Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!-Chapter 13: The Competition

Ye Fei looked at these and found it difficult to distinguish between internet trolls and Shi Jiumei’s fans.

But she could tell that the ones who started it off were not just regular netizens. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Simply because they set the rhythm, ordinary netizens started believing their words.

While Ye Fei was looking at these, Li Xiaoyun had finished her noodles and put the dishes, including Ye Xiaomo’s, into the dishwasher.

Coming back, she said: "Look at these people, it’s obvious they’re just trying to smear you. That so-called insider, did they say one truthful thing? Saying you’re ugly?"

"Come on! If you’re considered ugly, I’m really curious what counts as pretty! Saying you’re promoted by an internet celebrity packing company? You’ve never signed with a company, don’t have a manager, not even your own studio. It’s all your own video recording, editing, and uploading. I didn’t even know anyone could pack you!"

"Nothing these people say aligns with the facts at all, it’s obvious someone hired trolls to blacken your name." Li Xiaoyun said angrily, "Look at Shi Jiumei’s replies. None of your peers have said anything, yet she jumped out first, stirring things up. If not her, then who else?"

Ye Fei also saw that Shi Jiumei replied to every person who praised her.

Even some netizens were praising Shi Jiumei while stepping on Ye Fei, yet Shi Jiumei didn’t avoid it at all and thanked them.

This is just what Ye Fei saw; there were likely other instances she missed where Shi Jiumei was involved.

Ye Fei didn’t bother looking at the barrage comments on the videos, which were probably a mess.

Her fans, of course, were defending her.

Zhong Xian: "Fei Xiaomo has indeed never shown her face, so who’s to prove what she looks like? You say she’s ugly, where’s your evidence?"

Yi Jiao: "And also, who said food bloggers have to show their faces? They’re not celebrities; people watch to see the cooking, not their faces. Just because she doesn’t show her face, does that mean you’re suggesting someone else is cooking for her?"

Little Fish: "By that logic, there are plenty of people filming videos without showing their faces. So why specifically target Fei Xiaomo? And suddenly there are so many doubtful voices all at once. I really question the authenticity of these doubts and the motivations of these netizens."

Wang Xian Nian with a cute tone: "Shi Jiumei has good culinary skills? Don’t kid yourself, out of ten videos, five are copying Fei Xiaomo’s. She’s just relying on her cute face to attract fans, right? Her looks might be considered good within the culinary circle, but outside of that, her face is pretty average, isn’t it? What’s Shi Jiumei’s fans showing off about?"

"Haha, Shi Jiumei’s looks are average? Then what do you look like, let’s see. Also, our Shi Jiumei dares to show her face openly, unlike Fei Xiaomo, hiding all the time."

"You say Shi Jiumei’s culinary skills are bad, have you tried her cooking? At least when we follow Shi Jiumei’s methods, the result is delicious."

Ye Fei’s fans retaliated: "That’s just what you say, we follow Fei Xiaomo’s methods and it’s delicious too. Shi Jiumei’s method, aside from complicating the process fancily, the result doesn’t change at all, and it’s not as tasty as Fei Xiaomo’s recipes."

Although Ye Fei’s fans were defending her.

However, the effect of having trolls is quite different from not having them.

Ye Fei’s fans are genuinely accumulated, but Shi Jiumei’s fans combined with trolls are outnumbering Ye Fei’s fans.

Soon, Ye Fei’s fans were overwhelmed by Shi Jiumei’s trolls.

"Shi Jiumei posted on Weibo!" Li Xiaoyun exclaimed.

Ye Fei checked and saw Shi Jiumei said, "Seeing everyone proudly showing their results, I’m really satisfied. It proves my methods are really useful, right? New video up tonight at 9 p.m., this one is special, it’s longer because it’s the unedited version, all shot in one take. Proving I don’t have any stand-ins!"

Shi Jiumei’s fans immediately replied: "Wow! Can’t wait!"

"Hahaha, our Jiu Mei fights back directly, so bold, I love it!"

"Jiu Mei is right, if Fei Xiaomo feels wronged, she should upload an unedited video in one take too! Remember to show face and talk for credibility!"

"What the hell!" Li Xiaoyun was furious, "Ye Fei, you can’t just let this go, this is clearly Shi Jiumei targeting you."

"Even though you don’t attend live events, C Station has awarded you the Most Popular Food Blogger for three consecutive years, Shi Jiumei always ends up second or third, completely overshadowed by you." Li Xiaoyun analyzed.

"I’ve always known she’s not convinced and wants to surpass you, but I didn’t expect she’d hold it in that long, only to come up with such a low trick."

"Ye Xiaofei, let’s enter the competition." Suddenly, Ye Xiaomo spoke up.

"Which competition?" Li Xiaoyun leaned in to ask.

Ye Xiaomo pushed the laptop screen toward them.

Ye Fei saw a competition promotional page.

"It’s a competition organized by Changping Group!" Li Xiaoyun said in surprise, "With dual broadcasting on TV and online!"

"Ye Fei, participate!" Li Xiaoyun immediately said, "Changping Group’s competition has great value. If you can stand out here, you don’t necessarily need to win, even if the judges see your potential, you’ll truly gain a place in the culinary world."

Even though Ye Fei is a popular food blogger.

But it’s like comparing internet celebrities to their status in the entertainment world, nobody really cares.

No matter how great Ye Fei’s cooking is, she couldn’t really rank in the culinary world.

They simply don’t acknowledge it.

"Changping Group occupies eighty percent of Hua Country’s culinary realm." Li Xiaoyun said, "Ninety percent of the Michelin-starred restaurants in our country belong to Changping Group. The rest of the top-tier restaurants, down to middle-tier chain restaurants, Changping Group still holds over seventy percent; as for those in acquisition phase, I can’t even count."

"There’s also the Changping Culinary Academy, it’s the only culinary academy from Hua Country that ranks in the world’s top ten. During last year’s annual evaluation, it ranked seventh; not sure if it’ll climb higher this year. Graduates from Changping Culinary Academy either start prestigious restaurants or are snatched up by top-tier restaurants worldwide. Michelin-starred restaurants globally have graduates from Changping Culinary Academy."

"If you can get a good ranking in this competition, even win the championship, you’ll gain recognition in the culinary industry." Li Xiaoyun said, "However, every competition sees participation from Changping Culinary Academy students. Although they’re students, chefs can’t generally compete with someone from Changping Culinary Academy."