Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 391 Breakfast for Three
September 13th, early morning, Xiangshan Qingqin.

Inside the kitchen, steam rose gently from around the pot lid.

Noticing that the water had boiled, Chen Duling, wearing an apron, lifted the lid of the pot and poured in all the wontons she had just wrapped. Then she slowly stirred them with a ladle to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.

The wontons cooked quickly, so after dividing them into three portions and serving them out, Chen Duling added some dried seaweed and dried shrimp to the bowls to enhance the flavor.

Black seaweed, white dried shrimp, and pink meat filling puffed up under thin wonton wrappers—this is a classic Fujian snack, perfect for breakfast.

Breakfast was ready, and Chen Duling took off her apron while making a wake-up call to the two people upstairs who were still "sleeping".

The phone was answered on the fifth ring. Chen Duling was about to say that breakfast was ready, but a series of rapid breathing sounds came from the other end first.

"Hoo~ Hoo~, Dudu, what's wrong?"

"Um, breakfast is ready."

"Okay, Xiu-ge and I will go downstairs right away."

"okay."

Just as she placed the three bowls of wontons on the table, thinking that the two upstairs would be "busy" for a while before coming down, a brightly colored figure suddenly darted down the stairs.

"Dudu! You're so kind."

The sound reached Chen Duling's ears first, and then she saw Meng Ziyi, who was only wearing a nightgown, hopping over and hugging her neck.

Meng Ziyi pursed her lips and blinked, saying in an admiring and grateful tone, "Dudu, I've noticed that my quality of life has improved so much since you moved in!"

"It's not that exaggerated! I just made breakfast. Sometimes you get up and cook too, don't you?"

As Chen Duling answered the question, her nostrils twitched slightly as she caught a whiff of Meng Ziyi's distinctive scent and the sensation beneath his clothes...

Meng Ziyi chuckled and said, "I only know how to boil eggs and steam corn on the cob, unlike you who can cook so many dishes."

"These are all things my mother taught me... What about Chen Xiu?"

"He's still upstairs getting dressed!"

Meng Ziyi pointed down the stairs, then remembered to go check on Chocolate, who was diligently eating dog food.

Chocolate, with its pure white fur and round body, wagged its little tail constantly while eating. After seeing this, Meng Ziyi ran over, squatted down, and talked to it.

"Chocolate, since Aunt Dudu came, you've been eating on time, haven't you?"

"Are you talking to it?"

"Woof woof~"

Chen Duling's question and Chocolate's response rang out one after the other, causing Meng Ziyi to cover her mouth and let out a goose-like laugh.

"OK, OK, I understand."

The sound coming from the stairs made Chen Duling stop her thoughts and look up.

What came into view was Chen Xiu, wearing an oversized white T-shirt and black shorts, talking on her phone, and walking downstairs in slippers.

When the person came downstairs, the phone call had just ended, and Chen Duling saw his lips curl up into a big smile.

"Dudu, thank you for getting up again today to make breakfast for us."

"It's alright. I've lived here for so long, cooking a few meals won't hurt."

"Don't say that. I don't thank you every time."

Chen Xiu's smile faded, and she said earnestly, "It's common for friends to help each other out. I can't thank you for cooking every time, so you don't need to keep bringing up the fact that I'm staying here. Let Sister Meng and me take advantage of this."

"……Oh."

Chen Duling lowered her eyes, nodded slightly, put her hands behind her back, and twisted her fingers together.

On the other side, Meng Ziyi, after finishing serving the chocolates, returned to the dining table and inquired about Chen Xiu's phone conversation.

"Brother Xiu, who were you talking to on the phone just now?"

"I made two calls, which one are you asking about?"

Chen Xiu looked at Meng Ziyi with a smile on her lips, always wanting to tease her.

Meng Ziyi frowned and pursed her lips as she thought about it: "Who called you when you were going downstairs just now?"

"Hey? Your sixth sense is really accurate today. You guessed the one related to yourself right away."

"Really?"

"Yes, Wei Feng just called and said that Xu Shanzheng is preparing to make a pet-themed movie and asked if we wanted to invest. After he told me, I thought that you and Chocolate could be the main characters in one segment, and I've already asked Wei Feng to talk to Xu Shanzheng about it."

Chen Xiu always liked to express her surprise in a light and understated tone.

After hearing this, Meng Ziyi would always pause for a second or two before widening his eyes in realization.

"Huh?! You want me to act in a movie with Chocolate?"

"If you don't want to go..."

"Of course I want to go!"

"If you don't want Chocolate to appear on screen, you can have it acted with other pet actors..." "No need, no need, Chocolate is so smart, it definitely knows how to be an actor!"

"Oh, that's okay."

When Chen Xiu burst out laughing, Meng Ziyi realized that he was deliberately teasing him, and immediately launched another barrage of heavy punches, striking Chen Xiu's back repeatedly like a professional masseur.

Watching the two flirt and tease each other, Chen Duling pouted and said, "Um, if we don't eat now, the wontons will get cold."

"Yes!"

