The Affectionate Film Emperor Only Loves Me

Before starting this chapter, I would like to inform you of a minor change in the name of one of the protagonists. I had mistakenly translated ML’s name as “Du Tong” but its actually “Du Tang”. His name means cherry apples and the meaning will come to use in the next chapter. Sorry for the inconvenience cause  /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~

“Hello viewers, and welcome to Gourmet Masters, I’m Zhang Tao, your host for this show.”

 

Zhang Tao greeted everybody in his usual manner.

 

A few pop-ups of greetings floated across the screen in reply.

 

“Today is our first episode, and now I’ll introduce our guests.”

 

The camera focused on the guests and participants who introduced themselves.

 

The viewers in front of the screen all started to desperately send out a barrage of comments to cheer for their idols, but in terms of overall number of fans, Du Tang was riding high, such that even the other three participants combined couldn’t reach his heights.

 

As for the few chef guests, not even a small splash was created.

 

However, gradually, the pop-ups began to be interspersed with some strange comments.

 

[Who’s the little amateur brother on the far left? In three seconds, I want to know all about him.]

 

[Lin Jianghe? I haven’t heard of that name, is it a newcomer that one of the companies is promoting?]

 

[I don’t know.]

 

[Hasn’t anyone noticed that he’s on this show as a chef?]

 

[I noticed, it must be a marketing ploy]

 

[Trash idols should get out of the gourmet circle!]

 

[Just stay in show business, don’t pretend to be a chef!]

 

[Alas, the morality of people has degenerated ah[mfn]人心不古啊: This means that people’s hearts and wills are not as sincere and honest as in the olden times, public morality has degenerated. It’s also a reference to that really popular chinese meme “is it a loss of morality of distortion of human nature?”[/mfn]]

 

[Hiring positive reviewers, add group XXXXXXX, ten yuan per review[mfn]This is a bit confusing to me. It’s either a genuine spam message like the ones that we encounter normally, or it’s a sarcastic comment about how nobody is commenting anything good about lin jianghe so he gotta hire his own water army (or 10 cent army that is paid for writing comments and reviews)[/mfn].]

 

[Advertising dog, quick, somebody report this!]

 

Du Tang subtly glanced at Lin Jianghe.

 

Lin Jianghe sat straight, looking forward like a well behaved and obedient little student, but only Xiao Jiejie could hear his inner screams.

 

[Ahhhhhh, this nominal husband of mine is so handsome!]

 

[Have you forgotten what happened the first time you met? Do you want to be a tablet1Memorial tablets set on graves; this is a reference to how mc transmigrated right when DT was threatening the og host with certain death if he tried to make a fuss ~and yeah I’m still salty abt that on his behalf, just like system~?]

 

 Xiao Jiejie managed to call back Lin Jianghe’s sanity.

 

[Unexpectedly, I haven’t forgotten.]

 

At this point, Zhang Tao had already started to announce the rules of the game.

 

“First, we will draw lots and group the participants together. Those who draw the card with the same number will be in one group. Each group will consist of one artist and one chef.”

 

The program staff dressed in black suits started to come on the stage, holding the lottery.

 

The groups were soon divided.

 

Du Tang and Lin Jianghe were in one group, actress Shen Zhizhi and Wang Jiang were in one group, traffic idol Liu Jingjing and Qian Jin were in one group, and traffic idol Guang Ling and Sun Ge were in one group.

 

“Well, since the groups have been divided, please sit down according to your groups and I will start announcing the tasks right away.”

 

Everybody took their seats one by one, and at this time, thanks to the limelight of Du Tang, Lin Jianghe’s position also moved from the edge to the center.

 

The two of them pretended not to know each other, greeting each other with a cordial atmosphere. But no one knew what was actually going on in their hearts.

 

The Du Tang in the limelight was not the same as the usual taciturn Du Tang. Under the limelight, he was recognized as a good person in the entertainment industry; willing to help his juniors, optimistic and positive.

 

This is his persona and his armor, shielding his true emotions from the public.

