Before the New Year arrived, the collaboration video between Tan You and Wang Jue was finally released. Xu Liang had been very thoughtful; the version he edited for Tan You highlighted her dancing, interspersing it with a few shots of Wang Jue making his dough sculptures, followed by photos of the finished products.

Meanwhile, the version edited for Wang Jue was focused entirely on him. It was impressive that Xu Liang managed to edit two different versions where neither person overshadowed the other.

"My video blew up. So many people have been asking me how I got Teacher Xu to film a video for me," Wang Jue said from the other end of the call, molding a dough sculpture as he spoke to Tan You and Xu Liang.

Xu Liang scrolled through the comments as he replied to Wang Jue, "Don’t you go referring people to me. I’m not in the habit of doing photoshoots for just anyone."

"Of course I wouldn’t do that," Wang Jue said. "I’ve been telling everyone I just got lucky thanks to Ali, which is the absolute truth. I’ve gained so many followers these past few days—more than in the whole last year."

Xu Liang pulled up Wang Jue’s profile. "You really have gained a lot. Congratulations."

Wang Jue sounded a little sheepish. "I still have to thank you both. It’s because of you that more people have noticed me."

"I received a very precious gift, too," Tan You remarked offhandedly as she busied herself with preparations for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

"I’m glad you like it," Wang Jue replied. "My grandfather and my dad are big fans of yours. They’ve been watching your old videos for the past two days and want to make you a dough sculpture themselves."

Tan You’s eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I’m so honored! When I get my hands on something good, I’ll set some aside for your dad and grandfather to show my gratitude."

Wang Jue didn’t turn her down. "Great! They absolutely loved those mountain delicacies I brought back last time."

Tan You smiled instantly. "I’m glad you all enjoy them. I heard your grandfather likes to drink tea, so when the spring tea comes out next year, I’ll set aside a few boxes for him. We have a tea factory here, after all, so it’s easy enough to get some."

"Are you going to roast it yourself?" Wang Jue immediately sat up straighter. "I saw you’ve been learning how to process tea."

Tan You scratched her cheek. "My skills aren’t there yet. It’ll take a lot of practice to get to Uncle Qiao’s level. I’ll just ask Uncle Qiao to roast a special batch instead..."

The two chatted and laughed for a bit before falling into a comfortable silence. One quietly prepped ingredients while the other molded a dough sculpture. Though no words were exchanged, the atmosphere wasn’t the least bit awkward or stuffy.

Standing behind the camera, Xu Liang looked at Tan You bustling around the kitchen, then at the old woman tending the fire behind the stove, and then at the furry creatures sprawled all over the floor. He suddenly found the scene incredibly heartwarming.

However, that warmth vanished the moment he saw the ten main courses Tan You served. Xu Liang’s camera panned across each dish. "So this is what you meant by ’just for show’?"

"Uh-huh, this is it." Tan You nodded, completely unabashed. "I told you it was just for show. It’s still edible, though."

Xu Liang couldn’t help but shake his head. "Alright, fine. I’ll get this footage edited for you right now. Don’t worry, it’ll be fast."

Tan You didn’t rush him. Xu Liang only agonized over the details when filming her dance videos. For everything else, she looked beautiful no matter how he shot it.

Just as Xu Liang got to work, the Beauty System, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly sent Tan You a long post. The writing was painfully tragic and sorrowful, vividly portraying a girl’s deep and unrequited love.

Of course, it would have been much better if the subject of the post wasn’t her, and the author wasn’t Xia Mo. After staring at the lengthy text and reading it through twice, Tan You suddenly smirked. "Send it to Wen Zhe. He made this mess, he can clean it up himself."

"And as for Xia Mo... you know what to do, right?"

The Beauty System responded instantly, "This System understands. This System guarantees that she won’t be able to publish this article on any platform." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"That’s for the best." The smile on Tan You’s lips was barely there. "I’d much rather nip this threat in the bud than have to debunk rumors later."

The Beauty System puffed out its little chest. "Th-This System will get it done!"

Tan You smiled. "You’re the best! Truly amazing!"

And she meant it. The Beauty System’s ability to do this saved her a ton of trouble. If Xia Mo had managed to publish that post, Tan You would have been the first one to take the hit.

Even if Tan You had done nothing wrong, once that kind of filth was thrown at her, the controversy would stick to her forever. She would much rather prevent it from happening at all than have people dredge it up in the future.

After receiving such praise from Tan You, the Beauty System was so excited its core programming glitched for a moment. ’I really am useful after all! See? I just came in handy, didn’t I?’

Wen Zhe was also in a foul mood. He hadn’t been right since seeing Xia Mo earlier that day. In his mind, a breakup was a breakup; they shouldn’t have anything to do with each other anymore. He never imagined that the typically aloof Xia Mo would pester him so relentlessly.

She had actually shown up at his house, speaking and acting as if she were his girlfriend. After a great deal of effort, he finally managed to get rid of her. Wen Zhe had thought things would quiet down, but then he unexpectedly received a message from Ji Li.

He was, of course, happy to get a message from Ji Li. But whatever fantasy and joy he’d felt was instantly replaced with a proportional amount of rage the moment he saw the long post she had forwarded. He suppressed his fury and read the entire thing, his expression growing so dark it looked like it could storm.

"I have to go out. You guys go ahead and eat dinner, don’t wait for me." With that, Wen Zhe grabbed his car keys and his coat from the entryway and left.

Wen Zhe’s mother tried to call out to him, but his father stopped her. "Let him go. He’s a grown man now; he knows what he’s doing."

His mother sighed. "What is all this drama about? This afternoon, I actually thought that Xia Mo girl was his girlfriend. To be honest, I don’t like her. She seems too calculating."

"I don’t like her either," his father said, "but that’s his business."

Wen Zhe’s mother ladled a bowl of soup. "I still prefer Ji Li. She’s such a wonderful girl, isn’t she? It’s a shame your son is so blind."

"He’ll pay the price for it sooner or later," his father said calmly. "In this world, once an opportunity is gone, it’s gone. No one is going to wait around for him forever. Let’s just hope the lesson he learns is a memorable one."

"I doubt it’ll stick," his mother said. "I have no idea where your son gets that heartless streak of his."

"Who else? Our father, obviously. Disrespectful even at his age." Wen Zhe’s father sighed. "Ah, let’s not talk about him. No sense in getting ourselves worked up."

"So," his mother said, "where do you think our son has gone off to now?"

"I’m not sure. Probably just dealing with some romantic drama." His father was calm now. "That Ji Li girl was smart to get out when she did. She knew Wen Zhe was unreliable."