Chapter 48: The Lifelong Kitchen Maid (2)

"Then let's try something a bit more troublesome—find a way to eliminate your opponents so they can't participate in the competition. Kidnapping, threats, disfiguring them, drugging them—you name it, nothing is off limits!" Ye Lang suggested another method, though this one seemed a little too extreme.

"Stop, stop, that's no good either! Think of something else, something normal that doesn't hurt others!" Zhen Xiaoyan couldn't take it anymore. She was afraid he might actually try those things.

"Alright, let's skip all that and go with the last option. But this one's going to be tough, and I'm afraid we don't have much time, so we have to start immediately! Come, let's go now and not come back until the day of the competition. You guys let our families know and take care of our leave from school," Ye Lang said as he prepared to leave, directly entrusting the others to inform their families.

"??" Zhen Xiaoyan was confused and had no idea what Ye Lang was planning.

"Let's go, don't just stand there! Trust me, you'll definitely win the championship this time! Ah, looks like I won't have a chance to squander the family fortune again," Ye Lang said, shaking his head in resignation.

Zhen Xiaoyan stood up, half-doubting, but followed Ye Lang anyway.

At the last moment, Ye Lang flashed a wicked grin at Sha Lan and said, "Hey, Piggy, you'd better be careful these days. If anything happens, don't blame it on me!"

"What are you planning? I'm not afraid of you!" Sha Lan tried her best to sound calm.

Ye Lang no longer paid her any attention; he simply left with Zhen Xiaoyan. For over twenty days, until the start of the competition, neither of them were seen.

After they left...

"Ye Lang, why are you helping me?" Zhen Xiaoyan asked, puzzled. She couldn't understand why Ye Lang would suddenly help her. Given his personality, he had no reason to interfere, especially since he had bet on her to win—making it even more unlikely.

Ye Lang replied offhandedly, "Help is help, no need for a reason. But don't think I'm doing it for free—you have to promise me something."

Though he sounded casual, Zhen Xiaoyan seemed to sense his true motive. It was because he disliked seeing her humiliated and looked down upon—so he stepped forward to help.

"What is it?" Zhen Xiaoyan asked with a smile.

"From now on, you have to cook for me every day. And make extra pastries!" Ye Lang said. To tell the truth, Zhen Xiaoyan's pastries were second to none, but she rarely made them, as they were tedious to prepare. Besides, she thought the portions too small to satisfy her.

"If you help me win this competition and give me a chance to be with Moya, I'll cook for you all my life. As many pastries as you want, I'll make them!" Zhen Xiaoyan declared, not caring about the consequences—she was willing to do anything for victory.

"It's a deal then!" Ye Lang, muddle-headed as ever, didn't find anything odd about her offer, simply pleased to have secured a private, lifelong top chef for himself.

"Ye Lang, what exactly are you going to do?" Zhen Xiaoyan finally asked, wondering what his plan was.

Ye Lang's face turned serious at her question, and he said sternly, "Fatty! If you regret it, now's your last chance. Otherwise, for the next twenty days or so, you'll be living in hell—and even then, success isn't guaranteed. There's just not enough time, and your situation is just too dire!"

"No, even if it's hell, I have to go through with it!" Zhen Xiaoyan gritted her teeth in determination.

"Since you're so resolute, be ready to suffer. If only your circumstances were a little better—but you're absolutely hopeless! You don't know music, chess, calligraphy, or painting. You haven't learned a single aristocratic courtesy. And you're only five foot two, yet weigh over two hundred pounds—there's not even enough time for you to lose weight..." Ye Lang shook his head as he spoke, while Zhen Xiaoyan’s face grew redder and redder.

"Enough! If you keep talking, I'll crush you!" At last, Zhen Xiaoyan exploded in embarrassment and anger.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures!" Ye Lang sighed.

...

In the days that followed, things took an interesting turn. Many people began to pay attention to Ye Lang’s disappearance, each for their own reasons.

"Cheng Tian, have you found your boy yet?" During the morning court, the emperor asked Ye Cheng Tian directly, treating the matter almost as a national issue.

He wasn't abusing his power for personal matters; it was just that Ye Lang had been making his life difficult lately. What had started as a simple affair had spiraled into something almost laughable.

If Ye Lang had merely left with Zhen Xiaoyan, at most the Ye family would be worried. But Ye Lang was an adult, and they were used to his ways. As Ye Cheng Tian said:

"No, still no trace. You know him—when he decides to disappear, unless he shows up on his own, there's no way to find him. The only thing we're sure of is that he must be nearby, just not sure exactly where," Ye Cheng Tian said helplessly.

Ye Lang had vanished many times before, always reappearing on his own. This time was no different; he’d even left word before leaving, so the Ye family wasn't overly concerned or making a big fuss as in the past.

The problem was, this time Ye Lang’s parting words had left many people feeling uneasy—especially one particular group who all felt threatened.

That group was the talented young women participating in the competition—formerly known as the Pigpen Contest, now the Unparalleled Talents Tournament. After hearing the rumors, they all feared that Ye Lang would do something harmful to them.

No one could guarantee what Ye Lang might do. Judging by his past actions, he was the type to do crazy things without caring about the consequences—and that made him the most frightening kind of person.

When they learned he’d talked of kidnapping, threats, even their worst fear—disfigurement—they all became nervous, mobilizing every resource at their disposal for protection around the clock.

Since their families couldn’t find Ye Lang, they went to the emperor for help, hoping he would take charge and locate Ye Lang.

This situation gave the emperor a massive headache. Ye Lang’s public threats had gone too far, and the emperor himself couldn't be sure Ye Lang wouldn't actually go through with them. All he could do was urge the young women to be vigilant.

...

A small ticket, please, with thanks...

[bookid=116406, bookname="Wind Sweeps Another World"]