“Oh, look, someone's posting this in the comments, educating people."

He Sijiao saw a comment drifting across the Douyin livestream and, with a playful smile, handed the phone to Zhou Yu, who was next to her.

Curious, Zhou Yu leaned in and asked, "Educating about what?"

"Saying that Xia Xinyu is Chen Yuan's girlfriend, that they have a good relationship, trying to protect their feelings. It's kind of funny."

As He Sijiao spoke with a smile, Zhou Yu, who was picking up a potato chip with his chopsticks, paused, his expression hardening.

He saw the comment.

But he didn't care about the content.

It was the commenter's name that instantly brought him back to a certain time.

Oleander…

He remembered.

Back when the QQ Speed mobile game was first popular, an internet friend named Oleander had added him and played with him for half a summer vacation.

And it was a girl!

Zhou Yu couldn't forget how, when that cute, sweet voice had emerged, his heart had immediately found a home and he'd instantly entered fantasy mode!

Because he'd become regular QQ Speed partners with that girl who had a nice voice and was super cute, he had even used his New Year's money to buy her a lot of cars, dreaming that one day he could hold Miss Oleander's little hand and chat about sweet nothings…

Damn it, why did I have to remember that bad woman who ran away with my whole garage of racing cars!

He was losing his appetite.

Oleander, I hate you!

"This competition is quite interesting."

Zhou Fu was a girl and hadn't overanalyzed Xia Xinyu's looks like the others. Instead, she had watched the entire competition and said with interest, "The competition starts with everyone choosing ingredients in the order they draw lots. If you go too late, you basically won't get anything good."

"Her luck with the lots doesn't seem very good. She's pretty far back," Tang Jian said. "There aren't many options left, and she even picked a chicken breast."

"But fortunately, the second round is the reverse order, from last to first. And then she picked a lot of chili peppers."

Saying this, Zhou Fu felt a burning sensation in her body and said with some fear, "Although the judges are all from Anhui, which is a little better than our Xia Hai, they probably can't handle that much spice, right?"

"Very typical Jingnan style," He Sijiao said with a sigh. "The students from Changjun probably feel the same way."

"So what dish is she going to make?" Zhou Fu asked Chen Yuan with particular curiosity.

He was also a little confused and honestly said, "Xinyu usually doesn't cook spicy food to accommodate me, so I'm not really sure."

"If you don't know, go die," He Sijiao said.

"Yeah, you should die sooner rather than later. People like you just make rice more expensive," Zhou Yu chimed in.

"You even have a girl cook your food and bring it to you. You're embarrassing us independent men. Do you really think this kind of loss of survival skills is something to be envied? Also, you're really showing off," Tang Jian said with the harshest words.

Everyone was quite easily triggered.

"Oh, it should be spicy shredded chicken."

As Xia Xinyu was poaching the chicken breast, Chen Yuan gradually understood. "She's made this dish for me before. It's especially delicious."

"You're not very good with spicy food, so she still makes spicy food for you?" Zhou Fu asked with some suspicion.

The others also seemed to smell the scent of Chen Yuan lying and bragging, so they all stared at him, ready to arrest this boasting kid.

"I definitely can't handle spicy food," Chen Yuan explained calmly. "So Xinyu cuts open each chili pepper with scissors, removes all the seeds inside, and then gives it to me…"

"Kill him." Clenching his fists, Tang Jian gritted his teeth, wishing he could tear this thief apart.

"Are you made by Nuwa? You'll die if you don't brag. How can you be so vain? You're talking as if it really happened, you should die,"

Your girlfriend isn't even from the right path.

You kidnapped and coerced her to get her!

Zhou Yu was especially anxious, the ferocity in his tone almost overflowing. He wished he could burn Chen Yuan to ashes.

Then, Chen Yuan asked back, "You don't believe there are girls like this? But I think Jiaojiao is so gentle, don't you think?"

"…"

After cursing and cursing, Zhou Yu, who was suddenly questioned by Chen Yuan with that 'sincere' face, realized that He Sijiao had indeed been provoked by this guy. She was staring at him, looking serious, as if to say, "Yeah, you have a problem with me?"

Damn Chen Yuan, using this trick!

But don't even think about using this little trick to destroy the relationship between us.

My wife may be stupid, but she's as loyal as a dog!

And so, everyone watched the livestream on the screen, enjoying the competition of these 'culinary stars'.

