At that same moment, in the livestream of Jiang Qiuqiuâs PK opponent, a notification appeared: "Your opponent, Jiang Jiujiu, has finished her stream."
"Viewers: 693.1 million. Active commenters: 345 million. Tasters: 677 million. Reviewers: 511 million. Overall Score: 4.99 (out of 5)~ Youâve got to keep it up, too!"
"..."
This particular PK opponent was a chef with a sarcastic, roasting style. Upon hearing these stats, he nearly spat out the water he was drinking.
[! DONâT SPIT! IF YOU SPIT IT OUT, YOUâRE DONE FOR TODAY!]
[SPIT AND YOUâLL GET A BAD REVIEW!???]
[YOUâRE NOT ALLOWED TO SPIT. IF YOU DO, YOUâRE FINISHED!]
He managed to swallow the water. "Damn, those stats are insane."
"I bet her food is amazing. Since I lost this PK battle, maybe we should all go pay this streamer a visit next timeâ"
Before he could even finish his sentence, he saw his own fans spamming the chat: [YEAH, IT IS DELICIOUS! SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS!]
[ITâS SUPER DELICIOUS! NO WONDER YOU LOST!]
[You just canât compare to her, Stripey.]
A question mark popped up over the head of the streamer, Langlibaitiao. "Wait a minute, arenât you guys watching my stream??? How could you possibly know what her food tastes like!?"
[Because we ate it, you dummy.]
[Yeah.]
[Delicious. Super delicious.]
[We just went over there.]
"..."
"So you guys went over there and rated her, too?"
[Yep.]
"Are you guys even my fans anymore?!"
[Are you kidding? If we werenât your fans, we wouldnât have even come back. You have no idea how delicious it is. SLURP SLURP, Iâm eating some right now.]
"..."
âHe got it. These people didnât like his cooking at all. They were just after his handsome face and witty personality! Dammit!â
Gritting his teeth, Langlibaitiao finished cooking his dish for the day. His audience still laughed and joked around as they scored him, but compared to Jiang Qiuqiuâs monstrous stats, his defeat was a foregone conclusion.
He wasnât too sad about it, just disappointed.
âHow did I run into this monster so early... I couldâve made it to the final PK round. Getting into the top five wouldâve been no problem at all.â
âAh, whatever. No point dwelling on it. Itâs not like itâll affect my income, anyway.â
After he ended the stream, his editor made a special call to console him. Langlibaitiao was exasperated. "Itâs not like I lost because someone cheated. I lost to pure skill, and I accept that completely. Do I really need to be consoled over a little thing like this? Iâm not some delicate flower."
"Alright, alright."
After hanging up, he found himself intensely curious about this person, Jiang Jiujiu.
He had only heard bits and pieces about her from some people in a small streamer group chat. He knew she was a young, beautiful streamer with a unique style, excellent cooking skills, and a fiercely loyal fanbase.
He had never gone to watch her stream before. Today, having become one of her vanquished foes... bah, a loser trampled underfoot, he suddenly wanted to go take a look.
So he clicked on Jiang Qiuqiuâs streamer profile. The livestream had already ended, so the tasting function was gone. All that was left were some of her earliest recordings.
The recordings were pure torture.
They recorded all the aromas and colors from when the food was cookedâ
But you just couldnât eat any of it.
It was a mesmerizing night. Langlibaitiao reached out with his sinful hands and opened a path that would lead him straight into the Abyss!
...
The next day, his editor contacted him.
She was shocked the moment she saw him. "And you said you werenât crushed by the loss? Was losing the PK battle to Jiang Jiujiu that devastating? You look like you spent all night working in the mines!"
"Itâs okay, donât worry. This was just one small PK battle. If you keep working hard, you might still be able to surpass... her."
"Bah."
Langlibaitiao, who had dark circles under his eyes, scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Thatâs impossible!"
"Iâm not crushed! I lost to her fair and square, and I accept it completely!"
âHe was just hungry.â
âSo hungry.â
âItâs okay. Her stream starts at seven this evening.â
"By the way, did you call just to comfort me?"
"Oh, not really. The first solo PK match of the second round is over, and itâs time for the second. The mainframe calculated the overall scores last night, and you still managed to advance."
"The second match, a âlinked PK,â starts tomorrow. Iâm telling you so you can prepare."
"...What? The livestream doesnât start until tomorrow!?"
"What are you so excited about?"
"..."
âThe heavens have forsaken me. I might as well just starve to death.â