Every contestant had gotten a code after they registered online that they just needed to show to be led in. Right now, it was precisely the time for when the contestants slowly started to arrive. The ninjas of the Si clan were the first ones though. After all, they had come to impress. They couldn’t let anybody steal their show.

The entrance to the venue next to the hotel was surrounded by media that wanted to get some pictures and the newest headlines about the start of ‘Golden Spoon’. There were also a few security guards to make sure that nothing would happen and some service personal that would scan the codes of the contestants.

Because the information given upon registry had shown that there were some rather important people among the contestants, there were several entrances. The one that the ninjas of the Si clan were walking toward was naturally the main entrance. In any case, this was the place where the media coverage would be the highest, and also the one where young master Xiao would be most likely have his eyes trained on.

Needless to say, the one in front was Si Jin. For the occasion, he had dressed well but his always stoic face was still looking exactly the same. It actually gave off the appearance of a serious and hard to approach man. The media that was waiting to interview a few people, as well as the cameramen of the show, were immediately worried when they saw his appearance. He definitely looked like somebody that would be hard to interview.

They hastily turned their gazes to the person behind him but seeing Si Yi who had the appearance of a certified assistant that wouldn’t let anybody bother his boss, they felt that he wouldn’t be easy to approach either. They really felt like flipping a table. This kind of contestants … what were they supposed to write about them?!

Still, after quietly grumbling to themselves, they rushed forward with a forced smile and immediately went for Si Jin. In any case, he looked like the more important person between the two of them so interviewing him seemed like the better idea.

Half a dozen microphones were held directly in front of his face and there was another row of reporters behind that one that were also trying to get closer. Si Jin glanced at them, his face still expressionless. Inwardly, he was unhappy though. He wanted to see Xiao Ming but now, there was a bunch of unrelated people in front of him. Truly a bother.

The man right in front of Si Jin started off. “Excuse me, Mister, might I ask your name? And what made you register for ‘Golden Spoon’?”

The woman next to him immediately stretched her microphone out further and added a question of her own. “Are you a fan of Mister Yu’s?”

“What do you think are your chances to win?” asked yet another reporter that was standing further to the side.

Si Jin glanced at these people and then at the doors to the venue that were only a few meters away. “I will win.” Saying that, he slightly turned and Si Yi and Si Er stepped forward to pave the way through the crowd of reporters for their master.

The group of ninjas finally continued moving forward and soon reached the line of staff members that were waiting for the contestants to appear.

A young woman stepped forward and gave them a faint smile, greeting Si Jin and Si Yi. “Welcome to the venue of the casting for ‘Golden Spoon’. The two of you are contestants that want to take part in the casting, right? Then please show me the code that you got send after you registered online.”

Si Jin didn’t move but Si Yi immediately took out his phone, showing her the code for his master’s registration.

The woman wasn’t quite sure what was going on but seeing a code, she immediately scanned it and motioned inside. “Welcome to the casting, you may go inside then.” She glanced at Si Jin, clearly wanting to see his code as well, but Si Jin just walked past her, not caring in the least.

She reached out to hold him back but Si Yi held his phone in front of her again, showing her another code. The woman stared at it blankly before slowly realizing what was going on. With a strange expression, she scanned this code as well, and then hastily repeated her instructions from just now.

She watched him nod and then walk away with long strides, still feeling baffled. What kind of weird situation had that been just now? She would have liked to ask the others what they thought but at that moment, one of the other ninjas already stepped forward, showing her his code to be led in as well and she had to get back to work.

Meanwhile, Si Yi caught up with his master inside the building. He lowered his voice now that they were past the cameras. “Young master Xiao shouldn’t be far away. Most likely, he will greet the contestants together with Mister Yu and the host. Maybe there will also be the producer present. I would suspect that this will happen at the actual venue though. Not here in the foyer.”

Si Jin nodded and his eyes immediately locked onto a set of doors on the other side of the hall. They were supposed to be brought over by another person of the staff but most likely, they wouldn’t go for every single person and would instead wait for a group to gather before they led them over. Thankfully, they were twenty-one men so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Just like Si Jin thought, the other eighteen ninjas soon caught up with them, making them come to gather right behind the entrance. The cameramen inside hastily took a few photos, seeing that the people that had come were actually of an even higher caliber than they had thought. What national actress Tao, ah? There was even a politician! They really couldn’t believe what was going on here.

Sure, people would be all about the story of Tao Jin and her husband coming to this show together and would want to see his face but pictures of celebrities at TV shows weren’t anything unusual. Getting a glimpse of a politician was a whole different matter though. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a good story!

The staff that was supposed to bring over the contestants couldn’t help but feel stressed out as well. Handling people wasn’t difficult for them, normally, but when had they ever needed to deal with this kind of line-up? They would reckon that had never been the case.

For a moment, nobody moved. Si Jin and the twenty ninjas following him were a little unhappy. They wanted to get inside as soon as possible to see Xiao Ming. The longer they had to wait, the more difficult it would be to snatch all of Xiao Ming’s attention.

Si Yi was already considering taking matters into his own when the young man that was closest to them finally stepped forward. The ninjas were relieved but they couldn’t help but notice that his legs seemed to be shaking a little. The ninjas were completely befuddled when they realized that. Were they really this scary? They honestly didn’t think so …

To be honest, that thought wasn’t wrong. The young member of the staff was actually scared out of his mind. Excuse him, but if almost two dozen men in dark suits stepped into a room, he just couldn’t help but think of the mafia. In movies, they would definitely pull out guns and shoot around in the next moment. Now, he could only hope that he was wrong and that these were law-abiding citizens. The unforgiving expression on Si Jin’s face made him really have his doubts though. That feeling of going to lose his head if he said a single word wrong was really too strong.

The young man still forced himself to go forward, knowing very well that if he didn’t, he would immediately lose his job. He did stutter slightly though when he greeted them clearly betraying his mood. In fact, he even had trouble remembering the sentences he was supposed to say. “Welcome to the venue of the casting of ‘Golden Spoon’. The casting will be held behind the doors on the other side. You can just … go inside yourself.” Actually, he was supposed to bring them over, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do so. Seeing them was bad enough, having to talk was even worse, and having to walk with them … No, thanks, he wouldn’t do it.

Si Yi nodded even though he felt that something was off. Meanwhile, Si Jin started walking, not caring at all. In any case, there was only one reason he was here and it was not having a chat with the staff members. No, his goal — the one he had pursued for a full five years — was behind those doors.

Si Yi and Si Er hastened their steps, grabbing onto one side of the door each, and then opened it, making the people inside turn their heads to have a look at the first contestants that had finally arrived. As a result, they were greeted by the very same sight of twenty-one men in dark suits walking into the room at a brisk pace, their expressions unforgiving.

Xiao Ming who had just been about to take a seat and tried to calm down a bit more before the contestants came into the hall couldn’t help but look up when the whole hall suddenly fell quiet with even the hushed conversations between the other chefs and the new host coming to stop.

What he saw … well, it was really hard to describe. He didn’t know what it was but his gaze was immediately attracted to the person in front and he had the distinct feeling that the other was staring right back at him. Or maybe staring wasn’t the right word to describe it. To be honest, it was a bit more of a glare. And this feeling of suddenly being targeted by the mafia was the same for Xiao Ming as for everyone else. And somehow, he even felt that he seemed to have especially offended them.

In this way, a certain ninja and his secret crush looked at each other for the first time.