Chapter 17: An Unexpected New Mission

The hot pot broth bubbled away, and though eight people sat around the table, perhaps each preoccupied with their own thoughts, no one spoke; the atmosphere was unusually quiet.

“Shall we have some wine?” Chu Yao glanced around the table, sensing something was missing, and made the suggestion.

“I think that’s a great idea. It’s rare for us all to be here together—let’s have a little to celebrate!” Wen Yiming responded enthusiastically. The next moment he stood up, saying, “I’ll go get the wine!”

With the food right in front of him, Lu Zhou’s hunger had already set in. Seeing that no one else was making a move, he took the initiative, picking up the communal chopsticks and placing some ingredients into the simmering pot.

The other men, seeing this, finally began adding items to the hot pot themselves.

Wen Yiming soon returned to the table with a bottle of red wine and a decanter. “This was all I could find on the wine rack,” he announced.

Zhang Chen waved him over. “Let me have a look.”

“You decant the wine, I’ll fetch the glasses,” Wen Yiming said, handing over the bottle before heading into the kitchen.

Zhang Chen examined the label for a moment, a faint smile curling at his lips.

The wine was clearly provided by the show’s sponsor—a perfectly ordinary table wine.

Lu Zhou caught his subtle expression and wondered: Was he smiling because he was satisfied with the wine, or because he wasn’t?

By then, Zhang Chen had already uncorked the bottle and was pouring it into the decanter.

“How long does it need to breathe?” Lu Zhou asked without thinking.

“About fifteen minutes should do,” Zhang Chen replied offhandedly, setting the wine in the middle of the table.

Lu Zhou now understood: that little smile of Zhang Chen’s was likely due to disappointment with the wine’s quality. A man who wore a watch worth hundreds of thousands was probably used to much finer vintages.

Lu Zhou fished a piece of beef from the pot, dipped it in Chu Yao’s special sauce, and tasted it. Satisfied, he nodded and gave Chu Yao a thumbs up. “Delicious! Truly a feast for the senses!”

Chu Yao laughed at the compliment. “Is it cooked through?”

“Yes, though it would have been even more tender if we’d eaten it a bit sooner,” Lu Zhou replied, scooping out all the cooked beef with the communal spoon and dividing it among the four at their end of the table.

Ye Fangfei, sitting diagonally across and a bit farther away, would have been difficult to serve without standing.

“Thanks, but you don’t need to trouble yourself. I can manage,” Ye Fangfei said.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chen, chewing his beef, covertly observed Lu Zhou.

Where did this show-off come from? He’s laying it on a bit thick, isn’t he? Not a single thing on him is worth any real money; no matter how attentive he is in front of the women, it’ll all come to nothing in the end.

Zhang Chen couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

“Fangfei, would you like some beef meatballs?” he asked, picking up a slotted spoon and fishing out two steaming meatballs.

Ye Fangfei, savoring her beef, looked up and glanced at the two freshly cooked meatballs, her lips twitching. “I just put those in. They’ve only been in the pot for two minutes...”

Zhang Chen’s face froze in embarrassment, and he hurriedly returned the meatballs to the broth.

Wen Yiming, meanwhile, was handing out wine glasses. “Is anyone here unable to drink?” he asked.

Ye Fangfei raised her hand. “Me! Because of work tomorrow, I won’t join you tonight. Next time, perhaps.”

Wen Yiming paused, the glass hovering over her place, but finally set it down with a smile. “I’ll get you some juice instead?”

“I’ll go,” Zhang Chen offered immediately, already getting to his feet.

Wen Yiming glanced at him and said nothing more, quietly returning to his seat.

“Hey! You’ve all started without me? Not even waiting? That’s just cruel!” He looked at his group, who were already tucking into the hot pot in silence, and wailed.

“You’re not missing out; look, your plate’s full, isn’t it?” Qi Jiajia said, eating as she spoke.

“We couldn’t let the girls go hungry waiting for you, could we? Besides, if you leave the meat in too long, it gets tough,” Xu Junze patted Wen Yiming on the shoulder reassuringly.

Li Jiayan placed her freshly cooked lamb into Wen Yiming’s bowl. “Here, just for you. You’ve worked hard, Yiming.”

Wen Yiming flashed a sunny smile. “Jiayan is always so thoughtful.”

Once the wine had breathed, Lu Zhou stood up to pour for everyone.

“Come, let’s raise a glass together—to Yao Yao and Yiming for tonight’s wonderful feast!”

After pouring, Lu Zhou led the toast.

“Thank you, Yao Yao! Thank you, Yiming!”

Gratitude echoed around the table.

“Yao Yao, your hot pot sauce is incredible! You must share the recipe with me someday—I want to try it at home,” Qi Jiajia praised, munching on a meatball.

“Of course, she’s a top culinary influencer—her skills are almost at a professional chef’s level,” Wen Yiming chimed in.

“I have to say, whoever marries Yao Yao in the future will be the luckiest person alive,” Ye Fangfei said with a broad smile.

“Whoever plans to marry Yao Yao should be prepared to gain at least twenty pounds!” Xu Junze joked.

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Li Jiayan said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “None of the four men here are overweight. If any of you were, I’d suspect he was Yao Yao’s ex!”

Lu Zhou swallowed a mouthful of enoki mushrooms and grinned. “Think about it—they’re exes now. After the breakup, all those treats vanish. It’s like falling from heaven to earth—no matter how much weight they gained before, they’d lose it all.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

At the center of attention, Chu Yao blushed. Fanning herself, she said, “I suspect you’ve all conspired to flatter me, hoping I’ll cook for you every day. I’m onto you—I won’t fall for it!”

Wen Yiming laughed. “Busted!”

Zhang Chen added, “It seems clever people are hard to fool.”

With the jokes, the mood grew livelier, everyone relaxing and chatting as they ate. The sense of unfamiliarity between them melted away.

Just as they were finishing the hot pot, the doorbell rang unexpectedly.

They all exchanged looks, puzzled.

“I’ll go see who it is,” Lu Zhou volunteered, getting up and heading out.

Opening the villa door, he looked around but saw no one outside, only a delicate basket placed on the doorstep. Inside was a tablet.

He picked up the basket and brought it inside, closing the door behind him.

Back in the dining room, all eyes were on him.

“What is it?” Qi Jiajia asked curiously.

Lu Zhou held up the tablet. “This was left at the door—probably the show has a new task for us.”

“Let’s take a look,” Wen Yiming said.

Returning to his seat, Lu Zhou pressed the power button, swiped away the lock screen, and saw that a note had already been opened. The first line, bolded and in large black letters, read:

In your ex’s eyes, what kind of person were you in the past? Now, let’s hear how your ex would describe you to everyone else.