“Hm, Si Jin …” Si Qi pondered how to describe his master to somebody outside of the clan. “He is somebody that is usually very logical, very rational. If he looks at something, he is able to cut straight to the heart of the matter and find a solution to problems. He is definitely gifted in that regard.

“Also, if there’s something that he wants, he will pursue that with fervor. It doesn’t matter how many hours he needs to put in. He will just see what needs to be done and then he’ll get to it.

“Think of this matter with ‘Golden Spoon’: You asked your fans to register and he figured that it would be something that would make you happy so he signed up and even rallied some friends to do the same. Unfortunately, Si Jin really couldn’t cook.

“He grew up in a wealthy family. His whole life, he has never had to worry about making even the simplest of dishes.” Or at least not the kind that would net him a win in a show like this. Si Jin could — just like all the ninjas of the Si clan — definitely scour the wilderness for ingredients and make something to sustain himself for weeks or even months without trouble. But that was about survival, not taste. And it also wasn’t something that Xiao Ming needed to know just yet.

Si Qi left out this fact and just continued his previous line of thought. “So anything that he knows about cooking came from your live streams. And while I guess he had somewhat of a shaky foundation at least after listening for several years, I don’t think he ever held a spoon before. Not to cook, at least.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but raise his brows at that. He had heard that Si Jin hadn’t been able to cook before but he had thought that maybe this was somewhat exaggerated. A lot of people would be able to make simple dishes at least but would still say that they couldn’t cook because they weren’t able to make something without following a recipe or only knew a few staple recipes.

In his eyes, it was still pretty much the same. They were able to make something. Maybe they needed a bit more guidance for that but they were able to. Somebody who couldn’t cook at all … he actually had trouble imagining that. But it seemed that Si Jin really was somebody like that. “So he just … started learning?”

Si Qi nodded. This was actually rather easy to talk about since it was the whole truth. “You know how he knows that Michelin-starred chef, Ai Gui Jin? Si Jin told him he wanted to learn and, well, here we are now. Ai Gui Jin taught him everything starting from the basics that he should pay attention to and then just had him try until he got it right.

“Honestly, I have never seen somebody cut onions like that.” He cupped his cheek, his expression still stunned when he thought back. In any case, it wasn’t strange in the Si clan to see some rather … unusual things when somebody was picking up a new skill. But the cooking sessions especially in the first week had been astounding nonetheless. Seeing all those onions and then all the other vegetables and fruits pile up … he still couldn’t forget the sight and smell of that.

“Did he really cut ten thousand onions?” It seemed completely impossible.

Si Qi smiled though. “I know you can’t imagine it but that’s exactly what I mean: Si Jin is even more stubborn than the most stubborn person I know. If he wants something, he gets it. And he isn’t afraid to put in the work even if it’s grueling.

“So yes, he really did. He had ten thousand ordered, then had Ai Gui Jin show him once how it’s done, and then tried himself until he got the hang of it. I guess it didn’t look too well at the beginning but you can imagine that after ten thousand of them, he is actually rather good at it now.

“If you ever get the chance to see him cut an onion on the show, you should definitely take a closer look. I can’t speak to for the rest of his cooking but his cutting techniques should be pretty good. That was the first thing that he learned after all and he is only going to get more practice the longer the show is running.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but smile at that. To be honest, somebody being passionate about what they did was something he admired a lot. He thought of himself as passionate as well but he wasn’t sure if he would have the same determination as Si Jin.

Ten thousand onions … that seemed to be overkill. But then again, he had had the luxury of learning how to cook while he was growing up while Si Jin had never had that opportunity … He might have felt that this was his only chance to make up for the disadvantage he had against the other contestants.

“I felt that his dish at the casting was really good. I guess Mister Ai must be a good teacher.”

Si Qi nodded. “I’m sure he is. Anyway, he definitely knows how to cook. I had the opportunity to taste some of his dishes before. They really are great. In any case, knowing Si Jin, he’s probably at his temporary lodgings right now and reading through cookbooks or trying new dishes to make sure he’ll make it through the next episode as well. He has set his sights on winning.”

Xiao Ming raised his brows. “He really has?” He could understand signing up but to actually want to win? With no experience at all? “Well, he is very self-assured for sure.”

Si Qi just nodded and picked up his teacup again. “Yes, he definitely is. You see, Si Jin … I don’t think he’s ever suffered a loss. In the end, if it is something that he wants and he goes after it, then he will be able to reach that goal sooner or later. No matter what he started in his life, he has always excelled at it. Academics, sports, arts … it all seems so effortless when he does it. But to be honest, there is a lot of hard work behind them.”

“His family must be really proud of him.”

Si Qi fell silent for a moment, just looking down at the teacup while his gaze was unreadable. “He is the only one left alive.”

Xiao Ming’s expression fell. That feeling of being the last one, he knew it all too well. “I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t know.”

Si Qi nodded. He knew that his master wouldn’t mind if Xiao Ming knew. “To be honest, it’s a tragedy. More than that, I think that might be the one thing that he can’t cope with too well. His parents … you could say that they had an accident but I guess it would be better to say that it was made to look like one.”

