Chapter 37

Xi Mi took the phone from Ji Donglin and carefully read the news screenshot, then turned to look at Ying Quhe. Seeing his brow tightly furrowed, only to quickly smooth out, he reached over to stroke the back of her head to comfort her. “Don’t worry. Zhou Ming will handle it.”

Ji Donglin squeezed between them, glanced at Ying Quhe, and started reading the article details. “Holy crap… Goddess, you’re Xi Wendao’s granddaughter? The God of Cookery from Jialing Ancient Town, Sanchuan?”

He looked at Xi Mi in disbelief. “I always thought Sanchuan was a man!” He kept scrolling down the news. “Holy… Goddess, you’re only nineteen? A nineteen-year-old prodigy little God of Cookery?”

Nan Qing walked over, snatched the phone from Ji Donglin’s hands, and continued reading, equally stunned. “Xi Mi, Xi Wendao, and both in Jialing Ancient Town… I really should have guessed you were related sooner. I just didn’t expect you to be the famous God of Cookery of Jialing Ancient Town.”

In the news, Xi Mi’s identity was exposed, complete with photos of her repeatedly getting into Ying Quhe’s car and going in and out of his home. What’s more, people had dug up that she hadn’t used her real identity when registering for the competition.

Reporters claimed that Xi Mi’s entry in the competition was merely a rigged conspiracy orchestrated by Ying Quhe, a total staged show.

Supposedly, Ying Quhe had invited Sanchuan, the God of Cookery of Jialing, to join the competition, intentionally crafting her background into that of a simple folk cook before hyping her up to fame. This guaranteed high ratings while promoting Ying Shi Pavilion. In reality, the winner had been decided behind closed doors, and all the other competing chefs were merely pawns and foils. The reporter went on to allege that Ying Quhe had kept “Sanchuan” as a mistress.

As soon as this report came out, news of the chefs from China’s Supreme Taste filing a joint lawsuit was also published.

After reading through the explosive news, Nan Qing looked at the two of them, her eyes finally settling on Ying Quhe’s face. “Quhe, how do you plan to handle this?”

“Put it on hold for now.” Ying Quhe blew on the roasted persimmon until it cooled, then handed it to Xi Mi.

Xi Mi pulled her phone from her pocket and started scrolling through Weibo. Her page was under siege, with even familiar die-hard fans resorting to malicious speculation about her.

The Weibo comment section was full of outrage:

“Xi Mi, you’ve disappointed me so much. I never thought you were this kind of person. You’re so young and talented, why choose this path? How could you resort to being a kept woman?”

“I’m about to cough up blood. So when Ying Quhe was so sharp-tongued toward you on the show, he was just trying to cover up the truth? Sigh, what a disappointment. Unfollowing.”

“Heh, backer-reliant dog. Finally exposed. What goes around comes around.”

“…”

She wanted to scroll to another page of comments, but Ying Quhe snatched her phone away, stuffing a peeled roasted persimmon into her empty hand instead.

Ying Quhe switched off Xi Mi’s phone, turned around, and asked Ji Donglin and Nan Qing, “Xi Mi and I are going down the mountain the day after tomorrow. What about you two?”

“Staying one more day?” Ji Donglin glanced at Nan Qing, then at Xi Mi, who sat with her head hanging in low spirits. “Then I’ll stay an extra day too, to keep my Goddess company. Goddess, don’t be sad! Even if the whole world turns against you, I’ll stand by your side!”

He nudged Nan Qing with his elbow as she looked down at her phone. “Hey, what about you? You don’t actually believe these reports, do you? Are you planning to join the lawsuit too?”

After checking a text message, Nan Qing said, “I received a text on my phone last night, but because the signal was spotty, I forgot to check it. Here, take a look.”

She handed the phone to Ji Donglin, and from there it passed into Ying Quhe’s hands.

The text from the unknown number contained only one sentence: “Rigged competition behind the scenes of 《China’s Supreme Taste》. If interested, click to enter the exposé thread.” A link was attached at the end.

