Chapter 35: Cake

Chapter 35: Cake

The crew members watched as Shi Ling left without looking back, following another person, and felt a headache coming on as they rubbed their foreheads.

"This is completely different from what the director said!"

When they had arrived, the director had told them that Shi Ling's parents had given their guarantee. They knew that if they delivered the invitation to Shi Ling, he would definitely agree to it. After all, many elites had participated in their show for publicity, and Shi Ling was trying to start a business. He would definitely seize this opportunity.

At the beginning, both the director and the rest of the crew thought that the Zhou family's words made a lot of sense.

Then, they waited for the invitation to be sent back to them.

After that, they witnessed this scene.

The person scratched the back of their head and pondered, "I don't know who that person is, but from what he said, it sounds like Shi Ling's relationship with the Zhou family is quite poor..."

Could it be that their background check wasn't thorough enough?

But according to the information, Shi Ling was indeed the biological son of the Zhou family, and his parents were still staying at the Zhou family. Even if his relationship with the Zhou family wasn't good, how bad could it be?

He wasn't quite sure, but he still called the director, "Director, the situation doesn't look good. Shi Ling really doesn't seem willing to participate in our show."

The director on the other end was silent for a moment and speculated, "Isn't he playing hard to get, trying to ask for a higher price?"

He shook his head, "I don't think so. His attitude doesn't seem like that at all, and the reasons he gave are quite normal."

The director asked, "How so?"

He cleared his throat twice and said, "December is the exam season at Jing University. If Shi Ling were to appear on the show, he would most likely face the possibility of failing his courses."

Thinking about it, he added, "Moreover, Shi Ling seems to have a key project in his hands."

Appearing on their show at this time would mean Shi Ling would suddenly become extremely busy.

The director still wasn't willing to give up, "What about his parents? Hasn't anyone tried to persuade him? What about the Zhou family?"

He shook his head and explained to the director, "It seems we were wrong. Shi Ling's relationship with the Zhou family appears to be particularly poor. I just mentioned the Zhou family and was immediately interrupted."

"Also, after thinking about it, director, it seems that Shi Ling's business venture has nothing to do with the Zhou family at all. Even the investment was pulled from someone else."

If Shi Ling's relationship with the Zhou family was good, it shouldn't be like this, right?

Take Zhou Su, who is about to appear on their show, for example. The legendary adopted son of the Zhou family, who was said to be switched at birth. He wanted to enter the entertainment industry, and the Zhou family, together with Young Master Zhong, set up a complete studio for him and hired an experienced agent to ensure he would have a smooth path in the entertainment industry.

If Shi Ling's relationship with the Zhou family wasn't too poor, there should at least be some traces of the Zhou family in his career.

The director was silent for a long time before sighing, "Forget it, there are already highlights. It's not a big problem without Shi Ling."

"We already have Zhou Su and his three suitors on the show. While Shi Ling could add some highlights, it's not a big problem without him."

As long as there are interesting points.

Moreover, for students like Shi Ling from a prestigious university like Jing University, a dating show does seem a bit out of place.

Rather than attracting attention through a dating show, winning some kind of gold award might be more appealing to them.

Not to mention, our dating show is during the exam season at Jing University. Shi Ling would indeed be too busy to participate in our show at that time.

As for enjoying the attention...

Not everyone likes that feeling. From Shi Ling's information, he seems to be the kind of person who stands out in a crowd. He is already attractive enough, and appearing on the show would just amplify this trait a bit more, but it wouldn't make much of a difference in his life.

At most, it would attract more attention and increase his online discussion, but it wouldn't have a significant impact.

Shi Ling's project seems to be unfinished, just a half-finished product, and it will probably take some time before it's truly launched. At this point, even if he were to appear on the show, he wouldn't be able to promote anything.

It would just be purely for the Zhou family to draw his attention.

If Shi Ling's relationship with the Zhou family was decent, this wouldn't be a big problem. Even if the attention was drawn by the Zhou family, it wouldn't be too bad for him. But if their relationship is actually particularly poor...

The chief director sighed, "Forget it, come back!"

——

After Shi Ling and Ji Mingxiu shook off the crew, they felt much more comfortable.

They first went to have lunch.

Using the excuse of celebrating Ji Mingxiu's successful business trip, the location was chosen by Ji Mingxiu.

He picked a long-standing restaurant near Jing University. It was said to have been open for quite some time.

No one knew exactly when the owner started the restaurant, but according to Ji Mingxiu, this restaurant was already there when he was at Jing University. The taste had remained the same over the years, though it had been renovated.

The restaurant didn't have many customers, so there was no need to queue, but it was still quite popular.

The food here was really delicious.

Shi Ling rubbed his filled stomach, "I'm full. Thank you, Boss Ji. Next time, I'll treat you. It's embarrassing to always let you pay."

Shi Ling had intended to pay this time, but when he went to settle the bill, the server told him that Ji Mingxiu had already paid.

Shi Ling couldn't help but feel that Ji Mingxiu was truly a great person.

Ji Mingxiu smiled, "When eating out, how can I let you pay? If you really feel bad about it, how about making me a cake for my birthday? Like the ones you made at the pastry shop where you worked."

Shi Ling blinked, "You want to eat cake? It's not impossible, even if it's not your birthday, but..."

Although he had worked at the pastry shop for a few months, his job was mostly as a server.

Shi Ling spoke honestly to Ji Mingxiu, "I've seen the pastry chefs make cakes many times, but I don't really have much experience myself, so I'm not sure if I can do a good job."

"If you really like, it's not impossible. I can give it a try, but you should be prepared for the fact that I might fail."

To Shi Ling's surprise, Ji Mingxiu became more interested after hearing this. "If you want me to have a complete, non-failed cake for my birthday, how about you practice first?"

"Instead of picking a day, why not today? I have the tools over there, or if you need anything, just tell me and I'll have someone send it over."

Shi Ling: ...

"Alright."

Shi Ling was a bit puzzled. Why was Ji Mingxiu so happy about this?

It's just a cake, and Ji Mingxiu certainly wasn't short of money.

When he was working part-time, he had even seen Ji Mingxiu go to pastry shops to buy cakes many times!