First Military Academy.
As soon as Yan Yifei stepped out of his flying car, he spotted someone squatting at the entrance of his dorm villa. He didn’t even need to look closely to know it was Gao Haiyang.
"Yo, Captain, did you enjoy feasting on my misery? Were you happy with your meal?" Gao Haiyang spat out resentfully, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he gnashed his teeth.
Yan Yifei tapped his chin with his index finger, feigning deep thought before twisting the knife. "Well, didn’t you see it all in the livestream? I was quite happy with my meal. Tsk, tsk. It was truly an unforgettable aftertaste. I’m still craving more."
Gao Haiyang was speechless. He had actually thought this guy would feel at least a shred of guilt. He had thought too much.
Yan Yifei scoffed. "That expression... are you thinking about hitting me? Too bad you can’t even beat a single one of my fingers. You can only dream about it in your head. You’d better just wash up and go to sleep. Stop dwelling on this nonsense." Shaking his head, he walked back into his room.
Leaving Gao Haiyang all alone to bear the weight of his suffering.
The moment Gan Lan stepped into the classroom, she noticed the atmosphere was a bit off. Although she had long guessed that Zhao Mengru would pull some kind of stunt, Gan Lan didn’t care. Someone with nothing to lose had nothing to fear; it wasn’t a big deal.
"Oh, our department’s number one is here! Everyone, a round of applause, please."
"Pfft, you mean the department’s dead last. She’s been strutting around these past few days. If you didn’t know better, you’d think she had flown up a branch and turned into a Phoenix!"
"Her complexion does look a lot rosier. Eating well and dressing well, even the stench of poverty on her has faded a bit!"
Gan Lan listened with a sense of helplessness. It was the same few lines over and over again. She was sick of hearing it and wondered if they could come up with something fresh. She thought this, and then accidentally spoke it aloud.
"You! Don’t push your luck! Mind your status. Don’t touch people you shouldn’t touch. You’re not worthy!" Zhao Mengru had been listening from the sidelines, and upon hearing Gan Lan’s muttered complaint, she couldn’t help but issue a warning.
Gan Lan was left speechless, finding Zhao Mengru’s warning completely inexplicable.
It wasn’t until the lecturer walked in that Gan Lan found out exactly what Zhao Mengru had done to deal with her.
The moment the lecturer entered the classroom, he slammed a stack of documents onto the podium. With a stern face and an angry tone, he announced, "Today, I received a report from Zhao Mengru. She claims that a student in our class has stolen the recipes she worked so hard to develop."
The quiet classroom suddenly erupted into an uproar. The students below gossiped all at once about who it could be, yet their eyes subconsciously drifted toward Gan Lan.
Zhao Mengru felt secretly smug. This lecturer’s family was affiliated with hers. When she brought it up, the lecturer had agreed without a second thought. After all, the target was just someone from a poverty star—a trivial matter.
The lecturer propped both hands on the podium, staring at Gan Lan with a contemptuous gaze, as if looking at a piece of trash. "So, Gan Lan, why did you steal the new recipes that Zhao Mengru developed?"
Gan Lan sat up straight, her gaze fixed forward. Ignoring the knowing, scornful, and disdainful looks from her classmates, she calmly watched the teacher’s performance on stage.
Hearing the word "steal" didn’t even cause a ripple on her face. She reflected that this teacher was usually upright, serious, approachable, and highly knowledgeable. She had never expected him to collude with a student. It seemed that even in a different era, not all teachers were inherently good; there would always be a few willing to ruin their students.
Snapping back to reality, Gan Lan spoke indifferently. "Sir, do you have any evidence to prove that I stole Zhao Mengru’s recipes? Are you trying to convict me based on just a few words?"
The lecturer took the stack of documents he had slammed onto the podium earlier and distributed them one by one. "I’m passing out the evidence to all of you now. Take a good look, everyone. These are the recipes that Zhao Mengru developed."
Gan Lan glanced at the recipes printed on the paper. They were all items currently sold at her barbecue stall. They only listed the names of the dishes, while the ingredients and seasonings were only partially listed, allegedly to prevent others from stealing the methods. And the half that was listed consisted of obvious things like salt, sugar, soy sauce, and chili.
