Immortal Barbecue: [Speaking of which, have you guys noticed that ’Midnight Dream Return’ looks a bit familiar? I can’t remember who it is right now, but it feels really familiar! Does anyone know?]
Tossing and Turning at Midnight Dream Return: [Of course it’s my great Midnight Dream Return! We only found out about this streamer because she suddenly promoted her. She rarely does promotions, but I’m completely satisfied with this one!]
Retreat: [Speaking of promotions, I remember now! It’s the Super V big shot who made a long post for the streamer! She actually won the draw! I suspect there’s definitely some ulterior motive behind this!]
Midnight Dream Return: [I rely on my skills. Of course, luck played a part too~]
Gan Lan saw these comments on the bullet screen, and when she noticed the Super V big shot who had promoted her, she spoke up. "I didn’t pull any strings. It was all because of Midnight Dream Return’s good luck and skills! I also want to thank Midnight Dream Return again for the long post she made for me. Thank you, and thank you to all of you who voted for me. My first-place win this time wouldn’t have been possible without you. Thank you."
Gan Lan bowed to the livestream, sincerely thanking this enthusiastic person, as well as the lovely viewers who had voted for her.
Part of the reason she had been able to turn the tables and make a comeback was indeed because of the post Midnight Dream Return had made.
"Alright, that’s all for today’s livestream. See you tomorrow~" Gan Lan waved at the audience with a bright smile, then ended the stream.
The moment she went offline, she collapsed onto the sofa, completely drained of the desire to move. After eating so much, she didn’t want to do anything at all. Going for a run was completely out of the question. If she gained a little weight, then so be it. Right now, she just wanted to thoroughly relax.
"Say, did you forget something? Don’t you usually mail food to your friends? Why didn’t you do it today? More importantly, where is Ms. Xu Yashu’s lunch!?"
Hearing Gulu’s words, Gan Lan quickly got up and walked toward the kitchen. Her eyelids had already started drooping. She glanced at the Zhenzhen Chicken still roasting in the oven and said weakly, "It’s not even done yet, is it? What are you rushing for?!"
Then, she walked out of the kitchen. "I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m a bit sleepy now, so I’m going to take a nap!" Gan Lan opened her bedroom door and called out to the disgruntled Gulu. Without waiting for his response, she immediately shut the door, afraid he would protest.
"What the heck!" Gulu puffed up with indignation. Did she really treat him like a nanny?! He quit!
Despite saying that, he still went to mix the hot and sour sauce, feeling deeply wronged. It was just that... he seemed to have added a bit too much chili.
Gan Lan slept straight through to the early hours of the morning. When she forced her heavy eyelids open and checked the time, it was 4:30 AM.
Startled, she bolted upright, scratching her head and letting out a yawn. She hadn’t expected to sleep for so long. She had originally planned to take a one- or two-hour nap, but ended up sleeping from the afternoon all the way into the middle of the night. It seemed she hadn’t just evolved into a competitive eater, but also into the goddess of sleep.
On second thought, she didn’t have anything going on today anyway. Since she couldn’t fall back asleep and had nothing to do if she got up, she decided to browse the forums to pass the time.
She first opened the messages from the competition organizers. She hadn’t looked at them at all yesterday; since she already knew the results, there was no point in checking them.
As expected, it was a message congratulating her on securing first place in the top 100 and advancing to the finals. It also mentioned the competition on the Red Demon Star in ten days, among other things—all of which Gan Lan already knew.
She then opened the second message from the organizers. It was an invitation for the finalists to attend a banquet.
Gan Lan felt a bit annoyed. She didn’t like occasions like banquets—they were too noisy, and she didn’t know anyone there. Furthermore, she had zero interest in seeing what the other top 100 contestants looked like.
Unfortunately, attendance was mandatory, so she had to go. Even though it was a "mandatory rule," this could very well be a conspiracy concocted by the Banlan competition organizers. They might be trying to set a trap for her, or maybe they planned to stop her at the door and refuse her entry just to make a fool out of her.
Wasn’t that how things always played out in TV dramas? Moreover, this was definitely something Ge Feng was capable of doing!
She shook her head, feeling like she was overthinking it. She had Gulu, the dean, and the others to protect her. Besides, such melodramatic events only ever happened on TV.
Now that she finally had some free time, she could go through the messages she hadn’t had a chance to read. Most of them were congratulatory messages from fans, and a few asked if she was taking on apprentices. Of course Gan Lan was! To those who wanted to become her students, she replied, [Mingzong welcomes you. I’ll be waiting for you at Mingzong.]
She was really getting more and more skilled at advertising.
Next, she checked the Foodie Group. How did her few friends manage to send 999+ messages? Usually, they wouldn’t have this many even if you added up several days’ worth of chats.
Sky Blue: [Image] [It was completely red. At first, I didn’t dare to eat it, but out of trust in my junior, I took a bite! It tasted really good right away, but tears immediately started streaming down my face! Hiss... it’s so spicy! It’s almost on par with the spicy chicken noodles; my mouth is about to breathe fire! Junior, did your hand slip, or did you intentionally want to torture me? Sob~]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [Image] [Not at all. My bowl is only slightly spicy; the flavor is just right! Did you unknowingly offend our junior in some way?]
Feiran: [Image] [Smile]
Hot Pot Balls: [Hahahahaha! Seeing the captain’s bowl covered in bright red bird’s eye chilies, I suddenly feel like our junior still cares about me. I couldn’t help but pity you for a second, then I laughed out loud three times! How refreshing!]
Sky Blue: [Boohoo, why does mine look like it has even more chilies than the captain’s?]
...
Gan Lan scrolled down further. Apart from Wang Bin and Wen Ningyue, whose portions had a normal level of spice, the other four had received hot and sour noodles with extra, extra, extra spice. Yan Yifei’s was especially extreme—it looked like there were more bird’s eye chilies in his bowl than actual noodles. It must have been rough on him.
Still, she couldn’t suppress a laugh. Gulu was so petty, completely playing favorites.
Come and have some barbecue!: [First of all, I want to offer you my sympathies for three seconds. Next, I need to defend myself. I didn’t mix the seasoning for those hot and sour noodles—Gulu did! I went to sleep at the time, so I didn’t know anything about it~]
Feiran: [You slept until now? I guessed it was Gulu. You would never do something like this ^^]
Come and have some barbecue!: [Yeah, I fell asleep yesterday afternoon. Why are you up so early? Or did you not sleep at all?]
Feiran: [I just woke up. I saw your message the moment I opened my eyes; it was a pleasant surprise~]
Hot Pot Balls: [Is spring coming?]
Sky Blue: [Heh! Lu Ziyu, are you an idiot? We’re clearly at the tail end of summer right now. It’s still a long way till spring!]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [Hmm... he really is an idiot, except that idiot doesn’t even know he’s an idiot yet. It’s honestly a bit pitiful...]
Sky Blue: [I wasn’t wrong, so Lu Ziyu is that idiot who doesn’t know he’s an idiot, right???]
Come and have some barbecue!: [Why are you guys up so early too? The sun hasn’t even come up yet! Or did you not sleep either? And what’s this about spring, summer, and idiots? Why don’t I get it?]
Binbin: [I don’t know what they’re talking about either. Sister, we’re definitely cut from the same cloth~ Hehe~]
Gan Lan’s mind was full of question marks. Had something happened that she was entirely unaware of?