Chapter Seventeen: Peeling Shrimp

By the time Yu Tang’s group finished cooking and brought out their dishes, Chen Cheng’s and Xiao Yufei’s teams were about done as well. Xiao Yufei’s group had managed two meat dishes and a vegetable, while Chen Cheng’s group had one meat and one vegetable left. Only Xiang Youran’s group had made just one large bowl of egg fried rice. With unlimited rice and condiments, Zhou Ziheng had dared to make a bigger portion.

As Yu Tang and Xie Yi carried their dishes to the table, the aroma immediately overpowered the scents of the other teams’ food.

“Oh my god, Tangtang, your dishes look so appetizing,” Xiao Yufei exclaimed in awe. Glancing at her own slightly burnt sweet and sour ribs and the green beans, she suddenly lost her appetite. The only dish left unspoiled was the stir-fried pork with green peppers that Shen Tianshi had cooked.

Yu Tang grinned. “Really? I thought so too!”

Shen Tianshi leaned over for a look, catching a whiff of the enticing aroma, but stubbornly retorted, “What’s so appetizing? It smells awful to me!”

Yu Tang stopped smiling and punched Shen Tianshi, sending him stumbling back several steps.

Clutching his side, Shen Tianshi grimaced, “Geez, Yu Tang, you really have no heart.”

She rolled her eyes. She hadn’t even used much strength—what an actor.

[Why do I feel like Shen Tianshi actually enjoyed getting hit?]
[If he was really in pain, I’d eat my hat—his mouth was practically smiling.]
[Yu Tang is way too fierce; Shen Tianshi didn’t even do anything…]
[If he acted this well in dramas, he’d already have won Best Actor…]

Chen Cheng set the food on the table, her voice warm and inviting. “Everything’s ready—come eat!”

Although everyone would eat their own food, at least they were sitting at the same table. Zhou Ziheng and Xiang Youran sat with their egg fried rice. Zhou Ziheng hadn’t touched his, but Xiang Youran already had a dirty little bowl in front of her—she’d eaten two, both served by Zhou Ziheng. She seemed nearly full.

Yu Tang and Xie Yi’s spread looked mouthwatering—colorful, aromatic, and plentiful. Xie Yi picked up several prawns and started peeling, but Yu Tang, not fond of shellfish, didn’t touch them. The rest of the prawns sat in the dish, untouched.

Suddenly, a pair of unfamiliar chopsticks reached in to take some shrimp. Yu Tang, head down and focused on eating, immediately intercepted the chopsticks mid-air.

“What are you doing?!”

Zhou Ziheng’s hand faltered, and after Yu Tang’s sharp rebuke, his face flushed red.

“I… I saw no one was eating them and thought it’d be a waste…”

Perhaps embarrassed by doing something so awkward for the first time, he stammered.

Yu Tang snorted coldly, picked up two unpeeled prawns, and stuffed them into her mouth.

“Look me in the eye and say no one’s eating them again!” she mumbled, staring Zhou Ziheng down stubbornly as she chewed.

Shen Tianshi saw this and almost started mocking Zhou Ziheng, but remembering he was still mad at Yu Tang, swallowed his words and just glared angrily at Zhou Ziheng.

Seeing Yu Tang with two unpeeled prawns in her mouth, Xie Yi’s eyes flickered with concern. He immediately offered her a napkin.

“Sis, spit them out. You’ll hurt your mouth with the shells.”

Yu Tang shot him a surprised look. Was Xie Yi always this considerate? Obediently, she spat out the shrimp. Before she could retort to Zhou Ziheng, Xie Yi stuffed two peeled, sauced prawns into her mouth.

Chewing, Yu Tang said, “What you just did—” chew chew “—is no different from stealing.” Chew chew.

Her words sounded serious, but with her actions, the scene was oddly comical. After swallowing the shrimp and savoring the taste, she reached out to grab more and peel them herself, but was stopped.

She looked at Xie Yi in confusion.

He smiled shyly and placed a bowl of already peeled shrimp in front of her. “These are all for you, sis.”

Yu Tang was startled and delighted. “How can I possibly accept this?” Yet she didn’t hesitate to take the shrimp with her chopsticks.

Blushing, Xie Yi kept peeling more for her.

“What, you want to peel shrimp for me too? Why don’t you go back and eat your fried rice?” Yu Tang hadn’t forgotten about Zhou Ziheng.

Zhou Ziheng’s face darkened, not expecting Yu Tang to embarrass him like this in front of everyone. She’d even sent someone to give him money not long ago—wasn’t that her way of trying to get close to him? She must be doing this on purpose because he’d rejected her! He’d seen clearly that the two of them couldn’t finish all those dishes anyway…

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was. Sullen, he returned to his fried rice.

Meanwhile, Xiang Youran, seated beside him, kept her head buried in her bowl, too mortified to look up.

[Zhou Ziheng is so shameless, just going for it like that.]
[Xie Yi is so sweet! (I love it!)]
[Did Shen Tianshi open his mouth to scold someone just now? Why did he hold back, haha.]
[Xie Yi is such a sweetheart, even peeling shrimp for her. How is this different from dating? Yu Tang, you lucky girl, eating so well!]
[Those prawns are huge. Speaking of big, you know…]
[Enough with the innuendo, zero points for off-topic comments!]
[Seriously, doesn’t anyone think Yu Tang’s team is being stingy?]
[Your team didn’t work hard, and now you blame others for being stingy? (cry-laugh emoji + middle finger meme)]

The comments flew by in a lively debate. Bai Yang watched the scrolling messages, his smile impossible to suppress.

He was going to be famous—finally! All thanks to Yu Tang and the drama she created. His gaze toward Yu Tang grew even more affectionate—a little lucky charm, dazzling as ever.

“Yu Tang, have some green beans,” Xie Yi said, placing a chopstick-full in her bowl.

Yu Tang had stir-fried the beans herself; they were savory and flavorful. She nudged her bowl closer to Xie Yi, who took a bite as well and immediately squinted with delight.

“Yu Tang, your cooking is amazing. These beans are delicious. Anyone who gets to eat your food is truly lucky.”

Yu Tang’s eyes curved into a smile when she heard that, especially as the system broadcasted in her mind:

[To improve your cooking so quickly and earn such praise from the guests, you must have put in great effort.]
[Congratulations, mission complete. Award: Encyclopedia of Riddles.]

Seeing this, Shen Tianshi immediately shoveled a mouthful of his own green beans into his mouth. He chewed and chewed, but they wouldn’t soften. About to spit them out, he caught sight of Yu Tang eating happily, so he forced himself to chew a few more times and swallowed. But there was no way he could eat another bite.

His eyes darted slyly. He pushed the bowl of beans toward Zhou Ziheng. It didn’t matter who ate them, as long as Yu Tang wasn’t the only one enjoying herself.

Zhou Ziheng looked up in confusion.

Shen Tianshi rubbed his neck. “You guys don’t have any dishes—here, have some.”

Zhou Ziheng glanced at the two meat dishes in front of Shen Tianshi, but swallowed his protest.

“Thank you.” Better than nothing.

The bullet comments, however, quickly caught on:

[Wait, these green beans are tough and won’t chew down—aren’t they undercooked?]
[No way, green beans are always this color, right?]
[Lol, giving away the tasteless veggies while keeping the good meat for himself—Shen Tianshi knows how to be ‘generous’.]

As Zhou Ziheng took a bite, he was still fuming at Yu Tang. Even a guy was treating her better than she treated him!