Li Shui might feel ambushed and not be happy about what he had to do, but he also realized that for the stream, this was necessary. He didn’t know the ins and outs but if both Qian Huang and Xiao Ming had agreed on it, then there had to be a reason. Thus, he didn’t argue and instead gave in to fate. “Well, if you want me to cook, then I will do so. Just don’t complain if the camera work sucks today. We really can’t leave that kind of thing to Qian Huang.”

The viewers were still laughing and even Qian Huang chuckled, feeling that this was something they didn’t need to worry about. Anyway, he had checked before and Li Shui had set everything up so that the whole counter could be seen. This meant that unless they wanted something detailed, it was alright to just leave it as it was, and film the whole thing from the same angle. It might indeed not be fancy but at least nothing would go wrong. “The camera work doesn’t need to be fancy. But your cooking better be!”

Li Shui stuck out his tongue before he turned to Xiao Ming, motioning to the notebook. “Alright, I’m ready.”

Xiao Ming looked at him and patted his shoulder again. “You don’t quite look ready but don’t worry about it. If it doesn’t turn out well, I’ll cook something especially for you later.”

Hearing that, Li Shui immediately looked better, feeling that even if he had to make a fool out of himself in front of the camera for all the world to see, it still wasn’t all that bad. At the very least, he would get something tasty out of it.

Xiao Ming pushed the notebook further to the middle of the counter and then switched to a view where their viewers could see what Li Shui was doing while the mini-episode would show in the corner of the screen as Li Shui watched it. Then, he stood to the side, just watching as Li Shui got to work.

The first part was just the introduction of the episode so Li Shui looked at Xiao Ming and then up at the camera and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we watched this yesterday so I guess I could start by gathering some of the ingredients already. I don’t think I’ll be as fast as goddess Tao anyway since she has some experience already.”

Xiao Ming nodded but left the decision to him, not wanting to influence him too much.

Li Shui went to look through the cupboards but had some trouble finding everything. This wasn’t the kitchen that Xiao Ming usually cooked in so he wasn’t as familiar with where everything was like he was at home.

The viewers definitely had their fun.

Cuddly Lion: [This looks like Li Shui has never been in a kitchen before. I was pretty sure that he would suck at this after Qian Huang’s display the other day, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.]

Food Enthusiast: [I think this is only partly his fault though. In ‘Golden Spoon’, goddess Tao had everything in the same place and just needed to identify the ingredients she needed. On the other hand, Li Shui is in a place he doesn’t know that well yet and has to find everything from somewhere in the cupboards. Yes, he should’ve looked around beforehand but from the looks of it, Xiao Ming and Qian Huang didn’t tell him what he was getting into today. So I can’t quite blame him.]

Cuddly Lion: [Now that you mention it, maybe Xiao Ming and Qian Huang should have gotten the ingredients for him to make it fair.]

Little Butterfly: [But if they did, would we have this much fun? When he just opened the cupboard, I saw the flour in the back on the left side. How did I spot it in the stream while he couldn’t even see it while standing directly in front of it?]

Since Xiao Ming had switched to showing the video of goddess Tao at the side, he couldn’t look at the comments himself. But Qian Huang had switched to doing that so that he could read them out loud if necessary. At the moment, he was just chuckling though, feeling that this was indeed the right kind of payback.

One of the viewers couldn’t help but pick up on the sound.

Cat Dancing on a Wire: [Is that Qian Huang laughing in the back? I feel I know who exactly came up with this idea. Look at Xiao Ming’s expression! He looks so apologetic toward Li Shui and even promised a reward no matter how he does. Clearly, this was all Qian Huang’s idea.]

Cuddly Lion: [Now that you mention it, I’m starting to feel bad for him. Clearly, he has no idea how to cook, and now, he has to do it at the drop of a hat. I guess I’d do just as bad as him if I was ambushed like this. Then again, Qian Huang also didn’t seem to know that he would be sacrificed when they introduced the venue.]

Qian Huang pursed his lips when he saw these comments but he didn’t say anything to it and even made sure not to laugh any further. He didn’t need to give them any more reason to feel sorry for Li Shui. Who had felt bad for him when he had been forced to cook the other day? He couldn’t remember that there had been this many people.

