If acting was Yu Wanqiu's faith, then music was Jiang Lan's faith.
Moreover, she had studied music for two lifetis. While others might have practiced the violin for ten years, she had done so for twenty, already far ahead of most. How could she possibly give it up so easily?
Most importantly, she already had twenty million.
Twenty million!
Who could earn that much in a lifeti? Though Yu Wanqiu made a fortune in the entertainnt industry, it ca with imnse effort. Jiang Lan had never seriously considered entering showbiz—twenty million was more than enough for her.
Yu Wanqiu said, "I know so people in the music industry. Would you mind if I helped you find work?"
She worried Jiang Lan might refuse—young people often carried pride, much like Lu Yicheng, who could have easily joined Lu Yuan but insisted on finding his own internship and proving himself first.
Jiang Lan shook her head, chewing on a piece of at. "Of course not. If you recomnd , it’s just an opportunity. If I land the job, it’ll still be because of my own skills. There’s no conflict there."
She actually wanted a side gig. The twenty million wouldn’t hit her account anyti soon—taxes had to be paid, and the show had to finish filming. Who knew how long that would take?
For now, she still relied on her parents for money. Unlike her easygoing dynamic with Yu Wanqiu, Jiang Lan was a little afraid of her mother.
Jiang's mother was a high school teacher and horoom instructor. Having been a diocre student, Jiang Lan had a deep-seated fear of teachers.
She wondered if her mom even watched the show.
Yu Wanqiu nodded. "I’ll let you know if any opportunities co up. Are you running low on funds?"
Jiang Lan held up a finger. "A little. It’s the start of the month—Mom should be sending my allowance soon... hopefully."
Yu Wanqiu almost laughed. "Didn’t Lu Yicheng get a bonus from his internship?"
Lu Yicheng was her boyfriend, not her ATM. Besides, she had parents—how could she shalessly spend his money? He could cover more on dates, but Jiang Lan wanted to avoid financial entanglents. "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely mooch a fancy al off him."
Yu Wanqiu sprinkled seasoning over the skewers. Charcoal-grilled, they carried a rich, smoky aroma. The lamb skewers and chicken wings sizzled, the latter already golden, the at crisping at the edges—just a little longer, and they’d be perfect.
Who else was this lucky? Not only was she earning 330,000 a day, but an award-winning actress was personally grilling her food.
Did Lu Yicheng get this treatnt? No. Did Lu Yicheng’s father? Also no.
Testing the skewers with a bamboo stick, Yu Wanqiu confird they were done. "The lamb’s ready. The wings need more ti. Try one."
Jiang Lan took a swig of cola before biting into the at. The ingredients Xiao Xu bought were pricier and higher quality than street vendors’, with minimal gaminess. The fat had rendered into juicy crispness, the spice from the chili powder making it irresistible—enough to make the neighbors’ kids drool.
"Yu Wanqiu, these are even better than Lu Yicheng’s! Did he learn from you?" Jiang Lan’s eyes sparkled. So that explained his skills with braised pork and fish—it was genetic.
Yu Wanqiu neither confird nor denied, simply amused.
Perhaps because she hadn’t raised Lu Yicheng closely, their bond lacked traditional maternal intensity; they interacted as equals. Watching him in love was both surprising and entertaining—everything beca a playful competition.
"Really better than his? You ate plenty the other night."
Jiang Lan scoffed. "You don’t believe ? Fine, I’ll prove it."
She devoured three skewers in rapid succession. "See? Exceptionally good."
They’d grilled enough to share, delivering so to Shen Xingyao and the others. Shen Xingyao was stunned, whispering, "Did... Yu Wanqiu make these?"
She rembered Jiang Lan couldn’t cook—Yu Wanqiu had handled the first episode, and Lu Yicheng had grilled at the beach.
Jiang Lan nodded, then reconsidered. "I helped too, you know."
Shen Xingyao chuckled, clutching the skewers like treasure. Yu Wanqiu’s cooking! She almost didn’t want to eat them. "Of course you helped. Thanks."
For Zhang Lin, who was pregnant, they included grilled potato slices alongside the lamb. Zhang Lin thanked them, but when Li Jia erged and learned the food’s origin, she vetoed it. "You’re pregnant. This isn’t healthy."
Zhang Lin had learned how to handle Li Jia by now. "Fine, I won’t eat it. But I’m hungry again—I want braised beef."
Li Jia: "......"
They’d just had lunch thirty minutes ago. What kind of bottomless pit was this pregnancy?
Still, Li Jia wouldn’t starve her grandchild. She labored in the kitchen for over an hour, finally presenting the beef—only for Zhang Lin to take two bites and push it away. "I’ve lost my appetite."
Li Jia’s blood pressure spiked. "You couldn’t have said that before I cooked it?!"
Zhang Lin said innocently, "How would I know if I want to eat it without trying it? Maybe I should just starve from now on and not eat anything at all. Mom, why don’t you think about it—if your stewed beef were even half as delicious as the barbecue, I wouldn’t have trouble eating it."
Li Jia was so angry she couldn’t speak. She had no idea Zhang Lin could be like this before. She used to be so obedient and sensible.
How had she changed so much?
But Li Jia was also afraid Zhang Lin might actually starve herself. A child’s health was important—so important that she repeated it three tis in her mind.
