"Who?"
"Who?"
Xu Yanxia and Xiaozhen asked in unison.
Ye Shu replied, "Yao Yi'an."
"Yao Yi'an?"
Xu Yanxia frowned and thought for a moment. "That name sounds a bit familiar..."
Xiaozhen said, "He's the one who won several Best Actor awards a few years ago."
"Oh, it's him!"
Xu Yanxia let out an "oh" of realization, then felt puzzled again. "Why would a Best Actor come to a food show? And as a challenger at that?"
Logically speaking, Xijing was also a famous culinary capital, so the local area shouldn't be short of good restaurants!
But Ye Shu sighed and said, "Isn't it all just to make money? The competition in the film and television industry has been so fierce these past few years. His age puts him in an awkward position where it's hard to get acting resources, so he's trying to find other opportunities to show his face! If he happens to go viral, won't resources come knocking on his door?"
"Exactly,"
Xiaozhen also told her, "Actually, it's not just him. Ever since this show became popular, a lot of celebrities have wanted to be judges, but the production team has kept pretty strict control over it."
"After all, the judges are too important."
Xu Yanxia said, then asked, "So, does this Best Actor know how to cook?"
"Probably,"
Xiaozhen replied, "I've scrolled past him a few times. He often posts food videos on his account, and he seems to really know what he's talking about."
"I guess that works."
Xu Yanxia nodded.
You know, although there had been quite a few hiccups while filming this show up to now, fortunately, the judges were professional and the competition format was relatively fair. She still took this show quite seriously.
Seeing that the team led by that borderline—oh wait, fitness blogger, Brother Song, was making better and better dishes, she still hoped to meet capable opponents on the show.
Rather than letting this show become a resource for others to grab traffic.
...
A while later, seeing that her hair and makeup were done, Xu Yanxia went to the studio.
Sure enough, she saw that the Best Actor, Yao Yi'an, had already arrived at the scene.
The man, already in his forties or fifties, maintained himself quite well. He dressed meticulously and had an upright posture. You could tell at a glance that he was from the entertainment industry.
As soon as he entered the studio, the producer, director, and a few others went up to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with him. It seemed he indeed had some connections.
However, Xu Yanxia only glanced at him and didn't pay any more attention. Instead, she instructed her teammates on how to prepare the dessert later.
Like the Jincheng stop, this debut match required the use of designated local specialty ingredients. The main course was local mutton, and the side dishes were various local seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Later, she would personally handle the main course, while most of the side dishes would be left to the team members to showcase their skills.
"Later, pick the winter jujubes that are a bit firmer, the ones where the red and green colors on the skin transition naturally. Their sugar content will be higher."
"When boiling them after pitting, just add enough water to barely cover the jujubes. Boil them for exactly ten minutes, no longer."
...
As she was speaking, she saw that fake royal chef, Jin Jiexiang, also leading a group of team members in.
When passing by them, Jin Jiexiang deliberately paused and said to his team members, "Look at how well Director Xu manages her time! Taking advantage of the time before recording to explain all the precautions. Such professionalism! No wonder she cooks so well!"
This made Xu Yanxia and the others unable to help but frown.
Suisui couldn't help but mutter softly, "Why is this guy being so sarcastic?"
However, before the other teammates could speak, one of Jin's team members asked Xu Yanxia, "When did Director Xu arrive? It seems like after we all left yesterday, you were still at the hotel with someone. There are even photos of it."
Hah!
The way he said that, anyone who didn't know better would think she was doing something shameful at the hotel.
Xu Yanxia replied, "I arrived yesterday afternoon with my assistant. Why, do you need something from me?"
The other party probably didn't expect her to ask that. After a brief pause, he quickly smiled and said, "No, it's just that when I was scrolling through our show's videos, I saw in the comments section..."
Before he could finish, Xu Yanxia immediately interjected, "If not, then focus your energy properly on your own team. Your Boss Jin is so good at cooking, and you finally got the chance to follow him on a show. Try to learn more about royal cuisine. If you ever stop working for him in the future, it'll be easier for you to open your own shop."
Others might not remember, but she remembered clearly. This person was a teammate Jin Jiexiang recruited back at the Rong City stop. He claimed to run a pastry shop in his hometown, but in reality, he was a pastry chef at Jin Jiexiang's Yuwei Restaurant in Jingbei.
