After becoming the stand-in for the four big guys - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Su Hua jogged a few laps, and once she felt the workout was enough, she returned to the villa. Since she hadn’t really broken a sweat, she simply washed her hands in the kitchen and began preparing the infatuated supporting female lead’s heartfelt breakfast.

Before her run, she had already started boiling potatoes, carrots, and eggs using the leftover ingredients from the fridge. By the time she got back, everything was cooked.

Su Hua peeled the potatoes and eggs, sliced the carrots, then added cucumber slices and black pepper. She mashed everything together, added luncheon meat, shaped them into half-sized sandwich patties, and placed them into the air fryer provided by the show’s sponsor. She sprayed a bit of oil and set the timer and temperature.

While waiting the ten minutes, Su Hua took out two slices of toast. She melted butter in a pan, then dipped the toast in beaten eggs on both sides. Once the egg set, she flipped them and folded the edges.

With fried luncheon meat, shredded cheese, and cucumber slices, she folded the sandwich. After frying another one for herself, she plated both.

Originally, she was supposed to draw a ketchup heart on the plate like a stereotypical supporting female lead, but Su Hua thought it was too cheesy. Instead, she drew a simple smiley face.

By that time, the air-fried potato patties were ready. Su Hua reheated some milk while plating the food and then sat at the table with utensils, waiting.

While she was making the sandwiches, Chu Zhi had poked his head out from the second floor to ask if anyone had gone out, then immediately went up to the third floor.

Sitting at the table, Su Hua already knew her breakfast wouldn’t be eaten. In the original novel, Chu Zhi had no intention of stopping in the living room before going out. So after waiting for a bit, she picked up her knife and fork and began eating.

She thought to herself: she probably couldn’t finish both servings. Would Yu Jing’s share be cold by the time she woke up?

But just as she finished one potato patty, someone sat across from her. Su Hua looked up—it was Ji Yanshu, whose hair was still slightly damp.

“Good morning, Miss Su Hua.”

His voice was clear and full of presence. Su Hua nodded and returned the greeting.

Seeing him glance upstairs and then at the breakfast, Su Hua guessed he had noticed Chu Zhi wasn’t coming and came over to help ease her awkwardness like a gentleman.

“I made an extra portion. If you don’t mind, please have some?”

“Thank you.”

After accepting her invitation, Ji Yanshu didn’t use a knife and fork. Like Su Hua, he picked up the simple sandwich with chopsticks.

The toast soaked in egg was soft and fragrant. The luncheon meat added texture, and the melted cheese stretched with each bite. It was balanced by the crispness of the cucumber.

Ji Yanshu finished the sandwich in two bites and then picked up a potato patty.

After being baked in the air fryer, the outside was crispy while the inside was a flavorful mix of carrots, egg, cucumber, and luncheon meat.

Potato-based foods are rarely unpleasant, but Ji Yanshu had never tried patties like this before. They were homely, but nutritious.

The only downside: the portion was a bit small. Thankfully, the warm milk helped fill the gap.

—

After finishing the milk, Su Hua was about to get up and clean the table when a hand—long-fingered and fair—beat her to it.

“Ah, I can do it.”

Dressed in a sharp suit, Ji Yanshu looked out of place in the kitchen. The breakfast hadn’t even been meant for him, yet he helped alleviate her awkwardness.

Su Hua thought she should clean up instead. There wasn’t a dishwasher, but she hadn’t used many utensils—she could manage.

“Let me.”

But Ji Yanshu was firm, clearly taking her breakfast as a kindness he had to repay. Su Hua could only let him do as he wished.

“Ahhhh! I demand the production team provide a dishwasher! How can they let Prince Ji wash dishes?”

“Su Hua, you could’ve insisted more! Didn’t you see his hands are fairer than yours? How can you bear it?”

“If it were Chu Zhi doing the dishes, Su Hua would’ve never agreed. Ugh. Can’t believe she’s blind to Ji Yanshu’s godly looks!”

“Yeah! Chu Zhi clearly doesn’t care about her at all—his heart is with Bai Xueyi.”

“She’s giving her affection to the wrong person. Su Hua, wake up! Even if you can’t match Ji Yanshu’s level, he’s way more of a gentleman than Chu Zhi!”

“That’s a terrible thing to say. Love doesn’t care about status! I think Su Hua is great—watching her cook was so warm and comforting. If it were me, I’d choose her.”

“Why would a rich family want someone who cooks? A goddess like Bai Xueyi is more pleasing to the eye when pampered and praised.”

…..

“Yanshu, why are you doing the dishes?”

Bai Xueyi came downstairs after her workout and saw Ji Yanshu with his suit jacket off and sleeves rolled up, washing dishes and even the frying pan. Her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.

But she clearly didn’t want to get any grease on herself. Instead of helping, she gently advised:

“Didn’t the crew hire cleaning staff? If you’re busy, you should just head to work…”

After all, someone like Ji Yanshu—practically a CEO—had much more valuable time than average people.

But even in the face of a beauty’s soft plea, Ji Yanshu remained as cold as he had been two years ago. Not only was there no warmth in his face, but his tone was so indifferent it could suffocate someone.

“Miss Bai, we’re not that familiar. It’s better to address me by full name or as Mr. Ji.”

