Chapter 127: Crispy Pork Lard
For the viewers who had embraced this new form of entertainment, the camera-less bathrooms were the biggest complaint about Reality Online.
Initially, they had been quite understanding, thinking that bathrooms were private spaces. But then, after the Team Change Card incident and the surge in Mi Hongdou/Ji Junxin shippers, the “cockroach incident” in the bathroom made them realize how frustrating it was to have blind spots in a 24/7 live stream!
This frustration intensified when Ji Junxin mentioned cockroaches again the next morning.
The memory game challenge offered a temporary distraction, giving the crew, who were bearing the brunt of the criticism, a brief respite.
But this respite was short-lived. As soon as the challenge ended, Ji Junxin’s fall reignited the viewers’ obsession with the bathroom. When she mentioned the bathroom again, the crew’s hearts sank. As expected, when she asked to go to the bathroom to check her injury, the live stream comments exploded with demands for cameras in the bathroom, a torrent of messages that made the crew want to cry.
No filming in the bathroom, no audio or night vision at night, these were the show’s non-negotiable rules. Even with the exploding comments section, the crew stuck to their principles.
The viewers, although spamming the comments with their demands, knew it was futile, just expressing their wishes.
Although there were no cameras in the bathroom, there was still audio.
As Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin entered the bathroom and closed the door, the viewers turned off the audio for the other cameras, focusing on their microphones.
A brief silence, then,
“Put on some medicine…” Mi Hongdou’s voice.
Another long silence, then,
“Let me see your knee.” Mi Hongdou again.
More silence.
“There’s some bruising, do you want ice or ointment? There’s safflower oil, I can rub it on for you.” Still Mi Hongdou.
Followed by silence.
Why isn’t Ji Junxin speaking? Did she turn off her mic? No, even if she did, Mi Hongdou’s mic would still pick up something! So she hasn’t spoken at all? Why? Is she seriously injured?! The viewers flooded the comments with questions, even the demands for bathroom cameras decreased.
Then Mi Hongdou spoke again. “Does it still hurt?”
A brief pause, then, “Does it still hurt?”
The short pause between the two questions made the viewers imagine the scene: Mi Hongdou, squatting down, anxiously examining the injury, while Ji Junxin, silently crying… How pitiful!
Just as their imaginations ran wild, they heard Ji Junxin’s first words since entering the bathroom.
A soft, pained whimper… “It still hurts…”
Ji Junxin’s fans clutched their hearts. So pitiful! She didn’t turn off her mic, she was just crying too hard to speak! The earlier silence, was she just nodding and shaking her head in pain? Waaaah…
The demands for cameras decreased further, replaced by a flood of sympathetic messages: “So pitiful!” “Don’t cry!” “We’ll always support you, Xinxin!” …
While the viewers imagined Ji Junxin’s suffering, the two in the bathroom had already progressed from a knee kiss, to jumping away, to almost chipping a tooth…
The viewers, their hearts aching for Ji Junxin, didn’t notice the prolonged silence from the bathroom.
As the saying goes, silence is golden, but sometimes, it’s just… awkward.
While most viewers were still expressing their sympathy for Ji Junxin’s pained whimper, some noticed that even Mi Hongdou had fallen silent.
This lack of cameras is really testing our imaginations!
As they sat there, staring at their silent computers, their minds racing, a soft “Mmm~” suddenly came through their speakers, a soft, breathy sound that seemed to break through suppressed restraint, followed by a faint echo, an involuntary release…
The viewers, who had been typing sympathetic messages, their hearts aching for Ji Junxin’s bruised knee, were stunned by this sudden sound. Their fingers froze on their keyboards, typing random strings of characters like “yyyyyyyy” and “aaaaaaa.”
Then, they quickly deleted them.
Their trembling fingers typed new messages, flooding the comments section.
“Did you hear something from the bathroom?”
“That moan… what was that!”
“No, it should be ‘mmm~’ not ‘mmm…’”
“You’re right, the ‘~’ is more accurate!”
“Are we really discussing the proper punctuation of a moan! I heard Xinxin’s voice! Someone explain! What was that!”
