OFCC – Chapter 100

The variety show Heart Fluttering Again had been trending on the entertainment charts several times a week before, but this episode, thanks to Mu Yanxi, a guest who was always a hot topic on variety shows, barely left the top ten of the entertainment chart all day.

Just the hashtag for Mu Yanxi alone had hit number one on the entertainment chart several times.

Moreover, the pairing of Mu Yanxi and Yi Wulan was the public’s favorite combination of a domineering president and an entertainment star. Many people tuned in just for Yi Wulan’s status as the president of Rongjia Group.

Whether on platforms with real names like Weibo and Douban, or anonymous ones like the Lujiang Forum, threads were popping up everywhere to discuss today’s livestream. Some were dripping with sarcasm, while others were shipping them to death:

【Am I the only one who thinks Mu Yanxi’s couple has a script for the whole day? The more natural it looks, the more likely it is they’re following a script.】

【Mu Yanxi is finally showing her true colors. Go, go, go! I hope you head to the Civil Affairs Bureau as soon as the show ends, oh.】

【What kind of filter do you guys have for this little vase? Do you really think her terrible acting skills could portray such a realistic married life?】

【Peach Blossom Debt was all plot-driven. Have you all forgotten her cringey romance dramas?】

【She lives in Yuncheng’s number one mansion and wakes up to someone like President Yi every day. Who cares about sourpusses like you?】

The two factions argued endlessly, building up threads thousands of comments high in various forums. This argument was even promoted directly in the livestream chat.

Mu Yanxi hadn’t noticed these things at first. It was only when the number of comments in the livestream chat visibly decreased that she leaned forward to check the time. “Did everyone go to dinner?”

Yi Wulan reached out and held her chin, carefully outlining her lips with a lip gloss in her other hand. “Don’t move.”

Mu Yanxi pressed her lips together, obediently pulling her head back and giving Yi Wulan an ingratiating smile. “Don’t fill it in completely, it’ll make my mouth look big.”

Yi Wulan acknowledged with a sound and picked up a cotton swab from the side, carefully blending the color at the corners of Mu Yanxi’s mouth to create a layered effect. “How about this?”

Mu Yanxi looked in the mirror, very satisfied.

But she still said reluctantly, “I guess that’ll do. It’s passable.”

After her makeup was done, Mu Yanxi seemed to blossom like a peacock spreading its tail. Her mood in front of the camera improved considerably. She swung her legs and hopped off Yi Wulan’s desk, finally settling down properly to the side.

She went to spy on that group of anti-fans.

To see how those people online were slandering her.

There was only one cameraman in Yi Wulan’s study. Even though the documents on the desk were all closed tightly, the production team didn’t dare to install any extra cameras in Yi Wulan’s study.

If any secrets of the main group were leaked, the entire production team couldn’t afford the compensation.

Mu Yanxi gave the cameraman a warning look. The quick-witted cameraman immediately nodded twice, indicating that he wouldn’t film the contents of her phone screen, and consciously took two steps back.

The content of the few posts was more or less the same, undoubtedly based on stereotypes, thinking she was being too dramatic and that Yi Wulan’s tolerance must be fake.

Mu Yanxi wasn’t upset because they questioned her marriage, but because the underlying ideology in their words made her feel subtly annoyed.

The Qing Dynasty fell so many years ago. Can’t people have some egalitarian ideas? Does one person always have to be the obedient, sweet little wife?

Mu Yanxi suddenly understood the audience of the “Oily President” from the couple next door. Weren’t they these insecure men who had nothing better to do than seek a sense of existence online?

She recalled studying the Oily President’s recording before her own broadcast started. The man acted as if he had a noble bloodline, expecting his wife to serve him his meals, wishing she would kneel before him. At the time, Mu Yanxi couldn’t understand where his popularity came from.

She even once thought he was deliberately courting controversy to become famous.

It wasn’t until she saw these people’s comments… that the case was instantly solved.

If they have so much free time, why can’t they read more books or get a job at a factory? Why bring feudal, superstitious ideas of hierarchy online? It’s completely disrespectful to their wives, okay?

Mu Yanxi suddenly felt that she should be more considerate and respectful towards Yi Wulan. Even if Yi Wulan wasn’t a qualified “sweet little wife,” she still wanted to be with her!