It was just for this month. Once it was over, she’d go back ho, and the nanny could take care of her.
Doctors didn’t recomnd barbecue because the at might not be fully cooked, risking bacteria or parasites. She decided to reheat it and cook so rice to go with it.
Li Jia angrily prepared the al, finishing past two in the morning. The leftover barbecue ended up in her own stomach—and it was actually quite tasty.
Shen Xingyao shared the barbecue with Du Wanzhou and even posted about it on Weibo.
With over fifty million followers, she had the influence of a rising star. The mont the post went up, comnts flooded in.
["Is this the barbecue Yu Wanqiu and Jiang Lan made?"]
["Mouth wide open—feed , wifey!"]
["The first episode had Yu Wanqiu cooking, and the next two didn’t show any cooking scenes. So by default, this is Yu Wanqiu’s work. It looks so delicious!"]
["I was so naive. I thought Jiang Lan would just be the sweet, pretty daughter-in-law on the mother-in-law reality show. I never expected things to turn out like this."]
["Quick question—is it too late to try and woo Lu Yicheng now? T_T"]
["Girl, let give you so solid advice: Wooing Lu Yicheng is a dead end. No future there. You’re better off going for Jiang Lan."]
["???"]
["HAHAHAHAHA"]
["Lu Yicheng: Excuse ??"]
["Be real—how many tis has Yu Wanqiu actually made barbecue for Lu Yicheng? She barely ate it before. You really think he’s worth the effort?"]
["Why would you even consider it?"]
["After watching so many episodes, you still haven’t figured it out?"]
Jiang Lan didn’t check the comnts and had no idea what fans were saying about Lu Yicheng. During their phone call that night, she praised Yu Wanqiu’s barbecue and hotpot again.
Lu Yicheng just responded with vague sounds—"Mhm… Yeah."
Jiang Lan frowned. "Could you at least react properly? I’m sharing sothing fun with you. What’s with the attitude?"
Lu Yicheng matched Yu Wanqiu’s tone. "You ate several of the prawns I grilled that night, and I didn’t hear any complints then."
Jiang Lan said, "Yours was delicious too! But Yu Wanqiu’s was also amazing. Lu Yicheng, did you learn from her?"
Lu Yicheng knew it—he knew she’d say that. "Watch your words. It’s not that I learned from her—she asked for tips. The chat logs are still there. Want to send them?"
"No need, I’ll pass. But Yu Wanqiu is still impressive. Even if she asked you, she managed to—" (make it taste better than yours).
Lu Yicheng’s expression darkened, his glare practically murderous. It looked like if Jiang Lan said one more word, he’d grill skewers on the spot and deliver them just to ask which she preferred.
Jiang Lan covered her mouth. "Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Happy now?"
Lu Yicheng sighed. "You just love pushing my buttons."
Jiang Lan rubbed her cheeks and mid zipping her lips. She had finished reading all the notes in the glass bottle—Lu Yicheng had written about countless "first tis" they’d shared. Reading them felt like reliving their relationship from an outsider’s perspective, only to realize she was still part of it.
Those were mories they’d made together.
When Lu Yicheng noticed her silence, he thought the call had frozen and waved his phone. "You still there?"
Jiang Lan pointed to her lips. "Still in silence mode."
Lu Yicheng couldn’t help but chuckle. "Fine. If my mom’s cooking tastes good, eat as much as you want. Have you lost weight?"
Jiang Lan shook her head. "Nope. Yu Wanqiu’s been making do yoga. I look slimr, but the scale hasn’t changed."
Lu Yicheng said, "I got my bonus. Let take you out for sothing nice this weekend."
When they were together, they’d always discover amazing restaurants and little eateries. Now that Jiang Lan had forgotten, he’d take her to relive those flavors.
Jiang Lan nodded eagerly. "Deal!"
If the food was good, she could bring Yu Wanqiu along—she’d probably never tried it before.
"Lu Yicheng, you look extra handso today."
He casually adjusted his hair. "Really?"
Being complinted by his girlfriend always pleased him. "Sa as yesterday, though, right?"
Jiang Lan thought, I just said it casually—no need to overanalyze.
"Handso everywhere. Hey, Lu Yicheng, I have a question."
Lu Yicheng straightened up. "What is it?"
Jiang Lan hesitated. "Did I ever tell you what I planned to do after graduation?"
If she had, he should know. But if her past plans didn’t match her current thoughts… then what?
Lu Yicheng answered quickly, "You said you wanted to join the National Symphony Orchestra and play the violin for the rest of your life."
Jiang Lan thought, Of course. She then asked, "Then why did I apply to Qinghua University? You didn’t write that in the bottle you gave ."
This ti, Lu Yicheng hesitated. After three seconds, he said, "Because of ."
Jiang Lan was a little puzzled. How could it be because of Lu Yicheng? Did she apply just because he wanted to go there? Was he her motivation, her guiding light in life? It wasn’t impossible—after all, Lu Yicheng was such an outstanding student.
But back in high school, would she really have seen him as her inspiration?
She was always a bit lazy, and studying didn’t co easily to her. Just getting into any university would have been... more than enough. Qinghua University? She wouldn’t have dared to dream of it.
"Really?"
Lu Yicheng affird, "Really. It was because of ."
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