In the dining room, separated from the kitchen by only a single door, the six dating guests sniffed the rich, tantalizing aroma drifting from the kitchen, and all of them subconsciously swallowed.
There was no helping it. That smell was simply too delicious!
The rich scent of chicken broth mixed with the fresh, savory aroma of crab… Who could resist such a fragrance this early in the morning?
The group exchanged glances, then looked down at the nutritious breakfast in their hands. Instantly, it seemed not only tasteless but also far less nutritious and appealing.
“What is Bai Baozhu making in the kitchen? It smells amazing.”
Lin Dong took a deep breath, inhaling that fresh, savory scent, and unconsciously put down the half-eaten sandwich in his hand.
“Yeah, it really does smell good…”
Wei Wenbo also nodded in agreement.
Watching everyone’s reaction, especially Bo Shenyu’s, Su Han clenched her fist tightly. The ever-smiling, friendly expression on her face faded slightly.
“But Zhu Zhu can’t cook… How could there be such a delicious smell?”
Su Han spoke as if casually, but her words carried a pointed implication.
Jiang Boyan, who didn’t like Bai Baozhu and had just had a bit of a tense moment with her, immediately snorted coldly.
“Don’t get your hopes up. After all, Bai Baozhu herself said she can’t cook.”
As soon as Jiang Boyan’s words fell, the other guests remembered this point.
However, before the other guests could say anything, the kitchen door opened from the inside. Jiang Boyan was about to be instantly proven wrong!
The two plates of crab roe soup dumplings, their skins thin as paper, carried by Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian, immediately attracted everyone’s attention!
As Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian walked, everyone could clearly see the soup inside the dumplings on the plates gently swaying, a testament to how incredibly thin the wrappers were and how skilled the maker was.
Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian walked to the dining table and placed the two soup dumplings—each nearly the size of a small melon—on the table. One could clearly see the demarcation line of the soup inside!
The paper-thin wrapper, slightly illuminated by the light, took on a faint transparency. Just by looking at the presentation of this crab roe soup dumpling, one knew it absolutely would not taste bad!
“Slurp—!”
As a foodie and the youngest of the group, Lin Dong couldn’t help but audibly swallow his saliva as he stared at the crab roe soup dumpling Bai Baozhu had just placed on the table, his eyes glued to it.
The others, while not as unrefined as Lin Dong in audibly swallowing, weren’t much better off.
After all, during this pandemic, they couldn’t go out and could only stay in this Half-Mountain Villa.
Even though the Half-Mountain Villa had several restaurants, each with its own chef, there was still a lack of local snacks. Perhaps because the villa’s owner was a foreigner, most of the restaurants in the villa served foreign cuisine. The villa’s chefs were also more skilled in Western food.
So, this group of guests with Chinese stomachs had long been utterly captivated by the crab roe soup dumplings Bai Baozhu was making!
“Zhu Zhu, d-did you make this?”
Su Han looked at the crab roe soup dumpling Bai Baozhu had brought out from the kitchen in disbelief, her speech even stammering slightly.
She was one of the ‘informed people’ who knew Bai Baozhu could cook, but she never imagined Bai Baozhu was this incredible! To whip up such a challenging dish for breakfast first thing in the morning!
But before Bai Baozhu could even nod slightly in response, Xia Tiantian spoke up with a beaming, utterly smug smile.
“Crab roe soup dumplings, made by our Zhu Zhu! I just casually mentioned yesterday that I wanted to eat crab roe soup dumplings. Who knew our Zhu Zhu would make them for me this morning~”
The moment Xia Tiantian’s proud, happy words left her mouth, it was no less than a slap in the face to Su Han and the guests who had been gossiping earlier about Bai Baozhu making her own breakfast!
Especially Su Han. Her earlier comments about Bai Baozhu not wanting to eat the sandwich she made and therefore cooking her own breakfast now made her face sting with embarrassment.
The other person hadn’t had any issue with the sandwich she made, nor was she being picky or willful. It was simply because Xia Tiantian wanted to eat them that she got up early to prepare breakfast in the kitchen.
In other words, no matter what breakfast Su Han made this morning, Bai Baozhu was going to make her own…
For a moment, the guests who had just been gossiping about Bai Baozhu making breakfast, recalling what happened earlier in the kitchen, felt… extremely awkward.
Especially Su Han and Jiang Boyan.
One had been too presumptuous, the other… had been a bit too harsh in his criticism.
If that segment were broadcast on the show, they would probably all get criticized by viewers.
Especially Su Han and Jiang Boyan.
Thinking of this, Su Han’s expression immediately turned ugly.
Although she hadn’t joined this show to become a celebrity, she still hoped to attract viewers’ favor and increase her popularity.
Therefore, she had been very carefully crafting a persona that would appeal to both the audience and the other dating guests.
But she never expected to slip up so badly today, right here with Bai Baozhu.
“But… Zhu Zhu, didn’t you say you couldn’t cook, that you’ve never been in a kitchen before?”
