A Slacker's Meal

Chapter Fifteen

Meanwhile, the official Weibo account for This Is Life was riding the wave, releasing a preview for the next episode just as the buzz was beginning to decline.

When they saw the new guest, the gossip practically fell out of netizens' mouths. What was this called? While they were busy following the drama, it had not only made the trending searches—it had now developed into something substantial.

Countless thoughts raced through people's minds: Why did it feel like they had been played???

"Isn't this too vicious? So this was all just a show using hype to boost its popularity?"

"I definitely feel like I got played."

"Being harvested like scallions feels both awful and exhilarating."

"Ahhhh, Hansheng is finally going to make an appearance again! Mommy loves you!"

"No male mommies, please. [doge]"

More people were happy, though. Jiang Hansheng really had no airs about him, but his appearances were pitifully few. Fans could rewatch his two commercials hundreds of times.

Li Wenchuan finalized the agreement with the production team, making the matter official.

However, when he stepped out, he ran into a familiar stranger. The man leaned against the wall and looked him over, saying disdainfully, "Congratulations. You got what you wanted."

Li Wenchuan frowned without speaking. Han Shiye was not bothered and continued on his own, "I'm not as capable as you. You managed to latch onto the male lead of For the Phoenix."

Han Shiye stepped closer. He was slightly taller than Li Wenchuan, and he lowered his head to study the other man's face with a smile.

Li Wenchuan's skin was fair and translucent, with only the faintest traces of fine hair visible in the reflected light. Young people had good foundations and did not even need makeup. Especially those eyes and brows—once they came alive, people could not look away.

"Why do you think Jin Yue treats you so well? Is it because... of that face of yours?"

He instinctively raised a hand to touch him, but Li Wenchuan slapped it away. "Behave yourself." Then he left without looking back.

"Tch." Han Shiye flexed the wrist that had just been struck. The lingering warmth from that brief contact still seemed to remain on it. With distaste, he wiped his hand on his pants and strode off in the opposite direction.

He was nothing more than someone who had climbed up through connections. So what if he had that face?

Then he recalled the first thing Wang Yiwen had said when she met him: "There's some resemblance." As she spoke, she had nodded in satisfaction.

Only later did he learn whom Wang Yiwen had been referring to—the eighteenth-tier artist Li Wenchuan, who was practically flopping his way to the center of the earth.

Everyone said Wang Yiwen had discovered Li Wenchuan on a set back then and signed that nobody despite all opposition. Under Wang Yiwen's arrangements, Li Wenchuan had exploded in popularity upon debut, and his first drama had also become a huge hit.

Yet for some reason, that man's career had never gone smoothly after that. Wang Yiwen gradually lost heart and gave up on him as an artist.

As for Han Shiye, there was some resemblance to Li Wenchuan in his brows and eyes, though his beauty carried a distinct cold sharpness. His features were exquisite without being feminine; instead, they held a bewitching charm.

In the end, he would prove that Han Shiye would always be Han Shiye. Li Wenchuan was merely Li Wenchuan.

This Is Life was a travel and lifestyle variety show. They might visit rural villages or travel around the world. The directing team would set all kinds of obstacles for the guests, challenging them to survive away from home. Audiences wanted to see how celebrities behaved in unfamiliar places, especially when they could not even figure out trivial matters and made everyone burst out laughing.

Artists' private lives were sometimes commodities with clearly marked prices. When put on display, whether the things they did resembled ordinary people's lives or stood in contrast to them, they often became major selling points.

Last time, a celebrity claimed she had never been to a supermarket before. Once there, she did not even know how to shop. Since childhood, a housekeeper had handled all her daily necessities, so such things had always been far removed from her.

The audience was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment, all turning into sour lemons. Still, everyone knew that the artist came from a relatively wealthy family; they simply had not expected her family to be that wealthy.

Li Wenchuan was awakened by a burst of knocking. The moment he opened the door, he found a camera pointed directly at him.

His hair was a mess, and he could barely open his eyes. One look was enough to tell that he had just woken up.

He was dumbfounded, and so was the cameraman.

The cameraman awkwardly asked, "Um... didn't your manager notify you? We came to film today."

Only then did Li Wenchuan remember that He Meng seemed to have mentioned on the phone yesterday that someone would come by today to tidy things up in advance. But at the time, he had been roaming King's Canyon and had brushed her off with a few words before hanging up.

