29: Chapter 29 The Mystery of the Grand Prize

Dinner proceeded in a subtle atmosphere.

Lu Li was the only one at the table truly chowing down.

The bowl in front of him had been piled with rice three times; he had polished off more than half of the stir-fried yellow beef, and the mapo tofu had also reached the bottom.

As for the dishes made by the others... he didn't even reach out with his chopsticks. It wasn't that he was picky; it was truly because those dishes...

To put it bluntly, was that something humans could eat?

Xu Hao was quite enthusiastic, carrying the clay pot around and pitching it everywhere.

"Come, come, come, try my braised beef with potatoes. Although its appearance is mediocre, the taste is definitely alright!"

Lin Mo symbolically picked up a piece of potato, put it in his mouth, and chewed. Although the taste was good, for some reason, he subconsciously thought of that dish of Nine-Turn Intestines...

"Mhm... The potatoes are quite delicious."

Xu Hao's eyes lit up and he said, "Right? Right? Let me tell you, the essence of my dish lies in the potatoes; they've been stewed until the flavor is deeply absorbed!"

"Uh, it's just a bit salty," Lin Mo added.

Xu Hao's smile froze.

Lin Yu hurriedly chimed in from the side to smooth things over, "If it's salty, just eat it with rice. It doesn't matter."

Lin Mo glanced at her, said nothing, and silently shoveled a mouthful of rice.

Forget it, he couldn't possibly go to bed hungry tonight, could he? Salty was salty; at least it was edible, and anyway, it tasted better than the stir-fried tomatoes with eggs he and Chen Wenwen had cobbled together.

On the other side, Su Qing was cautiously tasting her own creation: the charred ProMax version of stir-fried onions with eggs.

She picked up a small piece, put it in her mouth, chewed twice, and her expression became subtle.

"Did... did I put too much salt? Why is there a bitter taste?"

Zhou Yichen, sitting next to her, also picked up a piece upon hearing this, chewed, and then his expression instantly froze.

But he quickly adjusted, swallowed, picked up his water cup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "It's not bad, just right to eat with rice."

Su Qing looked at him, her eye sockets turning slightly red.

"Yichen, your hand is injured and yet you still care so much about my feelings..."

Zhou Yichen's mouth twitched, his tone gentle.

"It's only right."

The livestream comment section instantly went crazy with laughter.

[What the hell do you mean the bitter taste is from too much salt? You're framing the salt!!!]

[Just right to eat with rice, are you sure you can swallow that?]

[What is there for Su Qing to be touched about? He's just being polite.]

[What do you guys know! This is Brother's high emotional intelligence, okay?]

[High emotional intelligence? I think it's good acting skills.]

[Where are Su Qing's fans? Your dear sister is being gaslit and you're still helping them count the money?]

The chat was arguing in a mess, but the atmosphere at the scene was getting increasingly harmonious, at least on the surface.

Director Zhou sat behind the monitor, looking at the scene before him, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.

Although today's recording process had some twists and turns, the effect definitely exceeded expectations.

Especially Lu Li's song little dimples, just this one song was enough for the Program Team to trend on hot searches for three days.

And that segment where Zhou Yichen cut his finger—the popularity was truly high. Although the process was a bit outrageous, logically speaking, it should belong to black-red infamy...

But whatever, infamy is still fame.

As for Shen Qingxue... Mhm, the National Goddess was just that awesome; just standing there generated traffic.

...

The meal lasted for nearly half an hour.

Lu Li put down his chopsticks and let out a satisfied sigh.

Comfortable.

It had been a long time since he had eaten this satisfyingly.

Shen Qingxue sat opposite him, leisurely drinking water, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over him.

"Full?"

Lu Li nodded.

"Full. The dishes you made are really good."

Shen Qingxue didn't speak, but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, unsure whether it was a smile or something else.

The staff began to clean up the dining table, the sound of bowls and chopsticks clashing echoing throughout the dining room.

Director Zhou stood up holding a megaphone and cleared his throat.

"Alright, alright, everyone has pretty much eaten their fill, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then next, I will announce the mysterious grand gift for tonight's dinner segment."

Hearing this, everyone's attention converged.

Especially Xu Hao and Lin Yu; both of their eyes lit up.

Although they only took third place, what if the mysterious grand prize was for everyone?

Director Zhou intentionally kept them in suspense, his gaze sweeping across everyone present before slowly opening his mouth.

"This mysterious grand gift is..."

He paused.

"A single-date privilege!"

As soon as Director Zhou's voice fell, the dining room fell silent for a moment.

Xu Hao was the first one who couldn't hold back, raising his hand.

"Director Zhou, what on earth is this single-date privilege...? Haven't we already formed a CP combination?"

Director Zhou glanced at him, the corners of his mouth hooking into a meaningful smile.

"Well asked."

He deliberately paused, his gaze sweeping across every guest present before slowly speaking.

"The so-called single-date privilege is..."

Director Zhou dragged out his tone.

"The holder can use it on any guest! They get the opportunity to spend ten minutes alone with that guest. Of course, the holder can also choose to forfeit its use."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the dining room instantly turned subtle.

Lin Yu's eyes lit up, subconsciously looking at Xu Hao, then quickly looking away, as if calculating something.

Chen Wenwen pressed her lips together, her expression thoughtful.

Lin Mo didn't have much of a reaction, maintaining that calm and composed look, but his hand holding the water cup paused slightly.

Su Qing subconsciously glanced at Zhou Yichen, then quickly lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

The livestream comment section instantly exploded.

[Holy shit? Any guest? Hehehe... Doesn't that mean they can... cross-group date???]

[Holy shit! That's wild!]

[Thrilling, thrilling, thrilling, I love this rule.]

[In other words, if Zhou Yichen gets this dating privilege, he can directly spend ten minutes alone with Shen Qingxue???]

[Hahahahaha wouldn't Su Qing cry to death]

[Wait, what's the point of the CP pairings then?]

[The Program Team really knows how to stir things up.]

[I knew it, which dating show locks in the CPs right from the start? What's the point of watching then?]

[Fight, fight, I want to see a Shura field!]

The comments scrolled past at lightning speed, while the atmosphere at the scene became increasingly subtle.

Zhou Yichen sat in his chair, fingers gently tapping on the table, his expression looking light and breezy.

But his gaze couldn't help glancing over toward Shen Qingxue, his Adam's apple swallowing slightly.

This rule was practically tailor-made for him.

He had obtained tomorrow's single-date privilege, and Shen Qingxue... Heh, wasn't this a god-given opportunity?

Xu Hao scratched his head and asked another question.

"Director Zhou, there's another question."

"Speak."

"Didn't we already form CPs? How can we still..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood the meaning.

They had already successfully paired up, how could they still snatch someone else's partner? Wouldn't that throw everything into chaos?

Director Zhou glanced at him, his smile deepening.

"This question is also very well asked."

He cleared his throat, his voice coming out of the megaphone with a hint of cunning.

"I want to solemnly tell everyone, as long as the show hasn't ended, anyone's CP combination can be replaced at any time!"