Chapter 9 You Draw, I Guess
Facts proved my luck had always been average.
"I drew washing vegetables," Qin Ranran said.
"I'm setting up the pot and starting the fire," Su Lanyu said.
"I'm cleaning up after the meal," Zhao Qianlin said.
"What did Jiang Dai draw?"
What else remained?
I showed the stick in my hand. Only two words: Chef.
Amid the voices around us, Ji Mingxu and I exchanged a glance. That glance probably meant something only we understood.
Ji Mingxu stretched and sighed. "My cooking skills..."
After that sigh, the others seemed to tense up.
"Jiang Dai, can you cook?"
My face stayed calm. "I probably can."
In front of the camera, modesty felt safe.
But they seemed to misunderstand because of it.
Xu Ying suggested, "Director, how about I swap duties with Ji Mingxu and the others?"
Her seventeen-year-old son chimed in. "Yeah, my mom cooks really well, way better than my dad."
That sparked curiosity. "Little Lin, who usually cooks at your house?"
"Auntie does," the boy flashed an indescribable look. "Dad just can't resist cooking."
"Your dad will feel sad after watching the show," Xu Ying laughed.
The director stayed fair. "Tasks cannot be swapped, but side guidance is allowed."
That was how program effects were made.
Ji Mingxu and I did not look like kitchen people at all.
Lunch started with a bang.
Duties differed and had order, so the Live Stream room split into groups.
Fu Shuangyan and Qin Ranran washed ingredients. Su Jingyu and his brother figured out the pot and fire.
Ji Mingxu, Xu Ying and her son, and I could not help due to rules. We just watched the chaos on both sides.
The twins Su Jingyu and Su Lanyu drew more attention, especially their interactions.
The director approached. "The four guests must do a challenge to win tonight's lodging?"
Ji Mingxu said, "Director, don't tell me we have to build the yurts ourselves?"
"What nonsense? Yurts are not tents. You think you can just build them?"
From the tone, it seemed he had considered it.
"What challenge?" Zhao Qianlin asked eagerly.
The director smiled sincerely. "Simple. You draw, I guess."
I stayed silent. Ji Mingxu stayed silent.
Two drawing failures started yielding to each other.
I said modestly, "Ji Mingxu, you draw. I'll guess."
He turned unusually modest. "No, no. Teacher Jiang, you draw."
I replied, "Teacher Ji, your fans have never seen your exquisite drawing skills. They must want to see."
Ji Mingxu laughed in annoyance. "Your fans have never seen you draw either, right?"
I stayed fearless. "I don't have many fans anyway."
“…”
Ji Mingxu got set up by me. He held the board, eyes resentful. Under the director's order, he glanced at the prompt and started drawing with a look of strained concentration.
When the board showed, I stayed silent two seconds. "Is that big circle with horns pieced to a small circle a devil? And what is that rectangle?"
Ji Mingxu said excitedly, "Isn't this obvious!"
I tried a few words. None matched. Ji Mingxu suddenly pointed at himself, then at me.
"This word perfectly describes my situation now," he said helplessly.
I could not understand his drawing, but I understood his personality a bit. Hesitantly I said, "Talking past each other?"
He pointed at me and nodded hard. "Close enough!"
A spark hit me. I pondered and said, "Playing the lute to a cow?"
"Yes!"
"…Then what does that have to do with a cow?"
Ji Mingxu argued strongly anyway. "You guessed it, right? Next question."
We shared some strange understanding. Even with his abstract drawings, I guessed a few correctly in my own abstract way.
The director asked in disbelief, "Were our questions leaked?"
“…”
Next Xu Ying drew while her son guessed.
Watching the actress's drawing skills, Ji Mingxu and I silently wiped sweat.
The contrast was tragic.