Thousands of Heartbeats

The next day, almost at noon, Yan Qiuzhi woke up and immediately looked for Chen Lunan.

She leaned against the doorway of the study without saying a word, just staring at Chen Lunan. The implication was particularly clear—teach me to cook!

Chen Lunan glanced at the time; half-past eleven, quite punctual.

He looked at the assistant still reporting work on the video call, "Let's talk in the afternoon."

The company assistant: "Huh?"

Chen Lunan lowered his head to tidy his sleeves, folding them upwards in a deliberate manner, "Let's take a break. We will continue at two."

After saying that, he directly hung up the video call.

Yan Qiuzhi, who heard what Chen Lunan had spoken, waited for the person to come out and followed him like a little tail.

For anything he promised her, Chen Lunan seemed to always fulfill them.

"Were you busy just now?"

"En."

Yan Qiuzhi was curious, "Was it the company or the studio?"

Chen Lunan had his own independent studio, but if it was the company, it should be one of the companies he was investing in.

"The company."

Hearing this, Yan Qiuzhi didn't ask further.

She figured he was not in hurry. If Chen Lunan were in a hurry, he wouldn't have agreed to teach her last night. In Chen Lunan's eyes, nothing was more important than his work.

Because he was teaching Yan Qiuzhi how to cook, Chen Lunan told the housekeeper not to come today.

The two entered the kitchen. As soon as they entered, Yan Qiuzhi took the initiative to open the refrigerator.

Noticing her ingratiating actions, Chen Lunan raised his eyes and looked over, "What do you want to learn?"

Yan Qiuzhi looked at the vegetables in the fridge and said after a while, "Tomato and egg soup... this seems to be the easiest."

"......."

Tomato and egg soup was indeed easy, but in teaching it, Chen Lunan cut the tomatoes, beat the eggs, and even poured the oil. Yan Qiuzhi's only role was to wait for him to add water, cover the pot, squat weakly and helplessly beside it until it was cooked, then shout for Chen Lunan to return from the living room to come to the kitchen and present the finished product.

Oh, Yan Qiuzhi also did a bit of sprinkling chopped green onions work.

She doesn't eat green onions but likes the fragrance, so when cooking, she usually cuts them into sections for easy removal.

After hearing Yan Qiuzhi talk about her cooking learning process, Shen Muqing laughed until she shed tears.

She laughed heartily, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes and asked, "Why don't you just let Chen Lunan do everything?"

Yan Qiuzhi glared at her angrily, "If you laugh again, we're done being friends."

Shen Muqing chuckled a few times, "Alright, alright, I won't laugh anymore."

She looked at the person on the phone and couldn't help but smile, "Didn't Chen Lunan mock you?"

"Not explicitly," Yan Qiuzhi replied. But the way Chen Lunan looked at her, it was like he was looking at someone with intellectual deficiency. He probably never thought that someone could be so clumsy in the kitchen.

Thinking of Chen Lunan's gaze in the kitchen, Yan Qiuzhi felt a bit embarrassed.

Her once bright and intelligent image was ruined in an instant.

She shouldn't have gone down this self-destructive path.

Shen Muqing laughed, "But Chen Lunan seems to treat you quite well."

Yan Qiuzhi rolled her eyes, "Yes, very well. He finally drove me out of the kitchen. How nice."

Shen Muqing: "Hahaha!"

After laughing for a while, she became serious, "Actually, it's fine. If you can't cook, you can't cook. There will definitely be more than just you participating in the recording."

She earnestly advised, "If you really can't, just do some dishwashing or vegetable cutting with everyone else. You can handle that, right?"

Yan Qiuzhi nodded.

Worrying was useless. She couldn't learn it at the last minute anyway.

She was someone who knew when to give up. If she couldn't learn it, she would give up. There was no need to struggle.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the variety show recording.

Yan Qiuzhi and Zhu Zhu flew to City C. The variety show was called Slow Life, a simple and inclusive title.

The recording location was a beautiful small village near City C, close to the mountains and waters, with a group of lovely people residing in it. It wasn't a tourist attraction, but it excelled in simplicity and uniqueness.

This recording for Yan Qiuzhi was not for the first episode but somewhere in the middle.

After getting off the plane, the program team sent a car to pick her up.

Two cars arrived. Yan Qiuzhi and Zhu Zhu had to be separated at the airport.

After getting into the car, Yan Qiuzhi received a mission: talk to the camera, be a bit lively.

Yan Qiuzhi smiled, looking up at the camera next to her.

"Is it recording now?"

She murmured to herself, "It's so cold here; it feels much colder than City A."

She turned her head and pointed to the scenery outside the window, "But the scenery is beautiful, and the air is very clear."

Variety shows are edited before broadcast. After talking to herself for a while, Yan Qiuzhi asked the cameraman sitting in the passenger seat, "Am I done?"

