Chapter 24

Hot pot, a food loved by both young and old, was not only delicious but also convenient. All it took was a packet of hot pot seasoning to solve any problem. It was one of the few dishes that Zuo Mingran could confidently make.

Zuo Mingran glanced at Yan Yunyang, thinking, "If you're not going to cook, can't I do it myself?"

She took a half-step to the side, intending to grab the kitchen utensils herself. However, Yan Yunyang seemed to have anticipated her plan and blocked her way, showing no intention of giving up the kitchen.

Frustration welled up within Zuo Mingran, but Yan Yunyang acted as if he hadn't noticed her expression and calmly said, "I'm not very hungry anyway."

"Wait, wait," Zuo Mingran gritted her teeth and reluctantly made a difficult compromise. "Mildly spicy."

Yan Yunyang wordlessly opened the refrigerator and started putting the recently acquired ingredients inside. Just as the hot pot on the verge of disappearing from her sight, Zuo Mingran, understanding the situation, quickly said, "Clear broth, clear broth. I love clear broth hot pot the most."

A barely perceptible smile curved on Yan Yunyang's lips as he teasingly said, "Is the hot pot our bottom line?"

Zuo Mingran remained silent.

Why was this person so annoying? What should she do? She really wanted to hit him.

Fortunately, Yan Yunyang wasn't a devil. Seeing Zuo Mingran being put in her place, he chuckled softly and said, "Alright, you can go outside first. The kitchen is not convenient. I'll bring the food out later."

Although they technically had an agreement that she washed the dishes every time they ate together, with a dishwasher available, all she had to do was put the dishes inside. As cohabitants, it was unfair for him to do all the eating without helping. Zuo Mingran rolled up her sleeves and said, "It's fine, I'll help you. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Seeing her determination, Yan Yunyang was about to hand her a vegetable when his gaze fell upon her slightly damp hair. His expression darkened as he asked, "Did you get caught in the rain?"

"Oh, this?" Zuo Mingran almost forgot that her hair was still wet. She casually replied, "We had a rain scene tonight, and it took a while to film. I was in a rush to come back, so I didn't dry it."

Yan Yunyang turned around and said lightly, "Go blow-dry your hair."

"It's okay, I'll take a shower later anyway."

Yan Yunyang insisted, "Go blow-dry your hair."

Zuo Mingran: "..."

It had to be said that no matter how good-looking someone's face was or how delicious their cooking was, it couldn't change the fact that Yan Yunyang was, in essence, someone in a position of authority in the company. Zuo Mingran could keenly sense the seriousness in his tone, not anger or annoyance, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was.

She pursed her lips and set down the tomato she had in her hand before leaving the kitchen.

After hearing the sound of the kitchen door closing behind her, Yan Yunyang lowered his gaze and picked up the tomato that Zuo Mingran had left aside. After washing it, he began to cut it.

Zuo Mingran quickly blow-dried her hair. After finishing the hot pot, she couldn't escape the smell lingering on her clothes. Instead of changing into home clothes, she simply washed off any remaining makeup and went downstairs with a bare face.

Yan Yunyang had already moved everything to the dining table. Since it was just the two of them eating, the portion of ingredients wasn't large, but there was a wide variety, filling the whole table.

In reality, before Zuo Mingran came back, Yan Yunyang had already prepared all the necessary ingredients and cut them in advance. He had even been simmering the bone broth, which would be used as the base, over low heat. All he needed to do was transfer it into the hot pot and add other seasonings.

Zuo Mingran looked at the tomato and carrot floating in the pot, sighing, "This is my first time having clear broth hot pot."

Yan Yunyang responded with a noncommittal sound and handed her a bowl filled with sauce. Zuo Mingran stirred it stubbornly but found no traces of chili pepper.

"Just a little bit of chili pepper won't do?"

Yan Yunyang said, "We don't have chili sauce at home."

Zuo Mingran felt discouraged and obediently picked up her bowl to eat.

Eating hot pot is a magical thing. In most cases, two unfamiliar people can develop a deep bond after finishing a meal together. Zuo Mingran originally thought that given Yan Yunyang's status and personality, it would be unexpected for him to cook simple home-cooked dishes. However, she never expected that he could make hot pot so delicious.

Although she claimed that the bottom line was a yin-yang pot, Zuo Mingran ended up eating the most at the table.

Sitting facing each other, whenever Yan Yunyang raised his eyes, he could see Zuo Mingran across from him.

In reality, he hadn't eaten dinner yet. Due to contract matters, he only left the company at 9 PM and returned home after buying ingredients, which was already 10 PM. With nobody at home, he took a moment to relax before remembering to check his personal phone.

Not many people contacted him out of boredom, so he ignored a few invitations to go out. But when he saw the messages from Zuo Mingran, he closed his eyes. In front of him was a dark room, and behind him was a cold wall. He stood by the entrance for a while, lost in thought, before remembering to turn on the lights.

No matter what, someone waiting for oneself is always a good thing.

Yan Yunyang wasn't very hungry, but he had been busy lately and the pressure from his so-called father was much greater than he had imagined. Although Liu Qinghe had come back from abroad to help, the Liu family was not completely on their side.

The two factions were in a stalemate, and he happened to be in the middle, just like his birth, which was a product of the combination of the interests of both families, hence his current awkward situation.

He was mentally exhausted, but watching Zuo Mingran eat, a sense of hunger unconsciously surged up. Yan Yunyang scooped out a meatball from the pot and chewed and swallowed it.

