CH 12

Cheng Qing’s group still needed to buy pork and seafood so their goal was not simple, and along with the fact that the three celebrities had never gone grocery shopping before, left Cheng Qing to rely solely on herself. 

Fortunately, they’ve all been very cooperative since the fencing tournament, saving Cheng Qing a lot of hassle. So when she called out, the three came running over to her side obediently. 

Luo Xi proudly flipped her hair as she took the closest spot beside Cheng Qing. 

Sensing someone standing beside her, Cheng Qing subconsciously cast a sideways glance to see who it was. 

When she realized that it was Luo Xi, she smiled softly to herself. But after looking closer, she spotted a stray hair on Luo Xi’s cheek. 

Cheng Qing leaned forward to tuck the strand behind Luo Xi’s ear and was close enough to smell a pleasant fragrance. 

Looking at Luo Xi with gentle eyes, she said, “Your hair, it smells nice.” 

“What are you doing!” Luo Xi’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed.

Cheng Qing chuckled at her shyness and said, “The result of your thousand yuan hair care is really extraordinary.”

Screams came and went from behind. 

When Luo Xi heard what she said, she became timid and hugged her hair tightly, turning her back to Cheng Qing.

Cheng Qing saw that she was shy and just smiled, not wanting to bother her. Returning her gaze back to the fresh meat she asked Luo Xi, “Do you have any favorites?”

‘Yes! Fish is my favorite!’ but Luo Xi hesitated for a moment before turning around and awkwardly saying, “Crab.”

Cheng Qing raised an eyebrow, “You like to eat crab?” 

Luo Xi nodded, “Of course.” 

“Then I’ll buy two?” Cheng Qing asked as she narrowed her eyes.

“Mhm…” 

Cheng Qing grabbed two crabs while muttering to herself, “Didn’t your followers say that you like to eat fish?” 

Luo Xi’s face lit up after hearing this and approached Cheng Qing with a cheeky smile, “You really pay attention to my super talk!”

Cheng Qing choked, “Before I came here, I read everyone’s super talk,” she placed her index finger on Luo Xi’s forehead, pushing her away.

“Hmph! I don’t believe you.” Luo Xi crossed her arms and pouted her lips. 

Cheng Qing swiftly held the crab in front of Luo Xi’s eyes while revealing a soft smile, “Still want to eat crab?”

Luo Xi choked, “Uh, yeah,” she was powerless when Cheng Qing smiled like this and sulked when she couldn’t get the answer she was looking for.

After watching the squabble, Liu Suoyu enviously asked, “Teacher, why don’t you ask me what I like to eat?” 

Liu Suoyu’s remark amused Cheng Qing and made her laugh, “Alright, then what do you two like to eat?”

“I love shrimp!” Liu Suoyu practically salivated at the slightest mention of his favorite dish and lost himself in his own world. Lin Shandie gave him a side-eyed glance[1] before saying, “Fish is the best!”

Cheng Qing chuckled, “Okay then! I’ll get that for both of you.” She turned to face the shelves and began selecting a variety of fresh products while smiling to herself.

Cheng Qing was the type of person who would go out and choose the ingredients for her own cooking, so she knew which foods tasted the best. 

After hearing what her students liked, Cheng Qing swiftly selected the highest-quality ingredients and placed them in the shopping cart.

She also recognized which crabs to choose, regardless of whether they were female or male crabs, she simply picked them up to have a look and tapped on them. 

Luo Xi had been watching her the entire time and after Cheng Qing finished choosing out the crab, Luo Xi would happily take it with both hands and gently place it in the cart. 

Throughout the whole process, the celebrities unknowingly garnered a group of people behind them. Fortunately, everyone was rational `enough to not interfere with their task. 

After several minutes had passed, Cheng Qing clasped her hands and finally said, “All right, we should have enough seafood, pork, rice, grain, oil……” Taking out the task list, she methodically recited the items and after ensuring that nothing was overlooked, she placed her hands on the heavy shopping cart that Luo Xi pushed and said, “Let me handle this for you.” 

Luo Xi happily let Cheng Qing push the cart and walked cheerfully beside her, taking a small bounce every step.

A crowd of screams were triggered and caused Cheng Qing to look back at the followers who cheered one after another.

She couldn’t help but ask Liu Suoyu, “Are those your fans? They’re so crazy.”

Liu Suoyu was an innocent bystander who ended up getting shot. He snapped out of his food daze and complained, “If you let go, I think they’ll be even crazier.” 

Cheng Qing was stunned and momentarily confused, but she didn’t take it seriously.

After paying their bills at the cash register, the group exited the supermarket. They spotted Zhang Lingling and the others loading their items into the car as they strolled through the parking lot. 

As the group passed by, Cheng Qing overheard Ye Lingyun telling jokes to Li Mingyao and had a moment of recollection over the plot. 

She remembered that Ye Lingyun was a charming angel who made everyone laugh in the story, and when she occasionally showed a good attitude, everyone would give way.