Meng Ziyi quickly stopped, then shifted the blame to Chen Xiu: "It's all your fault, you made me forget to eat breakfast."

"Pshaw! Yes, yes, it's all my fault."

Chen Xiu smiled and sat down in the chair, scooped up some wontons with a spoon, and tasted them first.

"Dudu, the wontons are delicious."

"Thanks. Um, you just said you received two phone calls. What was the first one?"

Chen Duling pretended to casually steer the conversation back to what had just happened, and asked Meng Ziyi the other half of the question that he had overlooked.

The silly beauty didn't think much of this action, she just said "Yeah" and stared straight at Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu glanced meaningfully at Chen Duling, then said to Meng Ziyi, "A business partner of mine called and said he wanted to invite me to lunch to chat about some very boring things."

"Oh fine."

The character "孟" (Meng) is dull-witted and bored, so he lowers his head and eats wontons.

Chen Duling then changed the subject: "Last night, the highest rating of the episode of 'The Xuanwu Gate Incident' broke 4%, and CCTV praised the show on Weibo."

"You're referring to the episode where Luo Shixin died in battle at Mingshui City, and Li Shimin bought his body at great expense, buried him in Beiman Mountain, and bestowed a posthumous title upon him, right?"

Chen Xiu confirmed that he and Meng Ziyi would both watch the dramas he acted in.

Luo Shixin was the prototype of Luo Cheng in "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties". He died at the age of 23, making him a young hero.

Chen Duling nodded and said, "Many netizens said in the comments that it was a pity Luo Shixin died, and they even cried. They also said that Li Shimin could have saved him if he hadn't died so soon."

"Yes! If it hadn't snowed so heavily, Li Shimin could have saved Luo Shixin." (Zizhi Tongjian, Tang Dynasty, Volume 6: Heita attacked day and night, but a heavy snow fell, preventing reinforcements from reaching the city. After eight days, on the day of Dingchou, the city fell.)
Chen Xiu expressed her regret, saying that tragedies often resonate more deeply with people.

During the filming of "The Xuanwu Gate Incident," the actors' performances and emotions were spot-on, which is why the final product was able to move viewers to tears.

Hearing the two of them discussing the plot, Meng Ziyi joined in, saying, "Brother Xiu, 'The Xuanwu Gate Incident' is so well-made, do you think you can win a Best Actor award for it?"

"will not."

Chen Xiu answered very affirmatively.

Meng Ziyi and Chen Duling were both taken aback. The pure and innocent college girl frowned thoughtfully, while the silly beauty asked if she didn't understand.

"Why not? I've seen other actors in other dramas who don't perform as well as you!"

"I didn't even let anyone from the company sign up. How could we win a prize if we didn't participate?"

Chen Xiu replied matter-of-factly that he took such awards very lightly.

Meng Ziyi nodded in understanding, then pressed on, "Why didn't you participate?"

“If he participates and wins an award, netizens will say that the organizers rigged the event; if he doesn’t win an award, his fans won’t accept it.”

Chen Duling explained, then turned her gaze from Chen Xiu to Meng Ziyi: "Instead of pleasing neither side, it's better not to participate at all. Anyway, whether or not we win an award won't affect the results of 'The Xuanwu Gate Incident'."

"Bingo! That's exactly what I was thinking."

Chen Xiu's confirmation made Chen Duling's lips curl into an uncontrollable smile.

Meng Ziyi nodded in understanding: "If that's the case, then there's really no need to go."

"If you want an award, you can talk to Yang Ming. The company has a special award-winning plan."

"Any plans to win the lottery?"

"That's right! If you want to win an award, you should first choose a serious drama, then practice your acting skills accordingly. After the drama airs, find some media outlets to publish press releases about your good acting to create hype. Repeat this a few times, and you'll eventually win an award."

Chen Xiuyi's opening remarks stripped away all the pretense of the award.

As industry insiders, Meng Ziyi and Chen Duling both aspired to win various awards in the circle. Hearing Chen Xiu say this, they both looked incredulous.

"Isn't winning an award based on acting skills?"

Chen Duling said uncertainly that her acting skills were terrible, so she should pay more attention to them.

Chen Xiu agreed, saying, "Acting skills are definitely necessary; after all, it wouldn't be acceptable if they were too bad. But the acting skills of those nominated for awards are probably all about the same. At this point, the selection becomes subjective, and publicity can often influence the judges' choices."

"..."*2
Meng Ziyi and Chen Duling were both speechless, but at the same time, they felt that what Chen Xiu said was true.

Seeing their expressions, Chen Xiu felt that breaking things down like this was a bit too realistic and blunt, but she still finished explaining the last bit of the inside story.

"If you want to win an award, it's best to get a few nominations first to accumulate points and let netizens and fans think that you are good enough. If you are not selected, it is the judges' fault. This way, winning the award will be natural. Otherwise, people will think that you are not deserving of the award, and the level of the award will be lowered."

"..."*2
Seeing the two women's inability to accept the situation, Chen Xiu stood up and casually said, "I was just saying it offhand, so don't take it too seriously. It's just an award, and I'm really not interested in it."

(End of this chapter)