Yan Kuku was bewildered.

Why?

Why couldn’t he move?

He wanted to struggle, wanted to leap out of this human’s palm, wanted to shift into his human form, or even just cry out, “Mom! Save me!”

But no matter how hard he tried, he remained utterly still.

Helplessly, he lay there, motionless, resigned to being bathed.

Wen Yang, watching from the side, leaned in curiously. “This bitter gourd is a bit small, but it looks really nice. Teacher Qi, where did you find it?”

Qi Yan turned off the faucet and shook off the excess water. Instead of answering Wen Yang, his gaze shifted to Yan An, who stood frozen beside him, clearly trying and failing to stay calm.

He held the bitter gourd in his hand, wondering why she seemed so flustered.

This bitter gourd, aside from being a little smaller and a bit greener, wasn’t anything special.

What would happen if he cut it?

Qi Yan didn’t hesitate much and placed the small bitter gourd on the cutting board.

The moment the gourd touched the board, Yan Kuku felt a surge of despair.

From head to toe, inside and out, he was overwhelmed by a strong bitter taste.

As a three-year-old who hadn’t had enough lollipops and didn’t even know what siblings were, he was about to be sliced and cooked. His fate was truly grim.

Qi Yan slightly wrinkled his nose, sensing the faint bitterness in the air.

This was strange. Usually, bitter gourds only tasted bitter when eaten. Of course, he didn’t taste it himself. The bitter gourd he had tried before had been slightly sweet and refreshing, which was why he liked it.

Maybe the ones from the countryside were different, Qi Yan thought, but he didn’t give it much attention and certainly didn’t think the small gourd might be a bitter gourd spirit.

He didn’t know, of course, that this bitter gourd spirit was actually his offspring.

Qi Yan picked up the kitchen knife again.

In the next second, the hand holding the knife was tightly gripped.

Yan An’s face was pale, her lips pressed tightly together as she clung to his arm.

This scene, caught on camera, looked especially intimate.

The control room staff, seeing this, were shocked and quickly cut to other footage to avoid airing this particular moment.

The higher-ups had specifically instructed them not to broadcast any controversial shots involving Qi Yan.

If they did, the production team would not be able to handle the consequences.

Yan An, however, didn’t care about the cameras anymore. Her son’s life was at stake.

Her voice trembled, “Teacher Qi, I think three bitter gourds are enough.”

Qi Yan lowered his head, his gaze tracing the curve of her cheek. He found it really round.

So round, in fact, that it was pleasing to the eye, more so than three years ago.

He had collected many things over these three years, but nothing was rounder than her, which had made him a little irritated at times.

Qi Yan: “It’s okay, I can eat a little more.”

Saying this, he reached out to push her away.

Yan An, with all her might, clung to him. “But Teacher Qi, this bitter gourd really can’t be eaten.”

Qi Yan lightly responded, “Why?”

Yan An paused. “Because it’s my lucky gourd. If I eat it, I’ll lose all my good luck.”

Qi Yan watched her quietly for a moment, and for a second, Yan An almost thought he might relent.

Instead, he merely raised an eyebrow, effortlessly removing her hand from his arm. “Lucky charms are all fake. Don’t believe in them.”

Yan An grew angry. She didn’t care about the other guests or crew members present; she directly shoved Qi Yan aside and quickly snatched Yan Kuku off the board, hiding him behind her.

Qi Yan stood silently, observing her reaction as though he were appreciating something.

Yan An, still on edge, looked at his pocket, wondering whether she should take this chance to snatch Yan Mengmeng as well.

She gathered her courage and stepped forward.

Qi Yan stood there, his expression unreadable as he watched her.

In the end, Yan An hesitated, deciding that lemon couldn’t be made into dinner anyway. She would just have to see what happened.

She shoved the bitter gourd into her pocket and placed the sliced bitter gourd into a dish. Turning to the other guests and staff who were staring at her in surprise, she flashed a sweet smile and revealed two small dimples. “I’m going to fry the bitter gourd now.”

Yan An made her way to the stove.

She stared at the large pot, the oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea beside it, and the slices of bitter gourd in her hands, unsure where to begin.

