Chapter 7

That… didn’t count as a compliment? Xi Mi looked completely bewildered as she watched Nan Qing go downstairs and get into a black sedan.

After leaving the restaurant, Xi Mi hailed a pedicab to take her back. She scrolled through Weibo on the way and soon received a message from the show’s crew.

The topic for the preliminary round was set: wild game.

Compared to the regular group, the Influencer Group got a much trickier topic. With fewer contestants, camera time would be more concentrated, and with the boost from online fans, the ratings were guaranteed to be solid.

Nestled by mountains and rivers, Tangxi Ancient Town was indeed a prime spot for wild game. Contestants could either use ingredients provided by the crew or bring their own; there were no restrictions.

With two days left before the preliminary round, there was plenty of time to source ingredients.

Xi Mi had been so busy printing out materials that she skipped lunch. When she returned to the inn, she saw Tian Jian sitting on the threshold like a wilted cucumber, lazily lifting her chin to look at her. “Mimi, I’m hungry…”

From behind the counter, the innkeeper’s wife said helplessly, “This girl Tian Jian refuses to eat anything I make. She says it’s greasy and tastes awful. Hurry up and fix this young lady’s meal situation, I can’t handle her anymore.”

Tian Jian’s palate had been spoiled rotten by Ying Shengnan. Ordinary cooking couldn’t satisfy her at all. If the flavor or color of a dish was even slightly off, her brow would stay furrowed for a long time.

Seeing Xi Mi back now was even warmer than seeing Ying Quhe. Starving, she grabbed Xi Mi’s arm and shook it.

As dusk settled, lanterns flickered to life along the streets.

Xi Mi carried a lantern to the backyard vegetable patch and picked a watermelon. When she returned to the kitchen, she saw Ying Quhe standing by the dining table, talking softly to Tian Jian.

Carrying the large watermelon, Xi Mi stood at the doorway and knocked on the thick, rustic wooden door. “May I come in?”

“Come in.” Ying Quhe turned around and saw the girl holding a large watermelon.

Framed by the giant watermelon in her arms, her small round face looked even tinier. Even smaller than her face, though, were probably her hands…

In his eyes, Xi Mi was just a tiny little thing, quite cute.

Carrying the watermelon, Xi Mi shuffled past him, set the melon down on the cutting board, and poured water into the pot to boil it. “Oh dear,” she gasped. “The gas is off.”

The inn was built primarily of solid wood. Worried about fire hazards, the innkeeper’s wife had designated only this single kitchen for the entire inn. Xi Mi glanced around. The kitchen had a primitive earthen stove, and a few bundles of firewood sat in the corner. She made a quick decision: “I’ll light the stove.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ying Quhe interrupted her. “What do you plan to make?”

Xi Mi picked up a bundle of wood, looked up at him, and said, “A two-way watermelon dish. I’ll use the flesh for ‘Watermelon Double Phoenix^[1]‘ and the remaining rind for ‘Snow Mountain Flying Shreds’.”

Just hearing the names brought a refreshing sense of coolness. Ying Quhe, who originally had no appetite, surprisingly felt a surge of hunger and even a hint of impatience. He walked over, took the small bundle of firewood from her hands, and said, “I’ll help you.”

Xi Mi swallowed lightly, looking up at Ying Quhe.

He was still dressed in his white shirt and black trousers. Xi Mi could hardly imagine him tending a wood stove in an outfit like that…

Ying Quhe’s “approachability” almost made her forget that he was the big boss of Ying Shi Pavilion and the sharp-tongued judge on 《China’s Supreme Taste》.

The fact that such a big figure was lighting the fire and tending the stove for her felt completely surreal.

It gave her a strange sense of deja vu, like Yang Yang^[2], ridiculously handsome and practically glowing with otherworldly grace, suddenly heading into a field to haul pig manure.

If Tian Jian weren’t sitting nearby, Xi Mi really would have trembled from sheer self-consciousness.

Xi Mi sliced open the watermelon and stole a glance at Ying Quhe trying to light the fire. She saw him holding a log in one hand and a lighter in the other, applying a tiny flame continuously to wood as thick as an arm, with zero sign of it catching fire.

It would be a miracle if that actually lit…

Xi Mi wanted to go help him, but she was a bit hesitant. Would that make a grown man like him feel embarrassed?

