Chapter 10: They Must All Be Extras

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: They Must All Be Extras

For a few seconds, the bullet comments in the livestream were speechless:

[I was actually worried they wouldn’t be able to sell any? Heh, I almost forgot she’s on the royalty script!]

[The production team is so lazy. If they’re going to hire extras, they could at least find some who can act!]

[I can’t believe they’re trying to fool us like this. Really, I’m crying my eyes out!]

[Am I the only one who thinks that egg fried rice looks delicious?]

[Yeah, from Nan Yi’s reaction, it must taste pretty good. He’s only four and a half, he wouldn’t lie, right?]

[Who says kids don’t lie? I could lie to my parents without batting an eye to get them to buy me toys when I was three and a half!]

[Right? Exactly! Nan Yi doesn’t look like some innocent, simple-minded kid!]

...

The malice toward Nan Yi in the comments, which had briefly subsided after the earlier interview, was now back with a vengeance.

They just thought Nan Yi was a bad seed, learning to deceive people alongside his mother at such a young age.

Nan Yi, however, was completely unaware of this.

Or perhaps, even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.

Because Nan Zhi had just given him an incredibly important task!

"I’m collecting the money?"

Nan Yi’s delicate features were a picture of disbelief!

Nan Zhi nodded nonchalantly.

"That’s right. Didn’t we agree to divide the work?"

Ever since she’d "returned," Nan Zhi had considered many ways to mend her relationship with her son and help him escape his tragic destiny as a major villain.

Nan Yi was precocious and had a strong sense of pride. The abuse he’d suffered at the hands of the Tactician had made him sensitive and prone to overthinking. He was like a little hedgehog, wary of the whole world.

That was why Nan Zhi felt she should give the boy a proper measure of respect and trust.

She remembered how, when she was cooking earlier, Nan Yi had hovered around her like a little puppy. It wasn’t because he felt close to her; he simply wanted to find something to do.

Nan Zhi saw through his restlessness. After thinking it over, she decided to entrust him with the important job of handling the money.

As she spoke, Nan Zhi took the 160 yuan in cash she’d just collected and tucked it into the small pouch Nan Yi carried with him.

Nan Yi unconsciously puffed out his chest.

His little face, which usually wore a frosty expression, seemed to faintly glow with excitement!

He was a boy of few words and particularly disliked speaking with Nan Zhi.

But this time, he made a rare exception, promising in a low voice:

"I’ll do a good job."

Nan Zhi smiled and hummed her assent.

After that, a few more customers arrived one after another.

Their reactions were surprisingly consistent—

Shocked by the price, then won over by the taste.

This caused the livestream chat to be flooded with complaints, with viewers saying that the extras’ reactions were as formulaic as the acting from today’s young stars.

But the truth was, these people were all real customers.

As the saying goes, the aroma of good wine isn’t stopped by a deep alley.

Even though they had a bad start on the first day, occupying a remote, out-of-the-way spot.

Relying on the Golden Egg Fried Rice, whose aroma seemed to carry for miles, the thirty servings Nan Zhi had prepared still sold out in no time.

Quite a few people, like Xiao Qian and her roommate, bought two servings each.

The biggest customer bought five servings at once!

The man chuckled and said he was buying them for his family, but Nan Zhi saw him polish off one serving before he’d even left the night market, his mouth slick with oil and his eyes shining brightly!

Nan Zhi felt pleased.

But she wasn’t overly excited.

She’d seen countless people go ecstatic over her cooking. There were picky old gourmands who would starve themselves for three days just for one of her meals, eating until they wept uncontrollably, practically ready to kneel and call her their mother on the spot.

’...Of course, Nan Zhi had refused. That old man was old enough to be her grandfather.’

Compared to her past, a scene like this was nothing special.

"Yiyi, let’s pack up and go home."

The figures of Nan Zhi and Nan Yi, mother and son, gradually disappeared into the night market as they pushed their food cart away...

-

Old Zhang snuck home, clutching his leftover fried rice, and hid it in the refrigerator.

’I’ve got it all planned out,’ he thought. ’One of these three for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for dinner tomorrow!’

’Hmm, that might not be enough.’

’How about one for breakfast, two for lunch, and then I’ll go stake out the fried rice stall at the night market tomorrow evening?’

Old Zhang was humming a gleeful tune when his wife’s voice suddenly rang out from behind him:

"What are you doing?"

Old Zhang immediately spun around, trying to block the refrigerator with his body.

"Nothing!"

His wife didn’t believe him for a second and said angrily:

"I can smell it! You went to the night market again, didn’t you? Have you forgotten what the doctor said about your high blood pressure? Does his advice just go in one ear and out the other?"

Old Zhang wilted under his wife’s tirade and obediently handed over the fried rice from the refrigerator.

His wife was about to throw the fried rice into the trash can.

Old Zhang, who was famously henpecked, rushed to stop her.

"No, no, no! This egg fried rice is so delicious! Really! It’s the best egg fried rice I’ve ever had!"

His wife was unmoved.

This forced Old Zhang to shout, "This egg fried rice costs 20 yuan a serving!"

His wife’s hand froze, and her eyebrows shot up.

"Are you a complete idiot? Spending 20 yuan on some stupid fried rice!"

With that, she opened one of the containers.

"Three servings? That’s 60 yuan?"

Old Zhang didn’t dare to hide the truth.

"I bought... f-five..."

His wife laughed, exasperated.

"Well then, I’ll just have to see for myself how good it is!"

With that, she ignored her recent diet, plopped down at the dining table, and opened a container.

Even though it had been nearly half an hour, the rich aroma of the fried rice immediately wafted out.

His wife didn’t even notice she was quietly swallowing.

Old Zhang’s face was wreathed in smiles.

"Smells good, right?"

His wife didn’t reply. She picked up a spoon and took a bite.

In an instant, the flavor exploded, a sensation that shot straight to the crown of her head. It was as if her very soul had been struck!

Tender egg coated each distinct grain of rice, which was moist but not at all greasy.

The finely chopped scallions were the perfect accent, the finishing touch that brought it all to life.

It was just a simple egg fried rice, but it filled her with the purest sense of joy!

Old Zhang beamed.

"So? It’s good, right?"

His wife said nothing. She just lowered her head and started shoveling it into her mouth.

Old Zhang’s smile vanished. He let out a pained cry:

"Hey, wait! That’s my breakfast and lunch for tomorrow!"

-

「At the show’s headquarters.」

A group of people stared at each other in dismay.

It was no longer a secret among the staff that the chief director, Xu Lin, planned to make things so difficult for Nan Zhi and Nan Yi that they would be forced to quit the show.

They had even carefully chosen the job of a night market food vendor, fully prepared for Nan Zhi to throw another tantrum and refuse to film.

And yet...

Seeing the screen full of comments cursing them out, the group couldn’t manage a smile.

"We’re really getting blamed for nothing this time! Who could’ve guessed that Nan Zhi can actually cook?"

"She’s changed so much in just one day! Does she have a split personality or something?"

"She’s probably just scared of the contract penalty! It’s not like two-faced celebrities are rare in this industry."

Suddenly, someone suggested:

"Why don’t we hire someone to go to the shantytown and scare her a little!"

SLAP!

Xu Lin, who happened to overhear as he walked up, slapped the person who made the suggestion on the back of the head.

"What do you take us for? A bunch of thugs?"

The staffer looked embarrassed.

Xu Lin said sternly,

"We have to draw the line somewhere! Besides, if something happened to Nan Zhi, do you really think the show wouldn’t be held responsible?"

He had a point.

"Then Director Xu, what should we do?"

Xu Lin’s eyes narrowed. He already had a new plan.