Chapter 187: Mass Unfollowing
Yin Chengjue's worries were clearly unnecessary. As Rong Yu's fanbase grew, when it was Rong Yu's turn to appear alone on screen, the comment section was mostly filled with declarations of love from his fans. Very few people noticed that particular detail.
The anti-fans, scrutinizing with a magnifying glass, observed that the dog Rong Yu was holding was clearly terrified, its fur standing on end. They immediately typed out long comments, adamantly claiming that Rong Yu was abusing the dog.
The fans laughed when they saw these comments: The dog clearly walked over on its own for Rong Yu to hold, and it obediently nestled in his arms letting him pet it, so how is that abuse? Moreover, Rong Yu, like the other boy group members, was visiting for the first time, and every action was exposed under the camera. How could he possibly have abused it?
The anti-fans couldn't figure out why the dogs acted that way either, so they had to give up and look for other angles to attack.
Of course, these were just minor incidents. When noon arrived and everyone started preparing the meal, that was when they truly got to know Rong Yu.
So, the saying online that variety shows like "Wisp of Smoke" are not for traffic idols to appear on lightly, that appearing will strip away their facade, that the original personas will be completely washed away by the smoke and fire, fully exposing the artist's true nature—there really is some truth to that.
Rong Yu and Fang Mengda, who were assigned the task of chopping firewood, were equally fierce. Fang Mengda was understandable, given his build, but Rong Yu truly surprised many people. How could such a small body carry so many logs?
However, Rong Yu's shining moment ended there.
Because after Rong Yu entered the kitchen, it was as if he had entered a brand new world.
Even though Yin Chengjue had heard Sally describe it, seeing it broadcast now still felt quite shocking.
In the footage, Ming Qian, who had stated from the beginning that he couldn't cook, was holding a head of cauliflower, humbly asking Xiao Song how to prepare it. The comments section erupted, with fans exclaiming how adorable Ming Qian was for not knowing how to prepare cauliflower, while casual viewers found it absurd—even if you never cook, not knowing how to prep cauliflower seems a bit fake, right? Amidst this debate, Rong Yu, standing next to Ming Qian's vegetable washing basin, was placing a piece of pork on a cutting board.
This shot captured all three of them, but because Ming Qian's question was rather silly, everyone's attention was drawn to him. Thus, in this scene, Rong Yu temporarily became a side character.
So when Rong Yu raised the kitchen knife in his hand, the comments were still arguing about whether Ming Qian not knowing how to prep cauliflower was fake.
When Rong Yu swung the knife down onto the cutting board, the comments were still dominated by Ming Qian's fans.
Ming Qian said gently to Xiao Song, who was teaching him, "Thank you."
However, before the trailing sound of the word "you" even faded, with a loud bang, a dark shadow flashed from the side and clattered into the vegetable washing basin in front of Ming Qian!
Immediately, the full basin of water splashed out, drenching Ming Qian from head to face! Of course, Xiao Song standing next to Ming Qian wasn't spared either, getting splashed all over.
But that wasn't all. Along with the dark shadow, something else flew across the screen and splatted onto Ming Qian's head!
It was one half of the pork chop that had been split in two.
Xiao Song: "..."
What? What just happened in that moment?
The comment section fell eerily silent for a second.
Viewers who missed the key moment quickly rewound the video a few seconds and finally saw Rong Yu at the edge of the frame, and witnessed the fantastical scene of Rong Yu splitting the cutting board in half with that one chop.
Because the cutting board was heavy, it didn't fly very far when it split. One half landed directly in the wash basin next to Ming Qian. The other half flew completely out of the camera's view, and no one knows where—or on whom—it ended up.
Realizing he had made a mistake, Rong Yu immediately withdrew his hand from the knife handle. Everyone then saw that even though the cutting board had been split and sent flying, the kitchen knife remained firmly embedded in the stone countertop...
The comment section: "..." May we ask what kind of acrobatics you are performing?
"Sorry, I, I'm not very good at cutting meat," Rong Yu said, quickly retrieving the two halves of the cutting board and placing them back properly, then fetching the pork that had also flown away and putting it back.
Then he took out tissues to wipe the water splashed on Ming Qian's and Xiao Song's faces and clothes.
No, this isn't 'not being good at cutting meat'; this is clearly slaughtering the meat!
Rong Yu's astonishing knife strike directly attracted the attention of all the guests working in the kitchen. Tao Li picked up one half of the cutting board and exclaimed in amazement, "Brother Rong, be honest, have you secretly been practicing some divine kung fu?"
Rong Yu sighed with regret: "It seems I can't hide it anymore. I'll be straight with you. Actually, when I was seven, I met a Taoist priest who immediately saw that my bones were extraordinary, that I was a martial arts prodigy..."
Liu Qingling reached out and ruffled Rong Yu's hair: "Keep making it up! Go on! No matter how much you make up, it won't change the fact that you have to pay compensation!"
