The Game of Life

Even when the Sweet and Sour Yam was brought to the judges’ table, Jiang Feng couldn’t believe his eyes.

It was actually an A-grade dish; he actually managed to create an A-grade dish.

Could it be that he was really about to turn his luck around, marry a powerful CEO, and reach the pinnacle of his life?

The next second, the display on the Sweet and Sour Yam changed.

[A perfect Sweet and Sour Yam (First Love Buff: 100% increase in all attributes)]

Jiang Feng:…

He felt his face flush, as though there was a fire burning on his cheeks. Even though only he could see the display, it felt like a public execution.

This damned game display was actually tarnishing his innocence – what first love, what buff, what 100% increase in all attributes – it was utter nonsense!

Had he accepted it? No, he hadn’t even spoken a word. How could it be considered acceptance? How could it be called a first love?

He wondered if he should ask Wu Minqi to watch a movie tomorrow? Should his first time asking a girl out start with a movie, or should they have dinner first? Or maybe start with coffee, or buy some snacks? Should he dress in a more sunny style or just keep it casual? And for the movie, should it be a horror film, a romance, a comedy, or an inspirational one?

Jiang Feng’s thoughts had already drifted far away; he felt that he couldn’t handle this on his own, and had to go back and ask Wang Hao for advice.

The absent-minded Jiang Feng completely failed to notice that Han Guishan at the judges’ table had already started eating.

Actually, Han Guishan didn’t like sweets.

Nobody would believe that though – after all, he had consumed the most Eight-Treasure Porridge last time, but he truly didn’t have much of a sweet tooth.

As the showpiece dessert of the table, just like the famous Shandong dish, the “Double Crisp Explosion,” the Sweet and Sour Yam has a long history and ranks much higher in culinary pedigree.

Next to the Sweet and Sour Yam was a bowl of plain cold water, mainly to prevent scalding of the mouth. Han Guishan seldom indulged, and as a typical Southerner, his enjoyment of Sweet and Sour dishes was more about novelty than anything else.

In the past, upon encountering Sweet and Sour dishes at the dinner table, all he had to do was to pull the long sugar strands amidst the others’ exclamations of “wow,” and that was enough to consider the dish eaten.

Now that it was his turn to pull the sugar strands, Han Guishan was somewhat excited.

A piece of yam could, if one desired, be stretched into strands over ten feet long. Reminded by Xu Cheng, Han Guishan dipped the yam in the cold water, avoiding the risk of scalding his tongue.

Upon tasting it, he found it sweet.

Sweet but not cloying, with the crisp sugared crust yielding to tender, soft, and savory yam underneath – it was a dessert that could sweeten its way into one’s heart.

Han Guishan thought of Wang Jing.

He remembered many moments from many years ago with Wang Jing.

The pickled pepper fish head in the state-run restaurant that had him in tears from the spiciness, the cool plain porridge in the rental apartment, Wang Jing’s first attempt at cooking green beans that ended up half-raw, the shaky beginnings of the company when he would fret and lose clumps of hair only to find a warm bowl of soup on the table at the right time every night.

Having weathered through the years with Wang Jing, he had too many fond memories associated with food.

And it all came back to him while eating the Sweet and Sour Yam.

Compared to Han Guishan’s hearty gobbling, Xu Cheng was much more refined. By the time Han Guishan finished his third piece, Xu Cheng had only just finished his first. Holding his chopsticks, he was speechless, filled with a myriad of emotions.

It had been a long time since he felt this way. In his younger days, he loved to eat and relished good food, where tasting a delicious dish could bring him boundless joy, sometimes even evoking many happy memories. However, as he aged and his culinary experiences broadened, his palate became more selective. The dishes that used to amaze him could rarely satisfy him anymore; it had been nearly a decade since he encountered a dish that resonated with him.

This dish, he tasted the flavor of love.

“He, has he fallen in love recently?” Xu Cheng asked.

“In love?” Han Guishan, belatedly catching on, suddenly felt Xu Cheng had a point. The sweetness of the Sweet and Sour Yam did indeed carry a hint of the sweetness found in love.

“Yeah.” Tong Deyan said as he started on his second piece.

“Huh?” The others chorused in unison, all turning to look at Tong as well.

