After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 63

Tao Nian, who had eaten a dozen ice creams and then had barbecue back at the hotel, now received a call from Lin Qianman.

Lin Qianman had been busy all day dealing with Tao Nian being targeted by anti-fans. The studio found the instigator, a young actress named Cao Xi. She had starred in a few web dramas and was quite popular in the first half of the year. Last month, she was also a guest on Three Meals a Day, and was caught on camera secretly kicking Maomao when no one was looking.

She wasn’t like Tao Nian.

Firstly, she hadn’t been bitten by Maomao like Tao Nian. Secondly, her performance in the show was largely irreproachable. She was extremely polite to her seniors, helped with chores, and spoke knowledgeably about their past works.

Her persona was gentle and charming. Nowadays, everyone loves cats and dogs, so she capitalized on this by establishing a “cat owner” persona, owning a cat and frequently posting beautiful photos of it. She also shared small tips on how to raise cats, so her fans widely publicized her as a loving, animal-friendly, qualified, and patient person.

And then this person, on a show, kicked Maomao.

It wasn’t directly on camera. The camera at the time was facing the living room, but a small part of the outside corridor could be seen at the edge of the frame.

She was washing fruit there, and Maomao happened to be lying nearby, sniffing at her pants. She then kicked Maomao aside.

It wasn’t a gentle nudge with her foot; she used some force, kicking Maomao’s head aside.

It was only two brief seconds. The editor didn’t even notice what happened in that corner during post-production.

Then, a netizen, watching the show with a magnifying glass, saw it.

Someone who had boasted online about being a doting cat owner, subservient to their feline master, was now caught kicking a dog aside when no one was looking. Of course, she was ridiculed. Her fans tried to defend her, but then netizens dug up many errors in Cao Xi’s previous tips. She had endorsed a pet shampoo that contained an ingredient known to cause hair loss in small animals.

Watching her reputation plummet, a previously negotiated endorsement deal was withdrawn before signing, stating they were no longer considering her.

Cao Xi inquired extensively and then discovered that the endorsement deal was now pursuing Tao Nian.

A TV drama she had been actively trying to get was also now looking for Tao Nian.

Perhaps she was holding a grudge and wanted to turn things around, but the people who went on the show later all performed well, leaving nothing to criticize. Just then, Tao Nian appeared on Three Meals a Day, and her performance wasn’t that great. Coupled with previous complaints about Tao Nian’s lack of variety sense, she immediately seized the opportunity to attack Tao Nian.

But she never expected Lin Qianman’s studio to directly report them to the police.

She spent so much money on marketing and cyberbullies, yet it didn’t cause Tao Nian any loss. Instead, it increased her popularity?

Seeing the outcome of the situation, Cao Xi was practically grinding her teeth. Looking at the compliments and praises from fans on Tao Nian’s latest Weibo post, and the apologies from netizens who had previously been manipulated into cursing Tao Nian, her eyes were so red they looked like they were bleeding.

Lin Qianman was also now worried, having found the culprit. What should she do next?

If Huang Li hadn’t told her, she wouldn’t have known about this person or incident at all. Although Huang Li was confident, there was no solid evidence.

Besides, even if there was evidence of buying cyberbullies to attack someone, could they really report Cao Xi to the police and send her to jail? But if they didn’t, should they just admit defeat and not retaliate?

Lin Qianman was tolerant, not foolish.

She could accept someone clearly stating that Tao Nian was like an idiot and disliked Tao Nian, but she couldn’t accept slander, defamation, and backstabbing, especially from someone with bad character.

She hadn’t experienced such things before. Now, realizing that such things actually existed in the world, she could only be angry and lament the declining morality of society, where all kinds of people exist.

On the other end of the phone, Tao Nian knew nothing. While minimizing the small video call window, she opened an app, intending to buy a floral dress identical to the one she wore for the photoshoot today.

Lin Qianman didn’t discuss these upsetting matters with Tao Nian, only asking her: “How was the cover shoot?”

Tao Nian thought of the floral dress and happily told Lin Qianman that the dress was beautiful, and the makeup was beautiful too. There was an alternative style with her hair braided and a flower tucked behind her ear, which looked great!

That dress was the best! As beautiful as her headscarf!

She talked as she searched and searched online for a long time, unable to distinguish the different fabrics. Weren’t they all just covered in small flowers?

Thinking this, she tried to recall what the dress she wore today looked like.

She couldn’t remember.

This feeling of not even knowing what the dress truly looked like, only knowing it was beautiful and she wanted it desperately, but couldn’t find or obtain it, was incredibly painful.

Tao Nian’s eyes widened, looking at the camera: “Lin Qianman, I can’t find it!”

Having been annoyed all day, the knot of frustration in Lin Qianman’s chest suddenly dissipated. She found it a little amusing: “Don’t you have a picture?”

Tao Nian scrolled through her phone: “No.”

So Lin Qianman looked at floral dresses with her.

“This one’s not bad,”

Lin Qianman said, while screenshotting the seller’s photo and sending it to Tao Nian: “It’s pure cotton, the cut looks good, and the length is suitable.”

Tao Nian let out a surprised “ah” and counted the price on the screenshot: “Tens, hundreds… four hundred and ninety-nine?!”

She didn’t even want to look at it: “Too expensive.”

