Yu Wanqiu took out the beef to thaw and checked her phone for a recipe on how to make black pepper beef strips. "Jiang Lan, cut the beef into small strips. The side dishes are onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Cut them into small pieces. After cutting the beef, marinate it with salt and cooking wine."
After she finished speaking, there was a moment of silence. She looked up and saw that Jiang Lan hadn't moved. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Lan thought, can this really make delicious black pepper beef strips?
She finished cutting the vegetables, and Yu Wanqiu stir-fried them in the pan...
Whose dish is this really? She looked down at her hands and thought...
I could do this too.
Jiang Lan looked up and said, "It's fine! Are there any other dishes? I'll wash and cut them all at once."
Yu Wanqiu only planned to make two dishes. She searched for another recipe, dry pot cabbage. After Jiang Lan washed the vegetables, she put on an apron and started cooking.
Jiang Lan reminded her at the right moment, "Teacher Yu, I need rice."
Yu Wanqiu didn't eat carbs and almost forgot. "You know how to cook rice, right?"
Jiang Lan thought, she couldn't cook, but she couldn't just eat plain rice all the time. Luckily, it was a smart rice cooker with simple instructions and quick heating. It could cook the rice in fifteen minutes.
After plugging in the rice cooker, Yu Wanqiu started the stove and poured in oil. She followed the recipe step by step on her phone. Jiang Lan was afraid she might blow up the kitchen.
What if Yu Wanqiu's cooking wasn't good? Should she eat it or not? Should she compliment it? Teacher Yu was an actress—wouldn't she see right through her acting? How could she tell Teacher Yu that she'd rather order takeout in the future?
Takeout was actually pretty good!
Yu Wanqiu lowered her head. Cooking was like painting for her. Smoke wafted around, and the aroma of beef stir-fried with oil filled the air.
Jiang Lan looked at the range hood thoughtfully. "Teacher Yu, you forgot to turn on the range hood."
Yu Wanqiu: "..."
After turning on the range hood, the ethereal scene disappeared. After a few stirs, the first dish, black pepper beef strips, was ready. A little later, the dry pot cabbage with chili peppers was also done.
Jiang Lan served herself a full bowl of rice. She had just said who would eat plain rice, but now she was proven wrong.
If the dishes weren't good, she could at least fill up on rice.
After some thought, she served Yu Wanqiu a little as well.
The food was laid out, and Yu Wanqiu nodded gracefully. "Let's eat."
She directly picked up some cabbage and ate it slowly. Jiang Lan watched and then took a bite of the beef.
She froze for a moment after putting it in her mouth. This was really good!
The beef was tender, with a hint of onion and black pepper. It wasn't too salty, and Yu Wanqiu had even thickened the sauce!
It would definitely go well with rice. Jiang Lan then tried the cabbage. Yu Wanqiu's dry pot cabbage had less oil and seemed more like it had been dried by the heat of the pan. Some parts were slightly shriveled, but it had a subtle sweetness and wasn't too spicy. It was also delicious!
"Teacher Yu! Was this really your first time cooking?"
Yu Wanqiu paused her chopsticks and glanced at her. "What, is it good?"
Jiang Lan nodded vigorously. "It's so good!"
Yu Wanqiu: "Then who cooks better, me or Lu Yicheng?"
Jiang Lan was confused. Lu Yicheng could cook? Her original self had only been with him for a few months. This was the second time Yu Wanqiu had mentioned Lu Yicheng—the first time was last night in the car.
Why was Yu Wanqiu asking this? Was she testing her? Was she unhappy that Lu Yicheng had cooked for "her"?
Whatever the reason, Jiang Lan's answer could only be, "Of course, yours is better. It's so good I could eat two bowls."
Jiang Lan wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Yu Wanqiu's eyes seemed to carry a faint smile. When she looked again, it was gone.
It must have been her imagination.
After the meal, Jiang Lan washed the dishes and then leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her stomach. She had eaten two bowls of rice and was now so full that all she wanted was to lie down and take a nap.
The camera had recorded the entire lunch process. Zhang Tian, watching the small TV, was utterly shocked. Yu Wanqiu cooking for Jiang Lan—who would believe it?
