After Being Hopeless at Singing and Dancing, I Exploded in Popularity Due to My Appetite - Chapter 66

In the paparazzi’s imagination, he had been ostentatious enough.

Of course, people who knew nothing wouldn’t guess, but Tao Nian and her team couldn’t possibly be unaware or blind. Since they had seen it, they would definitely know he was talking about Tao Nian.

He was practically one step away from writing, “I, paparazzi, have dirt on Tao Nian. Tao Nian, hurry up and pay me!” in the caption.

Tao Nian was currently at the peak of her popularity. Although the previous incident had been explained, most netizens knew they had misunderstood Tao Nian. But there were still some who insisted it was just a whitewash, and that Tao Nian was a bad person. This group continued to relentlessly mock Tao Nian with veiled sarcasm.

And Tao Nian was currently on the rise; there was no way this “child” could stay. Tao Nian definitely wouldn’t want others to know she was pregnant.

Now that she had seen his Weibo post, she would surely come to buy the photos. Otherwise, Tao Nian’s future would be ruined.

But Tao Nian hadn’t contacted him, and she was still calm enough to attend a live broadcast?

The paparazzi suddenly felt a bit antsy. He suspected Tao Nian wasn’t pregnant at all, which was why she wasn’t coming to him. He also suspected Tao Nian had powerful backing, capable of preventing him from releasing these photos. Or perhaps Tao Nian was playing with fire, blinded by love, and had been abandoned.

He couldn’t quite figure out why.

He could only comfort himself by saying that perhaps she hadn’t decided how to handle it yet. He would wait a few more days, and if Tao Nian still didn’t buy the photos after three days, he would release them to gain a surge in traffic. Given Tao Nian’s current popularity, he could even make some money just by selling ad space.

The Star Night officially ended at 1 AM. Tao Nian returned home and finished removing her makeup at over 3 AM.

She slept until the afternoon before finally getting up.

Tomorrow, the AD Girls’ Group was going to record the second episode of their group reality show, so they had nothing planned for this afternoon.

Everyone finally managed to gather, finding a relatively complete block of time.

They decided to go out and have fun, or at the very least, grab a meal together.

So they reported to their manager.

Coincidentally, everyone had been very busy these past two months, either rushing to appearances or constantly on the road. The manager knew they were working hard, and now seeing their desire to go out and have fun, readily agreed. She only reminded them to film some videos, which could be edited into vlogs later as fan benefits.

Zhang Jingyue also agreed.

So everyone tidied up, put on masks and hats, and headed out.

When girls go out together, it usually involves eating, drinking milk tea, having some dessert, checking in and taking photos at various pretty places, going to the movies, or visiting an amusement park.

Everything was prepared, and it was already past 4 PM when they left.

This time was a bit awkward.

They could only go for an early dinner.

Recently, a new Japanese restaurant had opened, becoming a new trendy spot.

So they all went together.

The only Japanese food Tao Nian had ever eaten before was the sushi made by Zhang Jingyue. Now, joining them, she thought she was in for a delicious meal.

Then, half an hour later, looking at the tuna the owner presented, she had a bad feeling.

She took out her phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Lin Qianman, telling her: “We’re out eating together! I heard a lot of people eat at this place!”

Lin Qianman was reading her script and didn’t check her phone, so she didn’t see the message.

Tao Nian waited for a long time but received no reply. She felt an indescribable anxiety, constantly wanting to check her phone to see if Lin Qianman had replied.

Zhang Jingyue noticed her distraction and quietly asked: “What’s wrong?”

Before Tao Nian could answer, the appetizer arrived: a small plate of boiled shrimp with sea urchin and an unknown sauce. The taste was a bit strange, but the plating was exquisite and beautiful.

Zhang Jingyue forgot to ask Tao Nian what was wrong and just reminded her: “Don’t eat it if you’re not feeling well. We’re just here to check in and take pictures anyway.”

Hearing this, Tao Nian also forgot what was wrong with her. Instead, she felt Zhang Jingyue was wrong and that they shouldn’t waste food: “That’s such a waste!”

She picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a shrimp, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite.

The next second, she put down her chopsticks, picked up her phone, and told Lin Qianman: “This shrimp is so strange, it’s not tasty.”

Lin Qianman still didn’t reply.

The second dish had already arrived.

It was a meatball with its broth. This one was fine.

Then several other dishes like sushi and sukiyaki were served.

Tao Nian relaxed a bit, looking forward to the next dishes.

And then…

Tao Nian looked at the small dish in front of her, poked it with her chopsticks. She tilted her head to look at Zhang Jingyue.

Zhang Jingyue picked up a piece of sashimi, biting into it. The raw tuna was firm and springy. Zhang Jingyue narrowed her eyes in bliss, taking another bite.

Tao Nian: “?!!!”

She pointed at the sashimi and told Zhang Jingyue: “That’s raw.”

Zhang Jingyue was used to Tao Nian being surprised by everything she saw. She explained to Tao Nian: “Yes, that’s how sashimi is; you can eat it raw.”

Tao Nian: “But my master taught me not to eat raw food…”

The little Taotie, even when there was nothing on the mountain, would still ask Xiao Nan to light a fire and roast any prey she caught.

Zhang Jingyue: “But tuna can be eaten raw.”

?!!

Tao Nian quickly turned her head to look around. Everyone was calmly eating raw fish.

In that moment, the waiter brought up another sashimi platter, with sweet shrimp, salmon, and sea bass.

Tao Nian: “?!!”

If Tao Nian hadn’t reacted much when the tuna was first served because she hadn’t processed it, now, she was genuinely surprised.

Raw!

She quickly typed on her phone to Lin Qianman, with a sense of her worldview collapsing: “Yueyue says raw meat can be eaten! I even saw someone eating raw eggs!”

Lin Qianman was still reading her script, but Fang Wen came over with her phone and knocked on the study door: “Boss, Nian Nian seems to be looking for you, she’s been sending you messages.”

Is she still unwell?

Lin Qianman took the phone, opened the chat, and started reading from the beginning.

Just then, Tao Nian sent another message: “You can eat a dozen raw eggs in one go without choking, right?”

••••

Lin Qianman didn’t know how to answer for a moment.

Actually, it wasn’t Feng Jun who told Tao Nian not to eat raw food.

It was the Qilin (mythical creature) who was almost bitten to death by the Taotie that year.

Yes, if it had really been Feng Jun who told Tao Nian, then Feng Jun could have told Tao Nian from the beginning, and Tao Nian wouldn’t have swallowed Huang Li alive, nor would she have bitten Lin Qianman herself.

It was Lin Qianman, recovering from her injuries on Qingnan Mountain, who discovered that the Taotie was truly destructive when hunting prey. At that time, it really ate raw food.

So Lin Qianman taught her not to eat raw food, no meat could be eaten raw. She couldn’t eat prey alive; she had to kill it first, then cook it, and then eat it. So she couldn’t bite Lin Qianman; eating her raw would be unclean.

Of course, the little Taotie wouldn’t listen; she just gnawed on Lin Qianman’s horns.

Lin Qianman could only go to Feng Jun and tell her that if she didn’t want the Taotie to continue living like this in the future, she should teach her to try some human societal habits now.

Later, Lin Qianman left, and Feng Jun actually taught Tao Nian well. She had become a good Taotie who would eat cooked food. And the idea of “food must be cooked before eating” was ingrained in her DNA.

But now her worldview might be collapsing.

Lin Qianman hesitated as she typed: “Different places have different customs, but most meats still need to be properly prepared before they can be eaten…”

But Tao Nian had waited for a long time without a reply, and had already put her phone down.

But she was still curious. She looked at the person who was eating raw egg over rice, motioning to Zhang Jingyue to look as well: “Raw eggs.”

Zhang Jingyue thought she was curious, so she ordered a portion for her too.

Tao Nian stirred it with her chopsticks, picked some up to look. The egg was a bit fishy. She made an unbearable expression. She tilted her head again to look at the person eating raw eggs, and quietly asked Zhang Jingyue: “You won’t choke on the yolk if you eat it raw, right?”

