Ye Ran: "Since Xie is allergic, let's give up on this stage too."
Although they wouldn't be as intimate as Shen Xingcan and Xie Linchuan, it was still better to be safe.
Xie Linchuan: "I just can't eat mangoes. It's not that serious."
Ye Ran instinctively looked at Shen Xingcan, who stood beside Xie Linchuan.
Xie Linchuan: "Shen Xingcan is making a fuss over nothing."
If it really were as serious as Shen Xingcan had said, he wouldn't have accepted this variety show.
Shen Xingcan kicked Xie Linchuan's shoe in displeasure. "Hey, Xie Linchuan, can you have a conscience? I'm worried about you! How is that making a fuss over nothing? You're utterly heartless!"
Xie Linchuan: "..."
[So Shen Xingcan knows Xie Linchuan's condition isn't that serious, but he still guards against every possible appearance of mangoes.]
[Pretty kitty firmly opposes all evil giant mangoes!]
[Evil giant mangoes, my ass, hahahaha.]
[Are we sure this variety show isn't a dating show? I haven't stopped smiling like a doting aunt.]
Song Tiantian patted her chest. "So that's what it is. I was just wondering what Best Actor Xie would do about tomorrow's task. Now I can finally relax."
Shen Xingcan's eyes held a smile. "If it really were that serious, he wouldn't have come here to join the show..."
But it really was quite a coincidence that the first variety show someone who couldn't eat mangoes accepted was related to mangoes...
"Would all guests please proceed to the challenge area?"
Shen Xingcan tugged the chain on his wrist and spoke when Xie Linchuan looked over. "Let's go join the fun too... no, wait. They'll get mangoes to eat after finishing the task, but we won't. Let's go get some food first."
The sturdy Shen Xingcan could skip a meal without any trouble, but the fragile Xie Linchuan clearly couldn't do the same.
Having made his decision, Shen Xingcan waved to the others. "Bye! See you later."
From beginning to end, Shen Xingcan never gave Xie Linchuan a chance to speak. He made the decision for Xie Linchuan quite naturally, then just as smoothly pulled him away using the chain on his wrist.
Watching their retreating figures, Jiang Yifeng delivered his judgment in a solemn tone. "I'm certain that by the time we finish filming this show, those two will definitely have patched things up."
Song Tiantian: "..."
Such a conservative estimate?
[Can Shen Xingcan stop ordering people around? Who does he think he is? Why should anyone listen to him?]
[Patched things up?! Their third kid is practically old enough to run errands already. Comrade, isn't your progress bar moving a little too slowly?]
[Come on, can we get a split screen like before? I want to watch those two cook.]
[Production team, hurry up and make a separate livestream just for those two. You'd better know who the show's biggest draw is.]
[I just don't get it. What's there to ship? Isn't this just Shen Xingcan throwing himself at someone who doesn't want him?]
[Look at Xie Linchuan being so hopeless. Fine, I get it, you can't wait to come be our Cancan's simp.]
[Can't we just watch the show? I hope everyone understands that this show is called A Fruit, not One Hundred Percent Romance!]
The production team clearly knew exactly what was generating their buzz, so a separate livestream dedicated to Shen Xingcan and Xie Linchuan soon appeared.
On the way, Shen Xingcan started ordering dishes. "Xie Linchuan, I want braised pork ribs, dried tangerine peel duck, blanched shrimp, chicken stir-fried in bean sauce, braised pork belly, steamed pork belly with preserved mustard greens, steamed leopard coral grouper, pan-seared foie gras..."
Ever since their falling-out, Shen Xingcan hadn't eaten anything Xie Linchuan cooked. Now that he saw an opportunity, he immediately rattled off a whole string of dishes, regardless of whether the ingredients were available.
Xie Linchuan interrupted Shen Xingcan's unrealistic fantasies. "People who can't cook don't get to order."
Shen Xingcan tried to put up a fight. "But I think a good chef should humbly consider the diner's opinions."
"I'm not a good chef."
Shen Xingcan: "..."
And just like that, the conversation died. He had reasonable grounds to suspect that if it weren't for Xie Linchuan's family background, someone would throw a sack over his head and beat him up a hundred times a day!
Since the production team wanted them to fend for themselves, there naturally couldn't be any modern conveniences. The so-called kitchen was nothing more than an open patch of ground in the little courtyard.
Wanted to cook? Then they had to start by digging a stove and lighting a fire.
As for how to dig a stove-sorry, they had to figure that out themselves.
But this clearly posed no difficulty for the widely read Shen Xingcan. As he dug, he remarked, "Reading more novels really does come in handy."
Shen Xingcan adored all kinds of melodramatic, angsty romances, but since few people in today's society still enjoyed that sort of thing, he often ran out of novels to read and would read other genres too.
And he had learned how to dig a stove and light a fire from a wilderness survival novel.
