āI must be one of the very, very, very few people who know Jujuās real name,ā Yuan Bai thought.
āIt feels so great to know something that other people donāt!ā
He was beaming all by himself, and a curious Jiang Qiuqiu couldnāt help but ask, "Why are you so happy all of a sudden?"
"Because of you!"
Yuan Bai was absolutely beaming. "Today has been a dream come true!"
He just happened to come home, smelled something delicious and wanted to scrounge a bowl of soup, and then he suddenly saw Juju.
Not only did he see her, but he even got to eat a bowl of soup she made herself, right here at his house.
Besides eating the soup, he also got to say hello to Juju, meet her face-to-face, learn her real name, and evenā
"Maybe I can even get your terminal ID today!"
He made no effort to hide his adoration for Jiang Qiuqiu. Seeing his open and direct enthusiasm, Qiuqiu couldnāt help but smile along with him.
She said, "You donāt have to say āmaybeā about my terminal ID. Itās a definite yes for today."
With that, she displayed her personal terminal barcode. Yuan Bai froze for only a second before immediately adding Qiuqiu as a friend.
Once the friend request was accepted, Yuan Bai put his terminal away.
The two chatted as they went for a stroll in the garden.
Yuan Baiās questions were mostly about her livestream. They covered all sorts of topics, making it clear that he was a die-hard fan.
"For the next category showdown, Juju, what dish are you planning to make?"
"I havenāt decided on that yetā"
"What!" Yuan Bai was shocked. "You just decide what to cook at the last minute?"
"Not exactly," Jiang Qiuqiu said. "Iāll have a lot of dishes in mind, and then Iāll decide which one to make on the spot."
"Oh, I see." āSo thereās no way to predict what sheāll make,ā he thought.
In that caseā
"What dishes will be in tomorrowās shop display?"
Jiang Qiuqiu had already prepared for this one. "It should be changfen, Bibi Beast Meatballs, and fried gugu cutlets."
These were the three dishes that had made the most encore appearances.
Anyone who had ever staked out her food display was familiar with these three items. Yuan Bai loved changfen, so he was delighted to hear it would be available. Still, a question had been nagging at him. "Juju, can I ask you something about the shop display?"
"You donāt have to answer if itās too personal."
"Itās fine, go ahead and ask."
"These three dishes always appear in the display the most often. Is it because you really enjoy making them, or becauseā" Yuan Bai cleared his throat. "Theyāre easier to make?"
Mmm, that was a probing question.
Jiang Qiuqiu didnāt hide the truth. "Itās a bit of both, but the deciding factor is that theyāre less work and easy to make in large batches."
"Okay, I get it! We fans completely understand. Itās already tiring to prepare that many items. If you made things that were too complicated, it would be too hard on you, Juju!"
Speaking of fans, Yuan Bai went on to tell Jiang Qiuqiu a lot of fun stories from the fan group.
He told her about how they fought off haters in the early days, with a group of the older fans posing as moderators to ban troll accounts. He also shared how they would sometimes trick new fans, telling them to go to the shop display to keep them from snatching up the limited viewer spots, and all the fun they had organizing votes for her.
Jiang Qiuqiu listened intently, occasionally telling Yuan Bai, "Thank you all so much."
The time spent on their walk flew by. As the sky began to darken, Mrs. Aiāer finished her examination of Mr. Yuanās Spirit Sea. The pickup time for Jiang Qiuqiuās private hovercar was approaching, which meant it was time for her to head home.
Yuan Bai, incredibly reluctant to see her go, waved goodbye to his idol.
Mr. Yuan, also full of reluctance and with tears welling in his eyes, said goodbye to Jiang Qiuqiu.
And how could he not have tears in his eyes? Before he could welcome the young lady back again, heād have to get through a whole crate of Nutrient Liquid first!