After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 65

Lin Qianman was scheduled to join a new film crew next month. The director had sent her some items that her character would use, so she could get accustomed to them beforehand.

Fang Wen delivered them to Lin Qianman’s home.

She noticed dark circles under Lin Qianman’s eyes.

Fang Wen: “What’s wrong? Didn’t get enough rest yesterday?”

Lin Qianman took out a delicate dagger from the package Fang Wen brought, gestured with it, and casually said: “Tao Nian was unwell yesterday.”

Fang Wen looked at Lin Qianman: “What happened?”

Lin Qianman was a little embarrassed to explain the details to Fang Wen; no matter how you looked at it, Tao Nian seemed a bit slow-witted. But seeing Fang Wen’s concern for Tao Nian, she still explained: “She had a magazine shoot in the afternoon, and someone bought her ice cream, telling her to take a bite of each to taste them. She ate all of them in one go. Xiao Nan didn’t understand either, so he fed her barbecue in the evening, and then after 9 PM, she craved and ate fried chicken. By night, she couldn’t stand the stomach pain anymore.”

Fang Wen: “? What’s wrong with the assistant? How can he not even take good care of the artist?!”

Lin Qianman sighed: “I told him he can’t feed Tao Nian so much anymore.”

“Is Nian Nian feeling better now?”

“Yes, she’s better. She drank some hot water and took medicine. She’s been drinking congee all day today and just now was whining and bargaining because she didn’t want to drink congee anymore.”

“She really should be on a restricted diet.”

Fang Wen felt very sorry for her, and then asked: “Did she go to the hospital last night?”

“Mm.”

“Let me see if any paparazzi caught her. A lot of people are still criticizing Nian Nian right now; if she was photographed, it’ll cause more trouble.”

As Fang Wen spoke, she took out her phone, intending to search.

Lin Qianman also thought of this and went over to watch.

Fang Wen searched carefully on various platforms and found the exposé.

“Top female star allegedly pregnant before marriage, rushed to hospital late at night with man companion for examination.”

Fang Wen clicked in to take a look.

There were already many comments below, everyone guessing who it could be. Some female stars already had boyfriends or rumored partners, and these were the main suspects. But as soon as these speculations were made, fans would explain below, providing their idol’s schedule to prove it was impossible.

Fang Wen began to read with relish.

About five minutes later, Lin Qianman behind her gently coughed: “Weren’t you looking for Tao Nian?”

Fang Wen, who was slacking off under her boss’s nose, calmly backed out and continued Browse.

While looking, she explained: “Just a little curious, a famous female star being pregnant would definitely be big news.”

She found no related news about Tao Nian or any hospital.

Lin Qianman felt a bit relieved and asked Fang Wen: “Does she have any work recently? Is there a red carpet tomorrow?”

“Mm, it’s Orange Entertainment’s Star Night, right here in our city. The AD Girls’ Group will all be there.”

Fang Wen glanced at Lin Qianman and told her: “Nian Nian will probably be back tonight to prepare.”

Lin Qianman paused, looking at Fang Wen: “What do you mean?”

“If you’re worried, you can go too.”

Lin Qianman usually walked red carpets with her work. Now, she had nothing specific and didn’t want to face the cameras. Thinking about the styling preparations, changing clothes and doing makeup repeatedly gave her a headache. She shook her head in strong resistance, saying: “Forget it, just taking her out for dinner tonight will be fine.”

She was still thinking about how Tao Nian really wanted to eat the sweet and sour pork from that private kitchen last time.

But after saying it, she immediately realized that Tao Nian was on a restricted diet and could only have thin congee.

So she looked at Fang Wen.

Fang Wen, the shrewd strategist, had been waiting for this moment. Now, seeing Lin Qianman seeking her help, she immediately went over to offer advice: “You can talk to Sister Huang Li and have her take you there. You can just watch backstage while Tao Nian gets her makeup done.”

Lin Qianman: “…”

She wasn’t unaware that as soon as she went, even if she didn’t walk the red carpet, cameras would still follow her backstage to generate traffic later.

She turned and left: “When is Tao Nian’s flight? I’ll pick her up.”

Fang Wen began checking flights: “6 PM.”

The Star Night had started its promotions long ago. Everyone knew which celebrities would be attending. By calculating their schedules, they could mostly guess the celebrities’ flight times. So today’s airport was packed with people, all waiting for flight updates, hoping to see their idols, take a look, and snap some pictures.

Indeed, they encountered several celebrities, all dressed beautifully, looking like they were walking a runway at the airport.

Fans were jostling, and security guards had to desperately maintain order, urging the celebrities to move quickly.

When it came to Tao Nian, it was a different scene altogether.

