Chapter 22: Isn't Being Handsome Just for People to Look At?

The five of them gathered around the table, devouring the feast Shen Li had prepared. Ji Beishu praised the food between bites, "This is too delicious! Whoever marries you will be the luckiest person alive."

Qiao Le retorted immediately, "Don't even dream about it. It certainly won't be you."

"Hey, do you feel uncomfortable if you aren't picking a fight with me?" Ji Beishu chewed and bickered.

"Yeah, so what? Do you have a problem with that?" Qiao Le replied, busy picking food for Bai Qiuya, who muttered a quiet thank you and kept her head down, focused entirely on her meal, untroubled by the world.

Jiang Nian was another one detached from the chaos. He ate with a mix of haste and elegance, as if he hadn't eaten in months. Shen Li watched him as if observing a rare, fascinating species, and every time she looked, Jiang Nian’s ears would turn bright red.

After a while, he couldn't take it anymore and reached out to cover her eyes. "Eat. Don't look at anything else."

Shen Li pulled his hand away and continued to stare, resting her chin on her palm. "Why can't I look? Are you too handsome to be looked at? Or are you so shy that you can't eat if I stare at you like this?"

Her blunt words lacked any flirtatious intent, yet she was completely oblivious to the fact that the person listening was burning with internal turmoil.

"You, you really are..." Shameless!

Jiang Nian didn't finish his sentence. Shen Li was right; being watched like that by someone he liked made it impossible to eat. But if he stopped eating now, he would want to run away even more, so he could only pretend to be busy shoveling food into his mouth.

They were chatting and laughing when, suddenly, the laughter died as the members of the "Top-Tier Team" entered. Jiang Fuya clutched her stomach, looking so frail that a gust of wind seemed capable of knocking her over.

Lu Ziwei commanded with an air of entitlement, "She has a stomach condition and isn't feeling well. Get her something to eat." Lan Ting tugged at Lu Ziwei, reminding him to speak more politely, but he shook her off.

"You all know who the production team listens to. Without us, this show wouldn't even exist, let alone give you a chance to make a comeback," he said with a contemptuous smirk. "So, you should know what to do."

Seeing no response, he sneered, "A bunch of losers like you should be cooking and serving us. Not being famous in this industry is a crime, didn't you know? Countless people would kneel and lick our shoes just for a chance, and we wouldn't even spare them a glance. Tonight, I'm giving you that chance. If you perform well, I might consider tossing some opportunities your way."

Before entering, Lan Ting had told him to be civil, but he didn't feel he needed to be. These people, stained with scandal, were at the very bottom of the industry. He had fought hard to reach his current position; why should he give these "losers" any respect?

Every resource on the show was meant for them. Even if the "Scandal Team" won two games, it didn't matter. In the end, the resources for every episode would belong to them. The Scandal Team had no chance of getting anything, let alone making a comeback.

Since that was the case, there was no need to take these people seriously.

*Slap!* Qiao Le slammed her chopsticks down, her mouth firing like a machine gun. "Ugh! The three of you, get lost! So what if you have resources? You still got beaten by us. You’re so stupid—having a winning hand and playing it into the gutter is exactly what you’ve done! You have the nerve to come here and threaten us? To hell with you!"

She stepped forward to push them out, but Lu Ziwei reflexively swung his hand, accidentally slapping her. Everyone was stunned. Lu Ziwei stared at his own trembling hand.

"You—this was an accident! If you hadn't come to push us, would I have hit you?" Lu Ziwei shouted, his voice rising. "If you weren't acting like a shrew, I wouldn't even look your way. You? Hey, wait, Shen... hey, don't you come over here! Otherwise, I'll make you regret—ah!"

Before Lu Ziwei could finish, Shen Li rushed out with a broom and swept it directly into his face, driving all three of them back. "Why is there so much filth around today? It’s truly unlucky. A pile of trash pushing themselves forward—can't a person just eat in peace?"

After sweeping them out of the kitchen, she tossed the dust toward them, leaving the three of them covered in dirt.