"Ah, I forgot." Li Wenchuan opened the door fully and invited them inside.

Before the variety show began, its trailers would include clips of these surprise visits to guests' homes. Netizens loved this sort of thing. The show called them surprise visits, but everyone understood that the guests had definitely been notified beforehand.

Usually, they would see this person doing yoga, that person eating breakfast, or someone else out for a morning run.

Li Wenchuan was probably the only one who had genuinely just crawled out of bed.

The cameraman was wondering whether they should cut it during editing when Li Wenchuan said, "Forget it. Leave it in."

"???"

"Use reality to shatter their fantasies about celebrities."

"..." To be honest, did Li Wenchuan even have fans?

Several staff members exchanged glances, their eyes full of confusion. Then one of them suddenly realized—yes, he did. He had fans of his looks.

But wasn't this kind of blow too cruel?

Fortunately, Li Wenchuan had renovated the rental apartment beforehand. Otherwise, he really would have ended up on the trending searches with tags like #LiWenchuanIsSoPoor and #TheRealLifeOfAFallenStar.

Gotta save face. Anonymous.

The cameraman carried his camera as he watched Li Wenchuan wash up, change clothes in his room, and head downstairs.

There was a breakfast shop below the residential complex. The breakfast rush had already passed, so there were fewer people, giving the place a leisurely air. Just as Li Wenchuan was about to walk in, he turned back and asked, "Have you eaten?"

The breakfast smelled so good... They had gotten up even earlier than Li Wenchuan, so of course they had not eaten.

But so as not to affect the filming, they silently swallowed their saliva. "We ate, we ate."

Li Wenchuan nodded. Through the camera, they watched the excessively handsome man greet the people inside with practiced familiarity.

"Little Li, you're here for breakfast? Are you still doing tai chi with us later?"

"I'm coming. You guys start without me."

The breakfast shop owner smiled brightly when she saw him. "Little Li, eating here or taking it to go? Those fried dough sticks have gone limp. Auntie will fry you some fresh ones."

"Thank you, Auntie Qin." Li Wenchuan smiled.

Clearly, this was not the first or second time. The people here were familiar with Li Wenchuan, just as Li Wenchuan was familiar with them.

The small breakfast shop was filled with the warm bustle of everyday life. This was an ordinary person's ordinary day. It was mundane, but real.

Even the cameraman sighed inwardly. This celebrity was far too down-to-earth. At first, he had suspected that Li Wenchuan was trying to save face, or that this was simply part of his scripted setup. But after seeing these scenes, he believed it. Those people's natural expressions could not be staged.

He had filmed so many celebrities and had seen people deliberately pose to showcase a sense of everyday life, but it always looked fake.

Last time, a female celebrity had nearly set the kitchen on fire while making breakfast, and the housekeeper had needed to step in and save the situation. That part was cut, of course. But after some editing, the final footage still showed her "successfully" making breakfast and chatting with her family at the dining table.

"Guys, sit here. Have a few bites to fill your stomachs."

The cameraman was still marveling when he heard Li Wenchuan call out to them.

An entire table of breakfast dishes had already been ordered, likely based on their number. They were short two chairs, and Li Wenchuan even went to another table to bring them over.

"This..."

"Eat, eat. It's not like anyone will know. They can just cut it later."

Hearing Li Wenchuan say that, the group, who had already been tempted beyond endurance, immediately sat down.

They took a bite of the meat buns. They were so fragrant, and bursting with juice. This kind of morning was far too satisfying. They wanted every day to be like this.

Li Wenchuan ate his tofu pudding in small bites and recommended it to them. "Auntie Qin's breakfast is delicious, right? Too bad you don't live here, otherwise you could eat it every day."

The people across from him nodded earnestly. They were always running around, and their meal times and work schedules had to follow the day's arrangements. When did they ever have time to sit down for a proper breakfast?

They could not help asking, "Do you eat breakfast here every day?"

The young man across from them had no concern for maintaining an idol image. He took a huge gulp of soy milk and nodded. "Yeah. Later, I'm also going with Old Man Chen and the others to practice tai chi."

"..."

Was he really a celebrity? How could his life be this leisurely?

After eating and drinking their fill, the group headed toward the residential complex's plaza, only to be stopped by several men in black suits who approached them aggressively.