When the two returned to the Mushroom House, carrying large and small bags, Yan Ruanning called out before even entering the door, "We're back!"
She swung the bag around, jumping and skipping excitedly.
Teacher He was the first to come out of the house to greet them, followed by Liang Shihua and Su Jianqiu.
"Thank you for your hard work." Teacher He took the bag from Yan Ruanning's hand, then glanced at the two large bags Cheng Che was carrying, and reached out to help, "Here, give me one."
"It's okay, it's not serious."
Teacher He still managed to snatch one from his hand, weighed it in his hand, and raised an eyebrow:
"This isn't heavy? You look thin, but you're quite strong."
Cheng Che smiled but didn't explain.
If he gets serious, he could carry both bags with one hand.
He's the type who looks slim in clothes but has a muscular physique underneath.
It's only Teacher He is a man that he's not truly talented; otherwise, he would definitely have showcased his abilities to the fullest!
70 stamina points are no joke.
The two carried the groceries they had bought to the kitchen.
Teacher Huang was busy at the stove, wearing an apron. Seeing them come in, she greeted them with a smile:
"You're back? What good stuff did you buy? Let me see."
Yan Ruanning leaned over, opened the bag, and took things out one by one.
Tomatoes, pork ribs, a live fish, a few bunches of greens, and two pounds of free-range eggs that Teacher Huang specifically requested.
Cheng Che stood by and watched for a while, then casually picked up the vegetables and put them under the tap to wash them.
Teacher Huang didn't notice at first, but when he turned around and saw Cheng Che already chopping vegetables, he was stunned for a moment:
You can do this too?
My family runs a breakfast shop, and I've helped out since I was little.
Cheng Che arranged the chopped greens on a plate with quick, even movements.
Teacher Huang leaned over for a look and nodded with a sigh:
"Your knife skills are impressive. These days, you couldn't find one out of ten young people who could cut vegetables."
Most of the people I know would.
Cheng Che wasn't lying; most of the people he knew were from the countryside, and there were very few who couldn't do it.
"That's because you're in a good circle," Teacher Huang sighed. "These days, kids have better lives, and many can't even cook noodles. Last time I met a college student, and I asked him whether to put the tomatoes or eggs first when making scrambled eggs with tomatoes. He thought for a long time and said, 'Can't I put them in together?'"
Cheng Che smiled.
Yan Ruanning, who was helping to pick green beans, heard this and pouted, interjecting:
" Teacher Huang, you're making it sound like I wouldn't know either."
Teacher Huang glanced at her. "You can cook?"
Yan Ruanning said matter-of-factly, "I will eat it."
Teacher Huang chuckled and pointed at her, saying to Cheng Che, "Look at that, that's a classic case of being stubborn."
Cheng Che didn't reply and continued chopping vegetables with his head down.
Yan Ruanning secretly made a face at him, then lowered her head to pick green beans again.
She picked the green beans much more quickly than before, her fingers flying across the paper, occasionally humming a tune that was hard to make out.
She herself didn't realize that the tone of her voice when she said "I will eat" was completely different from the aloof singer Yan Ruanning she usually is in front of the camera.
She's just a little girl unconsciously acting cute.
Teacher Huang saw this, a smile playing on her lips, but said nothing.
He also enjoys secretly watching sweet moments.
Lunch was very plentiful.
Teacher Huang made braised pork ribs, sweet and sour fish, stir-fried greens, and egg drop soup, plus the plate of greens that Cheng Che helped cut, filling the table to the brim.
Cheng Che picked up a piece of pork rib, took a bite, and nodded.
The taste is indeed quite good.
It tastes a little different from his mother's cooking, but it's still a solid home-style dish with the wok hei (wok aroma) and the real feel of oil and salt.
"Delicious!" he exclaimed.
Teacher Huang laughed upon hearing this, "It's rare to hear someone praise me."
Teacher He laughed from the side:
That's because the dishes you usually cook are indeed a bit hard to evaluate.
"That's creativity; you just don't know how to appreciate it."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was relaxed.
Teacher He, worried that Cheng Che might feel out of place on camera, proactively initiated the conversation:
" Cheng Che, was your senior year of high school tiring?"
Cheng Che thought for a moment, then put down his chopsticks.
"Whether you're tired or not actually depends on whether you've gained anything," he said. "For example, if you do a hundred practice problems and understand every single one, then you're not tired. But if you do a hundred problems and don't understand a single one, then you're very tired."
