Click. The five of them stood at the mountaintop, facing the camera with a backdrop of continuous green mountains behind them, frozen in smiles.
After the photographer signaled 'OK' to the guests, he couldn't help but glance down at the photo that had just been taken.
Before the photo was taken, even though this time Jiang Lingxi stood in the center spot, in his opinion, the one with the strongest presence should have been the veteran actress She Man, followed by Xu Yin.
But looking at the photo now, he had only one feeling.
Jiang Lingxi seemed like she belonged in the center of the group. If she were moved to the edge, it would feel awkward.
After the photo shoot, Lin Xuefei almost couldn't wait to leave her spot, noticing that Jiang Lingxi was still standing in the middle without moving. There was a hint of jealousy and mockery in her expression.
She Man simply pulled her, thinking how this person could so confidently stand in the center without even a hint of modesty, and even having the bigger celebrity and singer accompany her directly.
When the photos were released, she wanted to see if Jiang Lingxi would once again be mocked. At the very least, the hat of arrogance would definitely be placed on her head.
From yesterday's meeting until now, Jiang Lingxi had already seen through the other four guests clearly.
Veteran actress She Man and singer Xu Yin had the longest tenure in the entertainment industry and had enough experience to maintain a certain level of popularity. They were both astute individuals who rarely made mistakes.
Lin Xuefei's level of sophistication was not quite on par with theirs. Her little schemes couldn't be hidden at all. Compared to the two seniors in front of her, she still had a lot to learn.
As for Jiang Kaiyuan, she could see right through him at a glance.
When She Man suddenly asked her to stand in the center for the photo, perhaps it was out of gratitude for helping find the ingredient card, but there was also some consideration for her intentions hidden within.
Normally, when faced with such a situation, most people would choose to modestly step aside. If it were her original self, she would have eagerly accepted without hesitation.
She had restrained herself from seizing the center spot. If everyone else had yielded, what reason would there be for her to give it back?
But this time, Jiang Lingxi didn't follow the typical behavior of ordinary people. She was never one to willingly sacrifice herself.
The previous apology was on behalf of the original owner, but for her, it was also a temporary measure.
This time, she hadn't done anything wrong. On the contrary, she had helped the other guests, so she rightfully deserved the center spot.
After the photo shoot, Jiang Lingxi sensitively noticed that She Man and Xu Yin had distanced themselves from her a bit more. It was probably because her identical reaction to the original owner caught them off guard.
But she didn't really care.
The intimacy in front of the camera was always fake. Whether they would collaborate again after the recording ended was uncertain.
Lin Xuefei, with a mocking expression in her eyes, also pretended not to notice. As long as this person didn't come near her, she could block out any expression.
Just like how she never paid attention to the online criticism of the original owner, which was now directed at her.
As for Jiang Kaiyuan, he remained indifferent as usual, already cheering that they could finally descend the mountain.
Descending the mountain was relatively easy.
It took over an hour to climb up the mountain, taking breaks along the way, but on the way down, everyone kept moving without stopping. They reached the foot of the mountain in less than half an hour, all in one go.
Returning to the rural villa, they were too lazy even to change their clothes, all sitting on the couch without wanting to move.
If it weren't for the staff urging them, they would have sat there until lunchtime.
After returning to their rooms, freshening up and changing into clean clothes, it was time to exchange ingredients.
Jiang Lingxi received flour, sugar, eggs, cream, fruits, and other ingredients for making cakes.
The others received their respective ingredients cards and collected their ingredients.
However, when they laid out their ingredients on the table, Jiang Lingxi couldn't help but notice that she had at least twice as many ingredients in front of her compared to the others. She couldn't help but purse her lips in rare hesitation.
It seemed that the difficulty of what she had to make next would be the greatest.
Jiang Kaiyuan couldn't wait to take his plate of fruits into the kitchen. He was going to make a fruit salad, which was the simplest, and he couldn't wait to show off his skills.
