After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite (GL) - Chapter 1

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning broke through the clouds, shining brightly. Office workers rushing to the subway in the early morning strode down the street with their bags, keeping an eye out for everything around them. Finally, they spotted a relatively short line in front of a shop. With a quick dash, they stepped forward, saying “two pan-fried buns” while pulling out their phone to scan and pay. After a quick fingerprint payment, they skillfully took the plastic bag handed over by the proprietress, hurriedly stuffed it into their bag, and once again hurried towards the subway station.

On the bustling street, everyone was in a hurry, no one paying much attention to who was around them.

Among the various people, the person on the street wearing a worn-out coat and straw sandals didn’t seem so conspicuous.

Tao Nian, who had just come of age and was kicked out of the mountains, had traveled tirelessly for a day and a night without a single meal. Now, everything she saw made her want to bite it. She carried the small basket her master had given her when sending her down the mountain, woefully rubbing her deflated stomach and looking around.

Someone emerged from a small shop nearby, holding steaming hot buns. The person hurried along, creating a gust of wind as they passed. Tao Nian caught a whiff of the buns in their hand.

Gulp~

Tao Nian watched longingly for a while, then slowly lifted her feet and, mimicking the people in front of that small shop, stood at the very end of the line.

Lao Zhang’s Pan-Fried Bun Shop had been open for decades, with countless people coming to buy pan-fried buns every morning. Today was no different; the owner in the back kitchen fried the wrapped buns, and the proprietress swiftly handled the cash register and packed the buns.

Tao Nian advanced little by little with the queue, and as the scent grew closer, her stomach began to rumble.

She couldn’t help but stand on her tiptoes, looking at the pan-fried buns by the proprietress’s hand, and then at the satisfied expressions of those who had already received their buns.

The skin was thin and fried to a glistening perfection; you didn’t even need to eat it to know how crispy it would be with each bite. A bite would cause juice to spurt out, making the person gasp from the heat, but they wouldn’t waste a single drop. Instead, they would continue eating, savoring the warmth, biting into the large shrimp nestled within the generously filled meat.

Gulp~

Tao Nian swallowed another mouthful of saliva.

She couldn’t help but look around again.

Across the street was a bubble tea shop. A server was holding a tray, offering disposable paper cups to passersby: “Hello, this is our new product. Feel free to try some.”

Tao Nian’s eyes were sharp and her nose keen. Not only did she see that the drink in the cup was milky white, but she also smelled its sweet fragrance.

She couldn’t help but swallow again, wanting to go ask for a cup to try.

While she was hesitating, someone came over, extending their hand and holding something under Tao Nian’s nose. The person also made an “Ah” sound, as if wanting to say something.

Although she didn’t look directly, in her peripheral vision, it was a bowl.

Is this also a new product that needs to be tasted?

Tao Nian subconsciously reached out and took the item from the bowl.

Only after picking it up did Tao Nian take a look.

It wasn’t a pan-fried bun, nor a drink. It was a paper-like thing… with a “5” written on it.

Tao Nian held the piece of paper, bewildered, and lifted it to her mouth.

It seemed familiar. Can this be eaten too?

But it looked dirty, and Master said not to eat unclean things…

While she was still debating whether the item in her hand was edible, her turn in the line finally arrived. The proprietress, tearing a plastic bag, looked up and greeted Tao Nian: “How many do you want?”

Before Tao Nian could speak, the proprietress saw the five-yuan banknote in Tao Nian’s hand. So, she deftly put two pan-fried buns into the bag, handed the buns to Tao Nian, and simultaneously took the banknote from her hand. She then naturally called out to her, “Come again next time!”

Tao Nian blinked, looking at the pan-fried buns in her hand. Remembering what her master had taught her and what she had just seen, she obediently nodded to the proprietress: “Thank you.”

She then turned to the person who had given her the “paper” earlier, and also very politely said: “Thank you.”

The deaf-mute beggar watched with wide eyes as this young girl took money from his bowl to buy breakfast. Seeing Tao Nian about to leave, he immediately stopped her, holding up his bowl and shaking it from side to side.

The coins in the bowl clinked against its sides, making a dull sound.

He opened his mouth wide: “Ah ah, ah ah!”

