Chapter 72: The Second Episode Begins Recording

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: The Second Episode Begins Recording

Nan Zhi and Nan Yi stayed in the small town for a total of five days.

During this time, neither Zhao Cheng nor Wang Xiaoyue came looking for her.

She didn’t know if Zhao Ming was keeping them in check, or if they simply couldn’t find where she was staying.

Besides sweeping her grandfather’s grave, Nan Zhi also paid someone from a nearby village to look after the gravesite.

She also took Nan Yi to visit some of the old places from her childhood memories.

This included the small restaurant her grandfather used to run.

The restaurant’s name was simple: Nan Family’s Small Restaurant.

Back then, business had been so good that even people from the provincial capital had heard of it, driving two or three hours just to wait in line for a meal.

At the time, she had truly believed her grandfather was the best cook in the world!

Unfortunately, after Zhao Cheng took over, Nan Family’s Small Restaurant had been turned into a noodle shop. The interior was completely different, and it looked shabby and dirty.

Everything had changed.

Nan Zhi watched from the shadows, her heart aching with sadness...

And then she turned around and reported the noodle shop.

After all, she had "just so happened" to see Zhao Cheng secretly picking through rotten vegetable leaves, hadn’t she?

According to the proprietress of the inn where they were staying, a new leader had recently arrived in town. This leader wanted to develop local tourism and turn the town into an internet-famous destination, so they were cracking down hard on food safety issues.

After being reported by an "out-of-town tourist" like her, Zhao Cheng’s noodle shop would most likely be made a negative example and dealt with severely.

In any case, on the day Nan Zhi and her son left town, she heard that Zhao Cheng had tried to brazenly resist law enforcement and ended up becoming the laughingstock of the entire town...

Nan Zhi and Nan Yi had just returned to Yanjing and barely put down their luggage when a call came in from Xu Li.

Xu Li hurriedly told her that the filming for the second episode of Cub Observation Diary would be starting two days earlier than planned.

This meant that after resting for the night, they would have to set off again first thing in the morning.

Nan Zhi asked Nan Yi if he could handle it.

Nan Yi’s small face was full of determination.

"I can do it!"

Besides his unwillingness to back down, Nan Yi also looked a little excited and eager to give it a try.

It seemed he really enjoyed filming the variety show.

Nan Zhi thought this was a good thing.

She got up and went to the kitchen, where she saw a refrigerator full of ingredients.

’This was supposed to last us several days,’ she thought. ’Now that the plans have changed, it would be a waste to throw the ingredients away. Why not make something to bring to the set tomorrow?’

Just as Nan Zhi was thinking this, she heard a knock on the door.

Nan Yi’s cheerful voice followed.

"I’ll get the door!"

It was accompanied by the PITTER-PATTER of footsteps.

Nan Zhi froze for a moment.

She suddenly remembered the day they had just returned, when Nan Yi had heard a knock and immediately hidden under the dining table, trembling...

"Yiyi, where’s your mom?"

It was Xu Li.

Nan Yi answered politely.

"Mom’s in the kitchen!"

Xu Li’s tone immediately rose with excitement.

"Don’t tell me she knew I was coming and is cooking specially for me? GULP."

That was the sound of Xu Li swallowing her saliva.

Unfortunately, Nan Yi "cruelly" shattered Xu Li’s fantasy.

"Nope! Mom didn’t know you were coming, Aunt Xu. She’s cooking for me!"

He emphasized the last part of his sentence heavily!

Xu Li said jokingly.

"Yiyi, that’s so mean of you! Aunt Xu is heartbroken. I need a hug from you to feel better!"

Nan Yi was unmoved.

"No."

As he spoke, he ran quickly into the kitchen and stuck close to Nan Zhi like a magnet.

Sighing, Xu Li strode into the room with practiced ease.

"Nan Zhi, your Yiyi is a real fortress, completely impenetrable!"

Nan Zhi raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

Xu Li clicked her tongue, then happened to glance up...

