Chapter 128: Welfare Missions
The crispy, oily, and fragrant pork lard, sweet and savory, instantly captivated Ji Junxin, who had been eating rice and pickled cucumbers for three meals straight.
Ji Junxin looked at the small amount of lard in the bowl, carefully savored each bite, and after reluctantly swallowing, felt revitalized.
“Delicious…” she said, licking her lips, and offered a spoonful to Mi Hongdou, who was whisking eggs.
Mi Hongdou turned her head away. “You eat… mm…”
Mi Hongdou, her mouth now full of lard, licked her teeth where the spoon had touched. This is… complicated.
“Is it good?” Ji Junxin asked, her eyes shining with anticipation, as if she was the one who made it.
Idiot…
Mi Hongdou smiled and nodded.
Ji Junxin, pleased, chuckled and then ate a tiny piece herself.
Tsk…
Mi Hongdou naturally saw it. She had just given her a spoonful, and Ji Junxin only ate a tiny bit.
It was both heartwarming and a little sad. Mi Hongdou, touched, looked away and whisked the eggs faster. “We’re having egg fried rice for lunch, go wait at the table, it’s smoky here.”
“It doesn’t smell smoky, it smells good!” Having confessed the night before, unable to be openly affectionate because of the cameras, the suppressed feelings only intensified. Ji Junxin wanted to cling to Mi Hongdou and wasn’t leaving.
Mi Hongdou sniffed the air. The lard did smell good.
People nowadays valued healthy eating, and lard had long been replaced by healthier oils like peanut oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil. The more health-conscious even used olive oil. Unlike in the past, when resources were scarce, now, with just a little money, you could eat whatever you wanted, food was no longer as precious.
Lard was considered too greasy and unhealthy, rendering lard was considered messy, and even the aroma was now deemed too rich. Even pork itself was often considered less healthy than fish, less flavorful than shrimp, less protein-rich than beef… It was understandable, times changed, and so did people’s preferences. Normally, Mi Hongdou wouldn’t let Ji Junxin eat something as greasy as lard. Well, maybe a small bite as a treat, but not a whole bowl.
But times were different now. Thanks to the show…
It had been more than a day since they had anything greasy, and even Mi Hongdou felt a craving, let alone Ji Junxin. So, since Ji Junxin didn’t want to leave, Mi Hongdou didn’t insist. Even just the aroma is a treat.
After scooping out the crispy lard bits, there was only about half a bowl of lard left.
A thin layer of oil remained in the wok, which she couldn’t scrape out, perfect for frying rice.
The rice was the free rice from the show, fresh and not day-old, just aired out a little while she prepared the meat. Freshly cooked rice wasn’t as good for fried rice as day-old rice, but… she couldn’t be picky now…
She added the rice to the wok, stir-fried it quickly, then poured in the seasoned egg mixture and stir-fried again. Soon, the aroma of egg fried rice replaced the earlier scent of lard.
It felt like… the estate test shoot…
The same traditional stove, the same lard-infused egg fried rice, the same Mi Hongdou… It’s nice, Ji Junxin thought, her face slightly flushed.
When Mi Hongdou served the rice, she saw Ji Junxin staring at her intently.
Fine, stare all you want, such a loving gaze, but we’re being filmed…
Mi Hongdou, enjoying the attention, her heart fluttering, forced herself to remain calm and handed the plate to Ji Junxin. “Here, take this to the table.”
Ji Junxin’s gaze, interrupted, she took the plate and went to the table.
Mi Hongdou, relieved, also felt a twinge of regret. Live streaming could be annoying!
In the entertainment industry, manufactured, even real, romantic relationships between co-stars were common. And whenever such rumors surfaced, there would always be some die-hard, rational fans who insisted it was all media fabrication.
During the release of “Imperial Secrets,” although many viewers had interpreted the relationship between the young Empress and Miao Qianye as romantic, and both Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou’s Weibo pages were flooded with yuri comments, many of Ji Junxin’s fans insisted it was just clever marketing.
And when the “Sweet Red Bean Soup” group, shipping the real-life Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou, emerged, these rational fans were adamant, Our Xinxin doesn’t engage in such hype! Absolutely not!
As for Mi Hongdou’s fans… well… they were all CP fans, rationality wasn’t their forte.
Before the premiere of “Reality Online,” many of Ji Junxin’s fans were still holding onto their rationality. But after the live stream started, these rational voices gradually… diminished…
Especially after the first night, when Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin started their unrestrained flirting. The sugar-high fans could no longer be rational.
After all that sugar, who can be rational?
In just a little over a day, the CP fans had become even more convinced, their initial “OMG! Are they flirting?” turning into “More sugar!” and then to… “So sweet, I need a moment…”
Even though Mi Hongdou had abruptly ended Ji Junxin’s adoring gaze, the cameras, capturing everything, didn’t let the viewers miss that moment of deep affection.
“Covering my eyes, Xinxin has fallen…”
“Covering my eyes too, that gaze is too sweet!”