Why are you saying thank you?! I’m here to ask for money! Give me back the money you took from my bowl!

Tao Nian finally ate the pan-fried buns. They were hot, leaving a fragrant taste in her mouth with every bite. The crispy skin, along with the rich juice and meat filling, went down her throat, tasting more delicious than anything Tao Nian had ever eaten before. She was elated, unable to focus on anything else, and finished the buns in just a few bites.

But she still wasn’t full…

Tao Nian crumpled the plastic bag, saw the long queue again, and walked to the end of the line.

The beggar followed, pushing his bowl in front of Tao Nian: “Ah ah ah, ah.”

He had never seen anyone like her! She looked so young, shouldn’t she still be a student? Shouldn’t students be the wealthiest and most compassionate? How could she not only not give him money but also take it from his bowl?

Tao Nian blinked again, looking at the old man who kept insisting she try something from his bowl, and earnestly advised him: “My master said we shouldn’t eat unclean things. So, I won’t.”

The beggar was now so angry he felt like he was going to vomit bl00d. His voice grew louder, and he shook his bowl more frantically: “Ah, ah ah ah!”

Tao Nian looked at the old man in confusion and repeated: “My master said unclean things cannot be eaten.”

“I…”

The beggar was so furious he almost broke character. Just as he uttered the word “I,” he immediately remembered he was pretending to be mute. So he continued: “Ah ah.”

Although unclean things shouldn’t be eaten, Master also said to help those in need.

This old man is so persistent about me trying, maybe I’ll just take one?

Tao Nian hesitated, nodded to the old man, extended her hand, and very obediently rummaged through his bowl, pulling out another soft, crumpled piece of paper with a “5” written on it, which she clutched in her hand.

The people in the queue behind her, who had been watching all along, finally couldn’t hold back their laughter.

The beggar’s face was now flushed red with anger. He instantly tried to pry Tao Nian’s hand open: “I told you to give me money! Not for you to take it!”

The people in the queue laughed even louder.

Although social security is becoming more comprehensive, and the lives of most disabled people are now somewhat guaranteed, there are still inevitably some able-bodied individuals who are unwilling to work and pretend to be disabled to beg, exploiting people’s sympathy. This person had been begging on this street for quite some time; shop owners had offered him jobs cleaning their shops for a salary, but he refused. Over time, everyone learned to ignore him. But due to the high foot traffic, there were always people unaware of his true nature who would give him money, so he continued begging here.

Unexpectedly, he had hit a “steel plate” today.

Everyone looked at Tao Nian.

Tao Nian opened her hand, yielding to the old man’s force, and was pleasantly surprised: “You can talk?”

Everyone then looked at the beggar: “You can actually talk?”

They had thought he was a mute person capable of working but unwilling to. But now, he wasn’t even mute?

Tired workers who toiled all day came to buy breakfast, preparing for another strenuous day, only to unexpectedly witness such a spectacle first thing in the morning. Now, everyone was energized, gathering to condemn the idle beggar.

“Heh, you have hands and feet, why don’t you go earn money? Begging here, what? Is everyone else’s money picked up from the wind?”

“And pretending to be mute? Disgusting. What about truly disabled people who need help because of people like you?”

“Better to be truly mute.”

“Why beg when you have hands and feet? You could at least go to a factory and screw bolts.”

“Yeah, hurry up and find a factory job.”

…

The beggar, seeing everyone blaming him, couldn’t stay any longer. He gave Tao Nian a hateful look and slinked away.

The people around him were still muttering, “What a weirdo.”

The instigator, Tao Nian, clutched the crumpled five-yuan bill in her hand, continued to move forward in the queue, and then received two more buns from the owner.

She happily finished the two buns again, and once again joined the queue. When it was her turn, she still happily reached out, wanting to take the buns. But this time, the owner didn’t give her the money; instead, he looked confused and asked her, “Where’s your money?”

People behind her, rushing to work, were already impatiently pushing forward, telling Tao Nian to step aside and find her money, reminding her: “If you don’t have cash, use mobile payment.”

Tao Nian bewilderedly rummaged through the luggage her master had prepared for her in the basket, pulling out a square object identical to the one in that person’s hand, but for some reason, hers was completely black.