Su Han forced a faint smile onto her face, trying desperately to shift the blame back onto Bai Baozhu and salvage her persona.
However, Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian simply ignored her. The other guests’ attention was also completely focused on those four crab roe soup dumplings.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat. I’m so hungry.”
Bai Baozhu patted her stomach and returned to the kitchen, bringing out two bowls of golden, sauce-drenched crab roe noodles with an exceptionally enticing color.
If the crab roe soup dumplings had only teased out the food cravings in everyone’s stomachs, then the two bowls of golden-yellow crab roe noodles Bai Baozhu just brought out—where the crab roe and crab meat thoroughly coated every strand of noodle—simply made everyone’s eyes go wide!
Especially when that generously portioned crab roe noodle dish was placed on the table. The wave of crab aroma and seasoning that hit them practically stole everyone’s souls.
“Gulp—!”
Everyone couldn’t help but swallow again, especially when they saw Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian sit down at the table. They used straws to poke open the crab roe soup dumplings, sipping the golden, oily broth—a combination of crab and old hen soup—while taking big mouthfuls of the evenly mixed noodles, each strand glistening with golden crab roe sauce.
Watching the two eat with such relish, at this moment, all the dating guests except Su Han felt a twinge of regret.
Actually, at the very beginning, Bai Baozhu had asked them if they wanted to eat the breakfast she was making.
But…
They had all refused…
Now, wasn’t this just awkward?!
Judging by the portions, it was clear she had prepared enough for everyone…
But not asking now felt like doing a disservice to their own stomachs.
Looking at the sandwiches in their hands, then at the two eating with such satisfaction, their mouths shiny with oil, the entire room filled with the scent of crab and old hen… Everyone felt a complex mix of emotions!
They simply couldn’t bring themselves to eat the so-called ‘nutritious breakfast’ in their hands anymore!
If we’re talking nutrition! Bai Baozhu’s breakfast was even more nutritious!
“Ahem! Bai Baozhu, did you only make breakfast for the two of you? Aren’t there any extra crab roe soup dumplings or crab roe noodles?”
As the foodie of the group, Lin Dong mustered his courage, cleared his throat, and cautiously asked Bai Baozhu.
Seeing Lin Dong speak up, the other guests all looked at Bai Baozhu with immense anticipation.
However…
“No, I made enough for eight people.”
Bai Baozhu lifted her head, glanced at the others who were looking at her with hopeful eyes, and said very calmly.
The other dating guests, hearing that Bai Baozhu had actually made enough for eight people, immediately thought—that meant Bai Baozhu had made some for them too!
Unfortunately, before the smiles on their faces could fully form and last more than a few seconds, Bai Baozhu’s next sentence extinguished their hope.
And plunged them into infinite regret!
“But you all said you didn’t want to eat it. So, the extra breakfast went to the production team staff!”
Bai Baozhu looked at everyone with an utterly innocent smile, but for some reason, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Hmph! How dare they question her cooking skills! She’d make them drool with envy!
At this point, Xia Tiantian finally understood. So, before she came downstairs, her dear Zhu Zhu had her cooking skills questioned by this group, and it seemed her Zhu Zhu had even been a bit wronged.
Therefore, Xia Tiantian, shedding her usual gentle and shy demeanor, began a very high-profile, live ‘mukbang’ (eating broadcast) for everyone.
She used her chopsticks to poke open the crab roe soup dumpling. Instantly, golden broth overflowed, filling the entire plate. The aroma of the old hen and crab soup that Bai Baozhu had simmered for hours wafted even more strongly into everyone’s nostrils.
“Mmm~ The broth is so fresh and delicious, the crab meat is so tender. This is seriously the best soup dumpling I’ve ever had! So delicious!”
After taking a bite of the crab roe soup dumpling, Xia Tiantian took a big mouthful of the crab roe noodles.
With just a few gentle stirs, the golden crab roe clung to the springy noodles. A light slurp released the grainy texture of the crab roe, mixed with the unique freshness of the hairy crab and old hen broth, slowly spreading across the tongue… completely without any fishy smell…
Xia Tiantian didn’t even need to deliberately describe the taste of these crab roe noodles. Just watching Bai Baozhu and Xia Tiantian eat with such satisfaction, their mouths shiny with oil, was enough to know that Bai Baozhu’s breakfast tasted absolutely amazing!
Watching them, Lin Dong couldn’t take it anymore!
He put down the unfinished sandwich in his hand and rushed into the kitchen, hoping to see if there was anything left.
However—
The moment he charged into the kitchen, he saw several photographers eating the breakfast that was originally meant for them!
And they had already finished it!!!
“Y-you guys are going too far!”
Lin Dong, not being very old, failed to control his emotions and shouted loudly.
But the production team staff weren’t intimidated in the slightest.
“Huh? Going too far? I don’t think so. Didn’t you all say you didn’t want to eat the breakfast Bai Baozhu made, and even thought it wouldn’t taste good?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the guests in the Love Cottage all felt…
Ouch—! Their faces stung!