Chapter 66: The Center of the Fish Pond (1)
Su Mingxiu felt like she had slept for a very long time. When she opened her eyes, she was still a bit dizzy. Then, someone bumped into her, making her stumble.
Her hand pressed against a graffiti-covered wall, and she finally saw the scene before her—
Stars twinkled brightly.
But these weren’t the stars of the Milky Way. It was the dazzling sparkle of jewelry and glamorous outfits, a scene unique to the entertainment industry. Countless beautiful girls were gathered together, some with matching outfits, some with similar makeup styles, all of them stunning.
She was standing in a corner amidst this sea of beauty. Her gaze fell on the person who had accidentally bumped into her, a man wearing a hat and a staff badge around his neck. He apologized to her, then stared at her, gasping: “Eh? Which company are you from? Why haven’t I seen your profile?”
Su Mingxiu opened her mouth, but her head felt heavy, as if it had been filled with too many things, all covered by a veil, preventing her from seeing clearly. She pressed her right fingertips against her temple and closed her eyes.
Her long, black eyelashes trembled, the mole under her left eye appearing and disappearing. Her flawless face, without a single pore visible, made the staff member’s eyes widen in amazement!
But Su Mingxiu didn’t notice his reaction. Her attention was drawn to a sudden voice in her mind.
[Host deployment successful… Loading world storyline… Loading failed…]
What?
Su Mingxiu frowned, a bad feeling arising in her heart upon hearing the word “failed.” But her question was ignored by the voice in her mind. The mechanical voice immediately adjusted:
[Loading identity…]
Instantly, a flood of information poured into her mind.
She saw an unfamiliar story, as if it were her own past. In this story, she had lost her mother at a young age, and her father had raised her alone, running a small, dilapidated restaurant.
However, on the day of her college graduation, the restaurant faced malicious competition. Her father’s shop was shut down due to a report, leaving the old man, who had just used his savings to pay a year’s rent, heartbroken and sleepless for nights. He died from a stroke after a night of excessive drinking.
All that remained for Su Mingxiu was a closed restaurant with six months left on the lease and a two-bedroom apartment with only the down payment paid.
So, before she could even start looking for a job after graduating, she had to arrange her only relative’s funeral and shoulder hundreds of thousands in debt.
Although she had inherited her father’s cooking skills, she couldn’t make bricks without straw. Not to mention whether the income from reopening the restaurant could cover her monthly mortgage payments, the rival restaurant across the street was not someone she, an ordinary person, could compete with.
So, the distressed Su Mingxiu decided to see if she could negotiate with the real estate agent and rent out her newly renovated two-bedroom apartment, trying to use rent to cover her mortgage—
Coincidentally, the real estate agency was right next to the audition venue for “Produce 101,” a girl group survival show hosted by the Golden Monkey Channel. The agent went to watch the excitement, and she peeked her head out curiously. She was spotted by the casting director, who had just finished a call with a partner company. He rushed towards her with a wide smile:
…”Do you want to be a star? Do you want to be an idol?”
“Huh?”
“Join ‘Produce 101,’ I’ll recommend you internally. Girl, think about it? Learn some singing and dancing, I think you have the looks to become famous.”
“No, I just want to work and earn money.”
“Our show pays 20,000 yuan per episode!”
“When will it air? When will the salary be paid?”
***
This is strange.
Su Mingxiu came back to her senses, feeling something was off. Her mind was still hazy, but she had an inexplicable confidence that she could settle the restaurant and the mortgage within a month without even participating in this strange talent show.
Just then, that mechanical voice in her head finally spoke: “Identity established! Culinary God System online. Issuing ultimate mission: Participate in ‘Produce 101’ and befriend four future superstars! Gain 100 goodwill points from them with your cooking! Let them help you open restaurants across the country!”
… Still strange.
Su Mingxiu heard the voice. It was completely unfamiliar, but she felt an inexplicable sense of disgust, convinced that it was talking nonsense.
What was the Culinary God System?
Why was it called the Culinary God System, yet the ultimate mission it issued was a romance-based strategy game? What kind of messed up thing was this?
The heavily disguised system, scanning her expression, secretly analyzed its code, wondering if it had revealed any flaws.
But after multiple checks, it couldn’t find any errors. It could only continue acting along with its fake shell:
[As this is your first mission, Host, this system has specifically activated auxiliary functions to help you locate the goodwill targets and understand their preferences.]
As expected.
When Su Mingxiu opened her eyes again and looked at the crowd, she could vaguely see a few colorful borders with text inside, but they were too far away to read clearly.
The staff member was still standing before her. Seeing her rubbing her head with her eyes closed and remaining silent, he thought she was feeling unwell and asked with concern: “Are you alright?”
At that moment, Director Zheng, who was in charge of the overall production, happened to be walking towards them. Hearing the question, he also looked at Su Mingxiu with concern. This was an amateur he had specifically recruited, hoping to use her unique face to create a unique storyline.
If Su Mingxiu’s singing and dancing were terrible, it would perfectly highlight the other contestants’ talents. If she was good, even better. The program could use this “amateur card” to attract a lot of attention.
If even an amateur could debut, could anyone doubt the authenticity of this talent show?
Moreover, with this example, they could also attract more viewers for the second and third seasons.
So, Director Zheng asked her with concern: “Do you need a place to rest? The mentors haven’t arrived yet, the recording won’t start for another half hour.”
“Produce 101” had learned from the strengths of previous talent shows and focused on “authenticity.” Therefore, they were using the latest live broadcast technology. This way, as soon as the recording started, viewers could access the backstage through countless cameras and choose their favorite contestants in advance.