Also, if you got to know somebody and then pretended that it wasn’t the case even in front of your two best friends, then you kind of deserved to be punished. That kind of thing, hadn’t they always talked about it? He really didn’t like that now, Li Shui was suddenly starting to have secrets.

He looked over there, staring at him for a moment before he turned back to the screen. Whatever. He’d find out what this was about or rather who this was about with time. In the worst case, he’d have to go and snoop a bit.

Xiao Ming had noticed Qian Huang’s look and couldn’t help but feel a bit worried. But anyway, now wasn’t the time for that. Instead, he turned to look at the video that was still playing: Tao Jin had already arrived in the room and explained what kind of dish she wanted to make. Now, she was starting to look for the ingredients herself.

Seeing as Li Shui currently had his back turned, Xiao Ming couldn’t help but clear his throat. “Goddess Tao is starting to gather her ingredients. Are you sure you don’t want to take a look again?”

Li Shui immediately turned around and looked at the video, realizing that he had missed the beginning. He cursed and then rewound the episode by a couple of seconds, listening intently as Tao Jin sorted through the ingredients at the side.

He nodded and then wanted to go back to the cupboard only to return after a second to pause the episode. “Well, I’ll need a moment longer. So let’s have goddess Tao wait for a moment.”

Xiao Ming chuckled and then watched on as Li Shui continued his own search.

After a moment, he finally managed to find the last ingredient as well which turned out to be the flour that Little Butterfly had spotted before. He heaved an audible sigh of relief, carried it back to the counter, and put it down. “Ah, I’m starting to realize that cooking is hard work.”

Xiao Ming smiled while the viewers were sending another few rows of laughter, feeling that Li Shui didn’t even know the first thing. So far, hadn’t he only looked for his ingredients? How could that already be called hard work? He should better start the actual process soon or he might really think that this was the whole extent of what Xiao Ming was usually doing for him and Qian Huang.

Then again, if this had already seemed difficult to Li Shui, then maybe that also wouldn’t be bad. If he really got through making the whole dish, he might actually start thinking that Xiao Ming was working miracles in the kitchen. Well, maybe he was.

Anyway, Li Shui finally had everything so he continued with the video, watching closely as Tao Jin weighed all the ingredients, preparing for the actual cooking process. “When you said she’d make a good streamer herself, I just believed you but I didn’t understand why. Now, it’s clear though. The way she does everything step-by-step is really easy to follow along. I feel like I might actually be able to do this as long as I watch closely.”

Xiao Ming nodded. “That’s exactly what I meant. She explained so well, you can see that she has a lot of experience with this dish. I’m pretty sure that everyone who tried their hand at this recipe following her instructions would be able to do a pretty good job. That is, if you really keep to what she’s saying.” He smiled at Li Shui, motioning to the ingredients. “Come on, go ahead!”

Li Shui pursed his lips but then started to measure his own ingredients, finally rewinding the episode once again to double-check. When that was finished, he nodded to himself and paused the video once again, sitting down and taking a deep breath before slowly exhaling. “Goddess Tao talked so much at the side and she’s still so much faster than I am. I don’t think we’ll get out of here under five hours of something.”

Xiao Ming smiled and motioned for him to go ahead once again. “It’ll take longer if you don’t continue. Don’t forget about the countdown.” He waved at the digital clock that he had put to the side which had already gone down by half an hour.

Li Shui looked at it, his eyes widening. “You really started a countdown? And so much time has already passed?! But I only got the ingredients!”

Xiao Ming shrugged his shoulders. “I told you there would be a countdown and, of course, I need to start it when you begin to gather your ingredients. It’s the same time limit the people at the casting had.”

Li Shui freaked out. He jumped to his feet and seemed to want to go ahead but then realized that he had no idea anymore how the dish was actually done. He cursed pretty colorfully, and then started the video again, looking at it intently only to clamber around when Tao Jin mentioned how she also need the cooking utensils.

