A Heartfelt Kitchen Surprise

‘Why is Sister Yun’ai here?!’

Thankfully, she didn’t immediately rush over to cling to me. Everyone around seemed to be her fans, and upon realizing they weren’t the chosen ones, they all sighed. They envied Qing Zixi’s luck, yet simultaneously felt a surge of jealousy.

As the lively, purple-haired girl approached her, Qing Zixi asked with a hint of confusion.

“Ch-chosen me for what…?”

‘She’s so close!’

Qing Zixi and Zi Yun’ai were so close their faces were almost touching. With her head bowed, Zi Yun’ai’s long, beautiful hair cascaded down, obscuring the side of her face.

“Let’s do it together~!”

‘Eek!’

‘In, in front of everyone, is it really okay to *do it*?!’

‘Th-this kind of thing, at least we should go back to a room…’

‘Pah! What on earth am I thinking!’

Qing Zixi’s ears immediately perked up in alarm. Then, she caught sight of the mischievous smile on Zi Yun’ai’s face—a smile meant only for her.

“We’re going to make sweet little heart-shaped cakes~”

Zi Yun’ai gracefully swept her hair back, revealing her profile. A perfect arc graced her lips as she turned to face the camera.

‘Was she… being teased?’

‘She most certainly was!’

Qing Zixi pouted, her cheeks puffed out in indignation.

“Hello everyone, I’m your Ai~ Today is a special, unannounced fan interaction program: the Heartfelt Kitchen~”

“Her Highness Ai, Her Highness Ai!”

Staff members and junior trainees alike were captivated by Zi Yun’ai’s dazzling presence. Her radiant figure commanded every eye in the room.

Undeniably, Zi Yun’ai was the ultimate, most perfect idol. Her range of activities was incredibly broad; having appeared as a guest at several professional tournaments last year, her popularity within the competitive gaming scene had skyrocketed.

As Zi Yun’ai led Qing Zixi by the hand into the kitchen, Qing Zixi felt as though she was being pierced by the envious gazes of everyone they passed.

‘So, she feigned a random selection to build anticipation among her fans, only to choose me in the end?’

Peering into Zi Yun’ai’s mysterious purple eyes, Qing Zixi couldn’t discern her true thoughts. Nevertheless, selecting this white-haired loli had undoubtedly pushed the live broadcast’s viewership to another small peak.

It was precisely the time when people returned home from work, when families gathered to eat after preparing their meals. Almost everyone had their televisions on, and both men and women alike were engrossed, shoveling food into their mouths as they stared at the radiant Zi Yun’ai and the adorable, pleasing white-haired loli beside her.

“Today is Heart-Shaped Cake Time! I’m sure many of you watching have tasted the cakes Ai has made in person. Receiving a cake from someone you admire is a dream for countless people, so today, Ai is going to teach everyone how to bake a cake!”

Zi Yun’ai’s production team had brought pre-prepared ingredients, meaning they only needed to borrow the kitchen and aprons to film the show. She skillfully arranged the ingredients on the table, introducing each one to the camera and to the curious onlookers peeking in from outside. Following this, she picked up an apron and moved behind Qing Zixi.

‘Mph!?’

Qing Zixi felt a soft pressure against her back. In the next instant, Zi Yun’ai embraced her from behind, wrapping her arms around her waist.

“Don’t move, I’ll tie your apron for you~”

Zi Yun’ai leaned close to Qing Zixi’s ear, speaking in a voice clear enough for both the camera and the distant audience to hear. This intimate scene of the two beautiful girls clinging together sent the program’s viewership soaring to its peak.

[Waaah, I want to be there too! I want Her Highness Ai to tie my apron too!]

[So envious, so envious! If I were her, I’d die happy even if it was the very next moment!]

[It’s too sweet! They’re so close! Her Highness Ai is truly skilled at this!]

While the audience was in a frenzy, Zi Yun’ai had already finished tying Qing Zixi’s apron. She maintained her embrace from behind, gently holding Qing Zixi’s hand.

“I’ll teach you from the very beginning. And all you viewers on screen, pay close attention! The first step is to crack the eggs…”

She gently tapped an egg, cracking it, then dropped its contents into a bowl.

Frankly, anyone could crack an egg.

It was precisely for this reason that their fans began to swoon.

[Wow, when did Her Highness Ai start doing ‘business’? She barely ever collaborated with other idols before!]

[What do you know? This is professionalism! Her Highness Ai is perfect, so naturally, she has to teach every single step in meticulous detail!]

The live comments seemed to lean towards the latter explanation, finding it more convincing. Subsequently, they began to express their overwhelming envy for the white-haired loli.

Slowly but surely, however, they were astonished to discover that this white-haired loli also possessed a face as delicate as carved jade, with soft, fair skin. More importantly, her adorably clumsy movements struck a chord in everyone’s hearts, as if they had been pierced by an arrow.

[Hey, I gotta say, this little loli seems really cute too, doesn’t she!?]

[Yeah, yeah! She has such a strong presence even standing next to Her Highness Ai!]

The live comments began to discuss Qing Zixi. Guided by the shifting sentiment in the comments, the gazes that had been fixed on Zi Yun’ai gradually turned towards Qing Zixi instead.

[W-well, it’s true, and how can this girl be so adorably clumsy?]

[Is her face a little red?]

[Who wouldn’t blush when they’re with Her Highness Ai?]

While the live comments were erupting in a frenzy of discussion, Qing Zixi had no mind for such trivialities. At that moment, her small face flushed crimson, she was in a state of complete alert, diligently frosting the cake.

‘And *this* is supposed to be the best production team? What makes them so great?!’

Qing Zixi’s puffed-out, slightly indignant pout, however, only made her appear to the audience as though she were diligently focused on baking the cake. Inevitably, this endearing sight caused a surge of affection for the cute girl to well up in their hearts.

‘Why isn’t there a cameraman filming from behind? Can’t they manage a full 360-degree, dead-angle-free shot?!’

Qing Zixi stood on a small stool, her cheeks still puffed out.

As this filming session was Zi Yun’ai’s impromptu suggestion, only two cameras had been brought: a wide-angle camera fixed in front to capture the entire table and both girls, and a handheld camera.

At Zi Yun’ai’s subtle glance, the cameraman would use the handheld camera to film the ingredients and the baking process up close.

Beneath the dining table lay a large white tablecloth. Due to its presence, the cameras could only capture their upper bodies, leaving their lower halves, hidden beneath the cloth, out of frame.

All of this was exactly as Zi Yun’ai had anticipated. Even the camera positions had been meticulously arranged by her. Thus, when Zi Yun’ai approached Qing Zixi from behind, pressing against her from top to bottom and feigning a hand-on-hand teaching posture…

‘Gulp!’

‘Pinched again!’

‘Pushed again!’

‘She’s so good at blocking the camera and the audience’s view, why doesn’t she go jungle in a game instead?!’

Qing Zixi, still pouting, haphazardly frosted a small rabbit onto the cake. Zi Yun’ai, meanwhile, looked utterly delighted.

‘What’s this? Zixi, touch it. What’s this? Zixi, touch it.’

With a subtle glance, she signaled the cameraman to film up close. Under the powerful ‘cute filter’ applied to Qing Zixi by the audience, even the rabbit, which wasn’t particularly well-drawn, was showered with praise for its cuteness in the live comments.