While the robot assistant was on its way bringing over the honey-glazed roast chicken, Gan Lan had already slurped several mouthfuls of hot and sour noodles, fully immersing herself in a myriad of wonderful flavors.
Two plates of roast chicken—richly garnished and roasted to a vibrant, golden-red hue—appeared before her eyes. The domineering aroma of the roast chicken instantly overpowered the scent of the hot and sour noodles as it rested quietly in the colorful roasting pan.
Gulu put down his chopsticks, swiftly tore off a drumstick, and stuffed it into his mouth. His expression was one of absolute satisfaction.
Gan Lan cast an envious glance at Gulu, who wasn’t afraid of the heat at all. This was where he differed from a real human. She wondered why his designers hadn’t programmed him to feel scalding temperatures. She was officially jealous!
She tried tearing off a drumstick. HISS... Too hot! She hastily dropped it, gazing wistfully at the beautiful roast chicken lying in the pan, and took another slurp of hot and sour noodles to calm her nerves.
"Poor thing. You can smell it and see it, but you just can’t eat it. You look absolutely pathetic! Humans really have it rough!" Gulu satisfiedly tore off another drumstick and bragged smugly, "But you’re still better off than some. There’s a whole group of people who can see it and smell it, but even if they eat it, they’re only tasting emptiness. They’re far more miserable than you."
Gulu’s tone carried a hint of pity, but his arrogant expression deeply pierced the hearts of the viewers in the livestream room.
Feiran: [Gulu, you just wait ^^]
Sky Blue: [This damn robot is really going to piss me off! I need to find a chance to tear him to pieces and turn him into a true robot from now on! AAAAAHH, I’m so mad! But this pairing of roast chicken and hot and sour noodles... it smells so good!]
Hot Pot Balls: [I support you in spirit! Have the Captain cover for you while I keep a lookout. Just pray that Gulu’s backer doesn’t find out and deal with you. Even if they do, you can just throw the Captain under the bus! Also, I want to sincerely say to our junior: Junior, I want to eat T^T]
Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale: [After eating braised drumsticks, fried drumsticks, beggar’s chicken, and roasted mid-wings, I thought they had already amazed my entire youth. But now, with this roast chicken and hot and sour noodles... are these bad boys planning to dominate the rest of my life?! WHINE~]
...
Gan Lan shot a speechless glance at the "true warrior," Gulu. It was one thing for him to mock her—she couldn’t beat him in a fight anyway—but wasn’t he afraid that Boss Yan and the others would actually find an opportunity to dismantle him?
Never mind. This was a war between them, and she was merely an innocent bystander. When the time came, she would just cheer from the sidelines. As for whether she would root for her friends or for Gulu, she would decide when it happened...
The honey-glazed roast chicken finally cooled down a bit. Gan Lan tore off a drumstick, took a bite of the meat, chewed, and instantly narrowed her eyes in bliss.
The skin was crisp and refreshing, and it literally burst with juices in a single bite! The meat was fresh and tender, carrying the subtle sweetness of an apple. It was absolutely heavenly! What kind of divine roast chicken was this? Her culinary hands were simply amazing!
She quickly devoured a drumstick, then tore off a chicken wing. After taking a couple of bites of meat, she slurped some hot and sour noodles and took a sip of the hot and sour broth. She wouldn’t trade this lunch for the world!
Meanwhile, the densely packed comments on the virtual screen seemed to have been completely cleared out by the appearance of the roast chicken. It was so clean that it looked as if no one was there.
Osmanthus Rice Cake: [Although I can’t bear to ruin this clean screen, I still have to weakly point out: it’s been an hour since the final voting results for our junior entering the finals came out. Did we forget something?]
Surprised Beggar Chicken: [Damn! Good food ruins people. First, the critical hit from the hot and sour noodles, and then the double critical hit from the honey-glazed roast chicken! My mind was completely immersed in the delicious food, unable to extricate itself, and I actually forgot that today is the day the voting results are announced!]
As soon as these two comments appeared, the atmosphere fell silent for a second before a frantic barrage of comments and gifts flooded the screen.
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving 999 Cosmic Starships from "Feiran." A network-wide broadcast has been gifted.]
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving 999 Cosmic Starships from "Sky Blue." A network-wide broadcast has been gifted.]
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving... from "Hot Pot Balls."]
Network-wide Broadcast: ["Feiran" says to Come and have some barbecue!: I was mesmerized by your food. A belated congratulations—congratulations to my number one ^^]
Network-wide Broadcast: ["Sky Blue" says to Come and have some barbecue!: I knew you’d definitely be the best, Junior. Even though it’s a bit late, I still have to say: you’re amazing, Junior! Our number one! I really want to eat roast chicken and hot and sour noodles~]
...
Gan Lan was startled by the sudden explosion of comments and gifts, wondering if something had happened. It turned out that she had been so absorbed in the food that she completely forgot to check today’s voting results. She had actually forgotten... and a whole hour had already passed.
If the viewers in the livestream room hadn’t reminded her, she probably would have continued losing herself in the roast chicken and hot and sour noodles.
Gan Lan chuckled softly, her tone carrying a trace of disbelief. "Am I really first!?"
She had thought that even with the support of Super V accounts, she would rank second or third at best. After all, she had previously seen a famous culinary master from Banlan start a trending thread to lavishly praise Ge Feng. Moreover, Contestant No. 7 also had two Super V accounts advertising for her. Because of this, she genuinely found it hard to believe. She had already mentally prepared herself, figuring that getting into the top ten would be enough since this wasn’t the grand finale anyway.
After asking that question, Gan Lan looked at the screen full of comments congratulating her on getting first place and started giggling foolishly. It was truly a pleasant and unexpected surprise.
"Thank you, everyone! I actually forgot that today was the day the voting results would be released. If it weren’t for your reminders, I probably still wouldn’t have snapped out of it." Gan Lan smiled until her eyes narrowed into crescents, grinning from ear to ear in a fabulous mood. How could she not be thrilled after having a delicious meal and hearing such good news?
"How about this? To celebrate my first-place win, I’ll roast ten more chickens and host a raffle for a hundred portions of hot and sour noodles! This time, there will be a total of a hundred and ten winners. Your chances are huge~" Gan Lan immediately stood up, prepped the disposable bowls, and began mixing the hot and sour sauce.
"Gulu, come help too. You can keep eating later. Put the remaining chickens into the oven. Robot No. 6, go wash the vegetables. No. 7, go marinate the chickens..." Gan Lan delegated their tasks without leaving any room for argument.
"You’re the one who promised the raffle, so you do it yourself! Why do you have to drag me into it? I’ve been working from morning until noon! I haven’t even had a break!" Gulu protested loudly, his face filled with reluctance as he stared at the roast chicken. "I don’t care! Give me another roast chicken later, or don’t even think about making me work!"
Gan Lan nodded helplessly. Gulu was as effective as three people combined; without him, their efficiency would plummet significantly.
Of course, roasting ten chickens wouldn’t be enough. She still had all her friends who were piteously crying to be fed, along with the principal, the deans, and the teachers. She was in a great mood today, so everyone would get a share! If they didn’t have enough ovens, they would borrow more! If that didn’t work, they would just buy them; they would need them in the future anyway.
Gan Lan watched in high spirits as the marinated Zhenzhen Chickens were placed into the ovens one by one, a warm, indulgent smile gracing her lips.
When Gulu saw Gan Lan’s gaze and expression, his entire body shuddered. It was just first place, wasn’t it? Was it worth showing such a terrifying smile? It scared the life out of this robot...