Xiao Ming stared at him, not quite understanding what he meant for a moment until he remembered that Si Jin wasn’t a person like him. “His family should have been pretty wealthy, right?”

Si Qi nodded. “Not just wealthy but also powerful. There were definitely people who had something against them. And somebody used the opportunity when they saw it.

“Si Jin was still rather young at the time. I think that knowing what happened to them was also one of the factors that made him the way he is. You know like … showing emotions can also be a weakness. If people know what you think, they can use it against you. So he is careful. It’s not that I can’t understand.”

Xiao Ming nodded, feeling that Si Jin had a good reason to be like this. If he had found out that somebody had actually killed his parents on purpose instead of accidentally, he would have had even more trouble coping with that.

Other than the sadness, there had been a lot of anger at the driver who rammed their car that day. He knew that it didn’t change anything but it was there. And that person had only been drunk and not done it deliberately. His parents had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

If it had been premeditated though … he didn’t know if he would be able to accept that. And for Si Jin, it seemed that this wasn’t just a theory but a fact. There was probably proof that he knew about. That had to be really hard to cope with. “The people who did that … were they ever … persecuted?”

Si Qi shook his head. “No, they weren’t. This is the kind of thing that is difficult to prove. And also, at that time, Si Jin’s parents weren’t the only ones who lost their lives. There were quite a few friends with them who didn’t make it through either. So it was hard to prove that they were the target.

“Also, at that time, the ones who were still left from the people close to Si Jin’s family made it a point to protect Si Jin at all costs. That was more important to them than getting whoever was behind the assassination. So in the end, they just pretended that they didn’t know anything at all.

“Certainly, there is some anger involved on Si Jin’s side even now but he doesn’t show it much. Well, like anything.” Si Qi sighed at that, feeling the weight of the past on his shoulders. His own family had survived back then and they had made sure that he wouldn’t forget about this. Now, he was probably letting them down. He really didn’t make for a good ninja.

Xiao Ming nodded even though he still had some trouble imagining all this. Just as he had thought when he entered the bistro with Shi Ru Qiu, he had indeed stepped into a new world. This was something that wouldn’t happen to people like him or Qian Huang and Li Shui. But in Si Jin’s world, that was a reality he had to live with.

When Si Qi saw his expression, he put down the cup. “I hope I didn’t scare you off.”

Xiao Ming looked up and then realized that Shi Ru Qiu was probably worried about him not giving Si Jin a chance because of what he had just heard. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

To be honest, even though he knew about Si Jin’s feelings and liked him in general, he hadn’t really thought about having a relationship with him. So this kind of consideration hadn’t even crossed his mind. Now though …

After Shi Ru Qiu pointed it out, he actually thought that this was indeed something he should consider. And it actually made him think that he would be an idiot to date somebody like Si Jin if he knew that something like this could happen.

Never mind what could happen to him if he was together with such a person, he also didn’t want to lose somebody close to him again. He had already lost his parents. If he lost a partner in the future, he didn’t know if he would be able to get through that again.

So yes, this was something that he should definitely keep in mind. There were some worlds out there that he could glimpse into but it wasn’t a good idea to actually enter them. It would be better to take a step back and make sure that he stayed in his own.

Si Qi had thought that he was doing a good thing by telling Xiao Ming more about their master and creating some much-needed familiarity from his side. But now he realized that he had just fucked up. Clearly, Xiao Ming was currently considering that it wasn’t a good idea to get involved in this.

He bit his lower lip, wondering if he really should be part of the Si clan if he made such a stupid mistake. He had brought this up much too soon. Anyway, it was too late now. He could only try to do damage control. “There are many more safety measures in place by now. For him and also for his future partner. Just … in case you were thinking about that.”

Xiao Ming nodded but he didn’t take it too seriously. In any case, it wasn’t like he knew Si Jin that well. As long as he kept his distance, he didn’t have to worry about this at all. Anyway, there were other people as well.

Speaking of which … “Say, do you know Mister Ai personally as well?”

Si Qi was startled, not quite sure where this question was suddenly coming from. Thinking for a moment, he figured that Xiao Ming was probably trying to go back to the previous topic because this one was too heavy. “Yes, I actually do. Our parents were friends.”

Xiao Ming nodded. He poked around in his food and then couldn’t help but glance up again. “Say, he wouldn’t be …” He glanced around before he lowered his voice a little. “Gay as well, right?”

Si Qi stared at him and his intuition told him to tread very, very carefully now. Clearly, this wasn’t just reverting back to the old topic. There was some special interest here. “Well, from what I know, he isn’t. He recently went out on a date with Mister Yu’s granddaughter from what I know. I don’t have details on that but apparently, they got along very well.”

“Oh.” Xiao Ming nodded, not quite sure whether he should feel disappointed or not. He probably shouldn’t be. This whole matter with Ai Gui Jin was just Qian Huang and Li Shui talking him into it. There was absolutely no reason for him to get his hopes up.

But he did have to admit that somebody like Ai Gui Jin would’ve been a very nice partner to have. Nothing dangerous there and they also shared the same passion. Also, he couldn’t deny that he was a good-looking man. In fact, now that he thought about it, maybe there had been a hint of hope after all.