Sure enough, the man paused, choked on his words, and said nothing more.
Jin Jiexiang, however, quickly spoke up with a smile, "Director Xu, don't be angry. Xiao Fang didn't mean anything else. He's a young man in his twenties; isn't it perfectly normal for him to be interested in a beautiful woman like you? That's why he pays more attention to you."
Saying that, he even tried to pry for information, "By the way, I heard you were discussing a collaboration with Dr. Feng yesterday? I wonder what big project you two have?"
"Teacher Jin must be joking!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Suisui couldn't help but say, "Since it's a big project, it must be a secret! How could we just casually let you know?"
"That's right,"
Xu Yanxia also nodded and said to him with a smile, "Until our official announcement, it is definitely a secret and not convenient to tell you."
Having lost face, Jin Jiexiang gave a couple of awkward laughs and said to his team members, "This is why they say Director Xu is capable! Not only is she beautiful, but she can also casually negotiate a big business deal while on a business trip!"
"Tell me, doesn't that mean her boyfriend isn't losing out at all?"
Hey! This guy!!!
"This is clearly spreading dirty rumors! Do you have no shame at all?!!!"
Ye Shu, who was standing to the side, immediately wanted to step forward and confront him.
Who knew that right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the side, "Sorry, I'm late."
Everyone immediately turned to look and saw someone had just entered the main doors.
It was none other than Xu Yanxia's CEO boyfriend, Lu Jingming.
It was cold in Xijing. Today he wore a dark gray short woolen coat paired with trousers of the same color, making his body proportions look excellent.
His layered black short hair was naturally fluffy, lacking the oppressive feeling he usually had at work, yet still carrying a sharp and steady aura.
After raising his hand to briefly greet the staff in the venue, he strode over to Xu Yanxia.
He asked her, "How is it? Is it about to start?"
Jin Jiexiang's group obviously became a bit deflated.
Xu Yanxia smiled instead and said, "Soon. You came at just the right time."
Lu Jingming heard the underlying meaning in her voice and asked, "What's wrong? Do you need me for something?"
As he spoke, he also glanced at Jin Jiexiang and the others nearby.
Before Xu Yanxia could speak again, the sharp-tongued Suisui immediately said, "President Lu, you still came a bit late! If you had come a little earlier, you could have heard with your own ears someone spreading dirty rumors about our captain!"
"Exactly!"
Xiaoxian and Xiaoman also nodded along, "Their mouths are so toxic, they aren't even afraid of them rotting off."
After speaking, they all cast a cold glance at Jin Jiexiang and his group.
This made the other party's expressions instantly change for the worse.
However, before they could speak, Lu Jingming immediately let out an "oh" and said to Xu Yanxia, "Spreading dirty rumors is a criminal offense. Don't worry, there are security cameras here. I'll go coordinate with the production team right now to save the evidence and call the police."
"No, no, no..."
Jin Jiexiang immediately put on an apologetic smile and said, "This is all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"
"Mr. Lu, Director Xu, please don't take it to heart! This young man of ours just used the wrong words in the heat of the moment! He absolutely had no intention of spreading inappropriate rumors about Director Xu!!! Please be the bigger people and forgive his foolishness, please don't take it to heart!!!"
As he spoke, he pressed his palms together, making an apologetic gesture toward them.
However, Lu Jingming ignored them completely. He simply looked at Xu Yanxia and asked, "What do you think? Should I go call the police now?"
Xu Yanxia gave a slight smile and said meaningfully, "Let's record the show first. We can deal with this later."
"Alright then."
Lu Jingming nodded. Catching sight of Feng Yiheng at the judges' panel not far away, he said, "I'll go say hello to Dr. Feng and set up a time for this afternoon."
The afternoon recording was still the amateur competition, which only required the guest teams to be present; the judges did not need to attend.
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia nodded, watching him walk over to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with Feng Yiheng.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jin Jiexiang hurriedly leading his team members back to their workstation, their tails tucked between their legs. They didn't dare utter another word.
Suisui let out a soft chuckle and whispered to her friends, "Now they're the ones feeling the pressure. It'll be hilarious if they mess up their cooking later!"
"Exactly."
Xu Yanxia chuckled and called her teammates' attention back. "Let's continue discussing our dish."
