Li Shui dug right into the food while Qian Huang took a couple of bites but looked thoughtful the whole time.

“I am also not completely sure what the matter between Fan Mei and her brother is but judging from everything we’ve seen so far, it’s a private matter. Something family- or maybe relationship-related. I don’t think we should worry about that too much. No, what’s more worrying is still the problem between her and Si Jin.”

Xiao Ming nodded. “True. Although I guess the two might be related. Her brother sounded as if her problem with Nin Sha might be related to him. Maybe it’s some weird sibling rivalry that spilled over into professional matters.”

“Could be. Anyway, what do you think how things will continue now?”

Xiao Ming furrowed his brows. This question wasn’t that easy to answer. “I hope that she will realize that we haven’t done anything after all the proof that was pulled out today. I don’t think she’ll let go this easily though. She didn’t look reconciled at all. But anyway, the show’s crew should take care of matters on our side and Nin Sha can definitely handle himself. I mean, they came prepared as if they were expecting this.”

Qian Huang nodded slowly. “Yes, that was probably the oddest part. I mean, the article that Fan Mei wrote wasn’t really about him. He was … mentioned as somewhat of a secret backer but she actually targeted our channel. So why go to all that trouble? Si Jin shouldn’t care about that.”

Xiao Ming’s expression turned a bit subtle. Actually, he could very well imagine why they had come prepared. Nin Sha … didn’t seem that good at separating his personal feelings and his work. Or actually, did anything of this have to do with his work? It all just seemed like his private life now that he thought about it.

Qian Huang stopped with his chopsticks in hand and slowly raised his brows. “A penny for your thoughts. Your expression is weird. Really weird.”

Xiao Ming smiled wryly. “I was thinking about Nin Sha. You know … what does he actually do?”

Qian Huang just looked at him blankly. He wasn’t sure whether he had heard wrong but if he hadn’t … he didn’t get the question. “What do you mean?”

Xiao Ming wasn’t sure how to frame his thoughts. “I mean, he watches our channel. That … is a kind of hobby of his. But, what else does he actually do? I mean, what does he fill his time with? Also, his assistant is always with him but what is his job?”

Qian Huang exhaled deeply and then just picked up more food, chewing slowly.

Li Shui glanced up though and managed to throw out an idea between two bites. “His job should be being rich.”

Xiao Ming shook his head. “That’s not a job though, is it?”

Qian Huang nodded though. “I think it might be as long as you have enough money already. At a certain point, you just let that money work for you. Or the people working at your company. Or companies, really, because I bet he doesn’t only have one.”

Xiao Ming gave a hum, folded his hands, and propped his chin up on top. “But then, it’s even more of a mystery what he actually does at home all day.”

Qian Huang wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Well, does it matter?” Personally, he didn’t think so. He also wasn’t sure if he even wanted to think about Nin Sha more than absolutely necessary. If not for the fact that they hadn’t had the chance yet to discuss the matter with Fan Mei accusing them and also leaving with Shi Ru Qiu later, he probably wouldn’t have brought up anything related to Nin Sha.

Xiao Ming sighed and lowered his hands. “It doesn’t. I know. I just … It’s not like he’s going away. Judging by the dishes he made today, chances are good that Nin Sha will be on the show for at least several episodes. I’d wager he might even make it into the semi-finals if there doesn’t happen to be a task that really stumps him.”

And honestly, he didn’t think that anything could stump Nin Sha. Or, well, there certainly were things. The article about the event he had visited at the beginning of the week was proof of that. But the thing was that Nin Sha made up for those things crazily fast.

Xiao Ming shook his head when he thought of that. “I still can’t wrap my head around how he does it. I mean, he didn’t start learning how to cook until five weeks ago. That’s … that’s insane. Even with the help of a Michelin-starred chef, it’s unbelievable.

“Cooking … it’s about knowing some theory but it’s mostly about practice and experience. As somebody who has only been at this for such a short amount of time, this just seems impossible.”

Qian Huang nodded at that. “Yes, it sure seems like he did nothing but cook these five weeks if he managed to get this good.”

“Exactly! And it’s not just him. Those people that he came to the casting with? They were all at pretty much the same level as Nin Sha. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all started to learn together and followed the same … training.”

“Weird.”

Xiao Ming nodded. “It is. I mean, who has so much time? Don’t they all have jobs?”

Qian Huang gave a hum, staring into space for a moment. “That’s a good question. From what I’ve observed today and also saw last week at the casting, some of them have rather … interesting jobs. They’re all in high positions or have very … independent jobs. Like that Shi Ru Qiu? He’s a novelist. Who can tell him when to do what? If he wants to take five weeks off to learn how to cook, who is to say he can’t? He can just call it research.”

“Yes, that’s true. But … twenty of them?”

