Sweet deception

The man's barrage of words left Lu Yiyi speechless, the smile on her face painfully stiff.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"You don't understand? Then apparently your brain isn't fully developed either." Shen Yanci scoffed.

Ignoring her expression entirely, he took Song Yunxing's hand and drawled, "We're not doing this task. Eating with someone like her would ruin our appetite."

Before Song Yunxing could react, Shen Yanci had led him out of the camera's view.

[That was a lot of information for one short minute.]

[I never thought I'd live to see Shen Yanci tear into someone!]

[The contrast in his attitude was like watching a face-changing act.]

[Where are those two going? Are they really skipping lunch?]

[The camera! Why isn't the camera following them?]

Lu Yiyi remained where she was, unable to muster even the slightest smile, and completed the task with a cold expression throughout.

Luo An was happy with this turn of events too. After going through the motions of completing the task, she headed straight to the table to eat.

It was already two in the afternoon. The guests were tired after filming for so long, and the crew needed to eat as well, so the livestream paused for an hour to give everyone a break.

Online discussions continued unabated. New City Entertainment had only just taken down the Trending Search about Lu Yiyi when a new one appeared on the list.

#Lu Yiyi suspected of plastic surgery#

The resourceful netizens dug up photos of Lu Yiyi from her school days. She barely resembled her current self, and the signs of plastic surgery were glaringly obvious.

Plastic surgery and minor cosmetic procedures were already commonplace in the industry, but her company had marketed her as a naturally beautiful, innocent campus belle. That reduced her already crumbling public image to dust.

Lu Yiyi had never had many genuine fans. Now she relied entirely on paid trolls to prop her up.

As the Trending Search skyrocketed up the rankings, New City Entertainment's PR team found themselves unable to take it down and urgently contacted the company's executives.

"If you can't take it down, push another Trending Search up!"

"Aren't Shen Yanci and Song Yunxing a ready-made Trending Search? Do I have to teach you everything?"

Within minutes, a new Trending Search appeared: #Shen Yanci and Song Yunxing suspected of faking their relationship for publicity#

The topic kept climbing, displacing the previous Trending Search. Shipping fans and paid trolls went to war, plunging the internet into another bloodbath.

Meanwhile, the two men at the center of it all were trying to bribe the restaurant's kitchen staff.

"...100 Pretty Coins, just to make a few dishes. We'll clean up afterward, so we won't cause you any trouble." Shen Yanci pulled out a Pretty Coin banknote and offered it to the head chef, who had just emerged from the kitchen.

After hearing them out, the head chef removed his hat and looked conflicted as he stared at the lone banknote.

That look made it clear the price wasn't right.

The head chef raised his eyes and happened to meet Song Yunxing's gaze.

The young man had washed up, leaving his skin clear and clean. His light brown eyes were like transparent glass marbles, reflecting a soft, luminous sheen.

Seeming to notice his gaze, the young man smiled politely at him, his eyes curving.

That smile left the head chef utterly dazzled, and the corners of his lips rose involuntarily.

Shen Yanci glanced back and let out an exasperated laugh.

He pulled another banknote from his pocket, stuffed it into the head chef's hand, and said through gritted teeth, "Don't come bothering us unless you have to!"

The moment he finished speaking, the two disappeared from the head chef's sight. Only the faintly trembling metal door bore witness to their presence.

The kitchen was dark. Shen Yanci felt around for the light switch, and the spacious room flooded with light.

It was Song Yunxing's first time in a professional kitchen, and he wandered around curiously.

"So this is what a restaurant kitchen looks like."

Shen Yanci found a clean pan and surveyed the remaining ingredients, his brows drawing together slightly. "There isn't much left. How about seafood stir-fried noodles?"

"Sure." Song Yunxing wasn't picky. He had thought he would go hungry, so having anything to eat was good enough.

Shen Yanci tied on an apron, picked up the prepared seafood, and deftly sliced it on the cutting board.

Song Yunxing stood beside him, staring blankly.

His movements were crisp and practiced, nothing like those of someone who had only taken a few basic lessons.

"Are you... going to film a movie about a master chef or something?" Song Yunxing asked.

The man's brows shifted slightly. "I don't have any plans for that. Why do you ask?"

"Then why did you learn to cook? Didn't you say cooking was a waste of your precious time?" Song Yunxing asked in puzzlement.

The man paused briefly and turned to look at him.

In the quiet room, their eyes met.

Without warning, Song Yunxing's heart skipped into a faster rhythm.

"You... you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Song Yunxing looked away.

What was wrong with him? His heartbeat had been acting strangely lately.

The man turned back, his short black hair concealing his eyes. His slightly husky voice echoed through the spacious room.

"When you're alone, it's a waste of time. When there are two of you, it doesn't count as a waste."

The echoing words slipped into Song Yunxing's ears, making them inexplicably itch.

For some reason, he felt those words were meant for him.

Impossible! We just went to the same school. At most, we're friends!

"Oh." Song Yunxing unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together, his gaze wandering.

"Is there anything... I can help with?" Song Yunxing stammered, changing the subject.

The man seemed about to say something, then stopped. Tightening his grip on the spatula, he reached up to turn on the extractor hood. "No, everything's ready. Just sit over there."

A soft hum filled the quiet room as the man concentrated on stir-frying the seafood in the pan.

Song Yunxing sat on a plastic chair opposite him, bored out of his mind.

His gaze kept straying toward Shen Yanci. What had he meant? Had he learned to cook specifically for someone?

Shen Yanci was an only child and had a terrible relationship with his Alpha father. Was the only possibility that he had learned to cook because he wanted to make meals for someone himself?

The incandescent light fell on the man's black clothes. The cooking fumes blurred his naturally languid, aristocratic air, seeming to bring him briefly down to earth.

Who could have been lucky enough to make this wealthy young master learn to cook personally?

The young man fiddled with the washed fruit, his lips unconsciously forming a pout.

Song Yunxing lowered his eyes to the washed strawberries in the bowl, and they lit up.

I don't want to owe Shen Yanci a favor every time. I just can't cook hot meals! I can still make candied strawberries!

Suddenly, the clicking of a stove igniter broke the quiet. Shen Yanci turned to see someone enthusiastically pouring sugar and water into a pan.

"You!" Shen Yanci hurriedly tipped the seafood noodles out of his pan and rushed to his side as fast as he could, catching his wrist.

"What are you doing..." Before Shen Yanci could finish, a skewer of glistening strawberries appeared before his eyes.

"Candied strawberries. Well? I haven't lost my touch, have I?" Song Yunxing proudly flicked his wrist twice. "Let go. I need to put these down."

The corners of Shen Yanci's eyes reddened, but he didn't release his wrist.

He didn't like sweets. It was just that, on his seventeenth birthday, a day of deathly silence, someone had knocked on his door bearing candy.

Those decidedly "substandard" candied strawberries had filled his stomach and stolen his heart, while their maker remained completely unaware.

Now he was twenty-seven, and Song Yunxing was still using them to sweet-talk him. Wasn't he underestimating him a little?

"...Song Yunxing, feed me," the man said, his voice slightly husky.

"Come on, I only just coated these in syrup. Aren't you afraid of burning yourself..."