Auntie's spicy noodles must have had some kind of magic ingredient in it cause I felt a lot better. Shancai and I arrived 15 minutes early before the event so she could change while I looked for the boys in the audience area. The competition would be televised as well as live-streamed on a mobile app.

"Hey. Shuijing!" I saw Ximen who waved me over. Meizuo gave me a smile which I ignored, I saw him frown but he stood up anyway and moved so I could sit next to him. I shook my head and moved to sit between Lei and Ah Si. I felt him sit back down behind me.

"You look pretty today Shui. How are you feeling?" Lei said and I gave him a soft smile besides my runny nose and occasional coughs, I still looked healthy. I was wearing a thin white turtle neck long-sleeved sweater that reached my fingertips tucked into some brown plaid trousers and a matching plaid jacket with black buttons. I had on some black leather high heeled platform ankle boots and a gold heart pendant that was a gift from Lei.

"A lot better. Shancai's mom made me eat at their place before we left." I said and Lei smiled as he ruffled my hair. I could hear Meizuo grumble but I ignored it and waited for the competition to start.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The contest started shortly after and the top 10 contestants that were selected from the open auditions were shown and introduced. Zhou Caina was introduced and I felt my stomach drop. She was gorgeous, not as pretty as Jie but more than me. I slightly turned my head to see Meizuo smiling at her in awe. Lei noticed and squeezed my hand. I gave him a smile as Shancai was next. I laughed said hi to her parents and stated that she was on TV.

It went into a commercial break which deeply annoyed Ah Si.

"What the hell? There are so many commercials." Ah Si grumbled and I laughed.

"Ah Si, the official competition hasn't started yet. Just be patient." I pointed out as he continued to pout.

"It's been forever. It's been like one hour, right?" Ah Si asked Lei.

"It's only been five minutes, okay?" Meizuo retorted.

"He's in love. Days feel like years to him." Ximen teased and I let out a small laugh.

"That Caina looks even better in person." Meizuo mentioned and my smile dropped.

"You're watching someone else? Ah Si's going to beat you up." Ximen warned and Meizuo just laughed. Not long after, the competition started.

The first challenge was to make a stir fry dish and Shancai proceeded to make one of mom's dishes which gave her the push she needed to pass the first round. The second challenge was to create a pastry dish which worried me since I couldn't recall Shancai making one. But she surprised us all.

Zhou Caina was explaining her dish and I have to admit, it was amazing.

"I like this girl." I heard Meizuo say. My heart cracked a little but I put on a brave face and listened on as Shancai went up next.

She had made a plain flower candy which didn't seem that attractive but as soon as she explained the story behind it, the judges seemed to agree and quite like it despite its appearance and she had passed the second round along with Caina.

The competition went on a commercial break and we all headed backstage to see Shancai. Caina was talking to Shancai. Meizuo was holding a paper bag with some coffee inside.

"Shancai. Drink something warm and relax." He said as he handed her a cup which he thanked her for. She saw us and gave me a big hug.

"I was so nervous Shuijing. I almost peed my pants." She joked and I patted her back.

"Hey, you did a great job! Just keep your confidence up okay?" I said and she nodded and gave me a smile.

"Miss Zhou Caina. This is for you." I heard Meizuo say and I glanced as he handed her a cup of coffee. I frowned and Shancai gave me a comforting smile.

"I'm Meizuo. Nice to meet you." He said as he gave her a flirty smile while Caina just smiled and brushed him off.

"Excuse me. I still have work to do." Caina replied as she walked away. I snorted as Meizuo walked back to us.

"I'm not sure what the challenge is for the next round." Shancai said as she nervously grasped her coffee cup.

"You can do it." Lei encouraged and Shancai smiled in return.

"Ah Si, aren't you going to encourage her?" Ximen said to Ah Si who just stared blankly at Shancai.

"That's right, Si. You were so excited earlier. Why aren't you encouraging her now?" Meizuo teased.

