CEFYMA: Chapter 7

In an instant, everyone looked at You Mian after hearing Yan Tingxuan’s words.

You Mian was suddenly placed in the center of the topic, but he didn’t look flustered at all. He didn’t even frown. His eyes smiled slightly under the light, and his cold white fingers tapped the arm of the leather sofa.

On the contrary, Hou Yanzhi suddenly made a move from where he was sitting next to Yan Tingxuan. The strong man simply raised his hand and put an arm around Yan Tingxuan’s shoulder.

Han Yanzhi’s smile was hearty, but there was something deep in his eyes. He pointedly said, “Yan Tingxuan, you can’t hide your good cooking skills. This is your first time on a show. You have to show it to everyone.”

Guan Tong was surprised. “Is he good at cooking?”

Hou Yanzhi nodded affirmatively. “Of course. My mouth is very picky. If I say it is delicious then it is delicious.”

Bai Lin covered his mouth and smiled shyly while joining the topic. “Brother Huo is right. Brother Tingxuan is very good at cooking. He often makes food for me to eat.”

It had come to this point, so Yan Tingxuan could only shake his head helplessly. The man unbuttoned his shirt, rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, and looked handsome and chic like a gentleman.

“Since you have all praised me to this extent, I can only choose the cooking group.”

Yan Tingxuan looked at You Mian as he spoke. His expression was waiting for You Mian’s answer.

Seeing this, You Mian politely refused. “I don’t know anything about cooking.”

Shen Nanxiao stared at You Mian quietly for a few seconds.

Yan Tingxuan didn’t show too much emotion when he heard this. He just smiled and looked around. “Is that so? It seems it can only be next time.”

Huo Yanzhi’s brow relaxed. He raised his hand and patted Yan Tingxuan’s shoulder, saying loudly, “The first choice has been made. Come on, who else has chosen?”

You Mian sat indifferently on the single sofa to the right. The topic had already swept past him. His beautiful eyes looked leisurely and lazy at this moment.

“Bai Lin.” Huo Yanzhi stared straight at the well-behaved young man beside him. “Which group will you choose?”

Bai Lin’s eyes widened slightly like he was startled by Huo Yanzhi’s question. His expression quickly recovered, and he wrinkled his nose in a confused manner.

“I…”

Bai Lin’s eyes paused on Yan Tingxuan before shifting to Huo Yanzhi and Yun Guanqing.

He didn’t know why Yan Tingxuan asked You Mian just now, but the relationship between Yan Tingxuan and You Mian was no longer what it used to be. There wouldn’t be many changes in a short period of time.

Huo Yanzhi was a stubborn person. His straightforward attitude let everyone know who he was set on at once. Bai Lin wasn’t worried.

So which group would Yun Guanqing choose?

Bai Lin thought about it for a while, but the answer he gave was very fast.

“I’ll choose the preparation group.” Bai Lin tilted his head and shrugged, looking harmless and soft.

Purchasing required driving out. This was time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Yun Guanqing couldn’t cook, so he would most likely choose the preparation group.

Washing vegetables, arranging plates, and so on should be simple.

Bai Lin thought carefully. Sure enough, Yun Guanqing, sitting on his right, immediately opened his mouth and decided, “I’m in a group with Bai Lin.”

Huo Yanzhi narrowed his eyes lightly, as if aroused by Yun Guanqing’s behavior. His neck tensed, and he followed up with the words, “I can’t cook well. Then I will also choose the preparation group with you.”

Guan Tong originally wanted to choose the preparation group. He didn’t expect that in a few seconds, three people would choose the preparation group.

The show’s staff said there was no limit to the number of people in the three groups, but what was the point of four people all gathering together to do preparations? Guan Tong kept in mind that this was a romance variety show, not a cooking variety show.

It was obvious that the two lily of the valley guests were going for Bai Lin. Even if he chose the preparation group, he would just be used as cannon fodder.

Guan Tong pinched the show’s hand card. Then he turned his head to stare at Yan Tingxuan and smiled nervously.

“I’ll choose the cooking group.”

Yan Tingxuan leaned against the soft back of the sofa and nodded gently. He said very softly, “Welcome.”

Guan Tong’s heart relaxed when he heard this. Fortunately, Yan Tingxuan’s personality wasn’t bad.

Shen Nanxiao followed closely and chose the cooking group. Now only the purchasing group hadn’t been selected.