Before the broadcast even started, the contestants sent by various companies were already nervous, gathering in small groups, some practicing their singing and dancing. Only Su Mingxiu, who wasn’t particularly skilled in either, had nothing to do even if she went to rest now.
Seeing Director Zheng’s concern, the staff member realized that Su Mingxiu must have some background. He stood by silently, only asking Director Zheng after Su Mingxiu left: “Who was that?”
He had thought she was some kind of royalty.
Unexpectedly, Director Zheng waved his hand dismissively. “An amateur I picked.”
“Huh? The kind who’s been practicing dance at home for years, or an amateur karaoke champion?” The staff member asked curiously.
Director Zheng glanced at him. “Did you see that face?”
The staff member was stunned for a moment. Just as Director Zheng was waiting for him to understand, he suddenly changed his expression and whispered: “The ace from Neptune Entertainment, exceptional vocals, also very beautiful.”
Thinking of the person he mentioned, Director Zheng patted his shoulder with a smile. “That one can compete for the center position, she’s definitely good. But this amateur… isn’t bad either.”
***
At this moment…
Following Director Zheng’s instructions, Su Mingxiu, walking towards the resting room, realized that the filming location for this show was actually by a vast scenic area. The large tent from earlier was a performance venue that had been renovated from a former attraction.
Since animal performances had been completely banned, these attractions had all closed down. Now, being used as a filming location for a talent show, it was understandable.
She stepped out of the dark room, her vision suddenly widening, and she heard the sound of waves.
Su Mingxiu subconsciously followed the sound, wanting to find a quiet place to gather her thoughts. Unexpectedly, she bumped into two girls walking towards her, arm in arm, with number tags on their chests.
It wasn’t their appearance or their clothes that attracted her attention, but the translucent boxes above their heads:
[Name: Pao Tong (Han Chinese)
Height: 169cm
Taste Preferences: Sweet and sour
Diet: Sugar control…]
Su Mingxiu looked at the girl with pink curls, her appearance exceptionally cute. She felt like the girl was carrying a self-introduction above her head. The translucent box not only listed her taste preferences, but also her ethnicity, height, even her weight, measurements, and recommended cooking styles for strategy. She was stunned for a moment.
Then, she looked at the other girl with a strange expression:
[Name: Annie (Zhuang)
Height: 165cm
Taste Preferences: Spicy and sour
Diet: Due to long-term dance practice, she has old injuries, dietary therapy is recommended…]
This girl had silver-blue short hair, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, her face radiating cheerfulness. Even without looking at the introduction, just seeing the bandages on her fingers and knees, one could tell she had some injuries.
Perhaps due to her years of dance practice, her body looked strong yet graceful, a sight to behold.
Seeing Su Mingxiu staring at them, Annie whistled cheerfully and said to her friend: “What kind of amazing show are we participating in? Why are there so many drop-dead gorgeous beauties everywhere?”
“Hello, are you also here for some fresh air? My name is Annie, this is Pao Tong, we’re a duo. What about you? Are you from a big company or did you apply on your own?”
Annie approached her, extending her hand in a friendly gesture. The crystals on her nails sparkled brightly.
Su Mingxiu, who had been lost in this strange world and the system’s bizarre settings, now responded politely, extending her hand. Compared to the other contestants’ attire, she was very plain.
Necklaces, earrings, rings, manicures, she had none of those.
This one… looks like a good girl who just graduated from school.
Pao Tong thought, her gaze scrutinizing Su Mingxiu. Seeing her shake hands with Annie, she heard her pleasant voice: “Hello, my name is Su Mingxiu, I haven’t signed with any company yet.”
Mingxiu.
Pao Tong memorized the name silently. Then she saw Su Mingxiu turn to her and smile.
Pao Tong, who was always by Annie’s side and used to watching her friend’s lively personality, didn’t expect to receive such a friendly greeting even though she hadn’t spoken. After some thought, she shared the information she knew about this talent show.
“Thank you,” Su Mingxiu said with a smile. “I’ll treat you to dinner sometime.”
Both of them took this as a polite remark. As they parted ways and walked towards the venue, they reminded her to pay attention to the time and not be late.
***
Su Mingxiu walked towards the seaside.
She stopped by the pale sand, her canvas shoes preventing her from getting too close to the waves.
The setting sun pierced through the clouds, casting a golden glow on the shimmering water. The sound of a fishing boat’s horn could be heard from afar.
She was about to have a detailed conversation with the system when the gentle waves, lapping at the shore, suddenly surged, crashing towards the beach.
Just as Su Mingxiu thought the wave would engulf her, it broke right before her feet, only the sea foam splashing onto her shoes and pants.
As the wave receded, a figure appeared on the golden sand.
The person seemed surprised to see someone standing unfazed before such a terrifying sight. They looked at her directly with their blue eyes, then looked away without a word, walking towards the talent show venue, following the same path as Annie and Pao Tong.
They were carrying a pair of silver slippers.
Su Mingxiu stared at them, not at their naturally beautiful, shimmering dress, nor at their long silver hair, but at the translucent box that appeared above their head.
[Name: Suhui (Merfolk)
Height: 171cm
Preferences: Seafood…]
Hmm… hmm??
Su Mingxiu’s eyes widened in shock.
She had always thought that the parentheses contained information about different ethnicities within the country, but what was this “Merfolk”? Was it one of the fifty-six recognized ethnic groups? Was it even a recognized ethnicity in the world?
The previous two, Pao Tong and Annie, either had prominent backgrounds or had debuted before. They had a fanbase and could easily monetize their popularity, possessing the ability to support her restaurant expansion.
But what about this Suhui?
Could it be that after reaching 100% goodwill, she would provide her restaurant with an unlimited supply of fresh seafood?
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