Come on. The competition is about to start again." Ximen urged him and he looked unsure of what he was gonna say.

"Well...You..." Ah Si started.

"What?" Shancai asked.

"Good! " He exclaimed as he gave her a thumbs up. We looked at him incredulously.

"What do you mean "good"?" Shancai asked, clearly dumbfounded. We laughed at him in disbelief.

"You did well earlier. Keep up the good work. Keep getting great results." He added as he looked at her blankly, his thumb still raised which made me laugh harder and fall onto Lei's chest as I clapped in laughter.

"Why are you laughing? Didn't you ask me to encourage her?" Ah Si demanded which made us stop laughing but continued to smile.

"I'll explain it to you Ah Si. We gotta go Shancai! Good luck!" I said as I dragged an annoyed Ah Si away with the 3 boys following behind me.

The contest resumed and the challenge was for each of the cooks to create a dish inspired by their hometowns. Shancai looked troubled like she didn't know what to cook. I grew more nervous and grasped Lei's hand tightly.

"Calm down Shui. She'll make it through this." He said as he rubbed circles on my hand to calm me down.

"I can't help it Lei." I said as my leg kept shaking in nervousness. Ah Si seemed to feel the same way cause he suddenly stood up and ran to where the kitchen was.

"Ah Si! What is he doing?" Ximen called out as he turned to us. We all then looked at the screen and saw Ah Si banging on the kitchen glass as Shancai looked at him. He held out a big sign that had 100 written on it and gave her some silent encouragement before the guards dragged him away.

"Oh gosh Ah Si.." I said as I sighed in embarrassment but I still smiled at Ah Si's way of calming Shancai down which seemed to have worked as she slowly looked determined and grabbed her ingredient from the pantry.

A .

The audience and even the host was puzzled at her weird choice. I was confused as to why she picked it out but I had faith that she would pull through.

The three other girls, Caina included, presented their dishes and Meizuo had outright said that if he were the judge, he'd choose her. It was no denying that she was exemplary but what annoyed me is that I wasn't sure if he was saying it in a fair perspective or if it was just because he liked her.

Either way, it irked me.

My thoughts were interrupted when Shancai was called out next.

"Dong Shancai. May I ask what this is?" One of the judges said.

"This is "Eight Treasure Spicy Noodles." ". Shancai stated which prompted Ximen and Meizuo to laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Ah Si scolded and I gave them a hard glare which made them shut up.

"Are you from Shanghai?" One of the judges asked.

"Yes. I grew up in Shanghai. Every time I got sick and had no appetite, I would gain my appetite back after I ate "Eight Treasure Spicy Noodles." ". Shancai explained.

"However, other contestants prepared well-known dishes that are hard to make. Yet you made this snack. Aren't you afraid of losing?" One of the judges pointed out.

"I am. Of course, I am. But I feel that regardless if it's a hard or easy dish, it would be able to rise up to the challenge as long as it has its unique quality. There's a reason why you won't get tired of eating "Eight Treasure Spicy Noodles" even if you eat it every day." Shancai said.

" I think the flavor is quite unique. Did you add pineapples?" The same judge asked.

"Yes." Shancai replied.

"You added pineapples? How did you think of that?" The judge asked again and Shancai didn't answer instead she looked at all of us and I smiled in realization. Meizuo and Ximen laughed from behind Lei and me as they made weird hand gestures over Ah Si's pineapple styled hair.

"Based on my personal experiences." Shancai answered and the judges seemed amused but liked Shancai's dish.

"Apparently, Miss Shancai's experiences are different from others." One of the judges commented.

"Maybe someone in her family plants pineapples." Another joked which caused the rest of the judges to laugh. Ah Si then started to brag that he inspired Shancai which earned him a slap on the arm from me and prompted him to shut up.

The judges began to talk among themselves and it seems that they were ready to announce the winner.

I grew more nervous as I bit my nails. Finally, an envelope was given to the emcee, it had the winner's name inside.

