The third day after being scammed.

12:24 AM.

“Let’s congratulate Top Esports (TES) on taking the first game of this best-of-five series!”

“WOW！！！！”

Hua Xin, lying in bed, watched the livestream with wide eyes. Thrilled, she shot upright—the delicate pink tint of excitement blooming across her fair, porcelain-like cheeks. Her oversized T-shirt slipped mischievously off one shoulder, revealing smooth collarbones.

But… why had she sat up? She blinked in confusion, scratched her head, then just flopped back down and rolled over.

Seeing the chat flood with “Go TES!” and “So awesome!” made her competitive spirit flare—she HAD to cheer for her main team too!

“Climb the mountain and point the sword? It happens tonight!!”  “I only recognize TES as the true all-Chinese squad! Banlangen? Never heard of them.”

Hua Xin typed furiously in the chat:  
“Big bro did amazing! Little sis wasn’t bad either! Heavenly Oil Field 999! 💯”  
“No matter what—tonight it’s definitely a 3–…”

——————

“Mmm…”  
Midday. Hua Xin groggily rubbed her eyes awake, noticing her pillow felt damp. She sat up and wiped away drool. 🤤

“Awwww… (adorable yawn)…”

She stretched, rubbed her eyes again.

“What the… how did I fall asleep?”

“Oh! THE MATCH!” Hua Xin frantically grabbed her phone—but alas, it had been streaming all night. The platform, ever eager to drain every last drop of battery, automatically redirected her to the next live channel after the original stream ended.

😡😡😡😡

“Arminos, Adelamari…” (nonsense ranting)

Too anxious to wait, she rushed to turn on her computer.

One minute later.

The girl stared silently at the glaring final score on screen: 3–1.

Ah… they must’ve flipped the team logos. Definitely the broadcast crew’s fault. (whimpering)

Hua Xin quietly closed the tab 🥺, tears welling up—tiny pearls ready to fall at any second.

Well… there was nothing left to do but eat.

She patted her flat stomach—it felt like it was about to cave in.

Yesterday, she’d survived on nothing but a cup of instant noodles, a few vitamin pills, and calcium tablets.

Reaching for the calcium bottle on her desk, she inspected it proudly… then froze.

…Expired three months ago? 😧

“No big deal… Naruto ate expired ramen and milk and still lived! I’m the inheritor of the Will of Fire—I’ll be fine too! 👌🏻”

Hua Xin opened her bedroom door and shuffled to the kitchen fridge to pick out ingredients.

According to her strict dietary plan—no eating instant noodles every day—she cooked a proper meal every few days to keep her culinary skills sharp and her stomach functioning properly.

After all, she needed a healthy body to keep pulling all-nighters!

“Hotpot base, eggplant… Perfect! Today I’m making FOUR dishes and a soup!” 🥘🍲

With the refined judgment of a seasoned chef, she instantly visualized what she could create from the fridge’s contents.

Beaming, Hua Xin cradled her chosen ingredients and headed to the kitchen.

She gave the nonstick pan a quick rinse.

“Two chicken drumsticks 🍗—into the pot! (whole, uncut)”  
“One block of tofu—into the pot! (entire, uncut)”  
“One eggplant 🍆—into the pot! (still with green stem, unpeeled)”  
“One whole bok choy 🥬—into the pot! (intact, not separated)”

“Add one bowl of water… a pinch of sea salt 🧂… a spoon of chicken bouillon powder… and—critical dose—thirteen-spice powder!” 💀

Watching everything in the pot turn a deep, ominous brown from the overdose of thirteen-spice, Hua Xin nodded in satisfaction.

“I really am a master chef! I wonder who’s worthy enough to taste such genius-level cuisine?” (She placed her hands on her hips, beaming with pride.)

“Now, cover it and let it simmer!”

She clapped her hands clean, returned the spice jar to the counter—and somewhere, nine Wang Shouyi clones stood in perfect formation.

—

She idly scrolled through videos for a bit, and—of course—her algorithm-fed feed immediately showed highlights from last night’s match.

“The heavily favored TES have fallen…”

STOP! SHE WAS FUMING! 🤬💢

“Gurgle… gurgle… gurgle…”

“Huh? Am I… tilting red?” Hua Xin blinked cutely, looking up.

But… boiling anger shouldn’t make actual boiling sounds…

She turned to the pot—then sighed in relief. “Ohhh… it’s just the water boiling.”

Setting her phone aside, she lifted the lid and grabbed a pair of kitchen shears from the nearby metal basin.

“Time to snip the bok choy… ✂️ snip ✂️ snip ✂️ snip…”

She fished out the cooked bok choy and placed it onto a metal cafeteria tray—the kind she used in middle and high school.

(Complimentary with her cookware set! Just wash one tray to clean up a whole meal—ultimate water-and-effort saver!)

“Two scoops of Huang Lantern chili sauce…” She spooned it generously over the greens.  
“A splash of light soy sauce…” She poured black liquid from a repurposed mineral water bottle on top.

“First dish: Chili-Garlic Bok Choy—served! 😉”

The pot kept bubbling.

Hua Xin picked up the shears again, expression serious 😠:  
“Now for the eggplant… ✂️ snip ✂️ snip ✂️ snip…”

She repeated the exact same topping process—chili sauce, soy sauce—and declared:  
“Second dish: Spicy Eggplant—served!”

“Now just the chicken drumsticks and tofu left…”

Brimming with confidence, she pulled out scallions, ginger, and garlic—completely unpeeled, uncut, and tossed in whole.

“Scallions, ginger, garlic—into the pot! Half a pack of hotpot base! One spoon Lao Gan Ma! One spoon doubanjiang! A splash of light soy! A dash of dark soy!”

She gazed lovingly at the bubbling black-red concoction. “Mmm… smells just like hotpot! 😋”

After returning the bottles, she picked up the shears once more and whispered to herself:  
“Now, chop the tofu into cubes… ✂️ snip ✂️ snip ✂️ snip…”

Using a metal ladle, she scooped out the tofu along with its spicy broth and aromatics.  
“Third dish: Mapo Tofu—served!”

She swallowed hard, then used chopsticks 🥢 to carefully fish out the two chicken drumsticks one by one.  
“Fourth dish: Mapo Chicken Legs—served!”

Staring at the metal tray now piled high with four dishes, Hua Xin wiped her forehead—her heart swelling with fulfillment.

“Yep… nothing beats home cooking! 😉”

Next, she filled a small bowl with tap water and poured it into the pot.  
“Add half a bowl of water…”

Grabbing the shears and some baby bok choy:  
“✂️ snip ✂️ snip ✂️ snip… toss in some greens for Mapo Soup…”

Two minutes later.

Hua Xin looked at the rich, fragrant broth in her bowl and the four colorful dishes on the tray—and felt a deep, soulful joy from creating with her own two hands. 🥺

Sitting alone at the dining table, she gazed happily at her feast of four dishes and one soup.

She picked up her chopsticks 🥢 and took a bite of the bok choy—her eyes instantly crinkling in bliss.

“So… delish… 🥺”

Her fair cheeks visibly flushed pink.

“So… spicy… 🥵”

She stuck out her cute pink tongue, then immediately gulped down a spoonful of Mapo Soup.

Her high ponytail swayed as she let out a happy, squeaky sound—like a tiny baby animal. (Adorable. That’s all that matters.)

“A bit salty… but still delish! 🥺”

She devoured her lunch like a whirlwind. After finishing, she stared thoughtfully at the two chicken bones left on her plate—and a brand-new recipe sparked in her mind.

🧐👆🤓😉😆

“What if…”

“…I make fried rice with the chicken bones for dinner?”