After the Scheming Girl Joined a Dating Show - Chapter 12

Why are they both “Sisters”?

Xia Mozhu was baffled by the question. “Because they’re both older than me,” she answered simply.

Su Qin was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. She pressed further: “Then why am I ‘Teacher Su Qin’?”

“Huh?” Xia Mozhu grew even more confused. “Because calling you just ‘Su Qin’ seems a bit impolite. I have to respect my seniors.”

This was obviously not the answer Su Qin wanted to hear.

Su Qin pursed her lips and stood there for a moment before she finally couldn’t help but speak again: “An Nuo and I are the same age.”

“I know!” Xia Mozhu nodded vigorously. “I’ve memorized all of your birthdays perfectly. I’m definitely going to prepare thoughtful gifts for everyone!”

“Oh, no!” She suddenly knocked her own forehead. “Why did I say that out loud? Now there’s no surprise left.”

She looked like someone whose brain wasn’t functioning at full capacity.

Su Qin gave up on the conversation. “Forget it,” she muttered, heading to the fridge to grab some eggs and bacon.

Xia Mozhu tilted her head in confusion. Why was Su Qin always asking such strange questions? Did she actually prefer to be called by her full name?

Xia Mozhu’s cheeks flushed slightly. That felt too awkward; they weren’t exactly family.

Back home, Xia Mozhu’s parents always called each other by their full names. Her brother called her by her full name, and she occasionally did the same to him. In her mind, calling someone by their full name was actually a sign of intimacy reserved for family.

Su Qin almost never entered the kitchen; it was obvious how foreign everything here was to her.

She placed the ingredients she just took from the fridge onto the counter, then pulled out her phone to search: Bacon and Egg Macaroni.

The eggs, placed carelessly on the smooth “skating rink” of the countertop, began to roll freely. After a few rotations, they were about to plummet off the cliff to a messy, shell-shattering death.

Fortunately, Xia Mozhu had quick reflexes. The moment she saw things going south, she lunged forward, catching the poor little eggs with her bare hands as if she were a master of kung fu.

“Phew!” Xia Mozhu let out a long breath. She couldn’t help but marvel at herself. She was so talented! Performing such a high-difficulty move without a teacher—could she become an action star in the future?

In her mind, she began throwing imaginary punches and kicks.

Meanwhile, Su Qin finished reading her recipe. She looked down to see Xia Mozhu squatting on the floor, cradling the eggs and muttering to herself with a look of heroic righteousness, looking very much like a little beggar from a martial arts novel.

“Please return the eggs to me, thank you.” Su Qin’s voice was naturally cool; this formal politeness only made the distance between them feel greater.

Xia Mozhu looked up, her dark eyes filled with confusion again. she didn’t understand why Su Qin felt a bit different than she had a moment ago.

However, she obediently handed the eggs back, not forgetting to claim some credit: “See how amazing I am? It’s a good thing I saved these little eggies’ lives.”

Su Qin took the eggs and made sure to place them far back on the counter where they wouldn’t roll off. She looked down at Xia Mozhu and said, “These eggs do not have lives.” Her tone was flat, as if she were providing a scientific correction.

Unfertilized eggs indeed contain no chicks and no life.

Xia Mozhu remembered her shock when she first learned this. As a child, she had snuck eggs out of the fridge and tried to hatch them by sitting on them, hoping for chickens to eat when they grew up. Later, the eggs were crushed, and she had mourned over the “corpses” for days!

She really had been a kindhearted baby back then.

Xia Mozhu didn’t feel ashamed of her past embarrassing behavior; she only admired her own compassionate nature.

Su Qin, not knowing what to make of the person suddenly dazing off in front of her, pulled her out of the way and began cooking according to the steps on her phone.

Cracking eggs, frying bacon, boiling macaroni.

Not a single step was right.

The crew members were trickling into position. One planner, witnessing the full process of the “Celestial” cooking, had only one thought: Truly, when God opens a door, He closes a window.

Su the Celestial in a kitchen was an absolute disaster!

However, a second later, the staff member’s eyes lit up. Isn’t this exactly what Su Qin is bad at? The next competition should be a cooking contest!

After a “spectacular” period of burnt bits, crushed eggs, and mushy stir-fry—a chaotic and heart-stopping ordeal—the raw ingredients were finally processed into a charred-black “delicacy” (charcoal) and plated.

An Nuo and Song Yanran, who hadn’t witnessed the carnage in the kitchen, looked at the “surprise” before them. For the first time, they looked at each other with mutual understanding, shared sympathy, and visible trembling.

Eating this wouldn’t just make them sick; it would kill them.

But after all, Su Qin had made it with her own hands. A dish made by the “Nation’s White Moonlight” wasn’t something just anyone had the chance to eat. Most importantly, Xia Mozhu had already picked up her bowl. They couldn’t fall behind! Even if they ended up in the hospital with food poisoning, they couldn’t snub their senior!

An Nuo’s hand shook as she put a small piece of… something… into her mouth. She didn’t even chew; she swallowed it whole.

Song Yanran held her breath, closed her eyes, and forced a bite down like she was being fed bitter medicine as a child.

On the other side of the table…

Xia Mozhu held a bowl the size of two fists. Without changing her expression, she shoveled the food into her mouth: unidentifiable eggs, bacon of unknown texture, and macaroni of a mysterious color.

As she ate, she let out appreciative “Mmm~ mmm!” sounds, as if she were eating something truly delicious.

Su Qin took a bite of the substance that could barely be called food. Her brow furrowed into a tight knot. She put down her utensils and took the bowl out of Xia Mozhu’s hands. “Better not eat any more.”

Xia Mozhu swallowed a bit of egg and asked nonchalantly, “What’s wrong?”

Su Qin: “It tastes terrible.”

“Actually, the taste is okay.” Xia Mozhu’s expression was serious; there wasn’t a hint of a lie in her eyes.

If An Nuo hadn’t possessed a more precise sense of taste than the average person since childhood, she would have believed her.

Meanwhile, Song Yanran began to doubt her own taste buds. Her first bite had been so salty she almost spat it out. She had only endured it for the sake of the Celestial’s pride, using every ounce of her willpower to force it down.

No, no, no, it can’t be my problem. Is Little Bamboo so hungry from not eating for too long that she’s gone crazy?!

How could anyone not tell that the macaroni is still raw?!!!

Su Qin stared at Xia Mozhu for a moment, then handed the bowl back to her. “Eat more if it’s good.”

Xia Mozhu’s pupils shook, and her lips trembled. But the bowl was back… and maybe she’d never get another chance to eat something Su Qin made!

With eyes stinging slightly, she took another huge spoonful of the “Charred (Fried) Egg and Bacon-Dry (Bacon) with Raw (Macaroni) Soul-Calling Pasta,” munching away as if it were a gourmet meal.

Just then, a staff member walked in carrying several large paper bags. “Everyone! The Ou-style dim sum breakfast Teacher Su ordered for the crew has arrived! Let’s all thank Teacher Su!”

The crew shouted in unison: “Thank you, Teacher Su!”

“The rest is in the car. Someone come help bring it in.”

“On it!”

Ou-style dim sum was a famous long-standing breakfast shop in the city center. The dishes were exquisite, expensive, and authentically delicious.

An Nuo and Song Yanran looked like they had been rescued from a death sentence. They knew Teacher Su wouldn’t actually send them to the hospital!

Xia Mozhu, who had already eaten half a bowl of “poison” under the gaze of the group: “…” Her eyes were brimming with tears.