After becoming the stand-in for the four big guys - Chapter 4

 Chapter 4

“It smells amazing! Su Hua, what are you cooking? My mouth is watering.”

As Chu Zhi instinctively leaned forward to glance into Su Hua’s pot, Yu Jing—who was also in the kitchen—spoke up first, rubbing her stomach as if her cravings had been triggered.

“Spicy crayfish—it’s just about ready.”

The reason Su Hua made spicy crayfish was because Chu Zhi had glanced twice at the basket of fresh crayfish earlier. She assumed he might want to eat it, so, as the infatuated supporting character, she made it for him.

But considering that some guests might not tolerate spicy food, she also made tomato beef brisket in another pot, which was also nearly done. Since everyone was waiting for dinner, she cooked enough for two servings of each dish.

Once she finished washing the pots, she planned to prepare a simple soup. With the few dishes Chen Kai made on the side, dinner should be more than sufficient.

It was said that today’s groceries were provided by the program team, but going forward, the guests would need to use a designated sponsor app—Fresh Delivery App—to order ingredients.

According to the show’s schedule, from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. was the guests’ personal grooming time. During that off-camera hour, the production team would assign certain guests to advertise the sponsor’s products. Those selected would receive a considerable sponsorship fee.

Although it was just a small product placement, Su Hua saw it as valuable screen time and a chance to deliver lines, so it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

“Dinner’s ready—everyone, please wash up and come eat! I wanted to show off a bit, but the moment I smelled the food, I knew my cooking wasn’t in Su Hua’s league. Hope you can bear with mine, haha!”

“Which dishes did you make? Everything smells delicious.”

Chen Kai took off his apron and cheerfully called everyone to the table. Mo Yawen, being more familiar with him, asked as he sat down after washing his hands.

Zhu Zihan curled her lips slightly, seemingly unimpressed—after all, in her home, it was always the housekeeper who cooked. She had never entered a kitchen. However, once she picked up her chopsticks, she unconsciously ate half a bowl more than usual.

Of course, she later regretted it. She suspected Su Hua had deliberately made her overeat to gain weight and angrily widened her eyes, vowing to show restraint the next day.

At dinner, the spicy crayfish was finished off completely by Yu Jing, Chu Zhi, and Chen Kai. The tomato beef brisket and yam pork rib soup were also scraped clean. The dishes Chen Kai made weren’t bad either and were mostly eaten by the other guests.

After the meal, the beer cans, bowls, and spatulas were assigned to the three guests who hadn’t participated in cooking.

“Ah!”

“Miss Zhu, please go and rest. Leave the cleanup to us gentlemen.”

While the others were sitting in the living room after dinner, the delicate Miss Zhu walked over in high heels, looking slightly upset but still reluctant to look away from the kitchen.

Following her gaze, Su Hua saw Ji Yanshu—who had taken off his suit jacket—rolling up his shirt sleeves, revealing firm, toned forearms as he calmly washed the dishes.

Under the warm lighting, he appeared to be bathed in a soft golden glow.

Mo Yawen, who had a refined temperament himself, seemed dimmer in comparison just by standing next to him.

As expected of a male supporting character that even the female lead had admired early in the novel. No wonder the male lead was often jealous of him… Speaking of which, why hadn’t the female lead arrived yet?

Su Hua looked away after a glance, sat upright facing Chu Zhi’s direction, and pretended to listen attentively to Chen Kai and Yu Jing chatting. She occasionally nodded and even snuck a few “uncontrollable” glances at Chu Zhi—her gaze full of shy admiration and restrained longing.

“Su Hua really seems like she’s head over heels. But Chu Zhi clearly doesn’t like her. Why is she being so one-sided?”

“Honestly, Guest No.4 is just too good-looking. I can’t stop looking at him either.”

“I think Ji Yanshu is even more attractive. He’s glowing! And he even does the dishes. When he stood there in the kitchen, it felt like a royal palace background scene.”

“Didn’t the official announcement say there would be four male and four female guests? Someone’s missing, right?”

“I’m curious. Among the female guests, besides Guest No.3, the others aren’t that visually striking.”

“Don’t focus only on looks. Guest No.2 is super cool, and Guest No.1 seems really good at cooking. Plus, they’re actually quite pretty too.”

Many viewers were looking forward to seeing the fourth female guest. Su Hua was also curious to meet the female lead.

“Sorry, my flight was delayed. I arrived a bit late.”

Just as two of the male guests finished washing the dishes and walked out of the kitchen, a female voice came from the door—calm and melodic, with a unique rhythm, giving off an ethereal feeling.

Su Hua and the others turned their heads and saw a woman whose appearance matched her voice. She had long, straight black hair down to her waist, secured with a single pearl hairpin on her left ear.

A simple white dress accentuated her snow-like skin and graceful figure.

“Wow!”

“I haven’t seen someone this ethereal since Liu Xianzi. Where did the production team find all these visuals? Are they planning to form an idol group after this ends?”

“Guest No.1 is done for. When Chu Zhi entered the show, he looked indifferent toward everyone. Now his eyes suddenly lit up.”

“All the male guests except Ji Yanshu looked amazed. Honestly, so was I. I like anyone beautiful, regardless of gender!”

“Ahhh this fairy-like goddess is too much!”

Visual appeal wins every time. The two top-tier male guests had already brought in a wave of popularity. Now, with the sudden appearance of a fairy-like woman, the show Sweet Trial Love trended on social media without the producers needing to spend a cent.

“Heavens, is this a live-streamed idol drama? The moment Guest No.4 arrived, I could feel a dramatic love triangle coming!”

“The show just launched a pair-matching vote! 

Everyone can only vote once per day. Who do you think looks the most compatible?”

“purley based on visuals, I ship Male Guest No.1 and Female Guest No.4. A perfect match!”

“Tch, Ji-ge doesn’t look interested in Guest No.4 at all. Ji-ge is best on his own!”

“Hahaha, this is a dating show. Why come here to be ‘best on your own’? Maybe Guest No.4 is cold outside but warm inside?”

“Chu Zhi and the fairy are the real match! A roguishly handsome bad boy with a fairy-like girl—just imagining it makes me so excited. Wall slam, table slam, door slam—bring on the drama!”

…

“Senior, why are you here?!”

Just as the online viewers were getting excited, Chu Zhi suddenly stood up from the sofa. Because he got up too quickly, his phone almost slipped from his hand.

“Ah, Ah Zhi… you’re here too?”

“You two graduated from the same university? What a coincidence, both joining the same show. That’s fate.”

As soon as Guest No.4, Bai Xueyi, arrived, Zhu Zihan immediately felt a strong sense of threat. From the moment Bai Xueyi’s gaze scanned the room and paused slightly longer on Ji Yanshu, she knew this guest had the same target as her.

Miss Zhu still had a bit of scheming in her. With just one sentence, she subtly nudged Bai Xueyi toward Chu Zhi.

“Yes, it’s a small world. I didn’t expect to meet two schoolmates on a show.”

What annoyed Zhu Zihan, however, was that from Bai Xueyi’s tone, it sounded like her match—Ji Yanshu—was also from the same school. Which meant Bai Xueyi had probably known him even earlier than she did.

Hmph!

Zhu Zihan’s cheeks puffed slightly. This variety show was an idea her mother and Ji Yanshu’s aunt had come up with to help her build a relationship with him. She absolutely wouldn’t allow anyone to interfere.

After all, this was her last chance. Ji Yanshu had agreed to participate on the condition that from now on, he alone would decide his love and marriage. His mother could no longer use health issues to threaten or deceive him.

“Senior, let me help carry your luggage upstairs.”

Bai Xueyi had been Chu Zhi’s secret crush during his school years. Unfortunately, he never confessed before she went abroad. Three years passed without any news, and now, seeing her again, his heart beat faster than ever.

This time, he wasn’t going to let her slip away.

Su Hua saw the brightness in Chu Zhi’s eyes and knew—the story between the male and female leads was about to begin. She would flee, and he would chase. There would be no escape.

Although the plot felt somewhat old-fashioned, doing tasks, earning money, and watching the drama unfold was still pretty entertaining.

At 9 p.m., just as expected, Su Hua was called by the production team to represent the sponsor in the show’s first product placement. Originally, Chu Zhi was also scheduled, but he didn’t want to appear with Su Hua, using the excuse of catching up with his senior. So in the end, Su Hua and Yu Jing were assigned the segment.

The filming setup was simple. Su Hua and Yu Jing sat at the dining table discussing which ingredients to order tomorrow while reciting their lines.

“Su Hua, you’re really calm.”

They weren’t allowed to ask about each other’s professions, but during rehearsal, Yu Jing noticed something about Su Hua. This girl had a quiet, girl-next-door kind of presence. Yet, while Yu Jing found herself slightly stiff and passive when reciting lines, Su Hua’s performance felt completely natural.

Even with the camera pointed at them, lighting crew, director, and staff around, Su Hua—who had memorized her lines in advance—delivered them as if she were genuinely discussing a grocery order. Her tone was lively, natural, and full of life. The way she spoke made Yu Jing genuinely feel that the app was convenient.

It was as if all the equipment and staff around her were invisible.

“Cut. Not bad.”

During rehearsals, the live feed was disabled for this segment.

Now that the ad filming was over and would be inserted into the broadcast, staff were still packing up. The surveillance wasn’t yet back on. Yu Jing, whose face was stiff and neck sore, rubbed her cheeks like someone who had just finished writing a thousand-word essay.

When she turned to glance at Su Hua, she saw the other girl full of energy—completely different from herself.

It was as if… Su Hua had actually enjoyed the process.

“Sister Jing, let’s go wash up and write the letters. Time’s tight. Who do you think matches your type?”

“I haven’t decided yet, but I do know what’s on your mind.”

“Is it that obvious?”

Su Hua still had a trace of liveliness in her tone, but when her gaze fell on Bai Xueyi—who had just finished showering—all that energy suddenly deflated like a balloon.

“Very obvious. I wasn’t going to say anything since it’s just the first day, but I still want to remind you: that person probably already has someone in his heart. The other three guys are nice too—you might want to reconsider.”

Yu Jing patted Su Hua’s shoulder and, without waiting for a reply, headed off to the dressing room to get changed.

Ding dong. Infatuation points: 10 accumulated. Reward unlocked: “Clear Autumn Eyes.” Please check your status. Next reward at 30 points: “Silky Smooth Skin” from the peerless beauty series. With it, even eating spicy food won’t cause breakouts.

This reward affects your entire body, not just the face. Dry skin in autumn and winter will no longer be an issue. Keep going, dear host—Xiao Jiujiu believes in you~

Wow!

What a reward! Su Hua already had fairly pale skin. People often say “fair skin covers all flaws,” but a single pimple on pale skin stood out terribly.

Her skin tended to get dry during colder seasons,

and she always had to apply lotion daily during winter. She had long admired those born with soft, smooth skin. She never expected she might one day possess it herself.

With such generous system rewards, how could she not be motivated?