The task of getting rice for Zhao Yu was taken on by Mu Qiu.

She filled up a bowl of rice, packed it tightly, and placed it in front of Zhao Yu with a duang.

"Eat up."

Zhao Yu stared at the bowl of rice, took a deep breath, "I just wanted one bite."

"Isn’t this just one bite?"

"What are you comparing my mouth to?"

Mu Qiu shrugged, "Maybe the Mariana Trench?"

"......"

So annoyed she wanted to open her mouth and pour the tomato potato beef stew into her stomach.

Cheng Zhirang sipped his soup and listened to their conversation, a slight smile on his lips.

He actually wasn’t very used to dining outdoors with so many people. Even in more challenging film crews, there wasn’t such a big gathering for meals. Actors usually have their own eating areas, even if they have the same boxed meals, they eat them in separate places.

This scene resembled a rural banquet, which he had never experienced.

Surprisingly though, it wasn’t bad.

The fish on both sides of the basil crucian carp had been picked almost clean, and he lowered his eyes to give the last piece to Mu Qiu.

She seldom has demands when eating, but if you watch closely, you’ll know she doesn’t like the soft meat of the fish belly, dislikes overly greasy dishes, rarely eats steamed ones, and prefers salty and sour over sweet and spicy.

For instance, she doesn’t eat sweet tofu pudding, nor does she like sweet rice balls, but she loves sour dumplings in broth and sour pickled duck soup.

As they ate and chatted, with Guan Yu and a few others around, the atmosphere was lively. Cheng Zhirang hardly joined their conversations, focusing instead on Mu Qiu’s eating.

Seeing her rush to speak, chewing her food only twice before swallowing, he would gently tap her lunchbox twice, softly reminding, "Eat slowly."

Mu Qiu would listen.

After all, compared to cheerful chatting, the meal itself was more attractive.

The rice and porridge in Assistant Liang’s care had mostly disappeared; apart from Mu Qiu and Zhao Yu each having a bowl, the rest was eaten by others who were craving carbs.

Secretly eating without the manager or assistant knowing, savoring a few bites, provided a rebellious joy to those on long diets.

But there’s a reason managers are managers, especially to manage a few of them, meaning their talents should not be underestimated.

So after Li Yang had eaten fried chicken legs and traded a family meal bucket for several dishes, he received a deathly greeting from his manager.

Probably considering his dignity in front of other guests, the manager sent a "greeting" via a WeChat message.

Li Yang initially hadn’t noticed his phone, until Guo Yin reminded him that his phone was lighting up.

Only then did he see the message.

"That family meal was for you to share with them! Why are you eating it?!"

"Your concert is coming up! And you’re eating fried food?!"

"Can you eat with a clear conscience?!"

Li Yang: ...Quite conscience-clearing, actually.

He glanced back at the manager’s table, where his manager was squinting right at him.

Li Yang shivered slightly, feeling wronged as he replied: "Brother Huai, even a model is eating!"

"Oh, you want me to snitch."

He put away his phone, without replying, and looked over at Shi Yuhuai.

Shi Yuhuai was busy asking Chu Qiu for food. Chu Qiu had so many dishes in front of him that there was no space, he had eaten half and wasn’t protective of his food anymore, offering three untouched dishes for a trade.

Stuff like various soups and after-meal snacks, he even ran to the assistant’s table to get a cup of coffee in exchange.

As for Shi Yuhuai, he wanted to trade for some steamed pumpkin.

Feeling the gaze, Shi Yuhuai looked up and around, locking eyes with Li Yang.

"What are you doing?"

Li Yang: "Brother Huai, I’ve wronged you."

Shi Yuhuai gave him a strange glance, not too bothered, turning back to continue pleading for steamed pumpkin.

Everyone was so enthusiastic, shamelessly trying each other’s dishes, that even the dieting Shu Ran felt a bit tempted.

The mechanical motion of stuffing greens into her mouth slowed, her eyes scanned everyone’s plates before focusing on the egg dumplings in front of Guan Yu.

"Hey, Guan Yu, are your egg dumplings tasty?" Even when asking this, the elegant female celebrity maintained the demeanor of evaluating a guest’s living standard.

Guan Yu, eating without lifting her head, responded perfunctorily, "Not good."

"......" Not good and you’re eating so fast?!"

She stabbed her fork into her bowl twice, stubbornly retorting, "You eat so much and so fast, be careful or you’ll get fat."

"What am I to fear, I’m not on the delicate celebrity route. You should tell that to Mu Qiu."

Mu Qiu, suddenly being called out, put down the spoon she was using to scoop the meat-coated steamed egg, "Why drag me into this? I’m not on that route either, okay? Plus, I always eat like this and never gained weight."

Shu Ran: "Don’t let me hear those Versailles statements."

Mu Qiu gave a smug smile, fed herself another mouthful of tender steamed egg, and continued:

"Sister Shu Ran, just eat, this indulgence isn’t a big deal. Look at Brother Huai, Li Yang, and Guo Yin, how happily they’re eating. Just do what makes you happy now, dieting can come after this meal."

That’s quite reasonable.

Shu Ran didn’t want to oppose this truth, she pushed her bowl towards Mu Qiu, "That’s indeed true. Then I’ll indulge a bit, give me a taste of this steamed egg."

Mu Qiu generously shared it.

Upon tasting a bite of the meat-coated steamed egg, Shu Ran couldn’t hold back.

She went around trying Guan Yu’s egg dumplings, Li Yang’s chicken leg, Shi Yuhuai’s steamed pumpkin, Mu Qiu’s beef stew, and Chu Qiu’s meat-stuffed green peppers.

Granted, she didn’t take much, just a little taste of each.

By the time the manager, pretending to stroll over to check, there wasn’t a trace of "lavish dining" evidence on her table.

Li Yang, sitting next to her, wasn’t so lucky.

Even though the family meal bucket was mostly traded away, the bucket was still next to him, so when the manager came over, he got busted.

While packing up trash, the manager shot him a disappointed glare and quietly said, "Jog when we get back."

The concert was so close, and the set costume sizes allowed no room for deviation.

Knowing he was wrong, Li Yang quietly listened while sipping mung bean soup, not refuting a word.

Once the manager tidied up, seeing him still enjoying his mung bean soup while nodding off, made him even angrier.

He was fit to be tied.

Across from him, Mu Qiu was thoroughly amused, deftly closing her lunchbox and placing the thermos and lunchbox into Assistant Liang’s hands.

After the meal, no one moved much, lounging in their chairs half-asleep chatting, except for a few hired cleaning ladies packing the boxes.

A full and satisfied Shi Yuhuai, having removed his white lab coat, lounged back in his chair in just a white t-shirt, humming a tune.

The song was something Guo Yin had just taught him.

Chu Qiu, in a similar state, had taken off the chef’s jacket ripped by Cheng Zhirang, revealing a base t-shirt and borrowed ripped jeans, leaning back, "Ah, refreshing!"

The outside light had dimmed, viewing the mountains, waters, and the barely visible outline of the moon, felt like a black-and-white TV with poor reception, showing only contours, unable to focus.

Everyone quieted down, Mu Qiu relishing in the moment, half-closing her eyes, gazing absently outside the canopy, her fingers tapping unconsciously on her legs.