Being a gigolo was too much for him, so he had to become a music superstar.

Su Nianwei picked up her phone, opened the search engine, and typed in a few words.

How to stew rock sugar pears

The screen's glow illuminated her face, making Su Nianwei laugh at herself.

Click on the first video tutorial.

"Remove the core from the pear, add rock sugar, and cover with water..."

Su Nianwei frowned.

What does "removing the kernel" mean?

Hollowed out in the middle?

Or should we cut it into pieces and then scoop it out?

Why do you need to soak white fungus?

How long should it be cooked?

Su Nian became increasingly agitated as she looked around overseas, so she switched to another page and sent a WeChat message to her maid, Sister Li.

Prepare the pears, white fungus, and rock sugar in the kitchen first thing tomorrow morning. Don't ask why.

After sending the message, I placed my phone face down on the table.

There was a three-second silence.

Su Nianwei picked it up again and added a sentence.

I did it myself.

After sending that message, Su Nianwei leaned back in her chair.

crazy.

They've all gone mad.

……

The next morning.

Sister Li stood nervously at the kitchen door.

On the marble island stand are two cleaned pears and a bowl of soaked white fungus, with a small dish of rock sugar next to them.

On the cutting board were a chef's knife for cutting meat and a white porcelain stew pot.

Su Nianwei, dressed in casual clothes, stood at the front of the stage with her arms crossed, exuding the same aura as when she was reviewing financial statements in the conference room.

"Miss Su, this knife is too heavy. How about I get you a fruit knife, or I can help you..."

"go out."

Sister Li immediately shut up, left, and closed the door behind her.

Su Nianwei was the only one left in the kitchen.

Su Nianwei picked up the chef's knife and brandished it at Xue Li a couple of times.

With a flick of the wrist, the pear was split in two.

The pit is in the middle.

Su Nianwei took a small iron spoon and dug hard into the middle.

Juice splattered out, the fruit pulp was scooped out beyond recognition, and crumbs were scattered all over the table.

Looking at the irregular piece of fruit, Su Nianwei felt embarrassed.

He turned to prepare the white fungus.

The tutorial says to tear it into small pieces.

Su Nianwei tugged at it a few times, tearing out pieces of varying sizes, and even pulling one piece off along with its root.

Su Nianwei swept all the pear chunks and white fungus, along with the dish of rock sugar, into the stewing pot.

Add water and turn on the heat.

The tutorial says: Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for forty minutes.

Su Nianwei stood in front of the stove, timing herself.

Seeing white bubbles rising to the surface of the water, I immediately turned down the heat.

The heat slowly dissipated, carrying a slightly sweet aroma.

Su Nianwei stared at the wisp of white smoke.

The head of the Su Group was making sugar water in the kitchen at six in the morning for a man who was staying in the basement.

If this gets out, it will definitely become a topic of conversation in the financial world.

Forty minutes later.

Lifting the lid, Su Nianwei picked up a long-handled spoon, scooped up a little, and put it in her mouth.

It's cloyingly sweet.

Too much rock sugar was added.

Su Nianwei frowned, picked up the water pitcher next to her, added half a cup of water, put the lid back on, and boiled it for another ten minutes.

Footsteps came from the direction of the stairs.

Su Nianwei turned off the heat, put on heat-resistant gloves, took the stew pot down, and poured it into a white porcelain bowl.

I grabbed a piece of kitchen paper and quickly wiped away the fruit pits and residue from the countertop, then put the knife in the sink.

The action is fast.

When Lin Buyi arrived at the restaurant, Su Nianwei was sitting in the main seat, scrolling through her tablet and watching the morning news.

Several Chinese breakfast dishes were laid out on the table.

But in front of Lin Buyi's seat, there was an extra bowl of steaming hot rock sugar pear stewed with white fungus.

There was also a yellow sticky note next to it.

Lin Buyi pulled out a chair and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the bowl of soup.

The pear was cut haphazardly, and large chunks of white fungus floated on the surface of the water.

The soup does look rather awful.

Lin Buyi looked up at the opposite side.

Su Nianwei's gaze lingered on the tablet screen.

Lin Buyi didn't say anything, but picked up the spoon and scooped up a spoonful.

It's still sweet.

He scooped up a second spoonful.

Su Nianwei secretly glanced over from above the tablet screen and saw Lin Buyi drinking the beverage spoonful by spoonful, causing her tense back to relax slightly.

"What are the plans for today?" Su Nianwei asked.

"Practicing singing in the basement." Lin Buyi swallowed the sweet soup in his mouth. "We'll wait for the production team to notify us of the next round of recording. We need to work out the new song before then."

"Okay." Su Nianwei put down her tablet and picked up her black coffee. "I need to call Cheng Yi later to arrange something. Stay in the basement and don't come up. No matter what noise you hear, pretend you didn't hear it."

Lin Buyi stopped moving.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"You should be worried about your songs."

"President Su, this concerns me personally. Don't I even have the right to know?"

Su Nianwei tightened her grip on the coffee cup, speechless at the rhetorical question.

I simply turned my face away and pretended I hadn't heard anything.

The bottom of the bowl is empty.

Lin Buyi pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands and picked up the sticky note on the table.

The handwriting above is clear and strong: [Mind your own business. Save your energy for the stage.]

Lin Buyi glanced at it for a few seconds, then casually folded the sticky note into a small square and put it into his coat pocket.

He stood up and walked outside.

After passing through the living room, Lin Buyi paused at the top of the stairs leading to the basement.

"The sweet soup tasted good. Just put less sugar in it next time."

Su Nianwei turned her head and raised her voice: "What nonsense are you talking about? That was stewed by Sister Li."

"Sister Li has worked for the Su family for ten years. It's impossible for her to cut such an artistic pear with such knife skills."

After saying that, Lin Buyi walked straight down the stairs.

Very light footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Su Nianwei sat in the chair, her ears and neck feeling slightly hot.

Su Nianwei picked up the cup of black coffee that had gone cold and took a big gulp.

The bitter taste washed away the dryness in my mouth.

"It's a habit she's been spoiled with," Su Nianwei said softly, placing the cup on the table.

He took out his phone and dialed Cheng Yi's number directly.

The call was answered after one beep.

"Good morning, Mr. Su."

"Enough with the nonsense, grab a pen and paper and write this down. I'll only say it once." Su Nianwei's tone returned to calm, back to her work mode.

"First. Starting with the next recording, the PR team's strategy will change. We don't need to actively release press releases to promote Lin Buyi. The quality of the song will generate traffic on its own; the team's job is to capitalize on it. Once the topic explodes, we'll quickly guide the direction of public opinion. I'll decide the general direction; you personally oversee the specific execution details."

The sound of a pen nib scratching across paper came from the other end of the phone.

"clear."

"Secondly. Prepare three complete contingency plans for me. The first is to prevent the program team from maliciously editing and suppressing me; the second is to prevent the competition system from being changed at the last minute to create traps; the third is to prevent a new round of large-scale smear campaigns from the rivals. I want to see specific response channels and practical procedures. If you dare to try to fool me with a few platitudes again, your entire team is fired."

"Yes," Cheng replied.

"The third point is very important. Have your people keep a close eye on Wang Shaohui's recent schedule, especially to see if he has been in contact with anyone inside the Su Group."

Cheng Yi stopped what he was doing.

"President Su, do you believe... Wang Shaohui has already uncovered your background?"

"He will definitely investigate," Su Nianwei interrupted Cheng Yi. "There are no secrets that stay hidden forever; it's only a matter of time."