even planned to use the feud between Meng Li and Li Zhibai on the show to generate buzz. Now she’s lost her moral high ground.”
Lu Yanhe only understood part of what he heard.
Chen Ziyan: "Forget it, you don't need to know the specific details. We'll learn from this experience. In the future, arguing with this kind of person face to face is the most pointless thing to do. They might even make you take a dump."
Lu Yanhe asked, "Then what should I do?"
Chen Ziyan said, "You'll have to figure that out for yourself. When you meet someone you don't like, confronting them head-on is the easiest but also the easiest way to hurt yourself. The real skill is to strike the snake at its vital spot and kill the enemy with one blow."
"That's too far-fetched. I don't think I can do it."
“It’s okay if you can’t do it. You can figure it out and learn it slowly,” Chen Ziyan said with a smile. “Just learn from it and take it slow.”
-
Chen Ziyan is gone.
Lu Yanhe returned to their "Young People's House" and smelled the aroma of food.
"It smells so good! What are you making?" he asked in surprise.
"You're back!" Song Linxin turned around to look at him with surprise and said, "Zhixing is making braised prawns."
Lu Yanhe went over and saw Peng Zhixing, Song Linxin, Qin Zhibai, Xiao Yun, and Yan Liang wearing aprons and busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.
"Wow, it makes my mouth water," Lu Yanhe said.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the kitchen was warm and harmonious.
For a moment, Lu Yanhe felt as if nothing unpleasant had happened that day.
Lu Yanhe asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
Peng Zhixing said, "Do you know how to chop vegetables? Could you help me cut the carrots into chunks and the potatoes into shreds?"
Lu Yanhe immediately nodded and said, "No problem."
Yan Liang smiled and said, "Brother Zhixing, you can rest assured and go find him. He often cooks for himself."
"Oh?" Song Linxin looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise. "Do you usually cook for yourself?"
“Yes.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “I live with Yan Liang and Li Zhibai. There’s a kitchen, so I often cook for myself.”
Xiao Yun exclaimed, "Wow, that's amazing! I feel like there are very few guys who can cook these days."
“Girls are the same.” Song Linxin gave a pitiful look. “I’m a complete kitchen idiot.”
Xiao Yun: "Me too."
The two girls looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
On the contrary, Peng Zhixing was in charge of cooking, Yan Liang was seasoning the soup, and Lu Yanhe had already washed his hands and started peeling the potatoes and carrots. His movements were quick and efficient, showing that he was used to this job.
-
In the studio, a group of staff members witnessed this scene, and one of them remarked, "This is how the show should be."
"Yeah, these guys are pretty amazing, they can all cook."
"Oh, look at Qin Zhibai in that corner, he doesn't know anything about it."
"Haha, he just stood in the corner, wanting to help but not knowing what he could do. I thought he was a rather aloof person, but I didn't expect him to be so silly and cute."
"Cute and silly? You dare to say that? Do you even know how much money that family has?"
"I don't care, I love this type. He's handsome, quiet, has an icy expression that keeps strangers at bay, and is incredibly abstinent. Yet, he's also a kind-hearted but clueless little idiot." A girl let out an excited whimper, and the other men all showed disgusted expressions when they saw her like this.
"So... how are Li Zhibai and Meng Li doing?" someone suddenly asked.
The moment this question was raised, the previously cheerful and lively workspace fell silent.
This problem remains unresolved.
-
At that moment, in a car outside, Li Zhibai and Zhou Ping'an were having an extremely serious conversation.
“Li Zhibai, I won’t say anything more. You wouldn’t listen anyway, and you wouldn’t believe me. But I’m telling you this very seriously: if you still have passion and ambition for the entertainment industry, and if you don’t want this career to end, after you get off the car, whatever happened between you and Mengli before, in front of the camera, at least pretend to be friendly. Just act like nothing happened. Don’t mention that love letter of yours again. The production team won’t broadcast it. Just pretend that you and Mengli simply don’t like each other and have a conflict.”
Li Zhibai kept his head down in silence.
“I have nothing else to say. If you take this to heart, get out of the car and go back, pretend nothing happened. If you feel you can’t stand this and can’t record the show no matter what, then OK, I’ll take you back now. But whether Meng Li will leave or what she will do, I don’t know,” Zhou Ping’an said. “You make the decision yourself.”
One second.
Two seconds.
Li Zhibai opened the car door and got out without saying a word.
He walked into the "Young People's House" and immediately saw a group of busy figures in the kitchen.
As soon as Li Zhibai entered, he was spotted.
The moment Song Linxin saw him, she wanted to greet him, but halfway up her hand, she closed her mouth again.
She seemed unsure whether Li Zhibai was willing to talk to them at this moment.
Li Zhibai took a deep breath, a bright smile spreading across his face, and asked, "Are you making dinner? Are you cooking it yourselves? Are you any good cooks?"
At that moment, Li Zhibai truly realized that everyone's praise for him was genuine.
He really has a talent for acting.
Self-taught.
(End of this chapter)
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