Chapter 4

In all her years, Xi Mi had met plenty of people, but not many who looked like wolfdogs.

Old Man Xi, her grandfather, was practically the elderly edition of a wolfdog. Pushing eighty, he was still sharp and vigorous. When he sat in silence, he could scare a child to tears. Ying Quhe was the most handsome wolfdog she’d ever seen. He didn’t need to speak; just sitting there, he radiated authority.

After watching the competition for a while, Xi Mi made up her mind to enter.

Running away from the arranged marriage had been her way of defying Old Man Xi. If she could enter the competition and win the championship, it wouldn’t just be defiance – it would be her way of proving herself.

Back during the Xi Family Restaurant’s internal competition, she’d beaten First Senior Brother Lin Nan, become head chef, and earned the title of Chef God of the Ancient Town. But Old Man Xi had dismissed her cooking as unfit for the big stage – said she’d simply picked the right recipes, that it was nothing more than good luck and a little cleverness. Hardly real skill at all.

Xi Mi refused to accept that. She’d been the God of Cookery Sanchuan for years – who had ever said her food didn’t taste good?

The Xi Family’s culinary arts had been passed down for generations. By this generation, Xi Mi was the sole remaining heir.

She’d become the God of Cookery “Sanchuan” at fifteen. Right after her nineteenth birthday, she’d been forced into an engagement – Old Man Xi wanted her to marry First Senior Brother Lin Nan, a man nearly twenty years her senior.

By tradition, after Lin Nan married her, he would take the Xi surname as a matrilocal son-in-law, then rightfully inherit the title of God of Cookery “Sanchuan” from her hands.

Like hell she’d agree to that.

Her First Senior Brother, twenty years older than her. What kind of deal was that? A fresh flower stuck in old dung, that’s what!

Xi Mi’s father had no interest in becoming a chef. He’d gone abroad to study in his teens, later married a half-Chinese, half-American woman, and settled down in the United States to a happy family life. It didn’t last. When Xi Mi was eight, both her parents died in an accident.

Little Xi Mi was still young when she was brought back to China. The language barrier was her biggest obstacle. Old Man Xi sent her to the ancient town’s private school to study Chinese culture, and she didn’t enter public high school until she was thirteen.

Compared to academics, she was far more absorbed in cooking. She willfully set aside the complexities of high school math and physics, only studying what she found useful. The consequence of her willfulness… was failing to get into college.

When she finally tracked down the person in charge of the 《China’s Supreme Taste》 production team and explained why she was there, security immediately tried to throw her out. Xi Mi clung to the burly security guard’s arm and refused to budge. “Sir, just give me a registration form! I traveled all the way from my hometown just to compete. You can’t crush a young girl’s championship dream!”

The person in charge glanced at her and laughed. “Championship dream? More like a daydream. Go back wherever you came from.”

When she couldn’t get through to the person in charge, she went and waylaid a judge outside the men’s restroom.

The biggest problem was that she knew the judge, but he had no memory of her existence, much less any recollection that Xi Wendao even had a granddaughter.

Her hopes of competing were completely dashed. Her small, slight frame was hoisted up by two security guards – feet off the ground – and tossed outside.

Sitting on the steps of the ancient town square, Xi Mi suddenly felt her life was terribly bleak. The vast sky above seemed filled with nothing but wolfdogs…

She clutched her phone and had a good cry, then scrolled through Weibo. When she spotted Culinary Dao on Weibo, an idea suddenly struck her.

Culinary Dao could post food videos – why couldn’t she? If she could become a famous Weibo account like Culinary Dao, build up a decent following, she could still prove herself to Old Man Xi. That would still count as real ability.

But becoming an internet celebrity wasn’t something she could achieve just by wanting it. Even after her Weibo was flooded by gawking onlookers, she still only had 199 followers.

*

The midday sun beat down relentlessly. The competition venue was sweltering.

The competition had moved on to the second round of preliminary selections, and the atmosphere had dipped a little – probably because the judges had been overly harsh in the previous round. Quite a few had been eliminated, but there were also plenty of chefs whose skills were not to be underestimated.

