The downpour outside had stopped.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the host came out from the other side and began explaining the rules. "First, welcome to the filming of our show. For the next month or so, the village Party secretary and the children will be living alongside you."
"The production team has arranged your accommodation, but apart from the first day, you'll need to earn your food through challenges and tasks over the coming month."
Then the host drew out his words. "Our production team has prepared plenty of fun games and little challenges for you. Now that the rain has stopped, today's ingredients are waiting in the kitchen. If you don't want to go hungry, please figure out lunch as soon as possible."
Jiang Keyan froze. "We have to cook for ourselves?"
The host smiled. "Yes."
They exchanged looks.
These were people who ate takeout or other people's cooking every day...
"I'm pretty good at cooking," Wen Yanyu suddenly spoke up. "I should be fine with most Chinese dishes. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
Everyone's eyes turned to him.
"Yay!" Jiang Keyan looked as though she had found her savior. "Baby, I want something spicy!"
Jiang Wanrou spoke up too. "I'll join Wen Yanyu. I can manage simple home cooking."
At that, everyone finally relaxed. They had been worried Wen Yanyu couldn't handle everything alone and had been ready to learn to help, but had also worried they would only get in the way.
The rain had stopped, too.
Jiang Keyan dashed into the kitchen to see what ingredients there were.
The others followed one after another.
The camera switched to the kitchen. At the sight of several live fish in the kitchen's water tank, the live comments erupted in laughter.
[Hahahaha, other people keep goldfish in tanks. The production team keeps carp.]
[I knew it, hahaha. This production team would never make it that easy.]
[They have to kill live fish?]
[Honestly, killing a live fish is pretty troublesome if you don't have experience, hahaha.]
[Looks like the production team didn't even provide a net. These fish might actually survive until the show ends.]
The previously delighted Jiang Keyan: "..."
Wen Yanyu walked around the people blocking the kitchen doorway and took stock of the ingredients.
"I can handle killing fish. Does anyone have any dietary restrictions? If not, I'll make fish today." Wen Yanyu sounded relaxed and casual as he tied up his hair in a few quick movements.
Everyone said they had none.
Just then, Sang Yu noticed a packet of noodles on the cabinet. She quickly glanced at Lu Mingxu, who was studying the fish, and suddenly said, "Bro Lu and I usually prefer noodles. Could you cook two separate bowls for us?"
Lu Mingxu, who had been looking at the fish, paused and frowned.
Jiang Wanrou found the aprons and deftly tied one on, then handed another to Wen Yanyu.
Wen Yanyu wiped his hands, took the apron, and checked the seasonings in the kitchen. "Sure. Do you have any flavor preferences?"
Sang Yu glanced at the familiar sauces on the cabinet and added, "I'm allergic to peanuts, and Bro Lu really likes peanut butter. Just add that sauce up there to Mingxu Bro's bowl. Sorry for the trouble."
It wasn't any trouble. Wen Yanyu made a mental note and nodded casually.
"Thank you." Sang Yu smiled her thanks, took Lu Mingxu by the arm before he had reacted, and turned to leave.
[An old married couple (not really).]
[Sang Yu and Bro Lu are both noodle people, hahaha. Childhood friends with matching tastes.]
[Except one's a peanut lover and the other's severely allergic to peanuts, hahaha.]
[She knew Bro Lu would be too embarrassed to ask, so she asked for him? Hahaha, when someone like Lu Mingxu has a wife like that, he'd better get on his knees and thank heaven.]
[That grateful look on Lu Mingxu's face, hahaha.]
[As far as I know, they aren't even together. Why are these comments acting like they're already a done deal?]
[Exactly. As a solo fan, these comments honestly make my vision go black.]
[Watch if you like it. If you don't, leave.]
[Please, certain fans need to stop leeching off our Bro Lu. I don't even know what to say. How many times has Bro Lu's expression darkened today? He's just being polite to a woman and hasn't said anything, and she's already taking advantage.]
The comments began arguing again. In the control room, the director grinned from ear to ear as he watched the show's popularity climb. Inviting those two had indeed been the right choice.
The screen switched to the kitchen.
The director's gaze settled on Wen Yanyu's almost absurdly beautiful face, and he clicked his tongue softly twice.
As expected of an idol who had once debuted with an overwhelming lead on the strength of his face alone. They needed to make good use of that.
Thinking of what had happened between him and Fu Hanchuan, the director considered it for a moment, then added something to a later challenge.
