After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows-Chapter 14: Never Fight an Unprepared Battle

"Click" — The image was frozen as the five of them stood atop the mountain, backs to the endless green hills, smiling at the camera.

The staff member responsible for taking the photo gave the guests an 'OK' hand signal, but couldn't help lowering his head to glance again at the picture just taken.

Before the photo was taken, even though Xu Yin was standing at the C-position, he assumed the presence would be stronger from Actress She Man, with Xu Yin coming in second.

But looking at the photo, he only had one feeling.

It seemed Jiang Lingxi truly belonged at the center of the group; if she were at the edge, it would look awkward.

After the photo session ended, Lin Xuefei couldn't wait to step away from her position, and seeing Jiang Lingxi still remained in the central spot, she felt both envious and mocking.

She Man just pulled once, and she comfortably stood right in the middle, not even offering the spot to the more famous actress and singer.

Once the photos are released, she wanted to see if Jiang Lingxi would be mocked again; at least the label of arrogance will definitely be pinned on her.

From yesterday's meeting until now, Jiang Lingxi had clearly figured out the other four guests.

Actress She Man and singer Xu Yin had been in the entertainment industry the longest with enough experience; to remain popular till now, they are truly shrewd people who seldom make mistakes.

Compared to them, Lin Xuefei's cultivation was not quite there; her little schemes were transparent, and she had much to learn from the veterans.

As for Kai Yuan, he was someone she could see through with just one glance.

She Man's sudden insistence for Jiang Lingxi to stand at C-position during the photo shoot might have been gratitude for helping find the ingredient card, but there was also a hidden intent to test her.

Faced with such situations, most people would opt for courtesy; if it were her original self, she'd have accepted it without a second thought.

Not snatching the C-position was already Jiang Lingxi holding back; when others offered it, there was no reason to refuse.

But this time, Jiang Lingxi didn't act the way most people would; she was never someone who liked to suppress herself.

The previous apology was for her original self; to her, it was merely a tactical move.

This time she did nothing wrong but even helped the other guests, so standing in the C-position was well deserved.

After the photo was taken, Jiang Lingxi sensitively noticed She Man and Xu Yin had distanced themselves from her, probably because her reaction, no different from her original self, was unexpected by them.

But she didn't really care either.

After all, the camaraderie in front of the camera was fake; whether they'd collaborate again after recording was uncertain.

Lin Xuefei's mocking gaze was similarly ignored; as long as she wasn't dancing in front of her, any gaze could be blocked out.

Just like she'd never pay attention to those online comments scolding her original self, now scolding her.

As for Kai Yuan, he was still acting carefree, already cheering about finally going down the mountain.

Going downhill was relatively easy.

Climbing up took more than an hour with breaks, but on the way down, they pressed on without stopping, reaching the foot of the mountain in less than half an hour.

Walking back to the small country villa, they were too lazy to even change clothes, sitting uniformly on the couch unwilling to move.

If not for the staff urging them, they would have sat until lunchtime.

After a simple wash and changing into clean clothes back in their rooms, it was time for the ingredient exchange session.

Jiang Lingxi received cake-making ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, cream, fruits, etc.

Others took their respective ingredient cards and received their materials.

However, laying on the table, Jiang Lingxi noticed she had at least twice the amount of ingredients compared to others, making her purse her lips slightly in rare disbelief.

Judging by this, the difficulty of the dish she was about to make seemed the greatest.

Kai Yuan impatiently carried his plate of fruits into the kitchen; he wanted to make fruit salad, arguably the easiest, eagerly preparing to showcase his skills.

Next was Lin Xuefei, who wanted to make sushi; she had to steam the rice first, and everything else could be rolled up and eaten directly, also fairly simple.

Then She Man and Xu Yin went in together, what they intended to make wasn't too difficult either; She Man was making sandwiches, Xu Yin was preparing a homemade drink, and they quickly got to work in the kitchen.

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However, as the four were busy, Lin Xuefei took the opportunity to glance at the three occupied beside her while cooling the steamed rice, frowning, "Where's Jiang Lingxi?"

She Man turned to look toward the living room, where Jiang Lingxi was intensely focused on a phone amidst a heap of ingredients on the coffee table, causing She Man to frown as well.

Lin Xuefei turned back, lowering her voice just enough for the receiver to pick up, "Could it be that Jiang Lingxi is planning to give up because she can't cook?"

"Even if it turns out bad, we know it's her first time cooking, we won't say anything!"

At this moment, Zhao Hengsheng, sitting behind the camera, put down his water cup on the table, "Move the mobile camera closer to see what Jiang Lingxi is looking at!"

Being willful has its limits. The earlier mountain-climbing segment was fine, except maybe that C-position would cause some derision.

Within half a day, she was already exposed?

He might have overestimated this little girl!

The lens obediently zoomed in, but just when about to focus on the phone screen, it suddenly went black.

Jiang Lingxi turned to glance at the quietly approaching staff, not saying a word, but made them instinctively step back a few paces, not daring to ask to see the phone again.

Once Jiang Lingxi carried her ingredients to the kitchen, he freed a hand to pat his chest, exhaling a sigh of relief.

Gosh, that scared him!

In the kitchen, seeing Jiang Lingxi come in, Lin Xuefei, who thought she'd slack off, turned her back to the camera and smirked, speeding up her work.

She had to finish quickly and leave, lest she stay to witness Jiang Lingxi mess up the kitchen.

Upon serious focus on slicing a sushi roll for plating, she belatedly noticed it was rather quiet in the kitchen.

Looking up, she saw Jiang Lingxi opposite kneading dough for the cake base.

Adding water, stirring, kneading, adding ingredients, meticulous.

Yet, watching, it began feeling oddly familiar.

Until She Man said abruptly, "Xiaoxi's technique looks quite professional!"

Only then did Lin Xuefei have an epiphany, being an artist rarely allows her to indulge in cakes, yet she's fond of watching cake-making tutorials on her phone.

Jiang Lingxi's actions were not identical but were a complete mimic of those videos.

Crucially, people generally fumble the first time, perhaps adding or omitting ingredients wrong in the fluster, but Jiang Lingxi gave an impression that she'd done it hundreds of times before.

"You, just now..."

Could she have been cramming cake tutorials at the last minute?

Could it be, could it be?

She'd rather believe Jiang Lingxi had prior cake-making experience than that she executed so well on the first try!

Placing the finished bread base into the steam oven, Jiang Lingxi methodically prepared the cream, even adding some chocolate to temper the sweetness, breaking Lin Xuefei's wishful thinking, "First time making, just seeking some guidance online beforehand."

This is called not fighting an unprepared battle.

Witnessing a small cake forming exactly as seen in clips several times before, complete with perfect icing decoration, Xu Yin couldn't help taking a pinch of the corner to taste, and gazed back somewhat complicatedly, "Xiaoxi, is it truly your first time making a cake?"

This put her, who once nearly drove a hired pastry chef to tears in the process of learning, to shame!