They were a perfect match!

The little ancestor rarely felt guilty. She turned her head to look at Yi Wulan and began to reflect on her own actions just now. The smug little expression she had a moment ago instantly fell.

She hadn’t hidden her phone from Yi Wulan while scrolling. Yi Wulan had been sitting beside her the whole time. Seeing her expression, she leaned over and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” A sour feeling welled up in Mu Yanxi’s heart. She didn’t know how to tell Yi Wulan, so she said awkwardly, “I’ll be more considerate of you.”

Yi Wulan was taken aback, giving her a look of incomprehension. Of course, her expression didn’t change much; only Mu Yanxi could actually tell.

She glanced at Mu Yanxi’s screen and said calmly, “Don’t listen to their nonsense.”

The cameraman was worried Yi Wulan’s next sentence would be: Just delete it all later.

Fortunately, Yi Wulan didn’t say that.

Mu Yanxi still felt a little bad and decided to learn from the other guest couples on how to take care of her wife.

But when she switched the feed, she saw that the other couples were all in the kitchen. Some were helping each other, while others, like the Oily President, were sitting with their legs crossed, barking orders.

Mu Yanxi’s expression froze for a second. After a long moment of hesitation, she looked at Yi Wulan. “You can keep using the study. I’ll take the crew out to film something else.”

Yi Wulan glanced at the darkening sky outside. “Wait, what do you want for dinner?”

“We’ll talk about it later.” Mu Yanxi didn’t want to reveal her little plan. She waved a casual hand at Yi Wulan. “I still have a solo part to record. I’ll eat after I’m done. We can just go out if we have to.”

Yi Wulan nodded without objecting.

She had managed to escape filming for a peaceful afternoon nap, so it wouldn’t be difficult to slip out for dinner later.

Rongjia Entertainment probably wouldn’t let their president starve to death at home.

Perhaps because the netizens’ comments about her and Yi Wulan’s marriage being fake had struck a nerve, Mu Yanxi was determined to prove that she could also take care of Yi Wulan.

She completely ignored the fact that the “delicate wife” the netizens said needed to be taken care of was herself, not Yi Wulan.

Mu Yanxi, a person who had never lifted a finger in her life, walked into the kitchen full of confidence. After circling it a few times, she became visibly dejected.

Her intention was so obvious that even the anti-fans in the comments started giving her suggestions:

【I called you useless, and you’re really useless.】

【Have you really never been in a kitchen before? Have you wasted the last twenty-four years of your life?】

【Stop spinning, stop spinning, you’re making me dizzy. Why don’t you just order some takeout to get by?】

Mu Yanxi had originally planned to give up, but when she saw that comment, her competitive spirit inexplicably flared up.

What did they mean, “order some takeout to get by”?

Was she the kind of person who would cut corners when caring for Yi Wulan?

Besides, just because she hadn’t tried didn’t mean she couldn’t do it. Didn’t they know some people were just naturally talented?

Heh.

It’s just cooking, what’s the big deal?

Holding her breath, Mu Yanxi began to search for ingredients in the refrigerator.

Yi Wulan occasionally cooked, so the ingredients in the fridge were restocked daily. She looked at the fresh, diced beef inside and frowned at the sight of blood.

Forcing herself to endure her disgust for the bloody raw meat, she poured it into the sink and washed it several times.

Especially with the two raw tomatoes, she was so meticulous that she peeled the entire skin off by hand, bit by bit.

The tone of the comments, which had been teasing her, instantly changed:

【To put so much effort into cooking for President Yi, Mu Yanxi must really love her to death.】

【So why isn’t anyone reminding the little vase that it’s easy to peel tomatoes after scalding them in hot water?】

【I admit I just want to watch her peel them raw (joking).】

【Don’t get excited yet… I have a feeling this won’t go so smoothly.】

As expected, the anti-fans’ “my daughter is all grown up” sentimental moment had barely lasted a few seconds when they saw Mu Yanxi put the raw rice, beef cubes, tomato chunks, and a large handful of cheese directly into a special container.

After arranging it nicely, she was about to put it in the oven.

The comments paused for a moment, everyone feeling they had misjudged the situation.

Then, Mu Yanxi really opened the oven door.