 

“Level 1: Food Express: the chefs are requested to wait on the stage while the artists follow the staff to carry out their first task.”

 

“What task?”

 

Guang Ling looked interested. As a popular traffic idol, he had always come across as a lively and quirky boy in front of the crowd.

 

“We’ll see when we get there.”

 

Zhang Tao, however, didn’t want to spoil the ‘surprise’, and Guang Ling shook his head helplessly and left.

 

[Brother Tao is so cruel!]

 

[Don’t be sad, cub!]

 

[Brother is so cute!]

 

At this point the main camera switched to Du Tang’s side of the scene, and the amateurs who stayed on the scene could take the opportunity to take a break.

 

Xiao Ai also rushed up, “How are you doing Jiang He, don’t be nervous, I just saw that you’re doing quite well.”

 

“It’s fine, I’m not nervous, and I wonder what this first level is going to be about.”

 

On the other side, Du Tang and the others who were brought to the supermarket were informed of their task, which was to pick the right ingredients within three minutes. These ingredients would be used by their partners to make dishes.

 

“Start!”

 

As soon as Zhang Tao’s order was given, the group practically flew into the supermarket, selected their items, and then hurried back to their designated positions under the urging of the countdown.

 

“Time’s up.”

 

The comment barrage on the screen resembled a sea of amusement.

 

[Lol lol lol2恍恍惚惚: its literal meaning is “indistinct/dizzy/being in a trance” but it’s short for 红红火火 恍恍惚惚 “flourishing and prosperous, befuddled and stupefied”, which is slang for “LOL”. I have no idea why they would want to make it so long when a simple “lol” or “haha” would have sufficed, but ig it’s because all the syllables in this term start from “h” so it’s a clever way to say “haha”]

 

[hahahahahahaha]

 

[Come on husband! Come on husband!]

 

After this segment, the camera reverted to the studio.

 

“Just now your partners are off to pick the next ingredients, later you will need to make a dish with the ingredients your partners have brought back, which will be reviewed and ranked by chefs Zhang Ji and Liu Heng.”

 

Zhang Tao saw the end of the game over there and proceeded to introduce the rules of the game.

 

“Okay let’s see what your partners have brought back.”

 

At this point Du Tang and the others all came back with their chosen ingredients.

 

The first to make a display was Shen Zhizhi, who brought back a piece of beef and a few potatoes.

 

“There’s meat and vegetables, a good choice.” Zhang Tao did not spare his praise.

 

Her partner Wang Jiang also took the ingredients with a satisfied look on his face. Potatoes and beef were his specialty and it was obvious that Shen Zhizhi had put in some effort before the show.

 

[Goddess ah ah ah ah ah!]

 

[This is one of my favourite dishes! I can learn how to make it later!]

 

Then there was Guang Ling, whose choice was a big bag of broccoli, “I quite like broccoli, I wonder what Chef Sun can make with it?”

 

Sun Ge nodded. It was hard to beat him in making stir-fried broccoli.

 

[Baby you need to eat more meat, how can you just eat vegetarian dishes? Don’t be a picky eater]

 

[Honey, I love broccoli too.]

 

[Ah ah ah!]

 

Liu Jingjing, on the other hand, took out a tomato, “Sorry about that, the other stuff fell off on the way, only this is left.”

 

“It’s okay,” Qian Jin was a little confused, but he hastened to comfort Liu Jingjing, “We’ll just make tomato salad.”

 

[Don’t be sad, Goddess.]

 

[Jing Jing is so beautiful, cheers!]

 

Du Tang took out the onion, ginger and garlic he had prepared, “The time was too short, I only managed to pick up these seasonings.”

 

After saying this, he outwardly smiled at Lin Jianghe, but only he knew what he thought inside.

 

“It’s okay.” Lin Jianghe gave him a reassuring smile.

 

He definitely did it on purpose, aaaaahhhh! He just wanted to see Lin Jianghe make a fool of himself! But this time, Du Tang was going to be disappointed3不过这一次他可就坐蜡了: my translator translated it as “this time, he’s sitting on his hands” and from what I know, sitting on your hands means not being able to do something or being unable to achieve your purpose. The idiom sounded pretty awkward here so I replaced it with something else. Who said onions, ginger and garlic alone can’t make up a good dish?

