Ding Ruyun obviously didn’t feel the same way.

She tentatively asked Ye Fei, "That day during the group stage, was it your friend who came with you?"

Ding Ruyun’s eyes darted around, "One of the men, they all said, looks very much like the CEO of Changping Group, Zhao Gushen."

Fu Jiaxu also remembered that matter and nodded along.

Ye Fei raised an eyebrow and said, "Then they must have seen wrong. If I really knew such a powerful person, would I need to participate in this competition?"

The eyes revealed outside Ye Fei’s mask had a half-smiling, half-not look as they gazed at Ding Ruyun, "You don’t suspect that I got this eleventh place through backdoor means, do you?"

Ding Ruyun was blocked; she really thought so.

But she couldn’t admit it.

After all, being suspicious in one’s heart is one thing. To really say it out loud, the accusation would be too heavy.

She truly didn’t expect Ye Fei to say it so straightforwardly.

"Of course not, don’t misunderstand," Ding Ruyun quickly said, her smile already a bit unnatural.

"Exactly, that’s impossible," Fu Jiaxu chimed in, as if without a heart, "If it were really a backdoor deal, you’d have gotten first place directly, rather than eleventh."

"Even being the so-called first under Changping sounds nice, but it’s not really first. There are still people from Changping above you. Being the first under Changping just means you’ll never surpass the people from Changping. This title, it’s not worth wanting," Fu Jiaxu said with a smile.

His words sounded as if he was defending Ye Fei.

But in reality, there was praise on the surface and criticism underneath, making it uncomfortable to hear.

Ding Ruyun originally thought Fu Jiaxu was genuinely so honest.

She wanted to say that during the group stage, his feigned modesty didn’t seem like the demeanor of an honest person.

So he was waiting for this.

Ding Ruyun secretly laughed in her heart, then saw Ye Fei smiling to the point her eyes curved: "You make a lot of sense. If I could really go through the backdoor, I would have arranged to be in first place long ago."

"No, if I had those connections, why would I participate in a competition and be a food blogger? I could open a high-end restaurant and be the boss, right? Would I still need to stand alongside some tasteless people? Don’t you think so?" Ye Fei asked with a squinty smile.

Though Ye Fei wore a mask, Ding Ruyun and Fu Jiaxu could still see the sarcasm in Ye Fei’s eyes.

Ye Fei was cursing them out!

But ironically, they couldn’t retort.

If they retorted, wouldn’t they be admitting they were the tasteless ones?

They weren’t!

Fu Jiaxu frowned, looking like an earnest person who didn’t agree, suddenly raised his voice, "Fei Xiaomo, how can you talk like that? Are you cursing the other contestants? They didn’t provoke or offend you, how can you look down on people?"

Ding Ruyun applauded Fu Jiaxu in her heart.

With this move, Fu Jiaxu successfully set Ye Fei up for hatred.

Letting others hear, it seemed Ye Fei despised all the contestants, not just the two of them.

Sure enough, because of Fu Jiaxu’s words, others present turned their heads.

Hearing the name Fei Xiaomo, they were not unfamiliar.

They all frowned.

This Fei Xiaomo, quite arrogant!

Saying the best under Changping was just a way of being polite and marketing.

She took it seriously.

She really considered herself something!

Seeing it aroused everyone’s resentment, Fu Jiaxu secretly felt proud.