Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!

"The fish cake is fresh and elastic, yet it melts in the mouth like jelly," Lowell said. "Very nice."

Compared to the numerous praises for Ye Fei’s dishes earlier, this evaluation seemed rather ordinary.

In reality, it was only Ye Fei’s dish that received such extensive feedback.

The comments for other winners were similar to those received by Xue Jieyu.

"Rather than calling it a fish cake, it would be more suitable to call it fish jelly. Unlike traditional fish cakes, which have a grainy, beany texture, as Lowell mentioned, it’s more like a pudding," Guo Wenbo said. "The taste is surprisingly delightful. Very nice."

"Your performance in the last round wasn’t very ideal, but you did well this time," Ye Huasong said with a smile.

"There’s not a hint of fishiness, with a fresh sweetness accompanied by a slight hint of spiciness," Luo Jialin said. "It’s only a very slight spiciness, something you wouldn’t notice unless you savor it. But that tiny bit of spiciness is quite a pleasant surprise. Once you taste it, it’s like your taste buds have been awakened."

"It’s a rare achievement for this fish jelly to have no fishy taste at all," Gu Changfeng acknowledged.

Xue Jieyu confessed without any reservation: "Originally, I forgot to take the scallions and ginger to remove the fishy taste. I was so flustered that I only thought about gathering the ingredients quickly to leave more time for cooking. As a result, I ended up omitting the crucial scallions and ginger."

"I know, forgetting to take ingredients is my own responsibility, and that’s the rule of the competition. If you don’t have them, you don’t have them. Failing because of this and losing the competition, I can only blame myself. But at the time, I still tried to ask other participants for some ingredients," Xue Jieyu explained.

Xue Jieyu didn’t say ’borrow’.

Because these ingredients were for her to use, could they really be returned?

Only when you can return something does borrowing make sense.

"It was thanks to Ye Fei that I didn’t even have to ask. She gave me the scallions and ginger without hesitation. They seemed insignificant, but there could be situations later on where they might still be needed. Yet, she gave me some anyway."

"Without these, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my dish today," Xue Jieyu said. "So, I’m especially grateful to her. The judges’ approval of my dish today is partly due to Ye Fei’s help."

Xue Jieyu didn’t mention Ding Ruyun’s refusal.

It would seem petty and vindictive if she did.

She’s bringing this up now purely to express her gratitude to Ye Fei.

Ye Fei doesn’t usually interact much with the rest of the contestants.

Many people have misunderstandings about Ye Fei behind her back, believing her to be aloof and difficult to get along with.

But this incident made her see clearly.

People who seem easy-going on the surface aren’t necessarily good people, while those who seem aloof might be warm-hearted.

Xue Jieyu didn’t want to provoke criticism for Ye Fei by bringing up Ding Ruyun and creating enemies for Ye Fei.

Although Ding Ruyun is already at odds with Ye Fei, she didn’t want to stir up more trouble.

Letting Ye Fei do a good deed only to be misunderstood by others would be unjust.

She’s thanking Ye Fei, not trying to cause her trouble.

"Among the contestants, we actually don’t know much about each other. Many things are taken at face value. On the surface, someone might seem easy-going, gentle, harmless, or like a good person."

Ding Ruyun was sitting in the elimination zone, face clouded, looking dark and gloomy as she heard Xue Jieyu’s words.

Isn’t this just referring to her?

Isn’t it because she didn’t give her the scallions and ginger?

Yet, she bore a grudge against her for this!

This is a competition, who would sympathize with her!

Ding Ruyun was furious, gnashing her teeth, filled with resentment.

Not only did she hate Xue Jieyu but also Ye Fei.

What was Ye Fei doing then, exhibiting generosity and helpfulness?

It only made her look worse.

This is a competition, why play friendship first?

Who knew if it was caught on camera at the time.

Hopefully it wasn’t captured.

She would be criticized while Ye Fei, on the contrary, would establish a cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside persona.

Ding Ruyun glared hatefully at Xue Jieyu.

"Ye Fei generally doesn’t interact much with us. We haven’t talked much, little communication, yet at critical moments, it was she who helped me," Xue Jieyu said. "Whether or not I advance today, I am very grateful to her. I don’t know if the camera captured the moment Ye Fei helped me earlier."

"If not, I’ll take this opportunity on camera to let everyone know it was Ye Fei who helped me. She’s really nice," Xue Jieyu said.

"You’re nice too!" someone suddenly shouted from the audience.

Immediately, the applause from the audience ensued.

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden shout.

Even the judges couldn’t help but smile.

The camera immediately found Ye Fei, zooming in on her with a close-up.

Ding Ruyun was pondering whether the moment Ye Fei lent the scallions and ginger to Xue Jieyu was caught on camera.

Unexpectedly, the big screen in the live broadcast switched, and the director showed a playback of the moment.

What appeared first was Ding Ruyun’s name, spoken by Xue Jieyu.

Xue Jieyu was just asking Ding Ruyun for the scallions and ginger.

Now observing the dialogue between Xue Jieyu and her as a third party, it felt particularly strange.

Next came Ding Ruyun’s refusal to give the scallions and ginger to Xue Jieyu.

Just as it replayed the moment Ding Ruyun refused Xue Jieyu, an audience member noticed and exclaimed, "Look, Ye Fei is already quietly chopping scallions, probably for Xue Jieyu?"

"Actually, Xue Jieyu didn’t even ask her, Ye Fei could’ve completely pretended not to know."

"Ye Fei is genuinely a good person."

"From what Xue Jieyu said, it seems like Ye Fei doesn’t have a good relationship with the other contestants."

"It shows. So far, there have only been two rounds of competition, yet in both, there’s been discord with the contestants. Obviously, last time Shi Jiumei was causing trouble. I was thinking, with everyone targeting Ye Fei, perhaps she also had some issues. But now it seems the problem lies with Ding Ruyun."

"Indeed, looking soft and weak, who knew her heart could be so malicious."

"There’s no competition between her and Xue Jieyu in this round. She has plenty. She could’ve shared just a little with Xue Jieyu."

"Sure, helping is a kindness, and not helping is one’s duty. It’s Xue Jieyu’s mistake, not others’, fault. Even if Ding Ruyun doesn’t lend, she shouldn’t face too much criticism. The flaw is in Ding Ruyun setting up a pure and harmless image for herself. From what Xue Jieyu said, Ding Ruyun seemed to have good relations with the contestants, but at crucial moments, she turns her back. It’s not about whether lending ingredients is right or wrong, but that such a person is rather frightening."