 

He was going to show him what he could do!

 

Lin Jianghe stared at Du Tang with a high spirited look filled with motivation. Du Tang arched his eyebrows and smiled slightly at him in return, looking like a youthful gentleman.

 

[Ahhhhh, my husband is so pretty!]

 

[I wonder what kind of dishes Lin Jianghe will cook with onion, ginger and garlic? I’m really looking forward to it!]

 

[My little brother is so good looking, he gives off such a quiet and lovable aura!]

 

“Please prepare your respective dishes within one hour. Apart from the ingredients you have chosen, the program team will only provide you with salt and an unlimited amount of water. An appropriate amount of seasoning is the best way to maintain the original taste of the ingredients4He’s basically saying that the team won’t give them seasoning because lesser seasoning will help bring out the original taste of the ingredients. What he doesn’t say is that here, lesser = zero seasoning, because most of them didn’t pick up seasonings in their hurry. Speaking of this, isn’t this too much? Like , how bad are their life skills? Even if they can only use their hands, I think picking up a few small bottles of seasonings doesn’t take a lot of space? Also, why do I feel like 3 minutes are enough to pick up quite a lot of things? If you don’t have to compare prices, then it takes barely 10 minutes for grocery shopping. If I was given this chance, I would’ve managed to scavenge enough for me to last a week….. Pfft either I am experienced or these ppl are way too lacking in life skills…...”

 

Zhang Tao smiled. He had already predicted that many people would scold him after the end of this episode.

 

He was a true man, so fearless!

 

Shen Zhizhi’s perfect smile froze for a moment before she managed to regain her composure. Boiled potatoes and beef shouldn’t taste too bad, right?

 

Guang Ling also felt that there was not much of a problem, the stir fry had just turned into boiled broccoli

 

Liu Jingjing was even less afraid, her dishes didn’t need oil in the first place.

 

The corners of Du Tang’s lips were slightly hooked, and he also looked confident.

 

Lin Jianghe and the others were already in their positions, and with a whistle, they began to cook their respective dishes.

 

Lin Jianghe stared at the onions, ginger and garlic in front of him and selected the right items in the system mall, and finally he locked his choice.

 

The book of home-made soups worth 100,000 points. For this book, Lin Jianghe had used up all his savings and borrowed 50,000 points from the system to buy it.

 

But after reading the recipes, he knew that the 100,000 points were well spent!

 

The dish he was going to make today was a simple after-meal soup, the Sanxian5This means ‘three fresh’. Traditionally, this soup is made with three main ingredients and the specific ingredients can be anything. Our MC uses onion, garlic and ginger. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an appropriate picture or recipe for this one…. Soup. Although it was simply boiled in water, the size and cutting method for the ingredients as well as the grasp on the heat control of the ingredients were not something that a novice could master.

 

Half an hour later, Lin Jianghe plated up the finished Sanxian Soup and served it in two small bowls for the two judges to taste.

 

The porcelain white bowls were a mixture of green, white and yellow colors, and many viewers in front of the screen were attacked by cravings.

 

The ever-increasing number of points proved to be enough to pay off the previous debts at this point, and Lin Jianghe even gave Xiao Jiejie 10,000 points to show his appreciation.

 

By now, everyone had finished their dishes and the previous three groups had all been tasted.

 

Zhang Ji looked carefully at the well-plated Sanxian Soup in front of him and gently scooped a spoonful into his mouth.

 

The extreme aroma exploded in his mouth, making him reluctant to swallow it immediately.

 

Liu Heng sensed his old friend’s abnormality. He couldn’t swallow it? Was the taste so bad? But the soup looked pretty good… Even if it tasted bad, there was no way he could spit it out in front of the audience during a live stream!

 

The director who was guarding in front of the camera also keenly noticed the explosive point and hurriedly gave Zhang Ji a close-up of his face.

