Chapter 5: 5

Chapter 5: The Sign of Budding Talent

“Thank you.” Lin Ning didn’t expect the guy he met this morning to be this kind. Looking closely, that man was rather young — around twenty. He was handsome in a radiant sort of way, like the type of husky guys twenty-first century girls were into — young, cool and steady, but also a little naive.

Lin Ning gave the guy’s face and attitude a thumbs up in his head and then stood, brushing the dust off himself.

“No problem. Hey, we met earlier today. My name’s Zhang Zhining… are you okay, though? Do you want to see a doctor?” Zhang Zhining looked at Lin Ning’s leg anxiously. He couldn’t make it in time to stop them, and the kick looked like it really hurt. “Should I report this to the police?”

“No need.” Lin Ning shook his head, assuring that he was fine. “I’m Lin Ning. Thank you so much for today. Nice to meet you again.”

“Yeah.” Zhang Zhining cracked a smile, eyes twinkling. He was tall, maybe more than 180 centimeters, and perhaps still new to being a functioning member of society — everything about him screamed fresh graduate, as if he just came out from his school’s basketball court. “Oh yeah, I smelled something really nice coming out of your delivery package today. Was it food?”

Lin Ning nodded. “If you want, would you like to come over to my place? I’ll make one for you.”

Zhang Zhining didn’t think Lin Ning would be so easy to talk to. He spent the day combing through all of Lemon Kitchen, getting a little emotional as he watched, his stomach growling. He wished he could take over all of Lin Ning’s deliveries. Who would’ve thought that with just helping him a little, he’d earn an invite from Lin Ning?

“Oh– oh, no. I still need to go back to school today, I have a job… But can I add you as a friend?”

That dejected but hopeful face looked exactly like a cute, big husky. Lin Ning’s mood brightened from imagining a tail wagging behind him. “That’s too bad. Let’s add each other, then! Call me whenever you’re free next time, and I’ll treat you to a meal as thanks.”

“Can I really?!” Zhang Zhining’s eyes were practically glowing. The dishes in the stream were way too tantalizing. In the face of true food, everything he’d ever eaten his whole life was for pigs.

“Mhm, of course.” Lin Ning had a pair of eyes that could speak. They were nimble, and they curved upwards as he spoke. There was a look in his eyes that radiated warmth. Anyone would’ve trusted him from the bottom of their hearts.

After the two parted, Lin Ning turned towards the stairs. Today had been tiring, so he wanted to rest well.

There were still leftovers from yesterday’s boiled fish and rice. Lin Ning had the leftover fish’s data scanned and recorded, then uploaded the data onto his photon tablet. By the time he’d finished sharing the data on Shine Livestreams’ virtual tasting feature, he could barely keep his eyes open.

He didn’t even bother putting the fish back in the fridge; he just left it on the table. After a shower, Lin Ning hit the hay. Since he lived on the upper floor, he left the windows open. The night breeze swayed lightly, blowing the aroma of the dish out the window.

*

The people on the internet had gone crazy.

Whether it was a passerby, or someone who used to hate on Lemon Kitchen — as long as that person checked out Lemon Kitchen on the Shine Livestreams app, they were wrapped around Lin Ning’s finger. 

People died for money and perished for food. The viewers who had only drunk Nutrient Doses their whole lives suddenly discovered an unimaginable flavour, and through the simulation learned the glory of meat’s texture, the wonders of soft and sweet Bao, and the beauty of simmered soup. They were completely subdued.

After the launch of the breakfast and boiled fish simulations, many, many tags were put into the trending page.

#HaveYouHadBoiledFishToday?

#SoupMeatBaoFriedEggWhichDoYouLikeBest?

#MyMomApprovesOfThisStream

#MyWholeFamilyUsesVirtualTaste

#WhoIsLemonKitchen?!

#FatBunnyFlexingBreakfast

Confused netizens were educated by their own learned counterparts about the good word of Lemon Kitchen, and one by one rushed to download the Shine Livestreams app. All of them were left tantalized by the food. Few of the tags remained trending longer than usual — which was a rare thing to happen on the Interstellar.

 [I’m so jealous. Fat_bunny’s sooooo lucky, and more importantly, she’s so rich. I saw her post about Lemon Kitchen’s breakfast and oh my god I’m drooling…]

[I dragged my whole family to try the food. Everyone ignored me and said I was overreacting, but now they’re all glued to the video asking me when is Lemon Kitchen’s next stream.]

[Same. My family’s been asking me nonstop about how to buy Lemon Kitchen’s food today, and I said I don’t know, let’s see what happens on his next stream. My mom called me dumb.]

