The Game of Life

The club’s evening farewell dinner featured all the hot dishes personally cooked by Jiang Feng.

With over 30 members in the Chess Club, excluding a few who couldn’t make it, there were a total of 27 people present. Two large round tables were packed full. Jiang Feng had prepared all afternoon, getting a taste of what it’s like to be a head chef at a restaurant.

The mam dish was eight-treasure porridge, with a pot for each table, brimming to the top. Because of the unpredictable factor that was Liu Qian, Jiang Feng even specially simmered an extra pot in the back kitchen, ensuring there would be no issue with not having enough to eat.

There were four cold dishes: a pickled vegetable platter, tiger skin peanuts, cold kelp strips, and smashed cucumbers.

The eight hot dishes were respectively: chives scrambled with eggs, vermicelli with roast meat, “three-fresh” from the earth (a combination of potato, pepper, and eggplant), Kung Pao chicken, eight-treasure chicken, eight­treasure tofu, caramelized sweet potatoes, and eel stewed with tofu.

The Sweet and Sour Yam had to be eaten hot, so Jiang Feng waited for everyone to arrive before heading to the kitchen to make this dish. After all, it was a farewell meal, and it was only right to put in serious effort. Since confirming his relationship with Wu Minqi, Jiang Feng hadn’t made this “dog-food” dish again-now was the time to let the members of the Chess Club taste the flavor of love.

Especially for someone like Qiu Chen, who hadn’t managed to escape singlehood in three years.

The pickled vegetables in the platter included some from the neighboring marinated food shop, but the majority were brought by Wu Hanxue from Shu- cnsp and delicious. They made a satisfying crunch when bitten into, the perfect match for porridge.

A small plate of pickles made the adjacent cold kelp strips seem dull and colorless by comparison.

Eight-treasure chicken, eight-treasure tofu, and Sweet and Sour Yam were dishes Jiang Feng had made during the competition. Although Jiang Feng, the club president, didn’t interact much with the members and was usually too busy honing his culinary skills to chat in the group, he was still the president of the Chess Club. His and Wu Minqi’s battles through the Good Taste cooking competition, overcoming every challenge, had given their fellow club members bragging rights when they went out, and everyone had been following the competition.

The dishes on the table were a feast for the eyes and the palate. While Jiang Feng was still m the back kitchen making the Sweet and Sour Yam, everyone stared at the dishes on the table, saliva filling their mouths without picking up their chopsticks, waiting for the ‘main character’ to appear before they could start eating.

“Isn’t this chicken the same one that the president made during the competition? The one where once you cut into it, tons of ingredients would tumble out?” A nameless, low-ranking club member asked curiously.

“Yep, that’s the one, I think it’s called eight-treasure chicken. The president made it during the competition. Didn’t you just watch the variety show the other week? Do you watch it too?” Another nameless, low-ranking member joined the conversation.

“Of course, I watch it. We’ve got to watch the variety show where our president and Wu Minqi appeared!”

“I watched it too; Zhang Guanghang is really handsome!”

“Yes, he’s so handsome. Oh my god, a true male god!”

“How can someone be so good-looking!”

“The way he cooks… oh, my god, I’ve already changed my phone wallpaper to his picture!”

“I changed it too, I changed it too! Which picture are you using? Share it, please. A couple of days ago, I found a casual photo of him in a shirt-my god, such a face, he’s literally divine!”

‘You mean the one on Weibo? I saw that one too!”

“I previously…”

By the time Jiang Feng came upstairs with two plates of Sweet and Sour Yam, he heard them discussing how handsome Zhang Guanghang was.

Jiang Feng: ???

Hold on, big bro, although I don’t know your name, you’re a guy, aren’t you? Why are you discussing how handsome Zhang Guanghang is with a bunch of girls?

The Sweet and Sour Yam should be eaten hot. Before you eat, dip it in some cool boiled water to avoid burning your mouth,” Jiang Feng reminded them as he placed the Sweet and Sour Yam on the table.

“Thank you for your hard work, President!” a girl sweetly said.

“Yes, yes, the president worked so hard!” the rest echoed.

Eating is the most important thing of all; bootlicking and dog-licking behavior should be saved for after the meal.

The dog-food Sweet and Sour Yam, sweet to the heart and soul.