The little taotie recalled her master’s instructions on how to use it, pressing it. Still black.

She bit it.

Still black.

Finally, with no other options, she was pushed out of the queue.

The newly adult taotie was far from full with just four palm-sized pan-fried buns; her stomach was still empty. She seriously tried to recall what this so-called money actually was.

And she finally understood why that piece of paper had seemed so familiar.

“Ah!” Tao Nian slapped her forehead.

Isn’t this what Master called money?

Master said that down the mountain, all food had to be exchanged for money…

So, that old man just now wanted me to give him money?

Is this also a new way to earn money?

But everyone else seemed to be condemning the old man…

The taotie, who usually only thought about eating, couldn’t process so many things in her mind. As she pondered, she couldn’t help but start looking at the people around her eating breakfast, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Across the street, there was also a noodle shop. Unlike the soup noodles her master cooked for her, every strand here was coated in thick sauce and minced meat, looking incredibly delicious.

Tao Nian, in a daze, pinched her palm.

Master said to obey the rules of the mortal world and not to eat whatever she saw directly, as she did in the mountains.

Those noodles seemed to require money to buy, but she had none… The newly adult little taotie faced an unprecedented dilemma. It would have been fine if she hadn’t eaten at all, but having just eaten four pan-fried buns, she wasn’t full and had only aroused her appetite. Now, she was so hungry she couldn’t control herself.

Tao Nian, with longing eyes, took two more steps towards the noodle shop.

Through the window, someone called out to her.

Liu Xiaobai was a blogger on a video platform. Early this morning, she came to film a daily vlog. She had just filmed the long queue outside the pan-fried bun shop across the street when she unexpectedly captured such an interesting scene. Her professional intuition quickly told her that this would get a lot of traffic if posted online.

What kind of content is this, you ask?

Aside from a seemingly normal person pretending to be disabled and getting caught begging, just the act of taking money from a beggar’s bowl to buy pan-fried buns and saying “thank you” is enough to be absurdly entertaining. The beggar pretends to be pathetic, and bam, she just pretends not to understand. Playing dumb to catch a tiger, she looks innocent, but then blinks and takes another banknote from the beggar’s bowl. She seems like a “white-cut black” (innocent-looking but cunning). But then, after the beggar leaves, she tries to buy pan-fried buns and surprisingly can’t find her money or phone.

The way she looked down, rummaging for her phone in her small straw basket and fiddling with it, was both confused and adorable; you wouldn’t expect her to be so maliciously playful.

There was also a huge contrast. She looked small, with baby fat on her face, almost like a minor.

Yet she ate four pan-fried buns in one go and even wanted to buy more.

In just these few minutes, there was plot, reversal, and depth. If Liu Xiaobai hadn’t encountered this beggar several times before, she might have thought it was a carefully arranged script.

So, she observed for a while, searching extensively but finding no film crew. Instead, she watched this “white-cut black” give up on finding her money and wander over to the bubble tea shop to queue for the free samples of new bubble tea – she queued three times, and on the last time, the bubble tea shop employee went inside to find a bigger cup and poured her a large one.

Liu Xiaobai finally concluded that this person might not be “white-cut black” after all.

She might… just be purely… silly?

Liu Xiaobai successfully lured her into the shop with a bowl of hot dry noodles. She took out the content she had filmed and very carefully asked Tao Nian: “Can I post this online?”

Thousands of miles away from this noodle shop, in a large villa, Lin Qianman, who had just woken up and calmly finished a three-kilometer run, walked out of the gym and saw a note on the living room table.

It was a light yellow piece of paper with faint dragon patterns. The handwriting on it was neat and elegant.

Yet, it made Lin Qianman, who usually remained unfazed even when a mountain collapsed before her, slowly close her eyes. Perhaps it recalled some unspeakable past memories, as her breathing, which hadn’t faltered during her run, suddenly became rapid.

That beautiful face, which was equally stunning on red carpets and big screens, with always-perfect expression management, was now filled with one word—”Despair.”

Author’s Note:

It’s finally here! (Bowing to all the darlings who came to read)

I hope this is a silly, funny story that makes everyone laugh out loud.

If not, I’ll delete this part and say it’s a serious story (unreasonable but confident).