Chapter 10 - Strawberry Flavored Scholar Gong (10): A crazy game, how exciting.

The apartment that Ye Chao rented for Gou Liang was only five minutes away from the school by foot.

The apartment had two rooms that were 120 square feet each, as well as a living room. For a person living alone, this kind of accommodation was already considered luxurious.

Li LinLing very straightforwardly used the backup key to open up the apartment's door and led the others inside. Upon entering, the group of students who were visiting for the first time was immediately stunned by the apartment's degree of cleanliness.

Everyone felt very self-conscious as they made sure to neatly line up their shoes by the door. They even questioned if they should set foot inside the apartment. The living room was very spacious. Other than the basic furnitures such as a couch, there wasn't much of anything else. However, all around the apartment were various houseplants that brimmed with vitality. The air around felt fresh and clean, giving off a comfortable sensation. The simple yet dignified decor of the apartment revealed its owner's aesthetic as well as his temperament. No matter where one looked, everything was extremely pleasant to look at.

When Gou Liang came back with an armload of stuff, he didn't bother with formalities as the host. Things like setting up the folding table that he had just bought, washing the plates and utensils before use, and making fruit juice could be given to the students to do. Meanwhile, Gou Liang took with him two big bags of ingredients and stationed himself in the kitchen while refusing all offers of help.

Today's main dish was hotpot. It was very suitable for a group dinner since it created a very festive atmosphere and it was relatively easy to prepare for a large number of people.

Gou Liang meticulously prepared the ingredients. He moved very fast as he made the sauces as well as the hotpot soup base with deft movements, displaying masterful skills.

While living in the transitional world, Gou Liang would often be unable to fill his stomach. His love and dedication towards food had already been embedded deeply into his soul. Back then, the souls that he liked to receive the most at work were the souls of chefs. He would save his spirit coins and then occasionally spoil himself by going to the high-fee Omniscient Experience Shop in the Space-Time Administration Bureau, where he would turn the recipes that he had gathered from the souls into dish after dish of delicious food. It could be said that in the last thousand years, other than his two dumb spirit pets, this was what he spent most of his money on.

As Gou Liang was lost in concentration, he unexpectedly received a notification from the system.

[System: Ding. Dear Master, the target is currently only three meters away.]

*

After finishing all the prep work that they could do, Shi Yu looked around in a circle. Some students were on the balcony admiring the flowers, while some were sitting on the couch watching a movie. There were also students gathered around at the table, eating fruits as they made fruit juice… In short, the atmosphere was extremely genial. The students acted as if this was their own house. Shi Yu felt restless but, in the end, he still decided to head towards the kitchen to see if there was anything that he could help with.

Just as he chose to walk over, at this time Gou Liang coincidentally pushed open the sliding door of the kitchen. He walked out of the kitchen while holding a XXXL-sized bowl of shaved ice with fruits.

Gou Liang had some difficulties walking while carrying it. When he saw Shi Yu standing there, he looked surprised for a moment before revealing a smile: "Deskmate, you have come just in time. Help me bring it over."

Shi Yu naturally agreed. He took the bowl of shaved ice and began to walk back. However, he had barely taken two steps when a dummy threw themself towards the shaved ice. The person unabashedly picked up the silver spoon that was placed at the rim of the bowl while taking a big scoop out of the mountain of shaved ice, reveling in the taste as they ate: "Ish so gwood! Qi Cheng, you awe twho awshome!"

Shi Yu: "…"

Even if the dessert was something like an XXXL-sized shaved ice, under the attack of ten or so gluttonous mouths it was still but a drop in the ocean. When Gou Liang walked out of the kitchen, there was no need for him to call anyone for help, the foodie representatives had long become impatient. The moment Gou Liang stuck his head outside the kitchen door, they had already gathered in swarms around him. Some students helped carry over the hotpot ingredients while others brought over the side dishes. There were also a few people who carried over the three hot pots that each had a different flavored base, placing them onto the electric stoves that had already been set up.

As the stoves were turned on, the hotpot soup bases that had already been previously heated to a boiling point immediately began to bubble again. The soups made a gululu sound as it simmered, the dense aroma of spice and food assaulted their senses.

"So appetizing! 〃∀〃"

The tomato based soup appeared bright red but wasn't spicy at all while the mildly-spicy and explosively-spicy soup bases were similarly an enticing red. The red hotpot soup bases boiled continuously while releasing strong fragrances, making everyone's mouths salivate with anticipation. Not to mention there were also other dishes such as Dapanji, cola chicken wings, beef curry, and mala crayfish…They really didn't want to wait a second longer to dig in!

