Chapter 7 Thai Basil.

Chapter 7: Thai Basil.

"I think I... lost our pot..."

"I was so tired during our hike yesterday. During a break, I wasn't paying attention and left the pot behind..."

"What did you say? How could you lose something as crucial as the pot?" Shen Tong, quick to anger, immediately erupted upon hearing this.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to..." Sheng Xingyao's voice was filled with guilt and remorse. He wished he could go back in time and kick his careless past self.

He clearly couldn’t handle carrying so many things but insisted on pushing himself just to avoid losing face to Yu Xin, and now he’d caused such a huge problem for everyone.

[Sheng Xingyao is so careless. How could he lose something as important as the pot?]

[Exactly. Now everyone is going to suffer because of him and won’t get to eat.]

[This is ridiculous. He’s an adult—can’t he take responsibility for his actions?]

[Sheng Xingyao didn’t do it on purpose, okay? Did you not see how much stuff he was carrying yesterday?]

[Fans, quit making excuses for your idol. A mistake is a mistake—there’s nothing to defend.]

[Yeah, this is really hurting his reputation.]

"Alright, alright," Qin Shizhen sighed. "Xingyao didn’t do it on purpose. He was carrying so much yesterday—accidents happen."

"Let’s just think about what to do now. Xingyao, do you remember where you left the pot? If we can, we can try to go back and find it."

"I don’t remember." Sheng Xingyao looked ashamed, his shoulders slumped like a big dog that knew it had done wrong.

He was so exhausted yesterday that he didn’t even notice when the pot disappeared from his hand.

There were no trails on this mountain, and their hiking route yesterday was completely random. They hadn’t left any markers along the way, so retracing their steps to find the pot was almost impossible.

Even though their pot was somewhere on this mountain, finding it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The others clearly realized this too. Qin Shizhen let out a long sigh: "It seems impossible to find the pot now. Let’s think of another solution."

This was the most eventful variety show he’d ever been on. Why was it so hard to just get a meal?

Shen Tong couldn’t help but whine: "What else can we do? Without the pot, how are we supposed to cook..."

"Wait, who says we can’t cook without a pot?"

Just then, Yu Xin spoke up. His voice was calm as ever, but it carried a reassuring quality.

Shen Tong’s eyes lit up, and she looked at him eagerly: "Yu Xin! You have a solution, don’t you?"

Exactly. From the beginning, aside from a slight frown at first, Yu Xin had remained remarkably calm, a stark contrast to the panic of the others.

The others immediately regained hope. That’s right—how could they forget they still had Yu Xin!

[Is Yu Xin overstating things? How can you cook without a pot?]

[Although I don’t want them to go hungry, this seems impossible.]

[Maybe they can learn to eat raw like primitive people, hahaha!]

[Hey, have you all forgotten? This is Yu Xin. Which of his promises hasn’t he kept so far? I have faith in him.]

[Exactly. Yu Xin has really surprised me in this show. It feels like he can do anything.]

[But, no matter what, Yu Xin used to be a pampered young master. I’m from an ordinary family and have never cooked in my life. Do you really believe he knows how to cook?]

[Right? And without a pot, too.]

[Anyway, I’m not getting my hopes up. If Yu Xin can manage to make the food palatable, that’ll be an achievement.]

The live comments were arguing again because of Yu Xin. On one side were those who had become fans of Yu Xin and supported him over the past few days; on the other were those who scoffed at his abilities. The two sides were relentless, making the chat lively.

The director stared intently at the camera and said solemnly: "Everyone, stay sharp! No matter how Yu Xin’s cooking turns out, make sure you capture every frame of him preparing the meal!"

Based on his years of experience in variety shows, he had an intuition—the first turning point for this show’s massive success had arrived.

The guests, of course, knew nothing about this. Yu Xin calmly directed everyone: "I need to build a stove. Help me gather some rocks and cut some bamboo. We also need to gather enough firewood."

Everyone was exceptionally motivated when it came to eating, especially Sheng Xingyao. To make up for his mistake, he volunteered for the hardest job—moving stones.

There were quite a few rocks scattered along the riverbank. Sheng Xingyao picked a pretty big one, rolled up his sleeves, and casually flexed his well-defined arm muscles in front of the camera.

Then, he wrapped both hands around the stone and put his strength into it—lift!

The stone didn’t budge.

Sheng Xingyao: ?

Refusing to believe it, he tried again with all his strength, using every ounce of energy he had. This time, the stone finally moved, lifting just a tiny crack.

His face turned red from strain. The stone shook as he lifted it about half a meter off the ground before dropping back down with a thud.

It had only shifted forward a few inches compared to before.

Sheng Xingyao: ...This darn stone—how is it so heavy!

Shen Tong, who had been watching from the side, laughed mercilessly: "Celebrity Sheng, if you can't handle the work, don't take on the task? Your muscles are all for show, tsk tsk."

