The Game of Life

Not getting a response from Ji Yue, Jiang Feng could only ask Wu Minqi. Wu Minqi replied with “Wait a moment” and then there was no further word Jiang Feng waited for over ten minutes, staring at his phone without receiving reply. Feeling embarrassed to urge her, he decided to let the matter go for now and continued happily watching TV.

“Do you think just because you have money you can do whatever you want? Do you think because you’re rich you can easily control everything about me? You have so much money, but are you happy?” The female protagonist yelled heart-wrenchingly in the night rain before finally kneeling by the roadside and crying bitterly.

Jiang Feng felt no inner turmoil, he even somewhat envied the happiness of the wealthy.

Do you think this is the happiness of the wealthy?

No, you can¹1 even begin to imagine the joys of being rich.

The more he watched the more he felt the drama was pointless. It lost its original silliness and became increasingly melodramatic.

A silly drama without its silliness is like mapo tofu without Sichuan pepper or beef noodles without beef – the former lacks soul and the latter deceives the consumer.

Jiang Feng now felt as though he was the consumer who’d been deceived, even though he hadn’t spent a cent since the VIP account was Wu Minqi’s and he was merely using another consumer’s account. But this did not stop Jiang Feng from giving the drama two stars using Wu Minqi’s account before closing the webpage angrily.

Picking up his phone, Jiang Feng wanted to have a good rant with Ji Yue about the bizarre recent episodes, when he saw the message Wu Minqi had sent a few minutes ago.

It was just one message, but very long, probably about a thousand words, detailing various skincare application techniques and usage times, along with allergic symptoms. Jiang Feng painstakingly read through it for a good seven or eight minutes.

I get it!

Jiang Feng had an epiphany. So, skincare is about doing this and that, then that and this and that again!

He glanced at the row of skincare products on the table.

Forget it. I might as well just slap it on randomly. After all, it’s all going on mv face.                                ^y

Jiang Feng checked the game panel, which was still at 99.8%. It seemed like the last 0.2% would take an eternity to update.

With nothing better to do, Jiang Feng continued browsing the official forum of Good Taste to see if there was any juicy gossip to devour.

And indeed, he stumbled upon a huge scandal concerning the only judge announced by the organizers so far, Tong Deyan.

According to the organizers, Tong Deyan is the head chef of Zhengde Building m Beiping, a well-known chef in the city, 47 years old, skilled in Shandong cuisine, Beijing-style cuisine, Tan Family Cuisine, and imperial cuisine. Zhengde Building is a famous establishment, and Tong Deyan, being its head chef, was definitely qualified to be a judge.

But now, someone on the official forum had dug up Tong Deyan’s past, claiming he started as an assistant chef in a restaurant in Magic City and was driven out by his mentor for dishonest behavior.

A professional judge of Good Taste who used to be a thief – what explosive news, what a colossal piece of gossip. The post had been up for less than two hours and had already climbed to over a thousand comments.

Then, a series of unrelated smaller scandals-some having nothing to do with Tong Deyan—also surfaced, such as claims that he suppressed his colleagues while at Zhengde Building, that he had an explosive temper, and even publicly scolded customers. Others declared it was all fabricated rumors meant to smear the Good Taste culinary competition.

People began to question the professionalism of the official Good Taste culinary competition, with a mix of bystanders, paid posters, haters, haters posing as bystanders, and paid posters posing as bystanders, all showing their skills and creating a chaotic mess under the post, providing quite a spectacle. The fire even spread to the contestants themselves, and Jiang Feng saw a post where someone claimed with conviction as if they had seen it with their own eyes that Ji Xue from Guangdong Province was not clean either – that as a teenager working as a kitchen hand, she was also fired for stealing.

After browsing the forum, finding half the posts swooning over Zhang Guanghang’s looks and digressing into arguments, and the other half simply starting off with arguments, becoming more and more fierce, Jiang Feng found it all quite dull. He was about to switch to a different forum to check if Wang Hao had updated when his phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, may I speak with contestant Jiang Feng? I am a staff member of the Good Taste culinary competition.” The staff member’s voice had such a child­like tone that Jiang Feng almost threw his phone in fright.

“Speaking.”

“It’⁵

hke this, since the top 32 competition will start at 8 o’clock tomorrow evening and will be live broadcasted by the provincial station, we need you to arrive at the station before 4 p.m. for pre-competition preparations. As the competition will be broadcasted live, our staff will explain some matters you need to pay attention to beforehand. If you are unable to arrive on time, we will regretfully have to inform you that your competition eligibility will be cancelled.”

