Yan An wasn’t actually trying to deep-fry the bitter gourd; she just wanted to stir-fry it simply.

She looked at Qi Yan.

The vegetables were almost all cut, and he leaned nearby, watching her cook with a calm expression.

Yan An, holding the half-full oil container, hesitated for a moment before asking, “Teacher Qi, is something wrong?”

【Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter.】

【Hahaha, Miss Yan An is too cute!】

【You all keep praising Miss Yan An for being cute, but am I the only one who thinks she’s a little slow? Even if you don’t know how to cook, shouldn’t you at least have an idea of how much oil to use?】

【I agree, but don’t take it too seriously. It’s just her variety show persona; don’t think too hard about it.】

【Sorry, I don’t know how much oil to use either. Some people have never stepped foot in a kitchen, please understand that there are things you don’t know.】

【Exactly! I can’t cook either!】

【Heh, I originally thought this ‘regular guest’ was cute, but after today, I think she’s just a manipulative person. Did you notice? She’s always sticking close to Qi Yan, from the car to the game tasks. And now, she’s flirting with him. You really think people can’t tell what she’s up to?】

【I feel the same! She does the same with Liang Baiyu! I’ve had enough, is she crazy? She doesn’t even know Liang Baiyu, but she went upstairs to ask him how to cook. It’s so disgusting! Get away from him!】

【She’s definitely the ‘white lotus’ type, don’t try to defend her. She’s been pretending to be innocent.】

【Exactly! Compared to the other two female guests, they’re much better. Ji Lan may ignore people, but at least she doesn’t stir up trouble. Wen Yang may often pay attention to Qi Yan, but that’s normal; she’s been a fan of his for a long time. It’s only the ‘regular guest,’ haha, Yan An is definitely the most scheming of all three female guests.】

【…The car seat position was chosen by Qi Yan himself, and the task objects were announced by the director. Do you want to keep blaming her for that? As for Liang Baiyu, I have this strange feeling they’ve met before.】

【This variety show hasn’t even been on for a full day, and Yan An, a ‘regular guest,’ already has fans. Look, her manipulative plan is working!】

【Always calling someone a manipulative person… Do you really need to take a variety show this seriously? I was reading the comments and planning to laugh along, but now there’s all this arguing. It’s so chaotic, I’m just going to turn off the comments!】

Yan An, unfairly labeled as the most scheming, was feeling misunderstood.

She genuinely didn’t know better. She’d never been in a kitchen before. When she was married, he’d always been the one in the kitchen. Back then, she had just immersed herself in the world of idol dramas, rushing to catch up on shows and never bothered to watch her husband cook.

Later, after watching enough idol dramas, she realized that the female lead always watched the male lead cook and that they shared sweet moments in the kitchen. That’s when she understood. Oh, so that’s how it’s done.

But by then, they were already divorced!

The staff, trying to hold back their laughter, jumped in to remind her: 

“You can’t get help, you need to do this yourself.”

Variety shows thrive on these eye-catching moments!

Yan An, with some resentment, looked at the speaker. “Isn’t it okay to just ask for help?” She looked quite pitiful.

Qi Yan stared at her face for a moment, then said, “There’s too much oil.”

Her eyes lit up. She quickly put the oil container down, found a bowl, and, using a ladle, started scooping the excess oil out of the pan.

Yan An scooped a ladle of oil and glanced at Qi Yan.

Only when Qi Yan gave a slight nod did she stop, setting the bowl of oil aside before tossing the bitter gourd into the pan.

With a sizzling sound, the once calm surface of the oil suddenly began to boil, splattering everywhere.

Yan An wasn’t prepared, and a drop of oil splashed onto her arm. She screamed in pain, quickly retreating three large steps, until a pair of hands caught her from behind.

Instinctively, she looked back and nearly bumped into Qi Yan.

Qi Yan lowered his head, watching his ex-wife with a quiet intensity. After three years, she hadn’t changed much.

Three years ago, she had been the same: like a baby, clueless about everything around her.

She couldn’t use an elevator, couldn’t operate electronic devices.

Her background was a mystery. She claimed to be an orphan, but after Qi Yan established himself in the entertainment industry, he used his connections to investigate her. He found nothing.

Then, after three years, she vanished without a trace, taking away something that belonged to him.

Qi Yan’s eyes flickered briefly, his expression momentarily turning eerie before quickly returning to calm.

He pointed to the pan. “It’s about to burn.”

Yan An: “!”

She quickly regained her balance, scanning her surroundings, grabbing the lid, and using it to shield herself as she cautiously approached the pan with a spatula. She began to stir aimlessly.

The bitter gourd started to emit a burnt smell, and Yan An scrunched her nose, pinching it in disgust.

Too cruel. She didn’t want to smell it.

Outside, after washing the vegetables, Wen Yang glanced toward the kitchen where Qi Yan and Yan An were. Her opinion of Yan An had dropped drastically.

She thought for a moment, then walked over and said, “Teacher Qi, I’d like to take the corn hanging there, but I can’t reach it. Could you help me?”

Qi Yan glanced at her, his eyelids lowering as a cold light flickered in his eyes.

He hated being ordered around.

But Qi Yan hadn’t forgotten he was on a variety show. While he didn’t care much about the small fee from acting, he wanted to gain as many fans as possible.

He believed that whatever he did, he should be the best,  the one everyone admired.

Straightening up, he left the kitchen and walked toward Wen Yang.

Once the program ended, he would make sure this female celebrity was banned.

He thought calmly.

Wen Yang’s heart skipped a beat, her smile widening as she graciously took the corn from him, saying softly, “Thank you, Teacher Qi.”