Su Hua, now changed out of her workout clothes and coming downstairs, overheard their conversation—and couldn’t help but give Ji Yanshu a mental thumbs up:

“Ji Yanshu, you’re amazing. No wonder you’re still single—by skill alone.”

Facing a goddess-like first-love type like Bai Xueyi and still staying so cold—no wonder readers in the original novel thought he was either emotionally indifferent or simply didn’t like women.

“Sigh, just got a notice from the show—they’re going to film daily guest footage. Xiao Jiujiu, what job should I look for now?”

The show was scheduled to film for 31 days, but they wouldn’t monitor the guests nonstop. Instead, the production team had arranged a very reasonable schedule: full-day filming only on Saturdays and Sundays. On weekdays, filming would be limited to 6:00–10:00 in the morning and 5:00–11:00 in the evening.

This way, the audience could focus on work during the day and enjoy watching the show and shipping couples in the evenings. If anyone missed a live segment, the production team would later edit the highlights into an hour-long episode for broadcast on Z Province TV every Saturday at 8 PM, during prime time.

Since live streaming involved frequent camera switches and guests often moved around separately, there were bound to be many moments viewers might miss. This made the TV broadcast version even more appealing.

Moreover, the contract stated that during the satellite broadcast, celebrity guests would be invited to comment on the gossip and drive viewership. And the final confession results from the 31 days of filming would remain a mystery during the livestreams, only to be revealed in the final episode.

Su Hua didn’t know whether a show like this would really become a hit in real life—but in the novel, as long as the male and female leads were involved, the show was destined to explode in popularity.

Since she already knew this was a soon-to-be hit, she figured she should at least get a taste of the benefits, right?

“Dear Host, what’s your plan? Yesterday I noticed you were looking at a supporting-role audition listing. Are you planning to go?”

Today, the production team would film short VLOG-style segments of each guest’s daily work life. Since Su Hua’s current “job” was being on this show, that obviously couldn’t be broadcast.

“I’ve seen the synopsis for the web drama needing a second female lead. The role requires a stunning beauty—it doesn’t suit me… I’ll find another chance for acting later. For now, I’ll go do some day labor.”

It only took a few bus stops for Su Hua to decide on her filming content for the day:

She would dress up as a mascot and hand out flyers at a department store!

It paid 15 yuan an hour, for 8 hours a day—that’s 120 yuan total, and they paid daily. The original Su Hua had even worked this gig before. According to her memory, the supervisor there was from her hometown and had been kind to her.

Chu Zhi didn’t even pay a deposit. What, was she supposed to live off credit every day?

The day flew by. When Su Hua returned the mascot costume, collected her 120 yuan wage, and took the bus back to the garden villa, she was drenched in sweat, with strands of hair stuck to her damp forehead.

And just then—by the classic law of “supporting characters always have bad luck”—she ran straight into Chu Zhi, who had just stepped out of a luxury car.

“Ugh~”

“You stink! What have you been doing?!”

Dressed in a crisp suit, Chu Zhi pinched his nose and even took a step back the moment he got close.

After hours of sweating in that outfit, she did smell unpleasant.

But Chu Zhi calling her out so bluntly in front of others was rude. Under normal circumstances, Su Hua would’ve snapped back.

But who was Su Hua now? She was someone infatuated with Chu Zhi.

Being caught in such a disheveled state by the person she liked—and directly despised by him—of course it wasn’t wise to argue.

So Chu Zhi witnessed her reaction: just moments ago her eyes had been bright and clear, but now they instantly reddened like a rabbit’s.

She looked like she wanted to speak, but bit her pale lips and turned swiftly toward the door, not letting him see her face.

A dark drop of moisture appeared on the ground.

Chu Zhi paused. He looked up at Su Hua’s retreating back and had the odd sense that she was forcing herself to stay composed, despite being deeply hurt.

He looked again at the ground, but the tear had already evaporated.

“She’s that fragile…?”

Chu Zhi frowned, thinking this C-list actress he hired had a way worse emotional tolerance than his regular company employees.

That night’s dinner was prepared by the three who’d washed dishes the day before.

Mo Yawen looked like a delicate artist who wouldn’t step foot in a kitchen, but his cooking skills were decent—not quite on Su Hua’s level, but better than Chen Kai’s. His knife skills in particular were impressive.

Zhu Zihan, on the other hand, couldn’t even wash vegetables properly and broke another plate. She was gently persuaded to leave the kitchen.

Ji Yanshu returned half an hour late, but brought back signature dishes from a private A-list chef in A City, a place that required a VIP reservation.

“Wow! Ji Yanshu, you actually got food from XQT’s private chef? I heard ordinary folks need to book a month in advance!”

Chen Kai immediately recognized it and gasped in amazement.

“Su Hua, come down! Not only is there great food today, we’ve got good wine too~”

Yu Jing grinned as she saw Ji Yanshu take out a bottle of limited-edition red wine.

“Ah, I’ve been craving this restaurant ever since returning to the country. What a treat tonight.”

Bai Xueyi’s pleasantly surprised voice came from the door. She was carrying a box of desserts and smiled elegantly:

“I didn’t make it back in time to help cook, but I brought homemade dessert—sugar-free. Let’s enjoy it after dinner?”

Chu Zhi scowled, thinking Ji Yanshu was showing off with his wealth. It was shameless. But he also knew he couldn’t even book this restaurant himself—unless he used his father’s card.

Just thinking about it made him annoyed.