Show Them What You've Got

Si You took such good care of Jiang Tingxu and Xue Boyu not only because the show was being filmed, but also because of an unspoken sense of responsibility. It was a habit the Si family had instilled in him from childhood: once you joined a group, you had to take on the role of leader, do everything perfectly, and leave no room for criticism.

Si You followed through, but later realized that people were not objects. Since he had taken on the role of leader, he had to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

Si You had gotten used to it too.

Before the other two could recover, Si You said, "Let's go."

The NPC had already pointed them in the right direction. They just had to keep going down this street.

The livestream was split-screen, with several pairs of guests proceeding at once. Viewers could simply click on whichever pair they wanted to watch. At this moment, however, Jiang Tingxu and Si You's stream was nearly full.

And after that little incident, the comments slowed down strangely.

Nothing but ellipses filled the screen.

Finally, someone could not hold back anymore: [I think... Si You is pretty good.]

They were probably a newcomer. The moment they said it, they were immediately swarmed.

[Si You is good?! That's the funniest joke I've heard all day!]

[It's just a persona. After all, his new agency is New Victory Media. I advise everyone not to take it too seriously.]

Any comments praising Si You were immediately attacked, giving some viewers a poor impression. They simply turned off the comments.

Jiang Tingxu's longtime fans frowned slightly. Seriously, Si You was currently their movie emperor's CP. At the very least, since this season began, he had not done anything wrong. These haters and rival fans had turned their recording room into a complete mess. Were Jiang Tingxu's fans supposed to just stand there like air?

Si You knew nothing about it. He quickly found the second clue.

More precisely, the other party had exposed herself.

She was a young woman in her early twenties, dressed in local traditional clothing with a white headscarf. Her cheeks were flushed, and when she saw Jiang Tingxu, she looked as if she could barely stop herself from jumping up.

"Jiang, the Movie Emperor," Si You said. "Go."

Jiang Tingxu's mouth was still full of the fresh scent of cucumber. The moment he stepped forward, the young woman ducked into the little shop, shy beyond measure.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Tingxu tested the waters. "Ginger Powder? I can give you an autograph."

Jiang Tingxu's fans called themselves Ginger Powder.

The young woman clearly wanted one badly, but she clenched her teeth and said nothing.

Right, unless they exchanged the code phrase, NPCs could not communicate with the guests.

Jiang Tingxu said softly, "Pegasus Meteor Fist."

The young woman immediately shouted, "I'll give you a bag of salt!"

Jiang Tingxu laughed, then went forward to exchange ingredients.

The closer they got to the finish line, the more abundant the ingredients became. Jiang Tingxu first took two bottles of water, then hesitated. Then he heard Si You say, "Take a bag of river shrimp."

Jiang Tingxu looked up. "I don't know how to cook."

"I do," Si You said.

"Okay." Jiang Tingxu did not hesitate at all. It was too hot to carry them around, so they would collect the ingredients from the production crew afterward.

[What a scam! Si You can cook? Huh? He can cook? Last season, he went into the kitchen and screamed like he'd seen a ghost just because someone asked him to make tomato scrambled eggs!]

[He's going to screw Jiang Tingxu over.]

[If I were a Jiang Tingxu fan, I'd assassinate this asshole Si You tonight.]

Some of Jiang Tingxu's fans jumped in: [Oh, you're so impressive. Go ahead, then. I'll give you a 666.]

[Is the person upstairs really a Jiang Tingxu fan?]

The comments instantly became heated—

[Yeah, I'm a Jiang Tingxu fan. Do you need me to verify it for you? It's fine if you hate Si You, but stop trying to drag us into it! Can't you watch your own idol's split screen? Why are you all crowding in here?]

[I've wanted to say this for ages. Tear Si You apart however you like, but you want us Ginger Powder to charge into battle for you? Sorry, kid, who the hell do you think you are?]

When Jiang Tingxu had exploded in popularity with his first drama, haters had flooded in like a dark cloud. There had been countless troublemakers mixed among them. The veteran Ginger Powder who had made it this far had long developed sharp eyes. With such cheap tricks, they still wanted to play games with them? Did they have nothing better to do?

Once Ginger Powder spoke up, there were visibly fewer inflammatory comments. After all, some IDs still had their own idols' fan badges hanging in front of them. The attempt to stir up hate was far too obvious.

Over here, Jiang Tingxu stood up and gave one of the two bottles of water he had exchanged to Xue Boyu, then handed the other to Si You.

Si You paused. "I don't need it."

Jiang Tingxu said, "Your lips are peeling."

The camera zoomed in. After considering it for a moment, Si You accepted it. "Thank you."

A breeze drifted past, wrinkling their clothes slightly. The comments began filling with mysterious ellipses again.

"Bro," Xue Boyu said somewhat awkwardly, "I didn't do anything. One cucumber and two bottles of water... isn't that a little too much?"

"What do you want to do?" Jiang Tingxu smiled lightly at him, somehow making people feel steady and reassured. Then he joked, "Until He Qing gets here, just stick with us."

