Chapter 28: Mutual Benefit

The lower half of Han Jiayi’s face was hidden behind a cushion, making her expression unreadable, but her eyes sparkled with light. Then she hugged the cushion tighter, turned her back to him, and said, “I appreciate your offer, but getting popular isn’t that simple. You’re still a rookie creator yourself, so how could you boost me?”

On this point, Bai Renzong had no worries at all. Popularity was something he had in abundance; what he lacked was content. If he could collaborate with Han Jiayi, then he wouldn’t have to worry about material for food-themed content at all. He wouldn’t even need to visit restaurants; instead, he could film cooking videos at home with Han Jiayi and add his commentary—showing people how to make simple ingredients taste extraordinary or how to avoid common pitfalls.

As long as he had enough material, Bai Renzong could use the popularity provided by the Appraiser app to continuously build his fan base. One day, he would become the number one creator on DTube.

So, popularity was never the problem—it was all about having enough content.

Videos on games and movies were relatively easy to produce, but food content always gave him a headache. Restaurant review videos were tricky; he’d need the owner’s permission to film, and if he always took a critical approach, what owner would agree to that? Now that he’d offended someone as influential as Zheng Han, it was even harder to visit restaurants. Sure, he could go to other cities, but making videos was long-term work—he couldn’t be traveling for every shoot. It’d be best to have other types of food videos as a substitute.

Teaming up with a Michelin-starred beauty to teach home cooking? Now, that was a compelling angle. In truth, the two of them would be helping each other—Han Jiayi would provide him with content, and he would give her exposure.

“Leave the popularity to me; you just need to tell me if you’re willing,” Bai Renzong said with determination.

Han Jiayi glanced at him sidelong, saw that he seemed sincere, and sat up. “So, what’s your plan?”

“We shoot home-cooking recipe videos together, showing how to make simple ingredients delicious,” Bai Renzong explained. “You handle the cooking, I handle the commentary. We discuss the best cooking methods and ingredient combinations. In short, it’s a beginner’s guide format. Later, we can try other styles and gradually figure out what our audience likes best.”

“That actually sounds pretty good…” Han Jiayi tilted her head, lost in thought.

“Of course, we’ll split the revenue from our food videos fifty-fifty,” Bai Renzong added. “But any income from my game and movie reviews will be mine alone. Is that fair?”

“I’m not really concerned about the revenue…” Han Jiayi replied, lying atop her cushion, her shapely legs gently kicking as she thought. After a moment, she asked directly, “Why are you helping me like this? To be honest, you might not gain much, and could even get dragged into my troubles. If Zheng Han finds out, he’ll definitely come after you.”

“What can he do besides hiring trolls to smear me?” Bai Renzong scoffed. “And as for benefits—there are some.”

He shot a glance at Han Jiayi.

She immediately became wary, frowning and drawing back. “I told you, I’m not trading my body for this!”

“Tsk…” Bai Renzong gritted his teeth and scowled. “I meant your content! Your material—!”

“It was just a joke, no need to get so fierce…” Han Jiayi said, hugging her cushion pitifully. “Still, I’m not sure. What if Zheng Han uses contract clauses to stop me from collaborating with you?”

“Then just do what they do—drag it out in court,” Bai Renzong sneered. “You’ll be working with me as ‘Chef Han Jiayi.’ They signed ‘Artist Han Xuerou.’ Just deny it. If they sue, just stall.”

“Fight magic with magic…” Han Jiayi’s bright eyes darted around. After thinking it over, she said, “Alright, I’ll give it a try next time. If it works, I’ll keep collaborating with you. If not, I won’t drag you down.”

“Deal.” Bai Renzong nodded. “But first, I’ll need to hire an assistant. We’ll be focused on content, but we need someone else to handle filming.”

“My assistant should be available,” Han Jiayi replied. “I don’t have much going on lately. When she brings my car in a few days, she can help with these chores.”

“Even better.” Bai Renzong finally smiled and clapped his hands. “Then all our problems are solved.”

“Are you really sure about this?” Han Jiayi frowned. “Zheng Han is no ordinary person. When he gets ruthless, he’s no different from the mob. You’d better be careful. Creators are public figures now—it’s not hard for him to target you.”

“Well, you’re not wrong…” Bai Renzong mused. “Maybe I should learn some self-defense.”

“You really are…” Han Jiayi sighed softly. She thought Bai Renzong was a bit too naïve, but she also found his innocence endearing. Maybe it was this very quality that allowed him to persist in such a fiercely competitive field.

“I’ll just have to protect him myself…” Han Jiayi thought to herself.

But Bai Renzong had other ideas. He remembered there was a challenge in the achievement system that would grant him the “Lightning Reflexes” ability. The challenge required a hundred lightning-quick responses, like dodging a molten behemoth’s ultimate attack or executing perfect counters in certain games.

Once he completed it, he’d have “Lightning Reflexes.” With some self-defense training, he wouldn’t say he could take on ten at once, but four or five should be manageable.

Besides, lately, his sedentary lifestyle of making videos and indulging in gourmet food had packed on the pounds and hurt his fitness. Learning kickboxing or Muay Thai would be a great way to stay in shape and healthy.

“Perfect…” Bai Renzong nodded in satisfaction. The feeling of making optimal use of his resources, in a way, soothed his obsessive tendencies and gave him a rare sense of fulfillment.

In Beichang City, at the headquarters of Illusion World Group.

At that moment, Zheng Han lounged in his luxurious office in nothing but a bathrobe, a beauty on each arm, sharing drinks and banter with four women. But then, someone knocked on the door. “Young Master, the verdict for Ge’an Sushi has come out…”

“Come in,” Zheng Han said, putting down his cigar and picking up his glass.

A man in a suit entered, leaned close, and whispered a few words.

“Tch, that idiot,” Zheng Han shook his head. “I told him ages ago to keep some real A5 wagyu on hand for inspections, but he wouldn’t listen. Now look—he can’t even shift the blame. I can’t even fake things for him if I wanted to! Such lack of vision!”

He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, then hurled the glass against the wall, shattering it. The women shrieked and drew back in fright.

“Go, dig up that creator’s info and blacklist him from every restaurant owned by Illusion World. From now on, he can forget about filming review videos anywhere in Beichang City!” Zheng Han roared, clearly annoyed.

“Should we hire trolls to smear him?” the suited man asked tentatively.

“A creator with only tens of thousands of fans? Is he worth hiring trolls for? Wouldn’t that just boost his popularity? Idiot!” Zheng Han shot the man a glare, then waved him away impatiently. “Get out! And lock the door behind you! Without my orders, no one comes in!”

Then he turned to the four women and beckoned. “Come here, help Daddy cool off.”