"She's been causing trouble all this time, and you didn't respond. Are we just going to let her question your culinary skills this time?"
Ye Fei was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "By the way, did you just come from the company?"
Li Xiaoyun was taken aback and absent-mindedly replied, "Yeah, I just got off work, saw the buzz on Weibo, and came straight here."
"Then you haven't eaten yet. What do you want to eat? I'll make you something," Ye Fei said.
"I'm so angry I'm full! It's such a hot day, I don't even have the appetite. It's a good chance to lose weight," Li Xiaoyun said anxiously. "I mean, you've been wronged like this, and you're still thinking about cooking!"
"No matter what, I can't let you stay hungry." Ye Fei walked into the kitchen. "If you can't decide, I'll just make something for you. How about some oil-splashed noodles?"
Li Xiaoyun thought of Ye Fei's oil-splashed noodles, which were truly extraordinary, so she instinctively nodded, "Okay."
Then, she saw Ye Fei spring into action.
Li Xiaoyun hurriedly followed, "Are you really in the mood to cook right now? Do you think it's just a little commotion this time? Let me tell you, it's all over Weibo. You'd better go check it out; I bet the comment section on your video is going crazy too."
Ye Fei boiled water, took out some knife-cut noodles she had prepared in advance for shooting videos and dried them, and put them into the boiling water.
"I'll check it out after cooking the noodles. Even if I look now, it won't solve anything," Ye Fei said calmly. "But you're right; we can't just let this go."
You can question her culinary skills, but you can't slander them.
That's something she couldn't tolerate.
After she said this, Ye Fei took a cucumber from the fridge and sliced it.
"In most restaurants, they blanch greens to place on the noodles, but since it's hot now, I'll use cucumbers for a fresher taste. Plus, it spares the trouble of boiling water for the greens. You can do this yourself when you're home alone; it's no hassle," Ye Fei said, finishing slicing the cucumber.
"When I'm craving, I'll just come to you. I can't even be bothered to cook noodles, let alone clean pots after frying oil," Li Xiaoyun, infected by Ye Fei's calmness, leaned lazily against the door frame and wasn't as anxious as before.
"You lazybones," Ye Fei laughed.
She then mixed the noodle sauce in a bowl—soy sauce, vinegar, and oyster sauce, stirred evenly.
"Soy sauce is already salty enough; I won't add any more salt," Ye Fei said.
Then, she chopped some scallions and minced garlic.
With everything ready, the noodles were also cooked.
Ye Fei took some ice water from the fridge, fished out the noodles, and dipped them in the ice water.
"So troublesome. Can't I just pour the oil directly?" Li Xiaoyun asked when she saw this.
"Using cold water to rinse is fine too. This prevents the noodles from sticking together; they remain distinct and are chewier," Ye Fei explained. "Seeing how lazy you are, if you're craving, just come to me. I can't trust you to cook yourself; you'll ruin my reputation."
"Haha! You said it!" Li Xiaoyun accepted readily.
Ye Fei picked up the noodles into a bowl, poured over the mixed sauce, and topped with minced garlic and chili powder.
She heated the oil in the pot, added scallion segments, and removed them when crispy and charred.
The hot, aromatic scallion oil was then drizzled onto the garlic and chili powder.
Instantly, the fragrance of scallion oil mixed with the aroma of garlic permeated the air.
"Normally, for oil-splashed noodles, scallions are minced together with garlic before pouring the hot oil. But I find extracting the scallion oil is more aromatic, allowing each noodle to be coated with its fragrance," Ye Fei said with a smile, arranging the cucumber slices and bringing the noodles to the table.
She also took out some lemon-pickled radishes she had just pickled the night before from the fridge for Li Xiaoyun as a refreshing side dish.
Ye Xiaomo sniffed and swallowed saliva greedily, "Godmother, I want some too."
"Didn't you just have dinner?" Ye Fei, putting the pot in the dishwasher, was shocked when she heard Ye Xiaomo say this, "You had a big bowl of rice!"
"But the noodles smell so good," Ye Xiaomo licked his lips, "I'll just have a bite."
"Be careful not to overeat; it'll disturb your sleep at night," Ye Fei warned.
"Then just one bite, okay?" Li Xiaoyun entered the kitchen to grab chopsticks, returning to give Ye Xiaomo a mouthful.
Ye Fei tidied up and sat beside Li Xiaoyun.
"This is really the best oil-splashed noodles I've ever had," Li Xiaoyun said contentedly with her eyes closed, "The sour-spicy taste is perfect for summer."
Ye Xiaomo nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Ye Fei, stop daydreaming, go check online," urged Li Xiaoyun, "This time it's really serious."
Ye Fei went to fetch her phone.
No wonder Li Xiaoyun was so upset.
Some netizens had posted about how they tried Ye Fei's method but failed.
Moreover, it wasn't just one person; many claimed Ye Fei's method didn't work at all.
"I followed Fei Xiaomo's method, and the result was horrible. The taste was downright disgusting."
"The presentation aside, maybe I mishandled the heat, but I followed her seasoning instructions to the letter, even matching the quantities, yet what I made was a disaster."
"A friend of mine works for an influencer marketing company. She said Ye Fei is just a packaged internet celebrity from their company, who knows nothing about cooking. They use her because her hands look good on camera. Haven't you noticed she never shows her face? That's because she's too ugly, and it would ruin the video quality."
"23333, no wonder she won't show her face; turns out she's ugly."
"Seems she's not only a bad cook but also ugly. Maybe she doesn't even speak on camera because her voice is terrible?"
The netizen who broke the news said, "My friend said her voice is okay, not outstanding, but not unpleasant either—just ugly. And during the video shoots, there's someone guiding her; she can't cook herself at all. The good-looking final dishes weren't made by her, they were edited in later."
"Why is someone like this popular?"
"She can't compare to Shi Jiumei."
"Don't compare someone too scared to show her face with Shi Jiumei. Shi Jiumei is pretty, her cooking skills are great, and her voice is pleasant. Watching her videos is a delight."
"Most importantly, Shi Jiumei is different from Fei Xiaomo. Dishes made following Shi Jiumei's instructions are truly delicious."
They even accompanied their post with pictures of their own successful dishes.
"Yes, yes, even I, with clumsy hands, can make them look good and taste great," they added, with more dish photos.
"Haha, comparing someone who won't show her face and uses stand-ins to Shi Jiumei is an insult to her. What does Fei Xiaomo have to compete with Shi Jiumei?"