I Am A Prodigy

Panda Novel

“Ye’zi, you know how to cook?” Little Gen asked in surprise.

Ye Lingchen laughed, “A little. I can give it a try.”

“Better not. After wasting all those vegetables and meat, there’s not much left. Don’t bother wasting your efforts,” Xiang persuaded.

“It’s fine. I’m not hungry anyway.” Ye Lingchen paused, then looked at the Little Gen trio thoughtfully. “Just a friendly reminder, you guys should refrain from eating. Leave some space to taste my cooking.”

The trio was caught off guard, stopping their hand as they were taking the bread out, then gave Ye Lingchen a confused look.

‘Friendly reminder? What’s the deal?’

Ye Lingchen did not say much. Instead, he approached the forgotten barbeque rack by himself. Although his Culinary proficiency was maxed out, he had never cooked before, therefore it was unclear what the final product would be like.

Reaching the barbeque rack, Ye Lingchen took a quick look and felt confident. Several recipes were ready in his mind.

Even though most of the meats were done for, there were still some vegetables and small cuts of meats leftover.

With a smile, he started with a quick clean of the barbeque rack. Following that, he started a fire to heat up the rack as he cut up the remaining vegetables.

Unlike those girls, he did not just dump all the vegetables and meat in a heap. Instead, he started cutting apart the vegetables at places that would bring out the most flavor. Not only would that improve the taste of the vegetables, but it would also make it more appealing visually.

Each vegetable was cut into uniform shapes. After that, he minced up the remaining meat.

He then mixed the minced meat with salt, flavor enhancer, soy sauce, and other seasonings together. With that, he turned it into a special seasoning sauce.

By then, the rack was turning red as the temperature rose quickly.

Ye Lingchen slathered the minced meat sauce on the vegetables, then placed them one by one on top of the barbeque rack. His gaze was fixated on the barbeque rack, turning the vegetables accordingly as the heat changed.

The gang noticed Ye Lingchen’s actions, but none of them approached him. Instead, they just sat and chatted at the sidelines.

“Since Ye’zi said so, I’ll refrain from eating and give his cooking a taste,” Little Gen said as he stuffed his bread back into the backpack.

“I’ll wait too,” Xiang and Potato said at the same time.

Meanwhile, the others were either eating or snacking.

Amidst all of them, the one enjoying this time the most was Hao Jian.

The smile blossomed on his face like a flower. Taking the lid off his freshly cooked instant noodles, he took a whiff of the aroma with a blissful expression.

“Wonderful! This smells so good!” Hao Jian walked up to the Little Gen trio’s side. “All these years, instant noodles have been my favorite food! This is one of the rules of life. Always bring an instant noodle with you wherever you go!”

With that said, he took a forkful of noodles and slurped it into his maw.

“So good. This tastes so good!” Hao Jian let out a blissful moan, looking at the trio’s reaction as he intentionally showed off to them.

Meanwhile, the others were either having only bread or biscuits. When compared to his instant noodles, they looked pitiful. At that moment, Hao Jian had a sense of superiority over the rest.

Instant noodles are the way to go!

The instant noodles were packed full of flavor, the aroma quickly drifted through the air, and caused everyone else to salivate.

“How about it? You guys want a bite?” Hao Jian purposely moved the noodles close to the trio, showing off. “Do you know what my dream was as a kid? It’s to have instant noodles for every meal!”

“Hao Jian, you’re such an asshole. Go eat elsewhere. Don’t stay near me,” Potato finally snapped, unable to hold himself back.

“I don’t wanna!”

Hao Jian replied in an obnoxious tone, then proceeded to sit down right next to Potato.

Not just that, he once more took out a ham sausage and tore open the packaging ever so slowly. With his eyes narrowed, he began to enjoy his instant noodles rapturously.

“Good, so good! I feel that my life has reached its climax.”

Gulp!

The effect of Hao Jian’s action was not limited to Potato alone. It also affected the others. Quite a number of them silently swallowed their saliva, feeling regret for not bringing some instant noodles along.

“Hao Jian, Ye’zi told us to reserve our stomach for his cooking before he went off to cook,” Little Gen reminded him.

“Reserve your stomach? The noodles would be cold by then! If the girls failed so miserably at cooking, I doubt Ye’zi would be any better. You’re just jealous of my instant noodles, trying to entrap me!” Hao Jian stared at him as though he had seen through his plans. He then waved the instant noodles in front of Little Gen with an evil laugh, “Even this soup is wonderful. It must not be wasted!”

With that, he took deep gulps from the bowl, audibly slurping away at it.

“Burp—”

Hao Jian burped, then rubbed his belly satisfyingly. “Sigh, don’t blame me man. Who knew that it would turn out like this? I only brought one portion of instant noodles. I really can’t afford to help you guys!”

However, right then, his motion suddenly halted. He sniffed with his nose, “Eh? What wonderful aroma is that?”

“Wah, this smells so good…”

“How can it smell so nice?”

“F*ck! This is too much! It’s the aroma of food!”

…

The intense aroma overpowered the smell from the instant noodles. It hit them straight through their soul, sending a shiver down everyone’s spine.

Everyone’s gaze shifted immediately onto Ye Lingchen in the distance.

The next instant, they ran at full speed towards him!

Hao Jian was still holding on to his cup of instant noodles. His throat quivered and stood dazed in the wind by himself.

‘That can’t be true! How can someone make something that smells that good?’

He stood up, then walked towards Ye Lingchen like the rest of them.

By then, Little Gen and the rest had already made it to Ye Lingchen’s side. Their nose twitched uncontrollably and their eyes seemed as though they might shoot out beams of light from their yearning.

The normally meek girls burst forth with their full potential that surprised those who saw it.

“F*ck! Ye’zi, what did you make? That smells too nice!”

“Ye’zi, you’re amazing. I didn’t expect you to be a master chef. Please receive my respects!” Little Gen said in a seemingly serious tone.

“Ye’zi, you’re always so well hidden and filled with surprises! I’ll have to say, you’re da bomb!”

Both guys and girls gathered around Ye Lingchen and stared longingly at the food on the barbeque rack. Their noses sniffled occasionally, as though each extra whiff was utter enjoyment.

Being closer, the aroma turned even more intense. The aroma seemed to have gained a life on its own, wafting through the nostrils, entering into their mouths, and wrapped itself around their tongues, tickling their throats.

Meanwhile, on the barbeque rack, Ye Lingchen arranged the food neatly. It glistened with a glimmering layer of fat, emitting a constant sizzle. The food moved along with the glimmering fat, seemingly coming to life, tugging at their heartstrings.

No matter the color or smell, it was flawless.

Delicacy. That was a delicacy!

They all turned crazy. All of their eyes were glued to the food on top of the barbeque rack as they salivated non stop, flowing down the corner of their mouth.

‘How can it smell so good?!’

How Jian was stunned. He could not help but swallow several mouthfuls of saliva, screaming in his mind.

A strong feeling of regret welled up from his heart. Even though he was full, the food once again whetted his appetite. That clashing feeling of contrast tortured him greatly, driving him nuts making him want to vomit out the contents of his stomach.

“F*ck me! I want to eat so badly, but I’m already full…”