As a lovestruck young man freshly promoted to the ranks of coupled “dogs,” Wang Hao found eating this dish particularly moving, even reminiscing about his first love-the girl who fattened him up with her own hands and then dumped him for being overweight.

Zhenzhen is so much better!

Wang Hao thought to himself, quickly snatching another bite of Sweet and Sour Yam with his chopsticks.

Compared to the boys who could only laugh foolishly, the girls were a bit more sentimental, able to reminisce not only about their first love boyfriends but also about the boys they once had crushes on. Even without a first love boyfriend, they could dream up one in their fantasies.

For a while, both round tables were filled with the rosy air of romance.

Feng, your cooking skills have improved so much they’re truly beyond recognition. One might say ‘A day apart seems like three years of separation’,” Liu Zixuan, who had already been selected as the next president of the Chess Club through some backdoor deals, began his flattery, which resonated as though it came from a physics major who struggled with idioms.

Enough with that, what kind of idioms are those?” Wang Hao, who’d been secretly writing novels, sidling over from the Physics to the Chinese Literature department these days, couldn’t stand it anymore, “Feng, what you have is called ‘no longer the simpleton at the foot of Mount Wu’!” Jiang Feng: ???

So you think your Chinese is particularly good, huh?

“Recalling the olden days, the sound of a flute lamenting, returning to my hometown feels like becoming an ancient recluse?” Liu Qian suddenly blurted out.

Jiang Feng:…

Please, just stop talking!

The flattery over, it was time to get to the real business.

Carving the chicken.

The two professionals, Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi, each with a cleaver in hand cut cleanly through the belly of the chicken.

The ingredients stuffed inside the eight-treasure chicken tumbled out like rolling beads.

Their landing was noisy and messy, like large and small pearls falling on a jade plate.

After Liu Qian’s sudden burst of poetry, Jiang Feng felt like no matter what he saw, he was compelled to recite a verse or two of unrelated poetry.

“Wow!” The members of the Chess Club, unaccustomed to such sights, collectively expressed their astonishment.

Everyone started eating.

The eels in today’s eel stew with tofu had been secured by Jiang Jiankang after staking out the market for several days, catching fresh, wild little eels, all 20- odd pounds in one go, now served up at the table, while their closer and distant relatives and the relatives by marriage were all still swimming in the back kitchen’s water tank.

These two servings of loach stewed with tofu were also completed by Jiang

Feng under the oral guidance of Jiang Jiankang.

No need for too many seasonings, ginger, scallions, vegetable oil, and a bit of salt would suffice. Fresh wild small loaches paired with tender tofu are delicious enough; using too many seasonings would be superfluous.

Unlike Wu Minqi’s red date loach soup, the loaches in the tofu stew needed to be fried in hot oil until golden before adding water and boiling over high heat, then tofu is added when the soup turns milky white.

This way, the loach stewed with tofu is tender, fragrant, and with a better­looking soup color.

Of course, the highest level dish on this table was the eight-treasure porridge.

Sweet and Sour Yam was so delicious due to the First Love Buff boost, but the eight-treasure porridge was something Jiang Feng managed to cook on his own strength, even the crucial osmanthus sugar was his own discovery.

‘Come on, Qiqi, have some loach stewed with tofu; these loaches were bought from the market this morning, they are wild small loaches.” Jiang Feng ladled a bowl of loach stewed with tofu for Wu Minqi.

Oh- oh oh- ” The crowd began to jeer, eager to stir up trouble.

They were quickly suppressed by the delicious food.

Liu Qian, these days, because she was doing various local food appraisals on live streams, had to allocate a good part of her appetite to eating foods she didn’t like but had to smile and praise as “especially delicious, worth recommending, everyone must go buy it!”, which caused her to eat less normally.

At this meal, she rediscovered the feeling of fighting at the table at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant!

Jiang Feng’s premonition was right; excluding Liu Qian, the two pots of porridge were enough for the other club members to enjoy, but with her included, another pot had to be added.

Liu Qian hadn’t eaten so happily in a long time, not having to fake a smile for the camera, force herself to eat things she didn’t like, or order the same dishes for the show’s effect only to end up eating them cold.

It was this feeling, to eat however much she wanted, whatever she liked!

Liu Qian even began to consider giving up this lousy live streaming altogether.

Ah, life is tough,” Liu Qian sighed after downing her 16th bowl of eight­treasure porridge.