Zuo Mingran didn't feel that he was slapping himself in the face like crazy. Yan Yunyang was responsible for putting the food in, and she was responsible for eating. The two of them gathered around a pot, and the rising smoke blurred their vision, creating a strangely harmonious atmosphere.

After dinner, Zuo Mingran put the dishes and chopsticks into the dishwasher as usual, and Yan Yunyang came to help and cleaned the hot pot.

There was a lingering smell of hot pot in the room. Zuo Mingran was washing the pot in the kitchen, and Yan Yunyang opened the window. The light rain outside had stopped, leaving only gusts of wind blowing in their faces.

The air after the rain was fresh and cold. Yan Yunyang stood by the window for a while and suddenly wanted to smoke a cigarette.

He didn't have a smoking habit and usually only smoked in unavoidable social occasions. His pockets were empty, and Yan Yunyang was hesitating whether to go downstairs to the supermarket to buy a pack when a large dark-colored blanket suddenly fell on his shoulders.

"Be careful not to catch a cold." Zuo Mingran yawned and walked leisurely in the living room.

Eating makes one sleepy, and she had been busy all day, so she was almost too sleepy to keep her eyes open.

However, her remaining sanity prevented her from rushing to the bed. Eating supper was already sinful enough, and if she ate and then immediately went to sleep, it would be doubling the sin.

She took out her phone from her pocket and logged into the novel website.

After registering a pen name some time ago, she had updated several chapters of content. She was currently updating a novel that she had just finished before she came here. It had taken her a considerable amount of time just to set the outline, and now that her memories hadn't completely faded, she found it easy to write.

Times were changing, and many of the novels she had previously finished were no longer suitable for the current readers' market. The choice of this novel was based on her diving into the website for a few days, combining the preferences of the reader community, and making some changes to the original plot to make it more in line with the website's style.

She hadn't logged in for a few days because she had been busy with filming. The drafts she had prepared had all been sent out. She logged into the backstage first and put the few chapters she had secretly written these past few days into the draft box. Only then did Zuo Mingran click into the comment section to see the reader feedback.

The reader comments were numerous, which was the result Zuo Mingran had expected. Prior to registering, she had specifically looked at the website's promotion efforts for newcomers and found them to be good. Coupled with the fact that she was not a newcomer at all, but rather an experienced online writer with nearly ten years of experience, it was not surprising that her stable writing style and good plot would receive positive feedback.

She selected a few comments to reply to and then clicked into her inbox, where she found an invitation for a publishing contract from the editor.

After a few clicks on the screen, Zuo Mingran sent a message rejecting the invitation.

Her current identity was somewhat awkward. She was a popular actress, appearing on TV and Weibo every day. Even if someone wasn't her fan, they would still recognize her. When signing a contract, personal information would need to be provided, and while she could use a common name to deceive them, the photo on her ID card couldn't be faked.

After careful consideration, Zuo Mingran decided to take a different approach and pursue the route of film and television copyrights.

Before coming here, she had already negotiated film and television copyrights for two or three books, with considerable copyright fees. Unfortunately, the money hadn't arrived yet when she arrived here inexplicably becoming a female star.

Fortunately, her contract period was about to end, and she didn't plan to continue staying in this industry. It would be a good thing to find another way out as soon as possible.

It was not easy to adapt novels into film and television, but with her current identity, she had various connections, which should make things easier.

The smell of hot pot in the room had dissipated a lot. Yan Yunyang closed the window and turned around to see Zuo Mingran half lying on the sofa. They had agreed to digest their food after dinner, but in just a few minutes, she had fallen asleep on the sofa.

Yan Yunyang walked over and gently said, "Go to the bedroom and sleep."

Zuo Mingran couldn't hold on any longer. She didn't even remember when she had sat down on the sofa. Holding her head up, Zuo Mingran got up from the sofa and nodded in a daze. She staggered up the stairs, completely unaware that behind her, Yan Yunyang was prepared to support her to prevent her from falling.

*

Having filmed a night scene the previous day, the shooting time was slightly delayed the next day. Even so, Zuo Mingran still woke up a bit late and hurried to the set.

As usual, she first went to do her makeup. Zuo Mingran used the time to quickly review the script and rehearse the scenes they would be filming today.

Wen Feifei arrived early and was already waiting on the side, constantly casting glances in her direction. Zuo Mingran didn't notice at first, but it was Angel who quietly reminded her.

After finishing her makeup, while Ren Luning had not yet arrived, Zuo Mingran thought for a moment and took the script to find Wen Feifei.

"Feifei, can we go over the scenes together? I'm not feeling it in these few parts."

Wen Feifei blushed and said reluctantly, "Yes, that's right. Which part are you referring to?"

Zuo Mingran couldn't help but smile in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He opened the script and pointed out the part where he wasn't very familiar with. Wen Feifei was taken aback when she saw the markings she had made. "You... wrote so much!"

Zuo Mingran smiled. "Practice makes perfect, right?"

Wen Feifei glanced at him without saying anything, but her tone became much better.

Even though they were just rehearsing, Zuo Mingran could easily find the chemistry between them when performing with Wen Feifei. Unconsciously, half an hour had passed. Zuo Mingran glanced at the time and frowned. "What's going on? Why is it so late today?"

Just as he said that, Xiaofei came back with a few breakfasts and handed one to Zuo Mingran. He whispered, "Ren Luning didn't come. He said he caught a cold from the rain and is now in the hospital."