Duan Mufeng volunteered. "I'll help you out. Leave catching the fish to me!"
Wen Yanyu turned his head slightly at that, but before he could respond, Duan Mufeng had already moved.
Duan Mufeng rolled up his sleeves and walked over to the tank, looking utterly confident.
But when he leaned over and saw the lively fish in the tank, Duan Mufeng's hands suddenly stopped.
As though sensing something, the carp thrashed around in the tank, splashing water out one after another. They looked fierce and intimidating.
Duan Mufeng gritted his teeth and steeled himself to reach into the tank.
He finally managed to grab a fish, but it kept lashing its tail in his hands. Duan Mufeng scrambled to keep it under control.
[Hahahaha, fighting a fish (not really).]
[I feel like Jiang Wanrou has been holding back her laughter from the start. She's almost at her limit, hahaha.]
[Jiang Wanrou: I'll just quietly watch you fight that fish.]
[Wen Yanyu suddenly looks so cute, standing there in a strawberry apron and watching blankly, hahaha. Like a quiet little bunny.]
[Go look at how he used to pester Fu Hanchuan and refuse to leave him alone. You won't find him cute anymore.]
Unable to control the fish in his hands at all, Duan Mufeng's expression gradually twisted.
The kitchen wasn't far from the main room, where Jiang Keyan watched with relish, holding a bag of chips.
"If you can't manage, let me." Wen Yanyu finished tying his apron and prepared to step forward.
Those words instantly roused Duan Mufeng's fighting spirit. He clamped down on a fin and forced the fish onto the chopping board.
"Okay, okay. I'll hold it down, and you kill it." Duan Mufeng forced a smile at the young man behind him, still not daring to let go with either hand.
Jiang Wanrou, who was rinsing rice, finally couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Wen Yanyu casually picked up the cleaver and gestured for him to move aside. He took over the fish the man had been pinning down with one hand and swiftly turned the blade with the other.
The cleaver rose and fell. Before the fish on the chopping board could even struggle, it went still.
Duan Mufeng gave a sudden shudder. When he came back to his senses, he saw Wen Yanyu calmly and deftly scaling the fish, slicing open its belly, and removing its innards.
The young man's movements were clean and efficient, and he soon finished preparing the fish. Just as he put it in a basin, something else occurred to him. He turned to the tank and casually scooped out another fish.
The cleaver rose and fell through another practiced sequence, and soon a large basin of fish had been cleaned and prepared.
Wen Yanyu casually wiped his hands and turned to Duan Mufeng, who stood rooted beside him. "Mufeng, wash this basin of fish, then mix in some salt."
"Oh, sure, sure." Suddenly being addressed so familiarly, Duan Mufeng couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from lifting. He hurriedly picked up the basin and scurried over to the sink.
[Suddenly thought of that line: I've spent ten years killing fish at RT-Mart. My heart is now as cold as my fish knife.]
[A cold, heartless fish-killing machine.]
[I thought he was lying when he said he could cook. He really can.]
[Lol, it's like the difference between me and my mom, except my mom would be judging me.]
Wen Yanyu stood at the stove, deftly heating oil in the wok before adding the vegetables he had just cut.
Jiang Wanrou remarked, "You're really practiced at cooking, Yanyu. Did you take lessons?"
Stir-frying the Chinese lettuce in the wok, Wen Yanyu replied offhandedly to the woman's question, "No. I had to eat when I was little. I cooked every day, and after doing it enough, I got the hang of it."
After his parents left when he was in middle school, he had no family around. If he didn't cook for himself, he didn't have enough money to eat out every day.
Come to think of it, he had to "thank" that bug-fixing thing for leaving him over a hundred thousand, so he hadn't ended up on the streets right after losing his family.
When he was little?
A trace of surprise flashed through Jiang Wanrou's eyes.
"I'm here, I'm here!" Duan Mufeng came in carrying the washed fish.
Jiang Wanrou swallowed her words and didn't ask any more questions.
The three in the kitchen gradually fell into a rhythm, with Duan Mufeng running between the other two, passing them vegetables and seasonings.
A small basin of spicy poached fish was soon ready, and Jiang Wanrou carried it out.
Duan Mufeng put the washed wok back on the stove. Wen Yanyu took the noodles down from the cabinet, heated some water, and put them in.
Wen Yanyu stood before the stove, his apron tied in a bow at the back of his waist.
The ties gently cinched his waist, outlining its particularly slender shape. It looked as though someone could simply reach out and wrap him in their arms.
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