The school had prepared a variety of ingredients in advance, including simple items like potatoes, shrimp, tomatoes, and eggs, as well as more complex options such as pre-cut and marinated chicken, fish, and beef.

After discussion, each group sent their team captain to collect ingredients from the teachers. The supplies were limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Qi Fang rubbed his hands together eagerly, disdainfully ignoring items like eggs. He stood before the teacher and pointed to the rarely chosen chicken and fish.

“Teacher, our group wants to make braised chicken and sweet and sour fish!”

The teacher in charge of distributing ingredients pushed up his glasses, looking down at the chubby boy in surprise for a moment before saying gently, “Qi Fang, those two dishes are quite difficult. Why don’t you try tomato and egg stir-fry instead?”

Qi Fang waved his pudgy hand dismissively, boasting, “No need, I can do it!”

The surrounding classmates gazed at him with admiration and awe.

The teacher sighed helplessly and could only pick out the necessary ingredients and seasonings to hand to Qi Fang, reminding him, “If you encounter any difficulties, don’t hesitate to ask the teachers for help, alright?”

Qi Fang hugged the pile of ingredients, heading back to his team’s tent without looking back, saying nonchalantly, “No need, I can do it.”

Shen Yu, Li Congming, and Qin Xiaosa had worked together to set up a small campfire and prepared several pots and bowls.

Seeing Qi Fang return with a heap of complex ingredients, Li Congming clicked his tongue and said:

“Can we really make this? With so many things, is an hour enough? If we can’t finish, we’ll go hungry.”

Qi Fang pondered for a moment before saying seriously, “I think half an hour should be enough if we cooperate well.”

Li Congming nodded trustingly.

Qin Xiaosa thought for a moment, then took out his phone to search for recipes and videos for “braised chicken” and “sweet and sour fish.” He handed the phone to Qi Fang, saying:

“Take a good look. I remember these two dishes are quite complicated. Once we start cooking, there won’t be time to watch videos.”

Qi Fang took the phone and quickly browsed through the content, then confidently said:

“Alright, I’ve got it! Li Congming, go wash the mushrooms and cut the potatoes. Qin Xiaosa, you prepare the sauces. Shen Yu, you… you just sit nearby and use this phone to take pictures of me cooking as a souvenir.”

Li Congming raised his hand in protest. “Isn’t our division of labor a bit unfair?”

Qi Fang put his hands on his hips. “I’m the team captain! You do what I tell you to do.”

Li Congming was about to explode with anger.

Seeing the situation, Shen Yu slowly volunteered, “I can wash the mushrooms.”

Qi Fang snatched the mushrooms from his hands. “No way, don’t you touch anything. Just sit there and take photos of me! I’ll wash them if Li Congming won’t.”

However, the little team captain had clearly underestimated the complexity of cooking.

After Li Congming had chopped the unpeeled potatoes into a mess, Qin Xiaosa had mixed a huge bowl of sauce, and Qi Fang himself had repeatedly backed away from the splattering hot oil, the outcome of this meal was already foreseeable.

The chicken remained uncooked despite long simmering, and the fish stuck entirely to the bottom of the pan. Qi Fang scrambled about, his chubby paws reddened by oil splatters. In the end, a passing teacher noticed and rushed over to save the situation.

Even so, the Invincible Dragon Tyrant Squad team’s cooking progress lagged far behind the other groups, and their final dishes were a pitiful sight.

The only thing that went according to plan was Shen Yu taking photos of Qi Fang with the phone.

In the pictures, Little Fatty Qi grimaced, his face streaked with tears from the smoke.

As promised, Shen Yu was the first to take a bite, cautiously putting it into his mouth.

A second later, Shen Yu tried to hold back but couldn’t. He turned and spat it out.

The Invincible Dragon Tyrant Squad team scored zero points for this cooking activity.

“That photo is still on the wall of my old room,” Qi Fang said suddenly as the bonfire party began and people started holding hands to dance around the fire. He laughed, “Shen Yuyu, you made me look so ugly. That big face looked like a steamed bun, and Qin Xiaosa next to me looked much more handsome.”

Shen Yu vaguely remembered the photo and, after a moment’s recollection, defended himself, “That’s just how you looked back then.”

“…” Qi Fang’s expression was hurt. “No way. I might have been fat in elementary school, but my features should have been okay, right?”

Shen Yu: “.”

He didn’t really want to answer that question.

Qi Fang coughed and changed the subject, “It was after that activity that I got the idea to learn how to cook myself.”

— So that Shen Xiaoyu wouldn’t throw up after eating something he made.

At first, when Qi Fang was still a chubby kid, he was driven by a refusal to admit defeat. He shut himself in at home to study how to make “braised chicken” and “sweet and sour fish,” surprised to discover under his studies that there were so many intricacies to cooking a dish.

During the autumn outing, the school had prepared all the ingredients, pre-marinated and ready to use.

But to cook a dish from scratch, he found he needed to buy ingredients from the market, peel, cut, wash, and season them. While cooking, he had to control both the heat and the amount of oil and salt. Any mistake in these details would ruin the taste.

The worst part was that after finishing and eating the food, he still had to wash the dishes!!!

When Little Fatty Qi, a student in his early teens, realized this fact, it felt no less shocking than discovering he had math homework after finishing his Chinese assignment.