Qi Yan gave a faint “mm” and returned to the kitchen.

Inside, he saw Yan An frowning, holding a packet of salt, shaking it over the pan.

She shook it again after a while.

Not satisfied, she peered into the pan, thinking she hadn’t added enough, and shook it once more.

Remembering what Liang Baiyu had said about adding soy sauce and cooking wine, she didn’t care if it suited the bitter gourd and added generous amounts of both.

The result was a dark, charred pile of bitter gourd.

In his memory, Qi Yan’s stir-fried bitter gourd had never looked like this. Perhaps her cooking method was different?

Yan An held the dish she had made, meeting Qi Yan’s gaze.

Her eyes lit up as she hurried over, saying, “Teacher Qi, the bitter gourd is ready. Would you like to try it?”

Qi Yan: “…No, you can try it yourself.”

He turned and left the kitchen.

Yan An: ????

She tilted her head, placing the dish aside, with no intention of trying it herself.

As a mother who always prioritizes her children’s mental health, she wouldn’t eat something of the same species as her child.

After finishing with the bitter gourd, Yan An found stir-frying quite fun and eagerly grabbed the vegetables set aside, starting to stir-fry them.

An hour later, the sky had darkened, and the peaceful village was filled with the scent of dinner.

At the dining table, everyone looked at one dish after another, finally settling on the strange, half-cooked mess in the pot. They fell silent.

In the live broadcast, the comments exploded with laughter.

Jiang Tian looked at the fish closest to him.

He wasn’t sure whether to still call it fish.

It was a waste of time catching a basket of fish and carefully cleaning them.

Had he known it would turn out like this, he might as well have eaten sushi.

Yan An glanced at the dishes, noticing no one had touched their chopsticks. She propped her chin and asked, “Aren’t you going to try and see how it tastes?”

Liang Baiyu was the first to speak up. “I’m on a diet, not hungry.”

He had wisely eaten his own bread earlier in the room.

Ji Lan’s face darkened, but knowing this wasn’t Yan An’s fault, he set his chopsticks down without saying anything.

Wen Yang wore a polite smile and said to Yan An, “Aren’t you going to try it yourself?”

Yan An shook her head. “I don’t eat it.”

She had no real interest in human food. She preferred drinking water, basking in the sun, and occasionally eating a lollipop.

Back when she was married, when Qi Yan cooked, she would eat a little to please him.

But it wasn’t very tasty, so she didn’t want to try it now.

Qi Yan remained silent and instinctively glanced at the director.

The director cleared his throat and waved his hand.

Soon, staff members brought in dishes from outside, all beautifully presented and fragrant.

“Since today is the first day everyone is in the village, the villagers have prepared dinner for you.”

Hearing this, the guests, now hungry, sighed with relief.

Yan An’s dark culinary creations were quickly taken away and replaced with mouthwatering dishes.

She felt a little disheartened but took her cooking, placed it in a bowl, and offered it to the big rooster.

The rooster excitedly walked over, lowering its neck and pecking at the food.

But soon, it stopped pecking, letting out a frightened “ooh ooh ooh” cry, flapping its wings as it quickly backed away from the bowl, its neck jerking as though it were trying to spit out whatever it had eaten.

Yan An sighed.

It seemed her cooking really wasn’t up to par.

Her back, as she squatted in front of the rooster, appeared rather lonely, while the others at the table continued eating without offering any comfort.

Ji Lan didn’t particularly like Yan An, and Wen Yang, due to her connection with Qi Yan, had developed a certain distaste for her.

Liang Baiyu and Qi Yan had both known Yan An as a friend and a wife, respectively, and were aware that she wasn’t much of an eater.

Jiang Tian didn’t know any of this. He felt a little guilty, so he put down his bowl and went over to her. “Yan An, come eat. It’s your first time cooking today, so it’s perfectly normal. I can’t cook either.”

Yan An looked up, her expression not showing much sadness. Instead, she asked, “You can’t cook either?”

Jiang Tian nodded. “Nope.”

Yan An looked at him with sympathy. “Looks like you’ll be the one cooking tomorrow.”

The show’s format was always like this. The more clueless you were about something, the more likely they’d make you do it.

Jiang Tian immediately understood and looked warily at the production team.

The directors all nervously avoided his gaze.

Yan An gave Jiang Tian’s shoulder a comforting pat and, with a knowing smile, said, “Don’t worry, if you can’t cook tomorrow, you can ask me.”

Jiang Tian: “…”

The viewers online: Are you sure about that?

Jiang Tian quickly changed the subject. “Yan An, let’s go eat first.”

Yan An was about to refuse when Liang Baiyu, holding a bowl of rice, turned to her with a subtle message only the two of them would understand. “Come eat something.”

Before the recording began, Liang Baiyu had told her that since she was filming a show, she needed to blend in and act like a normal person.

People need to eat, after all.

Yan An stood up. “Alright.”

She returned to the table, picked up her chopsticks, and carelessly grabbed a piece of leafy green, stuffing it into her mouth like she was swallowing medicine.

In her memory, human food had never been all that good, but she had no choice. She needed to make money.

But as she chewed, Yan An realized something was off.

What’s going on? This actually tastes pretty good.

She touched her hair in disbelief and, as if defying fate, grabbed a piece of stir-fried pork, cautiously placing it into her mouth.

It was spicy, but the flavor was really good!

She looked across at Qi Yan in astonishment.

So, was it her misunderstanding all along? She had always thought human food tasted bad, especially since her first taste of human cooking was from Qi Yan.

But now, it seemed that it was his cooking that was the problem.