Nannan... I Want to Kill Him!

Jiang Nannan did not resent Lin Ming's enthusiasm.

Faced with such a powerful, handsome man who was also witty and humorous, even Jiang Nannan, who had long since grown disgusted with men, could not summon the slightest dislike for him.

Lin Ming hovered around Jiang Nannan the whole way, driving a certain Xu-surnamed simp lurking not far behind them to the brink of collapse.

One newspaper after another was shredded.

Yet Xu Sanshi could only keep buying fresh newspapers to hide his face.

As he watched Jiang Nannan smile again and again at Lin Ming's humorous remarks, his murky, gloomy heart shattered further.

Xu Sanshi's mind slowly twisted.

"Nannan, Nannan... Nannan has never smiled at me like that! Why does he get to? Why?!"

Intense hatred engulfed Xu Sanshi's heart. He had pursued Jiang Nannan for so long and received nothing in return—not even the faintest glimmer of hope.

Yet he had not given up, because he knew that incident had inflicted too much psychological harm on Jiang Nannan. He was willing to make amends.

But his feelings for Jiang Nannan had already reached an obsessive, almost pathological degree.

Under Lin Ming's provocation today, that pathology was fully unleashed.

"Nannan... I'm going to kill him!"

Lin Ming spotted a grilled fish shop ahead. Remembering that Jiang Nannan had met Huo Yuhao through grilled fish in the original story, he decided to show off his skills.

Lin Ming was confident that with his maxed-out culinary talent, he would not lose to Huo Yuhao when it came to grilling fish.

"Lao Bei, Nannan, Tang Ya, there's a grilled fish shop up ahead. I'll borrow the owner's grill and show you what I can do. How about it?"

"Yes, yes!"

The happiest to hear that Lin Ming was cooking was, of course, Beibei.

Tang Ya grabbed Jiang Nannan's arm and said, "Nannan, we're in for a treat today. Beibei's always told me that Lin Ming is the Sea God Pavilion's personal Kitchen God. Even the Sea God Pavilion Master likes his cooking!"

Jiang Nannan was intrigued as well. If even the Sea God Pavilion Master liked it, just how good could it be?

Lin Ming scratched his head. Tang Ya was not exactly wrong. Mu En had indeed praised his cooking, but at his level, aside from old foodies like Xuan Zi, the other elders no longer cared all that much about food.

The four of them arrived at the grilled fish shop together. The owner was an honest, simple middle-aged man.

Very politely, Lin Ming took out a Gold Soul Coin and handed it to the man. "Uncle, we'd like to use one of your grills to cook two fish. Would that be all right?"

The man was equally straightforward. There were not many customers in the shop at the moment, and one grill happened to be free. He waved his hand. "Little brother, that's far too much. Just pay for the fish after you're done grilling!"

Lin Ming said nothing. He placed the Gold Soul Coin on the counter and headed for the unused grill.

Beibei and the other two found a table for four and sat down casually, eagerly waiting for Lin Ming to display his skills.

Lin Ming stepped up to the grill, pushed the owner's seasonings aside, and waved his hand. A large collection of bottles and jars appeared on the table.

Kitchen God Mode immediately took over.

Lin Ming picked up a fresh grass carp that the owner had already cleaned, expertly scored it, and began grilling.

He controlled the timing of the seasonings and the heat of the charcoal fire with absolute precision.

Moreover, as a Soul Master, his control over every fine detail of grilling fish surpassed even that of the owner, who had been doing it for decades.

Before long, the aroma of grilled fish filled the entire shop and even spread throughout the whole snack street.

Many diners were drawn over, including quite a few students from Shrek Academy's Outer Court.

"Boss, how much is your grilled fish? It smells amazing!"

The man did not use the opportunity to draw in business. Instead, he honestly replied, "I didn't grill that fish."

He pointed at Lin Ming beside him. "This little brother borrowed my grill. He isn't one of my employees."

The Shrek Academy uniform Lin Ming wore perfectly confirmed the man's words.

"Little brother, are you selling that grilled fish? I'll pay a high price!"

The smell of the grilled fish had become unbearable to the diners. It was no exaggeration to say that they had never seen grilled fish that smelled this good in their lives, and the taste surely would not disappoint either.

Lin Ming waved his hand coolly. "Sorry, everyone. I'm an outstanding student of Shrek Academy, and I have no plans to switch careers and become a cook for now. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I'm only here to grill a couple of fish for my friends to try."

Lin Ming's words disappointed many people, and they left. The owner did not mind; in his simple honesty, he had never regarded those diners as customers he was entitled to have.

Soon, three plump grilled fish were served on the table.

"Come on, everyone. Try Brother Ming's cooking!"

Lin Ming was extremely confident in his own skills.

He placed the three grilled fish on the table.

Without a second thought, Beibei snatched one first. "This one's mine! Hahaha!"

Tang Ya followed Beibei's example and took another. "Then this young lady will have this one!"

That left only one grilled fish on the table.

Jiang Nannan was somewhat shy. She pushed the plate toward Lin Ming. "You should eat it. I'm not hungry."

"Grrrmmm."

But Jiang Nannan's stomach began to rumble.

She lowered her head in embarrassment.

Lin Ming did not mind. He pushed the plate back toward her. "I said I was letting you all try my cooking. It doesn't matter if I don't get any, but you definitely have to taste it!"

Unable to refuse such warm insistence, Jiang Nannan picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of fish into her mouth.

In an instant, countless flavors—spicy, numbing, fresh, fragrant—blossomed across her tongue at once.

Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up.

Her family circumstances were ordinary, and she had rarely eaten anything particularly good growing up, though she had eaten grilled fish before.

But of all the grilled fish Jiang Nannan had ever tasted, none had ever been as delicious as this.

Even Jiang Nannan, who was usually so ladylike, could not help eating faster.

As for Beibei and Tang Ya, their table manners were even more beyond mention.

The two of them had no reservations at all. One hand held the fish head and the other held the tail, and without fearing fish bones getting stuck in their throats, they took huge bites.

Lin Ming was very satisfied. Seeing them enjoy the food he made gave him a sense of fulfillment as well.

Just then, Jiang Nannan held out a pair of chopsticks. "Let's eat together."

Lin Ming had not expected Jiang Nannan to invite him to share a single grilled fish with her.

However, that suited Lin Ming perfectly.

After all, a certain gloomy, broken-hearted Xu-surnamed simp was still watching from not far away.

When Xu Sanshi saw Jiang Nannan sharing a grilled fish with Lin Feng, the newspaper in his hands shattered once more.

"Lin Ming, Lin Ming!!!"

Furiously, he flung down the scraps of newspaper in his hands and stormed away.