Chapter 581: Is it because of confidence?

To be fair, Wu Jing's so-called "let's see who's got the better brain" provocation tactic—Bai Liang's assessment of it as "clumsy" was spot-on, not a single flaw.

Luckily, the other main character He Youjun and his wife hadn't arrived yet, otherwise there'd be two more people mocking him.

Having his little scheme of wanting to watch the show instantly exposed, Wu Jing's face flushed a bit.

Even his wife couldn't hold it in, laughing so hard her shoulders shook.

Luckily, there was still a pro on site!

Sister Tian Tian chimed in with a look of wonder: "Wow, you guys are so smart! I really didn't catch on just now~"

But her bit of "cheerleading" didn't help Wu Jing save face—if anything, he felt even more embarrassed.

Because Xie Nan delivered the final blow: "Only someone as pure as you, Sister Tian Tian, would fall for it~"

At this point, Wu Jing cracked on the spot.

So he just gave up and let loose!

He grabbed his wife's arm and leaned his head on her shoulder—a battle wolf can dote on his wife too!

Since he'd already gotten this "gross," Bai Liang and Yu Qian naturally couldn't keep attacking.

After all, that'd be like raising a white flag and then still firing—wouldn't be very sporting.

Though it's not quite at the level of "leave others a line, and you'll meet again someday," if they really started digging up each other's dirt, neither of them could handle it.

Quit while you're ahead!

Bai Liang even picked up the topic: "Strongest brain? I think I almost went on this show too."

"Why only almost?" Yu Qian asked curiously.

"Well, I was already famous by then~ you know what a top-tier celebrity is, right?"

"Smelly fart!" Sister Tian Tian now jumped out to sanction Bai Liang, just like Xie Nan had sanctioned Wu Jing!

Bai Liang, of course, gave her face—facing her sanction, he "backed down" right away, just like Wu Jing had.

The whole point was being "obedient"~

Leave the rest to post-production.

"Hey~ kid, don't give me those winks, you want me to kowtow to you that badly? No way!"

In the end, Old Man Qian wrapped up this outdoor group crosstalk bit.

Too bad there weren't really any audience members, so it didn't earn a round of applause.

But the production crew was over there hollering and clapping, saying this bit was seriously loaded with content, not a single line they could bear to cut!

After that, Bai Liang and Sister Tian Tian split up for a bit.

Bai Liang followed Wu Jing to their house, planning to see what wine to drink tonight.

Meanwhile, Sister Tian Tian was more interested in the lunch Old Man Qian's wife was preparing, striking a pose like she was going to pick up a trick or two.

But Bai Liang seemed to remember that she'd said she wanted to learn to cook two years ago.

No idea where she'd read some guide, striking a pose like she was going to capture a man's heart through his stomach.

Yet as of today, Bai Liang still hadn't gotten a single meal from her.

He made a slight jab about it, and Sister Tian Tian got mad!

"Today I'll definitely make you eat my cooking!"

The moment those words came out, Bai Liang thought he'd underestimated her—had she secretly prepared a surprise?

So he hurried to apologize and said he was looking forward to it.

And after Sister Tian Tian marched spiritedly into the house with Old Man Qian and the others, Old Man Qian's wife casually asked: "I've got plenty of ingredients here, I'll lend you a hand—what does Bai Liang like to eat?"

Good question!

As for Bai Liang's tastes, Sister Tian Tian of course knew them well—they'd eaten together many times.

"He's a little pig, he eats everything!"

"Really?"

"I've never seen him be a picky eater. In his mouth there's only 'this place's cooking isn't great,' never 'I don't like this dish.'"

"Then he's really easy to feed~" was Old Man Qian's wife's first reaction.

But then Old Man Qian chimed in: "Wrong—he's the hardest kind to feed! Because he actually is picky, just not about specific ingredients, but about the cooking skill~ Wife, you've got to bring your A-game today."

That really drove the point home!

Old Man Qian's wife suddenly felt a weight of pressure—after all, facing a guest who seemed unpicky but was actually extra picky tested the cook's skill even more.

But she also looked at Sister Tian Tian with a slightly different gaze—not bad~ facing someone this picky about cooking skill, she still had the confidence to step into the kitchen—a female celebrity with this level of cooking ability?

At this point Sister Tian Tian was picking through the ingredients, then said something that made Old Man Qian's wife want to spit blood.

"What's the first step?"

What the heck?

"Sister Tian Tian, can you actually cook?"

Faced with this soul-searching question, Sister Tian Tian wanted to put up one last fight, but she was already in the kitchen, and Bai Liang wasn't there either—she felt like being stubborn any longer was pointless

So she said dejectedly: "I did have a plan to learn cooking, but the progress hasn't caught up yet."

"How far along is the progress?"

"Um, I've only watched half of the tutorial video~"

Case closed!

What kind of level is having watched only half of a dish's tutorial video?

Absolutely useless!

Old Man Qian's wife now suspected Sister Tian Tian didn't even know how to use a rice cooker—definitely the type who'd turn rice into porridge.

But, looking at that almost pleading look in her eyes, her heart softened: "No worries, sis'll teach you! I guarantee we'll make a dish today that'll satisfy your Bai Liang~"

"Mm-hmm! Thanks, sis-in-law!"

Seeing that Big Sister Tian Tian showed zero unusual reaction to the phrase "your family's Bai Liang," Uncle Qian and his wife had by now fully confirmed it.

There's really something going on between them.

The couple exchanged a quick glance. The silent understanding of an old married pair let them both know, without a word, how to communicate from then on.

That note absolutely cannot be mentioned — not even a hint!

That cat can't be brought up again~

But at this point, Uncle Qian, greatly intrigued, brought up another matter: "How about we chat about something that can't be broadcast?"

The moment the words fell, his wife couldn't help but shoot him a look.

Big Sister Tian Tian, meanwhile, froze for a beat, suddenly a bit embarrassed. "Um… chat about what?"

"I'm a little curious — you keep saying he's so picky with food, but I've seen him go on that 'Back to Field' show quite a few times now."

Big Sister Tian Tian:

Sure enough, it's something that can't be broadcast!

She'd just been thinking Uncle Qian wanted to gossip about her relationship with Bai Liang or something~ She'd already gotten ready to shyly admit it!

And it turned out he was asking about this stuff…

Uncle Qian: Do I even need to gossip about that? As if anyone can't see it.

After all, loving someone can't be hidden — unless you hide inside a wardrobe.

As for the question he really wanted to know…

This wasn't yet the era when Chef Huang's cooking had become a meme; everyone genuinely thought Chef Huang's culinary skills were awesome~ and the doubting voices were still relatively few.