Lin Qianman: “…”

She couldn’t help but ask: “Didn’t you get paid for the advertisement? You also shot an ad last month, and two variety shows, those also had compensation.”

Tao Nian: “But four hundred ninety-nine is enough for me to buy over a hundred jianbing, you know.”

Lin Qianman: “…”

Tao Nian counted on her fingers: “Earning money isn’t easy, a catty of beef is fifty yuan, a catty of fish is twelve yuan, pork is fifteen yuan, chicken is twenty-five yuan…”

As she spoke, she swallowed: “I want to eat fried chicken legs.”

The last time she filmed, she ate some delicious fried chicken there. It wasn’t battered; the chicken skin was crispy, oily and moist with each bite, and the chicken inside was tender and juicy, super delicious!

Lin Qianman: “Did you not eat?”

Tao Nian nodded: “I did, barbecue, with lots of garlic in the grilled eggplant.”

She pouted, making an unimaginable expression.

Actually, she wasn’t a picky eater; it was Zhang Jingyue who didn’t eat garlic. Before, when Zhang Jingyue saw garlic on grilled eggplant, she made that kind of face, and somehow it struck Tao Nian as funny, so she learned it.

Lin Qianman knew she wasn’t picky, and seeing her expression, only found it amusing: “Not full?”

Before Tao Nian went down the mountain, she had planned to listen to Feng Jun and learn self-restraint, but now she only wanted Tao Nian to eat her fill.

She’s falling, falling. Lin Qianman chastised herself.

Then she told Tao Nian: “Eat if you want to.”

So Tao Nian quickly forgot about the floral dress and happily messaged Xiao Nan, saying she wanted fried chicken and fried pork chops.

Late at night, she gave Lin Qianman an exclusive eating broadcast.

The fried chicken legs Xiao Nan bought were battered, large golden-brown chicken legs. With each bite, the crispy outer layer crumbled, making a very clear sound. The fried pork chops had crunchy bones; she’d finish one in a bite, crunching and swallowing the bones.

Lin Qianman watched for a while, then picked up the script beside her, intending to resist the temptation.

After reading two pages, she suddenly realized.

She could just hang up the video call, solving the problem once and for all!

She must have been with Tao Nian for too long. She’s getting dumber.

Lin Qianman thought to herself, glancing at Tao Nian on the video.

She was still happily eating fried chicken, oil on the tip of her nose, eating with gusto, completely oblivious to Lin Qianman’s thoughts.

Lin Qianman chuckled, and hung up the phone on her own accord.

Then she remembered that when she called Tao Nian, she was still angry about Cao Xi’s matter. But now that unpleasant feeling was gone; she only found Tao Nian cute, and her eating looked quite therapeutic.

She truly is a comedian.

Lin Qianman, filled with approval for Tao Nian, fell asleep.

She was woken up in the middle of the night by her phone ringing. Opening her eyes, she saw it was Tao Nian’s call.

Eating a dozen ice creams, then a barbecue meal, and then fried chicken before bed, led to gastroenteritis.

Tao Nian was directly woken up by the pain in the middle of the night.

The little taotie hadn’t felt this way even when eating meat roasted by Xiao Nan on Qingnan Mountain. Now, suddenly feeling stomach pain, she couldn’t pinpoint why or where it hurt, only feeling scared.

In a panic, she could only call Lin Qianman. In the short twenty seconds that Lin Qianman didn’t answer, she wondered if she was going to die.

She was so miserable; she hadn’t done anything, so why did it hurt so much?!

If she died, she wouldn’t be able to eat such delicious food anymore!

What about her money? She should have bought that four hundred ninety-nine yuan dress earlier; otherwise, her money would be useless if she died.

Tao Nian was in a complete panic.

So when Lin Qianman finally answered the phone and asked, confused, “What’s wrong?” Tao Nian’s tearful voice came from the other end: “Lin Qianman, I’m going to die.”

In the middle of the night, Lin Qianman closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, confirming that she had received Tao Nian’s call, that Tao Nian was talking to her, that Tao Nian was in a hotel before bed and hadn’t gone anywhere, and that the other end of the phone was very quiet with no other voices—Lin Qianman asked again: “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable? Having a nightmare?”

Tao Nian whimpered: “My stomach hurts so much.”

Stomach ache?

Lin Qianman sat up: “Did you eat something bad? Go call Xiao Nan, go to the hospital right now.”

Tao Nian was already delirious with pain, only responding with sounds but not moving.

Lin Qianman’s heart tightened.

It seemed much more serious than she had imagined. She first hung up on Tao Nian, then called Xiao Nan.

Meanwhile, Tao Nian was in pain and constantly nauseous. After a dry heave, she became a little clearer and started calling Lin Qianman again: “I feel a bit unwell.”

This time there was no sound from the other end of the phone.

Tao Nian became even more panicked and urgently called out: “Sister Lin?!”

Still no sound. Tao Nian picked up her phone and saw that the call had been hung up.

At that moment, she had one feeling.

It’s over, she’s really going to die, even Sister Lin isn’t taking care of her anymore.

Tao Nian lay on the bed, silently crying. A minute later, she heard a knock on the door.

?! Could it be Lin Qianman?

She struggled to get up and open the door. Outside was a worried Xiao Nan.

Xiao Nan was still holding his phone, and Lin Qianman’s voice came through: “Is Nian Nian okay?”