The comments went wild: 【Hey, come back! Are you trying to make popcorn by putting raw rice in there?】

【The tomato and beef need to be stir-fried! Don’t you hate the smell of blood?】

【Help, help, I really believe the little vase comes from a rich family now. She really doesn’t know anything.】

But against all odds, Mu Yanxi really started heating it in the oven.

Halfway through, soft popping sounds came from inside.

Mu Yanxi glanced at it, paid it no mind, and continued washing other vegetables to make a salad.

There were many types of lettuce, and she washed each leaf meticulously, as if using a magnifying glass.

After she finished washing the lettuce leaves, the oven dinged. Fortunately, Mu Yanxi remembered to wear a special glove to take the dish out, otherwise she would have scared the people in the comments to death.

The comments flooded in:

【Even if she doesn’t read the comments, is the cameraman next to her blind? Why didn’t he remind her?】

【I seriously suspect the production team deliberately wants to see her make a fool of herself.】

【What’s wrong with my little vase ordering takeout! What business is it of yours! Mommy forbids you from ever entering the kitchen again!】

【Hiss… even though you worked hard and were very dedicated, hahaha, please, I’m begging you, never enter a kitchen again in this lifetime, okay?】

【You’re not really going to give this to President Yi to eat, are you? Be honest, did President Yi buy a lot of insurance? / I have reason to suspect your motive for murder (joking).】

Mu Yanxi stared at the tomato beef and cheese baked rice in her hands, her brow tightly furrowed. She looked at it for a long time before confirming that it was indeed something she had made.

The rice inside had popped like popcorn, and unfortunately, it happened just as the cheese was melting and stretching, creating a complete mess.

The beef cubes on the outer layer were all burnt. It was a mystery what temperature and time settings Mu Yanxi had chosen.

Mu Yanxi just felt gloomy and stifled.

She gave the cameraman a death glare and bared her teeth at him. “Why didn’t you remind me?”

The cameraman, for the sake of his salary, was utterly spineless. “I can’t cook. I thought you were doing a great job.”

Comments: 【SurvivalInstinct.jpg】

【Boss’sWifeFiringWarning.jpg】

Mu Yanxi felt it was necessary to explain. “I don’t fire people randomly.”

Comments: 【Mhm, mhm, you’re right.】

【You’d pass up such a good opportunity for personal revenge? Little vase, you’re not you anymore.】

“Firing people is Yi Wulan’s decision,” Mu Yanxi said with a couple of chuckles, her gaze returning to her baked rice.

She had finally entered the kitchen to surprise Yi Wulan, but this was the result. She didn’t even need to look to know the comments were all laughing at her.

Mu Yanxi was completely dejected. Just as she was about to try making another one, footsteps approached.

Yi Wulan appeared at the dining room entrance. Her gaze swept inside, a hint of surprise in her eyes. “What are you doing in the kitchen?”

Then she smelled the increasingly obvious burnt smell. Her gaze slowly moved down to the dining table in front of Mu Yanxi, where a box of blackish stuff was sitting.

It was vaguely an oven-safe container, holding food whose ingredients she couldn’t quite identify.

Mu Yanxi had clammed up the moment Yi Wulan entered, looking utterly wronged.

Yi Wulan’s gaze flickered between Mu Yanxi’s face and the box of stuff. Recalling Mu Yanxi’s mysterious behavior before leaving the study, she instantly understood.

A warm current flowed through her heart, as if it had been filled by something.

Yi Wulan pulled out the chair next to Mu Yanxi and took the box with a puzzled expression. “Are you baking cheese tofu?”

The white rice grains were slightly puffed from baking, scattered around the black beef cubes, and enveloped in various cheese strings. Didn’t it look just like tofu that had been burnt on the outside, with some of its contents splattering out?

Mu Yanxi: …

Mu Yanxi’s expression was indescribable, but the comments were laughing hysterically:

【Hahahaha, I told you President Yi wouldn’t be able to guess.】

【If President Yi can guess it, I’ll immediately renew my membership for a month.】

【How dare you! How dare you question what the little vase made!】

【Help, I think President Yi is going to have to kneel on a washboard.】

Mu Yanxi hadn’t checked her phone since a while ago. She slowly uttered, “This is tomato beef and cheese baked rice.”

