Chapter 325: Chapter 325: You’re so despicable and vile

This was a blatant attempt by Shen Lan to put her down.

Shen Lu let out a soft laugh and glanced at the contents of Shen Lan’s box. There were four pastries—two savory crab pastries and two jujube paste cakes.

Visually, they looked decent enough, even quite presentable.

As for the taste, however, that was anyone’s guess.

However, Shen Lu couldn’t find anything in the original owner’s memories about Shen Lan knowing how to cook. She did, however, recall Shen Lan once boasting that only the lower class ever set foot in a kitchen.

Shen Lu guessed that Shen Lan had probably bought the pastries.

Li Zexing shot Shen Lan a meaningful glance, but he didn’t nod or shake his head.

Shen Lu placed the food box she’d brought on the small coffee table and undid the clasps.

The moment she lifted the lid, an intoxicating aroma exploded outwards, immediately grabbing the attention of everyone nearby.

"It smells so good!"

"Who brought this? It smells amazing! Do they have a death wish?"

"We’re done for, we’re done for. The director is definitely going to start yelling. Weren’t we told not to eat anything with a strong smell on set?"

"But it really does smell incredible..."

Li Zexing was stunned for a few seconds. By the time he came to his senses, he was already chewing on a duck foot that Shen Lu had brought.

The duck feet weren’t cooked until they were mushy, but they had reached fall-off-the-bone tenderness. He could strip the meat away with his teeth without much effort.

Delicious. This was so, so delicious!

It was as if a tiny version of himself existed in his mind, flapping little wings and flying around joyfully, clutching a duck foot.

It wasn’t the first time he’d eaten Shen Lu’s cooking, but the flavor of the braised snacks she brought today was so incredible he just couldn’t stop eating.

It was no exaggeration to say that this was the best thing he had ever eaten!

Completely overshadowed, Shen Lan stood stunned for a moment before a raging fire of anger ignited in her mind.

She swallowed hard, grabbed Shen Lu’s food box, and tried to smash it on the ground.

But Li Zexing saw her intention, clamped one hand on the food box, and held it down tight.

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

"Ze Xing, she’s trying to harm you!" Shen Lan shrieked. "There’s obviously something wrong with this food! Who knows what she put in it to make it smell like that!"

Shen Lan was absolutely unwilling to admit that she was no match for Shen Lu.

After all, she had studied under the Kitchen King and used only high-quality ingredients from the Upper City District. She had practiced making these two dishes, the savory crab pastries and the jujube paste cakes, for four or five days. She’d even had her family try them, and they had all given her their praise.

There might be a slight gap between her pastries and those made by the Kitchen King, but they should have absolutely crushed anything Shen Lu could make.

And yet, Shen Lu had merely opened her box, and Li Zexing had chosen her without a second thought, not even glancing at the pastries Shen Lan had made.

If there wasn’t something suspicious going on, she’d chop off her own head and use it as a stool.

"Miss Shen, have you not learned your lesson yet?" Shen Lu sneered. "Or does Miss Shen have a doctor’s note that gives her a free pass to say whatever she wants?"

"Am I talking nonsense?" Shen Lan glared at Shen Lu resentfully. "Does normal braised food smell like this? Do you take us for idiots?"

"Does Miss Shen speak for everyone?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Has anyone here ever encountered braised food like this? It’s too strange."

"Exactly!" The girl standing beside Shen Lan puffed out her cheeks in support. "I’ve never smelled braised food with an aroma like this! You must have used some kind of illegal seasoning!"

Having said her piece, Pan Junru secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

’Waaah, to be honest, it smells so, so good,’ she thought. ’If I wasn’t trying my absolute best to hold back, I might have tried to snatch the food right from my idol.’

(T ^ T)

After that moment of craving, Pan Junru hardened her resolve once more.

’I will never let these bad people hurt Brother Xing!’

"What’s all the racket! What’s all the shouting!" The director stalked over, his face dark as he swept his gaze over the group. "Don’t you know you’re not allowed to make a scene on set? Who are all these random people? Get them out of here!"

On set, the director’s word was law. No one dared to defy him.

Shen Lan and Pan Junru were kicked out, and Shen Lu and Xue Can were no exception.

Before she was led out, however, Shen Lu exchanged a look with Li Zexing.

Shen Lu: *I’ll wait for you to finish filming?*

Li Zexing: *No time.*

Shen Lu: *?*

’What the hell does he mean by that?’ she thought. ’He eats my food and then just ditches me?’

’Damn it, spit my duck feet back out!’

Shen Lu spun around, ready to snatch the food box back. She’d rather feed it to a dog than let Li Zexing have another bite.

Xue Can grabbed her. "Boss Shen, what’s wrong?"

Shen Lu regained her composure. "It’s nothing. I thought I dropped something, but it turns out I didn’t."

Outside the film set, a fuming Shen Lan came to find her.

"Shen Lu, you’re so despicable and shameless!"

Shen Lu raised a hand, and Shen Lan, thinking she was about to be hit, quickly hid behind Pan Junru. "W-what do you think you’re doing!"

Shen Lu looked at her in amusement and casually tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Shen Lan, you’re such a drama queen. Have you ever considered becoming an actress? With your skills, playing the villainous supporting female role would be a piece of cake."

"You’re just putting on an act!" Shen Lan bristled again. "All you know are cheap, vulgar tricks."

"Takes one to know one," Shen Lu replied.

Shen Lan snorted heavily and turned to leave. Pan Junru, mimicking her, snorted at Shen Lu as well before hurrying to catch up to Shen Lan.

After walking for two or three minutes, Pan Junru’s cheerful expression fell. "What are we going to do, Xiao Lan? Shuiyunjian is opening in a couple of days."

Shen Lan’s expression was as dark as a thundercloud. "Li Zexing isn’t the only celebrity in the Imperial City!"

"But..."

’But he’s the one I like!’

’Besides, would any other big-name star be willing to do a ribbon-cutting for a private kitchen?’

Pan Junru pouted, aggrieved. "Xiao Lan, didn’t you say you and Brother Xing were on great terms? That he’d definitely come as long as you asked?"

Shen Lan’s expression turned even uglier. "This is because Shen Lu showed up out of nowhere and ruined our plan! You see? This is what she’s like. She’s jealous of me, she resents me, she thinks I stole everything from her, so she’ll do anything to sabotage me!"

Her words were highly subjective and made little sense.

She certainly hadn’t told Shen Lu that she was coming to see Li Zexing today. So if Shen Lu didn’t even know she’d be here, how could she have intentionally ruined her plan?

But Pan Junru didn’t think of that. Her thoughts simply followed Shen Lan’s lead.

A look of sudden realization dawned on her face. "That’s horrible! She really is a terrible person!"

Shen Lan loved hearing other people curse out Shen Lu. Even though Pan Junru’s insults were childish, they were still music to her ears.

"So, Xiao Lan, what do we do about the opening ceremony?" Pan Junru twisted her fingers nervously. "I’ve already told so many people that Brother Xing would be doing the ribbon-cutting..."

"You!" Shen Lan was stunned. "Who did you tell?"

"Just people from our class, my old friends, and my family. They were all really excited and said they’d definitely come to show their support on opening day!"

Shen Lan facepalmed. "Junru, didn’t I tell you not to say anything until it was set in stone?"

"But I couldn’t help it..." she whined.

Shen Lan took a deep breath. She took back what she’d thought about Pan Junru being a good lackey. This girl was a goddamn useless teammate!

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