You Mian watched silently. Seeing that the time was almost up, he picked up the car keys that the show had prepared for the purchasing team on the coffee table.

“Give a chance to someone who just got their driver’s license and wants to show off.” You Mian shook the black car keys in his hand. Not only did he choose the one he wanted to choose from the beginning, but he also used humorous words to help the show’s staff.

“You Mian, do you want to choose the purchasing group?” Guan Tong wanted to persuade him but couldn’t say it too clearly in front of the camera.

In a romance variety show, he had to run out so far from the beginning and was in the purchasing team where there obviously wouldn’t be much footage. It would be too late by the time he returned to the house!

However, You Mian still insisted and didn’t wave.

Guan Tong hesitated over whether to speak again when Pei Huaiji suddenly said in a deep voice, “Those who are staying, give me a list of what you want to buy.”

Pei Huaiji finished speaking and stood up. His tall figure instantly raised his sense of existence. He was deterring and domineering.

You Mian hadn’t been surprised by the choices of all the people in front of him. But now he was a bit surprised about Pei Huaiji’s choice of the purchasing group.

Then in a moment, You Mian understood.

Pei Huaiji was a loner. The reason why he came to participate in the romance show wasn’t mentioned in the original novel, but the reasons should have a bit to do with helplessness.

Therefore, when facing the tasks assigned by the show, Pei Huaiji would definitely choose the option that was far away from the crowd and away from the camera.

This point coincided with him.

You Mian got up and walked to the entrance. Then a thought popped up in his heart. If Pei Huaiji came to the show after weighing the pros and cons, maybe they could take care of each other.

The premise was if Pei Huaiji agreed.

However, these thoughts were just immature thoughts in You Mian’s heart at this moment. If he really wanted to put it into practice then he had to wait.

You Mian fell into his own thoughts as he walked straight to the door.

However, Bai Lin was depressed and silent as he looked at You Mian’s back.

From the moment Bai Lin entered the house, he knew from Yun Guanqing’s reaction that Pei Huaiji’s identity must not be simple.

How could such a powerful person decide to team up with You Mian?

Bai Lin frowned in disgust. You Mian was really annoying as always.

Guan Tong and Shen Nanxiao looked at Pei Huaiji together. None of the guests had disclosed their occupations, but most of them could guess that Pei Huaiji was a typical leader just from his aura.

They saw Pei Huaiji, who was in the purchasing team with You Mian, calmly get up and walk in front of Yan Tingxuan. He was still an arm’s length away, but his height of 1.91 meters instantly gave people a sense of oppression.

Pei Huaiji’s unwillingness to approach further made Yan Tingxuan slightly raise an eyebrow.

The woody perfume smell of an elite gentleman spread all over Yan Tingxuan’s body. It was more refined than Pei Huaiji, who was so cold and clean that he had no other scents mixed in.

Yan Tingxuan withdrew his gaze from Pei Huaiji with an unpredictable expression. He muttered a few words in his heart and bent down to write several steak brands on a post-it note.

The other people in the house didn’t notice any discomfort from Yan Tingxuan just based on their expressions.

“I don’t know which supermarket the show will arrange for you to go to, but these basic steaks should be available. I will leave the choice to you.” Yan Tingxuan finished speaking and put the pen cap back on. Then he looked at the ingredients written on the post-it note.

“That’s it,” Yan Tingxuan said.

Then as Pei Huaiji reached out to take Yan Tingxuan’s post-it note, Yan Tingxuan suddenly patted his head like he suddenly remembered.

Yan Tingxuan said, “Ah, I forgot to write the red wine.”

The man looked at You Mian, who was already standing at the entrance and smiled at Pei Huaiji in a very subtle manner. He whispered, “But it’s okay. You Mian has done a lot of research on red wine. He will always choose the best bottle. Feel free to leave it to him. I won’t write it.”

Pei Huaiji took the post-it note indifferently. He just responded casually to Yan Tingxuan’s behavior. “I know.”

He didn’t ask You Mian why he knew You Mian so well. His expression was still calm and indifferent, as if he was wrapped in a layer of ice. It was as if he felt that Yan Tingxuan’s words didn’t matter at all.

Yan Tingxuan watched the two people walk out of the house one after another, and his eyes instantly became cold. The corners of his mouth rose in an ugly sneer.

—

You Mian didn’t know anything about the undercurrent in the house behind him.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind. It was to leave the house and not see the faces of these boring acquaintances again.

