Frustration

Yu Lin grilled several small sea fish and some beef. Since Li Yu found fish troublesome to eat, he said, "How about... these beef skewers?"

"Sure. Want to try a bite first? If they don't taste good, I'll grill them again."

Yu Lin picked up a beef skewer and held it up in front of Li Yu.

Without giving it much thought, Li Yu leaned over and took a bite.

Yu Lin kept his eyes on Li Yu. When he saw Li Yu's lips draw close, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Li Yu's lip shape was way too pretty. They looked so kissable... Had no lip balm brand ever asked him to be their spokesperson?

Yu Lin's thoughts wandered aimlessly. When he finally came back to himself, he noticed that Li Yu's expression was hard to describe.

"What's wrong? Is it undercooked? I grilled it for quite a while, so it should be done..." Yu Lin sounded uncertain.

"It's cooked. It just feels like it was grilled a little too long... And the flavor is kind of strange..."

Li Yu's voice trailed off at the end, afraid Yu Lin would be upset.

But Yu Lin was even more anxious than Li Yu. It had not been easy for Li Yu to join him, and he had originally wanted to use this chance to make Li Yu like him a little more. Yet now, he could not even grill barbecue properly.

His face flushed. After thinking up a solution, he said, "Wait for me. I'll go ask Menglan for some tips, then come back."

Li Yu nodded, and Yu Lin carried his little stool over to Shu Menglan's table.

With the cameras on him, Li Yu naturally could not sit idle. He took out a few more fresh beef skewers and decided to try grilling them himself.

As Li Yu grilled, he glanced toward Chi Yan and found that Chi Yan and Zhou Yanqing were unusually quiet. They barely spoke, each grilling their own food.

Not long after, Li Yu's skewers were done. Just as he was about to take a bite, a grilled fish skewer was held out in front of him.

Confusion filled Li Yu's eyes. He looked up and met Chi Yan's gaze.

"I grilled a few, so I'm giving you one to try." Chi Yan sounded as though he had merely done it in passing. Then, seeming to recall something, he added, "These sea fish don't have many bones. Eat without worry."

Li Yu accepted the grilled fish. "Thanks, Chi. It smells really good already."

Li Yu took a bite first. The surface of the grilled fish was lightly charred, and it was generously seasoned. Beneath that, the fish was tender and delicate, clearly showing that the person who grilled it had timed the heat perfectly.

"Delicious."

Li Yu did not know how long Chi Yan had known how to barbecue, but he was not surprised. After all, Chi Yan's cooking was delicious too.

"Did you grill these?"

Chi Yan pointed at the plate in front of Li Yu.

"The cold ones were grilled by Yu Lin. The hot ones are what I just grilled," Li Yu said.

Chi Yan then sat down beside Li Yu and picked up one of the skewers Li Yu had grilled to eat.

Li Yu's eyelid twitched at the sight.

He had not even tried what he had just grilled himself. He had no idea how it tasted...

What if it tastes awful? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?

Yet Chi Yan said, "It's pretty good. You just added a little too much cumin."

"Really, Chi? Are you sure you're not just flattering me?"

Li Yu leaned closer, studying Chi Yan's expression.

"Of course not."

As Chi Yan lowered his gaze, his eyes landed precisely on the alluring mole at the corner of Li Yu's eye. Lower still were Li Yu's slightly glossy lips, as though they had gotten a little oil on them.

"A tissue. Wipe your mouth."

Chi Yan pulled out a tissue and handed it to Li Yu.

Li Yu's face turned red at once. He took the tissue and wiped his mouth, looking a little embarrassed.

Yu Lin came back from seeking advice at exactly that moment. Seeing Chi Yan there too, he casually asked, "Chi, want some skewers? I just finished learning from Menglan, and I'll show you what I can do right away."

"No need. I've grilled some over there too. You can come take some if you want," Chi Yan said.

"Mm-hm, Chi's grilling is really good. He gave me one earlier, and it was delicious," Li Yu added.

Yu Lin looked at the grilled fish Li Yu had just finished and felt somewhat frustrated. Anyone would feel bad about being outdone by someone else in front of the person they liked.

This was the first time Yu Lin realized that he could not only know how to sing and nothing else. He should learn some other skills later.

He pulled himself together and smiled as if he did not care. "It's fine. I'll grill some more."

Chi Yan nodded and returned to where Zhou Yanqing was.

When Zhou Yanqing saw Chi Yan sit back down, he pointed to the microphone clipped to his clothes. Chi Yan understood and switched his microphone off.

"I've noticed that you seem to pay a lot of attention to Li Yu. Did you know him before?" Zhou Yanqing asked in a low voice.

Chi Yan raised a brow. He did not know why Zhou Yanqing was suddenly asking this. "Little Fish and I have indeed known each other for a long time."

"So joining this show was... a coincidence? Or..."

Before Zhou Yanqing could finish, Chi Yan directly asked, "Isn't the answer obvious?"

By now, Chi Yan had more or less understood.

Zhou Yanqing probably had other feelings for Li Yu.

And by saying it outright just now, Chi Yan had also wanted to make his own intentions clear to Zhou Yanqing.

If they were going to compete, they should say it openly and compete fairly.

Zhou Yanqing fell silent. He had not expected that a merely probing question would make Chi Yan say all of that outright.

He understood why Chi Yan had said it, but he was still surprised.

The two of them did not speak again afterward, and the atmosphere between them became even stranger.

By the end of the meal, night had fully fallen. The production crew set up a bonfire between the guests' barbecue grills and brought over some beer as well.

The guests no longer limited themselves to eating what just two people had grilled. Several of them gathered together, freely helping themselves to the food on one another's plates.

Yu Lin grilled several more skewers afterward and was still the first to bring them to Li Yu.

Seeing the anticipation shining in his eyes, Li Yu smiled and said, "You've improved a lot. They taste much better now."

At that moment, this praise sounded sweeter than any other words. The joy in Yu Lin's heart instantly replaced his earlier frustration.

Watching from the side, Shu Menglan joked, "As expected of someone I taught. You're already ready to graduate so quickly."

Liang Meichen said, "Little Xie's grilling is pretty good too. I barely need to do anything while sitting beside him."

"Chi Yan seems really good at it too, right? I passed by him earlier, and just watching him grill made my mouth water." Xiang Zhinan took a sip of beer. "I didn't expect Chi Yan to know how to do this stuff."

He knew several young masters from wealthy families, and most of them had never lifted a finger around the house. If they went to a market, they probably could not even identify all the vegetables.

"Then I'm curious—does Chi Yan's stir-frying taste good too?" Shu Menglan looked at Chi Yan with a smile.

"Not bad. If there's a chance later, I can cook for everyone."

Chi Yan had no intention of showing off. The reason he had agreed to learn cooking from Mother Chi in the first place was simply because he wanted to cook for Li Yu someday.

Li Yu thought, How could that possibly count as just not bad? Chi is way too modest. His skills are clearly at the level of a three-star Michelin chef, okay?