Tian Jian was holding an iPad playing 《Battle of Balls^[3]》, locked in a fierce match with a group of primary school kids. The kids’ angry roars in the global chat broke the awkwardness in the kitchen.

“King Sweet Jian! You even ate a 15-gram ball! Where’s your humanity!”

Tian Jian gave a snort. “I did, and I’ll do it again! That’s what you get for eating my husband earlier!”

In the game, Tian Jian was already a super-sized ball dominating the Chinese server. The small balls couldn’t dodge in time, and a single split from Tian Jian could devour them all.

A deep, lazy male voice drifted out from the iPad: “Wife, eat second place to avenge me. It ate me twelve times just now!”

Then came the youthful voice of a primary school kid: “Holy crap! King Sweet Jian, don’t! If I knew Overbearing CEO Little Ying was your husband, I wouldn’t have eaten him! Spare us! Spare us! The match is almost over, there are only a few seconds left! If you eat me now, my rank is gone!! The past ten-plus minutes will have been for nothing!!”

The plea came too late. Tian Jian quickly split her ball and swallowed second place whole. In an instant, second place was sent back to square one, falling all the way to the bottom of the ranks.

While Xi Mi was still trying to figure out what game Tian Jian and her husband were playing, Ying Quhe gestured to her. “Come here a moment.”

Xi Mi quickly set down the kitchen knife and watermelon, wiped her hands, and walked over. Ying Quhe pointed at the firewood and looked at her with a serious face. “Is there something wrong with this wood?”

“…Ahem.” Xi Mi cleared her throat lightly and held out her hand, motioning for him to hand over the lighter.

Ying Quhe handed the lighter over. His cool fingers brushed against her palm, leaving behind a trace of gentle warmth. Xi Mi took the lighter and swiftly pulled her hand back, her ears instantly turning red.

The man sat on a small stool surrounded by messy dried straw. The pitch-black wall behind him formed a stark contrast with his white shirt.

It was like a piece of flawless white jade thrust into a pile of mud, completely ruined. She gathered a handful of dry straw, skillfully rolled it into a ball, lit it, and stuffed it into the stove. Once the flame inside burned bright, she fed in the firewood. The burning straw caught the wood, sending sparks crackling in all directions.

Xi Mi used fire tongs to stir the flames inside the stove. In the glowing firelight, the reflection of the flames seemed to turn into brilliant stars in her eyes, glittering brightly.

Xi Mi gave him a quick lesson: “When you’re lighting an earthen stove, a lighter won’t set logs on fire directly. You have to use straw to catch the fire first.” She patted her hands clean, turned her head, and met Ying Quhe’s serious expression.

Immediately, she was reminded of that big wolfdog again and shuddered almost out of reflex.

She carefully returned to her place. Ying Quhe sat upright in front of the stove, staring into the roaring fire as he asked her, “How do you make Watermelon Double Phoenix?”

Xi Mi retrieved a stew pot and carefully scooped out the watermelon flesh with a wooden spoon. “It’s actually very simple. It’s hot outside, and Tian Jian doesn’t have much of an appetite, so I decided to try making this dish. First, scoop out the watermelon flesh and place it inside the stew pot. Then add ham, diced chicken, fresh lotus seeds, longans, walnuts, pine nuts, and almonds.”

As she spoke, Xi Mi finished shelling the last lotus seed, tossed it into the stew pot, and covered it tightly just as the water in the pot reached a boil. Placing the stew pot inside the boiling water, she continued, “You just double-boil it for two hours. This dish was an absolute favorite of Empress Dowager Cixi^[4].”

Ying Quhe couldn’t imagine what double-boiled watermelon would taste like, but watching her meticulously handle the nuts and ingredients was remarkably pleasing to the eye. He felt a touch of anticipation. “Then… what about ‘Snow Mountain Flying Shreds’?”

Xi Mi pressed her fingers against the white rind of the watermelon peel, her chef’s knife clicking rapidly against the cutting board in a blur of movement. Sweeping the fine shreds onto the spine of her knife, she used the blade like a tray to transfer them into a nearby bowl of water.

The fine shreds immediately dispersed in the water, bobbing up and down like threads floating in the bowl.