Even though she had only done the stir-frying, while Jiang Lan had washed, chopped, and cleaned up, this was Yu Wanqiu we were talking about!
Her presence alone signified excellence. She was a true national star. While Liang Yun, born in the same year, was still acting in idol dramas, Yu Wanqiu had already swept all the major awards!
She was the insurmountable peak of the Chinese entertainment industry. And now, she could even cook! Judging by Jiang Lan's reaction, it didn't seem like she was acting. There was a lot that could be edited here.
Zhang Tian had originally thought that if Yu Wanqiu wasn't satisfied with Jiang Lan, they could edit the footage to emphasize Yu Wanqiu's dislike and protect her image. But now, it seemed that approach wouldn't work.
If Yu Wanqiu didn't like Jiang Lan, she could handle it herself. But if anyone else tried to bully Jiang Lan, they might end up like Zheng Xiaoxiao.
"Moon River" had just started filming, and the program team had signed an agreement with the "Moon River" crew not to reveal any details about the production. So even if they filmed it, it couldn't be included in the final cut. But that time, Yu Wanqiu had indeed stood up for Jiang Lan.
And earlier that morning, when Du Wanzhou came over to talk, Zhang Tian sensed something similar.
If the production team maliciously edited the footage, viewers would surely criticize Jiang Lan after the show aired. Her relationship with Lu Yicheng was already unpopular, and if...
It was likely that after the show ended, Jiang Lan wouldn't be able to return to a normal life.
Yu Wanqiu's popularity was too high. A few days ago, when the show was officially announced, it was still trending. Zhang Tian didn't dare to speculate recklessly, but he subconsciously felt that even if Yu Wanqiu didn't like Jiang Lan, she wouldn't want a young girl to endure too much gossip.
If Jiang Lan and Lu Yicheng broke up, it would be an amicable separation.
In that case, the editing team had to be even more careful. With four groups of guests and each episode lasting two hours, aside from the civilian group and Zhang Lin's group, Yu Wanqiu and Shen Xingyao had the highest popularity. Zhang Tian planned to allocate forty minutes to each of these two groups, with the remaining time evenly distributed between the civilian group and Zhang Lin's group.
Yu Wanqiu and Jiang Lan had joined the show on Monday night, and today was Wednesday. There was still one more day.
Zhang Tian thought there was no rush. If their interactions remained uneventful, they could edit in some warm moments like waking up or cooking. But he still hoped for more "highlight" moments.
In comparison, the other three groups of guests didn't have any unexpected developments. Du Wanzhou took Shen Xingyao shopping every day, Zhang Lin stayed at home during her pregnancy, cooking and resting, Chen Shuyun went to work every day, and Aunt Zhao watched dramas and cleaned. As for her grandson, he was on summer vacation, attending cram school during the day and being looked after by his father at night.
Zhang Tian pondered this and then glanced at the TV wall. Inside, Jiang Lan had finally rested enough and was shuffling back to her room in slippers.
Yu Wanqiu didn't have the habit of taking naps.
When filming, her schedule was erratic, and there was no time for naps. During breaks, she preferred reading books or scripts.
She had eaten quite a bit at lunch and planned to do an hour of yoga in the afternoon. As for Jiang Lan...
Yu Wanqiu instinctively glanced over. She was honest, but a bit lazy. She'd probably sleep through the afternoon.
Yu Wanqiu was right. Jiang Lan slept until three o'clock. In the air-conditioned room, under the covers, she drifted from one dream to another. After waking up, she washed her face and took out the violin that belonged to her original self.
The original owner also played an instrument.
Then she could still rely on her past life's skills to make a living. After playing the violin for an hour, it was already four o'clock. Jiang Lan pushed the door open and went out, seeing Yu Wanqiu still sitting there reading a book.
Jiang Lan curled up on the sofa, feeling utterly bored. She went to the app store and downloaded *Honor of Kings*.
It's a 5v5 tower-pushing game where the goal is to destroy the enemy's crystal to win. Jiang Lan had played it before and liked flashy heroes. Now, with nothing else to do, she could play the game to pass the time.
The game's installation package was quite large. While waiting for the update, Jiang Lan asked, "Yu Wanqiu, do you want to play? I can carry you."
Yu Wanqiu didn’t even lift her eyes from the book: "Is your entire day just eating, sleeping, and playing?"