"Qi Cheng, you're so amazing! Goodness, this is too wonderful!!"

The caliber of this meal had already far surpassed everyone's expectations. They hadn't expected that in the one hour that they had been playing around, Gou Liang would be able to make so many delicacies in such a short period of time!

Unable to withstand the temptation, a person started to reach out their chopsticks but was smacked back by a hand beside them: "The head chef hasn't sat down yet, what are you starting for?" The person could only chew on their chopsticks as they waited impatiently.

Fortunately, Gou Liang didn't make them wait for too long. He just wiped off the sweat on his face and neck before coming out of the kitchen.

"Come, come, everyone. Let's honor our esteemed chef Daren with a toast!"

Everyone stood up and toasted with fruit juice, their cups clinking against one another. There was no need for any special actions, but they all felt extremely happy. When they sat down after the toast, there was no need for Gou Liang to tell them to start eating. Everyone immediately began to pick food from their favorite dishes. They were close in age so they all felt comfortable with each other; there was no need to be reserved. Some people stood up and circled around the folding table in order to retrieve food, while some pestered others to help them get a portion of dishes that were placed too far from them to reach. Even the most ladylike person present would initiate a fierce staredown with another person in order to snatch a piece of meat.

At present, Shi Yu was probably the only person who felt out of place. He had never experienced this sort of 'whatever floats your boat' style of eating a meal.

His family didn't exactly have a rule where talking was forbidden during meals but they were still very well-mannered during meal times. This sort of freestyle way of eating really didn't match with his style.

Shi Yu hesitated. When the food that he had planned on reaching for was once again snatched away by someone else for the nth time, he still maintained his smile while glancing at Gou Liang.

The hair on the other's forehead was still slightly wet from perspiration, it could be seen that it wasn't easy for the other to prepare this big tableful of food. Shi Yu had long known that Gou Liang had a bone-deep iron will to protect his food. At this moment, he observed Gou Liang's ruddy face. Because he liked to eat slowly, Gou Liang had skillfully began to hog food into his own bowl… Shi Yu now 'understood' the correct way to eat this meal—it was just that his skin was too thin compared to a certain someone's.

Gou Liang's mind was entirely concentrated on eating. For a piece of beef, he didn't hesitate to apply a healthy amount of nose-snubbing and eye-glaring towards his fellow classmates. He completely ignored the etiquette that a host should have towards their guests until the system urged: [Master, grasp this chance!][Master, the favorability value ah, the favorability value! Don't just think about eating ah, now is not the time to be a foodie!][Stop counting the amount of spirit coins falling into your hands, Master. Do you still remember the mission at hand!] The system then flooded his mind with a massive flood of [yingyingying]before Gou Liang, with great reluctance, finally used the serving chopsticks to pick up some white cabbages for Shi Yu. He prompted Shi Yu: "Hurry and eat ba, the food tastes very good, there's no need to hold back."

Shi Yu who was reserved and had never extended his chopsticks towards a dish that was placed further away from him stared blankly for a moment before smiling at Gou Liang, saying: "Thank you."

&#k3010;System: Ding, current favorability value: +40.&#k3011;

[System: Master, quickly feed the target some more, ah! Fighting, Master!! Favorability points! Favorability points! Favorability points! [Repeats an infinite time]]

At this point, Gou Liang already had a rough grasp on Scholar Shi Yu's nature. He didn't think that giving Shi Yu more food would result in any future increase in the favorability value, so he just ignored the system.

They ate until all the food was gone.

Everyone practically had the same expression on their faces, making the same motions as they held their content stomachs. They sprawled on in their chairs and basked in the aftertaste while reminiscing about the meal they just had.

Even Shi Yu who had always exercised self-control accidentally ate too much. When he thought no one was paying attention to him, he secretly rubbed his bulging stomach. Gou Liang curved his eyes in happiness. Although he had seen Shi Yu's action, he didn't expose Shi Yu. Otherwise, he would have been given a (^_^) by Shi Yu, his standard smiling face.

Li LinLing said: "We can't just be sitting here doing nothing, ah. Why don't we clean up the things and then think of some games to play so we can digest what we just ate. What does everyone think?"

Zhu Xiao added in agreement: "That's right, no one should be in a rush to get home, ba?"

Everyone thought about it. In the end, other than the two students who lived farther away, everyone else decided to stay. The rest of them tidied up the table and washed the pots and plates before gathering together in the living room that had become spacious once again after the folding table was put away. They began to discuss what game they should play.

In the end, they agreed on Li LinLing's suggestion—with good appearance, good grades and good temperament, Li LinLing was the type of person who made people want to follow her lead.

