The three of them fell quiet and turned back to the screen, watching on as Tao Jin cooked.

By now, she had finished blending the fish and was adding it to the dough she had made before. Finally, she put it on a work surface, waiting for it to cool down a bit further before she formed it and put it into the mold tray she had prepared.

“They’re already starting to look like they are supposed to come out later on. That is something I’ve struggled with a lot at the beginning. If you’ve seen ‘A Field Trip in the Summer’ back then, you will know that we didn’t know what kind of shape they were supposed to have. We made them into sticks, balls, and other different shapes because we just wouldn’t get it.”

The TV show back then had been produced for the same channel so it wasn’t a problem to reference it every now and then. In fact, she was sure it would be encouraged. Her own agent would also be satisfied. Even though it was a slightly older work of hers, tying things together could never hurt. It would just make people more curious to check out everything else she had done.

“By now, I know how they are supposed to look traditionally. After the show finished back then, I had my husband take me out to some French restaurants to have a look at the real deal. It was a very nice experience. We didn’t just have quenelles though and instead chose a variety of things to try with quenelles being just the one constant in our meals.

“Anyway, this is the shape they are supposed to stay in. To make sure that that is the case, we’ll have to cool them further.” Saying so, she turned to look for a crew member.

Somebody immediately came over from the room next door where they had been waiting, motioning for her to follow them inside.

Tao Jin waved at the camera and then followed the crew member, being led over to a small fridge where she could put her tray.

The camera followed her all the time until she turned back around with a smile.

“Well, now, we wait!”

With that, they sped up the recording, showing Tao Jin glance at the fridge, then going back to the other room to have a look at the countdown and tidy up a little before finally going back again and opening the fridge just when the small countdown in the corner jumped to [00:00].

“Finally! I’ve used the time to tidy up what isn’t needed anymore but having to wait until you see if it has really worked out can be so excruciating. Anyway, it’s time to take them out of the mold and see how I’ve done.” She put the tray down and carefully took the quenelles out, then held one of them into the camera. “Ow, they’re so cold! I’d better put them onto the baking tray I prepared.”

Once again, the crew sped up the recording of her taking the quenelles out of the tray and putting them on the other. Finally, when the last one had been placed, Tao Jin looked back up.

“At this point, you can add some other things to bake this with. For example, you could make a sauce or use other ingredients to make them au gratin. That is optional on my eyes though. You can just bake them without anything added. Anyway, I’m happy with just having quenelles so let’s put these into the oven, and wait again.” She laughed, put the tray in the oven and then closed the door, leaning back to wait for the dish to be done.

This time, the crew didn’t speed up the recording and instead just showed a black screen for maybe half a second before they changed to the view of her opening the door again and taking out the now steaming tray.

Tao Jin looked at the finished quenelles and nodded. “Well, for me, this looks alright. I’m really tried to have a taste though. I know this should probably go to the judges immediately but I haven’t needed that much time to make these. Even with telling you about it at the side and first taking care with getting everything ready, it’s only been a little over an hour. Everyone has three hours so if I taste this now and it’s not good, I could still make another batch.

“Even though I’m just joining in on the fun and not an actual contestant who can advance to the next round, I still want to show the judges the best I can do. After all, those are Mister Yu who is a famous cook with several decades of experience, and Xiao Ming who is an up-and-coming cooking streamer who clearly has some repute as well.

“Getting their evaluation on one of my dishes is something I am really looking forward to and will profit from tremendously. I wonder what kind of tips they can give me to get even better. But because of that, I have to make sure the ones I bring over are as perfect as I can make them.”

Saying so, Tao Jin picked up one of the quenelles and gave them a taste herself. She looked thoughtful before she finally rubbed her hands to get rid of the crumbs and nodded. “I am sure they aren’t perfect but compared with how I usually make them, I feel like these are decent at least. In that case, let’s indeed go to the judges!”

Back at the apartment, Qian Huang nudged Xiao Ming’s side. “Actually, how did she do?”

“Won’t you see in a moment? Why are you so impatient?”

Qian Huang clicked his tongue. “Well, it’s easy to say for you since you were there. I didn’t even get to see her.” He pursed his lips, unhappy that he had missed that big of an opportunity. He had heard that Tao Jin had been at the venue but he hadn’t been told where and he was sure that if he had gone to look for her, they might have thrown him out. Thus, he had finally stayed where he was, trying not to think about it.

