After the mini-episode had aired, Tao Jin came out with another Weibo post, thanking the crew for inviting her and Mister Yu and Xiao Ming for giving her feedback. She also apologized for having to pull a little trick on the latter two so that she wouldn’t disturb the show, mentioning how she regretted not being able to ask them even more questions.

Whoever had still been grumbling about Xiao Ming and Mister Yu daring to criticize Tao Jin had to stop after that. Because not only had Tao Jin given her thanks, she had also attached photos of two freshly-made plates of quenelles, showing that she had taken the feedback to heart and was indeed happy about it.

The first photo showed a plate with a small bowl of sauce, that had the quenelles arranged just how Xiao Ming had suggested, while the second plate held two small side dishes that were placed together with the quenelles.

In case anybody had still been wondering what this was about, Tao Jin had helpfully put a caption directly on the pictures that read ‘making a lovely-looking, lovely-tasting meal for my beloved husband’.

Clearly, even though she had been criticized, Tao Jin had been happy about it. Her fans definitely wouldn’t dare to drag somebody for doing something that inspired their goddess so the worries that Qian Huang and Li Shui had had turned out to be unfounded. Xiao Ming had indeed been right that as long as Tao Jin was there to help out, there wouldn’t be a problem.

Now, that the mini-episode was over, it was time for the three men of Bright Yellow Water to prepare for their own stream the next day. Originally, they had planned to just review the mini-episode but Xiao Ming was still worried about how this might not be in line with what their channel usually did, losing them too many viewers.

In any case, they wouldn’t be able to have normal streams with cooking for the next couple of weeks. Online, that was a long time. He really didn’t dare to take any chances. At least some of their streams should include some cooking. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any idea how to incorporate that into today’s stream.

Seeing him pace up and down, wringing his hands, Qian Huang could only sigh. “You know, you’re not the only person working on this channel. Why don’t you just leave the planning to me?”

Xiao Ming turned back to him, feeling that Qian Huang was making this sound too easy. “Well, do you have an idea? Because I don’t think it’s that easy.”

Qian Huang gave a hum and shrugged his shoulders but there was a faint smile on his lips. “To be honest, I might have one.”

Xiao Ming raised his brows and then walked over, sitting down on the couch next to him. “What is it?”

Qian Huang glanced over to where Li Shui was sitting at the counter, typing on his phone again. Well, it seemed he was busy. He gave another hum and then leaned closer to Xiao Ming, whispering into his ear.

Xiao Ming was confused for a moment, but then, his brows rose even higher and he finally nodded. “Well, I guess it might work. And I guess experience shows that this is something that people like to see. But are you sure it’s going to be enough? Also, I’m not quite sure if that will be in line with the contract.”

Qian Huang clicked his tongue. “About what’s in line with the contract or not, leave that up to me. Also, I have another idea that we can try to ensure it will definitely be.

“I don’t think they’ll have anything to complain about. Also, the more it’s tied to the show, the less the producer will say something even if it wasn’t quite what they had in mind. Anyway, as long as the number of viewers is high, it’ll be alright. That’s the only thing they care about.”

Xiao Ming was still a little hesitant but finally nodded. When it came to these legal and organizational things, Qian Huang was evidently the person who was better suited to deal with them. He should just trust that. “Alright, then we’ll do it that way. I’ll go and check if we have everything at home we need.”

Qian Huang nodded and then leaned back, picking up his own phone to scroll through the comments on Tao Jin’s post. Today, he felt like he had been doing nothing but this.

Well, this and looking at some news articles about the mini-episode. Because, of course, when a big-name like Tao Jin suddenly appeared in a new show that wasn’t that well-known yet, it immediately caught everyone’s attention. And then they couldn’t help but notice that there were quite a few other big names involved as well, making the show a hot topic all around.

Ah, it seemed that taking part in this had been a wise decision. Despite the trouble it had gotten them into, it would be worth it in the end. They just needed to be careful with what they did in the next few weeks, and then, they’d be able to profit off the attention and recognition they hopefully would have received after the last episode aired.

Xiao Ming returned after a moment, sitting down on the couch again, looking a little more relaxed. “We have all the ingredients that we need so I guess we’ll just have to wait now. And, well, we should probably prepare some things.”

Just when he wanted to get up again, Qian Huang reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back. “Don’t! It’s half the fun to have absolutely nothing prepared for this! It’s going to be much more interesting that way.”

Xiao Ming furrowed his brows, seeming quite concerned. “Are you sure? I’m not … I mean, isn’t that a bit mean?”

“Nope!” Qian Huang shook his head and then raised his phone. “I am busy looking at the articles. What is it that you want to do? And don’t tell me it’s work. Honestly, you have enough to work on this evening and in two days, it’ll already be time for the next episode. Don’t overwork yourself yet.”

Xiao Ming sighed and then nodded. “Well, I’ll go and find something to do then.”

Qian Huang nodded and gave him a wave, watching closely as Xiao Ming left the room. If he let him stay around, he definitely would’ve walked over to the kitchen, getting to work once again. There was just no way to keep him from doing that in this kind of situation if you didn’t constantly keep an eye on him.

Xiao Ming indeed had trouble finding something else to do. He just constantly felt like he wasn’t doing enough. While being on the show was something that would require some effort, it was only once a week right now.

Even when they had streamed every two days with one additional break day on the weekend, they had been working more. Now though, there wasn’t that much to do. He knew that this would change after the first episode had aired since there would be an additional task to take care of but, so far, that was still half a week away.

