"Is this being grilled for us?" the man in casual clothes exclaimed in pleasant surprise. "This student is quite perceptive." He bounced his crossed legs; his satisfaction grew the more he watched Gan Lan in the livestream.
"This student is just too sensible. Back then, Lan Yu merely softened her heart a little and lent out some Credit Points, and now Lan Yu gets to eat delicious food every day," the elder said, his tone somewhat sour.
Thinking of this, Ye Lanyu’s face softened a bit. Indeed, the girl was very sensible. She nodded in agreement, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.
Seeing her boastful expression, the elder gave a cold snort and turned his attention back to the broadcast.
The refined principal was left speechless. They were acting like two childish fools! He wondered why she hadn’t come to him first when she was in trouble.
"Student Gan Lan has already had a robot deliver it! I’ll go out and get it." The vice principal, his face full of joy, stood up nimbly.
The other three fell completely silent. They wondered since when he had ever been this proactive.
Gan Lan had already packed the twenty grilled squid skewers, along with Chinese Herbal Jelly and flower cakes, and sent them via robot to the principal’s office.
Gan Lan smiled faintly. "Then, next up, we’ll start the lucky draw. Everyone in the livestream can participate. Today’s prizes are quite lavish: one large squid, two flower cakes, and a bowl of Chinese Herbal Jelly."
I’m So Stressed: [Pick me, pick me! I’m the luckiest person in this livestream!]
Sky Blue: [Upstairs is overthinking. I am the true God of Luck!]
Binbin: [I’m feeling a little panicked.]
"We’ll be drawing five hundred winners in total, so there’s no need to panic," Gan Lan reassured them as she flipped the squid.
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [Looking at the more than one hundred million viewers in the livestream, a number that’s still growing, I’m even more panicked.]
Seeing the mischievous behavior of her hot pot buddies in the chat, Gan Lan found it quite funny. She had already packed and expressed the food to them, yet they were pretending so well!
Gan Lan shook her head. "Now the system will start the draw. There are five hundred portions in total! We’ll do it in two phases. First, we’ll draw 250 winners."
Gan Lan put down the grilled squid and let the robot start packing.
Pointing at a small mountain of temperature-controlled boxes, Gan Lan said, "The robots have already packed two hundred and fifty portions. Let’s begin the draw."
Will You Come Back Tomorrow?: [Quick, quick, quick! I can’t wait anymore! I even just went to wash my hands and burn a stick of incense, hehe.]
Barbecue Bibimbap: [That’s nothing! I specifically went and took a shower, and now I feel completely energized! It will definitely be me!]
Binbin: [Hehe, I just went to burn some incense too. It feels pretty good.]
Pork Knuckle is Delicious: [Hmph! I don’t need to wash my hands, shower, or burn incense! There will definitely be a spot for me!]
System Notification: [Congratulations to ’Lamb Skewers Smell Great’, ’Pig Trotters are the Best!’, ’Joyful Choubei’, ’Osmanthus Rice Cake’, ’Immortal Barbecue’... and others, totaling 250 users, for winning a food reward! Winners, please send a private message with your address. Failure to provide an address within five minutes will be considered a forfeiture.]
Immortal Barbecue: [I won, I won! Hahahahaha, the God of Luck has possessed me!]
I’m So Stressed: [I’m absolutely green with envy! Why wasn’t it me?! AAAAAH!]
Retreat: [Jealousy makes me ugly! I went to burn incense too.]
Will You Come Back Tomorrow?: [I just figured out how to increase the winning odds! Did you guys notice? Most of the winners have names related to ingredients the junior has cooked before! This is rigged!]
Pork Knuckle is Delicious: [Why didn’t I win then?! This isn’t scientific! I have a food name too!]
"...Because this is a food livestream? Maybe the system uses that to distinguish true fans or something?" Gan Lan guessed, taking a brief moment from grilling the squid.
Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale: [Then why didn’t I win? I’m a real, genuine true fan!]
Barbecue Bibimbap: [I didn’t win either... so your analysis is wrong! There’s still the next phase! Pick me, junior!]
Meanwhile, at the Mingyang First Military Academy villa dormitory.