...and she froze.

"You’re... You look... Your face seems..."

Xu Li stuttered for a long time without managing to say anything coherent.

How should she put it?

It had only been five days, but Xu Li felt that Nan Zhi was almost unreasonably beautiful today.

She was standing in the kitchen, and the gentle, soft glow of the evening sun enveloped her, making her look as if she were bathed in a soft-focus filter. From her skin to her fingertips to the very strands of her hair, everything seemed to be suffused with light!

"I know what it is!"

Xu Li suddenly realized.

"Your skin has gotten better, and your hair seems to have improved a lot too... Huh? Have you put on a little weight? I knew it! You were way too thin before!"

"Nan Yi and I have been eating medicinal meals recently."

After starting her collaboration with Boss Yang, Nan Zhi’s personal savings had grown considerably. She had decisively bought more expensive medicinal herbs and had been making medicinal meals for herself and Nan Yi every day.

Even during their few days in the small town, she made no exception. Nan Zhi borrowed the inn proprietress’s kitchen to make a small pot every day. They would eat it before bed to replenish their qi and blood, and to promote longevity.

While the balance in her bank account was shrinking rapidly, the effects of the high-quality medicinal herbs were immediate and obvious.

Xu Li was amazed.

"It’s that effective! No wonder when I saw Yiyi just now, he seemed even cuter than before!"

Nan Zhi: ’Could it be... that’s just your weird doting-aunt mindset talking?’

After a moment, Xu Li awkwardly asked Nan Zhi if she could help her with a regimen as well, adding that money wasn’t an issue.

In her early years, Xu Li had worked herself to the bone, constantly pulling all-nighters at the office.

Later, after entering the entertainment industry, her schedule became even more chaotic and irregular, and her body had accumulated numerous chronic issues.

Nan Zhi thought for a moment, then agreed.

If it had been anyone else, she most likely would have refused.

But Xu Li was one of her own, so it was different.

Thrilled to get Nan Zhi’s promise, Xu Li waved her hand grandly and took on the task of packing their luggage.

Nan Zhi couldn’t stop her no matter how she tried, and in the end, could only let her be.

That night, Xu Li slept over at Nan Zhi’s house.

Xu Li stayed in Nan Yi’s room.

Nan Yi stayed with Nan Zhi.

The three of them agreed to wake up at 7:00 the next morning, which would get them to the filming location at around 8:30.

Since the production team’s required call time was 9:00, it was perfect timing... or so they thought!

No one could have expected that the production team would pull a "surprise" ambush!

The live stream announcement on Weibo was posted at 6:00 AM.

The film crew arrived at Nan Zhi’s front door at 6:30 AM.

At that moment, the camera was focused on Nan Zhi’s front door.

Of course, the house number and surrounding area were all blurred out to prevent the location from being identified.

Meanwhile, in the live stream chat that had just opened, the screen was flooded with question marks.

[Am I sleepwalking?]

[As a night owl, seeing the announcement at 6 AM, I thought the production team was just trolling!]

[Staying up until 6 AM... Bro, that’s not being a night owl, that’s courting death!]

[So can someone tell me what’s going on? Wasn’t yesterday’s announcement for an 8 AM live stream?]

...

No matter how confused they were, it didn’t stop them from watching the live stream out of curiosity.

The number of viewers continued to rise, quickly jumping from three digits to four.

And this was at 6:30 in the morning!

With basically no prior warning!

A conversation could be heard from off-camera.

"Should we go knock?"

"What if we get yelled at?"

"Getting yelled at would be great, actually. We wouldn’t have to worry about ratings."

The bullet comments exploded with laughter, and the audience’s judgmental attitude was washed away.

At this point, even if a guest opened the door and started cursing them out, they could edit it in post-production to be funny.

Amid this mounting sense of anticipation...

...the director stepped forward and knocked on the door.

They waited for about a minute.

The door didn’t open.

Instead, a calm yet childish voice came from behind the closed door. ℯ

"Who is it?"