The cameraman smiled, "You're done."

Yan Qiuzhi sighed in relief, "Can I inquire about who else is participating in this episode besides me?"

"You can't," the cameraman replied.

Seeing her disappointed expression, the cameraman added, "Including you, there are four artists in total. I can only tell you about two of them."

Yan Qiuzhi raised an eyebrow, "Which two?"

"Mu Xin and Shao Yue."

Yan Qiuzhi knew Shao Yue. The two of them had collaborated on a TV drama last year. She played the infatuated supporting female role, deeply in love with the male lead, who was played by Shao Yue. At that time, there were many fans hoping that the two of them would end up together, and occasionally, she could still see fans lamenting about it.

Bringing the two of them together again in a variety show could be seen as a long time coming.

Yan Qiuzhi didn't expect the program team to be so clever, inviting a pair of male and female leads who had a BE* in the drama.

Indeed, this show had a high-profile lineup.

As for Mu Xin, Yan Qiuzhi didn't know much about her. She searched on her phone and found out that Mu Xin was a member of a domestic girl group, known for her playful and cute style, making her a goddess for many otaku.

The car wound its way through winding mountain roads, approximately nine curves and eighteen bends, crossing many beautiful sceneries before finally arriving at the destination.

The car could only stop at the entrance of the village. Yan Qiuzhi got off with her luggage, asked a passerby for directions, and then walked inside.

Slow Life had a beautifully decorated wooden house and a courtyard here.

To avoid affecting the normal life of the locals, it was built in a bit secluded corner.

It took Yan Qiuzhi more than ten minutes to get there. She knocked on the door before entering.

As soon as she entered, Yan Qiuzhi spotted Mu Xin and Shao Yue, who had arrived early.

They all greeted each other friendly and introduced themselves.

Yan Qiuzhi was dressed very conservatively, wrapped up tightly in a down jacket, showing no sign of being on a variety show.

Looking at her, Mu Xin, with a particularly sweet mouth, called out, "Sister Qiuzhi, did you come alone?"

Yan Qiuzhi nodded, "Yes, did you both come together?"

Shao Yue nodded, saying, "We were on the same flight."

The program team had arranged the flights after consulting with them. Yan Qiuzhi understood.

"I heard the cameraman say that there is another artist coming. Has he arrived?"

"No."

Mu Xin said, "We are also waiting."

Yan Qiuzhi and the regular guests exchanged introductions. In reality, everyone knew in advance that there would be special guests coming here to record, but with the cameras rolling, they all put on a polite and surprised demeanor.

After the introductions, everyone gathered to chat.

Xu Song looked at them and smiled, "Have you all had lunch?"

"No."

All three of them replied in unison.

Xu Song: "…...."

He smiled kindly, "What do you want to eat? I'll whip up something for you all."

"Noodles!!"

"Yes, yes, Teacher, we want noodles. Any kind of noodles will do."

"Yes, anything is fine."

In addition to Xu Song, there were three other regular guests: Xu Song's wife, Tong Shuning, a documentary director in the industry who had now retired; Xu Kaishi, a senior host; and Yu Wei, a popular actor in the industry.

Amid everyone's cheers, Xu Song and his wife went to cook noodles for them.

At first, Yan Qiuzhi wasn't very hungry, but after smelling the delicious aroma from the kitchen, her stomach rumbled.

Several people wanted to help in the kitchen but were kicked out.

Yan Qiuzhi was led to put away her luggage when Mu Xin said, "Sister Qiuzhi, you'll be sleeping with me tonight."

Yan Qiuzhi nodded, "Sure."

After the two had put away their things, Yan Qiuzhi circled the second floor. Before she could go downstairs, she heard Mu Xin's scream, who had already gone downstairs.

Standing in the corridor, Yan Qiuzhi subconsciously looked down.

At a glance, Yan Qiuzhi understood the source of Mu Xin's excitement.

"Teacher Chen! Is the last special guest you?"

Chen Lunan, wearing the same down jacket as Yan Qiuzhi, stood in the courtyard, exuding an elegant aura. In response to everyone's screams, he smiled and nodded slightly, "Yes."

Addressing everyone, he said, "Hello, everyone. Am I late?"

Mu Xin kept screaming, holding her blushing face in excitement, "No, not at all."

God knows, her favorite actor is Chen Lunan. She never thought that one day she could record a program with him. What a dream come true!

Even Shao Yue was surprised, "Didn't expect Teacher Chen to come."

He extended his hand and shook hands gently with Chen Lunan.

Chen Lunan smiled and was about to speak when Mu Xin remembered something. She turned to the corridor and shouted at Yan Qiuzhi, "Sister Qiuzhi! Teacher Chen is here! Come down quickly!"

"........"

Yan Qiuzhi, who couldn't escape in time, met Chen Lunan's gaze as Mu Xin's voice echoed through the corridor.