Yi Wulan: …

A crack finally appeared in Yi Wulan’s usually composed expression. Her gaze fell on the baked rice again, and she couldn’t help but cough twice.

It was unclear whether she was choked by the burnt smell or shocked by Mu Yanxi’s words.

But Yi Wulan was never one to undermine Mu Yanxi. She praised her stiffly, “Mm, not bad.”

“…Really?” Mu Yanxi had always trusted Yi Wulan’s words. With Yi Wulan’s praise, she felt the dish didn’t look so bad after all. “But it didn’t look like this when I saw you make it last time.”

Yi Wulan nodded stiffly. “You’ve never cooked before. This is very good for your first try. See, the colors are quite rich, and it looks cooked through.”

It was rare for Mu Yanxi to be in the kitchen, and Yi Wulan knew not to pour cold water on her enthusiasm. As she spoke, she picked up the nearby chopsticks and took a piece of the shriveled tomato and cheese.

When she put it in her mouth, she could even taste the few grains of raw popcorn mixed in. She swallowed it without a change in expression. “Mm, it’s okay.”

Despite her words, Yi Wulan had barely chewed twice, almost swallowing it whole.

Mu Yanxi’s pitiful bit of self-esteem was instantly soothed. She excitedly snatched the chopsticks from Yi Wulan’s hand to have a taste. “Is it really that good?”

But Yi Wulan didn’t let her, raising her hand to dodge and moving the baked rice to her own side. “Didn’t you make this for me?”

After saying that, she swallowed another exposed piece of tomato.

The comments were dumbfounded, watching Yi Wulan’s actions with their mouths agape:

【I believe this show really has no script. President Yi is risking her life for love.】

【Help, help, eating that thing must be a real test of love. I admit I’m jealous of Mu Yanxi.】

【I’m going crazy!! She’s so good at coaxing her!! President Yi, you deserve to have a wife!!】

While Yi Wulan was eating, Mu Yanxi finally opened her phone, intending to receive the admiring gazes of her anti-fans, only to see these comments.

Mu Yanxi: …

Mu Yanxi’s hand trembled, and she quickly grabbed Yi Wulan’s chopsticks as they went for another bite. “Forget it, forget it, don’t eat it.”

Yi Wulan glanced at the comments. “It just doesn’t look very good. The taste is actually okay.”

This time, not only Mu Yanxi, but even the comments fell silent.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Yi Wulan put down her chopsticks and rubbed Mu Yanxi’s right ear. “It’s fine, you already did a great job.”

After a pause, she even gave a specific example: “Back then, your sister volunteered to buy a pressure cooker in our dorm. She wanted to steam the zongzi she’d specially brought back from a service area, but she forgot to add water and ruined it on her first try.”

Mu Yanxi: … “Really?”

Yi Wulan nodded, her expression not looking like she was faking it.

The people in the comments were all listening with pricked ears:

【What kind of filter does President Yi have for the little vase? She can even praise something like this?】

【My best friend works at Rongjia, and according to her, getting a single word of praise from President Yi is harder than climbing to heaven.】

【Isn’t Mu Yanxi’s sister the president of Xinyu Bank? So her sister is like this too?】

【So not adding water is a family tradition for the sisters?】

【Am I the only one curious about the fact that President Yi and the little vase’s sister were dorm mates?】

Mu Yanxi happened to see that comment and replied, “Yes, they were classmates.”

The troublemaking sourpusses in the comments immediately became arrogant:

【I’m imagining a grand, bloody drama of a wealthy family. This is a love triangle, right? Right? Right?】

But some of Mu Yanxi’s anti-fans were there to defend her: 【During the financial summit last time, Xinyu was the first to stand up for the little vase. Get lost, you rumor-mongering dogs.】

Mu Yanxi had only been away for a moment, and the comments were already in a chaotic argument. She said faintly, “Are you trying to drive a wedge between me and my sister so you can inherit my fortune?”

The comments instantly burst into laughter at her joke. The topic somehow shifted, and they started asking about how she and Yi Wulan met.

Just then, the meal Mu Yanxi had ordered arrived.

Mu Yanxi was very self-aware about her cooking skills. To prevent herself from failing and going hungry, she had indeed ordered food in advance.