Looking at his freshly finished earthen stove, Shen Xingcan said, "If I transmigrated to ancient times, I could at least become a warlord ruling over my own territory by making paper, producing salt through solar evaporation, and smelting iron!"
Xie Linchuan: "..."
After expressing his lofty ambitions of becoming a ruler, Shen Xingcan turned to Xie Linchuan with great solemnity. "Then you'll be my second-in-command! Below one person and above ten thousand."
Xie Linchuan wasn't taken in by those words. His lips curved, seemingly in an excellent mood. "That still won't get you the right to order dishes."
The smile instantly vanished from Shen Xingcan's face. He said coldly, "You're not second-in-command anymore. Go clean the latrines."
[Hahaha.]
[So all that buildup was just so he could order whatever he wanted? That's pretty scheming.]
[Below one person, huh? Riding on top? My little face is turning yellow.]
[Xie Linchuan really knows Shen Xingcan so well, hahahaha.]
Shen Xingcan couldn't cook, but he was very good at being an assistant, especially Xie Linchuan's assistant.
By the time the other two pairs of guests returned, Xie Linchuan and Shen Xingcan already had their pot over the fire.
Jiang Yifeng sniffed from across the fence. "Smells like pork ribs... that smells amazing. Can I have a bowl?"
Sitting on a little folding stool, Shen Xingcan answered lazily, "Sure. Twenty points a serving."
Jiang Yifeng was stunned. "Twenty points? Shen Xingcan, why don't you just rob me? Besides, you didn't even cook the ribs!"
Shen Xingcan remained perfectly composed. "Twenty points is a fair and reasonable price. I didn't cook the ribs, true, but there's no difference between Xie Linchuan making them and me making them."
Jiang Yifeng hollered in outrage.
Shen Xingcan began drumming up business. "Anyone who needs guidance on digging a stove can come to me! Five points a session, five points a session! Step right up, don't miss out!"
Looking at the proper-looking stove beside Shen Xingcan, which was even already in use, Ye Ran asked in surprise, "Xingcan, you dug that stove?"
"Yep. Pretty good craftsmanship, right? Want some technical guidance? This stove might look simple, but there's a lot to it. You have to allow for ventilation and leave a smoke channel, and tailor it to the size of the pot."
Shen Xingcan spared no effort in promoting his skills.
Bai Lin: "You even know how to do this? Xingcan really is knowledgeable and talented."
Shen Xingcan gave Bai Lin a casual glance, then scoffed. "All right, even if you flatter me, I'm not giving you a discount."
[Hahahaha, Bai Lin flattering him for a discount, my ass.]
[Why is Shen Xingcan's personality so entertaining?]
[Bai Lin must be furious. He was clearly being sarcastic, but it got called flattery instead.]
[Having no manners counts as a good personality now?]
[Wasn't Bai Lin the one who started it and asked for it?]
[These two haven't really had anything to do with each other, have they? Why does Bai Lin seem to dislike Shen Xingcan so much?]
[Bai Lin keeps trying to latch onto Xie Linchuan for publicity, but Xie Linchuan completely ignores him. Now that he sees Xie Linchuan treating Shen Xingcan differently, of course he's jealous.]
Thanks to his tireless promotion, Shen Xingcan successfully earned ten points in the end.
Naturally, the meal couldn't be as lavish as Shen Xingcan had requested, but without a doubt, every dish was something he liked.
Unlike their spread, which looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful, Jiang Yifeng and Bai Lin's situation some distance away could only be described as disastrous.
Without a doubt, neither of them knew how to cook. Although they weren't foolish enough to do something like mistake salt for sugar, they did manage to burn absolutely everything.
The bitter, acrid smell of burnt food drifted everywhere on the wind.
Because of the wind's direction, Shen Xingcan and Xie Linchuan were the first to suffer.
The smoke made Shen Xingcan sneeze. He looked incredulously toward the courtyard nearby. "Jiang Yifeng, are you refining pills?"
Jiang Yifeng refused to admit defeat. "What do you know? This is the trendiest cooking method right now."
Shen Xingcan was scathing. "A method for supplying hospitals with patients? I suggest you just boil everything in plain water. We're on an island. Medical care isn't that readily available."
Boiling everything in plain water might not taste good, but at least it wouldn't poison anyone.
Jiang Yifeng said angrily, "Shouldn't you be saying you'll send a helicopter to rescue me right away? Are we even good friends anymore?"
Shen Xingcan answered decisively, "No."
Jiang Yifeng ground his teeth in resentment.
After mocking his buddy, Shen Xingcan looked at the dishes in front of him and sighed with exaggerated inflection. "Now that's what you call a difference. No wonder people say picking a teammate is like picking a spouse. I wonder which girl will get to enjoy our Best Actor Xie's cooking someday... if I were a girl, I'd definitely marry Best Actor Xie."
Xie Linchuan: "Shut up and eat."