Chapter 26: Rising Popularity

(Monday has arrived, and the rankings have been refreshed. Everyone, please give me some recommendation votes or monthly tickets to help boost the rankings!)

After Bai Renzong returned to his room, Han Jiayi let out a coquettish hum and muttered to herself, "That critic... actually, he's quite a decent person."

Deep down, she knew Bai Renzong had deliberately refrained from exposing her last night, sparing her some dignity. Yet, recalling the incident still left her a bit embarrassed: she had always believed herself a master, only to discover in action that she was barely a novice…

Still, upon reflection, last night had been enjoyable.

She had been out in the world for more than a year, but society was complicated—whether in entertainment or gaming circles, finding a foothold was no easy task. She couldn’t remember the last time she set aside the rules of the workplace and simply enjoyed life for its own sake.

But today, she was suddenly aware that the pressure accumulated over the past year had vanished.

Han Jiayi pushed aside her worries, focusing now on taking care of her restaurant. Of course, new menu ideas didn’t come every day, so she decided to stay home for the next couple of days and see if inspiration might strike. Someday, she vowed, Bai Renzong would have nothing to criticize.

After Bai Renzong went upstairs, he finished editing the video of "Ge'an Sushi Restaurant" and posted it online.

His next plan was to attend the upcoming wine exhibition in three days, hoping his "God’s Tongue" might be of use there and to gather some footage.

He had risen early, so by the time he finished editing, it was nearly eleven o’clock—a perfect hour to go to Willow Pavilion for lunch.

He pushed open the door, stretched, and walked downstairs, only to be greeted by the sight of a chaotic kitchen.

"What happened here?!" Bai Renzong stared in astonishment at the mess on the stove.

"No inspiration..." Han Jiayi slumped at the edge of the stove, complaining listlessly. "I can’t come up with new set menus."

She propped herself up with her elbow, resting her chin on her hand. The curve of her waist, hips, and legs formed a silhouette more beautiful than any illustration—a sight that made Bai Renzong’s heart skip a beat.

"Do you want to go to Willow Pavilion for lunch?" Bai Renzong ventured, "My treat."

"Hmph..." Han Jiayi sighed, eyes closed as though unwilling to leave her stove, but eventually clapped her hands and stood up. "Alright, let’s go."

This girl could be as childlike as she was adorable... Bai Renzong thought secretly.

When the two arrived at Willow Pavilion, the proprietress immediately teased, "The two of you came together—did you spend the night together?"

She meant it as a joke, but unexpectedly hit the mark.

Han Jiayi blushed, hastily explaining, "Sister Xiaoxiao, what are you saying? It wasn’t really sleeping together!"

"Oh? So I guessed right? Young people these days move fast, don’t they?" The proprietress arched her brows.

"We were just sleeping on two sofas, separated by a coffee table." Bai Renzong sighed. "Brother Xing, I’ll have the daily set menu."

"Alright." The boss replied with a smile, "And Jiayi? What would you like?"

"I don’t know..." Han Jiayi pouted, grumbling, "I haven’t had any inspiration for cooking lately."

"Cooking is like art—it needs inspiration. You can’t force it," the boss replied.

Han Jiayi immediately retorted, "Then where do your ideas come from, Brother Xing?"

The boss gently tugged the proprietress’s ponytail and smiled, "It’s simple. Think about what you want to make—something that will please the one you love—and inspiration comes in abundance."

"Hmm..." Han Jiayi mused, resting her chin in her hand. "I’ll have the daily set menu too."

While waiting for their food, Bai Renzong took out his phone to check the results of the video he had posted that morning.

To his surprise, the episode about "Ge'an Sushi Restaurant" had received an overwhelming response: in just two hours, it had been viewed over seven hundred thousand times! The likes and tips were astonishingly high.

He knew such extraordinary popularity and engagement must be thanks to the Connoisseur app.

Even the most popular influencers with millions of followers usually only received tens of thousands of views within two hours of posting, yet Bai Renzong already had seven hundred thousand!

Of course, he realized the high visibility was likely due to the fifty thousand heat bonus for "breaking the defense."

Sure enough, upon opening the Connoisseur app, the video had triggered the "shop owner broke the defense" reward—fifty thousand heat points.

This time, Bai Renzong felt no guilt, only a hint of annoyance: that owner was engaged in fraud, yet still had the nerve to feel aggrieved?

After reading the comments below the video, Bai Renzong understood the cause of the acclaim.

"I was at the shop—the owner kept insisting the critic didn’t know anything after being exposed! Infuriating!" "I heard some streamers and influencers tried to defend the owner just to make money, shameless. This critic is the only one with integrity!" "Exposed on day one of opening—how will they survive in the food industry now?"

On today’s platforms, most restaurant review videos were mindlessly positive. Suddenly, an influencer appeared who dared to speak the truth and expose consumer fraud, earning the audience’s trust as someone honest.

Of course, some came just to gloat.

Regardless, the surge of unexpected popularity pushed Bai Renzong’s video to the homepage of D-site, and his subscriber count and views were skyrocketing.

"This is truly good news..." Bai Renzong thought with satisfaction. He felt this was the very purpose of his videos: helping viewers avoid pitfalls and making genuine restaurant reviews, not chasing dirty money like that Grapefruit influencer.

Just then, Han Jiayi, sitting beside him, slapped his shoulder, both anxious and angry. "You! How could you post that sushi shop video?!"

"What’s wrong? Shouldn’t a place like that be exposed?" Bai Renzong asked, puzzled.

"Normally, yes, but..." Han Jiayi seemed troubled, unsure how to explain. "Oh, I can’t make you understand! Just hurry and take it down!"

"I refuse," Bai Renzong replied calmly. "I make videos to share real restaurant information."

"But... but..." Han Jiayi frowned. "Do you realize you might not be able to make videos anymore?"

Bai Renzong raised his brows, curious. "Why?"

"Didn’t you see? That shop is a new venture from 'Illusion World Group'!" Han Jiayi warned sternly. "You must know Illusion World Group, right?"

"...No," Bai Renzong shook his head.

Han Jiayi covered her forehead in disbelief. "My god... You live in Beichang City and don’t know Illusion World Group? It’s run by Zheng Han, son of the city’s wealthiest man, Zheng Nan! Thirty percent of Beichang’s food industry belongs to their family, and every new restaurant in recent years is part of their group. If you offend them, how will you review restaurants in Beichang?"

"Then I’ll just review restaurants elsewhere," Bai Renzong said stubbornly. "I won’t take the video down."

"Why are you so stubborn?" Han Jiayi complained. "Don’t blame me for not warning you later."

"Don’t worry, I won’t," Bai Renzong replied mildly, accepting his meal from the boss.