Chapter Twenty-Eight: Unwell

What? Did I hear that right?
A sixty-forty split?
Shouldn’t it be fifty-fifty?
After hearing Bian He’s words, Yan Ningsi scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed. “Um, Jiajia, do you eat fried skewers?”
As she spoke, Yan Ningsi placed all the snacks they’d bought from the food street onto the table. There were dozens of skewers alone, not to mention pancakes, grilled sausages, takoyaki, candied hawthorn, malt sugar figurines, stinky tofu, and more—a dozen or so bags in total.
Sang Yijia was stunned, blinking as she turned to Lu Wenchuan. “What do you think?”
“Let’s order two dishes,” Lu Wenchuan replied, unfazed by the snacks. “Ask them to bring us a few clean plates.”
With a bit of effort, these could easily pass for several courses.
Yan Ningsi knew they wouldn’t refuse, so she beamed. “Eat, eat—everyone, help yourselves!”
Bian He touched the tip of his nose, a little reluctant to look at the camera.
Meanwhile, the viewers in the livestream were dumbfounded, then erupted into goose-like laughter.
I knew it.
I’m so jealous—I want to buy out the entire snack street too.
Haha, I can’t stop laughing.
Some found it amusing, but others were puzzled.
Why did they go to Sang Yijia and the others?
Brother and Qingqing were supposed to have some alone time.
I feel like Ningsi has been pretty nice to Sang Yijia from the start. Maybe it’s just me?
Actually, I feel that way too.
But these comments were quickly buried under other messages, so who knows how many people actually saw them.
The restaurant was no stranger to internet celebrities coming for tasting sessions, but this was the first time they’d seen a formal program recording, and with real celebrities, no less.
A few diners nearby were itching to go over for photos and autographs.
Bian He saw them and waved. “Come on over.”
“But only for a little while,” he added with a gentle smile.
The female fans went wild, though they tried to remain composed.
Sang Yijia looked on from the side, seeing fans gather around the pair. “I’m tempted to go sit somewhere else.”
Feels like people will keep coming over. Once it starts, it never ends.
Lu Wenchuan glanced around. “No empty seats.”
In other words, switching seats wasn’t an option. Sang Yijia raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. “You actually wanted to move?”
“I was just saying,” she said.
“You have a point,” Lu Wenchuan replied coolly.
Sang Yijia hummed in acknowledgment and said no more.
They weren’t exactly friends, and she wasn’t sure what else to say.
The two ordered dishes arrived quickly, brought by the proprietress herself, who also brought a notebook for Yan Ningsi and Bian He to sign.
More and more fans came for photos and autographs. Sang Yijia, who had started out sitting close to Yan Ningsi, gradually scooted away as the crowd grew, ending up closer to Lu Wenchuan.
He didn’t mind her moving closer, simply shifting a little himself; Bian He now sat directly across from him.
With the crowd, the air grew stuffy.
Sang Yijia, already a bit dizzy, now felt a headache coming on. She could still manage, though—she’d just shower and lie down once back.
Besides, she needed to eat something substantial before taking her medicine, and hadn’t really touched the snacks.
The viewers noticed, and some grew unhappy.
Sang Yijia hasn’t touched a single snack.
If she’s so averse, why agree at all?
Wow, this is gross. Will Ningsi feel used when she realizes?
Sang Qiwu had spent all day wanting to argue with these sarcastic comments, but every time he opened the input box, he remembered Sang Yijia’s instructions:
“Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, this show will be livestreamed the whole time. There will definitely be people slandering me.”
“Don’t respond to what they say.”
He still remembered her expression—icy calm, like the bright moon in the night sky. Even if clouds obscured her light, they would eventually part, and the clear moonlight would shine upon the world again.
Sang Qiwu held himself back.
If he could bear it once, he could do it again.
“I won’t bother with these idiots,” he muttered, knowing she’d bought medicine but still uneasy, so he called his eldest brother.
“Did you see? Little Sis bought medicine herself. How’s your end coming along?”
“I’ve already sent someone over,” Sang Qiwen replied, having just hung up with their mother. “They’ll arrive tonight.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Good.” Sang Qiwu was finally at ease, then muttered, “Her health is too poor. When she gets back, she should train at my gym.”
“We’ll talk about it later. I have a meeting,” Sang Qiwen said, frowning.
“Alright!” Sang Qiwu hung up cheerfully, then sent Sang Yijia a message:
Little Sis, Big Brother has arranged for the family doctor to come by tonight. Go see them.
Meanwhile, Sang Yijia felt her phone vibrate, knowing it was another message from her family. The show didn’t confiscate phones, but it wasn’t polite to use them constantly.
She never slacked off during work unless necessary.
Her phone was on the table; it buzzed and a message popped up. Lu Wenchuan glanced at it but didn’t look closely.
Meanwhile, the crowd grew, but the production team stepped in and dispersed them.
Reluctantly, the fans left, though some lingered outside the door, waiting for them to come out.
Yan Ningsi stretched, glanced at Sang Yijia, and was startled to see they’d finished eating. “So fast?”
“Not really,” Sang Yijia replied. “It’s been half an hour.”
“Ah, sorry.” Yan Ningsi shot Bian He a look. “If he hadn’t called those people over, we wouldn’t have taken so long.”
“I just wanted them to get a few autographs.” Bian He was helpless—who knew those girls would spread the word, and other tables would come over for photos too.
“Alright, never mind,” Yan Ningsi said, unwilling to blame anyone during the livestream.
“Let’s eat first.” Yan Ningsi noticed the snacks were untouched, the dishes barely touched. “Jiajia, you don’t like snacks?”
She felt a bit embarrassed.
Bian He noticed too. “These snacks haven’t been touched either.”
“Neither of you like them?” Bian He raised an eyebrow.
Lu Wenchuan answered calmly, “Not really.”
“I’m not feeling well,” Sang Yijia said, pointing to the bag on the table with a pharmacy logo.