Following him into the kitchen was Lin Xuefei, who was going to make sushi. She needed to steam the rice first, but everything else was straightforward.
Then She Man and Xu Yin also went in together. What they were going to make wasn't too difficult either—She Man was making sandwiches, and Xu Yin was making homemade drinks. They quickly got to work after entering the kitchen.
However, as the four of them busied themselves, Lin Xuefei, who was cooling the steamed rice, looked at the three busy individuals and furrowed her brows. "Where's Jiang Lingxi?"
She Man scooped out the freshly fried eggs and turned to look towards the living room direction upon hearing the question. She saw Jiang Lingxi, who was facing a pile of ingredients on the coffee table, holding a cellphone and looking at it intently, her brows furrowed.
Lin Xuefei averted her gaze, lowered her voice just enough for the microphone to pick up, "Could Jiang Lingxi be planning to slack off?"
"Even if her cooking isn't tasty, we all know it's her first time. No one would say anything!" Xu Yin remarked.
At this moment, Zhao Hengsheng, who was sitting behind the camera, placed his cup down on the table. "Move the camera closer for a close-up. Let's see what Jiang Lingxi is looking at!"
Being willful had its limits. The mountain climbing segment earlier was still fine, except for the part where she stood in the center for the photo, which might attract criticism.
Just half a day later, she couldn't keep up the act anymore? He might have overestimated this girl a bit!
The camera obediently zoomed in. But just as it was about to focus on the screen of the cellphone, the screen suddenly went black.
Jiang Lingxi turned to look at the staff member who had quietly approached her. Although she didn't say a word, the staff member subconsciously took two steps back, and dared not suggest turning the phone back on.
When Jiang Lingxi walked towards the kitchen with the ingredients on the table, he finally let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest with his free hand, exhaling deeply.
God, that scared him to death! In the kitchen, Lin Xuefei, who had originally thought Jiang Lingxi would slack off completely, turned her head and smirked when she saw Jiang Lingxi, who was busy making cake batter.
She had to finish quickly and leave, saving herself from watching Jiang Lingxi wreak havoc in the kitchen.
As she focused on carefully cutting the sushi rolls, she belatedly noticed that the kitchen was a bit too quiet.
Raising her head, she saw Jiang Lingxi on the opposite side, diligently kneading the cake batter.
Adding water, stirring, kneading the dough, adding ingredients, everything was meticulous.
But as she watched, she felt a sense of familiarity.
It wasn't until She Man suddenly spoke up, "Xiao Xi's technique looks quite professional!"
Lin Xuefei suddenly realized. As an artist, she rarely had the opportunity to eat cakes or similar foods, but she was particularly fond of them. So she often watched cake-making videos on her phone.
And Jiang Lingxi's actions now, not only were they exactly the same as those in the videos, they were completely copied.
The key was that most people would be flustered the first time they tried, and they might even get confused and use the wrong ingredients or forget some. But Jiang Lingxi gave her the impression that she had done this a thousand times before.
"You, you just now..."
Was she watching cake-making tutorials on her phone to prepare herself for this moment?
It couldn't be, could it?
She would rather believe that Jiang Lingxi had done it before than believe that this girl could do so well on her first try!
Putting the prepared dough into the oven, Jiang Lingxi then methodically whipped the cream according to the steps, adding some chocolate to balance the sweetness. She broke the silence, shattering Lin Xuefei's wishful thinking. "First time making it, just learning from online tutorials."
This was what they called fighting an unprepared battle.
When they saw a small cake, which looked no different from the ones in the usual videos, take shape before their eyes, even Xu Yin couldn't help but pinch off a bit of the leftover batter to taste. Then she looked over with a somewhat complicated expression. "Xiao Xi, is this really your first time making a cake?"
How could someone like her, who had almost made the pastry chef she hired cry in order to learn how to make a cake, accept this!