The game that Li LinLing proposed was very simple. It was a game where the players had to control the direction of their body: A person would be chosen as the starting Champion while another person became the Challenger. The two of them would take turns saying "left-right, up-down, front-back" while trying to trick the other party. It didn't matter if the Challenger's body wasn't in the same direction as what the Champion had said. As long as the Champion could make the Challenger turn their body in the same direction as theirs within ten moves, then the Champion would win. If the Champion failed to do so, then the Challenger would win and become the new Champion.

Zhang Xiao chimed in: "For anyone who loses as a Challenger: If it's a boy, he'll have to choose a person to do ten sets of push-ups on; and if it's a girl, she'll have to choose someone to do ten sets of sit-ups with!"

A few girls were thin-skinned and wanted to refuse. Gou Liang enthusiastically took out a big durian and an apple from his fridge. He looked towards the girls who didn't want to play because they were afraid of losing and being punished. He raised his voice, smiled and said: "If a male student loses and the person whom he picks refuses to do it, then the loser will have to do push-ups with this durian. The durian will be placed beneath him and he'll have to lower down and kiss the durian in order for it to be considered as a set. If a female student loses and the person she picks refuses to comply as well, then she can choose another female student as an assistant to help her complete the sit-ups. The assistant will hold an apple to her forehead and the female student doing the push-up will have to touch the apple in order for it to be considered as a set."

This proposal received passionate agreements from the female students.

The first champion was appointed by Gou Liang, who chose Chen LiBai. Who told him to have offended him before, ne? The latter scrunched up his face like he had eaten something bitter but he still got up and took his position as the Champion. The order of the Challengers was decided by student ID.

YuLe High School created each student's ID according to the grades that they had enrolled into the school with—Shi Yu was an exception though, his ID number came after Gou Liang who originally had the worst grades, so the first challenger became Zhan Yongzhe.

Chen LiBai: "Ah Zhe, you know that I hate durians the most. Please go easy on me, ah, I beg of you."

Zhan Yongzhe said: "What a coincidence, I also don't like durians."

Everyone laughed at this scene: This little boat called friendship, it's about to flip over!

"Left!"

"Right!!"

Chen LiBai desperately yelled until his voice went hoarse but he was still unable to prevail over Zhan Yongzhe who remained unaffected this entire time. At the end, the fellow classmates who had sat down to watch a good show and were taking joy from his misfortune naturally rejected his invitations to the human pincushion push-ups. Chen LiBai resigned himself to his fate and began to perform actions of love towards the durian. He held his breath and his face turned red. It was unknown if it was caused by anger or the lack of oxygen. On the fifth kiss, he really couldn't bear it anymore and turned his head away in order to breathe some fresh air but instead, his nostril was assaulted by the pungent smell of durian causing him to choke and reveal a miserable expression.

Everyone laughed good-humoredly but among them, Gou Liang was the one who laughed the most gleefully.

When Chen LiBai got up weakly as if he had just escaped from death's door, his entire face was still scrunched up. "Classmate Qi Cheng, I would like to formally apologize to you for the punch I gave you last time. Next time don't play me like this, alright?"

Gou Liang: "It's good that you're sensible. I was going to find a way later to make you kneel on the durian while singing songs of defeat for me, ne. But now, ma, since you're so sincere I will spare you, ba." Gou Liang put on the face of a magnanimous person who was forgiving someone beneath them. Chen LiBai received a fright upon hearing Gou Liang's words but other than bowing to express his thanks, what else could he do?

"Hahaha, Qi Cheng, you're too wicked! I must give you a like!"

Everyone watching this good show found it amusing.

As the victorious party, Zhan Yongzhe became the Champion and continued to win as he defeated two Challengers in a row. However, he ultimately lost at the hands of Li LinLing. After he 'kissed' the durian, he immediately rushed to the kitchen to rinse his mouth.

The school flower's innate talent for games was not to be looked down upon. Practically everyone present was defeated by her. In the end, when she finally lost to Gou Liang, she chose Zhang Xiao as her assistant. Every time the two of them bumped foreheads with the apple between, they would burst out laughing; ten sets of sit-ups were only completed after three minutes. As she was doing the sit-ups, there were two sets where Li LinLing laughed until she was completely powerless, Zhang Xiao had to hold the apple and take the initiative to lower her head and bump it against Li LinLing's forehead.

Gou Liang watched the two girls who were bursting out in laughter for no reason and wiped away a sweat drop. He bounced around in one spot and flung his arms around to make a few boxing motions as he looked towards the last person remaining and said: "Dear deskmate, very soon you'll be learning the devastating taste of defeat. Don't blame me for not warning you, oh."