The cameraman was still very fair, not focusing entirely on Xia Xinyu alone.

Basically, half the time was spent filming Xia Xinyu, and half the time filming the other students.

So that's what they meant by fair!

And because there was such a beautiful girl in school uniform on the livestream, the speed of eating in the cafeteria today was much slower…

"What a beautiful girl, and she's so good at cooking."

"In a school like Fourth High that sells its soul to the devil for scores, there's still such a pure girl."

"Whoever can marry this kind of girl has saved the earth."

"Didn't the people in '99 save the earth…?"

"Shhh, confidentiality agreement!"

"Isn't this the girl that Chen Yuan pulled in for a photo during the basketball game?"

"Hey, it seems so."

"Damn, how can both of them be so strong? Are they the domestic Mr. and Mrs. Smith?"

"One is Jordan from Eleventh High, and the other is Megumi Tadokoro from Fourth High. They're so dazzling. Is this the life of a protagonist?"

And finally, after someone discussed him, Chen Yuan felt a little better.

No matter how excellent Yuzi is, her most important identity is still his girlfriend.

No, the male gaze in this sentence…no, the male gaze is a bit too serious, too chauvinistic.

Actually, thinking back, his performance during the basketball game was even more arrogant and eye-catching, and he received a lot of screams from girls.

Xinyu at that time was also cheering for him very seriously, and she wasn't jealous because he was getting too much attention from girls.

She was truly proud of him.

She sincerely wanted him to win.

So, he also had to correct his mindset.

Gradually, Chen Yuan's mentality underwent some subtle changes.

Those comments praising Xia Xinyu for being beautiful, thrifty, and wanting to marry her were a reflection of Xinyu's charm.

She bloomed like a rose, stunning the audience.

So, he also had to be proud of his little wife.

And sincerely pray for her to win.

Xinyu, add oil! (a Chinese expression of encouragement)

I'm transmitting all my cooking power to you, can you feel it!

Xia Xinyu suddenly felt a jolt in her mind.

It was a little weird.

Then, after stewing the soup, she divided it into six portions, placed in six small bowls, along with a plate of colorful, fragrant, and glistening spicy shredded chicken on a tray, ready to take it to the judges.

Originally, this project was a team effort, making one big dish, but because this year's event schedule was very full, and they were a little short on time, it was changed to sending out one representative, and the theme was one dish and one soup.

This year was also the first time it was livestreamed.

"Xia Xinyu." A participating girl from the same school saw her preparing to serve the meal and kindly reminded her, "I heard that the judges' scores are not very favorable to those who serve first, and the scores are more stringent. It's better to wait until later. Their scores will be compared with the previous ones, and the scoring is more subjective."

Although there were no small teams, the scores of a school had to be added together, so everyone was quite united.

They would even provide each other with their own ingredients.

After suffering a loss in the first round, Eleventh High also became more united.

And Fourth High didn't need to be said, it always had a strong spirit of cooperation.

Everyone else thought so too.

"But I'm afraid the food will get cold, so I'll serve it first."

After Xia Xinyu explained with a smile, she was still the first to bring the tray to the judges.

And seeing this dish and soup, everyone's eyes lit up.

After all, they were old judges in the base, having reviewed countless student cooking.

Some were even master chefs in the cafeteria, very knowledgeable about cooking, just like farmers knew about rice.

Therefore, these two dishes looked like they came from cooking experts at a glance.

Leaving aside the taste, the color was really beautiful.

The aroma was also overwhelming.

However, some leaders felt a little nauseous when they saw the plate of spicy shredded chicken, after all, the flavor here was more bland.

And the chili peppers in this spicy shredded chicken almost covered the entire plate.

More chili peppers than shredded chicken.

It was beautiful.

But eating it, your butt might be on fire…

"You're from Fourth High, so you should be from Hai Dong, how can you handle so much spice?" A leader asked with a smile.

"I'm from Jingnan, studying in Xia Hai," Xia Xinyu replied.

"Jingnan, huh? Then why didn't you go to Changjun?" The leader started to stir things up.

This was a livestream.

What would a Fourth High student from Jingnan say about her hometown's top high school?

To this, Xia Xinyu replied with a smile, "My aunt works here, so I went to Fourth High. If I wasn't in Xia Hai, I might have gone to Changjun."

Hearing this, the leader felt a pity.

Who told you to have high EQ?

What he wanted was a sharp review!

Listen to me, just say that Changjun is too trash, so you chose Fourth High.