Tao Nian suffered from gastroenteritis in the middle of the night yesterday. Today, she had taken medicine and drunk congee all day. While she said she was better, she was actually still a bit uncomfortable. The weather today wasn’t great, and the plane was a bit bumpy, making Tao Nian nauseous from the swaying. By 5:30 PM, the flight attendant started serving dinner again. The dishes were rich, the rice fragrant, garnished with vibrant green peas, looking very appetizing.

By mealtime, passengers were hungry, and seeing such a flight meal, everyone started eating. The plane was filled with the smell of food.

The two pots of congee she drank during the day were barely enough to fill a tooth gap. Tao Nian had been hungry for a long time, and now smelling the food, her stomach growled.

But she was very uncomfortable: stomach pain, dizziness, and the smell made her even more nauseous.

As soon as the plane landed, Tao Nian went to the restroom to vomit.

Now, she came out with a pale face, following Xiao Nan to get her luggage, planning to cry as soon as she saw Lin Qianman.

She really wanted to cry loudly; she felt so miserable.

The Sweet Peaches usually didn’t waste their time chasing schedules.

But this didn’t mean they were indifferent when they saw Tao Nian while waiting for their own flights at the airport.

So, inevitably, a few Sweet Peaches surrounded Tao Nian as soon as they saw her.

They weren’t a large group like other fans, just a small handful, following behind Tao Nian, asking her in various voices: “Nian Nian, what’s wrong?”

Tao Nian’s eyes immediately reddened: “Uncomfortable.”

Her face, originally like that of a delicate doll, which could be used for memes without looking bad, now, directly in front of them without a camera widening or flattening her features, looked even more beautiful.

She was barefaced, but her skin was very fair, and her lips had no color, making her look a bit unwell. Now, feeling wronged, the corners of her eyes began to redden, and her eyes became moist, looking instantly lively.

One could say about her memes, “compared to her beauty, her comedic persona is more deeply ingrained,” but now, facing such a face, the Sweet Peaches clutched their hearts, feeling utterly soft.

So they rummaged through their bags for various snacks: “Are you hungry? I have food here.”

Normally, Tao Nian would have accepted immediately. But now she felt so uncomfortable. Looking at these snacks, her nose seemed to smell that airplane food again. She felt a bit nauseous, covering her mouth with one hand and waving the other at the Sweet Peaches.

The Sweet Peaches looked at each other.

Xiao Nan quickly explained: “She’s sick, and the plane was bumpy just now, so she’s feeling a bit unwell.”

So pitiful! Someone who loves to eat so much is so unwell that she doesn’t want to eat.

The Sweet Peaches quickly comforted her: “It’s okay, it’s okay, Nian Nian, drink more hot water!”

“Mm, you must take your medicine properly and get well soon.”

As they spoke, they practically forced the snacks into Tao Nian’s hands: “Eat them when you’re better.”

When Tao Nian arrived at the parking lot, she was carrying a plastic bag full of snacks.

She had planned to cry loudly about how uncomfortable she felt as soon as she saw Lin Qianman, but seeing Lin Qianman glance at the plastic bag in her hand, Tao Nian immediately held up the bag and pitifully promised: “I’ll eat them when I’m better.”

After she spoke, she took a deep breath, leaned close to Lin Qianman, and breathed deeply.

The smell of the airplane meal had left such a profound impression on her that even after getting off the plane, she felt it lingered at the tip of her nose. There were so many people at the airport just now, with fans screaming, and various scents of perfume or sweat, which were extremely unpleasant.

Now, next to Lin Qianman, there was only Lin Qianman’s scent, fragrant and pleasant. It suppressed all the discomfort she had felt earlier.

Lin Qianman then looked at Tao Nian, startled by her complexion: “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you say you were better? Why do you look like this?”

Tao Nian pouted, rubbing against Lin Qianman’s shoulder like a puppy: “The plane was so dizzy, I don’t want to take a plane anymore.”

The weather today was indeed bad, making the flight bumpy.

Lin Qianman could only rub Tao Nian’s head: “It’s okay, it’s okay, go back and get some good rest.”

Tao Nian then put her head on Lin Qianman’s shoulder, desperately sniffing Lin Qianman’s scent.

Because many fans came, the road to the airport was terribly congested.

Lin Qianman had a long time to observe Tao Nian carefully.

She scrutinized Tao Nian up and down, asking where exactly she felt uncomfortable.

Tao Nian, just like in the video yesterday, lifted her hoodie to show her stomach: “It hurts here.”

Perhaps because she had been drinking congee all day, her stomach was flat, sunken in, slightly swelling with each breath, then sinking back in. It looked soft and cute.