Ying Quhe took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie.

Even with overhead cover and fans at their backs, in this giant steamer of a square, the relief was negligible. At the production team’s arrangement, he could only retreat to the temporary enclosed cubicle backstage and sit in the air conditioning.

Ying Quhe leaned back in his chair, pen in hand with a notebook before him. Bored, he doodled idly, and a softshell turtle took shape on the page.

Thinking of Xi Mi, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Ying Shengnan pushed the door open and caught sight of his younger brother’s upturned lips. That lovestruck little smile struck him as unbelievable. He leaned in for a closer look and found a turtle sketched on the paper. Eyeballing his brother like he was some unfamiliar creature, he offered a backhanded compliment: “Second Brother, that turtle of yours – not bad at all.”

Ying Quhe tore the page out, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. “Never seen a softshell turtle?”

Ying Shengnan let out an “Ow,” but moved fast, snatching the crumpled wad of paper out of the air. He unfolded it, gazed at the wrinkled softshell turtle on the page, and nodded like a bobblehead. “I’ve seen one, I’ve seen one – I’m looking at one right now. Looks just like a scrawny little turtle.”

The Ying Family had three brothers. Ying Shengnan ran the corporation, and Ying Quhe managed Ying Shi Pavilion under the corporate umbrella. They also had a younger half-brother, same mother but different father, named Zuo Yi. He had no interest in fine dining and had started his own company outside the family – a successful one at that.

Though Ying Quhe was technically the second son, both Ying Shengnan and Zuo Yi were afraid of him. In that household, he was the real “big brother.”

「What are you doing in the ancient town?」 Ying Quhe’s expression hardened back to sternness, as if he hadn’t been the one secretly smiling just moments ago.

Ying Shengnan said, “Brought your sister-in-law here to escape the summer heat. Two days ago, I was discussing the wedding arrangements with my brother-in-law, and he insisted I divorce your sister-in-law. Yesterday, he actually showed up with bodyguards to take her by force! But your brother here’s pretty sharp – I broke us out of their encirclement.”

Ying Quhe looked at him coldly. “Get to the point.”

Ying Shengnan coughed dryly. “Actually, I was thinking of letting Tian Jian stay with you in the ancient town for a few days. Once her brother agrees to hold the wedding, I’ll come pick her up.”

「How did Tian Hao not break your dog legs?」 Regarding Ying Shengnan’s old-ox-grazing-on-tender-grass^[1] behavior, Ying Quhe said with disdain: “The Ying Family’s face isn’t worth much anymore. Try to lose what’s left a little more sparingly.”

Tian Jian was a very special girl – what most people would call simple-minded. But beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Ying Shengnan had fallen for her at first sight and had done everything he could to capture the simple girl’s heart. He’d even coaxed her into stealing her family’s household registration booklet^[2] so they could go to the civil affairs bureau and get a marriage certificate.

When the girl’s brother found out, he was furious. He couldn’t accept that Ying Shengnan was over a decade older than Tian Jian, much less that she was marrying an old beast.

Ying Shengnan patted him on the shoulder and sighed. “Brother, when you meet the right woman, you’ll understand. Age doesn’t matter. Losing face isn’t important. Having someone who can walk into your heart – that’s happiness beyond anything else.”

Ying Quhe looked at him coldly. “You think everyone’s like you? A pile of old dung, gotta go find a fresh flower in a rose garden to stick in it?”

“Hey, you’re a thirty-year-old virgin, how can you make such a dirty metaphor? Just setting sail out of nowhere – you could at least give me some warning.”

Ying Shengnan wasn’t quiet.

A few staff members in the inner room had been joking around with each other. When they heard this, the air suddenly went still. Everyone held their breath and turned their heads to look at Ying Quhe.

“…”

Seeing Ying Quhe’s face shift instantly, heavy as iron, Ying Shengnan felt inexplicably satisfied inside.

He turned his head aside, parted his lips, and laughed soundlessly.

Then he turned back, all serious, and said, “Second Brother, your Big Brother was just joking. I’ll have someone send your sister-in-law to the inn later. Company business. I’m heading back.”