Jiang Lan: "…………"
How could that be? She earned 330,000 yuan a day, and she had also practiced the violin for an hour.
She could understand why Yu Wanqiu didn’t like "Jiang Lan" — they were simply from different worlds.
The idea of being well-matched in social status wasn’t entirely without merit.
Yu Wanqiu had strong self-discipline. When she wasn’t filming, she spent her time reading books or scripts. She woke up at six and went to bed at ten, did two hours of yoga, and spent the rest of her time sipping floral tea.
The kind of daughter-in-law she wanted was someone from a prestigious family, wearing a cheongsam, gentle and serene, someone who loved reading and drinking tea, and could join her in yoga.
The original Jiang Lan was just an ordinary person, while this Jiang Lan enjoyed eating, drinking, and having fun. She was a bit lazy too — asking her to move was like asking for her life. Living the way Yu Wanqiu did, even for a billion yuan, was out of the question.
That’s why she was destined to be the cannon fodder first love, while the female lead was someone else entirely.
Jiang Lan muttered, "Fine, if you don’t want to play, I’ll play by myself."
The internet was fast. After downloading the resources, it took about ten minutes. Jiang Lan logged into the QQ server, Season 26. To her surprise, the original Jiang Lan was already a King rank, with main heroes like Gongsun Li, Li Bai, and Han Xin… all with win rates above 60%.
Great! She had thought the original Jiang Lan didn’t play games, or if she did, it would be mid-lane or support. It turned out she also liked flashy heroes.
Jiang Lan liked to play with the sound on. After two matches as a jungler, she was MVP in both. The feeling of dominating the battlefield was exhilarating. When she looked up, it was already five o'clock. Yu Wanqiu was quietly watching her, but when their eyes met, Yu Wanqiu immediately lowered her head back to her book.
Jiang Lan: "…Yu Wanqiu?"
Yu Wanqiu: "It’s time for dinner. What do you want to eat?"
They spoke at the same time. Jiang Lan immediately tossed her phone aside. "How about noodles? I want noodles!"
Noodles with gravy, knife-cut noodles, dan dan noodles, hot dry noodles!
Noodles?
Yu Wanqiu wasn’t particularly fond of carbs, but she had already agreed.
After dinner, Jiang Lan asked Yu Wanqiu, "Are you really not going to play? I’m really good!"
Yu Wanqiu was silent for a while. Just as Jiang Lan thought she was going to refuse, Yu Wanqiu asked, "What kind of game is it?"
"Hehe," Jiang Lan helped Yu Wanqiu download the game. After going through the tutorial, they added each other as friends. The beginner hero was Arthur, a shield-wielding warrior, but it was clear Yu Wanqiu wasn’t suited for that. Jiang Lan had her buy a hero named Yao, a support. As a jungler, Jiang Lan loved having Yao as her support.
Yao had two forms and three skills. The first skill could stun enemies twice, the second skill dealt area damage, and the third skill allowed her to attach to a teammate, providing a shield. If she was stunned while in this state and her passive was off cooldown, she could transform into a deer spirit, becoming immune to all damage.
Yu Wanqiu didn’t lack money. Without blinking, she topped up 1,000 yuan. Jiang Lan gasped, "There are rewards for your first top-up!! Choose Zhao Yun. This hero can only be bought with money."
Yu Wanqiu frowned slightly, then tapped her slender finger and selected Zhao Yun.
Jiang Lan was at the King rank, while Yu Wanqiu was just a Bronze. They couldn’t play ranked matches together, so they teamed up for casual matches. In every game, Yu Wanqiu played Yao.
Although Yu Wanqiu didn’t understand the game’s mechanics, Jiang Lan was very skilled. She told Yu Wanqiu to follow her, and every time they ganked, Jiang Lan would leave the enemy with a sliver of health for Yu Wanqiu to finish off. By the end of the match, Yu Wanqiu had over ten kills and hadn’t died once. If Yao was knocked off during her ultimate, Jiang Lan would even turn back to pick her up.
Even though Yu Wanqiu wasn’t good at the game, she still felt the thrill of playing.
After three matches, Jiang Lan put her phone away. "It’s eight o'clock, Yu Wanqiu. You should go do your yoga now."