Zhang Jingyue: “…”

It was the first time she had seen someone with such a peculiar train of thought.

Lin Qianman didn’t reply to her, and Zhang Jingyue didn’t reply to her either. Tao Nian became even more confused, urging: “Will I choke if I eat it raw?”

Zhang Jingyue struggled to speak: “This, probably not. Anyway, I haven’t heard of that possibility.”

Having received an answer, Tao Nian said “Oh” and put the egg aside.

Unbeknownst to her, not only were her teammates filming, but there were also many of her fans in this Japanese restaurant. Watching her incredibly surprised expression, looking left and right to confirm everyone was eating sashimi, they squealed with excitement. They could only pretend to take selfies while frantically photographing her, then sending them to friends, exclaiming about how cute she was.

Tao Nian only realized Lin Qianman had replied to her when she returned home.

However, she already knew the answer, so she didn’t pay attention to what Lin Qianman said, excitedly stating: “Yueyue says eating raw eggs won’t make you choke!”

Lin Qianman: “…”

Hearing her phone ring, Lin Qianman put down her work, picked up her phone, and upon seeing this message, she was stunned.

Tao Nian truly cared about such things.

She felt she could already envision Tao Nian eating a dozen raw eggs in one go. It would be a gruesome sight.

The next day, they packed up to record the second episode of the group reality show. The theme of this episode was to learn a segment of traditional opera.

At the end of the previous episode’s recording, they drew lots to decide which opera segment they would learn for the upcoming week. Then, for this episode, based on what they drew, they would go to different cities and opera houses to find masters and learn.

It had been said countless times before: several seasons of the idol survival show had been held, and they couldn’t even find good new talents for singing and dancing anymore.

The AD Girls’ Group was not very popular. The members included: Tao Nian, a comedian who broke out; Zhang Jingyue, an “escaped princess” who, if she didn’t sing and dance in the entertainment industry, would have to go home and inherit a multi-billion dollar family business; and three internet celebrities who came with their own fanbases. The most talented was Yang Ning, a dance academy student whose singing could infuriate vocal teachers.

The production team originally didn’t think they could learn it. They even simply wrote a script based on this, causing the members to break down and be uncooperative. Regardless of whether this was good or bad, at least it created buzz.

Tao Nian drew The Peony Pavilion.

How to put it.

Other members also drew local opera genres, where just the dialect was a headache. But they exchanged with each other, switching to genres with dialects they knew, which reduced the difficulty a bit.

The main singing style of Kunqu opera is “Water-Grinding Melody,” characterized by its slow, lingering, graceful, and delicate qualities.

The Peony Pavilion has been performed for so many years, and its love story has moved generations of people, being widely sung. The most important thing when singing this segment is to convey emotion.

This was a big challenge for Tao Nian.

But Tao Nian didn’t know.

She took her luggage and checked into a large opera house in B City. That very day, she went to meet her master. She was to offer tea to her master, performing a simple apprenticeship ceremony.

After the apprenticeship ceremony, Tao Nian had a pre-interview where she was asked what she thought of her master and if there was anything she wanted to say to her master.

Her master, Xu Xiaoqing, was a contemporary grandmaster, in her fifties or sixties, with graying hair, but her voice was still as soft and delicate as a young girl’s. Her temper was also good, but when talking about Kunqu opera with Tao Nian, her tone became strict.

Tao Nian had one master, Feng Jun, and she grew up with her master. In her heart, her master was the most important person. Even the identity of “master” was very important. Now that she had another master, of course, she showered her with praise.

As for what she wanted to say to her master…

Her expression was serious as she told the interviewer: “Do you know? Some eggs can be eaten raw!”

The person interviewing Tao Nian: “…?? What are you saying?”

“Eggs can be eaten raw! And eating raw eggs won’t make you choke.”

Tao Nian’s voice grew more excited, blinking and asking: “Did you know that?”

“I know that eggs can be eaten raw, but not choking… that’s…”

No normal person would think that, right?!