"If we’re arriving early, they must have switched to high-grade energy to boost the speed," Gao Haiyang mumbled, his mouth stuffed with food. He held a fresh meat bun in his left hand and a three-shred roll in his right.
"BOO HOO, I don’t want to go back! I want to stay with our junior!" Wu Mingyu cried, though his mouth was full of a vegetarian three-delight bun. His expression was a mix of reluctance and immense satisfaction, tinged with a hint of pride. He then cast a pointed glance at a certain someone who was all thumbs. "I can help! I’ve already learned how to wrap buns today, and I can learn how to cook in the future. My hands are super dexterous!"
Gan Lan had never known a person’s face could hold so many expressions at once.
"I’ll head back as soon as the competition is over. I bet you guys just can’t bear to part with my food, can you?" Gan Lan had already eaten her fill. Hearing the broadcast made her a little excited; the moment she had been anticipating was finally here. "You’ve all learned how to do it today. When you get back, you can practice more, or get together to make buns and dumplings. As the saying goes, ’Provide for yourselves, and you’ll never go hungry.’"
"We can’t bear to part with either," Yan Yifei said, looking at Gan Lan with a slight upturn of his lips. "I’ll come see you at the very end of the finals and pick you up to return to Mingyang Star." It was a great idea, though it was a pity time was passing by so quickly.
"You don’t have to do that. Your studies should come first," Gan Lan said, shaking her head in refusal. "Just you guys coming here now has already been the greatest encouragement for me."
"Well, I’ve already asked for a leave of absence, and the instructor approved it. As soon as the dates for the finals are announced, I’ll fill them in on the form and head over," Wang Bin said, licking the broth dripping down his fingers. He had eaten to his absolute heart’s content these past two days. He really wished time could just stop right at this moment. Cooking and eating delicious food together with their junior was an amazing feeling.
"Tsk, Wang Bin, can you pay a little attention to your image!?" Wen Ningyue shot a disgusted look at Wang Bin, who was actively licking his fingers.
After roasting him, she turned to Gan Lan, her expression instantly softening. "My mentor already approved my leave to come watch the finals! I’m a journalism major, after all—how could I miss such a significant event? I’ll definitely write a special piece on you. After all, you’ve always been the absolute best in my eyes!" Wen Ningyue took a bite of fried shrimp, followed by a spoonful of mushroom and chicken congee. She was eating in pure bliss, and having secured her time off made her mood even sweeter.
"I didn’t officially ask for leave, but my major is super flexible," Wu Mingyu said smugly. "If I say I want to go to Red Demon Star to live-stream and capitalize on the competition’s hype, my mentor definitely won’t object. He might even back me a hundred percent!"
The other three, who hadn’t asked for leave and were planning to just skip class, were left speechless. Getting their leave approved was impossible—unless a certain someone was willing to turn on the charm and play pitiful.
"Why are you two staring at me?" Yan Yifei asked. He had been eating a three-shred roll, pretending not to hear their discussion about getting time off, but the two burning gazes fixed on him were impossible to ignore.
"Captain, didn’t you say you could help us get leave when the time comes? If we can get approved, we shouldn’t skip, right? If we skip this time, it’ll be really hard to sneak out next time..." Gao Haiyang stared at Yan Yifei, desperate for a reassuring answer.
"Captain, our leave to see the finals is all on you." Lu Ziyu had wanted to pat Yan Yifei’s shoulder, but after receiving a chilling glare, he awkwardly pulled his greasy hand back halfway. He let out a dry laugh, pretending nothing had happened.
"If you can’t get the time off, you don’t have to come. Watching me on the live stream will be the same," Gan Lan gently advised, seeing the three friends stressing over their attendance.
"Of course we can get leave. I’ve already spoken with the drill instructor," Yan Yifei said, shooting the other two a warning glance.
Meanwhile, in the live stream...
Magic Street No. 83: [AAAAAH! I heard the broadcast! Does this mean I get to see my goddess in just two hours? Thank goodness I came early, or I definitely would have missed her!]
Pork Knuckles Are Delicious: [Even though the ingredients for the finals have been set, the specific rules haven’t been announced yet. I heard this year’s Culinary Competition finals will have a completely different format than before, and the difficulty has been cranked up. I saw it on the competition’s official website. It’s just an increase in difficulty—I believe my goddess will definitely be the champion!]
Surprised Beggar Chicken: [I saw that too. It’s such a pity—why isn’t this year’s Culinary Competition held on Mingyang Star!? So many people in our department have taken leave recently, and they all overlap with our junior’s finals. I applied too late and got rejected. Junior, please come back quickly after the competition! Food Street without you doesn’t feel like Food Street at all! T^T]
Gan Lan finally noticed the viewers in her live stream. She had been so busy today that she completely neglected them, leaving her feeling a little guilty. She hurriedly stood up and told her friends, "I’m heading to the kitchen for a bit. I’ll be right back."
Once in the kitchen, Gan Lan called over the busy robot assistants to help pack the food. "I neglected you all today," she told her viewers. "I made a lot of buns, so I’ll draw fifty viewers to give them to."
I am Phoenix: [I must be part of this draw! Streamer, you’ve barely paid attention to us these past two days and broken our hearts. Fifty portions won’t heal our wounded souls. A hundred portions might barely be enough...]
I’m Having a Hard Time: [Yes! Exactly! A thousand portions would be even more healing, but considering you didn’t make that many, a hundred portions will do. Please, goddess? I really want to eat the crab roe soup dumplings~]
Gan Lan watched the chat flood with frantic demands for a hundred portions to heal their wounded souls. She shook her head with a light chuckle. "I really don’t know what to do with you guys. Alright, a hundred portions it is. Who told me to spoil you so much? Let’s start drawing the hundred winners now. But I won’t be able to ship them out until after I land, so I’ll just pack them and do the draw first."
System Notification: [Congratulations to BBQ-Flavored Nutrient Fluid, The Moon is Asleep, Lamb Skewers Are First Love, Food Lover... and other lucky viewers! A total of one hundred winners have received a random exquisite breakfast gifted by the streamer. Please send your addresses privately to the streamer. The exquisite breakfast will arrive later.]
"Congratulations to the hundred lucky viewers. Please patiently wait for your breakfast—oh wait, by the time it reaches you, it might count as dinner." Gan Lan waved to the camera. "That’s it for today’s live stream. I’ll be getting off the spaceship shortly. See you next time, everyone~"
After closing the live stream, the spaceship’s broadcast chimed again. This time, it announced their arrival at Red Demon Star.
Gan Lan was in no rush to disembark. Her group of friends was still waiting for her in the dining hall, and she needed to say her goodbyes. She also had to give them the food they had prepared today. After all, they had put effort into making it, and food made with one’s own hands for the very first time always tasted exceptionally delicious.
"You’ve safely escorted me to Red Demon Star." Gan Lan placed the temperature-controlled box, filled with an assortment of buns and three-shred rolls, onto the dining table. "This is what we made together today. I’ve packed it up and sorted everything inside. Make sure to take your own portions when you get back."
"Gan Lan, grab your luggage and let’s get off first. This spaceship is heading straight back to Mingzong shortly. Don’t worry about them." Chu Yuanyi had been waiting for Gan Lan at the spaceship exit. When she didn’t show up, he correctly guessed she was still in the dining hall.
Yan Yifei had originally wanted to go in for a farewell hug, but seeing so many people around, he dropped the idea. Watching Gan Lan’s back as she disembarked the spaceship, he truly felt a deep reluctance to see her go...