Ying Quhe dialed the number back, but the automated voice indicated it was an unassigned number.

Nan Qing speculated, “The number that sent the text is probably a burner card. I’m really curious, who could be bored enough to smear Xi Mi like this?”

A gust of wind blew past, making the campfire roar with a sudden whoosh. The wind suddenly shifted the smoke, blowing it straight into Xi Mi’s face. She lowered her head, rubbed her eyes against her knees, let out a breath, and said, “Grandpa. I cut ties with him, so he wants to use this method to crush me and make me go home quietly.”

“Is he really your biological grandfather? Framing his own granddaughter as someone’s kept mistress? Is he nuts?” Ji Donglin held his forehead. “Compared to your old man, my old man is practically a saint.”

Xi Mi interrupted him, “That’s because you’re the only boy in your family. If I were a boy, maybe he wouldn’t treat me like this.”

Ji Donglin pouted and said no more.

Indeed, it was precisely because he was the only boy in the family that the old man indulged him in every possible way.

Ying Quhe held Xi Mi by the shoulders as he stood up and said to everyone, “Alright, it’s getting late. Everyone get some rest early.” After walking Xi Mi to her bedroom door, Ying Quhe hugged her briefly before letting her in.

Xi Mi grabbed Ying Quhe’s clothes, biting her lip, hesitating to speak.

Ying Quhe cupped her cheek in his palm, his thumb gently rubbing her earlobe. “No matter how big the trouble is, I’m here. As tall as I am, do you really think I can’t hold up the sky above your head?”

The corners of Xi Mi’s mouth twitched slightly. Swallowing back what she was about to say, she quickly came up with another topic instead. “By the way, what’s your star sign? Are you really a Virgo?”

Ying Quhe denied it. “No.”

Xi Mi looked down, twiddling her fingers. “Then what sign are you? I wanted to check… our compatibility rating later.”

Ying Quhe said with total seriousness, “Power socket.”

“…” Xi Mi, who had been feeling down, froze for a moment before quickly catching on, bursting into laughter. “Ying Quhe, you can’t joke like that!”

He said, “Feeling happier now? Taurus and Virgo have a ten-star compatibility rating, so no need to check. Go inside and sleep. Get some rest early.”

Xi Mi turned and walked into the bedroom. At the moment she was closing the door, she popped her little head out. “Power Socket, good night.”

Ying Quhe smiled. “Good night.”

Before going to sleep, Ying Quhe used his Culinary Dao alt account to post a Weibo update:

“Little Watermelon is unhappy.

She asked me: What’s your sign?

I said: Power socket.

She smiled. 🙂 “

The comment section exploded instantly:

“Holy shit!! Male God, you have a girlfriend?? So that’s why you vanished for so long! You went off to date!”

“Ahhhh! Male God isn’t posting cooking videos anymore, he switched to showing off his love life instead? Holy crap!”

“Little Watermelon… what a pet name. Male God, I’m Little Winter Melon. Please pamper me!”

“Just picturing my Male God telling lame jokes… sob, he’s kind of handsome…”

“Cold dog food slapped right in my face. :)”

“Male God, are you really close with Xi Xi Xi Mi? She’s hit a huge crisis, you know, and you’re actually showing off your romance here?”

…

Half an hour later, Culinary Dao updated Weibo again:

“The reason I call her Little Watermelon is that she’s short and young.”

The comment section boiled over again:

“Ahhh… Oh my god, Male God actually posted two Weibo updates today!!”

“Oh my god! Did the earth shift on its axis? Is the sun rising from the west?”

“The power of showing off romance…”

“I smell the sickeningly sweet stench of love…”

“Male God, are you really close with Xi Xi Xi Mi? She’s hit a huge crisis, you know, and you’re actually showing off your romance here?”

*

After the sudden turn of events, no one was in the mood to go out and have fun the next day.

Around noon, the uncle from the chicken farm heard that Xi Mi was back and brought over a basket of salted duck eggs. Xi Mi took the eggs and asked him, “Uncle, have you been down the mountain recently? Um… are there any wild rumors coming out of Xi Family Restaurant?”

