Streams of bullet comments slid across the screen,
obscuring it like a sky-darkening, sun-blocking canopy.
"Holy crap, Ding Xiang!"
"Who's Ding Xiang?"
"The one upstairs, Google her! Perfumer Ding Xiang!"
"Qin He isn't human, she's definitely not carbon-based!"
Amidst the lively chatter, at the Gu family's old residence.
Old Mrs. Gu watched Qin He on the livestream with a smile.
"Oh my, my granddaughter-in-law is just too amazing! By the way, Xiao He also made me a lot of calming incense. Quickly find some and light it for me."
Old Mrs. Gu called out to the butler.
The butler smiled and went to Old Mrs. Gu's side. Madam Gu watched the screen with a complicated expression.
She had once thought that the unremarkable woman who was completely unworthy of her son was now proving her wrong time and time again, making her feel like she must have been blind in the past.
Qin He, a beauty blogger, had become a popular influencer with tens of millions of followers and received an award for charitable contribution in Qingcheng.
The profession she had once disdained, Qin He's original job as a mortician, had earned her the official gratitude of Country Y.
Now, Qin He was shining on the show as the mysterious ancient perfumer Ding Xiang.
Madam Gu's heart was filled with complex emotions, more shocked than the viewers in the bullet comments.
After all, these people didn't know that Qin He was also the internationally renowned Professor Harlana!
The butler quickly brought the incense and carefully lit it.
Madam Gu inhaled the fragrance and sighed softly.
She and Qin He had long since reconciled, but recalling the past, she couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
"I underestimated her in the past."
Old Mrs. Gu looked at Madam Gu and smiled brightly, "It's good you understand. Our Qi Shen is a blessed man. Xiao He can do more than just these things; she can also manage a company and will be a great help to Qi Shen in the future. In this world, you'll never find such a good daughter-in-law again."
Madam Gu looked at Old Mrs. Gu, hesitating to speak.
The old lady had forgotten again; they had been divorced for a long time.
She had a vague feeling that the old lady was right. Perhaps, she would never find a better daughter-in-law than Qin He.
How could she have been so blind back then to think that Song Nuan was better than Qin He?
Ding Xiang's identity became a trending topic, with major news outlets reposting it.
Ming Chi's fans also came to offer their congratulations.
"Brother Chi's sister is indeed extraordinary!"
At the same time as Ding Xiang's identity was revealed, the theme for the second round of the top twenty qualifiers also attracted significant attention.
Theme: Companionship.
Time limit: Three days.
Qin He was curled up in her bedroom in the villa, scrolling through the comments on Weibo, and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
For some reason, the masks she had hidden for so many years were falling off one after another lately.
Her phone rang. Qin He glanced at it; it was Liu Xing'an calling.
Liu Xing'an knew that Qin He was very skilled in traditional Chinese medicine.
"Xiao He, tell your master honestly, do you have many other masters?"
Liu Xing'an's voice carried a hint of an elder's possessiveness, "TCM, perfumery, invite them all out for me to meet."
Qin He chuckled, "Master, you are my only master. TCM and perfumery are actually quite similar. When I was studying TCM, I also taught myself perfumery."
Liu Xing'an then said sheepishly, "Come back soon after the competition. Don't go around fooling around outside; your mistress misses you."
Qin He quickly agreed and then handed the phone to Madam Liu.
Madam Liu's voice was gentle, "Xiao He, don't play around outside after the competition. I've prepared a lot of delicious food, and I'll make it for you when you get back."
Qin He's heart warmed, and she repeatedly agreed.
After that, her phone was almost constantly busy.
Calls came from the Qin family, the Ming family, Xu Wanwan, Shen Yilin, and others.
Finally, after finishing her call with Grandma Gu, Qin He let out a sigh of relief when the Qing Yan Mansion's management group chat suddenly lit up.
Mo: "Qing Xie, do something human for once! You said you were going to deal with Di Shishi a while ago, but who knew you had more secrets than her!"
Di Shi: "Why should I deal with you?"
Seeing Di Shishi pop up, Qin He immediately sent her a message.
Qing Xie: "@Di Shi Where are you now? Is everything okay?"
Di Shi: "What could be wrong with me? I was just taken home by my father and am currently under house arrest, told to reflect on my mistakes."
Di Shi sent a photo; it looked like a bedroom.
Di Shi: "I'm not with you right now. Can you handle the competition on your own? If not, I'll climb over the wall tonight, and I can be in Jiangcheng tomorrow."
Mo: "My dear aunt, forget it! Your noble father, Minister Dai, specially invited my dad for dinner yesterday! He was probing my relationship with you. Your dad thinks you ran away from home to elope with me! I don't want him to hold a grudge against me!"
Ruthless Scoundrel: "Eloping? What eloping? Di Shi is eloping?"
Ruthless Scoundrel, who had just appeared, clearly hadn't seen the previous chat logs. Mo scoffed in disdain and went silent.
Di Shi also stopped talking.
Qin He grinned mischievously and followed with a scoff.
Zuo Xiuxian despaired: "You're excluding me, aren't you! Tell me, are you excluding me!"
Qin He burst out laughing.
She put down her phone and looked at the sky; it was already noon.
Qin He calculated her gold coins. With Di Shishi gone, she was wavering between revealing her skills to catch fish and eating instant noodles.
At 3 PM, Qin He ate her last two packs of crackers and headed to the director's task area.
The livestream was in a frenzy, with the influx of people almost crashing the servers.
Most people followed Qin He's movements, switching their streams. The chief director eventually assigned four drone cameras to follow Qin He.
By the sea, Qin He was fully prepared this time, not only bringing three small buckets but also a beach cart.
The people in the livestream stared, watching Qin He's effortless fishing.
"From now on, Qin He is the Fishing God. This fishing veteran declares it with twenty years of experience!"
Qin He seemed to have stumbled upon a school of fish, catching a pile of plump ones.
She released the small fish and put the plump ones into the buckets.
Not far from the beach, several contestants who were also fishing watched Qin He in stunned silence.
"Holy crap!"
"Holy crap, holy crap! Why are the fish bumping into her arms!"
Qin He was quick, scooping a large, fat fish into her bucket with one net.
A silver-banded sea snake stealthily approached Qin He.
Someone in the livestream saw it and immediately sent a bullet comment to warn her!
"Silver-banded sea snake, highly venomous! Run quickly!"
"Where are the director's staff! What are they doing!"
At this moment, several figures rushed out from the director's bungalow and the villa by the beach simultaneously.
Qin He was smiling, holding a large, fat fish, when she caught a glimpse of a long, slender object coiling towards her leg out of the corner of her eye.
Qin He's mind reflexively made a judgment.
Snake.
White markings, pointed head.
A silver-banded sea snake, venomous. It can cause death within ten minutes of poisoning!
She threw the fat fish in her hand away and, among the shallow reefs, spun around. The fishing net in her hand, like a spear on the battlefield, executed a sharp "flower," and after a sweep of the net, Qin He directly swung the pole at the other end of the net towards the silver-banded sea snake in the sea.
The sea snake was flicked out of the water. As it fell from the air, Qin He, with lightning speed, accurately pinched the snake's head with one hand.
She frowned, staring eye-to-eye with the sea snake.
This all happened within three breaths.