Even Zang Mu, who typically adopted an attitude of indifference towards external affairs, had a face full of confusion—the kind that betrayed the curiosity of someone who loves to join in on the gossip.

Why did you secretly enjoy the drama without telling the rest of us?

“Didn’t you see?” Tong Deyan asked.

“See what?” Pei Shenghua asked eagerly. Not only was he known for being talkative, but he was also famous in the culinary circles for loving to play matchmaker – the type who gets restless if he doesn’t set up at least one couple a year.

“When they came on stage, Wu Minqi told Jiang Feng ‘I like you.”¹ Tong Deyan casually mentioned, using his sharp eyesight and adept lip-reading skills.

Xu Cheng: ???

Zang Mu: ?!?!

Zhu Chang: ?!!

HanGuishan:!!!

Pei Shenghua: ???!!!

Pei Shenghua looked intently at Tong Deyan, “I never expected that you, Old Tong, could understand lip reading.”

“After being cursed behind my back so many times, naturally, I picked it up.” Tong Deyan let out a cold laugh, clearly, those who had badmouthed him had all been duly noted in his little book.

“Then this dish is truly a rarity.” Zhu Chang laughed.

“Indeed.” Pei Shenghua picked up another piece, “Let’s eat it while it’s hot. A dish as rare as this might only come along once in a lifetime.”

The Sweet and Sour Yam, infused with love, was absolutely the fighter jet of desserts.

Han Guishan did not speak, focusing instead on eating.

There weren’t many pieces of Sweet and Sour Yam on the plate, and they had to be shared with five people. Xu Cheng looked casual but began to eat faster than everyone else after his second piece.

The sweet fragrance of Sweet and Sour Yam filled Han Guishan’s mouth; too busy eating to speak, he could only keep exclaiming in his mind, how delicious, truly delicious!

Sweet, so sweet!

The judges were slow in scoring, mainly because sweet-and-sour dishes are best eaten hot. Spending an extra minute on scoring meant the Sweet and Sour Yam would cool down even more. It wasn’t until the plate was completely empty that everyone started to give their scores one after another.

Han Guishan was still the strongest eater, eating the fastest and the most, though it seemed like his tongue had been scalded, as he kept drawing in air. “This scoring is taking way too long!” Jiang Jiankang was very anxious as he waited.

“The dish is already finished, the score definitely won’t be low. You saw all of Feng’s steps just now, he performed above his level, no problem at all,” Jiang Jianguo assured.

“Doesn’t that mean Feng is going to win?” Wang Xiulian exclaimed in surprise.

“Dad?” Jiang Jiankang looked to Jiang Weiguo for support.

“Quiet down,” Jiang Weiguo said, his face, however, with a hint of a smile.

This grandson of his really brought surprises every time.

Another five minutes passed before the scores finally came out, mainly because Xu Cheng hesitated for a long time, holding his pen and not giving a score.

9.7 points.

The highest score in the room, unprecedented, 0.1 point higher than the previous Eight Treasures Porridge. This was nearly a perfect score.

Most importantly, like Pei Shenghua, Xu Cheng gave Jiang Feng a full score.

How strict Xu Cheng was could be seen by anyone who might not have heard of him based on his previous scores for Zhang Guanghang and Gu Li, single-handedly bringing down the average was no joke.

When Jiang Feng heard the score, he came back to reality from the difficult decision between watching a horror movie or a romance. After half a day, he finally realized it was his Sweet and Sour Yam that had gotten 9.7 points.

9.7 points!

And that included two full scores!

Han Guishan hadn’t even given his score yet!

He was really about to make a grand comeback, to be the protagonist turning the tables!

Subconsciously, Jiang Feng looked towards Wu Minqi.

Wu Minqi also happened to look up and met Jiang Feng’s eyes, giving him a smile.

“Look, how outstanding our future son-in-law is, 9.7 points, Qiqi has really good taste,” Wu Minqi’s mother whispered in admiration.

“What future son-in-law, the ink of his name is not even dry, 9.7 points, tsk,” Wu Hanxue said stubbornly, watching Jiang Feng on stage, “Seems like he’s okay, Qiqi does have good taste.”

“Be polite when you speak later, and keep a natural expression, do you hear me?”

“Got it, got it, I’ll just keep my mouth shut later.”