He wanted to see blood flowing like a river.

And so, after a casual exchange, everyone started to use chopsticks to pick up that plate of the most classic Jingnan-flavored dish from a Fourth High student, covered in chili peppers.

Then, after eating it, an 'I can't believe it' expression instantly appeared on their faces, and their eyes lit up even more.

The fragrant and spicy shredded chicken was golden in color. When it entered the mouth, a huge fragrance dispersed on the taste buds. While chewing, you couldn't feel that this was the driest chicken breast at all. The taste was as thick as beef jerky, and it also had a sweet and crispy taste…they had sprinkled white sugar to enhance the flavor and relieve the spiciness!

It was so delicious.

After picking up one chopstickful, you couldn't help but eat it again.

It was like eating spicy strips.

But the taste was more advanced.

Some people had their mouths full of spiciness after taking one bite, but they still couldn't stop.

This kid's cooking skills surpassed the vast majority of adults.

This kind of flavor was rare even in ordinary restaurants.

Even those who were very afraid of spicy food were eating with relish.

Some people wished they could have a little wine at this time.

This side dish was so good with wine.

Although they didn't say anything, their actions had shown everything.

And so, in a few minutes, the six judges, like Chihiro's parents, frantically devoured the entire plate of food, being extremely fierce.

Then, they started to drink the soup.

Potato and pork soup, the simplest method, the most basic combination.

But one bite made people want to exclaim 'yoshi'.

The soup was rich and mellow, full of salty and umami flavors. The stewed pieces of pork belly completely integrated the grease into the soup. Eating it didn't feel greasy at all. It was simply fragrant. And the potatoes were also very flavorful. Plus, they were stewed very softly. One bite melted into mashed potatoes in the mouth, powdery and glutinous.

This contestant was undoubtedly the god of cooking in ancient China.

The six mentors completely finished her masterpiece that took forty minutes to make.

And the students behind them looked extremely annoyed.

No, this is a cooking competition, you're here eating as if it's a buffet, devouring everything at once, then what are we supposed to compete in!

Unfair, rematch, you motherfucker!

Everyone gave extremely high praise to Xia Xinyu's food.

"Very good, high level."

"This looks like someone who cooks often."

"You can't tell it's from a high school student at all."

"It has everything: color, aroma, and taste."

Xia Xinyu was very satisfied with everyone's comments.

Then, after discussing, the scores they gave made her a little disappointed.

57.8.

Six judges, each with a total score of ten points, and the sum of everyone's scores was the result.

And getting this result meant that the average score was less than 9.7.

That was really harsh.

Oh well, she had tried her best.

And so, Xia Xinyu ended her competition.

And everyone else ended their competition.

The end of the livestream was the awarding of the top three prizes.

As it should be.

Xia Xinyu stood in the center.

She easily took first place individually.

The remaining second and third places were Changjun and Eleventh High, respectively.

And the top three scores were ranked as:

57.8

49.5

47.9

"Damn it, how good must the first place's cooking skills be?"

"How can she be so far ahead."

"The second and third place look delicious too, but they're almost ten points behind."

"Such a beautiful girl with such good cooking skills…"

"Xia Xinyu from Fourth High, truly an ideal person."

"Chen Yuan is punching above his weight."

"Ah, God Yuan is so happy…"

While walking around the research and study base, Chen Yuan could hear people praising Yuzi's real name.

Xia Xinyu had made a name for herself this time.

At this time, the ranking on the big screen was also updated.

Because Xia Xinyu was nearly eight points ahead of second place, almost leaving everyone else in the dust, even if her teammates weren't very helpful, Fourth High was still three points ahead of second place Eleventh High.

If it wasn't for this 8-point lead, Fourth High would probably have fallen to third place.

This was also her bringing Fourth High to fly with her own strength, winning glory for the school.

However, the liberal arts version of the learning god Yuzi was also good, taking third place for Eleventh High, carrying a little.

The score should have changed a lot now.

So, Chen Yuan opened the group chat.

Then he saw the latest picture.

Changjun: 270 (+20)

Fourth High: 210 (+40)

Eleventh High: 200 (+30)

Hengzhong: 200 (+10)

Good news: The Northern Expedition was successful.

But on the mother-in-law's side.

It's okay, after all, I'm also half a Fourth High person, this wave is still a win.

Just as Chen Yuan was looking at his phone, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder from behind.