“Shit! I totally forgot about that!” Li Shui turned in a circle, looking around for what he might need. When he realized that he would once again have to dig through the cupboards, he gave another curse, and then ducked, starting to go through the ones at the bottom.

Xiao Ming raised his brows, looking at Li Shui first and then turning to the camera. “Well, this is one of the things that can happen if you don’t know ahead of time. I feel like we probably should’ve warned Ah Shui before.”

He looked apologetic, but the viewers were having their fun. Even though they currently couldn’t see Li Shui, they could very well hear him, and between the clanging of pots down there, and his intermittent curses, it was pretty clear that things weren’t going that well.

At the same time, the video of goddess Tao that he had forgotten to pause showed her picking out everything she needed step-by-step and carrying it back while explaining with a smile. It really was a beautiful contrast.

Ming Ming Forever: [When I saw the mini-episode with goddess Tao yesterday, I actually didn’t think it was that outstanding and just special because she was the guest. I mean, she just forgot about the last step but I didn’t think it was difficult. But seeing how Li Shui is struggling, I’m realizing that she did a grand feat. This stream is actually letting me appreciate just how well she did. Why didn’t I realize before?]

Little Butterfly: [That’s because we’re used to greatness from Xiao Ming. I also didn’t realize. I mean, I knew she was good, but I didn’t realize how good she was. This here is really the difference between a beginner and a seasoned cook.]

Food Enthusiast: [From the sound of it though, she only ever makes quenelles, doesn’t she? So is she a beginner with other dishes and only a master at making quenelles? Actually, I’d really love to see goddess Tao cook on another show now. Seeing her make a wide variety of dishes would be interesting.]

The viewers spiritedly discussed Tao Jin’s performance while Li Shui finally emerged with everything he believed he needed. When he wanted to check once more what Tao Jin had to say to that, he realized that she was already happily stirring in the pot.

Seeing this, Li Shui slumped down on the counter, feeling like this would end in a disaster. “Xiao Ming, are you sure you’re not going to help me?”

Xiao Ming really was tried to just agree and give some pointers at the side but Qian Huang shook his head from the side. In the end, he could only smile and pat his shoulder again, motioning to the stovetop. “I’m afraid I can’t. Anyway, I don’t think you will need additional help. Just follow along with goddess Tao. Anyway, you can rewind any time and there’s more than enough time to make it even if you go a little slower. I’ll give you a break while they are in the fridge later on.”

Li Shui looked up at him, not seeming that convinced but he still went and rewound the video one more time, checking whether he had everything and then slowly followed along with the steps Tao Jin was giving for actually making the dish. As expected, this wasn’t any easier than finding and measuring the ingredients.

While trying to make the so-called ‘mush’, which had looked pretty easy when Tao Jin made it, he managed to burn it.

Xiao Ming was still standing to the side, but looked quite horrified, prompting the viewers to laugh.

Li Shui looked up at him, his expression completely lost. “What do I do now?”

“How about … you just throw that out and wash the pot so you can start over?” Xiao Ming really didn’t know what else to tell him. Clearly, what he had made so far absolutely couldn’t be used.

Actually, now that he saw just how much of a disaster Li Shui was in the kitchen, he kind of regretted going ahead with this. He wasn’t able to see the comments anymore so he didn’t know what the viewers thought but to him, this absolutely didn’t look like something that should be shown online. But maybe he was thinking too much?

He turned to glance at Qian Huang but he just waved, not seeming bothered at all. Xiao Ming turned back to the side, watching as Li Shui did as he had told him and started over.

This time, Li Shui made sure to take the pot off the heat before it could burn. There was a slightly strange smell about it though, indicating that whatever he had done, it still hadn’t worked all that well.

Xiao Ming kept quiet about it though, feeling that if it didn’t taste well, it also wouldn’t be a problem. Anyway, they just needed some kind of finished product and even if it didn’t look well, it didn’t matter.

Anyway, this was Li Shui. Nobody expected him to do well on his first try and they had also wanted to do this to show just how well goddess Tao had managed in the mini-episode. So really, this was not all that bad. At the very least, he sure hoped that it wasn’t.