After Liu Qingling said this, the post-production very thoughtfully added a string of "Money -40" above Rong Yu's head, followed by a parenthesis (Paid).
A wave of "hahaha" flooded the comment section.
However, the flying cutting board was indeed dangerous. If it had hit someone instead of landing in the water, it wouldn't have been so easily resolved.
Rong Yu clasped his hands together, apologizing sincerely to Xiao Song and Ming Qian: "After we go back, I'll treat you both to a month of feasts! A different one every day for a month! You decide what to eat!"
Xiao Song's eyes immediately lit up: "Really? That's great! Then, Xiao Yu, why don't you give the cutting board another chop?"
Xiao Song's fans: "..." This person whose eyes turn green at the mention of food is definitely not our idol!
Ming Qian waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm really fine, I'm not hurt, am I? Besides, treating us to a month of feasts, wouldn't that be too expensive for you? It's too much, let's just forget it!"
Rong Yu insisted: "No, no, it's necessary. I can temporarily give you my salary card for a month. You can decide based on the balance on my card," he paused, then added, "It's just... that's basically all my savings since I started working. Please, take it easy on my wallet!"
Comments:
—Rong Yu's chop was too heavy; it chopped his life savings away. But why do I find this somewhat funny?
—But honestly, that was really dangerous just now. Program team, be more careful! Not everyone should be sent into the kitchen. Ming Qian not knowing how to cook just means asking silly questions. Rong Yu not knowing how to cook is lethal! Of course, if this is also scripted, then pretend I didn't say anything.
—No scriptwriter would dare write this, right? What normal person can split a cutting board in half?
—To the person above, it's not that a normal person can't split a cutting board in half, it's that they wouldn't, right? What grudge do you have against the cutting board?
—I just want to know if Rong Yu saying he'll treat them to meals is real. My little squirrel really believes it. Look at his eyes; he's already mentally listing a month's worth of feast menus!
—Hahaha, the entire internet will supervise Xiao Yu to fulfill his promise!
A potential crisis was barely handled. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Rong Yu's sincere apology and public offer to treat them managed to somewhat appease the displeasure in the hearts of the two fans' groups.
The program continued, but after Rong Yu's fantastical performance, the audience found it hard to look away from him.
So everyone watched as Rong Yu, when lifting the rice cooker lid, lifted the entire lid mechanism attached to the pot. If it weren't for veteran viewers of this variety show knowing the original structure of this rice cooker, everyone would have thought the lid was supposed to be removable.
The post-production was quite realistic, fully showcasing the inherent conflict between Rong Yu and the kitchen in reality.
Yin Chengjue was long accustomed to this and didn't find it particularly noteworthy, but for viewers witnessing such a Rong Yu for the first time, it was a bit hard to take.
—I just want to know, is Rong Yu really strong, or is he just reckless? Is this supposed to be building some unique persona for him?
—What can he do besides cause destruction? Can the program team be more mindful? When will everyone get to eat at this rate?
—Teacher Lu is really having a hard time. It was supposed to be a group cooking activity, but with this one bad apple added, even when Teacher Lu only assigned him to carry plates, he still managed to shatter one! Is this a joke? Doesn't he do any chores or carry plates at home? What kind of family fortune is enough for him to wreck like this?
—I just came back from Weibo. Rong Yu's Weibo follower count dropped by ten million. "Wisp of Smoke" really is a magical variety show. Every traffic idol who appears has their image ruined. I remember last time, an artist lost fifty million followers after one episode. Tsk tsk.
Seeing those flying comments, Yin Chengjue frowned displeasedly, directly turned off the comment display, and turned to look at Rong Yu. He saw Rong Yu with his head bowed, clearly feeling a little down.
"No one is perfect. You never said you were good at cooking, so it's not ruining your persona. It just makes your image more well-rounded," Yin Chengjue comforted gently. "You don't have to be the best in every program. This time, it's just because we weren't careful enough and let you join a variety show you're not good at. The mistake isn't yours."
Hearing this, Rong Yu finally looked up. "Brother, you don't think I'm useless?"
"How could I? Xiao Yu just needs to wait to eat at home," Yin Chengjue pulled him into an embrace, resting his chin on Rong Yu's head and nuzzling. "Although you lost many fans, there are still many who, even after seeing this side of you, continue to stand by you."
"Mm! I can't let them down!"
"Also, have you noticed? This episode of 'Wisp of Smoke' is an hour and a half long, but they gave you fifty minutes of footage, highlighting your max destruction power. You all lived there for three days; logically, there should be much more footage to edit. You couldn't have spent all three days in the kitchen, right?"
Rong Yu was taken aback: "Of course not. We also went to the market together. They told us to go by ox cart ourselves. They couldn't handle the ox, so in the end, I was the one who drove it."
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