After sending the message, Qiao Huaiyao directly transferred the money to Zhao Jiamo. Zhao Jiamo might have been looking at pictures, so his reply was a bit delayed. He said, “What are these for? We don’t need all this to cook. The show’s production team has prepared all the cooking ingredients for us; there’s nothing for us to worry about. We only need to think about what we want, and they will provide it.”
The message mentioned that most of the items they didn’t prepare were decorations, like flowers and decorative lights, which were not for eating. Since they didn’t know what each guest needed, they didn’t purchase them. However, the cooking ingredients were well-prepared. Qiao Huaiyao didn’t explain further and simply replied, “I will use them.”
Zhao Jiamo responded, “Alright, I’ll ask one of the staff members to go shopping for the supplies. But it might have to wait until tomorrow; some shops in town close early, and they might not have everything you need.”
Tomorrow or today didn’t make a big difference to Qiao Huaiyao. He replied, “Okay, thank you,” and transferred another payment for the trouble.
Qiao Huaiyao then put down his phone and headed back to his room. It had been raining for the past two days, and they had finally encountered a sunny day. However, the filming for the show was nearing its end, so there was no need for him to go outside too much.
When Qiao Huaiyao needed to remember something, no matter how late he slept the previous night, he would wake up on time the next day, sometimes even earlier than he had planned. But instead of getting up right away, he lay on his side, still wrapped in his blanket.
With his eyes open, he waited patiently for each passing minute until he heard the sound of the bedroom door handle. At that moment, he immediately closed his eyes.
Bai Jinyan entered the room and saw that Qiao Huaiyao was still asleep. He approached and gently called out, “Huaiyao.”
Qiao Huaiyao, as if pretending to be asleep, showed no response.
“Huaiyao?” Bai Jinyan gently tapped his shoulder through the blanket and said, “It’s time to wake up. The online cooking class you signed up for will start soon.”
Even though it was an online class, Qiao Huaiyao, with his personality, would want to get up early, get ready, and then sit in front of his phone to attend the class.
Bai Jinyan had entered the room half an hour earlier, leaving enough time for Qiao Huaiyao to have breakfast. However, he couldn’t wake him up now.
Qiao Huaiyao, with his eyes still closed, tried to stretch out his hand to adjust the blanket, but his hand encountered something unexpected. He felt it, released it, and then tried to grasp it again. The drowsiness in his mind was almost unbearable.
Qiao Huaiyao just let his hand stay there, and he mumbled, “Brother…”
“Hmm,” Bai Jinyan held the hand that Qiao Huaiyao had just delivered to him, “Wake up. The online class starts in half an hour.”
Qiao Huaiyao, in a drowsy voice, said, “Tired… I want to sleep.”
“Brother…” His voice sounded muffled, mixed with the tiredness of a reluctant awakening, “Can you take the online class for me?”
Qiao Huaiyao’s words didn’t match his calm appearance. Bai Jinyan’s attention was focused on the hand he was holding, and he felt Qiao Huaiyao’s fingertips gently brushing against his palm, like the retractable claws of a cat, soft and gentle.
After a moment of silence, Qiao Huaiyao softly asked, “Is that okay, Brother?”
Bai Jinyan instinctively replied, “Yes.”
With that, he held Qiao Huaiyao’s hand, which he had sent over earlier, and said, “Get up. You still have half an hour.”
Qiao Huaiyao felt relieved. He said, “Thank you,” and transferred a reward to Bai Jinyan. Then he put down his phone and got up, but he didn’t rush.
Even though Qiao Huaiyao had slept early the night before, he still woke up on time as he always did. However, instead of getting up right away, he lay on his side and continued to wrap himself in the blanket.
With his eyes open, he waited patiently for the minutes to pass, and he didn’t move until he heard the sound of the bedroom door handle. At that point, he got up.
Qiao Huaiyao had already checked the address of the kitchen that the director had sent him. Normally, it would take about fifteen minutes to walk there from this location.
As Qiao Huaiyao entered the kitchen, he heard knocking on the door from outside.
“Jinyan! Bai Jinyan!” Zhao Jiamo was outside, knocking on the door and calling out, “I’ve brought some things for you.”
“Open the door! There are so many things, the supplies are delivered right to your doorstep… Wait a minute.”
His voice suddenly stopped. When he saw Qiao Huaiyao open the door, Zhao Jiamo widened his eyes and said, “Weren’t you going to the kitchen?”
After checking with the kitchen staff, they had confirmed that all the guests had entered their respective kitchens to start their preparations.
Qiao Huaiyao explained, “My brother went to the kitchen.”
Zhao Jiamo raised an eyebrow, “Did he see the message?”
Qiao Huaiyao replied, “To be precise, when you sent me the message, he was standing right next to me and saw it with me.”
Zhao Jiamo: “…”
Sharing a phone? Zhao Jiamo never expected that. Sending a message to everyone separately at the beginning was meant to be discreet and avoid anyone else finding out. Families wouldn’t usually share their phone passcodes, let alone show their messages to someone else.
Zhao Jiamo found it hard to believe. “What if it wasn’t me who sent the message, but someone else with something they couldn’t let Bai Jinyan see?”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t think there was anything he couldn’t let his brother see. He replied calmly, “If he saw it, then he saw it.”
Zhao Jiamo then asked, “What if it was a message that shouldn’t be seen by Bai Jinyan?”
“I don’t have any messages that I can’t let my brother see,” Qiao Huaiyao said straightforwardly. He added, “Give me the items.”
Zhao Jiamo hadn’t fully processed what Qiao Huaiyao had just said. He handed over the box and said, “Everything you need is in here. There’s enough to make cakes seven times.”
“Oh, right, there’s also a package sent from your family,” Zhao Jiamo said as he retrieved a parcel from the box. “It was delivered by a dedicated courier for the rural guesthouse, so I saw it and placed it on top.”
Qiao Huaiyao took the box and didn’t deny that it might be a surprise from him.
Zhao Jiamo instinctively made a gesture like sealing a zipper and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him.”
Anything that could benefit the show, Zhao Jiamo wouldn’t reveal. It was packed with ingredients for making cakes, and it wasn’t light due to items like flour. Qiao Huaiyao selected the ingredients he needed, leaving the rest in the cupboard.
Compared to cooking, Qiao Huaiyao was probably more skilled at making cakes. He had made a few cakes in the past, but he hadn’t spent much time in the kitchen lately.
Sometimes, one surprise could be built upon another.