He was right; if it weren't for the feedback from the [ Incubus Development System ], he would really feel exhausted.
But hard work pays off, and he finds joy in every bit of hardship and exhaustion.
Teacher He nodded. "That's well said, no wonder you're the top scorer in the college entrance Zhuangyuan."
Cheng Che didn't respond. He couldn't say it was good luck. The college entrance examination is a testing ground for the results of twelve years of hard study. To say it was luck would be disrespectful to the vast number of college entrance examination students.
Teacher He picked up his teacup and asked with a smile, "I heard you're still playing tennis? What tournament did you make it to?"
"The preliminary rounds for the National Youth Games in Hang City have just advanced to the main competition."
"The qualifiers? Isn't that at the professional level?" Liang Shihua asked curiously, "How long have you been training?"
Cheng Che thought about it and decided not to hide it, but he didn't go into details either:
"A few months. It was during a part-time job that I played a match with the owner of the tennis court, and I discovered that I might have some talent, so I started training. I would get up early every day and play for an hour."
Teacher He and Teacher Huang exchanged a glance.
"A few months?" Teacher Huang paused, his chopsticks stilled. "Made it into the national competition qualifiers?"
"Mm." Cheng Che nodded.
Su Jianqiu put down her bowl and looked at Cheng Che with a serious expression. "You said you only practiced for a few months, one hour a day? That means you've only played for less than 100 hours?"
"Right."
There was a two-second silence at the dinner table.
Teacher He spoke first, smiling as he said, "If this talent had been discovered earlier, he might have gone professional, even competed internationally, and brought glory to the country."
Cheng Che smiled and said, "That's what I was thinking too. But it's not too late now; I still have plenty of time to do this."
Upon hearing this, everyone else showed expressions of admiration.
It's so comfortable talking to smart people.
Yan Ruanning suddenly spoke up from the side, "I'm also very talented."
Everyone looked at her.
"I play tennis too," she said seriously, "And I even beat Cheng Che!"
Cheng Che glanced at her and nodded in agreement:
"Yes, I lost to Sister Ning Ruan."
What do you mean by 'losing to'? I won fair and square.
"Yes, yes, it's all aboveboard."
Yan Ruanning proudly raised her chin, then lowered her head to eat her rice.
Teacher He smiled, Teacher Huang smiled too.
Su Jianqiu, holding her bowl, glanced between the two of them, smiling without saying a word.
The afternoon recording was nothing special.
The director had Cheng Che join everyone in doing farm work, chopping wood, weeding, and moving things.
Cheng Che; when chopping wood, he swung his axe and the wood split cleanly in two, leaving the other workers stunned.
"Have you done this before?" a stagehand asked.
"My hometown is also in the countryside," Cheng Che said. "I used to chop wood with my grandfather when I was a kid."
The stagehand gave a thumbs-up.
Cheng Che chopping firewood, Cheng Che wandered around the village alone.
The houses here are very similar to those in his hometown, with white walls and black tiles, dried vegetables drying in front of the doors, and firewood piled in the corners.
As he walked, he suddenly felt a strong urge to go home.
He sat down in a small square in the village, under a large locust tree, and looked into the distance.
Su Jianqiu happened to be passing by.
She was originally going to the village entrance to pick something up, but when she saw Cheng Che sitting there, she paused for a moment, and then walked over.
"What are you doing sitting here all by yourself?" she asked gently as she sat down beside her.
"Nothing, just browsing."
Su Jianqiu smiled, didn't press further, picked up her thermos, took a sip of water, and then said:
"Don't be nervous about tonight's live stream. You're an ordinary person, so you don't need to do anything special. We'll handle the performances; you just need to react appropriately."
Cheng Che nodded.
He thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of performances do you usually do?"
"It depends on what we're good at," Su Jianqiu said. "Singing, dancing, and telling jokes are all options. I usually sing."
Cheng Che hummed in agreement, his mind racing.
What can he do?
Doing practice questions? You can't exactly livestream yourself doing a test.
Playing tennis? There's no one on the court.
Sing...
He remembered the [ Bard Incubus Voice ] that he had ignored for so long.
After receiving it, I only sang it once at a karaoke bar.
The main problem is that he doesn't have much desire to sing. During summer vacation, he either plays video games, learns to drive, or plays tennis, so his time is too tight.
But maybe we can give it a try today.