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[I watched the stream in class today, and my professor caught me ‘cause I forgot to turn off the virtual smell feature, so the smell of the mushroom pork Bao filled the whole classroom. My professor’s really strict, so when he called me out, I swear I thought I was going to die, but he just wanted to know which video the smell came from because it was so good…]

[Me too! My mom yelled at me for lazing around in bed, so I let her taste the lotus soup, fried eggs and Bao, and the sour and spicy boiled fish, and she said it was okay for me to continue lying in bed only if I told her when Lemon Kitchen’s making his next meal and secured myself a food package.]

[My dad gave me money so that I can spam Rewards on tomorrow’s stream and get ourselves a meal package too

…although this isn’t recommended, I’m getting so restless.]

[I’m so broke I’ve written an 800 word essay reviewing his food. I hope he notices me when he’s picking viewers!!!]

[Kiss my ass, who isn’t broke? I’ve prepared 3000 words. I’m the best at sucking up, so please notice me Lemon!]

[!!!]

*

As Rong Xinxin scrolled through the feed, she got so emotional that no words could explain how she felt.

The meal arrived around 50 minutes after Lin Ning’s stream ended. Her heart melted the moment the warm food was finally in her hands. Coincidentally, her mom was home today, so she rushed to call her out to eat. Her mom was still mad at her for ignoring Jiang Feng. She started throwing hints at her again, mistaking the thermal box in her hand as a delivery package.

Rong Xinxin made her mother sit down, then opened up the thermal box mysteriously. It was really interesting watching her mother’s face switch from curious to invested. Her mother always ate very little, even when it came to Nutrient Doses. She was a rich housewife to the bone — at best, she maybe had a little interest in food, but said food in question were edible beauty products.

The Wolfberry Tremella Lotus Soup was sweet and warm, the Mushroom and Pork Bao had a smell that worked up their appetite, and the fried eggs were crunchy on the sides while the yolk melted on their tongue like liquid. It was a joy the Nutrient Doses could never bring. After a bite, both mother and daughter couldn’t be bothered to keep their conversation going, reaching for bite after bite as if their lives depended on it.

“My dear, where’d you get all this excellent food? I’ve never heard of such a thing from my circle — we should eat this everyday from now on! Oh, hold on. Send me the pictures and videos you took, I’ll send them to that snob group of old ladies. They’ll be so jealous…”

“Mom, slow down. He gave us lots, so don’t rush yourself. Isn’t it delicious?”

“’He’?! Where did you meet a man like this?”

“I was watching this streamer called ‘Lemon Kitchen’ on Shine yesterday. He’s a young man who made all this. I sent him some Torpedoes as Rewards and he thought I was a student so he told me not to give too much. Then he sent me this meal. Hahahaha…”

“Create an account for your mom. I’ll give him lots of Rewards. We should eat this until tomorrow, and save a portion for your dad, too…”

“Mom, you can hope for it, but don’t expectit—youhavenoideahow many people want to buy these from him! He’s not selling, though. I didn’t buy these, and neither did the two other viewers. His fan count was already crossing the ten-thousandth mark during the day, and it’s still going up now that he’s trending. Might be a while before we can eat something like this again.”

*

In the night, a cat drowsily opened its eyes, sniffing the air. It turned its head, settling its gaze at the window of an apartment. What smell is that and why does it smell so good?

The cat ran all the way to the block. Normal cats weren’t smart enough to sneak into apartments, but this one managed to enter the block, green lights all the way. Maybe through the power of hunger. 

It swayed its tail in front of a door, detecting the same scent coming from it as the man who’d tried to send it to a hospital. It lowered its head to sniff. The smell wafted through the bottom of the door. What kind of new drug did the nation come up with to be able to hypnotise someone with just one sniff? 

The cat leapt onto a window by the corridor, padding across the narrow, protruding edges along the block’s walls until it reached Lin Ning’s window. It jumped in. The aroma surrounded it completely, its strength made the cat’s tail curl. It hopped onto the dinner table and found lying on the table a plate half-filled with… rice?

Bits of red and what looked like the green leaves of vegetables… Was there some meat? The bowl next to it had little white balls. If its extremely limited cat memory was correct, the things in front of it were… rice and pork soup? A cautious purr left its throat, as if it was afraid to wake up the apartment’s owner.

Is it poisonous?

It prodded the food carefully with its paw. It was cold. The cat’s stomach growled, and after a moment of struggle, it held itself back from eating it. Its body hurt too much, and its mind felt heavy and cloudy. It quietly went towards Lin Ning’s bedroom and eyed Lin Ning before concluding that he was harmless, its guard finally dropping slightly. Of course a has-been celebrity with a smile this pure would’ve been eaten up by the entertainment industry just like that.

The person on the bed had a good-looking face, definitely worthy of becoming part of the entertainment world. But when he spoke to it earlier, his voice was hoarse. His wrist was bandaged, perhaps from self-harm… or a suicide attempt.

But for some reason, being around this person felt comfortable — it felt warm, like it was covered in a cozy blanket. 

A look of frustration and caution flashed in the cat’s eyes before it silently slipped out the room.

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