The uncle replied, “Ever since you ran away from the wedding, isn’t the whole town full of wild rumors? If you ask me, your grandfather went too far. If your grandmother were still around, you wouldn’t have to suffer like this. Anyway, you and your friends just stay comfortably on the mountain. Don’t worry about running out of food or supplies. My family has plenty to eat.”

After seeing the uncle off, Xi Mi sat in the kitchen counting the duck eggs. Ten duck eggs, and she counted them for a full half hour.

“Ulrica?”

“Ulrica? Damned dog, where did you go?”

Ying Quhe and Ji Donglin’s voices came from the courtyard. Xi Mi put down the duck eggs, walked out, and asked them, “What’s wrong?”

Ying Quhe said, “Ulrica is missing.”

“How could that be?” Xi Mi glanced around. “Wasn’t it over there playing with a bone just a moment ago? How did it suddenly disappear?”

Ji Donglin said, “A perfectly mighty German Shepherd forced by its owner to go on a diet; it must have run away on an empty stomach.”

Ying Quhe frowned deeply and turned to go outside. “I’ll go find it.”

Ying Quhe had raised Ulrica for years and developed a deep bond with it; the dog was already an indispensable part of the family.

Just as Ying Quhe opened the courtyard gate, Ulrica strutted inside with elegant strides, carrying a tiny puppy in its mouth that had the exact same fur coat as its own.

Ulrica raised its head and looked at Ying Quhe. Its usually sharp and imposing gaze was now tender and gentle, brimming with something akin to paternal love. Carrying the tiny puppy back to its temporary dog bed, it affectionately licked away the crust around the puppy’s eyes.

The tiny puppy whimpered and burrowed under Ulrica’s belly, trying to latch onto teats that Ulrica didn’t actually have.

The four of them gathered in a circle to inspect Ulrica and the puppy held tight in its chest. Ji Donglin reached out a finger to pet it, but Ulrica bared its teeth and let out a low warning growl.

Ji Donglin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “This damned dog had us worried sick, only to turn out it went out and brought back a Wolf Pup?”

Nan Qing shot him a disdainful look. “Bro, since when do male dogs give birth?”

Ji Donglin blinked and looked at Ulrica. “Seriously though, this Wolf Pup Ulrica brought back really looks like him. Could it be that he sowed his wild oats when he was younger and got some bitch pregnant?”

The tiny puppy kept burrowing beneath Ulrica’s belly, its sharp whimpering cries sounding less like a dog and more like a wolf cub. Ulrica seemed to realize the little one was starving. It looked at Ying Quhe pleadingly and slapped a paw onto the back of Ying Quhe’s hand, as if saying: Poop scooper, I’ve retrieved the lost crown prince! Quickly, fetch milk to serve the young prince!

Xi Mi picked up the tiny puppy from beneath Ulrica. “This little puppy is hungry. What should we do?”

Ying Quhe cupped the puppy’s head in his palm and suggested, “Is there any leftover snake soup from yesterday? Simmer it a bit softer and feed it to him.”

Xi Mi and Nan Qing got up immediately to cook the snake soup, simmering it until the meat turned into a smooth puree before feeding it to the puppy. After finishing the snake soup, Xiao Guai’s shriveled belly grew round and plump. He curled up under Ulrica’s soft fur and fell asleep, tapping Ulrica’s broad belly with his pink little paws, whimpering softly in his sleep as if having a nightmare.

“Xiao Guai is so cute.” Nan Qing gently poked the puppy’s belly. The soft, squishy touch melted her heart.

She used to think small animals were a hassle, but now she found them truly adorable.

Xi Mi said, “This little puppy might have been abandoned.” Resting her chin in her hands, she looked up wistfully at Ying Quhe. “Ulrica really likes Xiao Guai. Can we… take him back with us?”

Ulrica seemed to understand her words and patted Ying Quhe’s knee with its paw, letting out a pleading whine.

