Just then, a staff member brought out a new dish—pan-seared cod.
Golden fillets lay in the center of a white porcelain plate, garnished with fresh rosemary and a few droplets of sauce. It looked quite tempting.
Ning Meng pinched off a small piece. The skin was slightly crisp, but the fish itself... well, it was exactly what she expected from frozen cod. The texture was a bit dry, lacking tenderness and succulence. The seasoning was decent, with the notes of black pepper and lemon juice standing out.
【Beep! Consumed "pan-seared cod," Quality: Excellent (frozen), Technique: Good, Overall Assessment: Average grade, Life time added: 45 minutes.】
Average, just as she thought. Ning Meng felt a twinge of disappointment.
However, at that moment, she noticed Lu Jingchen across from her reaching for his chopsticks. He picked up a small piece of cod and delicately placed it into his mouth.
Ning Meng held her breath subconsciously, curious to see how this picky Movie Emperor would react.
Lu Jingchen chewed twice, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He then set down his chopsticks, wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and didn't touch the plate of cod again.
Ning Meng thought to herself: *I knew it! So picky! But that’s fine, at least he won’t compete with me for food.*
Her attention, however, was soon drawn to the commotion on the other side.
It was Su Manni and Gu Xinglang. Gu Xinglang was whispering something to Su Manni, which made her giggle and playfully swat his arm. Gu Xinglang took the opportunity to catch her wrist. Although he let go quickly, the lingering, affectionate look in his eyes…
*Tsk, tsk, tsk.* Ning Meng’s internal radar went off. These two were definitely up to something! It wasn't just simple professional courtesy. More than friends, but not yet lovers? Or had they already started something behind everyone’s backs? This was interesting!
In her past life, other than eating, her greatest hobby was shipping couples. She never expected that by joining a dating variety show after transmigrating, she’d have a front-row seat to watch a real (alleged) couple! Not bad, not bad at all! This show was worth it!
After finishing lunch, Ning Meng did some silent calculations.
15 minutes for the sea bass, 8 for the shrimp, 40 for the chicken soup, 10 for the pasta (the meat sauce was average), 50 for the lamb chops (not bad), 45 for the cod, plus various side dishes and desserts, which added another 40 minutes.
The total was... 15+8+40+10+50+45+40 = 208 minutes.
That was 3 hours and 28 minutes.
Plus the reward triggered by the two eggs this morning.
【Total current life countdown: 78 hours and 35 minutes.】
Not bad! Although lunch didn't add much, every little bit counted.
Feeling satisfied, Ning Meng put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Just as she was about to stand up and move around, Lin You leaned in, winking and whispering, "Mengmeng, Mengmeng! Did you notice? While we were eating, Teacher Lu seemed to be looking at you the whole time!"
Ning Meng blinked blankly, "Did he?" She had been too busy eating to notice.
"Really! He looked at you several times!" Lin You said with conviction, her tone filled with the excitement of a new discovery. "Do you think he’s interested in you?"
Ning Meng’s mouth twitched. "You’re overthinking it, aren't you? Maybe I was blocking his view of the scenery outside the window? Or... maybe he’s just observing us 'newcomers'?"
Interested in her? How could that be? With her current state—looking like a reincarnated starving ghost and acting like background furniture—just how blind would the Movie Emperor have to be to like her?
Ning Meng thought to herself: *This Movie Emperor is so picky, it’s a real shame. If he were willing to eat properly, and maybe get blown away by something I cooked, the life time added would be way more than what I get from a little foodie like Lin You. After all, the System said: the pickier the taste buds, the higher the reward!*
*Sigh, a walking, potential high-value life reward package, and he won't even eat. What a waste, what a total waste!*
Lunchtime finally came to an end.
Most of the plates on the table were licked clean, especially the ones in front of Ning Meng.
The guests scattered in twos and threes; some returned to their rooms to rest, while others gathered in the living room to start a new round of social probing.
Jiang Yuwei, Gu Xinglang, and Su Manni seemed to have naturally formed a small group, whispering to each other, likely sharing common topics as actors.
Qin Zeyu didn't find another chance to talk to Ning Meng and was currently chatting aimlessly with Zhou Yichen, though his eyes drifted elsewhere from time to time.
Lin You, as expected, stuck to Ning Meng, dragging her over to look at an abstract painting on the living room wall, attempting some artistic cultivation.
As for Lu Jingchen, he didn't join any group.
He chose a seat by the window all on his own.
The afternoon sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, gilding him in a pale, golden light.
He tilted his head slightly, watching the meticulously tended garden outside. His perfectly defined jawline was tense, and his brows were furrowed in a way that was almost invisible.
【【【Wuwuwu, this damn detached air of his is just so handsome, he's killing me!】】】
【【【Am I the only one who feels like Movie Emperor Lu doesn't seem very happy?】】】
【【【Isn't he always like this? A flower on a high peak, inaccessible to others.】】】
【【【Maybe the food wasn't to his taste; he barely ate anything earlier.】】】
The livestream comments rolled by, with fans feeling both heartache and infatuation.
Only Lu Jingchen himself knew that it wasn't unhappiness, but a long-standing... numbness.
And a sliver of indescribable confusion that had only appeared today.
His sense of taste seemed to have a problem.
It had been this way for a long time.
It wasn't an illness; it was more like a natural defect, or perhaps the aftereffects of some past experience.
He couldn't remember when exactly it started.
It felt like it happened when he was very young—a high fever? Or a terrible memory of being forced to eat something?
The details were blurred.
Only the result remained—most food tasted like wax to him.
There was no aroma, no deliciousness, only a rough, unpleasant physical texture.
Salty was just agonizingly salty; sweet was cloyingly sweet; and spicy was a direct stimulant that triggered physical nausea.
Over time, he lost interest in eating altogether.
Eating, for him, was merely a necessary activity to maintain survival, not an enjoyment.
His team and his family knew he was a picky eater, to the point of being demanding.
Only he knew that it wasn't pickiness; it was his inability to distinguish between good and bad.
Rather than struggling to discern differences so subtle they were almost non-existent, it was better to choose the simplest, least error-prone ingredients, boiled or steamed.
He had long grown accustomed to this life of chewing on wax.
But today...
That woman named Ning Meng, the soft-boiled egg she made...
He hadn't actually eaten it.
But he had smelled that aroma.
It was very strange.