Chapter 4:Wonderful Food

Tang Qiaoqiao returned to her room and found her cell phone, which had long run out of power. After plugging it in and turning it on, dozens of missed calls and WeChat messages flooded in. Most of them were from her manager, Brother Qian, and a few others, such as Mother Tang and her half-sister, Tang Rou.

Brother Qian, as his name suggested, only recognized money.

[T/N: Qian means money.]

If an artist could make money, they were a treasure in his eyes, and he would support them wholeheartedly. But if they couldn’t, he would give up on them and let them fend for themselves.

The original owner belonged to the latter category, and entered the entertainment circle due to an unexpected opportunity. However, even after becoming a wealthy family's daughter and marrying into a wealthy family, these identities did not contribute to her career at all.

The Tang family was very concerned about not hurting Tang Rou's feelings or ruining her image in the upper class. Hence, when they found the original owner, they only said that the Tang family had recognized a distant relative. They did not even mention her name, let alone help her develop her career.

Meanwhile, when Tang Qiaoqiao married into the Shen family, she was basically just a Chongxi bride in disguise. So when they got married, the Shen family warned the original owner that she should never reveal the relationship between her and Shen Yue.

[T/N: Chongxi is a kind of folk belief in China, basically to let a chronic illness patient get married, to wash out bad luck with a happy event, in the hopes that it would treat the disease.]

Her biological parents didn't love her, and her husband's family only used her. The original owner's life seemed to be a joke. No wonder she became more and more unbalanced, constantly causing trouble.

In the eyes of her agency, the original owner was still a "three-no" female artist—no background, no talent, and no popularity.

There were many artists under Brother Qian, and after pushing the original owner several times with no apparent results, he basically cast her into limbo. It got to the point where it was rare for him to even call her once a month.

Now that he was looking for her in such a hurry, she didn't need to think to understand. It must be because of the incident between her and Shen Liang yesterday.

'Speak of the devil.'

The phone rang again, and Tang Qiaoqiao calmly picked it up.

As soon as the call was connected, Brother Qian's words came pouring out like beans from a bamboo tube.

"Ms. Tang, you finally answered the phone. I've called you twenty or thirty times. What on earth were you doing? I thought you had lost your mind and decided to commit suicide. Did you know if it wasn’t for your home phone number confirming your whereabouts, I would have already gone and called the police!"

Tang Qiaoqiao simply replied, "I was asleep, and my phone ran out of power."

Brother Qian: "I don't care what the reason is. Come to the company quickly. You have a job!"

What, that's it? He didn't scold me and make her pay money.

"I was scolded so badly, and there is still a job for me?" Tang Qiaoqiao felt incredible. Is this the world of dog-blood drama without logic?

But there is no such thing in the original book. Could it be that her entry caused a deviation?

Brother Qian was obviously overjoyed. "I didn’t expect it myself. Your trick was truly underhanded—it ruined your reputation, but negative publicity is still publicity. Who in the entertainment industry hasn’t been scolded? Even megastars have a carload of anti-fans. You should know, the worst thing that can happen to a star like you is when no one cares about you at all!"

"Qiaoqiao, you have stayed under my hands for so long. I have always known you have a future. Now that the opportunity has come, you must seize it."

Tang Qiaoqiao: ...

Brother Qian was really talented. He changed his face too quickly. His voice, which used to call her rubbish in the past, still lingered in her ears.

"You haven't told me about the job yet?"

"It's a reality show, 'Wonderful Food' launched by Cantaloupe Video. They were looking for the last guest and happened to find you. I have already agreed. You must come to the company today. Let's discuss what to do then."

"Where is the show recorded?"

"It's in this city." Brother Qian said, "What? Do you still have the right to pick a place? Let me tell you, even if you have to go to a savage tribe in a third-world country, you’d still have to pack up and fly over there immediately."

Okay, this was the Brother Qian she knew. She almost had goosebumps after he flattered her just now.

Tang Qiaoqiao hung up the phone, thinking that recording within the city would be quite good. With Shen Yue's current physical condition, she was really worried about going out in the city.

