A case study in being a sore loser, starring Wang Henli: I canât believe it, I canât believe it, I canât believe it! How could I possibly have lost!
Iâm not listening, Iâm not listening, Iâm not listening! How could I possibly have lost!
Youâre done for! Youâre done for! This has to be rigged!
And now: Let the show begin!
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Terry was also happy for Jiang Qiuqiu!
He had just returned from his last mission of the year. Heâd missed so, so many of Jiang Qiuqiuâs streams while he was away, and he was absolutely heartbroken about it.
The moment he got back today, he heard there would be an overnight return delivery, and he was ecstatic.
Plus, his luck was exceptionally good today. He got five draws, and he won meat every single time!
As for the food from that other guy, that annoying streamer... Terry didnât want to eat it, but he figured, âI already went through the trouble of snagging this meat, so I might as well give it a try.â So, he did.
Sadly, he was disappointed the moment he tried it.
Well, âdisappointedâ might not be the right word.
As a Mixed Species who, despite being a little goofy, had been in this scene for a long time and possessed an incredibly sensitive palate, Terryâs discernment when it came to the flavor of ingredients was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
If Wang Henliâs dish had been featured on its own in some other stream, it would have been perfectly edible.
His braised meat soup was decent, and his seafood soup had a little something to it. He was better than most streamers, and his food was good enough to get Terry to open his wallet.
But these skewers...
Without anything to compare them to, they were fine. But with Jiang Qiuqiuâs brilliant grilled skewers setting the bar, the difference was stark. With her food, although there were seasonings, the seasonings were always supporting characters. When you ate the bird meat, you tasted the texture of bird meat. When you ate the Gugu pork belly, it was pure pork belly. When you ate the Bibi Beast Meat, you got that burst of savory juice.
Even though she brushed them all with the same sauce, each type of skewer had a distinct taste. Her cooking method added flavor without masking the foodâs natural essence.
As for Henry, he had many kinds of skewers, but they all tasted the same: a bland, one-note spiciness. After a few of them, Terry couldnât eat anymore. It was just torture.
And there were millions who felt the same way he did.
Wang Henli himself hadnât expected this. He had planned to seize the initiative and conquer everyoneâs taste buds with a trilogy of spicy, savory, and umami flavors. Instead, he had accidentally gone head-to-head with Jiang Qiuqiu, creating a stark contrast between their two dishes.
Thereâs nothing worse than being compared when the two things are only superficially similar. In a situation like thisâ
every single flaw is laid bare with nowhere to hide.
The final voting results were just as Terry had imagined.
Jiang Qiuqiu won in a landslide. That whatâs-his-name streamer sat silently in his living room like a sulking husky, his face dark and gloomy.
â...What a sore loser.â
Terry shot a contemptuous, wolfish glare at the screen. But what he didnât expect was that the man could be an even bigger sore loser.
Right now, Qiuqiu was discussing with everyone which skewer was the tastiest. As a proud wolf, Terry had of course cast his precious votes for the bird wings!
âSomething with meat and delicate bones is just divine!â
[The bird wings! The bird wings! The flats are the best!]
[The lotus root slices were delicious!]
[The eggplant! I managed to snag the biggest piece of eggplant!]
Everyoneâs feedback was different, a perfect example of "to each their own." Oh, waitâ
[Am I going crazy? Why did I get radishes again?]
[DAMMIT, why are there even radishes in a barbecue?! I hate radishes!]
The viewers sent a lively stream of comments flooding the screen. Every one of Jiang Qiuqiuâs competitions lacked the tense atmosphere of a real showdown. Ever since that anti-fan incident had passed, her stream was always filled with delicious food, warmth, and joy.
It was almost the two-hour mark, and the competition was about to end. Jiang Qiuqiu stood up, preparing to work through the night until dawn.
Just then, Wang Henli stood up.