Chapter 264: Chapter 264: Buying a Cookbook

Once they arrived at the small town, the streets were much more crowded.

At the main gate, a few Half-beastmen in an array of bizarre costumes were greeting visitors.

Jiang Qin even saw people cosplaying as Huang Rong and Guo Jing, along with Yang Kang and Mu Nianci. But what surprised her most was someone cosplaying as the old beggar from *Kung Fu*.

He was a male with disheveled hair and ragged clothes, and a pair of black wolf ears perched on his head.

He was lounging by the roadside, with several Martial Arts Secret Manuals laid out before him.

Next to him was someone cosplaying as Hong Qigong, a broken bowl at his feet containing a few tubes of nutrient liquid tossed in by passersby…

As Jiang Qin walked and watched, she felt as if she had stumbled into a massive cosplay event for her own creations.

Suddenly, a passing female seemed to notice her. After taking a closer look, she exclaimed in delight, “Are you Miss Jiang Qin?”

“What? Miss Jiang Qin is here?”

“Where? Where is she?”

“Didn’t Miss Jiang Qin leave to film a variety show a few days ago? Don’t tell me the tourist town they’re visiting is ours?”

The nearby NPCs, still in character, all swarmed over.

Then the screaming began. “AHHHH, it really is Miss Jiang Qin!!”

“Miss Jiang Qin, I’m a fan! Can I get a picture with you?”

“I—I want an autograph, too!!”

Long Hao frowned. Staying by Jiang Qin’s side, he put an arm around her, creating a protective space.

Jiang Qin quickly placated the enthusiastic crowd. “Yes, of course. Could I trouble you all to form a line?

Don’t push, please don’t push. Safety first!!”

“Please, everyone, don’t rush. I have plenty of time today. So please form a line, okay?”

The people at the very front quickly held out their arms to push back the surging crowd.

“Everyone, back up! Didn’t you hear what Miss Jiang Qin said? Form an orderly line! If anyone else pushes, I’m calling the Law Enforcement Team!”

Hearing this, many of the overexcited people instantly regained their senses.

They quickly formed a long line, with the females going first.

A girl with cat ears, dressed in a pink Combat Suit, came forward, her face flushed. “Hello, Miss Jiang Qin. I’m a fan. I love your songs, and I love your movies and shows, too.”

“Thank you for your support.” The two took a photo together, and Jiang Qin even signed her Combat Suit.

Next was a pure human female wearing a replica of Liu Yue’e’s historical-style dress. She walked up and bowed to Jiang Qin.

She said with immense gratitude, “Hello, Jiang Qin. Thank you. Thank you for producing so many wonderful shows. You’ve given people like us—pure humans and Half-beastmen—a new kind of job!”

Before becoming an NPC in the town, Zhang Ling was just a pure human female barely scraping by, completely dependent on her mother, father, uncles, and brothers.

She was unqualified for all the available jobs in town, and it wasn’t like they were short-staffed anyway.

Until Jiang Qin’s shows became a massive hit…

To attract more visitors, many tourist attractions began organizing interactive events with character cosplayers.

The town wanted to draw in more people as well, so it purchased the license for character costuming and began recruiting NPCs.

As Zhang Ling was a pure human female, her long black hair made her stand out immediately.

And just like that, she landed a high-paying, easy job.

Every day, all she had to do was stroll through the streets as if she were out shopping, resting when she felt tired and occasionally posing for photos with tourists.

The wages she earned were enough to cover her basic monthly expenses for medicine.

And she wasn’t the only one; many other pure humans in town had found jobs because of Jiang Qin.

After all, Beastmen wouldn’t take such jobs, and most Half-beastmen weren’t a good fit for the characters in Jiang Qin’s shows.

This created a large number of positions specifically designated for pure humans.

“If it weren’t for you, I might have given up a long time ago.”

Zhang Ling wasn’t exaggerating.

When she was young, she didn’t understand the pressure her family was under. But as she grew up, she constantly felt like a burden to them.

Late at night, when a person is at their most vulnerable and their thoughts run wild, was no exception for her.

But everything changed once Jiang Qin became famous.

Her late nights were spent with Jiang Qin’s songs on loop, rewatching her shows for the second and third time.

At first, it was just a small comfort in her bitter life.

But after she got the job, it became a moment of true contentment in her life.

And it was all because of Jiang Qin!

Perhaps Jiang Qin hadn’t intended it, but her light had truly shone upon them.

Jiang Qin hadn’t expected her work to have this kind of impact.

After quietly listening to Zhang Ling’s tearful story, she stepped forward and gave her a hug. “Things will only get better for you from now on.”

“Yes. I don’t have those negative thoughts anymore. Now I just want to try my best to live, and at the very least, I have to see your new show all the way through!!”

The next female to come forward asked about the new show. “Miss Jiang Qin, can you give us any hints about what genre your new show is? Or maybe when it will be released? I’m really, really looking forward to it!!”

Jiang Qin chuckled. “It’s a supernatural fantasy. As for the release, that depends on our filming schedule. We’re still building the practical sets, and the actors are still in training. We’ll probably start principal photography after the variety show is over.”

“Supernatural fantasy? What kind of genre is that?”

“That’s hard for me to explain. Once the show is out, I’ll post an update explaining the genre.”

“Okay.”

One after another, more people came up for photos and autographs.

Long Hao stayed protectively by her side the entire time. She was so busy that she didn’t even notice how close they were standing.

When Jiang Qingfeng and the others arrived in town, the first thing they saw was Long Hao with an arm wrapped halfway around Jiang Qin as she chatted happily with her fans.

The smile on Long Hao’s face at that moment was incredibly jarring…

For a moment, Ni Jia wanted to go up and interrupt them. But then he remembered that he and Long Hao shared the same female master, so he ultimately just turned his head and pretended he hadn’t seen anything.

From the shadows, Yun Xie thought, ’…If anyone’s going to stake a claim, it should be me.’

But he didn’t go out and interrupt.

Jiang Qin wasn’t one for going out much. Aside from her few partners, her only social interactions were with her colleagues.

She didn’t really have any friends.

Only with these fans could she chat freely, as if they were friends.

So he wouldn’t disturb her.

Still mindful of the show’s mission, Jiang Qin soon said goodbye to her fans. She and Long Hao then headed to the largest shopping center in town.

She knew how to shop for groceries, at least. She didn’t recognize many of the ingredients, but that was fine. She could just buy the things her partners usually cooked with.

So, she picked out two types of processed Exotic Beast Meat and some synthetic vegetables made from Exotic Plants.

Long Hao said, “I’ll cook all this later.”

“You know how?”

“Of course I do.”

Seeing how confident he looked, Jiang Qin believed him.

However, when she wasn’t looking, Long Hao secretly approached a robot shopping assistant.

He handed over his Light Computer. “Transfer a file of recipes to me—the kind I can use offline.”

“DING. Recipe purchase successful. Thank you for your patronage.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep