ABOES 7: Great Cooking Skills

For a moment, the entire livestream was filled with question marks.

【What is Film Emperor Duan doing right now?】

【Is he trying to flirt or something?】

【LMAO, does Yan Ge know this flirting style is way outdated?】

【Hahahaha I can’t—Xinian’s blank face is killing me, he’s way too cute!】

【Help, I’m getting secondhand embarrassment again.】

【Duan Zhiyan, something’s off with you!】

…

Ye Xinian couldn’t see the livestream chat. After his brief daze, he quickly pulled himself together and gave Duan Zhiyan a polite smile.

“Teacher Duan, you must be mistaken. I just debuted recently. My name is Ye Xinian.”

Duan Zhiyan frowned slightly.

The name “Ye Xinian” felt completely unfamiliar. Just debuted?

The other guests also realized the awkwardness and quickly stepped in to ease the tension.

Ji Xi feigned annoyance and said to Duan Zhiyan, “What’s up with you, Teacher Duan? It’s like you didn’t even see me when you walked in. You only had eyes for Xinian?”

Among the guests, only Ji Xi had interacted with Duan Zhiyan before, so this joke came at just the right time.

Once Ji Xi broke the ice, the others followed suit.

“I think Teacher Duan probably found Xinian familiar at first sight,” Yan Jing guessed. “I felt like I’d seen Xinian somewhere before too.”

“Totally,” Su Qing agreed. “Xinian really is super handsome!”

Ye Xinian looked a little embarrassed for once.

“Please, don’t tease me like that.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh, and the mood lightened considerably.

The guests all assumed Duan Zhiyan was just joking earlier. Even the fans watching the livestream thought so.

Only Duan Zhiyan himself knew—he wasn’t joking.

He looked at the young man in front of him again. His features were striking, the kind of face you would never forget after seeing once.

If he really had met Ye Xinian before, even if he couldn’t remember the name, he should at least remember that face.

It was true that Duan Zhiyan hadn’t been in a great state recently. He genuinely couldn’t recall where they might have met.

Yet deep down, he was sure, he had definitely seen Ye Xinian somewhere before.

…

Ji Xi turned out to be more talkative than expected. He had the whole group chatting away in no time.

Seeing the relaxed atmosphere, the production crew didn’t interrupt. They waited until the moment was right, then stepped forward to announce the day’s first activity: luggage inspection.

Before filming began, every guest had been given a list of banned items: food, money, phones, and other electronics were strictly prohibited.

The production team needed to check for any hidden items just to be safe.

The guests cooperated, and nothing suspicious turned up.

Ye Xinian was the last one to be checked. He opened his suitcase voluntarily.

Having struck out five times already, the staff decided to be extra thorough with him.

In the hidden compartment of the suitcase, they finally found a square-shaped object.

The staff member got excited. “Can I take this out and check?”

The cameraman, eager for a juicy shot, quickly turned his lens on Ye Xinian.

Ye Xinian stayed calm under the camera. He smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

The other guests were curious too and all looked over.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the staff eagerly unzipped the compartment—only to pull out… a book.

The staff: “…” Got excited for nothing.

Exactly.

The other guests were just as disappointed.

Only Duan Zhiyan stared at the book in the staff’s hand for a couple of seconds before glancing back at Ye Xinian.

Ye Xinian still wore a mild smile on his face, calm and unbothered.

Duan Zhiyan looked down and said nothing.

He had no intention of exposing anything.

The viewers in the livestream saw the failed discovery and started complaining too:

【So boring.】

【This group of guests isn’t fun. No one brought anything wild.】

【Right? They’re all too obedient!】

…

With the inspection over, the guests were free to move in.

The villa had three floors. The first floor for shared activities while the second and third was for bedrooms.

Just when everyone thought they could choose a room they liked, Director Zhao stepped out again.

“We’ve prepared three rooms in total.”

Ji Xi’s smile instantly vanished. “You’re telling me there are only three rooms in a house this big?”

Director Zhao didn’t even blink. “The show has a limited budget, so we only rented the first and second floors.”

Jiang Yin: “Yeah, right!”

Su Qing: “Your production team is evil!”

Even Ye Xinian couldn’t help agreeing.

Still, rules were rules. They had to play along.

There were three rooms: a luxury single, a double, and a triple. Six beds, just enough for six people.

Director Zhao slyly told them to sort out room assignments themselves.

There were three men and three women among the guests.

Ji Xi said, “Why don’t the three ladies take the single and double room and the three of us—me, Teacher Duan, and Xinian—will share the triple?”

Ye Xinian and Duan Zhiyan had no objections but the three female guests declined. They’d already gotten along well earlier and wanted to share a room together.

Once that was settled, the three women happily wheeled their luggage upstairs.

That left the three male guests still downstairs.

Ji Xi turned to Ye Xinian and suggested, “Xinian, let’s just share a room.”

Ye Xinian knew Ji Xi was being considerate, so he nodded and agreed.

Duan Zhiyan also had no objection. The three of them headed upstairs with their bags.

Although their room was labeled a triple, it was spacious. It had a private bathroom and a large balcony.

The production team was kind enough to give them thirty minutes to rest.

The filming resumed after that. Director Zhao briefed them on the next part.

“The show won’t be providing you with meals. We’ll only offer fresh ingredients but even those won’t come free.”

That immediately raised alarm bells among the guests.

“How do we get the ingredients then?” Jiang Yin asked.

Director Zhao smiled meaningfully. “You’ll have to earn them yourselves.”

When the six guests arrived at the task site, they finally understood what that meant.

In front of them was a half-drained fishpond. Beside a cornfield, a long table was set up, filled with vegetables, fruits, and meats.

To get ingredients, they had to catch fish and trade them in.

To help them out, the production crew had even prepared a conversion chart showing how many fish each ingredient would cost.

Ji Xi looked at the chart and grimaced. “One jin of rice costs twenty fish?”

Yan Jing blurted out, “Director, are we really filming a travel variety show?”

Director Zhao nodded solemnly. “Of course!”

Everyone’s mouths twitched.

They’d been totally scammed onto this show.

They have no choice. To get food, they had to do the task.

The six guests waded into the water to start fishing armed with nets and barefoot.

Viewers in the livestream were stunned.

【Wait—are they seriously fishing?】

【LOL I did not see that coming!】

【This production team is too savage!】

【I saw the chart earlier, ten fish for one jin of leafy greens? Ridiculous!】

【But lowkey, it’s kinda fun watching them work for their food.】

【Hope they wear sunscreen! It’s blazing out!】

【On another note, Duan Zhiyan is way too handsome.】

【Is that Ye Xinian in the purple sunhat? His looks are insane!】

…

The pond had been drained down to ankle-deep in spots. Some fish bellies were already visible in the shallows.

To help the guests, the show had brought in off-camera guides whose catches would also count toward the total.

After a few failed attempts, the guests got the hang of it and sped up.

Especially Jiang Yin—accurate, quick, and fierce. Every net brought back a fish.

The livestream audience was losing it.

【Why is Jiang Yin so intense?! Even the fish look scared!】

【Fishing queen Jiang Yin!】

【She probably caught the most, right?】

【No! Don’t forget Yan-ge!】

【OMG, how is Duan Zhiyan this good at fishing?!】

【Clearly you’re not a real fan—he learned to fish bare-handed for a movie role.】

【Everyone’s doing great… except one person.】

【Who?】

【Ye Xinian! Didn’t you see? He got stuck in the mud for ten minutes and fell into it on his first catch.】

…

Ye Xinian looked incredibly awkward.

This was his first time fishing in a pond like this. He found the feeling of pulling his foot out of the mud in rubber boots kind of fun, so he stomped around a few extra times.

Bad move.

He stepped into a deep pit and couldn’t pull his right leg out.

When he finally did, he lost his balance and fell face-first into the mud with a loud splash.

By the time he stood up again, he was completely covered in mud.

Ji Xi, who was closest to him, wanted to help but the second he saw Ye Xinian’s muddy face, he couldn’t stop laughing. He crouched down, cracking up.

The livestream chat also went wild.

【OMG! Ye Xinian is killing me!】

【I saw so much confusion and helplessness in that muddy face!】

【Poor guy!】

【But seriously, how does he still look good covered in mud?!】

…

The other guests turned to look and couldn’t help laughing too.

Even Duan Zhiyan’s lips curved slightly.

【He smiled!!】

【Awsl¹Chiinese internet slang abbreviation, meaning ‘Ah, I’m dead’. That smile was too swoon-worthy.】

【Ye Xinian’s misfortune is our comedy gold!】

…

The director crew looked at Ye Xinian with pity. Director Zhao even suggested he go change clothes but Ye Xinian refused.

He washed his face off in the water and said seriously, “I’m afraid if I change and come back, I’ll just fall again. It’s better to stay like this.”

【LMAO!】

【He’s so serious about it too!】

…

After a tough afternoon, thanks to Duan Zhiyan and Jiang Yin’s amazing performance, they finally earned enough food for one day.

Everyone carried the ingredients back, and the first thing they did was shower.

Ye Xinian took the longest—once he stood under the hot water, he discovered even his ears were filled with mud. Unbelievable.

When he finally came downstairs, he found everyone frozen in front of the kitchen.

He walked over, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Su Qing sighed. “Big problem. Turns out none of us can cook.”

“Huh? None of you?” Ye Xinian was surprised.

Ji Xi shook his head.

Yan Jing gave an embarrassed smile.

Even fierce fish-catcher Jiang Yin looked unsure.

Only Duan Zhiyan spoke up. “I can make scrambled eggs with tomatoes.”

Ye Xinian chuckled, picked up an apron and tied it around himself expertly. He patted his chest.

“Leave it to me, then.”

The others lit up.

“Xinian, you can cook?” Ji Xi asked.

“A little,” Ye Xinian replied with a smile.

An hour later, they all stared at the delicious dishes on the table, unable to help swallowing.

A little?

Ye Xinian was being way too modest.

After working all afternoon, everyone was starving. As soon as the last dish was served, they dug in quietly, focused solely on eating.

Ji Xi was the last to put down his bowl. He let out a satisfied burp and looked at Ye Xinian.

“Xinian, I don’t know who you’ll marry in the future…”

Ye Xinian blinked. “Huh?”

Ji Xi sighed dramatically. “I mean, your cooking is so good, I’m starting to think I want to marry you myself!”

Ye Xinian gave a small laugh. He looked up and, perhaps deliberately, glanced at the camera.

Then he said, “That might not work. I’m already engaged.”

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  Chiinese internet slang abbreviation, meaning ‘Ah, I’m dead’