CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: NEMESIS

The bowl in front of him was suddenly empty. Chen Yao was momentarily stunned before saying, "Looking at the way you’re eating, you’d think you haven’t eaten in ages."

"You don’t know what it was like. When I was selling buns just now, I felt so friendly with them, but I couldn’t eat them!!" Wang Sirui slurped his noodles, lamenting his recent experience with bitterness.

Chen Yao: "..."

He quietly picked up the last bowl, "If it’s not enough, we can make more later. I’ve made some porridge, but it’s not ready yet. It should be done by the time they get up."

"It definitely won’t be enough for me. I’ll have some more soup dumplings later; I’ve been thinking about them all morning." Wang Sirui energetically raised his hand, still slurping his noodles, "Brother Yao, your scallion oil noodles are so good, I think I could have another bowl."

"You’re a celebrity; maintain some image, will you?" Chen Yao eyed Wang Sirui, who had quickly finished a bowl of scallion oil noodles without any decorum, and gave him a playful smack.

Then his gaze fell on Pei Yan, who was leisurely eating noodles; clearly, just a simple bowl of noodles, yet he made it look as classy as a gourmet meal.

"Look at your idol; any casual move could be a magazine cover. They say habits are contagious. Spend more time with him and see if you can pick up a thing or two!!"

At those words, Wang Sirui immediately looked over, suddenly remembering he had forgotten about his idol in his hunger! And now, right in front of the idol, he had left such a terrible impression!!

Pei Yan, who was elegantly enjoying his noodles, looked up when mentioned and met Wang Sirui’s gaze.

However, Wang Sirui quickly averted his eyes.

Meeting his idol’s gaze made him a little shy.

"Chen Yao, why didn’t you remind me sooner!!" Wang Sirui choked and coughed repeatedly, his reddened eyes full of resentment.

"Hahaha, it’s not too late now either." Chen Yao laughed mischievously.

Qin Hao watched the three of them, growing even more silent, completely unable to interject.

Yang Leqi and Qin Yun appeared in the kitchen just past ten o’clock. The four had already finished eating; Wang Sirui, still not full, grabbed a couple of soup dumplings to eat, while Qin Hao and Pei Yan were washing dishes.

"You’ve already eaten?" Yang Leqi looked at them in surprise.

Initially trailing behind and yawning slowly, Qin Yun immediately quickened her steps upon hearing this. Looking at the kitchen, not quite ready for breakfast, she stopped mid-yawn, her hand frozen over her mouth.

"We left some for you. We got busy working all morning and got hungry, so we ate a bit. The century egg and pork porridge is just done, and the soup dumplings are in the steamer. If you want noodles, we can cook them fresh." Chen Yao, spotting the two, quickly explained.

Then, he served each of them a bowl of porridge, took out the soup dumplings, and started boiling water for noodles.

Because he was well aware of Qin Yun’s appetite, he knew that just a few soup dumplings wouldn’t be enough for her.

"Do you know what time the three of us got up? It was just 6:30! What you’re eating now is the result of our hard work in the store for two hours." Wang Sirui finished his last soup dumpling, saying wistfully, "Sleeping in till now and you still get to eat, you should be grateful."

Seeing Qin Yun following closely behind, his attitude instantly flipped 180 degrees, smiling as he brought the bowl of porridge to her with a spoon, "Sister Yun, I didn’t mean you. The porridge is just done, still a bit hot. Eat more, I earned 40 bucks this morning! If it’s not enough, I’ll go buy more!"

Having just finished washing, Pei Yan looked at Qin Yun’s porridge, raised an eyebrow, and casually dried his hands with a napkin, tossing the used one into the trash.

"Did I make you lose? Was it me running my mouth and bringing myself down with it? This is a fair loss. The loser has no say! Hmph!!"

Yang Leqi, who was in a good mood from being able to sleep in so late, didn’t mind Wang Sirui’s grumbling at all.

She even picked up a bowl of porridge with relish, deliberately twirling it under his nose, wafting with her slender, fair hand, taking a deep whiff, "Ah, the smell of victory is so fragrant."

Wang Sirui looked utterly aggrieved!!!

Chen Yao saw the two going at it again, initially worried that Wang Sirui’s remarks might have been too much for Yang Leqi, after all, she’s a young girl and might feel upset. However, Yang Leqi’s moves completely surprised him and almost made him burst with laughter.

He couldn’t say if she was easygoing or what.

But her temperament is actually great, not only adjusting her mindset automatically but also countering Wang Sirui.

If it were someone else, being dissed like that by Wang Sirui might have ended in tears.

Looking at Wang Sirui’s sullen face, he seems to have met his match!

Strangely, it seems kind of fitting?

As Yang Leqi and Wang Sirui bantered, Qin Yun had already started her breakfast.

The savory century egg and pork porridge was just right in salty taste and had been cooked to the perfect texture, very soft and glutinous.

If not for the heat, she could easily finish a bowl in two or three bites.

She took the soup dumplings in one bite each, eating several in succession.

Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something and said, "I noticed that the cameras in the room seemed to be off when I got up?"

"Yeah, the director said they’re going to start broadcasting intermittently instead of 24/7." Wang Sirui quickly shifted focus, responding.

"Is the production team really that nice?" Yang Leqi, just sipping her porridge, looked up in disbelief.

"We don’t know. The director told us when we got up this morning." Saying this, the group began to ponder.

Based on the production team’s usual style, they’d be lucky not to be overworked; taking the initiative to lighten their load seems out of character.

This made them wonder if there’s a catch? Would they face serious challenges in the afternoon?

Only Qin Yun seemed to ponder and glanced at Pei Yan thoughtfully.

Could Pei Yan have mentioned it?

But then she shook her head, knowing he was not one to meddle in so many affairs.

As they started discussing, Chen Yao made two bowls of scallion oil noodles. Qin Yun’s bowl was served in a basin, while Yang Leqi’s was in a small bowl, the contrast starkly noticeable.

Having just finished her portion of soup dumplings, Qin Yun grinned widely upon seeing the large bowl of noodles Chen Yao prepared for her, "Thanks, Brother Yao."

Qin Yun took a bite, her almond eyes immediately squinting into slits, exclaiming assuredly, "So delicious! If you ever stop being a celebrity and open a noodle shop, I’d definitely be a regular."

"Haha, aren’t you exaggerating? This is the pinnacle of compliments." Chen Yao, delighted by the praise, couldn’t help but ask, "Is it enough? I can cook more if you need."