Chapter 43: Even Cooking Needs a Cheat?
"Xiao Yuhao, I've already prepared everything you asked for. The rest is up to you now!" Tang Ya glanced at the cleaned green fish, swallowed her saliva, and smiled as she spoke to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously, looking at Tang Ya with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Teacher Xiao Ya. Without you, I wouldn't even know where to prepare all these things."
Tang Ya reached out to ruffle Huo Yuhao's hair. "No need to thank me. As the sect master, I should of course look out for my sect disciples. Do your best, Xiao Yuhao. I believe you can become famous across the whole academy, just like your first-year's strongest new student, Wang Lin Yun!"
"Teacher Xiao Ya!"
"Xiao Yuhao!"
While the two were sharing this warm master-disciple moment, an unexpected voice suddenly sounded.
"Ahem, I think I just heard someone calling me?" Lin Yun swallowed the food in his mouth, casually tossing the wooden skewer into a nearby trash bin.
"Eh?!"
"Ah!"
Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya both jumped at the sudden sound, turning to look at Lin Yun in unison.
Tang Ya's face instantly turned red, a guilty feeling rising in her heart as if she had been caught speaking behind someone's back.
"That's it for now, Xiao Yuhao! I still have to find Bei Bei, so keep it up!" Tang Ya patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder, then slipped away in a hurry.
Her departing words still echoed in Huo Yuhao's ears—
"Remember to save me two grilled fish!"
Huo Yuhao stood frozen on the spot, his mouth slightly agape as he watched her leave, the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat.
Helpless, he turned to Lin Yun, his tone tinged with apology. "Sorry, Lin Yun, Teacher Xiao Ya didn't mean anything by it."
Since the first day of school, Lin Yun had become the class's unofficial leader—though not the class monitor, his authority rivaled one, and even the stand-in homeroom teacher couldn't match his influence. No one in Class One dared to defy him.
Huo Yuhao was no exception. In fact, he admired Lin Yun even more than most.
In the Douluo Continent, someone with overwhelming strength and boundless talent usually had their eyes on their forehead and looked down on others, but in these past few days, Lin Yun had never once used his power to bully anyone. His reputation was impeccable.
Of course, for Lin Yun, these were just kids—he had no interest in bullying children.
But his conduct made Huo Yuhao's goodwill toward him soar. They both had golden hair, but while Dai Huabin had little strength yet a haughty attitude, Lin Yun was strong enough to defeat Shrek's teachers, yet remained calm and humble.
To Huo Yuhao, he was an idol.
"It's fine. If anything, it just proves I'm strong. Who would mind having more people admire them?" Lin Yun smacked his lips, speaking casually.
"But if you want to set me as your target, you'll have to work hard. I'm not that easy to catch up to."
Although Huo Yuhao's actions under Tang Sect's pressure could be unpleasant, right now he was just a bullied illegitimate child.
And since Lin Yun lived in Dorm 109, he saw him training diligently every day. With such a resilient personality, he was hard to dislike.
Lin Yun had no reason to treat him with malice—it was unnecessary.
"Thank you, I'll do my best! How about I treat you to grilled fish?" Huo Yuhao scratched his head with a simple smile, pointing at the barbecue stall in front of them.
"No need to treat me. We're classmates—just think of it as me supporting your business." Lin Yun flicked his thumb, and a golden light flew toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao caught it, opened his palm, and saw a gold soul coin with beautiful patterns resting quietly in his hand.
"A gold soul coin!"
Huo Yuhao was startled. "That's too much! Even if you're buying, my grilled fish is priced at five copper soul coins per fish—this is enough for twenty of them!"
"Then twenty it is. I've got a big appetite, and I can finish them. Just make them, and don't keep me waiting too long. I've been hungry for a while." Lin Yun tilted his chin slightly, smiling as he spoke.
Huo Yuhao did not say anything more, only gave a slight nod. But the hand holding the gold soul coin tightened, the hard coin pressing painfully into his palm.
He paid no attention to the pain. His heart was filled only with deep gratitude toward Lin Yun.
Tang Ya believed his grilled fish could sell well because she had tasted it before. But Lin Yun? Before this, he had never even seen him cook, yet was still willing to hand over a gold soul coin to buy his grilled fish.
'I've got a big appetite, I can finish it.'
That sentence alone made Huo Yuhao unable to refuse. There was no feeling of charity in it—only warmth and a strong sense of being moved.
As he waited for the food, Lin Yun was unaware that Huo Yuhao was nearly treating him as a lifelong friend. Otherwise, he might have laughed outright.
He simply wanted to try the so-called Grilled Fish King's cooking. Besides, a gold soul coin was nothing—Lin Yun would not even bother picking it up if it fell to the ground.
He had tens of millions in gold soul coins and cash stored in his soul tool. If he asked Di Tian to casually sell a few soul bones, he could become immensely wealthy instantly.
In short, a casual gesture from Lin Yun had nearly maxed out Huo Yuhao's goodwill toward him.
Immediately after, Huo Yuhao began his performance.
Lin Yun had said he was hungry and not to keep him waiting—how could Huo Yuhao let his idol wait any longer?
A golden light flashed in his deep blue eyes, and a white soul ring appeared beneath his feet. But with the grill blocking the view, Lin Yun could only see a faint glow.
Spiritual Detection!
He quickly coated four fish with salt and perilla, skewered them precisely with four bamboo sticks, and placed them on the grill.
To ensure the best taste, Huo Yuhao poured all his focus into controlling the heat perfectly.
This was the most serious he had ever been—he absolutely could not let his idol down!
As the fish gradually cooked under high heat, a light yet penetrating aroma spread through the air. Even on a snack street filled with various scents, Huo Yuhao's grilled fish was the one that caught the nose most sharply.
Catching the smell, Lin Yun looked in surprise at the busy Huo Yuhao.
This grilled fish… not bad at all.
The main ingredient was only the most common green fish, far inferior to those Di Tian had caught from the Lake of Life. The seasoning was just simple salt and perilla, all of which Lin Yun had personally watched Huo Yuhao prepare.
Yet somehow, the taste was as if it had been buffed, completely unreasonable. It did not seem as fragrant as the fish he had eaten at the Lake of Life, but this aroma still stirred the appetite.
Very good. Even cooking needs a cheat, huh?
(End of this chapter)
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