“Also covering my eyes, being shown affection while watching a reality show as a single dog, this isn’t scientific!”
“Open your eyes! If you can’t even handle this, how are you going to survive the next ten days of even sweeter moments!”
“That makes sense…”
“Struggling to open my sugar-coated eyes, a single dog continues to eat the sugar, tears streaming down my face.”
“Brave!”
“Strong!”
“Fearless!”
“Pressing on!”
“Facing death without flinching!”
“Unwavering!”
“Ever forward!”
“Reckless abandon!”
“After watching the Chinese Idiom Competition, Mom no longer has to worry about me not being able to write 800 words for my essays!”
“I’m not good with idioms, but I can sing! Let us single dogs learn to enjoy the sugar, our mouths open, waiting for every sweet moment~”
“After that adaptation of ‘Forget Your Worries,’ I’m dead.”
“Speaking of dying, I went out to buy meat with my phone, but I didn’t bring enough money for eggs! I also want egg fried rice! I’m dying…”
“Want to eat +1”
“Want to eat +2”
“Want to eat +3”
…
The egg fried rice was done, the wok clean. Mi Hongdou added a little lard, stir-fried the remaining bok choy from breakfast, added water, and started making soup. Although she had used lard, the bok choy made it seem a bit bland, so she added a spoonful of crispy lard bits and the remaining egg mixture, thinned with a little water.
So, today’s lunch for Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin’s team was egg fried rice with bok choy and lard bits soup!
For those lacking grease, the freshly fried lard bits were a welcome treat. But they weren’t starving, just craving something greasy, so a small amount was enough.
Ji Junxin only ate two pieces, not because she didn’t like them, but because there wasn’t much, and she wanted to savor them…
She had initially felt a little reluctant seeing the lard bits in the soup, but after trying it, the lard, having absorbed the soup, was no longer crispy, but chewy, a different kind of deliciousness. Not greasy, yet still rich and flavorful, even more fragrant than when freshly fried.
Ji Junxin’s heartache instantly vanished.
The viewers, watching the live stream while shopping for meat at the market, commented, where can we find eggs and bok choy! Fortunately, we brought enough money!
Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou, with their thirty coins, finally had a decent meal. Yu Naihao, although only winning ten coins, also had a decent lunch. No lard-infused egg fried rice, but he had vegetable fried rice with a perfectly fried egg. Although his cooking skills were average, he enjoyed the meal, hehe, why? Because Jiang Duo was eating plain rice and pickled cucumbers! Hahaha!
Jiang Duo, after four meals of rice and pickled cucumbers, watching Yu Naihao happily eating his fried egg, thought, he really doesn’t care about his image! Treating his female teammate like this, does he even want fans anymore!
Actually, Yu Naihao hadn’t lost any fans, on the contrary, his reluctance during the forced team pairing and his declaration of “separate earnings” had even attracted a new group of… “anti-scumbag” fans…
Both Jiang Duo, who wanted to make amends and improve her relationship with Yu Naihao, and Zhang Zijing, who was still trying to befriend Lu Changhuai, weren’t successful.
Zhang Zijing, after completing the morning chicken-feeding task, now had four coins. He traded them for bok choy and made soup, inviting Lu Changhuai to join him.
And then… he was politely, but firmly, rejected.
Watching Lu Changhuai sitting far away, silently eating his rice and pickled cucumbers with a deadpan expression, Zhang Zijing felt like he had punched cotton, his anger unresolved, his frustration mounting.
It’s all Jiang Duo’s fault! Forcing that team change, I didn’t even complain about her incompetence, I was willing to be on her team, and she had to go after Ji Junxin. And after failing, she chose Yu Naihao. Zhang Zijing, sipping his bok choy soup, angrily blamed Jiang Duo, conveniently forgetting that he had also agreed to her plan and had also hoped to use the show to get closer to Lu Changhuai.
This show was supposed to boost my popularity, and now… He glared at Lu Changhuai. Why can’t he be normal! Yu Naihao can be a good CP and gain fans, why can’t we!
Fortunately, Lu Changhuai, focused on ignoring the taste of his food and filling his stomach, didn’t notice Zhang Zijing’s glare or his thoughts. Otherwise, the usually calm and collected Lu Changhuai might have lost control and thrown his rice at him.
The same show, the same CP dynamic, the yuri fans were constantly being fed sugar, while the BL fans, their CP broken up, were mostly joining the “anti-scumbag” camp… how tiring.
While the yuri fans were busy washing their faces and buying meat, vegetables, and eggs, and the BL fans were busy joining anti-scumbag groups, the “Welfare Mission System” for Reality Online officially launched.
More accurately, the final component of the system, the public voting function, was finally online.
The “Welfare Mission System” announcement the day before, with its crowdfunding and charitable aspect, had been widely shared and discussed. And because of its interactive nature, the mission submission page had been flooded with requests.
The submissions were reviewed by the staff, and a selection of approved missions, all tasks that could be completed within 24 hours, were posted on the website for voting.