*

Xi Mi returned to the inn and sprawled listlessly over the counter. After pouring out her troubles to the owner, she asked, “Sis Qin, are you short a cook here?”

The owner kept her head down, working an abacus, and teased her without looking up. “How could the God of Cookery stoop to a little place like ours? This is an inn, not a restaurant. Still, a ‘black household^[3]‘ like you, with no ID and no household registration, nobody in the old town would dare hire you. If you’re willing, you could work the front desk for me. I’ll give you eight hundred Yuan a month, room and board. When guests aren’t using the kitchen, it’s all yours. How about that?”

Eight hundred Yuan, the pay was low enough, but at least it would cover her phone bill, with room and board, WiFi, and a kitchen. It fully met her basic needs.

The owner quickly drafted a work agreement and had her sign. Both parties signed, each kept a copy, and that was that. Xi Mi officially started as the inn’s front desk attendant.

The owner finally got some leisure time, went out to buy groceries and take a walk, leaving Xi Mi alone in the shop.

In the afternoon, Xi Mi checked in a tour group. As evening approached, the inn door pushed open and a string of wind chimes jingled overhead, crisp and clear.

The owner came back with a tall, slender girl in a white dress, led her to the front counter, and said, “Xi Mi, this is Tian Jian. Take care of her for me. I’m going out to grab a delivery.”

Xi Mi answered and let her gaze settle on the girl.

Wavy hair reaching her waist, features delicate and refined. The girl first glanced around the inn, then let her gentle gaze settle on Xi Mi. A sweet smile played at the corners of her mouth.

Sweet, yes, but a little too much. It made her look a bit silly.

Tian Jian spoke slowly, like a little kid, each word spaced out, introducing herself very formally. “Hello, my name is Tian Jian. You can call me Jianjian.”

Xi Mi returned a sweet smile and stretched out her hand. “My name is Xi Mi.”

Xi Mi looked at the girl before her, so pretty she couldn’t help stealing a few extra glances. She noticed the wristband the girl wore, engraved with a prominent string of text: “My name is Tian Jian. My family’s contact number is: 156…”

The girl’s speed and tone of speech were a bit odd, as if a few beats too slow. Seeing the wristband, Xi Mi immediately understood: this girl likely had Alzheimer’s or something similar, and her family feared she’d get lost, so they’d tied this wristband on her.

A girl this pretty, if she really got lost, whoever found her would probably just hide her away, wouldn’t they?

Tian Jian rubbed her stomach and looked at her pitifully. “Mimi, I’m hungry.”

The affectionate name, the pitiful look, instantly awakened Xi Mi’s protective instincts toward the girl. She locked the counter and came out, standing in front of Tian Jian. She found herself having to look up at her.

Tian Jian was 175 cm tall. She was 160 cm.

Xi Mi still had leftover handmade noodles from yesterday, frozen in the fridge. She cooked a bowl of noodles for Tian Jian, topped with a sunny-side-up egg fried golden.

Tian Jian cradled the bowl, breathing in the delicate fragrance winding up from the surface. Her stomach, already clamoring like the tide, instantly turned into a black hole. She picked up the fried egg, took a bite, and a faint “crunch” sounded between her teeth. Golden yolk oozed out. The crispy skin soaked up the beef broth, absorbing the rich beef fragrance along with a faint milky aroma.

The fusion of beef broth, crispy skin, and egg yolk sent Tian Jian’s sensitive taste buds into overdrive.

Mmm… so good.

Ying Quhe pushed open the inn door, a string of wind chimes overhead ringing “ding-ding.” He raised his eyes and saw two young girls sitting at the entryway table.

The aroma of noodles practically rushed at his face. He watched Tian Jian bite into the fried egg in one mouthful, golden yolk spilling from between her teeth, that look of pure satisfaction all over her face.

He… was hungry.

The author has something to say: Lao Qu: I despise people who stick fresh flowers in old dung^[4]! 🙂

Old Ying: Pervert Ququ^[5]!!