Sheng Xingyao’s muscles were built in the gym—more for aesthetics than practical use. In other words, they were just for show, useful only for impressing his fans.

Shen Tong’s comment hit a sore point. Sheng Xingyao, flustered and defensive, retorted: "It’s just that this one is too heavy! I'll find a lighter one!"

Just then, Ruan Qing, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "Let me try."

Sheng Xingyao laughed: "You? With those thin arms and legs, you should save your..." energy.

Before he could finish, he saw Ruan Qing use a bit of strength and lift the stone off the ground.

Sheng Xingyao: !!

He stared in shock as Ruan Qing effortlessly carried the stone to the spot Yu Xin had indicated, placed it down steadily, straightened up, shook her arms, and asked calmly over her shoulder: "What were you saying about saving my energy?"

Sheng Xingyao: "N-nothing."

Even though Ruan Qing still looked like the sweet, innocent-looking girl with long straight hair, he found himself suddenly afraid to say more. (Feeling scared)

[Holy crap!!!]

[What just happened? Tell me my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me!]

[That stone looks like it weighs at least 130 pounds! How did Ruan Qing do that!]

[Ruan Qing is just too amazing! She looks so slim and petite; how does she have such incredible strength? What a super-strong cutie!]

[Sheng Xingyao's utterly dumbfounded expression is killing me. When Ruan Qing picked it up, he was completely stunned; it seemed like his whole mind went blank, hahahaha!]

[Sheng Xingyao: afraid to speak.jpg]

Putting their little drama aside, after Yu Xin directed everyone to set up a makeshift stove, he demonstrated how to clean the small fish they had speared. Leaving the others to finish preparing the fish, he went into the woods himself.

Soon, he returned with several different green plants, all appearing very fresh, with roots still coated in soil—clearly just pulled from the ground.

Qin Shizhen recognized one as the ginger Yu Xin had picked that night, but the others were unfamiliar. Curious, he asked, "Yu Xin, what are all these you brought back? Are they for cooking?"

Yu Xin spread the plants out on the ground and nodded slightly. "Yes, these are all seasonings."

During his morning exercises in the woods, he had noticed that the local produce was incredibly abundant. He had identified more than ten different spices alone. Picking up a few, he introduced them to the group: "This is wild onion, this is garlic, and this one is called Thai basil."

He held up a plant with oval green leaves and pale purple flowers, known as Thai basil. It has a great flavor and is widely used as a seasoning.

[I know this one! I often come across it in Western or Indian dishes. So this is what the plant looks like.]

[I'm learning something new. Next time I’m out, I’ll pick some to try cooking with.]

[Got to admit, Yu Xin really knows a lot. I'm suddenly feeling more confident about him.]

"Little Yu, I may be over a decade older, but you know so much more than I do," Qin Shizhen remarked after Yu Xin’s explanation.

Yu Xin gave a faint smile and said modestly, "Teacher Qin, don’t underestimate yourself. You excel in so many other areas far beyond me."

He meant it sincerely. Qin Shizhen had high emotional intelligence, a great temper, and though he was an acclaimed actor, he was very approachable and down-to-earth. Without Qin Shizhen mediating, the group would probably have fallen apart by now.

Now that the ingredients were prepped and the seasonings ready, all that was missing was a pot to cook in.

The guests and the audience's curiosity was piqued; they were incredibly curious to see what Yu Xin would use instead of a pot.

Shen Tong, never one for patience, couldn’t hold back any longer: "Yu Xin, can you tell us now? Without a pot, what are you planning to cook with?"

Yu Xin didn’t keep them in suspense. He picked up something from the side and held it up to the camera: "We’ll use this."

In his hand was a section of vibrant green bamboo, glistening under the sunlight.

[???]

[Is Yu Xin joking? How can you cook with bamboo??]

[Waiting for this to blow up in his face.]

[Oh no, we never should have trusted Yu Xin. Now they’re going to go hungry. My poor Yao Bao, I feel so bad for you.]

[Let's just leave. Thought he was going to make some amazing dish, but this is pointless.]

[Better hurry and plead with the producers. They can’t actually let them starve.]

The guests also had mixed reactions, completely surprised that Yu Xin had chosen bamboo for cooking.

Shen Tong couldn’t help speaking up: "Is bamboo... really going to work?"

What she really wanted to say was, since bamboo is a plant, and cooking requires fire, wouldn’t it just burn the bamboo?

Her thoughts echoed what most were thinking. Seeing their shocked, doubtful, and confused expressions, Yu Xin, as if expecting this, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Just wait calmly. Watch closely now."

Author's Note:

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I'm so sorry, everyone. These past few days have been super busy with make-up classes, so I couldn’t manage to update. I’ll do my best to keep up with daily updates from now on!

Please don’t give up on me qaq (trying to hold on)