Ah, looking at this stream now and realizing that Xiao Ming had gotten the chance to see her … honestly, he was a bit envious. Xiao Ming didn’t even like her much. Well, sure, he also thought she was a great actress but he didn’t like her the same way other men did. So why was he the one out of the three of them who got to meet her?

Just thinking of that, Qian Huang sighed. “I can’t believe you actually met her …”

Xiao Ming just chuckled but didn’t say anything. Anyway, Qian Huang would see in a moment just what had happened. He definitely didn’t want to spoil the fun.

On the other side, Li Shui was nibbling on a snack, his expression thoughtful. He had been following around the cameramen and after the first hour or so, they had been up at the side of the stage, filming the process of the judgment in case any of the contestants would make it into the first episode and needed more screentime. He couldn’t remember goddess Tao Jin coming there though and he also couldn’t remember that Xiao Ming had left.

Just then, Tao Jin arrived in front of a door. She opened it a crack wide and the camera filmed through it, showing the stage on the other side and the table with Mister Yu and Xiao Ming waiting for the next dish to judge.

Tao Jin turned back and smiled. “There they are! I wonder what they are going to think about my dish.”

Even though she said so, she didn’t walk over. Some of the more discerning viewers realized that she also wasn’t carrying the plate with the dish anymore, going to yell about it in the comment section. Clearly, somewhere between leaving the room where she had cooked and getting to the stage, she had handed it over to somebody!

The viewers didn’t need to wait for long. Just a moment later, a petite woman walked up the stairs, a crewmember with a small cart rolling over the plate everyone had seen with Tao Jin before and finally putting it down in front of the judges.

The young woman inclined her head toward them and Xiao Ming and Mister Yu greeted her as well.

Back at the apartment, Qian Huang stared with his mouth hanging open. “They had somebody else bring over the dish?! Please tell me you knew about this beforehand! Did you say anything negative?!” He turned to Xiao Ming, his expression panicked.

Tao Jin was a national goddess, beloved by both men and women. If somebody dared to criticize her acting in a movie or her appearance at an event, they would be drowned in hate comments. That was even true for people of the media. Now, what would happen to Xiao Ming if he dared to insult what was clearly a passion project of hers? He didn’t even dare to imagine!

Xiao Ming smiled and patted Qian Huang’s leg. “Don’t be like this. They might not like me much but they also don’t want too much negative publicity. Tao Jin is a big star, to have this kind of opportunity is huge, even for a format like them. They wouldn’t dare to let us say anything that might aggravate her fans so, of course, we got a warning that this was her dish and to watch what we would say.”

Qian Huang felt relieved but only for a moment. “What ‘watch what you would say’? You can’t say anything even if it could only be construed as negative by doing mental gymnastics that defy physics! Tao Jin’s hardcore fans will go nuts if they think you said anything bad!”

Xiao Ming just smiled though. “I know but isn’t she still there? I’m sure as long as she herself wasn’t offended and says something positive about the experience, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

To be honest, while he had been warned, he had worried a little as well. After all, he had never had to do with a star. Even Mister Yu didn’t quite count because while he was famous, it wasn’t the same kind of fame. Even if he got on his bad side somehow, he wouldn’t automatically also be on everyone else’s bad side. Tao Jin was different and even he didn’t know what exactly she thought about his evaluation. That remained a mystery to be seen.

While Xiao Ming turned back to the screen to watch, Qian Huang also calmed down. Actually, he shouldn’t worry too much. Goddess Tao Jin … she was married to a friend of Nin Sha’s, wasn’t she? And considering how much his other friends were trying to get into Xiao Ming’s good graces and sell him as the perfect bachelor to consider as a dating prospect, Tao Jin’s husband might be the same. Since she had originally stepped out to mention the show on Weibo and then even went to participate in it, he had a feeling that this would be similar.

Realizing this, Qian Huang had mixed feelings. It was awesome that he wouldn’t need to worry about people making mincemeat out of Xiao Ming after this mini-episode had been aired but somehow, this once again relied on their relationship to Nin Sha. That just … wasn’t too reassuring after everything that had gone down the last few days.

Even though they indeed hadn’t been bothered again after the last call with Ai Gui Jin, the fact that things had gotten so far in the first place scared him. And these constant reminders that their life already seemed entwined with Nin Sha’s didn’t help.

It reminded him of how Nin Sha apparently came from that kind of wealthy and important family and he couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to all of this. The good things and bad things that were happening to them … how much did they really have to do with this one person? By now, it seemed hard to say.