She really had never cooked before! Was it really okay for the production team to have a plant that only drinks water and gets sunlight to do the cooking? (her way to photosynthesize the food)

Yan An stood still for three minutes, placing the bitter gourd bowl down. After some fruitless pondering, she decided to leave the kitchen.

She went to find Liang Baiyu with the rooster, but he wasn’t there. All that was left was a knife on the floor.

The rooster was still perfectly fine, curiously pecking at the knife.

Yan An paused for a moment and asked Jiang Tian, who was busy gutting a fish, “Where’s Teacher Liang Baiyu?”

Jiang Tian cleaned the fish with impressive precision, his movements so smooth they gave the viewers chills.

Hearing the question, he looked up, offering a shy smile. “Teacher Liang said he went to the bathroom.”

…

Ten minutes earlier.

After guiding Yan An on how to use the rice cooker, Liang Baiyu had grabbed the knife and walked over to the rooster.

He crouched down and felt the rooster’s fluffy back, thinking the bird must have eaten a lot of bugs to be this fat.

The rooster flapped its wings and made a few excited calls, clearly unafraid of humans.

The rooster that had earlier escaped Yan An’s grasp had started to show slight changes, though no one seemed to notice.

Liang Baiyu picked up the knife and eyed the rooster’s neck, lifting the knife but then putting it down. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Sighing, he muttered, “Although this big guy can’t fly, he’s still a bird. We’re from the same family. Why rush to harm him?”

But the cameras were still recording his every move.

Liang Baiyu thought for a moment, then placed the knife down, patted the rooster, and stood up lazily. “I’ll go to the bathroom and come back to kill the chicken.”

However, he never returned.

…

Yan An said, “I’ll go check.”

She hurried to the door, finding it open. Inside were a few photographers and staff members.

Under the pressure, Liang Baiyu was lounging on the sofa, scrolling through his phone, looking quite relaxed.

[You can never wake up a pigeon pretending to be one.]

【I know Liang Baiyu’s actions are wrong. Very wrong, disrespectful, untimely, and irresponsible! You guys can scold him! But I really want to say, right now, he looks so cute. I’m imagining a pigeon, innocently nestled on the sofa, looking at me like, aah, I just want to pet the pigeon!】

【By the way, I haven’t seen Yan An’s footage in the live broadcast. What’s she doing?】

In the footage, Yan An stopped her hurried steps, trying to salvage her image on the show.

Before coming on the show, she had set up an image for herself: a kind, cute, gentle, and polite girl.

She coughed, then smiled. “Teacher Liang.”

Liang Baiyu raised his head, looking quite pleased. “Oh? What’s up?”

Yan An walked in and, pretending to ask casually, “Teacher Liang, can you cook?”

Liang Baiyu nodded. “I can cook a little.”

“Then, Teacher Liang, what are the usual steps for stir-frying?”

Liang Baiyu thought for a moment and simplified the process for his friend: “Pour in oil, add the ingredients, stir-fry, then add salt, soy sauce, and a little cooking wine. When it’s cooked, it’s ready.”

Yan An mentally took note. “Got it, thanks, Teacher Liang. By the way, how’s the chicken you’re killing going?”

Liang Baiyu, who had been scrolling through his social media, paused for a moment, then casually responded, “I’ll go down soon, it’ll be ready in no time.”

Yan An rolled her eyes internally but smiled on the outside. “Okay.”

She then hurried downstairs.

Liang Baiyu sank deeper into the sofa, watching her go.

Yan An jogged into the kitchen, where Qi Yan gave her a glance. His eyes were as cold as ice.

She blinked innocently, meeting his gaze, touched her head, and walked to the stove.

The fire had already been set up by the staff, and she took the bright yellow oil, looking at the large, rural-style wok. After thinking for a moment, she poured a little oil in.

Looking at the shallow layer of oil in the pan, she hesitated but decided that more oil would be better.

Yan An nodded to herself, reassured, and without hesitation, poured most of the oil into the wok.

The live comments exploded in laughter.

Even the staff couldn’t hold back.

Holding the half-used oil container, Yan An looked up, seeing the staff laughing, but before she could ask what was going on, she heard Qi Yan’s indifferent voice.

“Are you trying to deep-fry the bitter gourd?”