Next, she brought out a tub of ice cream, shaped it into a cone with a metal spoon, and sprinkled a small handful of the tender green peel shreds over the snow-white peak. The accent of tender green brought an instant wave of refreshing coolness.

Ying Quhe remained hunkered down by the stove for over two hours until his white shirt had turned a shade of gray. In the brief time it took him to return to his room and change into fresh clothes, the two girls had already carried the two dishes inside.

The flavor of the Watermelon Double Phoenix took him somewhat by surprise. The nuts were tender and crisp with a pleasant crunch, while the broth was clear, pure, and savory. A refreshing fruity aroma burst onto the tongue, sweeping away the irritability brought on by the summer heat.

Since there was no staple food, Xi Mi deep-fried leftover rice into golden morsels and coated them in soybean flour, giving them a soft, chewy texture reminiscent of glutinous rice cakes.

Half an hour after dinner, the three of them sat beneath the grapevine in the courtyard to enjoy the evening breeze. A bright crescent moon hung overhead, and a cool night wind blew in soft wisps. Savoring the dessert known as “Snow Mountain Flying Shreds,” they felt as if their hearts were filled with rich cream, utterly satisfied.

There were actually no special supplementary ingredients in this dessert; its most unique aspect lay in Xi Mi’s knife work. Because the shreds of watermelon peel were fine enough, combined with the silkiness of the ice cream, the cool, crisp texture sent a delightful thrill across the tongue.

This was Ying Quhe’s first time tasting a dish so pure and refreshing, and the novelty on his tongue left him wanting more. He had come into contact with far too many renowned chefs; while Xi Mi’s food might not rank at the very top in terms of pure flavor depth, her control over creativity and novelty was exceptional.

Ying Quhe genuinely admired the girl.

She was not yet twenty-five, yet her culinary skills were already so exquisite and refined. How much sweat must have poured behind that talent to reach such a level?

“What is your competition topic? Have you received the notification from the show crew?” Ying Quhe set down his spoon and looked up at her.

Xi Mi paused, caught off guard, and asked in turn, “You’re a judge, don’t you know?”

Ying Quhe said, “The show crew increased the difficulty of the preliminary trial for the Influencer Group. Every one of you received a different topic.”

Xi Mi blinked. “Mine is game meat.”

“Have you thought of what to make?”

She thought for a moment and shook her head. “No. That’s why I plan to walk around the market tomorrow to see if there’s any suitable game.”

“Tangxi Ancient Town is nestled against mountains and rivers, so there’s no shortage of game. Going to the market isn’t as good as going up the mountain yourself.”

Ying Quhe’s expression grew serious once more. His deep eyes were like thick ink in an inkstone; simply looking at you, they made a cold draft surge up, chilling you to the bone.

Xi Mi actually hated going up the mountain. Hearing the words “go up the mountain” made her brow furrow tightly, and her heart trembled.

Ying Quhe intentionally softened his tone. “Since I’ve enjoyed your food, it would be improper to take it for granted. As repayment, I’ll go up the mountain with you to search for ingredients.” His deep voice flowed into her burning heart like iced beer, delivering a refreshing chill straight to the core.

Xi Mi felt Ying Quhe was being overly dramatic. It was just game meat, something you could buy at the market anyway, so why bother climbing a mountain?

The moment that thought entered her head, Ying Quhe criticized her sternly: “Do you think getting this competition opportunity was too easy? So winning or losing doesn’t matter? Or do you believe there are no better chefs out there besides you? Creativity in a dish can earn extra points, but don’t forget that the most fundamental aspect of food is its flavor.”

Author’s Note: Lao Qu is a gourmet who is very particular about food. Although Xi Mi is a little God of Cookery^[5] in the ancient town, she is still too young and a bit playful, without a deep understanding of the saying “there is always someone better^[6].” The age gap between Lao Qu and Xi Mi is quite large, and little Xi Mi still has a long way ahead of her. To become a true God of Cookery, she still has a path to walk. Lao Qu will criticize her, help her, bed her…

–

Has anyone played Battle of Balls, meow?? It’s basically a game where a little ball works hard to become a big ball, eating smaller balls to grow huge. The most insane thing about this game is that just when you finally become a big ball and squeeze into the top ranks, you get eaten by someone in the last few seconds of the match, sending you back to square one^[7]. It honestly makes you spit blood^[8] from frustration.