She had just extended her life by so much, so shouldn't she be feeling much better?
Could it be that she was just too exhausted from cooking?
Deep-frying food certainly took a toll, and to achieve the ultimate texture, she had to maintain an extremely high level of concentration.
Still, this wave of exhaustion had hit her far too intensely.
Ning Meng frowned, diving back into her consciousness to carefully check the System panel.
The life countdown had indeed increased.
However, she suddenly noticed that in the corner of the System interface, besides the [Life Time Mall], there was a rather unassuming [Personal Attributes] panel.
Earlier, she had been too focused on extending her life to pay attention.
She mentally clicked on [Personal Attributes].
[Host: Ning Meng]
[Current Life Countdown: 81 hours]
[Physique: Sub-healthy (mild fatigue, low stamina, weak immune system)]
[Mental Strength: Average (moderate concentration, easily distracted)]
[Charisma: Average (plain looks, dull temperament, lacking attraction)]
[Cooking Skill: None (currently reliant on the basic cognition temporarily granted by the System)]
As expected!
The problem lay in her [Physique]!
The original owner of this body, despite being young, was a typical struggling celebrity who constantly stayed up late, ate irregularly, and lacked exercise. Her physical foundation was shockingly poor.
Ever since she transmigrated here, she had gone through a near-death experience, followed by studying the System and cooking to extend her life under extreme mental stress, leaving her zero time to take care of her health.
Making that batch of toothpick beef earlier had seemed easy, but in reality, it had overdrawn the already meager energy of this body.
No wonder she was suddenly so tired.
She couldn't go on like this!
No matter how much delicious food she had, if her body collapsed, she wouldn't be able to enjoy it—let alone keep making delicious food to extend her life.
She hurriedly opened the [Life Time Mall].
Her gaze quickly swept across the dazzling array of [Cooking Skill Packs], [Rare Recipes], [Special Seasonings]... and finally, it stopped on the [Personal Attribute Enhancement] section.
[Primary Physique Enhancement: Improves basic physical constitution, enhances stamina and immunity, and alleviates the sub-healthy state. Price: 18 hours of life time.]
[Primary Mental Enhancement: Enhances concentration and mental resilience. Price: 10 hours of life time.]
[Primary Charisma Boost: Slightly adjusts facial features and temperament, enhancing approachability. Price: 15 hours of life time.]
Physique! That was it!
Twelve—no, eighteen hours of life time!
That was equivalent to most of the rewards she had worked so hard all day to earn from Lin You and Qin Zeyu!
Looking at the [18-hour] price tag, Ning Meng felt a sharp pang of heartache.
This was her hard-earned sense of security!
Just like that, she was going to spend a huge chunk of it all at once?
Yet... if she didn't enhance her physique, with her current state where she might get out of breath just from walking a few steps, let alone handling more complex cooking tasks later on, she probably wouldn't even survive the daily filming.
If she collapsed from exhaustion then, how would she enjoy her meals? How would she extend her life?
This was simply a vicious cycle!
No, she couldn't let petty savings ruin the big picture!
This investment had to be made!
Ning Meng gritted her teeth, her gaze turning resolute.
With her mind, she fiercely tapped the exchange button for [Primary Physique Enhancement].
[Confirm spending 18 hours of life time to exchange for "Primary Physique Enhancement"?]
"Confirm!" Ning Meng roared in her mind.
[Ding! Exchange successful! Host physique enhanced! Current status: Sub-healthy -> Average person standard.]
Almost the moment the System prompt rang out, an indescribable warmth, like a gentle current, rapidly surged from her heart and flowed through all her limbs and bones.
Her limbs, which had felt impossibly heavy just moments ago, instantly turned light and nimble.
The sensation of darkness before her eyes vanished, and her vision became much clearer.
Her ears seemed able to catch the conversations of those around her more distinctly, and she could even discern the residual, mixed aromas of different dishes in the air with greater precision.
Most noticeably, the exhaustion that had nearly overwhelmed her receded like a tide; although her body still held a normal level of fatigue, it was now entirely within a tolerable range.
"Phew..." Ning Meng let out another long sigh, this time feeling truly relaxed.
Although her life countdown had instantly shrunk to [63 hours], she didn't regret it at all.
The hustle and bustle of dinner finally dispersed as the guests returned to their respective rooms to rest.
The bright lights in the signal cabin's living room and kitchen area went out, leaving only a few ambient lamps behind, and the air seemed to grow much quieter.
Ning Meng dragged her feet, feeling as though she had just run a marathon.
