Chapter 8: I Never Wanted to Have My Cake and Eat It Too

Le Xi noticed the way Deng Jiachao looked at Cui Meiying—it was exactly like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey. The cameraman had to turn back and forth to catch his face; he was truly shameless.

Le Xi couldn’t be bothered to join them; she picked up her ribs and went off to buy winter melon. She had exerted herself today and needed a good meal to recover—she’d make a pot of winter melon and pork rib soup.

The dorm room was empty, but the kitchen furniture was all in place; the only thing missing was food and seasonings. Le Xi chose a 2.5-kilogram bag of rice—not too much, since she wouldn’t be staying long—and a bag of noodles for breakfast. She grabbed a small bottle of oil, a bag of salt, soup base, chicken essence, sugar, soybean paste, oyster sauce—all the cooking essentials she frequently used. Then she went to the general store and bought toothpaste, a toothbrush, a washbasin, cotton batting, bedsheets and covers. The shop allowed bargaining, and after buying all this, she spent only one hundred fifty yuan.

“Zhuo Rui, don’t blame Sisi. She didn’t mean it. Even though she didn’t finish the task, she made so many people happy,”
“Sisi, don’t argue with Zhuo Rui. He just wants to complete the task. It’s fine. I bought lots of food; we can eat together. As long as you two make up, it’s all good.”

When Le Xi returned to the car, Gu Xiaomo was comforting Wang Sisi and Wang Zhuorui, who were quarreling. As soon as Gu Xiaomo saw Le Xi, she called out,
“Xi Xi, Sisi and Zhuo Rui are fighting because the corn didn’t sell. Come help persuade them.”

“Forget it. Sisi and Zhuo Rui are just bickering. She already made Brother Hongming bleed—if you ask her to mediate, do you want Zhuo Rui to shed blood too?”

Before Le Xi could speak, Cui Meiying jumped in.

Gu Xiaomo hurried to smooth things over,
“Meiying, Xi Xi didn’t mean it—Xi Xi, please help persuade them.”

Gu Xiaomo leaned close to Le Xi and whispered,
“I secretly installed Weibo on the backup phone while I was in the bathroom. The posts telling you to leave the entertainment industry are exploding. If you don’t explain, the production team might kick you off the show. I’m doing this for your own good—giving you an opportunity.”

Le Xi didn’t believe Gu Xiaomo was so well-intentioned, nor that the production team would kick her off. Shen Xiaoman had said the director of this show was eccentric; otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited such a group of oddballs. Shen Xiaoman told her to behave unusually, and if things really went wrong, Shen Xiaoman would shield her, and she could just pester the director.

“Ha, with a saint like you here, is there any need for me to mediate? Leave the performance to you.”

Le Xi closed her eyes. After a whole day of chopping, she was exhausted.

Back at the dorm, Huo Hongming was already waiting outside the girls' dormitory. When he saw Le Xi, he leapt up as if rabid.

“The doctor said it was just short of hitting the bone.”

Le Xi:
“Oh, then you’re pretty lucky—it didn’t reach the bone.”

Huo Hongming paused, still angry,
“Lucky? Do you know how much blood I lost? I’m still dizzy.”

He thrust his injured finger at the camera and exclaimed,
“Netizens, I’m not exaggerating—I’m not petty, I’m just aggrieved. I love acting, plan to act for life. You’ve all seen how close it was—my finger almost gone. How can an actor perform without fingers? My career nearly ended.”

“My goodness,”
Gu Xiaomo covered her mouth.

Le Xi shot her a look and reached out to Huo Hongming,
“Let me see the X-ray.”

Huo Hongming looked embarrassed. On the way to the hospital, he had already stopped feeling pain. He had secretly peeled off the bandage and found the wound was nearly healed. But remembering how loudly he’d cried earlier, he’d feel awkward admitting it was nothing, so he claimed he didn’t want to trouble other patients, and hadn’t let the camera crew in. He had the X-ray taken, and as long as he moved it quickly, the cameraman couldn’t get a clear shot. He pretended to be stoic, saying it was nothing, hoping to gain sympathy from netizens—and now to switch partners.

“There’s nothing much on the X-ray, but it was dangerous, you know?” Huo Hongming shouted, “Just a bit more and I would have lost my finger.”

“Volume doesn’t make you right. You got hurt because you weren’t careful. I chopped several hundred pounds of meat and didn’t get injured,”

Le Xi:
“If you want something, just say it. Don’t try to switch partners but fear netizens’ backlash and the other male guests’ complaints—wanting it both ways.”

With that, Le Xi headed to the kitchen. The other guests had ready-made dishes, but hers needed to be cooked—no time to waste on him.

“You—” Huo Hongming thought: Is this woman a tapeworm in my gut?

He yelled,
“I’m not trying to have it both ways!”

Gu Xiaomo tried to comfort him, but Wang Zhuorui, Deng Jiachao, and Gu Junhao didn’t; they all feared if partners really switched, one of them would have to pair up with Le Xi.

Men and women didn’t share a dorm, but the kitchen was shared, located next to the girls’ dorm. So Wang Zhuorui, Gu Junhao, and Deng Jiachao were all there, quickly saying,

“Let’s hurry and eat—we’re starving.”

Once she set the rice to cook, Le Xi put the pork ribs into the pressure cooker. These people weren’t living on film sets, eating greasy, MSG-laden boxed lunches every day, or starving themselves for weight, avoiding meat and carbs. The aroma of rich, savory pork ribs made their mouths water, even as they ate.

Gu Xiaomo saw everyone gazing at the pressure cooker, inhaling deeply, and felt jealous. Especially when Wang Sisi, who had just praised her for ordering food, was now praising Le Xi’s soup,

“Smells amazing.”

Gu Xiaomo thought, are the livestream comments praising Le Xi now? She couldn’t tolerate that.

So she smiled,
“Yes, our Xi Xi is a great cook,”

And then apologized to Huo Hongming,
“Sorry, Brother Hongming—since you’re injured, you should have some bone broth for nourishment, but I forgot. Sorry.”

Huo Hongming was both tempted and annoyed. Gu Xiaomo apologized for not getting him soup, but Le Xi, who had caused his injury, was acting so aloof.

Seeing Le Xi happily enjoying a bowl of fragrant pork rib soup, Huo Hongming finally lost patience, pounding the table,

“We’re a team! I got hurt because of you. Shouldn’t I get some soup?”

Le Xi kept sipping,
“Two hundred per person. Your money went to Gu Xiaomo. If you want soup, ask her.”

Gu Xiaomo:
“Xi Xi, I really won’t help you this time. Everyone came to join the show, no matter the groups, we should help each other—you can’t be so selfish.”

[Even kind-hearted Gu Xiaomo can't stand it, Le Xi, you need to reflect.]
[Xiaomo is about to cry, so heartbreaking. Le Xi, just die.]

After hearing Gu Xiaomo say she’d installed Weibo, while waiting for the soup, Le Xi slipped into a corner and did the same, checking Weibo and DouDou. Reading through the comments and bullet chats, she realized that all the posts about her were nothing but insults, while those about Gu Xiaomo were full of praise. She found it strange.