Xue Boyu was simple-minded and did not think twice. "Thanks, bro!"

[Wuwuwu, thank you, Movie Emperor, for letting my kid tag along.]

In contrast, Shao Ancheng and Song Yalin had not found a single NPC yet, and they had already wasted three chances. Song Yalin was also wearing high heels and could barely walk anymore. They were thirsty and hot, and neither said a word.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jianlin and Xu Ke had split up.

The reason was that Zhang Jianlin was far too underhanded. Twice, Xu Ke had spotted an NPC first, but Zhang Jianlin had swooped in before Fei Chang could speak and stolen the exchange. Xu Ke was clearly unhappy, so he and Fei Chang took another route. Zhang Jianlin merely told the camera that it had been a joke, then reassured his CP, Jiang Yao. "Don't worry. I'm here."

Jiang Yao smiled, but it was a very fake smile.

[Honestly, even though Zhang Jianlin is trying hard to sell it, he and Jiang Yao have zero CP chemistry.]

[True. I've always felt that Jiang Yao really dislikes Zhang Jianlin...]

From morning until afternoon, Xu Ke and Fei Chang were the first to reach the finish line. They successfully received the biggest gift pack—three jin of beef, two marrow bones, and a huge bundle of vegetables. They sat on the steps, exhausted and panting.

Fei Chang patted the gift pack and said happily, "I'll make you something delicious tonight."

Xu Ke brightened as well. "You know how?"

Fei Chang said, "I'll look up a tutorial."

Jiang Tingxu's group arrived next.

Seeing the beef and marrow bones, envy flashed through Si You's eyes, but it was not too bad. They had only wasted one chance at the code phrase and had found the most NPCs overall.

Moreover, the three of them looked refreshed, as though they had gotten a free tour of the long street and ancient town. They had kept themselves well supplied with drinking water the entire time.

Zhang Jianlin and Jiang Yao arrived next. Without Xu Ke, that clever little rascal, no matter how confidently Zhang Jianlin spoke, he had only found two NPCs. The ingredients they exchanged were barely enough for the two of them.

Last were Shao Ancheng and Song Yalin. This young couple received ingredients similar to Zhang Jianlin's group, but Song Yalin knew how to cook.

The staff helped the guests take stock and discovered that while Jiang Tingxu's group had not received the final grand gift pack, their scattered ingredients were actually quite comprehensive.

By the time they finished sorting everything out, the sky had begun to darken. Everyone was so hungry they no longer recognized family, yet they still had to cook.

The production team had prepared several open-air kitchens, with tables and chairs arranged in the clearing at the center.

Just as Jiang Tingxu rolled up his sleeves, Si You grabbed the ingredients from him. "You only ate one cucumber all day. Sit over there and rest."

Jiang Tingxu said, "You didn't eat anything either."

"I'm not hungry," Si You said.

He was hungry too, actually, but the solid bowl of noodles he had eaten that morning had held up better.

Jiang Tingxu wanted to say something else, but Si You had already picked up a kitchen knife and deftly slapped the fish flat before gutting it.

He removed the scales and innards, cleaned the gills, coated it in starch, and poured in oil. When the oil reached seventy percent heat, he dropped the fish in to fry. Golden bubbles churned in the pan. Si You peeled garlic, chopped scallions and ginger, and prepared the seasonings at the same time. Every step was orderly. He lifted the fish out to drain the oil, left a little oil in the wok to sauté the aromatics, then added doubanjiang until red oil emerged. Finally, he added the fish back in. The aroma hooked Xu Ke's gaze so hard he stared straight at it.

After letting the river shrimp spit out a little sand, he quickly fried them once before stir-frying them with chives. The fragrance was intoxicating.

The tenderloin was even easier. He made sweet and sour pork strips directly with ketchup.

"Do you want shredded potatoes or fried potatoes?" Si You asked Xue Boyu.

Xue Boyu swallowed. "Shredded potatoes."

"Then we'll make them stir-fried with vinegar. It's simple too." The moment Si You finished speaking, he began chopping with rapid thud, thud, thud sounds. Fei Chang next door had only just set up the potato grater when Si You had already finished slicing one potato.

Everyone who had just claimed in the comments that Si You could not cook fell silent.

This was someone who could not cook? This was someone who could not cook?!

Back when Si You had been a movie emperor, he had grown sick of restaurant food and takeout. One day, when the boiled pork slices he ate tasted like oil and wax, he tossed down his chopsticks and started cooking for himself.

With Si You's refusal to give up until he achieved his goal, learning to cook—and learning to cook well—had merely been a matter of time.

Si You tossed the wok. In the darkness, flames leaped around the rim. He tilted his head back slightly and narrowed his eyes, as though dealing with an obedient captive.

Six dishes and one soup. He used two stoves, wasted none of the ingredients, and took fifty minutes. At last, he brought over the rice cooker and called to Jiang Tingxu and Xue Boyu, "Dinner's ready."

He sat there looking perfectly calm, but in Xue Boyu's eyes, he was practically glowing.