The Game of Life

(Forgot to add the title)

Jiang Feng had a dream that lasted all night.

In the dream, everyone was asking him, “Did you see it?”

Male voices, female voices, old, young, clear, raspy, high-pitched, and deep.

Eventually, Jiang Feng awoke to a soprano singing “Did you see it?” as if in an opera, complete with a trace of melody.

When he awoke, his mind was filled with “Did you see it?”

Jiang Feng didn’t know if his eyes were blind, but he felt like his ears were going deaf.

As Jiang Feng got out of bed, his mind was still echoing with a profound “Did you see it?”, feeling as though he were close to attaining enlightenment and ascending to immortality.

Groggily, Jiang Feng floated to the bathroom to freshen up and then to the living room in the same daze. Wu Minqi had already prepared breakfast, two cups of sweetened hot soy milk and a plate of white sugar cake.

The breakfast shop selling steamed sponge cake had just opened last week. The buns and steamed bread were mediocre, but the sponge cake was exceptionally delicious. Curiously, the shop didn’t limit the supply of buns and steamed bread but did limit the sponge cake; after 7:30 a.m., it was no longer available, much to the dismay of the local office workers.

That’s what you get when your competitors are Mrs. Wang Xiulian and your great-aunt.

Seeing that Jiang Feng looked listless, Wu Minqi asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”

“Had a nightmare all night. I got asked ‘Did you see it?’ over and over again in the dream,” Jiang Feng said, clearly shaken.

Wu Minqi: ???

“So, what did you see?” Wu Minqi inquired.

Jiang Feng: …

He felt that he might have developed an allergy to the phrase “Did you see it?” Every time he heard it, his head hurt.

“I didn’t see anything,” Jiang Feng replied, grabbing the hot soy milk and gulping down half a glass to calm his nerves. “Qiqi, how would you rate my eyesight?”

Although Wu Minqi didn’t understand why her boyfriend was acting oddly first thing in the morning, she still cooperated and said, “Pretty good.”

Jiang Feng temporarily set aside his plan to make an appointment at the ophthalmologist.

Learning to cook clay pot rice wine chicken wasn’t urgent. It was Ji Xue’s specialty and secret recipe, so it wasn’t appropriate for Jiang Feng to ask Ji Xue to teach him. Moreover, suddenly excelling at it without a teacher would be even more suspicious.

Currently, Jiang Feng had a bunch of dishes to practice: noodle pulling, Suzhou-style mooncakes, and the top soup baked lobster he was planning to tackle next. Without mastering these three, he simply wouldn’t have time to learn how to cook clay pot rice wine chicken.

Jiang Feng just wanted to know what exactly Ji Xue had seen.

That morning in the back kitchen, Jiang Feng almost asked Ji Xue several times what one could possibly see during the two moments when the lid of the pot for the rice wine chicken is opened, but he eventually held back.

He felt it would be unjustified.

Directly asking Ji Xue to teach him how to make clay pot rice wine chicken was a request Jiang Feng couldn’t bring himself to voice. It would be like if Wang Hao asked him, “Feng, teach me all the Jiang Family’s secret techniques,” Jiang Feng would probably flatten him with a rolling pin and then grind him into minced meat.

Yet, if he didn’t ask directly and tried to be tactful, Jiang Feng couldn’t think of an appropriate way to phrase it. He certainly couldn’t just sidle up to her while she was making the dish and casually ask, “Yo, that’s an interesting way to lift the lid. What did you see when you did that?”

So, for the entire morning, Jiang Feng could only stealthily observe Ji Xue making the clay pot rice wine chicken, much like Zhou Shi had surreptitiously watched him in the past.

As expected, he didn’t figure out anything by the end of the morning.

Ji Xue’s method was identical to Tan Weizhou’s, opening the lid twice during the cooking process with quick motions each time. Especially the first time, to Jiang Feng, it seemed like Ji Xue was merely adding some seasoning, giving the chicken only a cursory glance.

The second time Ji Xue lifted the lid, she was a bit more serious, starting to attentively watch the clay pot a few minutes before opening it. What she saw exactly, Jiang Feng couldn’t tell. Every time after Ji Xue had a look, she would either turn off the heat or lower it to a minimum, waiting for the dish to be served.

Jiang Feng even began to doubt whether Ji Xue’s eyes were structured differently from his.

The question of what exactly Ji Xue saw lingered with Jiang Feng. No matter what he was doing, even while eating, he pondered this question. In the afternoon, during his lesson on how to make [Crab Stuffed Oranges, A Level] with Zhou Shi and Ji Xia, he thought about it as well. His spirit seemed utterly absent, reminiscent of a straight-A student engrossed in solving a math problem.

This state of mind somewhat resembled those scientists from old TV series who were deeply engrossed in their academic pursuits.

“Pour in the right amount of rice wine… Ah, no, Xiangxue Wine. You have to judge the amount of this wine yourself, and it should be roughly the same quantity I’m using,” Jiang Feng said, slipping up by adding too much, “You should use a little less than my amount. I just poured it excessively.”

Zhou Shi and Ji Xia stood silently beside Jiang Feng.

Everyone could see that Jiang Feng wasn’t quite himself today, and he explained that he had a bad night and a nightmare, which everyone believed. The dark circles under his eyes confirmed it.

Ji Xia simply thought that it was terrifying for a grown man like his master to still have nightmares like a child that scared him to this extent.