Shi Yu stood steadily in front of Gou Liang. He smiled gently and said: "You too."

Gou Liang felt stifled by Shi Yu's relaxed response, it was like hitting cotton. The two people locked eyes and shot daggers at each other.

The rowdy audience couldn't help but quiet down. They looked at Gou Liang and Shi Yu whose eyes were full of murderous aura and competitiveness. Ever since Gou Liang lost to Shi Yu on the monthly exam because of that single ridiculous point, there had always been an inexplicable sense of rivalry between the two of them; at this moment the enmity was so strong that it practically manifested in the air.

Gou Liang: "Up!"

Shi Yu: "Up."

Gou Liang: "Left!"

Shi Yu: "Left."

Gou Liang: "Back!"

Shi Yu: "Back."

Gou Liang: "…." You want to provoke me? It's not going to be that easy!

He revealed a brilliant smile to Shi Yu. His two cat-like eyes curved like crescents and he had a pair of deep dimples that were cloyingly sweet. Taking advantage of Shi Yu who was caught off guard, he secretly threw over a strand of soul force at Shi Yu and said in a loud voice: "Right!"

Shi Yu: "Right…?!"

He looked at his hand, just now there was a split second where he had subconsciously followed after Gou Liang and made the same motion as him. He looked towards Gou Liang; the latter was already smiling cockily and was making a closing bow like an athlete who had won the gold medal. Gou Liang even said happily: "Scholar Shi Yu had once again been defeated. Contestant Qi Cheng is victorious in every battle. Everyone, please give a round of applause!"

The students were amused to the point that it was almost too much for them to bear, even Shi Yu couldn't help but shake his head and laugh in spite of himself. Shi Yu calmed himself down until his expression became tranquil once more and said: "Then Contestant Qi Cheng who is always victorious, Scholar Shi Yu chooses you for the punishment. Do you dare to accept?"

Gou Liang who was in the middle of flaunting turned his head and said: "Are you sure?"

Shi Yu immediately saw the wicked smile that flashed through Gou Liang's eyes. Just as he was about to reconsider what he had just said, Gou Liang shouted: "I dare to, ah, why wouldn't I? Everyone saw that, right? Being brave enough to concede defeat and constantly digging pits for himself are just some of Scholar Shi Yu's many merits." As he was saying this, Gou Liang had already used his fastest hand speed to dissect the durian. He took out a piece of the fruit and began to eat with satisfaction.

Everyone understood in an instance what his wicked intent was: …Other than lighting a candle for Scholar Shi Yu, what else could they do? Hahaha!

Gou Liang saw Shi Yu's complexion change and his smile became even brighter: You want to compete in viciousness with this Ye? Don't think that Ye didn't notice. When I took out the durian, the one who hid away the furthest was you.

In the sea of consciousness, the System cried and fussed and threatened to hang itself but it was still unable to stop its Master from courting death. Trembling, the System fearfully stared at the favorability value: crying-helplessly.gif

Gou Liang ate an entire piece of durian before laying down onto the floor, he hooked his finger at Shi Yu and said: "Do you dare to?"

Shi Yu: "…"

Shi Yu's expression was tense. He hovered above Gou Liang for a while before bending down and arranging himself into the correct posture above him. Gou Liang exposed his teeth and revealed a dazzling smile.

Li LinLing watched this from the side as she clutched Zhang Xiao's hands tightly. On one hand, she was stomping her feet and making ao ao ao seal sounds because of the deliciously ambiguous position that the two people were currently in. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the extremely evident expression on Shi Yu's face that screamed life-is-hopeless.jpgmade Li LinLing and Zhang Xiao laugh until they were a breathless mess.

"Sigh, Scholar Shi Yu, your movements are not satisfactory, ah. Are you tired already? Could it be that the muscles on your arms are actually water-injected pork?"

"Dear deskmate, why won't you look at me? I've made such a big sacrifice for you but you're still being so cold to me. It's really making me sad, ah."

"Shi Yu, when someone's talking to you, it is common courtesy to look them in the eyes, don't you know that? Let me tell you something, I've especially liked your name ever since the first time that I'd heard it. Don't you think it sounds very appetizing? Also…"

"Shut! Up!"

Shi Yu was at the end of his patience, he quickly finished up the remaining two sit-ups before turning over. He covered his nose and went off to sit on the side.

As for Gou Liang…

He was already holding his stomach and laughing hysterically as he rolled around on the floor.

[The System which also felt like life was hopeless: Ding, the target's favorability value has been updated. Current favorability value: the data is unavailable, currently being calculated. TДT ]

Gou Liang got onto his feet and approached Shi Yu. Throwing his arm around Shi Yu's shoulder, he smiled while saying: "I've managed to make Scholar Shi Yu break character. For this sort of grand achievement, don't you plan on congratulating me?"