Lin Qianman kept her gaze down, trying to remain indifferent as she reached out and pressed the area around her stomach: “Here?”

“Mm.”

Lin Qianman sighed: “You can’t eat so many cold things anymore.”

Tao Nian nodded: “Oh.”

Then she added: “But summer is coming, it’s very hot.”

Lin Qianman then said: “Then you can only have one every two days. I’ll have Xiao Nan watch you.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nan immediately wanted to respond with a pledge of loyalty.

He was pinched back by Fang Wen’s arm, who twisted his flesh: “Don’t speak!”

Fang Wen was completely invested in the CP, and absolutely did not want this tactless, incompetent assistant to interrupt this beautiful moment.

So Xiao Nan obediently remained silent.

Fang Wen, however, looked at the arm she had just pinched with some confusion.

Why was it so hard?? Was this really the hardness that human muscle could possess?

The next day, Tao Nian was very busy.

Star Night was scheduled to live stream at 5:30 PM. She woke up at 7:30 AM, got her styling done, went to the venue, and found a suitable outdoor location for photos.

Finally, everything was done. She and her teammates walked the red carpet, then sat down to watch the show.

Over seventy celebrities attended Star Night. The red carpet alone took two hours. The live stream started at 5:30 PM, and the AD Girls’ Group appeared at 6:10 PM.

Because it was a live stream, and fans didn’t know exactly when their idols would walk the red carpet, everyone started watching from the beginning.

The Sweet Peaches were, of course, also watching Tao Nian.

After Tao Nian walked the red carpet and sat down, they started searching for Tao Nian from various camera angles, wanting to know what she was doing.

Actually, Tao Nian’s individual popularity would be higher. If she had attended this event alone, she probably would have been seated in the first two rows.

But this time, she came as a member of the AD Girls’ Group. She wore an outfit of the same color but different style as her teammates and sat in a middle seat.

This position essentially had no cameras focused on it.

But there were advantages.

This position was very discreet.

So at first, everyone speculated that Tao Nian was probably eating something. No one could resist secretly eating during a show that started at five hours. A comedian like Tao Nian certainly couldn’t.

But she wasn’t.

The Sweet Peaches strained their eyes, almost blinding themselves, to find Tao Nian in the crowded venue.

She first sat upright, looking at the snacks on the small table in front of her, picked one up, looked at it, then put it back.

Then, wrapped in a blanket, she sat there for five hours.

She didn’t even drink a single sip of water, let alone eat continuously from beginning to end like she did during the Idol 101 live broadcast.

After all, not everyone had the time or patience to watch a live stream, especially one that lasted until midnight. So it wasn’t until the next day that people started discussing what was wrong with Tao Nian.

The Sweet Peach who posed the question first showed Tao Nian’s pre-red carpet styling photos. They were her solo shots.

Tao Nian wore a pink princess dress adorned with feathers, looking very girlish. She wore a matching bow in her hair and stood by a rose wall, turning her head slightly, smiling innocently at the camera. It was enough beauty to “kill” with.

There was also a screenshot from the live broadcast. Because Tao Nian was sitting too far away, to see her, one had to zoom in, and then zoom in again.

Such operations inevitably made the figure a bit blurry.

But even if it was blurry, one could still see Tao Nian, sitting upright among the celebrities. She wasn’t doing anything, her face showed little expression, and because the image was blurry, the lighting on her dark hair above her head made her look somewhat “frowning,” as if a little displeased.

This slight displeasure made her stand out from those around her, radiating a striking allure.

Sweet Peach: “(Puffs on cigarette) I still can’t believe this is the comedian I liked. What happened to her?! Is she trying to conquer me with her beauty?”

“Woman, if this is your intention, then I tell you. You succeeded (kneels). Why can I suddenly praise her beauty today?”

“I don’t know if it’s because Tao Nian was always a comedian before, and in my impression, she seemed happy every day. But when she suddenly had that stern face during the live broadcast yesterday, I truly felt… like, ‘Sister, kill me!’ That feeling! This is definitely not the feeling a silly simpleton could give!”

A Sweet Peach who saw Tao Nian at the airport yesterday also commented: “I saw Nian Nian yesterday, she said she was a bit unwell. She hasn’t gotten better, has she? Even the silly simpleton is unhappy, she must be really uncomfortable.”

The Sweet Peaches below immediately asked her what happened.

That Sweet Peach then recounted yesterday’s events in detail, earning a string of sympathetic comments below.

Meanwhile, the paparazzi, who had uploaded the photos two days ago and was still waiting for Tao Nian to frantically contact him to buy them, scrolled through the news about Tao Nian, feeling very confused.