Zhou Shi thought deeper. He believed Jiang Feng hadn’t slept well, but there must be more to it.

Familiar with life’s vicissitudes, Zhou Shi’s first thought was that Jiang Feng might have cheated and got caught, hence his preoccupied demeanor.

It was all pretty normal for someone of the new generation—getting caught cheating usually just meant a slap and a breakup, or the girlfriend might retaliate by cheating as well.

However, if the girlfriend was a chef, things could get more complicated, as the person might get so furious as to pick up whatever was closest and start hitting someone with it.

It could be a spatula, or even a kitchen knife.

“Master, I think these few oranges may no longer be usable,” Ji Xia ventured bravely.

Jiang Feng was slightly more focused during lunch service, so he didn’t make any mistakes. But now, during the rest time, right after lunch when he was most tired, his attention wandered off, turning a cooking lesson into an educational showcase of how to perfectly set off landmines while making [Crab Stuffed Oranges, A Level].

Jiang Feng pulled his thoughts away from the close-up of the clay pot in a video tutorial and looked down at the [Crab Stuffed Oranges, A Level] in his hands, realizing they were indeed no longer usable.

Jiang Feng decisively prevented the mistake, tossing the Crab Stuffed Oranges into the trash bin, and explained, “I didn’t sleep well last night and was a bit out of it just now. I’ll remake them for you.”

“Master, what were you just thinking about?” Ji Xia asked.

“I was wondering what your sister actually saw,” Jiang Feng blurted out.

Ji Xia: ???

Zhou Shi: !!!

“No no no, what I meant was I was wondering what Ni Jie saw, Ni Jie is my college classmate,” Jiang Feng hastily corrected himself.

Zhou Shi felt he had uncovered the truth.

The truth that couldn’t be voiced, after all, he still wanted his year-end bonus.

“I’ll go get some oranges,” Zhou Shi said, helping Jiang Feng out of the awkward situation.

Distracted by Ji Xia, Jiang Feng no longer felt like pondering what Ji Xue had actually seen. He had watched video tutorials until 3 AM the previous night and still couldn’t figure it out, so trying to guess out of thin air was futile.

Jiang Feng began to remake the Crab Stuffed Oranges.

This time, Jiang Feng was focused and not distracted by random thoughts, so there were no mistakes. He also didn’t forget to explain the key steps to Ji Xia and Zhou Shi from time to time. When necessary, he would slow down his hands and give them time to observe closely.

After several minutes, the Crab Stuffed Oranges were ready.

[Crab Stuffed Oranges, A Level]

Jiang Feng was slightly surprised; he didn’t expect to be able to make A Level Crab Stuffed Oranges in his current condition, reinforcing his previous show-off in front of Zhou Shi and further misleading him about his culinary skills.

After the lesson came the time to taste the delicious food. Ji Xia once again had A Level Crab Stuffed Oranges. She wasn’t as excited as the day before, but still very happy.

While eating, Ji Xia suddenly remembered something and raised her voice, “Master, I know now!”

Jiang Feng: ???

What do you know now?

Your Jiang Family sisters must have some special abilities.

“I know what was missing!” Ji Xia said with a look of seeking praise.

What was missing?

Jiang Feng had no idea what Ji Xia was talking about, but of course, he pretended he understood and asked, “What was missing?”

“Master, you were very serious just now, last night, and yesterday afternoon,” said Ji Xia.

“Hm?”

“When you make Crab Stuffed Oranges, um, I mean, not when you’re making them, but when you are… when you…” Ji Xia’s mouth couldn’t keep up with the speed of her thoughts. Her words came out incoherently as she gestured wildly, leaving herself a bit confused.

“When you teach us, it’s different from when you usually make food, you’re especially serious while teaching,” Ji Xia finally sorted out her thoughts and said.

Jiang Feng finally understood what Ji Xia was saying.

For Ji Xia, last night’s events were just that – events of the previous night. But for Jiang Feng, there were six days of memory between last night and today. Last night was a very distant time, and it was normal that he couldn’t remember what he had asked Ji Xia.

He had asked Ji Xia the previous night what the difference was between A Level and B Level Crab Stuffed Oranges, and at that time, Ji Xia had been unable to answer clearly.

Ji Xia must have been dwelling on that question, fearing Jiang Feng would ask again today. She had noticed a stark contrast between his extreme focus now and how he was yesterday, which triggered her realization.

Poor Ji Xia didn’t realize that some questions don’t even have known answers to the person asking them.

Jiang Feng was instantly enlightened by Ji Xia.

Indeed, because he was teaching someone else, he was a bit nervous and would involuntarily concentrate fully, which made him much more serious than when he cooked normally.

When he put his all into it, the dishes he made were inevitably better than those on regular days.

Plainly speaking, it was still a matter of insufficient culinary skills; he couldn’t make A Level Crab Stuffed Oranges without giving 100% effort.

“That’s right, it’s just like that. So, Xiaxia, when you cook in the future, you must be serious too. You can’t make good food if you’re distracted,” Jiang Feng said with a smile.

The response of a master level liar is just that quick.

Knowing why he could make A Level Crab Stuffed Oranges didn’t make Jiang Feng as happy as he would have expected.

This question was something he wanted to know before eleven o’clock the previous night.

Now, there was only one thing he wanted to know.

What exactly did Ji Xue see?

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