Yi Wulan proactively went to the door to get the food. Mu Yanxi seized the opportunity to quickly and deftly throw the box of dark baked rice into the trash to destroy the evidence.

After the colorful and fragrant seafood platter was placed on the table, Mu Yanxi gave some to the cameraman on the side and then started her eating broadcast.

“Don’t you all know it was a business marriage? Our two families have a good relationship, so we got engaged. Do you need any other reason?”

“The first time we met? I had low blood sugar during my high school opening ceremony. She was back as an outstanding graduate and happened to find me on the side of the road. Yes, it was just that fateful!”

“Tch! You think Yi Wulan is like you guys, getting into puppy love? I was just her friend’s younger sister, okay?”

The comments collectively expressed their disbelief at this statement: 【She saw you as a younger sister, but you didn’t necessarily see her that way (joking).】

【I don’t believe you could control yourself.】

【During puberty, I had zero resistance to older sisters.】

Mu Yanxi’s thoughts had been exposed, but she stubbornly denied it. She poked Yi Wulan’s arm to get her help. “Yi Wulan, you tell them. Tell them we were completely innocent back then!”

Yi Wulan picked out the roe from the crab shell in her hand, dipped it in sauce, and fed it to Mu Yanxi’s mouth. Mu Yanxi bit into it without looking, not forgetting to urge, “Say it! Hurry up and prove my innocence!”

Yi Wulan looked at the camera. “You’re not wrong…”

Before her voice fell, Mu Yanxi, mortified, tried to cover Yi Wulan’s mouth with her hand, which was covered in the fishy smell of seafood.

At the same time, the comments that heard this exploded with laughter:

【Hahahaha, the person involved has spoken. Little vase, just admit it.】

【Is there anything our noble VIP users can’t know?】

【Ooh, ooh, ooh, her ears turned red after being called out. There’s nothing wrong with puppy love. Who hasn’t had a crush?】

But just then, Yi Wulan took down Mu Yanxi’s hand. Facing the camera, she shed her usual coldness and distance for a rare moment and slowly said the second half of her sentence: “Later, I didn’t see her as a younger sister.”

Didn’t see her as a younger sister, so that means…!

Mu Yanxi’s ears turned bright red, and her facial expression management completely failed. She stared blankly at Yi Wulan, unable to recover for a long time.

It wasn’t that Mu Yanxi didn’t know this. All those years, Yi Wulan had been exceptionally indulgent with her. Even a fool could see it wasn’t simple care for a friend’s younger sister.

But precisely because Yi Wulan’s “later” didn’t specify a time, it gave Mu Yanxi the absurd illusion that perhaps Yi Wulan had fallen for her at first sight.

But Mu Yanxi quickly dismissed this point herself.

After all, she was only sixteen at the time, and Yi Wulan wasn’t a pervert. It was enough for her to know that Yi Wulan came to like her later.

After all, for someone as outstanding as Yi Wulan to be so deeply in love with her, suffering from unrequited love for years…

Mu Yanxi felt she could brag about this for a lifetime!

However, compared to Mu Yanxi, the comments were clearly more shocked and found it more unbelievable.

They had thought that Mu Yanxi having a crush on Yi Wulan for so many years before their business marriage was already outrageous enough.

But it turned out, Yi Wulan did too?

If you two don’t get married, who will? You deserve to be tied together for a lifetime!

Just as the audience was sighing over how other people’s partners could be cultivated from a young age, their gazes fell back on the livestream, and they discovered that the two chairs, which had been separate at the beginning, had moved closer and closer at some point.

And because Mu Yanxi seemed incapable of sitting independently, she kept sticking closer and closer to Yi Wulan. At this moment, her right foot under the table was even resting on Yi Wulan’s leg.

Mu Yanxi was so busy blushing that she didn’t even notice her own little habit of unconsciously hiding in Yi Wulan’s arms when she was shy.

【???】

【I looked away for a few seconds, and the little vase has already snuggled up to President Yi?】

【Don’t just rest your foot on her, you might as well just sit in her lap.】

【What are you single dogs yelling about! This is called love!】

【It’s not that I want to ship them, it’s that the main couple is force-feeding me this ship!】