Wang Zaozao quickly followed the aroma to the entrance of the kitchen on the eighth floor. Jiang Qiuqiu’s group hadn’t closed the door tightly after entering, so it was left ajar. Wang Zaozao gave the door a gentle push, and it swung wide open.

Once the door was open, what had been a simple aroma suddenly became much more complex.

Before, the scent was just a single, abstract idea of ’fragrance’ in her mind. But now, that fragrance took on a concrete form—the savory aroma of meat, the fresh, sweet-and-sour notes of fruits and vegetables, and a hint of spice.

The alluring aroma compelled her to take two steps forward. Once inside, Wang Zaozao saw that there were probably eight or nine people in the kitchen, all gathered around a large pot.

The air was filled with the SIZZLE of oil meeting vegetables and the familiar haze of cooking. Wang Zaozao’s gaze quickly locked onto the large pot. ’That must be where the smell is coming from!’

Meanwhile, the group inside, who were in the middle of a ’culinary discussion,’ heard the noise and turned in unison to look.

This year’s top ten streamers from the Food category were mostly quite young. Besides Jiang Qiuqiu, there were plenty of other pretty faces, not to mention the stunningly beautiful Chen Yu. As their gazes fell upon her, Wang Zaozao froze for a second before stuttering out an introduction. "Hi, I’m Wang Zaozao. I’m a streamer doing a review of this place today. Is this the kitchen of the Star Hotel? Um, would it be okay if I interviewed you?"

Seeing they had a visitor who seemed to have a request, Jiang Qiuqiu turned off the stove. She smiled at Wang Zaozao. "This is a kitchen, yes. An interview... Hmm, what would you like to interview us about?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

A gentle voice rang in her ears. ’That young chef in the center is gorgeous,’ Wang Zaozao thought. ’She’s completely different from the restaurant owners I’ve interviewed before.’ Being the focus of the beautiful girl’s attention made Wang Zaozao start to blush. Her mind went blank for a second, and before she knew it, the question that had been on her mind since she first pushed open the door just tumbled out: "Are all the chefs at the Star Hotel this good-looking?"

"..."

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Wang Zaozao felt as if she had burst into flames.

Across from her, the group of chefs—and Chen Yu—couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Wang Zaozao had no idea that the chat on her livestream was already blowing up.

[She’s not a chef, is she?]

[With a face like that, why would you be a chef? Shouldn’t you be a celebrity?]

[No way, seriously? Didn’t you guys watch the Federation broadcast today? You can’t recognize her?! Holy crap, that’s today’s grand champion!!]

[???]

The mention of "grand champion" triggered a flood of question marks in the chat. Someone quickly looked up photos of Jiang Qiuqiu. [It really is her! Whoa, did she just run into a big shot?]

But the flustered Wang Zaozao had no time to check her livestream chat at that moment.

There was a hint of laughter in Jiang Qiuqiu’s eyes. "Thank you for the compliment, but we’re not chefs from the Star Hotel. We’re streamers, too."

With that, she introduced herself. "I’m Jiang Jiujiu from the Food category. Hello!"

Jiang Jiujiu!

Wang Zaozao had also been at the annual gala. Even though she’d slept through the whole thing and hadn’t seen anything, she had definitely heard the name Jiang Jiujiu before. ’She’s this year’s King of Popularity!’

It quickly dawned on her that she must be in the wrong place. It was bad enough she’d asked such a silly question, but to not even recognize this year’s number one streamer... ’They must think I’m just here to chase clout.’ After stammering a couple of apologies, Wang Zaozao beat a hasty retreat from the small kitchen.

She was gone as quickly as she had appeared. The group turned their attention back to the pot.

Jiang Qiuqiu turned the heat back on. The rich aroma of braised pork belly instantly filled the air. She pointed out a few key things about the dish, then added with a self-deprecating laugh, "It seems my name is more famous than my face."

"You’re not the only one."