Gan Lan saw Mrs. Yan off, shaking her head with a chuckle. It turned out Yan Yifei’s mother was quite an interesting person.
She needed to start preparing the Phoenix Cake she had promised Wu Mingyu. However, before making it, she had to sketch out the design, mapping out the Phoenix’s appearance and expression before adding color.
It took Gan Lan two hours to draw the Phoenix. On the paper, a massive golden-red bird looked ready to soar. Its golden-red wings were eighty percent unfurled, matching the proud posture of its head. With its resplendent golden-red tail feathers, flawless physique, and equally brilliant flames beneath its talons, every detail showcased its majesty as the king of birds.
Although the entire drawing relied only on seemingly monotonous golden-red tones, it was exceptionally striking.
Satisfied, Gan Lan nodded at the Phoenix on the paper and directly opened her streaming channel.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Gan Lan greeted the viewers who were swarming into the stream, going through her usual routine.
"Today, we’re only going to be making a cake. A while ago, I promised a senior that I would make this cake as a birthday gift for him, and today I’m here to fulfill that promise. However, making this cake might take about two or three days, so that’s all we’ll be doing for the next couple of days. You can go grab a bite to eat first and come back later. Of course, anyone who genuinely wants to learn is welcome to stay and follow along."
After laying out all the necessary ingredients one by one, she got to work.
Sweet Grass Jelly: [WAAAH, I’m so jealous of this senior! I want a cake of my own too!]
My Life is Too Hard: [My Wolf King only took an afternoon and an evening, but now this senior’s cake is going to take around two days? Why am I feeling a little sour about this?]
Crystal Shrimp Dumplings: [Upstairs, are you asking for a beating? What about those of us who don’t have one at all? I’m angry, angry, super angry!]
Handsome Mingyu: [Ahhhhh! I’m so happy! Is she making the birthday cake she promised me? I’m so looking forward to seeing what the Phoenix looks like!]
Seeing that the cake’s owner had appeared, Gan Lan held her Phoenix drawing up to the camera.
"This is a Phoenix," she introduced. "In history, the Phoenix is merely a myth and legend. Back then, it was an auspicious bird in people’s hearts. It represented beautiful concepts like luxury, progress, and harmony, and also served as a symbol of good fortune."
System Notification: [Congratulations to the streamer for receiving 199 Cosmic Starships from ’Handsome Mingyu’. Broadcasting to the entire network.]
Network Broadcast: [’Handsome Mingyu’ says to ’Come and have some barbecue!’: Junior, you really do know me well! This Phoenix has completely won my heart! Just looking at the picture has me thrilled. Once it’s actually sculpted into a cake, I’m afraid I’ll have to preserve it for the rest of my life. I won’t be able to bear eating it! The symbolism is fantastic too. I really love it!]
Sky Blue: [I’m so jealous my eyes are turning red and my face is contorting! Junior, when it’s my birthday, can you make an exclusive cake for me too? T.T]
Feiran: [I want one too. You’ll make one for me, right?]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [I want one too...]
Gan Lan pretended not to see her friends’ messages in the chat. She had already promised them, but if she suddenly agreed to make cakes for everyone right now, the entire stream would probably riot.
"Since we already made a Wolf King last time, I don’t plan on streaming the entire detailed production process today. If you’re curious, you can go watch the video I uploaded of the Wolf King cake’s creation. It only costs 1 Credit Point to download!" Gan Lan was working hard to save money right now, so she wouldn’t let slip any opportunity to promote herself and earn Credit Points. Although it was only 1 Credit Point, the sheer volume of downloads made it a very substantial income.
Gan Lan turned on the protective shield. This was necessary when applying and coloring the cream on a sculpted cake to prevent it from melting during the process.
She then had the robots help her bring up the cake base she had baked in her spare time. Because it was massive, she couldn’t move it by herself.
"This is the raw material for the sculpture. It’s already been prepared, so we’re going to start carving right away. The process will be very tedious, so you can go busy yourselves with other things for now. It won’t be finished today; it will take at least two days. You can come back tomorrow to see the finished product." Gan Lan gently patted the cake. She had deliberately made it firmer than a chiffon cake to make carving easier, though there wasn’t a huge difference in texture.
This cake was rather large. It was wider than the previous Wolf King cake to accommodate the carving of the wings.
Sitting in front of the cake, Gan Lan picked up her carving knife, cleared her mind of any distractions, and focused intently on sculpting.
Because she had already done this once before, the process felt very smooth this time. She didn’t have to pause and make adjustments in certain areas like she had during the previous sculpture.
She slowly outlined the Phoenix’s posture first, followed by the feathers on its head, neck, wings, body, and the nine long tail feathers trailing behind it.
By the time she finished carving the rough shape, the sky was already getting dark. Gan Lan stood up to stretch her stiff joints, planning to grab a bite to eat before continuing.
Right in front of her viewers, she blanched a bowl of beef char siu rice noodles and proceeded to slurp them down live on camera.
Hot Pot Balls: [Junior, you’re too evil! I haven’t even had dinner yet. I’m going to climb the wall to your school later to eat some noodles! I heard the South Gate Cafeteria just introduced a bunch of new rice noodles! Of course, my main goal is still the snail rice noodles.]
Feiran: [It seems you haven’t finished your training?]
Binbin: [Those of you who want to come eat, hurry up! The snail rice noodles are almost gone, and the other rice noodles are running out too. Time is of the essence!]
Immortal Barbecue: [I’m coming right now! Watching Junior slurp noodles is absolute torture! Good thing class just ended. Order a portion for me first, Binbin! So many people are rushing to the South Gate Cafeteria!]
Have You Eaten Today: [I envy Mingzong’s students! I envy the students right next to Mingzong! I want to eat so badly! This streamer is too cruel!]
...
Gan Lan finished her noodles, drank the last sip of soup, and chatted with her viewers for a bit. Realizing that she might have actually been a little cruel, she went and blanched another bowl of noodles to comfort their wounded little hearts.
Then, she resumed carving. She carefully traced out the details, starting from the beak, eyes, neck, crest, and the wattle.
Because it was meticulous work, it took a very long time. Checking the time, she saw it was almost nine o’clock. She planned to carve until ten-thirty and continue the rest tomorrow.
Next came the Phoenix’s body. The workload for the chest, back, abdomen, scapulars, belly feathers, wing coverts, and flight feathers was simply too massive. By the time ten-thirty rolled around, Gan Lan had only managed to finish carving the belly feathers. She shook out her aching hand.
I am Huanhuan: [Even though it’s just a work-in-progress, it already has that vibe! I’m so jealous of whoever is getting this Phoenix. I’m dying of sourness!]
Charcoal Roasted Crab: [The streamer’s hands are so deft! Can a normal person really carve on such a soft cake? And make it look this beautiful? I’m officially jealous.]
Handsome Mingyu: [As the soon-to-be owner of this great masterpiece, I—who was just dying of sourness because of you all—now feel absolutely fantastic!]
Sky Blue: [Drop your location! I’m heading over right now to physically demonstrate just how sour I am!]
Hot Pot Balls: [Just say the word if you want a beating! I’ll be right there!]
Seeing that her friends in the chat were starting to arrange a brawl, Gan Lan quickly intervened, "Let’s leave the rest for tomorrow. It’s getting late, so everyone should go to bed early. See you tomorrow!"
Waving her hand, she logged off the stream.