"The result is in my hands. I'm as excited as you all are at this very moment." He said and proceeded to make comments on each of the dishes prepared. After that, he opened the envelope. I grasped Ah Si's hand tightly and he did the say as he closed his eyes.

"The winner...It's Miss Zhou Caina!" The emcee announced and my shoulders depleted. I looked to Shancai who looked so disappointed.

"All right. Congratulations, Caina!" I could hear Meizuo say and clap behind me which only added to my bad mood. Not to mention my heartache.

"You're not allowed to clap for her." Ah Si scolded but Meizuo continued and just smiled at him. I gave Shancai a small smile and she returned it with a small nod and a smile as well. The judges then said that they would also announce the Special prize winner.

"We especially made an exception this time to select a special prize winner, who will get 500,000 yuan cash prize in order to serve as encouragement for her persistent and outstanding performance. And she's also my junior in school, Miss Dong Shancai." She announced as Shancai turned to her in shock. I clapped and smiled as she received her award.

"Dong Shancai, well done! I knew you could do it!" Ah Si hollered as he began to stand up and hug Shancai but was pulled back by the rest of my boys. I laughed and shook my head in embarrassment. Shancai then moved to thank everyone who helped her and I applauded her proudly.

Zhuang jie had all texted us that we'll celebrate Shancai's victory at their house. I moved to leave when suddenly I received a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Shuijing, you need to leave for Paris tonight." The urgent voice of my father said.

"Dad? Why? What's going on?" I asked in confusion.

"There have been some problems with our investments there and I need you to handle it. I've already booked you a flight in an hour so go home and pack. Call me when you get there. Your sister is probably already waiting for you at the airport." He explained.

"All right Dad. I'll call you later. Bye." I said as I hung up. I looked around for Meizuo to inform him but it seemed like he was about to congratulate Caina. I sighed and was about to just leave when Lei pulled me back.

"You okay?" He asked and I shook my head, trying not to let my tears fall. He pulled me in for a hug and rubbed my back.

"I know Shui. I know. He's stupid not to see how much you love him." Lei said and I smiled.

"It's okay Lei. I'll be fine." I reassured him and he nodded.

"Hey, I can't stay okay? I gotta go back to Paris. I don't know when I'll be back so can you tell the rest of them for me Lei?" I asked and Lei looked taken aback.

"Paris? When? Now?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I gotta go Lei okay? Tell them for me!" I said as I checked my watch and ran to my car. I got in and proceeded to drive home to pack.

'The way that Meizuo was staring at Caina like she was the only girl in the world made my heart ache so bad.'

I shrugged it off and continued to drive. Hopefully going to Paris can make me think clearly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We all headed to Ah Si's house to celebrate Shancai's victory. We all laughed and congratulated Shancai. She also made us try her winning dish and it was actually pretty good.

"Wait. Where's Shuijing?" Shancai asked and I stood back. I looked around and my eyebrows furrowed. Where was she?

"Did she go home? She wasn't feeling well earlier." Ximen asked.

"She didn't tell me anything." I said in confusion.

"She had to fly to Paris." Lei suddenly said and we all turned to him.

"Why?" Zhuang jie asked.

"She didn't say but it seemed important. She looked so worried." He explained.

"Did she say when she was coming back?" I asked and Lei shook his head.

"She said she wasn't sure when she was coming back." Lei said and I nodded.

'Why would she tell Lei and not me?'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After we finished celebrating, I went home and proceeded to relax in my bedroom. I wanted to fall asleep but I couldn't. I still couldn't wrap my head around why Shuijing didn't tell me she was leaving. She's been acting weird ever since I started taking an interest in Caina. She's been avoiding me all week and keeps her distance when I'm around. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen Shuijing or even hung out with her ever since she started going out more with that guy her parents set her up with.

The way Shuijing talks about him just made my blood boil. What made him so special?

I groaned as I buried myself in my pillow.

'Tengtang Shuijing, you are so confusing.'

I grabbed my phone and proceeded to call her. I wanted to know the truth.

"Hello?"

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