Before going out, she rummaged through the closet and finally found an out-of-place bright yellow sling dress among the original owner's pile of red and purple clothes. She tied her hair in a tall ponytail and put on a small backpack.

Tang Qiaoqiao's complexion was already very fair and white, and with the bright yellow skirt, her skin looked even more radiant. She applied a thin layer of make-up and only used cherry red lipstick, brightening her whole face.

Before she went out, she thought she had to talk to Shen Yue.

So she went into his room and found that he was asleep.

His fever had gone away, and he was just lying quietly on the bed, without the hostility from earlier, showing a frail and sickly beauty.

Tang Qiaoqiao looked at him for a while, then quietly left. When she turned around, she did not see Shen Yue opening his eyes.

*

When Tang Qiaoqiao rushed to the agency, Brother Qian was very enthusiastic. He kept praising her and told other artists that they should learn from her.

Tang Qiaoqiao wasn't blind—she could see that other artists responded perfunctorily, murmuring a few words with disdain in their eyes. In their opinion, Tang Qiaoqiao only got a little bit of popularity because she threw herself at the star, Shen Liang. This kind of fame was not worth mentioning.

In fact, it was true.

After talking with Brother Qian, she learned that 'Wonderful Food' was a food-related reality show with six initial guests. Although it was a new show, it was backed by a big platform, which was why Brother Qian attached so much importance to it.

Tang Qiaoqiao finished the company's affairs and turned around to go to the mall.

In the past, when the senior sisters in the cultivation realm secretly went into the kitchen to eat, she overheard that they often sneaked into the mortal world and bought rouge, gouache, and silk satin cloth, which made her envious.

Now she could finally experience this happiness.

Tang Qiaoqiao bought a few outfits for herself, feeling very happy. But she didn't expect that she would meet an acquaintance at this time. It was her 'sister', the heroine, Tang Rou, who was so popular with thousands of people, followed by two gorgeously dressed women.

Tang Rou never expected to meet Tang Qiaoqiao here and stopped for a while. One of her girlfriends squinted at Tang Qiaoqiao, leaning in her ear and whispering, "Isn't she a distant relative of yours? She really looks very cheap."

Tang Rou nodded slightly and said, "You guys, go back first. I have something to say to her."

After her friends left, Tang Rou walked quickly to Tang Qiaoqiao and took her hand affectionately.

"Sister, I didn't expect to meet you here. What a coincidence."

Tang Qiaoqiao withdrew her hand. "My company is nearby." What sort of coincidence was this?

Tang Rou was choked. Tang Qiaoqiao's company was nearby, so she should’ve known that she would be around here.

"There’s a cafe in the corner over there. Let's go there and sit down."

"Okay." Tang Qiaoqiao nodded calmly and strode towards the cafe.

Tang Rou fell behind, and her expression suddenly sank.

She had originally thought that Tang Qiaoqiao would be hiding at home in disgrace after the incident at Shen Liang's place. But to her surprise, Tang Qiaoqiao still dared to visit the mall, meeting her without any shame.

'Shameless.'

Tang Qiaoqiao sat down in the coffee shop, opened the menu, and saw a lot of desserts. These were different from the Chinese-style desserts she had seen before, but they all looked so delicious.

She called the waiter. "Bring me two servings each of this mousse, zabaione, tiramisu, and this cake. One serving is to be eaten now, and the other serving is for takeout."

She handed the menu to Tang Rou and said, "You order by yourself."

Tang Rou choked again. Tang Qiaoqiao ordered so many things, and she didn't even have a share.

"A cup of coffee is just fine."

Tang Rou stirred the coffee gently while thinking. "Mum and I are thinking of you. She called you a few times yesterday, but you didn't answer them."

Tang Qiaoqiao knowingly asked, "What did she want?" They wouldn’t call her without a purpose.

This zabaione was delicious. The outside was slightly charred. After a bite, the rich and silky aroma of wine and eggs flowed to the tip of her tongue. The aftertaste was endless.

Tang Rou stopped beating around the bush. "She wanted to talk about yesterday. It’s just a misunderstanding."

Tang Qiaoqiao swallowed a mouthful of cake and said, "Misunderstanding? There was no misunderstanding."

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