Chapter 38 is trending again?
"Which big brother?"
"The guy in the back of the line! The way he looked at me... it was like he knew me, but not like a fan." Shen Yu frowned as she recalled, "And when her grandson was crying, I think I saw someone in the corner adjusting a camera lens..."
Chen Wang hid in the shade behind the camphor tree, his phone holder firmly propped on the curb, watching Su Yingxue add soup for Shen Yu. When her gaze inadvertently swept across the shadows of the tree, Chen Wang's heart skipped a beat—those always smiling eyes narrowed slightly, just like a chef's alertness when smelling an unusual aroma.
"Xiao Xiao! Write this down quickly!" He was so excited he could barely hold his phone, his thumb trembling as it hovered over the record button. "'A Heartwarming Encounter Between a Street Vendor and a Top Female Celebrity'! The title will be—'A Two-Faced Life Revealed at a Sauce-Flavored Pancake Stall: At Night, She's the Girl Next Door Eating Pancakes Without Makeup; Behind the Scenes, She's a Superstar with Millions of Likes!'"
Su Yingxue's ears twitched slightly, vaguely catching the click of a camera shutter mixed with the hum of the range hood. She put down the wooden spatula, wiped her hands, and walked towards the window. The night breeze carried the scent of osmanthus blossoms, and the streetlights outside the stall were deserted, with only a few fallen leaves swirling onto the concrete. Gazing at the dark shadows of the trees, she muttered to herself, "Strange...did I hear wrong?"
Unbeknownst to anyone, under the shade of a tree thirty meters away, Chen Wang and Xiao Xiao had already crouched low and slipped across the road, not even having time to pack up their filming equipment, and ran off.
The next morning
As Shen Yu rubbed her eyes and unlocked her phone, a notification suddenly lit up the screen, instantly waking her from sleepiness—"City Fireworks at Dawn: Turns out, top female stars are eating the same savory pancakes as us." The video showed Shen Yu wolfing down a savory pancake, crispy crumbs sticking to the corners of her mouth, with fluffy cat ears added in post-production. The caption read: "Third second! That fairy-like woman eating a pancake without makeup is Shen Yu!"
She covered her head, looked at the notification, and thought, "It's over, my image is completely ruined."
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xiaoxiao sent her some good news: "Shen Yu, several snack brands have approached you for endorsements."
Shen Yu replied with a few words and then started browsing the comments section again.
"My God! That masked figure from behind... isn't that Su Yingxue who retired from the entertainment industry before?" The top comment instantly ignited the comment section.
"Didn't she switch careers and start selling boxed lunches for film crews?"
"Shen Yu is eating savory pancakes too! I get it, as long as I eat savory pancakes, I can bump into Shen Yu!"
"Help! Fuding sliced pork looks so delicious! I hereby declare this a must-eat item this month!"
"Location: 300 kilometers away, crying emoji"
"@There's a stall selling the same thing right downstairs from my house! Is it too late to head out now?"
"@FoodFakeExpertCanCan, come and verify! Is this really that legendary food stall?"
"A publicity stunt! Absolutely a publicity stunt! @Shen Yu, how much did Su Yingxue pay you? We'll pay double!"
"@Su Yingxue, buying trending topics again? Don't you have any shame?"
10 a.m. in the office
Chen Wang stared at the real-time data on his computer screen, his fingers excitedly tapping the desktop: "More than 500,000 likes! The comment section is exploding! Xiao Xiao! Quickly export the backup footage—cut in the clip of that old lady hitting the pillar, and add the title 'Shocking! Big star angrily confronts queue-jumping lady for savory pancake!'"
Xiao Xiao rubbed her bloodshot eyes, staring at the brightening sky outside the window: "Brother...isn't this a bit much? That stall was doing really well..."
"What do you know?" Chen Wang slammed his laptop shut, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Ratings are everything! We're helping Su Yingxue! Without our efforts, who would even remember her after all this time she's been out of the industry? Besides..." He glanced at the screen filled with "Requesting location" and "Requesting promotion," "This stall is now a 'top influencer's choice,' even negative publicity is still publicity!"
