I want to marry my career.
Canât let the fans down.
Avoid being love-obsessed.
These statements, comparable to trending search keywords, had three coming out in one sentence from Jiang Lai.
She garnered a lot of goodwill.
Coupled with her various performances in this issue of the program, combined with the contrasting clips from the previous issue, the strong contrast pulled a wave of sympathy.
In the previous issue, she was lifeless, oppressive, and on the verge of collapse.
In this issue, sheâs full of energy, cheerful, and progressive.
Obviously, sheâs using her career to numb herself after walking out of heartbreak.
Sister Fang, while happy with so many appearances, also felt a bit of heartache.
Because she knows Jiang Lai.
How much had she sacrificed in the first half of her life for that jerk?
She also understood better how much grievance and pain Jiang Lai endured behind her full-on effort in the program.
The more it was like this, the more Sister Fang felt the need to lead Jiang Lai out of the shadow of that jerk, to let her stand in the center stage, shine brightly, thoroughly transform, and make that damned jerk regret!
On the other side, Little Buding told Jiang Lai all about the online hype.
"Your fans and haters are almost equal in number now, but haters are also fans, they love you so much."
They can scold but others canât.
All in all, Jiang Lai garnered some goodwill and incidentally gained some career points unrelated to the task.
"Hmm, keep it up and shine in the industry."
"Wow, itâs the first time seeing you do something unrelated to a task."
Jiang Lai sighed.
"Sometimes when I say youâre dumb, itâs truly not exaggerated. Whatâs the best way to make a jerk regret?"
By becoming someone unreachable to him, wonât he naturally regret it."
Otherwise?
Continuing to fawn over him hoping for him to return?
Forget it.
If it were that easy to win him back, the original person wouldnât have been so desperate for so long, ending up with nothing.
The morning task was considered over.
Shang Qingrao was judged as failing the task for missing one ingredient, and lunch was decided by the program team.
She smiled and said it was okay, and instead comforted Murong Yan.
"As long as Iâm not starving, itâs just right for my diet."
"Youâre already slim enough."
"Arenât all actors like this? One day of indiscipline, and all efforts go to waste.
Iâm not like Jiang Lai, who doesnât gain weight no matter how much she eats."
There was a tinge of envy in this tone.
[Donât work so hard, seeing it makes my heart ache]
[Why are there still female artists in the entertainment circle playing the foodie card? I damn well donât believe anyone can eat a lot and not gain weight]
[Please donât cue Jiang Lai, okay? Mind your own business]
[My husband is spinning crazy on the bike, how many calories canât he burn off?]
Online now, every time someone scolds Jiang Lai, fans would stand up for her in the comments.
Shang Qingrao naturally didnât know about the current online dynamic.
She understands that a female actress like Jiang Lai, who is at a high point, can have her flaws magnified countless times with just a few suggestive words.
She is not doing it out of envy or jealousy, sheâs just seeking work opportunities for herself.
After all, opportunities are meant to be fought for, arenât they?
That Jiang Lai had been smooth sailing all the way before, wasnât it because she had Murong Yan, a big tree, to lean on?
Since she already enjoyed so many benefits and treatment in the industry, isnât it right to pay a bit of the price now?
Looking at Murong Yan, he didnât know what he wanted for so many years.
Now, that he can so firmly choose herself, Shang Qingrao is naturally moved too.
But being moved canât stop her from continuing with the task.
She has feelings for him, and thatâs enough.
Thinking of this, Shang Qingrao looked at Liang Qizhou.
The only one among the four male guests who is unmoved by either sweet talk or bribes.
Clearly giving her some special attention, but these cares really donât carry any personal agenda.
This made Shang Qingrao a bit troubled.
But itâs fortunate that the show still has several episodes, as long as the time spent together is long enough, she is confident to make Liang Qizhou fall in love with her.
Just like all the men sheâs met before.
"Okay, the task is over, now letâs announce everyoneâs task completion status."
"Group one: Shang Qingrao, Gao Yanwei, task not completed.
Group two: Jiang Lai, Murong Yan, task completed, and marked eight locations.
Group three: Zhou Luo, Liang Qizhou, task completed, and marked two locations.
Group four: Coco, Hu Peiyuan, task completed."
After announcing, the director sighed and looked at the girlsâ group.
"Task not completed, so, your coconut chicken is gone.
So your lunch for today is on the table next to you."
The camera then shifts, revealing a table with a bag of plain buns and a bag of pickled vegetables next to it.
Gao Yanwei saw this and her face turned dark, finally couldnât hold it and exploded on the spot.
"I found the ingredients I was responsible for, why should I also accept the punishment?"
Shang Qingrao hung her head, eyes showing some guilt.
"Iâm sorry, Weiwei, itâs my fault for not finding all the ingredients in time."
Gao Yanwei looked at her guilty and aggrieved expression and just laughed in anger.
"It is your fault, we were collaborating separately, you didnât complete your part, and now I have to eat pickles with you!"
After Gao Yanwei finished speaking, tears started falling.
Shang Qingrao looked helpless, her eyes watered as she gazed towards the male guests.
Murong Yan was the first to speak.
"Why are you crying? Itâs just one lunch, I wonât eat mine, Iâll give it to you."
Gao Yanwei felt extremely wronged.
She had a lot to say but didnât dare to say anything harsh to Murong Yan.
"Itâs not the lunch that I care about, I... I was in the sun for so long, and in the end, we are the ones who lost!"
"Is winning or losing that important? Donât cry, weâll share our lunch with you too."
Zhou Luo also spoke up.
Intending to comfort, but what he said made Gao Yanwei feel even worse.
"Winning or losing... weâve been losing all along, sob sob... Iâve been losing all the way."
Shang Qingrao choked up.
"Sorry, next time, next time you team up with Jiang Lai, sorry."
[Damn, whatâs wrong with Gao Yanwei, crying over losing!]
[Crying all the time, whatâs there to cry about, itâs really annoying]
[Feels like Shang Qingrao is so manipulative, she didnât complete the task yet acts like sheâs being bullied]
[Whatâs Jiang Lai got to do with this, why so competitive making everyone under pressure]
[Whatâs wrong with you, itâs not related to Jiang Lai!]
The director couldnât stand it anymore, and gave in.
"The guests can share ingredients among each other, see what youâre missing, and negotiate with other guests for a swap."
Just after he spoke, Murong Yan directly dumped the contents of his bag out.
"Take what you need."
What Shang Qingrao was missing was a spice unique to the island, not easy to buy, the recipe required a hundred grams.
Fortunately, in front of her was a package of exactly a hundred grams.
Shang Qingrao looked at the spice and naturally shook her head.
"I donât need it, what about you if you give it to us?"