However, Luo Xi was different; she was arrogant. People who refuse to lower their heads even when they know they’re wrong are naturally unlikeable, and throughout the novel, Luo Xi had various conflicts with Ye Lingyun over Li Mingyao.

When Cheng Qing saw this scene, she couldn’t help but glance back at Luo Xi. She didn’t want Luo Xi to become the novel’s miserable character, but she also didn’t know what to do. 

Cheng Qing could only stay in the program for a little more than 2 weeks so there wasn’t much she could accomplish in such little time.

While Cheng Qing walked through the parking lot lost in her thoughts, she noticed an arcade just a short distance from the car. 

A thought suddenly occurred to her as she turned around and asked Luo Xi, “See that over there?” Her finger pointed to a large claw machine near the entrance of the arcade. 

Luo Xi followed closely behind Cheng Qing so she became startled to see her turn around and look at her. 

“Shall I catch one for you?” 

In the end, Cheng Qing decided, ‘Even though I can’t do much, I’ll just treat her the best that I can!’

When Luo Xi saw the claw machine and returned her gaze, she couldn’t help but smile as she excitedly said, “Okay!”

Cheng Qing brought the shopping cart to the entrance and let the assistant director watch over it while Liu Suoyu and Lin Shandie explored the arcade’s small foyer area. 

She approached the claw machine and traced the edges of the button while testing the machine’s lever.

Luo Xi skipped up and down as she followed Cheng Qing but asked, “Aren’t you out of money?” Cheng Qing just smiled as she pulled out cash from her pocket and shook it in front of her face, “I’ll use my own.” 

Luo Xi wore a prideful smile and giggled, “Qingqing, thank you.” Good! It’s better for your money to be spent on me!

When Luo Xi acted like a baby, her tone was so sweet that it made people feel like their hearts would melt, so how can such a lovely person be hated by everyone?

Cheng Qing inserted the coin and the machine’s claw glided to the position under her control. She was able to grab a blue-colored stuffed animal and move it a few centimeters to the left before suddenly, it was gone! 

Cheng Qing furrowed her eyebrows and tried again, but the outcome was not satisfactory.

After catching nothing for about 10 more times, Cheng Qing turned around and asked Luo Xi, “Shall I just buy you one?” 

Luo Xi held back a smile and cheekily shook her head, “No, I want you to catch me one from the claw machine. ”

Cheng Qing scratched the side of her head feeling a bit embarrassed, “I never thought the claw machine would be so difficult.” 

If you’re in a hurry to catch a stuffed animal yourself, it’s better to buy one instead.

“Then when will you catch me one?” asked Luo Xi.

Cheng Qing took out her wallet while approaching the counter and replied nonchalantly, “When the chance comes!” She just didn’t want to play with that stupid machine anymore.

At the time, Cheng Qing didn’t expect her promise to come true and that in the future, she would actually do it.

***

The groups worked until the evening when they finished their tasks and returned one by one. 

Kong Mingyan saw several cars pull up to the driveway and accompanied the cameraman to the villa’s gate to potentially capture any interesting scenes.

As soon as the cars parked, three groups of celebrities stepped out and onto the pavement. 

Cheng Qing helped Luo Xi get out of the vehicle but not before Luo Xi turned around and grabbed a large stuffed polar bear from behind her.

Kong Mingyan: “…” A bear?

Earlier, when the team was at the arcade, Luo Xi became overjoyed when Cheng Qing agreed to purchase her a stuffed animal. She walked over to the shelf and picked out the priciest and largest one she could find. 

Under Cheng Qing’s bewildered stare, Luo Xi happily smiled as she brought a polar bear, about the size of a human, to the checkout counter. 

Cheng Qing sighed to herself as she handed the money to the clerk.

After buying the stuffed animal, the group returned with the groceries and loaded them into the car. When they finished, Luo Xi made space for the bear to sit beside her, causing her to lean closer to Cheng Qing’s side. 

At this moment, Cheng Qing wondered to herself, isn’t this just a waste of money to only suffer in the end? However, when she watched Luo Xi hug the bear and circle around gleefully, Cheng Qing felt that it was not such a bad decision. 

Kong Mingyan couldn’t understand and asked the assistant director, “Where did that big plushie come from?”

“Oh that? Cheng Qing bought it.” 

Kong Mingyan stared unbelievingly at the assistant director, “With her own money?” 

“Yep.”

Kong Mingyan rubbed his chin and stared at the stuffed animal incredulously, “Just what is she planning to do?” 

The assistant director simply laughed, “Probably…to just have fun with Luo Xi!”

Kong Mingyan looked at the two girls who walked beside each other, narrowed his eyes, and slowly smiled. ‘Hmm…Is that so?’

Thus, the next day, determined to increase the number of [Promise Eternal] cp fans to over 160,000. 

He decided for the celebrities to play in the next day’s broadcast——Truth or Dare.