Xiao Xiao was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up: "Brother, if Su Yingxue finds out we took these photos secretly... won't she be angry?"
Chen Wang's mouse hovered over the "Publish" button for a moment, then he remained silent.
"Never mind, let's do another one. Ratings are the most important thing."
Su Yingxue rarely touches her phone and is too lazy to even download short video apps.
At 10 p.m. that night, she wrapped herself in her apron as usual, picked up a canvas bag full of fresh ingredients, and prepared to set up her stall at the cafeteria. As soon as she turned into the alley behind the hospital, she sensed something was wrong—the cafeteria entrance, which should have been quiet, was now packed with people, three or four layers deep. Flashbulbs were going off intermittently, some people were squeezing into the front row with selfie sticks, and others were shouting into microphones, "Su Yingxue! Is Su Yingxue inside?"
She subconsciously pulled her mask down further, glanced down at the fresh pork and scallions she had just picked out from the market in the canvas bag, and silently turned around to put the groceries back in the old van parked by the roadside. Through the gaps in the crowd, she glimpsed a few reporters in vests squatting at the front, cameras pointed at the closed glass doors of the cafeteria; in the middle, several young food bloggers in hoodies were excitedly explaining things to their phone cameras; and in the back, a number of onlookers were crowding around, chattering about topics like "Top female celebrity buying pancakes late at night" and "A double life revealed at a savory pancake stall."
This scene is even more exaggerated than when Mr. Hou invited people over for a meal last month—back then there were only a few dozen people blocking the cafeteria entrance, unlike the huge crowd now.
Su Yingxue touched her nose and decided to go see her grandmother first. She walked around the crowd to the backyard, and as soon as she pushed open the door to her grandmother's ward, she heard the familiar background music from a short video coming from inside. Nurse Xiao Zhou was sitting on a chaise lounge scrolling through her phone. On the screen was the headline of the news that had gone viral that morning: "City Fireworks at Dawn: It Turns Out Top Female Stars Are Eating the Same Sauce Pancakes as Us." The video showed Shen Yu eating a sauce pancake, which had been photoshopped with cat ears on it. A screenshot of Su Yingxue bending down to ask "Do you want it spicy?" was also included, captioned "Goddess of Natural Beauty Warms Hearts Late at Night."
"Xiao Zhou?" Su Yingxue called softly.
The nurse looked up abruptly and quickly locked the screen: "Xiao Su! What brings you here?" Seeing that she was carrying an empty canvas bag, she added, "Given the situation today... you're still setting up a stall?"
Su Yingxue didn't reply, but directly opened her phone and searched for keywords. The whole story instantly flooded the screen: it turned out to be the footage that Chen Wang and Xiao Xiao filmed last night, which, after being edited and processed, became viral videos such as "Big star angrily confronts queue-jumping aunt for savory pancakes" and "Retired actress sets up a stall late at night to make a living." In the comments section, some people dug up her past experience of delivering boxed lunches to film crews, and some marketing accounts spread rumors that she was "down on her luck and could only make a living by setting up a stall." Some even questioned whether she was "using Shen Yu for publicity."
"This guy?" Su Yingxue gripped her phone, her fingers tightening slightly. She finally understood the strange feeling she had yesterday in front of the stall—when Chen Wang was hiding behind the tree taking pictures, the moment that beam of light swept across her eyes, she felt something was wrong. Sure enough, this group was playing this trick.
She took a deep breath, put her phone face down in her pocket, and turned to Xiao Zhou, saying, "I'll go see Grandma first." Just as she reached the bedside, she heard Grandma chatting with the woman in the next bed: "...Xiaoxue's sliced meat soup, with three red dates in it, it warmed me up..."
Just as Su Yingxue was about to reply, her phone suddenly started vibrating wildly. The screen displayed "Unknown Number." She frowned, thinking it was a spam call, and swiped to answer: "Hello? Who is this?"
"Su Yingxue." A deep, familiar male voice came from Hou Yiming. "My grandfather just asked me why the sliced meat soup wasn't delivered today?"
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