If you want to enter the entertainment industry, you need to showcase your talent!
He's still waiting to make a fortune and live a life of leisure.
As darkness fell, the production crew began setting up their equipment.
Lights, cameras, microphone poles, fill lights—it's much more formal than during the day.
Several thick cables were run from the gate of the courtyard, laid along the base of the wall, and secured with tape.
The photographer switched to a larger camera, and the sound engineer carried a long boom pole, moving back and forth in the courtyard.
The director called everyone together and said a few things to note:
"Tonight's broadcast is live, so there can't be any editing. Be careful what you say and do, and don't make inappropriate jokes."
Everyone agreed.
Yan Ruanning walked over to Cheng Che, looked him up and down, then reached out to straighten his collar and adjust his shoulder line.
"Your clothes are all messed up again."
She tidied the clothes like an older sister.
Cheng Che stood still, letting her tidy up.
The staff members passing by pretended not to see it, but after walking past, they exchanged glances.
Su Jianqiu stood not far away, holding a water glass, unable to suppress the corners of her mouth from her lips.
Teacher He walked over and handed Cheng Che a cup of tea:
"Don't be nervous tonight, just be yourself. The audience likes the real you."
Cheng Che accepted the tea. "Thank you, Teacher He."
"Just be yourself." Teacher He patted him on the shoulder. "No need to pretend, no need to act. Just be yourself."
The live stream started at 7:30 PM.
Tea and fruit were laid out on the bamboo table, and several people sat around it.
Teacher He sat in the middle, with Teacher Huang on his left and Liang Shihua on his right.
Cheng Che sat next to Yan Ruanning, with Su Jianqiu sitting opposite him.
The opening remarks were Teacher He.
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the evening special of " Life Slowed Down ". We have new friends joining us today.
The camera panned across everyone, pausing for a second on Cheng Che's face.
In that instant, the live stream chat exploded.
Holy crap, who is that???
"So handsome!!!!"
"Aaaaaaah, who is this?!"
"Wait, wait, wait, why does this person look so familiar???"
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Cheng Che!!! It's Cheng Che!!!"
"That top Zhuangyuan? That tennis player??"
What's he doing at the Mushroom House???
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, he's sitting with Yan Ruanning???"
"Sisters, calm down, calm down... I can't calm down!!"
The number of comments surged at a visible rate, and the number of viewers in the live stream went from a few thousand to tens of thousands, and then to hundreds of thousands.
Cheng Che hadn't spoken yet.
He simply sat there, picked up his teacup, took a sip, then put it down and looked at Teacher He.
But these few actions caused the comments section to completely spiral out of control.
With a charm rating of 70, he's very handsome; if he were in the entertainment industry, he'd be one of the most handsome men at the top.
But at this moment, under the watchful eyes of countless viewers, [ the Stars Surrounding the Moon ] are operating wildly.
The thin, soft light that usually shone suddenly transformed into a lamp.
All eyes were drawn to him as if by a magnet.
Cheng Che did nothing but take a sip of water from his teacup, yet in the entire scene, everyone else's light dimmed.
He's wearing the outfit he bought in town this afternoon.
She wore a black fitted short-sleeved shirt, layered with a light dark gray cardigan, and black cargo pants.
The clothes clearly outlined his shoulders and waist, and the cardigan was casually open, making him look both neat and relaxed.
He sat very steadily, his back straight but not stiff. His hands rested on the bamboo table, his fingers long and clean.
The light shone down, outlining a clear contour of his profile.
Her eyelashes were long, casting a small shadow on her cheeks when they drooped down.
Bathed in warm yellow light, her skin appeared exceptionally white and clean.
The chat in the live stream wasn't just spamming, it was exploding.
I am dead.
"What kind of divine beauty is this? My goodness!"
"I thought he was cool enough when he played basketball, but now that he's just sitting there doing nothing, I can't stand it."
"He's an amateur??? An amateur??? He's a complete amateur???"
"Sorry, I'm switching allegiances. From today onwards, Cheng Che is my ultimate bias!"
"Wall climbing +1".
"Climbing the wall + ID number."
Teacher He smiled as he watched the comments scroll by, then turned to Cheng Che: " Cheng Che, say hello to the audience."
Cheng Che nodded slightly at the camera.
Hello everyone, I'm Cheng Che.
In short.
The sound was clean and refreshing, like water flowing from a mountain stream.
The live chat exploded again!