“Because it’s a live broadcast, there will also be an audience which might cause some disturbances during your competition. Please make sure to overcome these challenges. Each contestant has 5 tickets, which we believe you’ve already received, so you can invite your friends and family to watch.”

‘Do you have any other questions?”

Jiang Feng:…

Are you from Taiwan?

Why is your Taiwanese accent so perfect?

“I don’t have any tickets on hand right now, how can I invite them?”

“You don’t have the tickets? Oh, that might be because our staff made a mistake on the day we shot the VCR. They forgot to give the tickets to you, and we’re truly sorry for that. May I ask where you are right now? Our staff can deliver the tickets to you right away.”

Jiang Feng:…

“Just send it to the publicity office at UAL University and let me know. I will go and collect them. By the way, does your ticket mention the time of the competition?”

“Of course it does.”

Jiang Feng:…

So it turns out, among the top 32 in the nation, everyone except him knew the competition was tomorrow.

Only he was blissfully unaware, happily watching TV the day before the competition.

Do you have any other questions?”

“No, that’s all.”

“All right then, I’ll wish you success in advance with your competition, and I apologize again for our staff’s oversight. We’ll make sure the tickets are delivered to you before tonight.”

“Thank… Thank you.”

He’d been slacking off for several days, but it was fine, no big deal, because he igured he probably wouldn’t win the championship anyway. Jiang Feng gave himself a good mental pep talk and started studying skin care products.

The competition was tomorrow, and it was going to be televised live, so naturally, he should be somewhat formal. Jiang Feng opened WeChat, scrolled to the long list of skincare tips Wu Minqi had sent him, and began to study Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s skincare products one by one.

“First use the facial cleanser, then pat on the toner, apply a face mask for 15-20 minutes, after removing the mask… it’s best not to use masks that contain alcohol? They put that stuff in masks?” Jiang Feng muttered, taking out a face mask and beginning to read the ingredients list.

Water-Galactomyces ferment filtrate (from cow’s milk)-BG…

I’m sorry to interrupt.

Around five in the afternoon, the capable staff from the Good Taste Cooking Competition had already delivered the tickets. Jiang Feng gave one to Wang Hao and was going to give one to Ji Yue, but Ji Yue told him that Wu Minqi had given her one a few days ago, and Liu Qian had hers too, sent by some streaming service. The remaining four tickets were just enough for Jiang Jiankang, Wang Xiulian, and the two Sirs.

After distributing the tickets, Jiang Feng went to the airport to pick up Jiang Jiankang and Wang Xiulian. Mrs. Wang Xiulian could say she hit the jackpot this time, going with one suitcase and coming back with three, effectively blowing Jiang Jiankang’s long-hidden stash of money.

“Son, son, don’t you think I look dashing in this outfit? Your mom bought it for me!” Jiang Jiankang did a full 360-degree turn to show off his new clothes to Jiang Feng without a blind spot.

Even in the 8 degrees chilly night, accompanied by a gentle breeze, Jiang Jiankang didn’t feel the slightest cold. Just thinking that Mrs. Wang Xiulian had specifically picked out this shirt for him after comparing two made him feel warm inside.

Jiang Feng couldn’t bring himself to remind him that Mrs. Wang Xiulian had spent his secret savings on it.

“Looks great, looks great.” Jiang Feng replied indifferently as he went to get the suitcases, one in each hand, “Mom, did you buy this suitcase in Hong Kong City too?”   ^{5 B}

“Yes, it was 50% off, such a bargain, and it even comes with a custom lock!” Wang Xiulian said.

“Oh, by the way, dad, mom, the top 32 competition is tomorrow evening. I have four more tickets, which have the studio address and start time on them. Each of you take one, and the other two are for Grandpa and Granduncle Weiming. I ve already spoken to them about it, remember to go tomorrow,” Jiang Feng said.   ⁵

“Which row are they in?” Wang Xiulian asked.

“Second row, you’ll have a clear view.”

“Great, do you have the tickets with you? Give them to me first.” WangXiulian said.

The tickets were right in the pocket of Jiang Feng’s jacket. He took them out and handed them to Wang Xiulian, who happily received them, took out her phone, and clicked a photo to send to her elementary school friends group. “Do you guys know about the Good Taste Cooking Competition? My son has made it to the top 32, and I’ve got tickets! Second row, so close, we’ll have a crystal-clear view when the time comes!” Wang Xiulian began to send voice messages.

Jiang Feng:…

Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s fake Magic City accent was quite convincing. Those years of watching dramas truly weren’t in vain.