“Timidly raising my hand, I think I heard it from Mi Hongdou’s mic. Please tell me I’m not alone…”
“You’re not alone, I’m watching on two computers, but I think… it’s just us two.”
“Joining the queue, we’re probably three…”
“Running to catch up, we’re four…”
“Piling on, we’re five…”
“Enough with the ‘we’! It’s a whole group of us! So why did we hear Ji Junxin’s moan from both her and Mi Hongdou’s mics?!”
“Hehe, why indeed?”
“See: the relationship between distance and sound propagation.”
“On the importance of posture.”
“So, we’re a group, but I still want to know… why the moan?…”
“I don’t even want to know… my teeth hurt…”
“Toothache +1”
“Toothache +2”
“Toothache +3”
…
“Just came back from dinner, seems like I missed something, so, are you saying someone moaned because of a toothache?”
“You’ll regret having dinner.”
“Regret +1”
“Regret +2”
“Regret +3”
…
“So, what was it?”
“I don’t dare to know…”
“I don’t dare to imagine…”
“I don’t dare to ask…”
“Don’t dare +N”
Just as the comments were becoming increasingly suggestive and cryptic, Mi Hongdou’s mic came to life. “That’s what you get for being clumsy, now that I’m rubbing medicine on it, does it hurt?”
The comments paused.
“I’m the one who went for dinner, so, are you saying Ji Junxin moaned because of the medicine?”
“Hehe”
“Hehehe”
“Hehehehehe”
“Hehehehehehe…”
“Such a clumsy cover-up, poor Mi Hongdou.”
“To the one who went for dinner, don’t cry, some moans… once missed, are gone forever…”
“There’s an idiom I could never quite use correctly, and now, its time has come…”
“Covering up the truth”
“Deceiving yourself”
“Protesting too much”
“Trying to hide the obvious”
“Giving yourself away”
“OMG… you guys should join the Chinese Idiom Competition!”
“Why are we so calm… too much sugar?”
“No… I’m just stunned, it’s my first time having concentrated sugar.”
“Concentrated sugar is too delicious, I’m still in shock.”
“We probably misheard, let’s just silently savor this concentrated sugar.”
…
Regardless of the viewers’ complex emotions as they savored the “concentrated sugar,” Ji Junxin, who had unintentionally provided the treat, wanted to jump into a pool and disappear.
The two kisses last night hadn’t been silent, they had even been… more intense, more unrestrained. But… the microphones had been off! And she hadn’t been the only one reacting.
Ji Junxin was mortified. Such a chaste kiss, just lips touching lips, and she had… how embarrassing! And she had been so… quick to react… If it were just Mi Hongdou, then… well, it still wouldn’t be okay. But there was an audience! Ji Junxin covered her mouth, her eyes reddening again.
Mi Hongdou, her breathing unsteady, her mind reeling from Ji Junxin’s soft moan, had almost lost control, wanting to hold her tighter, to kiss her deeper. She was a little dizzy.
They were both adults, and Ji Junxin was the person Mi Hongdou had loved for so long. Having finally realized their mutual feelings, Mi Hongdou, as if hit by a lottery win, still felt a sense of unreality. Especially… Ji Junxin’s unexpected boldness, both surprising and exciting. And after her initial boldness, Ji Junxin would quickly become soft and pliant, her coquettish surrender so alluring that Mi Hongdou wanted to give her the world, just to savor this moment of intimacy.
Afraid of losing control, Mi Hongdou had intended just a quick, comforting kiss for the bruised knee, then a quick retreat. Who knew… she had overestimated Ji Junxin’s… resistance.
Such a quick reaction… how tempting…
But… reacting like that with the microphones on… how embarrassing!
Hmph! And someone heard it! A twinge of annoyance helped Mi Hongdou regain some composure.
She steadied herself, looked away from Ji Junxin, who now looked incredibly alluring in her pitiful state.
“That’s what you get for being clumsy, now that I’m rubbing medicine on it, does it hurt?” she said, winking at Ji Junxin, and then, for added realism, took out the safflower oil.
Although she wasn’t sure if the audience had heard, or what they imagined… she could still try to salvage the situation.
