The Game of Life

On the morning of the 31st, Jiang Feng woke up early.

After a thorough routine of washing his face, brushing his teeth, and applying skincare, he slipped into last year’s Versace shirt, coat, pants, and knock-off sneakers that looked like a 668-yuan pair but actually cost just 68 yuan. Jiang Feng looked at himself in the spotty, low-definition mirror of the bathroom and actually felt that he was glowing, like a movie star from a skincare ad.

Jiang Feng even had the illusion that he was about to debut that day.

SK—II!

Jiang Feng made a mental note of this beauty salon’s name, deciding to look it up on Taobao when he had the chance and buy a set for his secret use.

As soon as he stepped out of the dormitory building, a breeze blew past, making Jiang Feng shiver slightly.

What a bustling wind today.

The provincial station was actually quite close to UAL University, just a subway transfer and a total of four stops away. Jiang Feng, carrying his skincare products, headed to Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant to grab breakfast before going to the station, but he discovered that the door was still closed upon arrival.

The promotional board was placed outside the entrance. On it was Jiang Jiankang’s scrawled handwriting:

The owner is away for a week due to personal matters; business is temporarily suspended.

Jiang Feng: ???

Master Huang from the noodle shop across the street was making noodles at the entrance, so Jiang Feng went over to ask him.

“Master Huang, do you know where my parents went?” Jiang Feng asked.

“Oh, Feng, you didn’t go with your parents? They’ve gone to Hong Kong for a trip! They left early today, just after five in the morning. I ran into them when I just opened up. Your dad said they were catching a flight. Your dad is quite a character, heading on a vacation but with a long face,” Master Huang said.

Jiang Feng had a sinking feeling that something was wrong and took out his phone to search what exactly SK-II was.

Face masks from an ex-boyfriend, miracle water, big red bottles…

Familiar names, familiar appearances, familiar images followed by unfamiliar prices.

In that moment, Jiang Feng understood.

Jiang Jiankang’s secret stash… was gone!

Jiang Feng caressed his face and realized that he had thought the most valuable thing on him was the pants he was wearing, but it turned out to be his handsome face with a touch of dashing charm.

Since it was just past seven and there was plenty of time, Jiang Feng said to Master Huang, “Master Huang, a large bowl of beef noodles, please. No chili, but extra green onions.”

“Sure thing!” Master Huang replied cheerfully.

Jiang Feng opened the shop door and took the expensive skincare set that belonged to Wang Xiulian upstairs. This little bag was worth tens of thousands, and any damage might incur the wrath of Mrs. Wang Xiulian, who might then serve him a hefty slap he’d rather avoid.

Master Huang had been making noodles for over twenty years—ordinary in taste but firm in texture, his noodle-making skills well surpassed that of Jiang Jiankang.

Jiang Feng’s beef noodles were a special order, with four thick slices of seasoned beef, heaps of green onion, and a spoonful of sauce—slurp by slurp the large bowl of beef noodles was gone.

After belching contently, redolent with the taste of seasoned beef, Jiang Feng set off for the provincial station.

Alan City, as a provincial capital, had property prices that were skyrocketing, leaving the provincial station relegated to the more remote suburbs; they dared not even dream of building it in a slightly more bustling area. As Jiang Feng exited the subway station, he saw the TV station building. He asked at the front desk and indeed found the staff of the Good Taste Culinary Competition by an elevator entrance to the left.

A lady wearing a suit, her work badge still hanging around her neck, was slacking off and playing with her phone.

“Hello,” Jiang Feng stepped forward to greet her.

“Hello, may I ask… Mr. Jiang Feng, right?” The professionalism of the staff lady was quite high; she recognized Jiang Feng at a glance. She subconsciously glanced at her phone and smiled professionally, “The previous contestant went up just 6 minutes ago, so you might need to wait a while. I hope you don’t mind. The 7th floor, turn right out of the elevator, it’s the second room.”

“Okay, thank you.” Jiang Feng knew he was early. It was not even 9 o’clock yet, still over half an hour away from the time he was told on the phone yesterday.

The staff lady pressed the elevator button for Jiang Feng and nodded with a smile, “I wish you a pleasant life.”

Jiang Feng:…

Could this lady have been a telephone customer service representative?

Following her directions, Jiang Feng easily found the room for filming the VCR. Inside the small studio, there was also a small makeup room. The staff brought Jiang Feng a cup of water to wait because the previous contestant was still getting their makeup done. Holding the cup of water, Jiang Feng didn’t sit down but wandered around, curiously inspecting the small studio. The decor was simple; the walls were just casually painted, there was a green screen, and only one camera, but there were quite a few staff members around. Jiang Feng also took a sneak peek at the makeup room—it was quite small, and he could only see the back of the contestant sitting there, who seemed to be a woman.

“Excuse me, contestant, could you please move aside? You’re blocking the camera,” said the staff member who had just given Jiang Feng water.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Jiang Feng retreated to a corner.

Perhaps because the girl inside was ready to start shooting, everyone outside started to bustle about. The same staff member found Jiang Feng in the corner, wiping sweat from her face, and said, “Contestant Jiang Feng, why don’t you get your makeup done now? That way, we can start shooting as soon as possible without any delay.”

“Okay.” Jiang Feng, with his cup of water, entered the makeup room.

The makeup artist was a woman who looked to be in her thirties, sitting with her legs cross, engrossed in her phone. The staff pushed Jiang Feng in front of her and said, “Zhao, the next contestant is here; give him a makeup session first.”

And hurriedly left.

Zhao put down her phone and signaled for Jiang Feng to sit down, examining his face.

“Did you especially take care of your skin this morning before leaving? You’re doing better than that girl just now. She hadn’t applied anything on her face, and even when told to wash her face with cleanser, she didn’t do it properly. Here, close your eyes,” Zhao said.

Jiang Feng obediently closed his eyes and let Zhao do her work on his face.

A few minutes later, Zhao said, “There, take a look. I’ve just applied a foundation for you—not too heavy. Your lip color is fine; you don’t need lipstick. What do you think?”

Jiang Feng couldn’t have any opinions. Other than the makeup he got during a school performance in elementary school, where he was painted like a face from a New Year picture, this was only his second time wearing makeup. He looked in the mirror and felt just a bit paler, a bit brighter, not much different from before.

“It looks good, thank you, Zhao,” Jiang Feng said. He took his cup of water and went to find a corner to stay in and observe how the previous contestant shot the VCR.

Jiang Feng thought the girl standing in front of the green screen looked familiar and, after thinking for a bit, remembered she seemed to be Ji Xue from Guangdong Province, two years younger than himself, with sharp and efficient short hair, and an expressionless face. He wasn’t sure if this was her usual demeanor or if she was just too nervous in front of the camera.

“Okay, the lighting is fine. Now, Ji Xue, look at the camera. Good, that’s the angle. Don’t be nervous, smile a little. Don’t be afraid, the photographer will capture your best shots. Relax your expression a bit, yes, a bit more natural. Alright, we can start,” the director announced the beginning.

“My name is Ji Xue, I’m 19 years old, from Guangdong Province.” Ji Xue looked into the camera with not too much expression and paused.

Jiang Feng casually snacked on seeds and started to drink water.

“I’m not here for the championship this time; I’m just looking for a high-tech job related to cooking, with a monthly salary over 20,000, meals and accommodations included, and I’m available to work more than 12 hours a day,” Ji Xue glanced at the director and said, “I’m done.”

Jiang Feng nearly choked to death on a sip of water.

What a showstopper this girl was!