Chapter 14: One Dares to Speak, the Other Dares to Believe
The color of the cold cucumber salad on the plate left Yu Zhicheng, Yu Danxue, and the viewers in the livestream silent.
The salad was pitch black.
The plate was filled with a large pool of soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings, almost drowning the scant cucumbers beneath.
“Xiaosheng, cold cucumber salad doesn’t look like this,” Yu Danxue said uncertainly as she scratched her face.
The cold cucumber salad she had eaten back home wasn’t like this; not only was the presentation beautiful, but the appearance was completely different.
Yu Zhicheng furrowed his brows deeply, his expression heavy as if faced with a monumental dilemma. “Maybe the cold cucumber salad we made is just different from others’?”
“The ones served in big hotels are made by professional chefs and are carefully plated. Ours wasn’t plated.”
It must be because they made it themselves; it was different from the hotel versions.
Yu Danxue nodded, still trusting this explanation, tilting her head slightly. “That must be it.”
“Xiaosheng, we’ve finished a dish. Should we bring it out now or wait a bit?”
[One dares to speak, and the other dares to believe!]
[Oh my goodness, our brother is truly a kitchen disaster. What kind of a mess is this cold cucumber salad? Even I, a kitchen novice, can tell something’s off.]
[Take my Anning away, she’s still young and shouldn’t have to suffer this.]
“Let’s bring it out now.” Yu Zhicheng held the plate in one hand and took Yu Danxue’s hand with the other as they stepped out.
Just as they left the kitchen, they saw Duan Lele and three others approaching.
Yu Danxue deliberately glanced twice at Feng Doudou and Xiao Yun.
Feng Doudou’s eyes were red and swollen; she pouted as if wanting to cry but dared not, shrinking timidly behind Duan Lele.
Gao Pengfei held Xiao Yun’s hand, walking over cheerfully, but Xiao Yun remained silent, her face pale and downcast.
“Oh, you finished a dish?” Gao Pengfei greeted Yu Danxue and Yu Zhicheng nonchalantly, acting as if nothing was wrong.
“Zhicheng, I really wouldn’t have guessed you have such a young aunt.”
He began lecturing again. “Though she’s young, she’s still your elder. You have to treat your elders well, understand?”
Yu Zhicheng rolled his eyes and ignored him, pulling Yu Danxue away.
Gao Pengfei shook his head indifferently, then lowered his voice to Xiao Yun, “Xiao Yun, don’t be like Zhicheng; that’s very bad behavior.”
“You have to be filial to your elders and parents, listen to them, and be a good child, understand?”
Xiao Yun gave a faint “Mm” and looked like she was about to cry.
The comments in the chatroom were all over the place.
[Gao Pengfei is seriously annoying; he lectures everyone like he’s some kind of expert!]
[Look at Xiao Yun’s state—it’s clear something’s wrong. Gao Pengfei claims he’s taking good care of her, but he doesn’t even notice her condition; all he does is preach.]
[My fandom is turning against him. I used to like Gao Pengfei, but now I hate him. How can someone be so disgusting?]
Gao Pengfei was completely oblivious.
He patted Duan Lele’s shoulder, smiling as he said, “You really need to teach Doudou better; this kid clearly hasn’t been disciplined enough, always crying at the slightest thing.”
“My baby never behaves like that, whether at home or outside. She’s always well-mannered and polite.”
Duan Lele was inwardly impatient but smiled sweetly and replied, “Okay.”
She regretted choosing Feng Doudou from the start; as soon as the show began, the girl just cried and cried, causing her to fail the task and leaving no chance to talk more with Zhicheng.
Tonight, she planned to contact her top fans to smear Feng Doudou’s family and make Feng Doudou stay far away.
Under these circumstances, several trending topics on social media were related to this variety show.
Among them, Yu Danxue and Yu Zhicheng took up most, almost all positive.
The rest were about Duan Lele and her group.
Besides Qikang and Luo Jian, whose topics were positive, the tags for Duan Lele and Gao Pengfei were filled with criticism.
Both their fanbases experienced mass defections, with many fans turning against them.
Yet, more and more casual viewers were tuning into the show.
[I came for the scenes with the young aunt. Haha, Yu Zhicheng’s utterly desperate expression is etched in my mind.]
[Can we please have a show without Duan Lele and Gao Pengfei? I feel sick just seeing them—one pretending to be fragile, the other a preachy bore.]
[LOL, what on earth is that cold cucumber salad the young aunt and Yu Zhicheng made? Is that even edible?]
“All right, time’s up,” the director shouted through a megaphone. “Except for Yu Danxue’s and Qikang’s groups, Duan Lele’s and Gao Pengfei’s groups have failed their tasks.”
Duan Lele and Gao Pengfei stood aside holding their children, their smiles tinged with helplessness.
“I thought this task would be easy, but... I miscalculated,” Duan Lele clasped her hands playfully and pleaded.
“Director, please consider how hard Doudou and I worked and reward us with a meal.”
Gao Pengfei feigned a sigh, “Poor Xiao Yun and me, we might go hungry this noon.”
The director was ruthless. “No exceptions. Failure is failure.”
“Now, the reward for the task will be announced.”
Two staff members stood before the guests, each holding four photos.
The photos depicted four different houses.
One was luxuriously renovated, another simply furnished, a third more basic, and the last a bare shell.
As Yu Danxue and the others saw the photos, their expressions varied.
Yu Danxue stared in wonder. “Which artist made these? The paintings are so realistic.”
Luo Jian pointed to one house, tugging on Qikang’s sleeve, whispering, “Brother, I want to live in that house.”
Qikang looked where he pointed—
It was the simply furnished mobile home, with a spacious front yard where a small yellow dog was tied, surrounded by flowers and plants, and a climbing trellis.
Qikang immediately understood why Luo Jian liked the house and liked it himself.
Yu Zhicheng didn’t mind where they lived; the main thing was that the young aunt liked it.
Duan Lele and Gao Pengfei struggled to keep their smiles. Could it be the director was going to make them live in the worst house?
“According to the votes from netizens, the first place goes to Qikang and Luo Jian’s group,” the director announced loudly. “Now, Qikang and Luo Jian may choose their house.”
But Luo Jian didn’t pick immediately; instead, he ran up to Yu Danxue and whispered something.
The microphone caught every word.
“Anning, I want to live in the house with the little yellow dog tied out front. Is that okay?”
Yu Danxue smiled kindly and nodded. “Sure.”
“You’re the first to choose; you should pick that house.”
Luo Jian cheered and then ran to ask Feng Doudou and Xiao Yun for their opinions.
But a problem arose.