Thirty missions were listed, voting ending at 9 PM, the top five to be sent to Dengjia Village. And a new rule was added.
“In the spirit of charity, everyone has a responsibility. After the top five missions are selected, if any celebrity hasn’t been assigned a mission, the most popular mission involving that celebrity among the remaining submissions will also be sent to Dengjia Village.”
This simple addition, seemingly harmless, was clearly meant for two specific people, the more perceptive viewers noticed.
Qiao Rubai is such a good person, the people at Dajin Entertainment thought.
Qiao Rubai, hearing this, could only chuckle awkwardly.
Compared to the new rule, the viewers were more interested in the thirty listed missions.
Although the submissions were varied and often outlandish, the ones selected by the show, to protect the celebrities and maintain order, were more… normal.
But even so, with the low barrier to entry – one yuan, one vote, both interactive and charitable – the viewers were still excited.
They eagerly scanned the thirty missions, then… were stunned.
“There’s something strange mixed in with the missions!”
“My eyes must be playing tricks from all the sugar!”
“Is the show officially shipping them?”
“Don’t be delusional! It must be a mistake, they accidentally posted a rejected mission!”
“Definitely, they’ll fix it in a few minutes!”
“Uh… I already voted.”
“Me too…”
“Voted +1”
“Voted +2”
“Voted +3”
…
“It must be a mistake! Why are you all so excited! I’m going to vote too!”
“Such a magical mission, it must be a system error… who even submitted this? … A dream come true for us viewers!”
“Ahem, if you’re talking about ‘Have Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin sleep in the same bed tonight,’ I voted for it…”
“I submitted ‘Have Lu Changhuai and Yu Naihao sleep together’…”
“Hey! I also submitted a similar one, ‘Have Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou share a bed’!”
“What a coincidence, I also submitted a ‘Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou sleeping together’ mission, although the wording was different.”
“I submitted the ‘LuYu sleeping together’ mission…”
“LuYu +1”
“Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin +1”
“LuYu +2”
“LuYu +3”
“Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin +2”
“Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin +3”
“Mi Hongdou and Ji Junxin +4”
…
“How many of you submitted such missions, knowing they would never be chosen?!”
“Don’t ask, I’m voting, I’m from Sweet Red Bean Soup, I’ll also vote for your LuYu mission, you poor, broken-hearted CP fans”
“LuYu fans will repay you! We’ll make sure both ‘sleeping together’ missions are in the top five!”
“Didn’t they say it was a mistake… why are you all so excited, aren’t you afraid of being disappointed? Call me the rational fan!”
“Through wind and rain, this little pain is nothing! Wipe away your tears, don’t be afraid, at least we still have dreams~~~”
“We live for sugar! Don’t be afraid, don’t cry, let’s be brave!”
“Okay, before the idiom master arrives, I’m going to vote. Yes, I’m the rational fan, now call me the irrational fan!”
“Just thinking about tonight’s sugar makes me want to cry tears of joy…”
“Crying together in a hug!”
“Crying together in a cuddle!”
“Crying together in a passionate embrace!”
“A lonely single dog quietly joins the cuddle puddle.”
…
Was it a mistake, or had the show gone crazy, tell us!
The viewers were in a frenzy over the two most eye-catching missions among the thirty.
Meanwhile, in Dengjia Village, the four teams, struggling with basic survival, were oblivious to the “Welfare Mission System.”
Jiang Lingling and Bao Yueqiao were in Ji Junxin’s old tiled house. Jiang Lingling had killed a fish, planning a simple lunch of fish soup and rice, then chopping wood, and a better dinner later.
But as soon as she finished cleaning the fish, the aroma of meat, not just stewed meat, but fried meat, drifted over from the house across the courtyard.
Even Jiang Lingling, a seasoned foodie, couldn’t resist the allure of Mi Hongdou’s cooking, and she clutched the raw fish, her mouth watering.
Bao Yueqiao, who hadn’t tasted Mi Hongdou’s cooking before, unconsciously drifted towards the door, following the aroma.
I know we can’t share food, but I just want a sniff… she thought, embarrassed by her own behavior, but unable to stop herself.
Fortunately, Jiang Lingling was faster and slammed the door shut.
Bao Yueqiao stopped, relieved, reminded of the story of the Pied Piper.
Looking at Jiang Lingling, who was calmly scaling the fish, Bao Yueqiao thought that no matter what, this person was truly reliable!
Jiang Lingling, however, smelling the aroma, remembering Mi Hongdou’s cooking, was practically drooling…
She had closed the door not because she was afraid of Bao Yueqiao embarrassing herself by going over there, but because… if Bao Yueqiao tasted Mi Hongdou’s cooking, she would definitely complain about her own fish soup!
In fact, she hadn’t even started cooking yet, and she was already disdaining her own skills.
Ji Junxin is so lucky… Jiang Lingling thought, swallowing her saliva.
Insert close-up of Ji Junxin’s blissful, dumpling-stuffed cheeks here!
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