You Mian picked up the small map that the show placed in front of the windshield and flipped it open to take a look.

The nearest large supermarket to the cliff house was 12 kilometers away. The journey and the buying time were conservatively estimated to take two or three hours.

He had a rough idea in his heart.

Pei Huaiji naturally went to open the front passenger’s side door. Then he paused slightly, reached out, and grabbed a white envelope from the front passenger seat.

You Mian was already sitting in the driver’s seat and buckling up his seatbelt. He couldn’t help asking, “The show’s staff put it there?”

Pei Huaiji’s well-defined big hand counted and took out the red notes inside.

“500.” Pei Huaiji handed it to You Mian.

You Mian helplessly pouted at the GoPro in the car, feeling very energetic for a moment.

“It seems that I won’t be able to eat French food tonight.” You Mian’s tone carried a hint of schadenfreude that wasn’t obvious.

He originally thought that Pei Huaiji wouldn’t talk. Surprisingly, Pei Huaiji put his elbow against the window and asked bluntly, “It seems you don’t like Yan Tingxuan?”

You Mian’s fingers holding the steering wheel were slightly tense.

It seemed that Pei Huaiji was a person who didn’t know what it meant to be observant. Even if he had a strong observation ability, he wasn’t willing to use that ability when it came to interacting with people.

You Mian said ambiguously, “Everyone has just met. I can’t say whether I like or dislike anyone.”

At this time, the guests sitting in the observation room already had several rounds of heated discussions about the grouping situation just now.

Seeing that the screen was now placed on You Mian and Pei Huaiji in the car, they couldn’t help becoming more cautious when speaking.

It was because Director Hong Sheng had told them in advance before filming.

Pei Huaiji participated in the show because it was written in black and white on the investor’s contract, but Pei Huaiji had asked not to focus on him too much.

Who was Pei Huaiji? This was the Chairman of JL, a construction company at the top of the pyramid that occupied half the land in Huajiang City. It contained several design and fashion subsidiaries. There were several first-tier actresses who would try to grab any hanger from any of their luxury stores.

Chairman Pei didn’t want to appear so the guests in the observation room could only choose to reduce the comments on the footage where Pei Huaiji appeared. They avoided focusing on these points in the later stage.

Therefore, even the scenes of You Mian and Pei Huaiji would be reduced depending on the situation.

The celebrity guests in the observation room watched You Mian and Pei Huaiji become a group and watched them leave in the car. They couldn’t help feeling sorry in their hearts.

An amateur guest with such a good appearance was unexpectedly divided into the same group as Boss Pei in the beginning. It seemed that his star path would be like this in the future.

If there was no camera, there were no fans. No one would sincerely ship their CP.

This was a big blow to those who wanted to rely on the romance show to become popular.

Inside the car that was driving smoothly, Pei Huaiji didn’t comment on You Mian’s answer just now.

“Really?” Pei Huaiji asked in a deep voice.

The guests in the observation room saw the lit-up GoPro screen turn dark. They were surprised for a long time before contacting the show’s staff like they remembered something.

Inside the car, Pei Huaiji raised his hand and turned off the hanging camera set up by the show’s staff.

You Mian: “……”

After confirming that the show’s staff wouldn’t hear their conversation, Pei Huaiji said, “JL and Xiuming once cooperated, and I know Chairman You.”

Xiuming was a high-end custom fashion brand of the You family. The combination of ancient traditional skills and modern trends had produced a lot of high-quality runway clothing in the past two years.

Therefore, Pei Huaiji had an impression of this brand. He also remembered that You Jiyuan was a middle-aged boss who was old-fashioned and serious but had an attentive attitude.

Pei Huaiji said this without any meaning of intimidation or showing off. It was just pure confusion. The You and Yan families had always been close. Why did You Mian seem to hate Yan Tingxuan so much?

“Mr. Pei.” You Mian frowned and pulled the car over on the side of the road.

Pei Huaiji stared straight at You Mian with an expression like he was waiting for You Mian’s answer.

You Mian looked sideways at Pei Huaiji. His gentle, smiling expression remained unchanged, but his eyes were colder.

“It sounds like you have a good memory. Then I don’t know if you remember that I am no longer the young master of the You family since two years ago. As for the Chairman You in your mouth…”

You Mian said lightly, “I’m not familiar with him.”

—

TL: Rainbow Turtle

White Lily

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