Jiang Feng: ???

“Qianqian, you eat so many messy things every day; doing live streams like this

is really harmful to your health,” Ji Yue expressed with concern.

Messy things?” Jiang Feng had the impression of Liu Qian’s live streaming from the days she dined at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant daily.

Their so-called food appraisals are just messing around. At first, it might have been somewhat legitimate, but now it’s all sorts of random stuff, plus some eating contest gimmicks, eating dozens of portions of the same thing at once ” Ji Yue explained.

“That’s just messing around!” Liu Zixuan frowned.

“It’s just for these few days; the food appraisal event should end soon, and then it won’t be like this anymore,” Liu Qian said, “If it’s not feasible, I’ll just quit.” “If it’s always going to be like this, better quit sooner than later. Nothing is worth more than your health,” Ji Yue advised and then remembered something, laughing, “And plus, Jiang Feng’s family is moving their restaurant to Beiping later this year, so you’ll lose your fixed live-streaming spot, too.” “Moving to Beiping?!” Liu Qian exclaimed in shock.

The Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant was her regular dining hall; how would she survive if it moved!

“Wow, Feng, your family is getting rich, moving to Beiping!” Liu Zixuan exclaimed.

In debt, in debt,” Jiang Feng humbly corrected.

“But, Ji Yue, what are you going to do if the Chess Club president’s family restaurant moves to Beiping?” Liu Qian asked.

“I’m going with them, of course!” Ji Yue replied as if it were obvious.

Jiang Feng: ???

Could it be that Ji Yue had really gotten addicted to working as a waiter and forgotten that she was actually majoring in fine arts, not hotel management?

Seeing the look of shock on Jiang Feng’s face, Ji Yue said, “What, you don’t want your old employee anymore? Mrs. Wang told me that Ji Xue is also going to work at the store in Beiping, and you’ve agreed to provide food and accommodation. Mrs. Wang said I could live with her, so I’ll have food and accommodation covered too.”

No, it’s nothing, nothing,” Jiang Feng started to doubt whether Ji Yue might have become a lobby manager at a five-star hotel if she had found the right direction in life and studied hotel management.

The farewell dinner ended amidst everyone’s laughter, teasing, and chatting, ending with the announcement by Jiang Feng that the next Chess Club president would be Liu Zixuan, which no one objected to, and the decision was applauded and agreed upon unanimously.

After the host and guests had enjoyed themselves, everyone started to leave.

Ji Yue, Liu Zixuan, Wang Hao, and Liu Qian cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks, while Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi went to clean up the kitchen.

“What about me?” Wu Minqi suddenly asked.

Jiang Feng, still arranging the seasonings, didn’t catch on and responded “What?”

“If Ji Yue and Ji Xue are staying in the staff dormitory, what about me?” Wu

Minqi inquired.

“You, aren’t you staying in Alan City for school?” Jiang Feng hesitated.

He was about to be a senior next semester, and even if he went to Beiping, it wouldn’t pose a big problem. Everyone would begin to frantically look for’jobs or internships, and whether or not to stay at school wasn’t that important anymore.

I m planning to apply to drop out after this semester,” Wu Minqi revealed.

Drop out?” In Jiang Feng’s mind, obtaining a university degree was still important, especially since to his parents, Jiang Jiankang and Wang Xiulian, a diploma from a key university was quite valuable and a source of pride.

“You don’t have to drop out because of me…”

It’s not because the Taifeng Building is about to open. I had already discussed with my parents before the newyear; my major isn’t helping my culinary skills at all and is just wasting my time to practice cooking. I was originally planning to drop out after the Good Taste Culinary Competition ended and then go back home to help at the Wu Family Restaurant. Now, it’s just a matter of going to Beiping instead,” Wu Minqi conveyed, “You haven’t answered my question yet. If Ji Xue and Ji Yue are staying in the staff dorm, where do I stay?”

Jiang Feng’s survival instinct as a straightforward man told him that this could

be a life-or-death question if not answered correctly.

”You… of course, you’ll… stay at my place!” Jiang Feng declared with certainty, “My parents and some uncles are planning to rent residential flats in the same’ building; we can just rent an extra one for the two of us to live alone.” Jiang Feng had a girlfriend and forgot all about his parents.

“Okay,” Wu Minqi said with a smile.