Gan Lan was speechless. She thought to herself that this move was incredibly bold.
The whispers around her grew louder, and the disdainful glares became completely blatant.
The classroom was too noisy, so Gan Lan had to raise her voice. "Sir, I demand a live, simultaneous cooking demonstration alongside Zhao Mengru! Furthermore, I want to invite another instructor to serve as a judge!"
The lecturer was standing smugly by the podium. Upon hearing Gan Lan’s demand, he subconsciously looked at Zhao Mengru, muttering in his heart. After all, this person from a poverty star seemed to have an unusual relationship with Ye Lanyu. However, after receiving a confirming look from Zhao Mengru, he knew what to do.
He replied with disdain, "Fine, we’ll do as you say." He figured someone from a poverty star couldn’t stir up much trouble anyway. Besides, Ye Lanyu probably wouldn’t step up to back someone like her.
The food Gan Lan made wasn’t actually difficult. With a bit of experimentation and some gathered data, reproducing it was practically a sure thing.
Zhao Mengru was very confident in her own culinary skills. She intended to mercilessly trample Gan Lan underfoot right on the spot, ensuring she could never turn her life around. The stain of stealing recipes would follow Gan Lan for the rest of her life, impossible to wash away.
Zhao Mengru smiled smugly. She wanted to blow this completely out of proportion. It would be best if the entire school found out—would the academy still keep someone like that? She felt as if she had already foreseen Gan Lan’s miserable end.
Proud and brimming with confidence, Zhao Mengru declared, "Sir, I demand that the live demonstration be held in front of the entire Culinary Department! Not only should the teachers judge, but we should also let the Culinary Department students vote!"
The lecturer nodded. "Very well. Then the live demonstration will take place tomorrow at the Culinary Department’s Exchange Area Assembly Square. Bring your own ingredients."
School Forum, Culinary Department Board.
Campus Broadcast: [Today, a report was received from freshman Class 1 of the Culinary Department. Student Zhao Mengru has reported her classmate, Gan Lan, for stealing her newly developed recipes. To ensure fairness, a live demonstration will be held tomorrow at exactly 12:00 PM at the Culinary Department’s Exchange Area Assembly Square. We encourage all Culinary Department students to attend and watch. Every student present will be granted one vote, which equals one point! Furthermore, five teachers have been invited to serve as judges. A judge’s vote is equivalent to ten points.]
MelonEater: [Holy roast! Is it really this explosive?!]
NamingIsTooHard: [I think I smell a conspiracy.]
ComingTomorrow: [If it was really theft, would she be this blatant about it?]
Immortal Barbecue: [You can do it, junior Gan Lan! Crush all these conspiracies and tricks! I believe in you!]
TrashGanLan: [Thief! Get out of the school!]
BugGanLan: [Exactly! Only someone from a poverty star would do something so classless! Trash! Just expel her directly, what’s the point of a competition?!]
Gan Lan dialed Professor Ye’s comms and asked cautiously, "Professor, are you free tomorrow at noon? I’d like to invite you to be a judge for tomorrow’s competition."
"What competition?" Ye Lanyu asked.
"It’s a long story. Professor, you can take a look at the campus broadcast on the forum," Gan Lan replied.
Gan Lan waited for a moment. When Ye Lanyu didn’t reply, she assumed the professor was checking the broadcast. A short while later, a calm voice came through the comms. "Alright." Just before the call disconnected, she heard one last sentence: "Do your best."
Gan Lan smiled, her heart warmed. Professor Ye’s bark was indeed worse than her bite. She was clearly such a gentle person, yet she went around every day wearing the stern face of a disciplinarian.
After logging onto the Star Network to buy the ingredients needed for tomorrow, Gan Lan decided to prepare the materials for an additional dish just in case.
What should she bring? She figured she should stick to barbecue, considering she got her start by grilling lamb skewers.
She selected a six or seven catties suckling pig and bought all the necessary seasonings and spices, planning to make a roasted suckling pig.
Although in her past life, charcoal-roasted suckling pig tasted the best, the roasting time was too long. She guessed the audience during the competition wouldn’t have the patience for it. Therefore, she could only use the specialized futuristic oven! The taste should still be pretty good.