Right now, he didn’t have as much to do and that felt weird. For years, they had been constantly working, constantly trying to do better, constantly on edge because they never knew if they would be able to make it. Now, they were on the cusp of really making it big but suddenly, there wasn’t as much to do. It made him anxious.

He sighed and went to lie down in bed, picking up the novel that was still lying on his bedside table. He still hadn’t managed to read the whole thing even though it had been few days by now since he bought it.

Even if there was time, he just wasn’t able to focus enough to really read. But it was the same with everything else. In fact, he’d love to just go in the kitchen and cook for a bit but he was afraid of what Qian Huang would say if he tried.

Ah, to be honest, he was looking forward to the end of ”Golden Spoon”. While the casting hadn’t gone too bad, those matters around the show were getting a bit too much.

Yes, so far, they had managed to solve every one of them, or maybe somebody else had solved them in their stead before something more could happen. But the fact remained that there were so many things going wrong in the first place.

He wanted to go back to his normal streaming routine. Back when they had done that, there had been nobody attacking them online or worries about what they would say. He hadn’t needed to think twice about who he could interact with and who he could talk to. Now, he was in a different situation. And he had to admit that that was probably the most difficult part for him.

He weighed the book in his hands and finally put it back down, still not in the mood to actually open it and read. He was too anxious for that. Instead, he just stared up at the ceiling, thinking about the stream for this evening.

Even if he couldn’t go and work in the kitchen, he could still plan out how he would do it. Qian Huang might think that this was being too much but it helped him. It made him feel like he would not do as bad of a job.

With the three of them being busy, time seemed to fly by, and finally, the time to start the stream was getting closer.

When Xiao Ming realized this, he immediately emerged from his room, walking over to the kitchen under Qian Huang’s intent gaze. “You don’t need to look at me like that. We’re going to start in a few minutes anyway. I just want to make sure I’m ready.”

Qian Huang sighed and put his phone down, nodding slowly. “I guess I can’t argue with that. If it helps you, go for it!” Anyway, he knew how nervous Xiao Ming got before streams.

Li Shui also looked up from his phone where he had still been typing and then went to make sure that the lightning and camera were set up.

Xiao Ming and Qian Huang watched him, making him feel a little self-conscious.

“Did I … miss something?”

Qian Huang gave a hum, his eyes narrowing. “You’ve been on your phone an awful lot these days.”

Li Shui raised his brows as if he had no idea what he was talking about. “Was I? Ah, it must be because we are in a new environment. I’m clinging to the last shred of familiarity.”

“Oh, so we’re having secrets now. I see. Well, if you don’t want to tell us, you don’t have to. Who are we to get mad about that?” He put his feet up on the couch, then put an arm behind the backrest, giving a smile. Anyway, this guy would regret that soon enough.

Xiao Ming looked from one person to the other and felt that he had a good idea of just what was going on in Qian Huang’s head. He shook his head at them, and then put the notebook to the side, opening up the channel so he would be able to have a look at the comments.

Finally, the time to start had arrived, and Xiao Ming gave Li Shui the go-ahead.

Right on cue, he smiled at the camera and started with his usual greeting. “Welcome to Bright Yellow Water! I’m sure that most of you will already know that I’m currently a judge on the TV show ‘Golden Spoon’. And even if you don’t know about that, you’ll definitely have heard that goddess Tao Jin has been a special guest for a mini-episode of the show that aired yesterday.

“Because of that, we’ll take a closer look at this episode today. And to honor what a splendid job goddess Tao did, we’ve come up with something special for you as well.” He smiled and then tilted his head a little, waving with one hand. “Ah Shui, can you do me a favor and come over for a moment?”

Li Shui poked his head around the camera, not having expected that. “Ah?”

His exclamation was clearly audible in the stream and the viewers couldn’t help but start laughing in the comments, wondering out loud if maybe he hadn’t been informed of that beforehand. Finally, when Li Shui appeared next to Xiao Ming, he still looked extremely confused, answering all the doubts that the viewers had had.

Xiao Ming smiled and reached over to pat his shoulder. “When we introduced the setting for the casting of ‘Golden Spoon’, Qian Huang had to cook for once to give a demonstration. He had a difficult time but I think that — considering the fact that he didn’t have a recipe or any kind of instructions — he still did quite well.

“Now, the first thing I noticed yesterday when we watched goddess Tao’s episode together was that she explained really well what she was doing. Actually, I couldn’t help but think that she would do a wonderful job as a streamer herself.

“So, for today, I want you to have another look at goddess Tao’s cooking process and follow along. You can pause the video at any time if you need longer than her but we’ll have a countdown as well to make sure you stay within the time limit. What do you think about that?” He smiled brightly as if he had just made a really good suggestion.

On the other hand, Li Shui’s expression had already fallen and he looked in the direction of the camera, his brows drawing together. “Is this your revenge for when you had to cook? Do you have to pull me into it as well?”

Qian Huang laughed from behind the camera where he was still sitting on the couch and shook his head. “Don’t think I’m such a petty person. Of course, it has absolutely nothing to do with that. This is for keeping secrets from your two best friends. You’d better admit after this stream that you met a woman! If you don’t, I’ll come up with worse things in the future!”

Li Shui’s expression derailed even more while the viewers in the comments were laughing even harder, sending rows upon rows of laughter.

Xiao Ming who had kept a close eye on the comment section couldn’t help but smile. Well, the one thing special about their stream compared to other cooking channels was that people liked the dynamic between them. It seemed that doing the episode this way had been a good idea after all. Now, he could at least stop worrying about losing all their viewers over the course of the show.