Once she finished, she gave Qiao Le a wink and went to close the door. Qiao Le caught on immediately and went to close the other side.

Lu Ziwei was fuming. He brushed the dust off his face and reached to pry the door open, but Shen Li and Qiao Le ignored him and slammed the door shut with force, catching his hand in the gap.

"Ah! My hand!" Lu Ziwei stomped his feet in pain, clutching his reddened hand and blowing on it.

Shen Li covered her mouth in feigned shock. "Oh! Why are you so careless? If you hadn't put your hand there, would I have pinched you?" She threw his own words right back at him.

The people at the table collectively lowered their heads to stifle their laughter. Qiao Le looked at Shen Li with surprise, her sense of guilt growing stronger.

Jiang Fuya carefully cradled Lu Ziwei’s hand. "Brother Ziwei, are you okay? It looks so painful~" Her eyes reddened instantly as she assumed a stance of righteous indignation. "Shen Li, how could you be like this? Even if he put his hand there, you saw it and didn't stop—wasn't that intentional?"

"Heh." Qiao Le rolled her eyes to the heavens. "You’ve certainly gotten used to playing the saintly white lotus, haven't you? Sorry, I don't buy it. He slapped me once, I pinched his hand once. We're even."

"But Brother Ziwei didn't mean it~" Jiang Fuya said in a soft, sugary voice. "We shouldn't use violence to solve violence. If you were unhappy, you could have just said so. Brother Ziwei would have apologized. Was it really necessary to hurt his hand so badly?"

Lan Ting leaned in to take a look: *Wow, if she keeps talking, the wound will be healed before she’s finished.*

But she didn't expose her. After all, they were on the same team, and they still had to work for President Pei in the future; it wouldn't do to offend her.

Jiang Fuya carefully lifted Lu Ziwei’s severely swollen left hand. "Look, it's all swollen~" Qiao Le was fuming, rolling up her sleeves to argue, but Shen Li stopped her with a shake of her head.

"Don't waste your breath on them."

With that, Shen Li took advantage of everyone's distraction, yanked Lu Ziwei toward her, used her other hand to slam the door, and then another scream rang out: "Ah! My right hand!"

Shen Li clapped her hands. "There, now that both hands are balanced, no one will notice that one is particularly swollen. How is it? Are you satisfied?" She shook her wrists, her bones cracking. "If you're still not satisfied, I don't mind giving you the 'Double Swollen Hand' package." Her bright, deer-like eyes gazed at Jiang Fuya with a smile.

The latter fled in a panic. "No, no need, thank you!" Lu Ziwei was left writhing on the ground in pain and was eventually carried back to the dormitory by the staff.

Shen Li muttered, "And here I thought he had a limp. He's so weak." She sat back down to continue eating and looked at the stunned Qiao Le. "Come back and eat. What are you standing there for?"

Qiao Le stared at Shen Li, dazed. "Oh, oh, eating."

After the meal, the two men were responsible for washing the dishes, and Bai Qiuya went to shower first, leaving only Shen Li and Qiao Le in the dorm.

Qiao Le snuck a few glances at Shen Li before finally gathering the courage to walk over. Biting her lip, she said, "I'm sorry. I said so many harsh things this afternoon, but I didn't have the courage to apologize. I should have. Also, thank you for helping me earlier."

She felt a knot in her stomach. She had told herself over and over not to trust Shen Li, not to get close to her, reminding herself that Shen Li had caused someone's death and that she must not let Shen Li's bad reputation rub off on her.

But human hearts are made of flesh. Shen Li was keeping her promises, leading them toward victory, and had truly protected her.

She wasn't good with words and had suffered many setbacks for being too direct. If it weren't for Shen Li, Lu Ziwei probably would have had the upper hand, and if word of the incident got out, she would surely be the one everyone cursed.

Shen Li gazed at Qiao Le, picking up her clothes, and smiled as she ruffled Qiao Le's hair. "It's fine. I don't really care about those things." With that, she walked past Qiao Le to head to the shower.

Suddenly, Qiao Le called out to her...