Chapter 42 – Surprise
Zhao Jiamo probably couldn’t imagine in his dreams that the discreetly sent text message would be translated and delivered to Bai Jinyan in less than three seconds. Bai Jinyan chuckled lightly and didn’t mention the message again. He raised his hand to ruffle Qiao Huaiyao’s hair, saying, “Go sit in the living room and watch.”
It was clear that the messages sent by Zhao Jiamo were more than just these two. There should be more that hadn’t been translated. Bai Jinyan, with a serious expression, pretended not to have seen them and didn’t bother checking the remaining messages.
Qiao Huaiyao, on the other hand, felt that the director’s text message was probably meant to prepare a surprise. Whether they read the rest of the messages or not didn’t seem important. He sat on the couch and casually grabbed a pillow. With his fingertips, he scrolled through the messages below.
Zhao Jiamo: [Task for this time: Prepare a surprise for the celebrity’s family. It can be a gift or something that can make them happy, no matter what, as long as it brings them joy, the task is considered complete.]
Zhao Jiamo: [The next task is to personally prepare a heartwarming dinner. The production team has set up a kitchen for guests who can’t cook, and they provide ingredients and seasonings. But remember to avoid the celebrity’s family, or the surprise will be in vain. (Attached is the address.)]
[If there’s anything you need to prepare, you can send a message to this account in advance, and the production team will arrange everything before the dinner.]
[Suggest presenting the gift during dinner for a more delightful experience.]
[Considering that this task requires preparation time, the following recordings will focus on daily life with occasional small games, without organizing large-scale activities.]
[Lastly, the main theme of this variety show: Enjoying life. We hope you and your family can relax through this program’s recording. Wishing you all the best.]
…
The messages ended here; there was nothing more below. Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow slowly, feeling that after this task, the filming might be coming to an end. If he calculated the time carefully, there were still a few days left for the holidays. However, it could also be that they had enough footage, and Zhao Jiamo wanted to create a conclusion.
A family-oriented heartwarming program ending with a gift and dinner did align with the theme of the show. Qiao Huaiyao absentmindedly brushed his fingertips against the plush of the pillow, lost in thought. It felt like they had just begun recording, and now they were already preparing for the conclusion. Everything was just getting started.
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips and, in his contemplation, his heart began to beat a little faster. His thoughts and ideas swirled together chaotically. These messages…
Looking at the bedroom door that remained half-open, Qiao Huaiyao took a deep breath, cleared the content of the task and the suggestion to present the gift during dinner, and sent the messages. He then stood up but didn’t enter the room. Instead, he poked his head out and said, “Brother.”
“Hmm?” Bai Jinyan had just hung up some freshly washed clothes and turned to face Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes filled with a playful smile. “What’s up?”
Qiao Huaiyao walked in and handed him his phone. “The director said I should prepare dinner.”
After a pause, he added, “Cook it myself.”
If they wanted that warm and emotional dinner to be enjoyed properly, it was unlikely they’d achieve it with a table full of dishes that might not taste good. Moreover, this house wasn’t purchased by the production team. The cost of kitchen repairs wasn’t low either. They needed to discuss how to compensate for any damage to the kitchen.
Bai Jinyan looked at the message and without hesitation said, “I’ll do it.”
Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback for a moment; his plan had slightly deviated. He quickly said, “Well… but there are cameras filming us. Won’t this be considered cheating?”
The director might not be watching the cameras all the time, but during post-production, they would definitely scrutinize each guest’s individual footage. Since they were talking without avoiding the cameras’ range, it was already unusual that Bai Jinyan had seen the text message in the first place. Asking him to help prepare the dinner might not seem reasonable.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and suggested, “How about I sign up for an online cooking course? That way, it won’t look like cheating.”
At this point, he couldn’t leave the rural guesthouse, and online courses could be taken at any time. Since the upcoming recordings would focus on daily life, he wouldn’t be too busy. Bai Jinyan thought it was a good idea. “Sure.”
The camera in the live broadcast room continued to flash. [“What’s going on? Is Qiao Qiao learning to cook? If Brother Bai doesn’t teach him, and he takes an online course, what’s the point?”]
[“Yeah, it’s true. Brother Bai always praises Qiao Qiao when he cooks, even when he smokes up the kitchen. Brother Bai says it adds flavor to the food.”]
[“That’s right. Brother Bai always compliments Qiao Qiao’s artistic touch in cooking.”]
…
After getting the permission, Qiao Huaiyao smiled with his eyes narrowed and said, “I’m going to look for online courses.”
Online courses weren’t always available; it depended on whether the cooking instructor had time and if the course schedule matched his. Qiao Huaiyao chose one that seemed promising and had a menu that wasn’t too complicated. The instructor would teach three to four dishes in each class, and they had already posted the menu for the upcoming week on Weibo. You could purchase the class for whatever dish you wanted to learn. Qiao Huaiyao bought the classes for the next two days, which fit his schedule well.
“Brother, I’ve picked the classes,” Qiao Huaiyao said, raising his phone. “The first one is tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock. We don’t have enough ingredients here, so I’ll have to go to the kitchen prepared by the director. Brother, make sure to wake me up.”
Bai Jinyan glanced at the interface on the phone. “Alright.”
After purchasing the classes, Qiao Huaiyao sent Bai Jinyan the access information and links to the live cooking classes. He then opened a chat window and messaged the director.
Qiao Huaiyao: [Is the kitchen provided by the production team shared among all the guests?]
Zhao Jiamo replied promptly: [Of course not! Do you doubt my financial capabilities? Kitchens are not something you can cram into. Each group of guests has a separate kitchen.]
Some celebrity guests had fewer family members joining them on the show, but when deciding on the location, they had to consider those with more family members. Otherwise, if seven people tried to squeeze into one kitchen, it would be chaotic and impossible to find such a large space. If all the guests shared the same space, conflicts would likely arise. In this heartwarming family variety show,
Zhao Jiamo would never allow such disputes to happen. The rural guesthouse had been booked entirely, and they wouldn’t be short on kitchens.
Qiao Huaiyao: [Great.]
Having a separate kitchen made things much simpler.
After thinking for a moment, he typed again: [Could you please buy the items on this list for me?]
His fingertips hesitated for a moment, and then he changed “one” to “four.” Buying a larger quantity now would save them from scrambling to fix any issues later on.