 

The viewers in front of the screen were also a bit restless as the number of pop-ups shot up again.

 

[If you’re a small artist from the 18th tier, can’t you just rely on your face to make your debut? Why do you have to participate in a food show and drag down my brother]

 

[I heard that the original guest was Zhao Jin, but I don’t know what changed and he ended up being the one who appeared on the show.]

 

[What? I love Chef Zhao. He’s handsome, he cooks well, and he’s funny. The perfect boyfriend!]

 

[Dirty tricks!]

 

[Dirty tricks!]

 

[But he’s really good looking and has a good temperament.]

 

The face-cons were starting to struggle.

 

[Good looks are good looks, but good looks can’t be eaten for a meal!]

 

[+1]

 

The director looked at the dense pop-ups and nodded smugly. Good, it was fine as long as there was a topic to talk about.

 

Zhang Ji, who was busy marveling at the deliciousness of the food, naturally didn’t know what everyone was thinking. After finally swallowing the spoonful of soup he had just eaten, he hastened to scoop up another large spoonful and savored it.

 

Liu Heng gave him a puzzled look and also took a spoonful, his expression instantly becoming better looking as he glanced approvingly at Lin Jianghe.

 

Indeed, the younger generation will surpass them in time6后生可畏 hòu shēng kě wèi the young will be redoubtable in the years to come (idiom); the younger generations will surpass us in time!

 

[?]

 

[????]

 

[？？？？？]

 

[This is confusing..]

 

The screen was instantly obscured by a series of question marks, and it was clear that they too had noticed the confusing aspect of Zhang Ji’s behavior.

 

The guests on stage were also a little puzzled, was this a deliberate arrangement by the program team?

 

They were really good at taking advantage of new opportunities, they almost fooled us all.

 

No way! They couldn’t believe that Lin Jianghe’s soup was so good that it triggered this result.

 

After all, Zhang Ji and Liu Heng are also top chefs who have been famous for many years, so how was it possible for them to cherish this tiny bowl of soup?

Hi there! It’s nosebleed-chan again!. This week’s chapters were really late Orz. I’ve been having a bad time lately and to make matters worse I overworked myself and got a sunstroke…..right before my class test…. so yeah….. Another chap of TAFEOLM coming right up!

1Memorial tablets set on graves; this is a reference to how mc transmigrated right when DT was threatening the og host with certain death if he tried to make a fuss ~and yeah I’m still salty abt that on his behalf, just like system~2恍恍惚惚: its literal meaning is “indistinct/dizzy/being in a trance” but it’s short for 红红火火 恍恍惚惚 “flourishing and prosperous, befuddled and stupefied”, which is slang for “LOL”. I have no idea why they would want to make it so long when a simple “lol” or “haha” would have sufficed, but ig it’s because all the syllables in this term start from “h” so it’s a clever way to say “haha”3不过这一次他可就坐蜡了: my translator translated it as “this time, he’s sitting on his hands” and from what I know, sitting on your hands means not being able to do something or being unable to achieve your purpose. The idiom sounded pretty awkward here so I replaced it with something else4He’s basically saying that the team won’t give them seasoning because lesser seasoning will help bring out the original taste of the ingredients. What he doesn’t say is that here, lesser = zero seasoning, because most of them didn’t pick up seasonings in their hurry. Speaking of this, isn’t this too much? Like , how bad are their life skills? Even if they can only use their hands, I think picking up a few small bottles of seasonings doesn’t take a lot of space? Also, why do I feel like 3 minutes are enough to pick up quite a lot of things? If you don’t have to compare prices, then it takes barely 10 minutes for grocery shopping. If I was given this chance, I would’ve managed to scavenge enough for me to last a week….. Pfft either I am experienced or these ppl are way too lacking in life skills…..5This means ‘three fresh’. Traditionally, this soup is made with three main ingredients and the specific ingredients can be anything. Our MC uses onion, garlic and ginger. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an appropriate picture or recipe for this one….6后生可畏 hòu shēng kě wèi the young will be redoubtable in the years to come (idiom); the younger generations will surpass us in time