Chen Yuan was stunned, then turned around and saw two familiar people.

Damn, Taozi!

Our Jianjun is here too!

At this time, the two principals were walking.

And He Hongtao was carrying a bag of mandarin oranges.

"Hello, teachers." Seeing this, Chen Yuan nodded politely and greeted respectfully, "Hello, Teacher Zhang."

The two principals also nodded in response.

Among them, Taozi looked at Chen Yuan, his eyes full of happiness, and said, "I really thank you today. If it wasn't for the 80 points you got, we would have been 150 points behind Changjun today. I would have been so embarrassed."

"Everyone also tried their best, and we had better luck," Chen Yuan said modestly.

"You're still being humble with me? There's no one else here, what are you afraid of?" He Hongtao laughed.

Zhang Jianjun: "…"

I'm someone else.

Please, treat me as someone else.

Then, speak a little more restrained.

"Teacher, if you say so, then yes." After He Hongtao said this, Chen Yuan really started to show off, "My role is still very big."

After saying that, the two people looked at each other and laughed.

Zhang Jianjun was very uncomfortable.

I'm still here, an outsider!

What do you mean by forcing me to praise his girlfriend in front of Chen Yuan?

Provocation?

When you two have a drop in grades one day, all early romances will be brought to justice!

"Okay, then we'll go, you continue to wait."

"Okay teacher, goodbye."

And so, Chen Yuan said goodbye to the two of them.

But before He Hongtao left, he stuffed a bag of mandarin oranges into his hand: "A teacher gave it to me, it's very sweet, you eat it with your classmates."

"Thank you teacher…"

Chen Yuan accepted the mandarin oranges in astonishment and watched the two of them walk away.

Then, he took out an orange, peeled it, and threw it into his mouth.

Yeah, indeed.

Looking at He Hongtao's back, Chen Yuan nodded slightly.

So sweet, just like you.

After saying this sentence in his heart, his vision went dark…

"Xinyu, congratulations," Chen Yuan said.

And Xia Xinyu, who had been standing on tiptoe, covering Chen Yuan's eyes with her hands, also let go, then smiled and provoked, "How did you know it was me? Do you guess my name for every girl who teases you like this?"

"No, their hands aren't as soft as yours."

"?"

"Look, you're getting angry again. I'm just joking with you."

Chen Yuan quickly handed Xia Xinyu an orange, then rubbed her little face, trying frantically to make up for it.

Look, boys are just cheap.

They obviously know they're going to make you angry and have to appease you, but they still have to be naughty a few times.

But I have to say, being naughty a few times is really fun.

"Did you buy these oranges?"

While the two of them were walking, Xia Xinyu peeled an orange while talking.

"Taozi gave them to me," Chen Yuan said.

"Taozi? Is he a classmate of yours?" Xia Xinyu asked curiously.

"He Hongtao."

"…" Xia Xinyu was dumbfounded when she heard this, looked around, and made a 'shhh' gesture. "Be more discreet, you're a little too arrogant now."

You're pretty good at talking backwards too.

"I think you're quite confident too, actually turning in your paper first," Chen Yuan said.

"Turning in your paper first is like running away, right?" Xia Xinyu said with a smile, "After all, the judges were all hungry. When you're hungry, anything tastes good. After eating mine, they're not so hungry anymore, so eating other things, they probably won't have as strong of a filter."

Tactics.

"Indeed strong."

Chen Yuan gave a thumbs up, then said with some confusion, "But didn't you consider the taste of the people here? The level of spiciness that people from Anhui and our Hai Dong can handle should be about the same, right?"

"I considered this too, after all, some people really can't handle spice at all," Xia Xinyu said.

If there were a few judges here who didn't eat any spice at all, then the scores might be affected.

Maybe she would even suffer a malicious low score.

"Yeah, the taste of the people here is very bland."

Thinking of this, Chen Yuan suggested, "Actually, you could take the seeds out of the chili peppers like before, so you can ensure the taste without it being too spicy."

As soon as he said this, Xia Xinyu suddenly stopped.

Chen Yuan didn't understand, so he also stopped and looked at her.

Then, Xia Xinyu smiled in amusement.

Then, she handed half an orange with the white pith removed to Chen Yuan's mouth.

After he blankly opened his mouth and ate it, he saw the girl looking at him with a 'what are you thinking' look, and said rather proudly, "Why should I? It's not made for you to eat."

(End of chapter)