Everyone, including Qi Fang’s parents, thought it was just a child’s passing interest. They assumed he’d learn some basics and then give up when he realized how difficult it was.

Unexpectedly, from that day on, Qi Fang persevered for over a decade, continuing to this day.

At first, he started with simple home-style dishes, cooking white porridge and millet porridge. Gradually, he progressed, evolving towards more varied and skillful cooking. He even participated in several culinary competitions held by industry associations and found time to obtain professional qualifications such as Chinese cuisine chef and Western pastry chef certifications.

Eventually, he returned to basics, regularly cooking simple dishes to Shen Yu’s taste, experimenting with special recipes in his free time, and only showcasing his talents during holidays and festivals.

Qi Fang’s journey as a part-time chef spanned many years, and he now found himself in a state of contentment as a master, no longer eager to show off as he had been in elementary school.

His approach was now low-key and practical, with the goal of keeping Shen Yu well-fed and satisfied.

As Qi Fang finished recounting his experiences, Shen Yu also finished his honey-glazed kebabs. He paused and raised a question. “Did you learn to cook for me?”

Qi Fang replied, “Well, of course, Shen Yuyu. I started learning this troublesome skill just for you.”

Shen Yu frowned slightly and began to say, “You…”

He didn’t approve of anyone changing themselves for such a reason.

When it came to “learning,” Shen Yu’s beliefs were pure and stubborn. He believed that to learn anything, one must first want to learn it for themselves before it became necessary to pursue.

Without inner conviction, motivation was limited.

The graduate students Shen Yu mentored generally shared this simple passion for research. The only exception, Zhao Minqing, was already on his way out of the group.

“However,” Qi Fang continued before Shen Yu could finish, quickly changing his tone, “after trying it a few times, I gradually found it quite interesting. It’s not bad as a career pursuit.”

“The starting point for this career taking off was our elementary school camping trip.”

Qi Fang said proudly, “I remember the school didn’t provide self-heating stoves, and we had to gather twigs to start a fire ourselves.”

Just like the bonfire blazing a dozen meters away, Qi Fang’s feelings for Shen Yu and his clumsy culinary skills had grown more intense, eventually engulfing his entire life and becoming an indispensable part of it.

“It’s not that I forcibly changed myself because of you.”

Qi Fang raised a finger and shook it, half-jokingly and half-seriously saying, “Professor Shen, you should consider yourself the guide for my culinary career.”

Shen Yu replied, “I didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t need to do anything,” Qi Fang responded without hesitation. “Just watching you eat has great significance for me, Shen Yuyu.”

Shen Yu’s long eyelashes trembled slightly.

He then turned his face away to look at the dark sea on the other side, unwilling to maintain eye contact with Qi Fang.

Qi Fang found this rather curious.

What was this… Could he be shy?

On this night, Qi Fang pondered a very surprising guess – that Shen Yu was actually capable of feeling shy.

It was absolutely earth-shattering.

*

At the bonfire party, the organizers set up a screen to project several short films. They invited the audience to share platters of local island specialties and organized several rounds of social games to liven up the atmosphere. Strangers, both men and women, sat in circles, infected by the festive mood, joyfully holding hands and dancing various mismatched dances from different countries around the bonfire.

Shen Yu didn’t join in. He was inherently detached from such lively scenes, but for some reason, he never suggested leaving. He simply sat in a corner, quietly sipping sparkling wine and observing the tourists’ every move near the bonfire.

Qi Fang accompanied Shen Yu while secretly sharing updates with Li Congming and Qin Xiaosa on WeChat.

He created a group chat including himself and the other two.

[Qi Er Shao: [Photo][Photo][Photo]]
[Li Congming: ??? Why are you secretly taking photos of Shen Yu and showing them to us?]
[Qin Xiaosa: Where are you guys? The dinner party is almost over. I can go over there and spend some time with you guys tomorrow.]

Qi Fang shared the hotel’s location in the group chat but didn’t reply to any text messages. He just kept sending photos.

Photos of Shen Yu examining goods at the beach market, Shen Yu wearing a white straw hat, Shen Yu lost in thought on the tourist bus, Shen Yu gazing at the sea and sunset, Shen Yu slowly eating barbecue, the back of Shen Yu’s head…

[Li Congming: Left the group, do not disturb. Be careful. I might report you for animal abuse.]
[Qin Xiaosa: How about I take couple photos for you two tomorrow? Give it a rest tonight.]

Having satisfied his urge to share his blissful life, Qi Fang swiftly kicked both Li Congming and Qin Xiaosa out of the group chat and exited WeChat in one go.

As the bonfire party was coming to an end, Shen Yu and Qi Fang returned to the hotel first.

However, upon entering the room and turning on the lights, Qi Fang turned around and saw something. He frowned, staring at Shen Yu’s face, and mumbled, “Shen Yuyu… why is your face as red as a monkey’s butt?”

Shen Yu stood still, his eyes misty as if filled with rippling water. After a long pause, he slowly corrected, “I’m not a monkey.”

“…?” Qi Fang’s internal alarm went off. “Wait, how much did you drink just now?”

Shen Yu raised three fingers and solemnly replied, “…Just a little.”

<< NDJAMI Chapter 18