Looking at the two pairs of pitiful, expectant eyes, Ying Quhe’s heart softened, and he agreed.

Given the tough conditions and limited ingredients on the mountain, Xi Mi cooked up some corn porridge for dinner to cater to the puppy as well, paired with authentic Jialing salted duck eggs.

The egg whites of Jialing salted duck eggs were soft and tender, unlike the dry, chalky ones elsewhere that choked the throat. The moment a chopstick poked through, red oil oozed out, revealing a rich, deep-red yolk.

That night, just as Xi Mi was about to turn off the light and sleep, someone knocked on the window. Nan Qing climbed back into bed and wrapped herself in the blanket. “Must be your boyfriend. Go open it.”

Xi Mi pushed the window open a crack. Sure enough, it was Ying Quhe outside. The dim courtyard light behind him blurred his silhouette, making him look like a vivid, detailed fine-line painting on parchment paper.

Ying Quhe said, “Come outside for a moment.”

Xi Mi nodded with a soft hum and closed the window. The moment she stepped out of the main hall, the light in the courtyard went out with a click.

She could faintly make out Ying Quhe’s outline, so she walked up and poked his back. “Bastard Dao, what’s wrong? Is the Wolf Pup hungry again?”

Ying Quhe turned around holding a glowing duck eggshell and presented it to her. “For you.”

A duck eggshell had been hollowed out, its open end covered with a sheet of transparent plastic film. Trapped inside, fireflies repeatedly bumped against the film, desperate to escape.

Encased within the shell, the glowing insects flickered and faded, brightening and dimming in a breathtaking display. Xi Mi carefully cupped the duck eggshell in both hands, using its faint light to look at Ying Quhe. “Bastard Dao, did you call me out just to show me this?”

She couldn’t see Ying Quhe’s face clearly, only hearing his low hum in response. “You don’t like it?” he asked back. “There isn’t much to give you here in the mountains. I had a leftover shell from the salted duck egg we ate for dinner, so I caught a few fireflies and put them inside.”

“No, I like it. I really like it.” She especially loved the way they flickered and glowed. “But if the fireflies stay inside, they’ll suffocate.”

Xi Mi peeled open the plastic film, releasing a swarm of fireflies that fluttered into the air like tiny specks of starlight scattering from her palm.

The faint glow of the fireflies outlined their faces in soft, hazy light. Once all the fireflies had flown away, darkness fell between them once more. Suddenly, the man cupped Xi Mi’s face in his hands, his hot breath sweeping over her.

His moist lips rested gently against hers.

The damp, soft touch left her stunned, her ears roaring with noise. Ying Quhe ended the gentle kiss and pulled back slightly, speaking in a low voice. “Xi Mi, we’re a couple now. From now on, we’ll bear every hardship together.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his forehead against hers, murmuring softly, “When we return to Jinyang, even if the world turns upside down, I’ll face it by your side.”

Xi Mi felt a sting in her nose, her eyes welling with tears. “Okay,” she choked out.

A glowing salted duck egg; Xi Mi would probably never forget this gift for the rest of her life.

No matter how things turned out between her and Ying Quhe, she would always remember this egg.

The flickering fireflies, and an irreplaceable… outlet.

…

When they returned to Jinyang the next day, a crowd of reporters was swarming the entrance of the residential complex.

The scene was absurd. Xi Mi never expected to get this kind of celebrity treatment, which only went to show how big of a storm this incident had caused.

The reporters outside looked as ferocious as zombies, prompting Ulrica to tilt her head back and let out a long howl like a wolf. Spurred on by Ulrica, the little “puppy” in Xi Mi’s arms scrambled up, twitched its ears, threw back its tiny head, and howled along with her.

The little “puppy’s” voice was even higher and sounded much more like a real wolf’s howl.

Ulrica: “A bunch of reporter dogs! How dare they write nonsense about my royal poop-scooper’s woman? Xiao Guai, show them the spirit of the wolf pack! Bite their necks off!”

Wolf Pup: “Awoo~ Awoo~~ Woof woof woof…”