Chapter 64: Not Enough p2
Before rehearsing, Mi Hongdou hadn’t realized that she cared so much about Ji Junxin. The sadness she felt during the scene, as if the world had turned gray, was probably far beyond the feelings of a normal fan. Even after she regained her composure, adding the final act, completing the scene, seeing Ji Junxin running towards her, she still felt a sense of unreality.
Ji Junxin’s hand, carefully holding a tissue to her lip, her voice, softly chiding her for being too immersed and hurting herself… only then did Mi Hongdou truly detach from the scene, a sense of reality returning. But at the same time, a question arose in her heart. That intense emotion she had just felt, so strong that it almost tore her apart… was it really just a fan’s devotion to her idol? Or was it… a sincere friendship between two friends?
Mi Hongdou didn’t dwell on it, or rather, she didn’t dare to.
She would just consider it a die-hard fan’s unparalleled love for her idol! Mi Hongdou thought. Anyway, Director Pan had approved the scene, there was no need to reshoot, and she… didn’t want to analyze those emotions.
So, since last night, Mi Hongdou had been repeatedly telling herself that it was just the combined obsession of two lifetimes that made her care so much about Ji Junxin, it was just pure friendship. Repeating it like a mantra, she felt that she could move on, no one would notice her unusual behavior, not even Ji Junxin, who had been asking about her lip all night. And she herself would soon forget and continue being a good, loyal fan.
But today, Mi Hongdou still noticed her own uncontrollable unusual behavior. Not being able to see Ji Junxin for a while made her uncomfortable, what kind of symptom was that!
Mi Hongdou licked her lip. Okay, no more curry, it was too stimulating. The chicken soup arrived, and she served Ji Junxin first, then herself. As she put down the spoon, she felt Qiao Rubai’s gaze on her, but for some reason, she didn’t dare to meet her eyes. She felt… afraid that Qiao Rubai would see through her. She didn’t even understand it herself. She wasn’t afraid of Qiao Rubai finding out about her rebirth, so what was she afraid of now?
The clear chicken soup had only a few drops of oil on the surface. Ji Junxin, her cheeks puffed out from a chestnut, smiled at Mi Hongdou and reached for the soup with her spoon.
“Careful, it’s hot,” Mi Hongdou whispered.
Ji Junxin quickly swallowed the chestnut and whispered back, “The chestnuts are so soft and delicious! It feels like they’ve absorbed all the flavor from the braised chicken, so savory.”
“Eat more if you like it. Try the chicken later, it’s also infused with the chestnut aroma, very fragrant.” Mi Hongdou glanced at the spicy chicken, which was slowly making its way around the lazy Susan. “The spicy chicken… eat less.”
They whispered to each other, and Ji Junxin nodded with a smile, seemingly agreeing with Mi Hongdou’s suggestion.
Then, Mi Hongdou saw that as soon as the spicy chicken was within reach, Ji Junxin quickly and accurately snatched a piece.
The chicken smoothly landed in Ji Junxin’s mouth. Seeing her eyes light up… Mi Hongdou had two words in her mind: It’s over.
Although Ji Junxin tried to maintain her elegant posture and unhurried movements, it didn’t stop her from repeatedly reaching for the spicy chicken.
Fried and spicy food was always irresistible. Mi Hongdou wanted to tell her to eat less, but seeing her enjoying it, she couldn’t bear to. At least they had a medicine kit in their room, Mi Hongdou thought, finally defeated by Ji Junxin.
Fortunately, the lazy Susan kept turning, and after a few pieces, the spicy chicken was out of Ji Junxin’s reach. Just as Mi Hongdou expected to see her pitiful expression again, it didn’t happen. Ji Junxin unhesitatingly reached for the stir-fried pomfret, which had just entered her attack range.
Glancing at Ji Junxin, who was expertly eating the fish and spitting out the bones, Mi Hongdou slowly sipped her chicken soup, unsure whether to be proud that Ji Junxin enjoyed all the dishes she made, or to shed a tear for the spicy chicken she had abandoned.
Just like a kitten… Mi Hongdou blew on her soup. If she were really a kitten, she would just scoop her up and take her home, pampering her with delicious food. And then… she could keep her forever. Mi Hongdou was startled by her own possessiveness but didn’t try to suppress it. It was okay, some thoughts were just for her to know. In public, she would always be just a loyal fan… and a friend.