Someone like Pan Xiang, with her wild imagination, could probably come up with a better excuse. But massaging Ji Junxin’s injured knee and having her moan in pain was the best she could think of.
Whether the audience would buy it… she could only hope.
Mi Hongdou warmed the oil in her hands, rolled up Ji Junxin’s pants leg, and started massaging her knee.
Ji Junxin sniffed the oil, pouted, her face red, but she didn’t refuse.
After a few rubs, Mi Hongdou signaled for Ji Junxin to moan.
Ji Junxin hesitated, then, following the script, let out two soft moans.
“Too hard? I’ll be gentler,” Mi Hongdou quickly added.
She felt a little more relaxed. This should explain the earlier moan… at least, it was a plausible excuse. The audience wouldn’t overthink it…
On the live stream page, however, Ji Junxin’s two dutiful moans stunned the viewers.
“So, the correct punctuation here is ‘mmm…’”
“Poor Xinxin, that sounded so awkward.”
“Completely different from the earlier moan, so unconvincing, she should have created a better… atmosphere.”
“Are you suggesting another kiss?”
“No… one dose of concentrated sugar a day is enough, I can’t handle more!”
“Actually, I could have another dose.”
“Concentrated sugar is so good, I want more, what’s Bai Bai Dental Clinic’s number again?”
“Bai Bai Dental Clinic: 139xxxxxxxx, Address: xxxxxxxxx, Jiang City. Mention your ‘Reality Online’ comment ID for a 15% discount~”
“Kudos to Bai Bai for the discount!”
“Bai Bai is really going all out…”
“Xinxin is the one going all out, trying to fix the loophole…”
“Trying to cover up her own slip-up”
“Unfortunately, the cover-up failed, the tone was all wrong”
“Poor Xiaomi, her script ruined”
“Are you stupid… it’s clearly Mi Hongdou who benefited, why pity her!”
“Oh, poor Xinxin, so you’re the neko!”
“Poor Xinxin +1…”
“Poor Xinxin +2…”
“Poor Xinxin +3…”
…
“Suddenly realizing I’ve chosen the right CP, feeling a little lost.”
“Don’t worry, Sweet Red Bean Soup welcomes you, concentrated sugar is even better in soup~”
Speechless… the viewers decided to eat their meals in front of their computers, they didn’t want to miss anything like that viewer who went for dinner earlier. After all, these sweet moments would definitely be edited out of the TV version, hmph!
The two, thinking they had successfully covered up the moan, quickly left the bathroom after applying the ointment to Ji Junxin’s knees.
They glanced around, trying to appear calm. The crew members’ expressions seemed normal, it seemed the incident had blown over…
Great! Time for groceries!
The cameramen, following them, discreetly touched their phones, glancing at the two happy figures. They’re so sweet…
Ji Junxin’s thirty coins from the morning challenge had rescued them from poverty. They were rich now.
But it was only the second day of “Reality Online,” and coins were hard to earn. Even with their newfound wealth, they had to be frugal.
Mi Hongdou wanted to buy ingredients that could last, after all, it was only the second day, and they still had to eat three meals a day. Both coins and food, sustainability was important.
Ji Junxin had no objections, letting Mi Hongdou decide. Her obedient and slightly clueless demeanor, combined with the earlier moan, made the CP fans’ noses bleed…
Ji Junxin, thinking about what they would eat for lunch, was oblivious to the online frenzy.
At the Supplies Board, Mi Hongdou hesitated. In a world where an egg cost five coins… thirty coins wasn’t much. A fish cost forty… even if she wanted to make something nutritious for Ji Junxin, she couldn’t afford it.
And the small, discounted starter pack of seasonings was almost gone. The salt, MSG, and sugar were just a pinch each, the oil just a few drops. She had used very little seasoning for the chicken soup, which was why there was enough left for breakfast. But for stir-fries, it would only be enough for one meal.
After much deliberation, Mi Hongdou spent twelve coins on two liang of fatty pork. Compared to lean pork or pork belly, which were more expensive, they needed the fat for cooking.
Thinking about Ji Junxin, who had been eating bland rice and pickled cucumbers for days, Mi Hongdou reluctantly spent another five coins on an egg.