"This squid smells so good. I thought it would be really fishy. It’s just that there’s only one—it’s not enough to eat!" Gao Haiyang muttered while watching the livestream.
Lu Ziyu put down his squid and took a sip of Chinese Herbal Jelly, a look of pure enjoyment on his face. "How does this junior Gan Lan make everything taste so delicious? The hot pot last time was also super tasty!" As he spoke, he took another reluctant, tiny bite of his flower cake.
Yan Yifei looked at his two uninvited guests, feeling somewhat helpless. He wondered why they insisted on barging in when it would be so much nicer for him to enjoy the delicious food all alone.
This grilled squid was really chewy. The more he chewed, the more fragrant it became. He just couldn’t get enough of it.
"Say, we’re eating now, but can we go participate in the draw again? What if we win another portion? Wouldn’t that be fantastic!" Gao Haiyang said happily, taking a gulp of Chinese Herbal Jelly.
"Of course we can. We haven’t been banned from the livestream’s draw. However, standing out among hundreds of millions of people is a bit difficult." Lu Ziyu took small bites of the flower cake, his eyes fixed on the livestream. "The draw is starting! Quick, quick! Pick me, pick me!"
System Notification: [Congratulations to ’Hot Pot Balls’, ’Feiran’, ’Love Grilled Chicken Wings the Most’, ’Braised Pork Knuckle is the Most Fragrant’, ’Spicy Fried Crab’... and others, totaling 250 users, for winning a food reward from the streamer! Winners, please send a private message with your address to the streamer. Valid for five minutes; latecomers will not be accommodated!]
Lu Ziyu jumped up excitedly. With his hands on his hips, he laughed heartily. "I really am the chosen one! I was drawn right on the first try! The junior is simply too good!"
Meanwhile, the corners of Yan Yifei’s mouth curled up. He had a second portion to eat now. The livestream’s lottery system had very good taste.
Looking at the two smug people, Gao Haiyang felt like crying. They were obviously eating and watching the livestream together as a trio; why was he the only one who didn’t win?
"WAH! The world is so unfair! An upright and handsome youth like me didn’t win. There’s no justice! Why did even Lu the Gossiper win while I didn’t?!" Gao Haiyang slid straight from the sofa onto the carpet, slapping his thigh as he cried out.
Lu Ziyu was speechless. The guy was crying quite pitifully, but he shouldn’t even dream of getting a share! He wouldn’t get a single crumb!
Yan Yifei massaged his temples in resignation. Why did this guy love acting so much? He didn’t even want to look at him; it was an eyesore. No matter how miserably Gao Haiyang cried, sharing was absolutely out of the question.
Meanwhile, the chat in Gan Lan’s livestream was filled with wailing.
Pork Knuckle is Delicious: [Why wasn’t it this pork knuckle? Another pork knuckle got picked instead! I’m so upset.]
I’m So Stressed: [I really am so stressed. My username is exactly my mood right now.]
Charcoal Grilled Crab is True Love: [I even changed my name to this and still didn’t get picked. BOOHOO~ Why, oh why~]
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer ’Come and have some barbecue!’ for receiving ten Cosmic Starships from ’Hot Pot Balls’, triggering a network-wide broadcast.]
Network-wide Broadcast: [’Hot Pot Balls’ says to ’Come and have some barbecue!’: Junior! Thanks for the love! Sending finger hearts~] X10
I’m So Stressed: [I’m so angry! He actually sent a network-wide taunt! Someone drag Hot Pot Balls out and beat him up!]
I’m Not Coming Tomorrow: [I feel like I’ve lost all hope in life. Hot Pot Balls, drop your address. Let’s fight!]
Hot Pot Balls: [Come on! Come hit me! I’ve already private messaged you my address. Let’s fight to the death! Hehehehe, I’ll be waiting for you!]
Everyone: [...] What a vile and disgusting face!
Watching the chat that was about to break out into a full-blown brawl, Gan Lan hurriedly spoke up, "Alright, that’s it for today’s lucky draw. It’s getting a bit late, so I’ll see everyone tomorrow. Good night!"