Everything after her rebirth was too perfect. She had so many opportunities to change so many things. And… with a powerful ally like Qiao Rubai, many things were already changing for the better. What she had missed before, she now had. What she had longed for was now within reach… Mi Hongdou had a lingering unease, afraid that it was all a dream, a delusion born from her dying moments after the fall… The dream was too beautiful, she didn’t want to wake up, didn’t dare to wake up.
Torn between the beauty of rebirth and the fear that it was all an illusion, Mi Hongdou didn’t realize that her negative emotions were starting to affect her. The most obvious sign was that during the rehearsal for the lonely empress scene, although she knew it was inappropriate to use her feelings for Ji Junxin to portray the young empress’s love for the emperor, she had still created a scenario of Ji Junxin leaving her to feel and portray the emotions. And then there was the possessive thought, which she knew was wrong, but she indulged in it anyway, comforting herself that it was just a thought.
At the dinner table, amidst the cheerful chatter, Mi Hongdou carefully concealed those thoughts, burying them so deep that even she couldn’t easily retrieve them. All her attention was on making sure Ji Junxin ate well, of course, not forgetting to take a few sips of her soup whenever Ji Junxin looked at her, to show that she was also eating.
Although she had guessed before the meal that the food might not be enough, she hadn’t expected it to disappear so quickly. By the fourth time the spicy chicken reached Ji Junxin, only the red chili peppers remained, no more golden chicken. Similarly, the stir-fried pomfret was now reduced to a thumb-sized piece, the curry pot scraped clean, only a little sauce left in the braised chicken pot, and the chicken soup pot almost empty. Even the chicken and corn soup and the silver carp and tofu soup were almost gone. Finally, there were only a few grains of rice left on the fried rice plate.
The fried rice and the curry had been finished by Ji Junxin… She had scraped the last few spoonfuls of rice and the remaining curry sauce onto her plate and eaten it, oblivious to her surroundings. Mi Hongdou glanced around. Everyone still had some food in their bowls, but no one touched the almost empty plates on the table. After all… everyone here had some status, it wouldn’t be appropriate to lick their plates clean. Except for Ji Junxin… Mi Hongdou looked at Ji Junxin, who was happily eating the curry-mixed fried rice, and smiled, an unnoticed indulgence in her eyes.
“Tofu!”
A clear, childish voice brought Mi Hongdou back from her wandering thoughts.
Yang Miemie, sitting in Qiao Rubai’s lap, was pointing at the almost empty silver carp and tofu soup pot. Qiao Rubai calmly turned the lazy Susan, took the spoon, and tried to scoop some tofu. However… only a few bits of crumbled tofu remained at the bottom, and Qiao Rubai, despite her efforts, couldn’t scoop them up. She maintained her composure, trying to scoop the tofu under everyone’s gaze, her ears turning slightly red.
“Pour!” Yang Miemie, with a “you’re so stupid” expression, tapped Qiao Rubai’s hand with her chubby paw, then pointed at her own mouth and opened it wide: “Ahh…”
“Heh…” Qiao Rubai chuckled awkwardly and poured the remaining soup into… Yang Miemie’s bowl.
Where was the cold, aloof CEO? Mi Hongdou couldn’t bear to watch.
“Um… there’s still some chicken soup in the kitchen, I’ll cook some noodles for everyone.” Mi Hongdou said, afraid that they were just pretending to be full, and without waiting for a reply, quickly left the room.
Stepping out of the Rose Room, the cold air in the corridor made Mi Hongdou realize that she seemed to have forgotten something. She looked around. Oh, she forgot to bring Ji Junxin with her… Mi Hongdou didn’t know why she had this urge to carry the little foodie around, but she didn’t want to be cured.
Mi Hongdou left to cook noodles, and no one tried to stop her. It was a good thing she left quickly, or seeing the awkward expressions on everyone’s faces because of their overly synchronized politeness, she might have also become awkward.
“This silver carp and tofu soup, the fish and tofu are so tender, they melt in your mouth, it’s delicious,” Yang Lianyi, whose face was thicker than a city wall, said, breaking the awkward silence.
Yang Miemie, being fed tofu soup by Qiao Rubai, as if understanding, kicked her chubby legs and nodded in agreement, almost making Qiao Rubai spill the soup.