Shi Yu silently turned his head the other way. He reached out his hand to grab a piece of cantaloupe off the table, and proceeded to shove it into Gou Liang's mouth.

Gou Liang: "…"

[Gou Liang: It can't be that he's really angry? [stroking chin in thought]]

[The System, which had ripped off a string of data to strangle its own neck with: Don't try to stop me..ㄒoㄒ.]

It took longer to calculate this time's favorability value than Gou Liang had expected. For the first half of the night, the System's incessant weeping sound made Gou Liang completely unable to sleep from the ruckus.

[There were several black lines on Gou Liang's forehead: In what way would you like to die, hum?]

[System: Wuwu, the target hasn't even slept yet, how can you be in the mood to sleep, doesn't your consciousness hurt? T T.]

[Surprised, Gou Liang raised a brow: What is he doing?]

[System: Wuwuwu.]

The System cried as it brought up the target's blind spot monitoring for Gou Liang to see—the location was still in the study. Based on Gou Liang's prolonged observation, when this guy was at home, other than when he was sleeping, he spent two-thirds of his time in the study. The monitor couldn't clearly show what Shi Yu was doing, but from the visible corner of the desk, white sheets of paper with black characters written in brush strokes could be seen. Gou Liang deduced that he was probably writing traditional Chinese calligraphy.

Silence.

Gou Liang watched as a sheet of paper with neatly written[silence ] character was placed onto a corner of the desk. The corner of Gou Liang's mouth twitched, he silently cursed: It seems that this time I had really stepped on a land mine… tch, isn't it just a piece of durian, is there a need to be so angry?

It wasn't until three in the morning that Shi Yu finally stopped writing.

[System: Ding, target's current favorability value: +40]

[Gou Liang: …got me worried for nothing, hehe]

[The System patted its chest in relief, having passed through the calamity safely it seemed to have gained a new lease on life. It said emotionally: Not dropping to -40 is already a great fortune, Master. You have to cherish this and give thanks, alright! Don't be so willful anymore in the future!]

[Gou Liang without any sincerity: Oh.]

The light in the study was extinguished, the pile of paper with the 'silence' characters on them was left behind, engulfed by the darkness.

*

The Sunday after the sports festival, YuLe High School mercilessly dragged the students back to school in order to make up for Friday's classes.

Unlike other students who were making sounds of sorrow and complaining as they returned to school, the majority of the students in Year Two Class Three were full of vigor. The students who hadn't managed to attend the hotpot party saw the photos that had been posted on the friend circle. As they scrolled through the various shots of delicacies, they felt pained when they realized what they had missed out on. At this moment, they were listening to the people who had attended the hotpot party as they talked about how great Gou Liang's culinary skills were, must make sure to like it; they also talked about how the game went, it was so stimulating! The people who had not attended listened to the other's enthusiastic descriptions and wrung their hands endlessly.

When Gou Liang walked into the classroom with his bulging school bag, he received greetings from people saying that next time he threw a similar event, he had to make sure to invite them. Gou Liang glanced at Ye Hui's desk. Upon seeing that it was unoccupied, he was put into an extremely good mood so he nodded his head to agree to his classmates' request.

"Morning, deskmate~"

Gou Liang patted Shi Yu's shoulder but the latter dodged him.

Gou Liang: …Still angry? Isn't his temper too big?

The System silently replayed in Gou Liang's head the scene on Saturday where the Target dada in a mere day and night had written at least a total of two thousand [silence]characters. The System expressed that it didn't want to talk to its stupid Master.

Fortunately, Shi Yu very quickly returned to his usual self. He lifted his head up from his book and gave Gou Liang a warm smile: "Morning."

Gou Liang beamed and sat down in his seat. He opened up his beloved school bag and took out two lunch boxes that had been separately wrapped as well as a set of tableware. He placed them in front of Shi Yu and said: "Breakfast."

Shi Yu was momentarily stupefied. He hesitated and asked: "…The bet?"

Gou Liang stared at him, "If you agreed to bet then you must accept to lose. Although I won using an underhanded method, I don't owe you anything. This is just me treating you to a meal. What, I can't?"

"Of course…you can."

Shi Yu smiled.

*

[System: Ding, the target's favorability value has been updated, current favorability value: +65.]

KunLin: Just want to clarify on the favorability points. When it says '+' in front of the favorability points, it means 'positive' not 'plus'.

Congrat GL for being considered as a close friend by our strawberry scholar!