A case study in being a sore loser, starring Wang Henli: I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it! How could I possibly have lost!
I’m not listening, I’m not listening, I’m not listening! How could I possibly have lost!
You’re done for! You’re done for! This has to be rigged!
And now: Let the show begin!
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Terry was also happy for Jiang Qiuqiu!
He had just returned from his last mission of the year. He’d missed so, so many of Jiang Qiuqiu’s streams while he was away, and he was absolutely heartbroken about it.
The mont he got back today, he heard there would be an overnight return delivery, and he was ecstatic.
Plus, his luck was exceptionally good today. He got five draws, and he won at every single ti!
As for the food from that other guy, that annoying strear... Terry didn’t want to eat it, but he figured, ’I already went through the trouble of snagging this at, so I might as well give it a try.’ So, he did.
Sadly, he was disappointed the mont he tried it.
Well, ’disappointed’ might not be the right word.
As a Mixed Species who, despite being a little goofy, had been in this scene for a long ti and possessed an incredibly sensitive palate, Terry’s discernnt when it ca to the flavor of ingredients was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
If Wang Henli’s dish had been featured on its own in so other stream, it would have been perfectly edible.
His braised at soup was decent, and his seafood soup had a little sothing to it. He was better than most strears, and his food was good enough to get Terry to open his wallet.
But these skewers...
Without anything to compare them to, they were fine. But with Jiang Qiuqiu’s brilliant grilled skewers setting the bar, the difference was stark. With her food, although there were seasonings, the seasonings were always supporting characters. When you ate the bird at, you tasted the texture of bird at. When you ate the Gugu pork belly, it was pure pork belly. When you ate the Bibi Beast at, you got that burst of savory juice.
Even though she brushed them all with the sa sauce, each type of skewer had a distinct taste. Her cooking thod added flavor without masking the food’s natural essence.
As for Henry, he had many kinds of skewers, but they all tasted the sa: a bland, one-note spiciness. After a few of them, Terry couldn’t eat anymore. It was just torture.
And there were millions who felt the sa way he did.
Wang Henli himself hadn’t expected this. He had planned to seize the initiative and conquer everyone’s taste buds with a trilogy of spicy, savory, and umami flavors. Instead, he had accidentally gone head-to-head with Jiang Qiuqiu, creating a stark contrast between their two dishes.
There’s nothing worse than being compared when the two things are only superficially similar. In a situation like this—
every single flaw is laid bare with nowhere to hide.
The final voting results were just as Terry had imagined.
Jiang Qiuqiu won in a landslide. That what’s-his-na strear sat silently in his living room like a sulking husky, his face dark and gloomy.
’...What a sore loser.’
Terry shot a contemptuous, wolfish glare at the screen. But what he didn’t expect was that the man could be an even bigger sore loser.
Right now, Qiuqiu was discussing with everyone which skewer was the tastiest. As a proud wolf, Terry had of course cast his precious votes for the bird wings!
’Sothing with at and delicate bones is just divine!’
[The bird wings! The bird wings! The flats are the best!]
[The lotus root slices were delicious!]
[The eggplant! I managed to snag the biggest piece of eggplant!]
Everyone’s feedback was different, a perfect example of "to each their own." Oh, wait—
[Am I going crazy? Why did I get radishes again?]
[DAMMIT, why are there even radishes in a barbecue?! I hate radishes!]
The viewers sent a lively stream of comnts flooding the screen. Every one of Jiang Qiuqiu’s competitions lacked the tense atmosphere of a real showdown. Ever since that anti-fan incident had passed, her stream was always filled with delicious food, warmth, and joy.
It was almost the two-hour mark, and the competition was about to end. Jiang Qiuqiu stood up, preparing to work through the night until dawn.
Just then, Wang Henli stood up.
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