Although the [Primary Physique Enhancement] she had redeemed before dinner had taken effect—making her muscle soreness vanish and her limbs feel much lighter—the mental fatigue surged over her like a tidal wave, impossible to resist.
Spending the entire day with her nerves tightly wound, calculating her life value and having to act, was truly more exhausting than working 72 hours of continuous overtime in her past life.
She pushed open the door to her assigned room, wanting nothing more than to throw herself straight onto the bed.
The bed looked soft and fluffy, like a giant piece of pastry.
Just as she was about to hurl herself onto it—
"Tap, tap, tap!"
A knock sounded, light and rapid.
Before Ning Meng could react, a head adorned with a signature meatbun hairstyle peeked in.
It was Lin You.
Her face carried an irrepressible excitement and the gleam of gossip, her eyes bright—where was there any trace of fatigue from a whole day of recording?
"Meng-meng! Open up! Emergency debriefing meeting!"
Lin You's voice was kept very low, yet it was filled with an unquestionable enthusiasm for dishing the dirt.
Ning Meng: "..."
Right now, she only wanted to lie flat; she had no desire to attend any meetings, especially ones shrouded in mystery.
This scenario reminded her of being called into her boss's office for a meeting five minutes before the end of the workday.
A form of PTSD known as "workplace burnout" welled up inside her.
Lin You had already squeezed herself familiarly through the door and turned around to gently close it behind her.
With nimble movements, she dropped her bottom right onto the edge of Ning Meng's bed, causing the mattress to sink slightly and emit a soft rustle.
Leaning in close to Ning Meng, she lowered her voice mysteriously, as if sharing some top-secret intelligence:
"Come on, Meng-meng, confess!"
"Did you figure out long ago that Qin Zeyu and Lu Jingchen were paying extra attention to you today?"
Her eyes were wide open, as if trying to peer straight into Ning Meng's soul.
"Especially Movie Emperor Lu!"
Lin You emphasized her tone, her expression as dramatic as if she were acting in a stage play.
"The way he looked at you while you were eating, and later when you handed him the beef!"
"It was unbelievable! There was so much stuff in those looks that I couldn't parse, yet I was utterly shook!"
Ning Meng felt her heart skip a beat.
Here it came, here it came—the development she had been dreading the most had finally arrived.
She had felt that the atmosphere was a bit off during the day, especially at dinner when those guys' gazes kept drifting between her and Lu Jingchen.
She had only wanted to quietly cook a meal and extend her life; how on earth had she inexplicably become the center of attention?
Why was this dating reality show so hard to navigate? It was even more complicated than the corporate world!
Outwardly, however, Ning Meng forced herself to remain calm. She even let out a huge yawn, squeezing out a few physiological tears to make herself look exceptionally tired and innocent.
Leaning lazily against the doorframe, her voice carried a slight, sleep-roughened huskiness:
"Youzi, you're overthinking it, aren't you?"
"What Qin Zeyu was doing isn't attention; it's an elementary schooler's way of trying to get noticed—so childish."
"As for Teacher Lu..." Ning Meng paused, organizing her phrasing.
"I'm just a nobody from the bottom rungs, lacking background or resources, and obscure to a fault."
"To top-tier stars and young masters like them, I'm the safest person to interact with, understand?"
"Interacting with me means zero risk of scandal, plus they get to effortlessly project an approachable image."
This rhetoric was something she had picked up when she used to scrape by on the fringes of the entertainment industry, listening to managers analyze interpersonal dynamics within the circle.
"Besides," Ning Meng patted her still-flat abdomen, trying to use a more persuasive reason to end the topic.
"They must be craving the toothpick beef I made!"
"That was top-grade Angus brisket, enhanced by my secret recipe (System-backed)!"
"Do you understand the charm of good food? Their stomachs were purely and simply conquered!"
As she spoke, she was going wild with inner complaints:
[What on earth are these two guys playing at?!]
[I can let that peacock Qin Zeyu slide, he's always like that.]
[Lu Jingchen, why are you—someone so upright and proper—getting mixed up in this?]
[Wouldn't it be better to just be your aloof and ascetic Movie Emperor?]
[Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of rare specimen, hey!]
[Don't take your competitive streaks out on me! Go roll around with someone else!]
[I just want to quietly cook to stay alive, and harvest some life value along the way!]
[I beg you, stop adding drama for me! I just want to be a happy cook!]
[Fight amongst yourselves if you must; when immortals battle, mortals get caught in the crossfire—just don't interfere with my meal!]