“It is delicious,” Director Pan agreed. “So fresh and tender, the silver carp and tofu are perfectly blended.”
“But why, although there are no scallions in this soup, there’s a hint of scallion fragrance, and the fishy smell of the silver carp is completely gone?” Pan Xiang, the detail-oriented screenwriter, asked.
Qiao Rubai, who was feeding Yang Miemie, paused.
The tofu soup was right there, but it wasn’t coming any closer! Yang Miemie, impatient, lunged forward like a puppy and snatched the spoon, startling Qiao Rubai, who quickly refocused on feeding her. The thought that had just surfaced was replaced by the little girl in front of her.
“Perhaps they used whole scallions and removed them before serving?” Director Pan’s wife guessed, turning the lazy Susan. “Judging by the taste, these dishes all used scallions, ginger, and garlic, but now… there aren’t any…” She trailed off, looking at the almost empty plates, a little embarrassed.
Qiao Rubai quickly fed the last spoonful of tofu soup to Yang Miemie and then looked at the almost empty bowls on the table. Indeed… there weren’t any… “Even the egg fried rice doesn’t have any scallions…” she mumbled.
“Um…” Ji Junxin quickly swallowed the curry-mixed fried rice. “Egg fried rice with scallions is inedible, I would have to spend so much time picking them out.”
“This egg fried rice, without scallions, is already incredibly delicious. Fluffy, fragrant, and soft, the best fried rice I’ve ever had.” Dong Yuannan, who had already had a second bowl from the plate that was supposed to be enough for everyone to have a small portion, praised it generously. “I was already tempted by the aroma on set, and it tastes even better than I imagined.” He could easily eat three hundred more bowls!
Oh, right, Ji Junxin hated scallions, ginger, and garlic… A realization dawned on Qiao Rubai, followed by a deeper confusion.
Mi Hongdou, heading towards the kitchen, didn’t know that her secret was about to be revealed by a small scallion.
“The noodle soup will be here soon, let me clear some space.” Yang Lianyi said, smoothly turning the lazy Susan, stopping the chicken and corn soup, scooping a spoonful into Qiao Rubai’s bowl, then taking a spoonful herself, and placing the now empty pot back on the lazy Susan.
Those who had been lamenting the wasted food were stunned by Yang Lianyi’s shamelessness! So, “clearing some space” meant finishing the food, not clearing the dishes? And weren’t they supposed to leave the last bite?
Dong Yuannan was the first to react. Without a word, he snatched the last, thumb-sized piece of stir-fried pomfret and ate it slowly and methodically. His speed and shamelessness were truly befitting a business tycoon.
Director Pan wasn’t slow either. He stood up, grabbed the chicken soup pot, which had the most left, poured a bowl for his wife, and emptied the pot. As for his granddaughter, well, with his wife present, he didn’t know what a granddaughter was.
Director Pan’s wife blushed slightly and nudged him with her elbow, sharing half her soup with him. As for her granddaughter, she didn’t know her either.
The assistant, head down, focused on the spicy chicken she had secretly piled into her bowl, hoping no one noticed her, amen.
Pan Xiang, too slow, looked at the sauce left in the chestnut chicken pot, then at the empty fried rice plate, then at Ji Junxin, who was happily eating curry-mixed rice. She was so sad, wanting to mix the sauce with rice but having no rice left, how tragic.
Jiang Lingling, her stomach full, with still half the food left on the table, planning to pack it for a late-night snack, looked around alertly. She seemed to sense… a familiar presence. Was it a hallucination?
Jiang Lingling, unaware that the people at the other table had resorted to scraping the bottom of their bowls, was rubbing her stomach and texting Mi Hongdou.
Before even reaching the kitchen, Mi Hongdou received Jiang Lingling’s message: [Sigh, it was Director Pan who told Qiao Rubai and the others about our lunch here, I really didn’t know. They arrived just minutes before the food was ready, I didn’t have time to tell you!]
Tsk, they had already mentioned it during lunch, what a late apology. Mi Hongdou put away her phone without replying. After taking a few steps, another message arrived: [Less noodles, more meat in my chicken noodle soup! Mwah!] She knew there would be a follow-up after the apology. If the sender was Ji Junxin, she might consider it. Mi Hongdou snorted and put away her phone. She would make her a bowl without any meat.
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