Seventeen coins gone… most of their wealth, exchanged for a handful of ingredients.
The viewers, watching the live stream while eating their own lunches – chicken legs, braised pork, short ribs, smoked fish – frowned at that small piece of fatty pork.
It looks so unappetizing! Why not pork belly, at least it looks like meat! And we thought she would make something delicious…
Mi Hongdou, calculating the most cost-effective way to buy seasonings, had no idea that her precious fatty pork was being criticized. After another long hesitation, she spent twelve coins on small packets of salt, MSG, and sugar, about 100 grams each. Although twelve coins seemed like a lot, it was more cost-effective than the single-use starter pack. She figured that if they were careful, these seasonings would last them for the rest of the show.
Thirteen coins left, then one. Mi Hongdou had initially wanted to keep it, but seeing the dried soybeans, she couldn’t resist and, after some haggling, traded her last coin for two handfuls.
So, the newly rich team was penniless again.
But Ji Junxin didn’t seem worried at all, just constantly asking Mi Hongdou what they were having.
Mi Hongdou, carrying the meager ingredients, kept her in suspense, which only intensified Ji Junxin’s curiosity and clinginess.
The viewers silently swallowed their sugar-coated chicken legs, honey-glazed braised pork, candied short ribs, and honey-smoked fish… We seem to have acquired a new skill…
Mi Hongdou thought that with so few ingredients, revealing the menu beforehand would ruin the surprise. But Ji Junxin was persistent, following her closely, and once they were home, she practically glued herself to the kitchen counter.
Well… having her around isn’t so bad… Mi Hongdou thought, keeping her mouth shut.
Two liang of fatty pork, with skin. She removed the skin, washed the fat, and diced it into small, even pieces.
She started a small fire in the traditional stove, added a little water to the wok, then the diced fat.
As the water evaporated, the fat started rendering, and both Ji Junxin and the viewers realized that she was making lard.
Indeed, in the harsh environment of Reality Online, rendering your own lard was much more cost-effective than buying oil. Smart move, getting the fatty pork, thumbs-up!
Unlike the viewers, who were impressed by her frugality, Ji Junxin, smelling the aroma of rendering lard, felt her stomach rumble, her mouth watering.
It had been a while since they had anything greasy, and even Mi Hongdou had to admit, the lard smelled particularly good today.
When the water was gone, Mi Hongdou reduced the heat, stirring the pork bits, which were shrinking and turning golden brown, the aroma intensifying.
As the lard accumulated, and the pork bits became crispy, she added a pinch of salt, gave it a final stir, turned off the heat, and scooped out the crispy bits.
Ji Junxin, the dedicated foodie, casually drifted closer.
The amount of lard rendered from that small amount of fat was even smaller. But that glistening, golden liquid looked… incredibly tempting. To someone craving something greasy, it was irresistible, just the smell was intoxicating.
Mi Hongdou, seeing Ji Junxin’s almost dazed expression, understood.
She sprinkled a small amount of sugar into the bowl, stirred it quickly, and handed it to Ji Junxin. “Blow on it, it’s hot.”
Happiness came so suddenly…
Ji Junxin took the bowl, carefully scooped a piece of crispy lard, blew on it repeatedly, and then… offered it to Mi Hongdou.
So now, in the foodie’s heart, I’m more important than food! Mi Hongdou felt a strange sense of triumph and ate the offered lard. “You eat the rest, I’ll start on the other dishes.”
Tsk, a bit too much sugar, a little sweet, but still delicious! The crispy, fragrant lard, sweet and savory, was incredibly addictive. Mi Hongdou’s mouth and nose were filled with the aroma.
Ji Junxin… Ji Junxin’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction as she ate, feeling nourished after days of bland food.
The viewers put down their chopsticks.
They had just been bombarded with sugar, everything tasting sweet…
And now, this lard… suddenly, their own food seemed unappetizing!
We also want lard! Freshly rendered, crispy lard with salt and sugar!
“Going out to buy pork!”
“Buy pork +1”
“Buy pork +2”
“Buy pork +3”
…
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