Although there were only three seabirds, they were not light in weight; once gutted and plucked, each weighed over half a jin.
The production team was ruthless, providing them only with some seasonings and a pot. Ye Qiu evenly rubbed the seabirds with the seasonings, then wrapped them in banana leaves, covered them in a layer of sea mud, and threw them directly into the charcoal fire.
"This is like Beggar's Seabird now!" Bo Rong joked with a laugh.
"This will be a real treat, can't wait." Li Yan stared at the fire, swallowing her saliva with a look of craving, just like a hungry ghost. Fans watching online found it unbearable to witness, their little Fairy, just like that, would she be gone forever?
As for the remaining twenty or so bird eggs, they were simply boiled in water, which not only preserved nutrients better but also provided a greater sense of fullness.
By the time the Beggar's Seabird was ready, Lin Cheng and Xiao Hua, who had left not long ago, also came back with a few coconuts.
After cracking the sea mud on the surface, a rich aroma quickly filled everyone's nostrils. Since the birds were marinated, their skin was roasted to a golden brown, with oils seeping out.
Not to mention the several big stars, even netizens from outside the network were drooling with envy.
"It looks so delicious!"
"Why am I watching this late at night!"
"Hungry, so hungry..."
"Does takeout have this?"
"Don't even think about it upstairs, if you eat seabirds in China, be careful of getting flyers!"
...
"I realize Ye Qiu is indeed all-around! Can fish, can shoot arrows, and now turns out can cook too!"
"Looking at Li Yan eating so deliciously, drooling..."
"Ye Qiu, I'm officially a fan now!"
On Weibo, "Ye Qiu's Beggar's Seabird" trended once again. Yang Tao and Ji Qing were happy watching it, and the production team was also very pleased due to the rising viewership and topicality of the show. Only Du Siqi and Lin Feifei were filled with jealousy.
Although Lin Feifei had little to do with Ye Qiu, she didn't know why, but she just disliked this woman very much, always feeling she would steal her thunder.
And Du Siqi deeply resented that such a capable and beautiful artist did not belong to him, cursing Ye Qiu's lack of vision in his heart.
But undoubtedly, Ye Qiu's popularity was very high at the moment, with tens of millions of Weibo followers. Du Siqi contacted and found a Water Army, ready to ride the wave of popularity.
Conveniently, Lin Feifei had just taken on a campus drama in which she played a scholastic beauty queen, which greatly aligned with her public persona.
However, Lin Feifei was now at the same school as Ye Qiu, both students of the National Film Academy. Even though her grades and appearance were not bad, Ye Qiu was still recognized as the school's beauty queen by the school.
This time the Water Army was of higher quality than last time, and that night Weibo was ablaze with the hot search about who was the real beauty queen of the National Film Academy. In order to prevent the kind of backlash caused by excessive praise last time, this time Du Siqi and Lin Feifei played it smart.
In addition to placing Ye Qiu in the top position, they also selected some of the already somewhat famous beauties from the school. At first glance, Ye Qiu seemed to have unparalleled advantages.
In terms of looks, she has few rivals in the beauty-filled entertainment circle; in terms of academic performance, she enrolled in the school with top exam scores in both arts and academics; in terms of fame, she already has a hit TV series, a blockbuster movie, and an upcoming New Year's mega-play on the national network.
Without any surprises, Ye Qiu was voted the National Film Academy's school belle.
Although this was something they had anticipated, Du Siqi and Lin Feifei were still seething with jealousy.
However, they indeed managed to leech off Ye Qiu's popularity as they had wished.
Initially, due to Li Yan's suppression, confrontations between fans and the "Water Army" disappeared in an instant—netizens are forgetful, plus Lin Feifei's looks are quite misleading. In her apology video, Lin Feifei appeared in a white camisole, her black hair flowing, her skin translucent, her bust ample, and her big eyes, brimming with moisture, gazing at you, causing the homebody men to instantly surrender.
Even if the fireworks (other women) mocked her internally, they didn't bother to contend with her anymore, and the beauty comparison fell from the hot search rankings.
Everyone thought Ye Qiu was the lead this time, with Lin Feifei just a foil, so naturally, they bore no ill-will towards her.
Yet, Lin Feifei herself was also beautiful and had also been admitted to school with top exam scores in both arts and academics, prompting many to place her on the same level as Ye Qiu for comparison. Other less famous students were gradually forgotten.
Yang Tao frowned at the hot search, even though it was filled with praise for Ye Qiu, outsiders might think it was their bought-and-paid-for "Water Army." However, she knew very well that this had nothing to do with them.
Though the hot search seemed to show high popularity, in reality, it was not at all beneficial to Ye Qiu.
With Ye Qiu's talents and capabilities, there was absolutely no need for her to be compared with fellow schoolmates. It would only lower her stature. Instead, it was Lin Feifei, the one ranked second, who saw a rapid increase in recognition.
Yang Tao remembered that the last time it was also a beauty comparison with Ye Qiu, but back then Ye Qiu hadn't appeared on a reality show and wasn't as popular as she is now, so the post didn't get much heat, later overshadowed by Li Yan's fanbase.
It's her again this time!
Yang Tao couldn't help but suspect that this was just the other party riding on the popularity wave, but the most important thing now was to knock down the hot search about the school belle. Ye Qiu's popularity was sufficient already; there was no need to add fuel to the fire.
Weibo had a partnership with Yamei International, and as Yang Tao was a well-known agent with the big star Bo Rong under her, the staff were very accommodating. They removed all the hot searches related to "school belle Ye Qiu."
On the other hand, before Du Siqi and Lin Feifei could even rejoice, they were bitterly frustrated to see that, no matter how the "Water Army" manipulated, they couldn't make it into the hot search again, and at the same time felt that this Ye Qiu was indeed at odds with them.
On an island in the Pacific Ocean, Ye Qiu, who had all her means of communication confiscated, was completely unaware of this situation. However, even if she knew, she wouldn't pay them any mind.
In her past life, the schemes of Du Siqi and Lin Feifei to harm her weren't clever; she fell for them simply because she trusted them too much. In this life, as they belonged to different companies and she had the upper hand, those two could only make unfounded accusations without any evidence.
Thanks to Ye Qiu's presence, reality's outdoor survival, though brutal, was much better than expected, and the content group took a midday nap.
But when it rains, it pours. After spending two leisurely days, Li Yan, who had been raised in comfort, ate too much seafood and coconut and ended up with diarrhea in the afternoon. By evening, even though she felt a bit better after taking some medicine, a heavy rainstorm with strong winds arrived.
The island has a tropical climate, so the downpour was not only fierce but also brought substantial rainfall.
The group hardly had time to save anything; most of the firewood got wet on this damp and drafty night, making everything worse.
Fortunately, the grass shack they had built proved to be sturdy, and the combination of plastic sheets and banana leaves offered enough shelter to keep out the rain.
Luckily, they were leaving the next day. The six of them huddled together and got through the night in a daze.