Qian Huang could only shrug his shoulders. He also didn’t know. Actually, maybe he didn’t even want to know. “If you think about it, they seem like a group of organized criminals. That would also explain the amount of money Nin Sha probably has.”

At that, even Li Shui looked up from his bowl. “So was his support before money laundering then?”

Xiao Ming and Qian Huang turned to him before exchanging a glance.

“It shouldn’t be, right?”

Qian Huang shook his head. “No, it can’t be. I mean, the point of laundering money is to have money in the end but make it look clean. And he’s not seeing any of the money again that he pours into our channel. He … doesn’t really get anything out of it.

“I don’t know. I don’t think we need to worry about that. Nin Sha is … he’s weird, for sure.” He raised his brows and shook his head, feeling that there really was no other way to say it. “But I don’t think he’s dangerous or involved in anything illegal. He’s just … some bored, rich guy, who enjoys … I don’t even know. Watching people cook? Watching you, personally, cook? Or maybe just helping budding creators?”

Xiao Ming smiled faintly. “It makes you realize just how little we actually know about him, doesn’t it? I mean, all the questions we ask ourselves about him, we can hardly answer a single one. Most of what we do know came from Mister Ai and Mister Shi and they’re his friends. They should be careful with what they’re saying.”

Qian Huang sighed and finally put down his chopsticks. Suddenly, he didn’t feel hungry anymore. They had wanted space from Si Jin but with what Xiao Ming was saying, he also realized that they really couldn’t judge anything about him. Who knew how much else was hidden beneath the surface?

Actually, screw that! He didn’t want to know. It would be best if they didn’t get embroiled in anything else. Not that he thought that was possible. Today had been proof of that.

He sighed and leaned back, pushing his bowl away. “Since Mister Shi left with Fan Mei, he might be trying to do the same with her that he did with you: inform her.”

Xiao Ming gave a hum. “Possible. I mean, it’s likely that is what he is trying to do. After all, Nin Sha is his friend. He’d certainly want to help him. I’m just not sure if we should put too much faith in his success.”

Li Shui couldn’t help but laugh, almost spitting out his food. “You mean because when he was trying to get you to date Nin Sha, the result was you not being interested at all anymore although you had some passing interest at first?”

Xiao Ming’s lips twitched. “You make it sound as if I really wanted to date him. Wasn’t it just you guys making fun of me? But yes, I’m not sure if his approach is helpful. Especially not when the other person is Fan Mei.”

“Right.” Qian Huang clicked his tongue. “You were open to that talk. You didn’t have a strong opinion on Nin Sha anyway. But Fan Mei? She clearly hates his guts. Even if she didn’t before and this was only about her brother, she’d probably do so after today’s spectacle. I don’t think she’s good at admitting defeat. So if he really tries this, then I’m afraid she’ll come back with a vengeance tomorrow.”

Xiao Ming’s brows furrowed. “Then what should I do?”

Qian Huang kept quiet, not sure how to answer that. Yes, what to do? There didn’t seem to be an easy answer for that. It depended on what Fan Mei did and what Xiao Ming thought he could pull off. “Well, whatever she does, try to stay friendly and professional. Don’t let her drag you down to her level.

“No matter what the crew does with the material, if she is the only one cursing, then she’ll look deranged while everyone will pity you. It’s … not what we want people to associate with you being a judge but it’s better than nothing and I guess we don’t get to be choosy when the situation is already like this.”

He sighed and shook his head. “You know, I’m not sure if Nin Sha being your fan is a blessing or a curse. Without him, there wouldn’t have been as much attention on us or the show recently. That definitely helped us grow. But without him, we also wouldn’t have as much trouble.”

Xiao Ming nodded slowly. “Then again, without him, we probably wouldn’t have survived even the beginning stages of the channel. Instead, we’d all be working dead-end jobs for pretty much nothing. Or maybe I would have managed to convince the two of you to not look out for me.”

Qian Huang and Li Shui exchanged a glance.

The latter actually put down his chopsticks, feeling that this required his full attention now. “You know, even if not for him, I still think we could have made it. He might have … sped things up a bit but I believe in us. It’s not what either of us wanted in the beginning but it’s not bad. I don’t know about you guys but I, for one, really like where we took things.” He shrugged his shoulders and then looked around, finally motioning to the coffee table. “Anyway, it’s Saturday evening. Shouldn’t the episode with the casting be on by now? Why don’t we take a look? We won’t be able to figure out what’s going on with Fan Mei just from talking anyway.”

Xiao Ming nodded. “Well, I guess it’s true. Also, I really want to see how the final episode looks. I always feel like I might watch it and wonder if I was actually there.” He got up with a laugh but there was some worry contained in his voice.

This was indeed something he was afraid of. The difference between the actual event and what would finally be shown on TV could be huge. He just hoped that whatever the editing had contributed, it wouldn’t cause him and Bright Yellow Water to be shown in a bad light.