An Empress's Return to the Present: The Real Young Lady's Strong Comeback

Chapter 5

The camera was facing the dining table, and it coincidentally filmed Ji Yao’s back. She had not moved for about 15 minutes, and the people at the table were chatting casually. The scene was slightly awkward.

Including the time they had spent washing up, the show had already been on for about 35 minutes. The director urgently interrupted the broadcast with an advertisement and came over to ask the children if they knew how to make poached eggs.

“Ji Yao didn’t make the poached eggs?” Lin Xue frowned and asked, “Then why didn’t she tell the truth?”

Of course, these words reached Ji Yao’s ears. Her body was clearly seen to tremble at this.

“It’s not important. Do you know how to do it?!” The director was anxious. The advertisement could only be played for five minutes at most!

At this moment, Gu Xiao, who had been watching the show, raised her hand. The director hurriedly pulled her into the kitchen. As he used the camera to film Gu Xiao’s actions, he used another camera to film Ji Yao’s face.

Good lord, he was using her as a replacement. However, she didn’t care. In any case, she had already achieved her goal.

Not long after, the eggs were ready. Moreover, they looked even better than the production team’s. They were even sprinkled with beautiful green onions. The production team did not have time to care so much. After the advertisement ended, they broadcasted the edited segment.

[Watching a beauty cook!]

[That’s not right. Why is Ji Yao only filmed in separated parts? Why isn’t the cameraman taking a full body shot?]

[It’s out! It looks even better than before!]

[Could it be specially made for her? My heart aches for the girls from the countryside. They’re really beautiful and kind!]

The director was about to vomit blood.

An Yang got her wish and ate her second serving. She was very happy. Moreover, Gu Xiao’s food was even better than Ji Yao’s, no, the production team’s. She already had a good impression of Gu Xiao.

Gu Xiao looked as innocent and harmless as ever, but Ji Yao’s face was dark. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her flesh as if they wanted to draw blood.

After the brief interlude, they began to play an ice-breaking game at the dining table. The rules were very simple. Everyone would say their name and what they liked. The toss of a dice would decide who went first. The first person to say their name and corresponding hobbies would randomly call out another person’s name and her hobbies. The person who was mentioned had to react immediately. If they said the wrong thing or did not react in time, it was equivalent to being eliminated. The last two people left behind would receive mysterious gifts from the production team.

Therefore, everyone quickly introduced themselves.

“My name is Meng Fei. I like to dance.”

“My name is Lin Xue. I usually like to read.”

“My name is An Yang. I like to sing.”

“My name is Chen Li. I like knitting the most.”

The others looked at her at the same time. Chen Li hurriedly explained, “I usually knit yarn at home. I knit sweaters for winter myself. My mother even praised me!”

“My name is Gu Xiao. What I like is…” Gu Xiao thought for a moment. “Acting. I want to be an actress in the future.”

That was right. She had not acted in the imperial court for nothing in her previous life. To be able to emerge victorious from among so many ambitious people, Gu Xiao was very confident in herself. She was the best at acting pitiful.

“Yao Yao, what about you? You’re the only one who didn’t say anything,” Lin Xue said. Although she was a little dissatisfied with her hiding the truth just now, they had chatted for a long time last night, so she still had to act more cordially on the screen.

“I’ve already introduced myself yesterday. If you want to talk about hobbies… then I like to play the piano.”

After the introductions, the game began.

The final outcome of the dice roll was fir An Yang to start first. To be honest, she had not listened much. She only remembered that Ji Yao liked to play the piano and said directly, “Ji Yao, play the piano.”

Gu Xiao and the others would call out each other, but when it was the turn of the two girls who came from the countryside, they would all be calling ‘Yao Yao’. In order to let Ji Yao be in the limelight, they were requested by the director after all. Hence, Ji Yao had always been mentioned. She was overwhelmed and became the first person to be eliminated.

After Ji Yao was eliminated, the two rural girls were eliminated one after another.

As for the remaining three girls, Gu Xiao felt that the game was meaningless, so she deliberately said the wrong thing and got eliminated as she wished.

When this segment was broadcasted, Ji Yao always being mentioned provided a highlight for the show. She had even been made into a “don’t cue me” emoticon and was popular for a while.

In Gu Xiao’s memory, the so-called mysterious reward should be a “half-day rest voucher”.

Although this show was a talent show disguised as a reality show, there had to be some main content. There was a huge forest of orange trees at the back of the villa. Now was the time for the oranges to ripen. Their main task these few days was to pick oranges.

After the ice-breaking game ended, it was already ten in the morning. The production team asked the teams to draw lots. One team would pick oranges, and the other would transport them back and forth. In the end, they had to sell them at the market.