GRMFBS CH126

The old Osmanthus Tree ultimately couldn’t manage to run away, mainly because he was too famous. Any move he made would end up in the news headlines. If he were to run, “Nationally Protected Ancient and Famous Tree Mysteriously Disappears Overnight, Giant Pit Left at the Scene” would immediately hit the trending topics.

Then there was poor old Apricot Yao, who ended up with all sorts of different apricot branches on his head. Now when he transforms, he’s an old man sporting a colorful, punk-rock hairstyle. You can imagine how he feels.

Qingniao was a divine bird by birth. None of them, a group of plant yaos, could defeat this great yao. If they really made a name for themselves as the “King of Fruits” and caught Qingniao’s attention…

Everyone shivered.

In the small group chat for plant yaos, a bunch of great yaos were arguing noisily.

Li Huodan: “It’s all Puyang Xia’s fault. If he hadn’t started it, we wouldn’t have caught Qingniao’s eye.”

Puyang Xia: “What does it have to do with me? I was just selling some grapes. You were the one who jumped out and called yourself the King of Fruits.”

Maorongrong: “Alright, alright, stop arguing. The most important thing right now is to fool Qingniao.”

They were just a group of ordinary plant yaos; none of them could defeat Qingniao. What would they do if she flew over, blocked their doors, and forced them to bear fruit?

Puyang Xia: “I think we need to find a way to define the nature of this thing first.”

“The title we’re competing for is for ordinary fruits. It’s not the same as the fruits we bear ourselves.”

Maorongrong: “I think that could work.”

Tangbaozi: “That’s a great idea.”

Tan Pipa: “Once we’ve defined it that way, even if Qingniao wants to eat some, we can just give her ordinary fruits!”

Li Huodan: “The problem is how to define it.”

Puyang Xia: “What do you mean how? I was selling ordinary grapes from the very beginning.”

“@Li Huodan, are you trying to compete with me using the fruits you bear yourself?”

Li Huodan had a sudden realization. Puyang Xia was truly cunning!

Puyang Xia: “Didn’t you promise to send someone lychees before? Hurry up and send the lychees in the group. As long as you say you’re sending ordinary lychees, it’ll settle the matter.”

Li Huodan: …Puyang Xia was truly insidious!

No one else was talking in the group at this moment. If he popped up, wouldn’t he be conspicuous in front of Qingniao?

However, there was no other way. He was the only one who had mentioned sending lychees, so he had the pretext now. The other yaos in the group all agreed with this idea.

Li Huodan was forced to return to the main group chat, scrolled up through the chat history, and found the person who had bought Puyang Xia’s grapes.

A person with no taste!

Li Huodan: “@Chawang, send me your address. I’ll send you two boxes of lychees to let you have a taste of what a truly delicious fruit is!”

“How is Zijin Hong, Bai Nuo Tang, or Yu Mi Xiang any worse than grapes?”

These were all famous lychee varieties, their flavors long tested by the market.

Qingniao: “@Li Huodan Which variety of lychee is your favorite?”

The great fruit yaos’ spirits lifted. Wasn’t this steering the conversation back to ordinary fruits?

Li Huodan: “They’re all delicious. Zijin Hong is sweet and crisp, Bai Nuo Tang is fragrant and soft. While Yu Mi Xiang’s flavor is a bit on the sour side in comparison, its aroma is unbeatable! It’s the best variety for juicing and making wine. As long as you can accept a sweet and sour taste, then I most recommend Yu Mi Xiang.”

Zhan Yan was very grateful for Li Huodan’s generous offer of fruit, but…

Wasn’t Yu Mi Xiang famous for having a wonderfully complex grape flavor? It was for this reason that lychee wine made from Yu Mi Xiang had a flavor reminiscent of grape wine and was particularly sought after.

Zhan Yan, with great emotional intelligence, did not say this out loud.

But Qingniao had no such scruples. “Yu Mi Xiang, huh? I think I’ve had it before. Is that the grape-flavored lychee?”

The group chat once again fell into silence.

Li Huodan’s face turned green.

In all honesty, Li Huodan had recommended Yu Mi Xiang purely out of public-spiritedness.

Qingniao was a fruit enthusiast who had eaten all kinds of fruits. No texture would surprise her. On the contrary, a more unique flavor like Yu Mi Xiang’s should be able to capture her attention.

Li Huodan: “That’s a complex fruit aroma! It just has a hint of grape flavor.”

“It also has a peach flavor! And a berry flavor!”

“It’s just a complex flavor with a touch of grape.”

“It’s just a complex lychee aroma!”

Wow, look at him losing his composure! Could it be that Li Huodan has a thing for Puyang Xia too?

Before he had time to search, Duan Hong returned with the main course and side dishes he had bought from the cafeteria.

Zhan Yan’s desk was covered with various cold-served spicy meats, their sauce a deep, rich color, interspersed with dark red dried chilies and milky-white sesame seeds. The spicy aroma was overwhelming, making one’s mouth water just from the smell.

“Come on, come on, pull up a chair.”

A few of them gathered around. Just as they started eating, their dorm room door was suddenly pushed open.

“I came to bring you some strawberries… What are you guys eating that smells so good?”

Duan Hong: Oh no! The dorm room door wasn’t locked.

The sports representative, grateful to Zhan Yan for sharing the grapes, had come to give them some strawberries from his home and unexpectedly stumbled upon the scene of them secretly sharing good food.

Since he’d been caught, they had no choice but to share.

The sports representative tasted a piece of the cold-served spicy beef, and his eyes widened. “You guys are secretly eating something this good?! Where did you buy it?!”

“My dad made it,” Zhan Yan said.

The sports representative: “From now on, your dad is…”

Before he could finish, the dorm room door was opened again. “Come on, come on, here are the big cherries from my home. What are you guys eating? Let me have a taste!”

Bao Qingshan let the person in and immediately locked the door.

“Why are you locking the door? Not letting me leave?” the classmate who brought the cherries joked.

After one bite: “The door needs to be locked.”

A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door.

A classmate who came to deliver some cookies lifted the door curtain and peered in through the glass window on the door. “Why is the door locked in broad daylight? What are you guys doing? Holding a secret ritual?”
…

The cold-served meat was a new recipe Zhan Yunkai had learned. He didn’t know if the flavor would hold up after being cooled and stored for a while. He first packed several boxes into Zhan Yan’s luggage, asking him for feedback after eating them, so Zhan Yunkai could decide whether he could bring it directly to his wife or if it still needed improvement.

That evening, Zhan Yunkai called Zhan Yan to ask if he had eaten the cold-served meat he brought, which flavor was the best, and how it differed from what he had eaten before.

As soon as the call connected, he heard a multi-layered, emotionally rich chorus of “Dad!”

Zhan Yunkai: ? Why are there several overlapping voices?

Zhan Yan: “Dad, they’re my classmates. They tasted the cold-served meat you made and are strongly insisting on becoming my younger brothers.”

Zhan Yunkai knew that Zhan Yan would share the food he brought to school with his roommates. Had it finally been exposed to the entire class this time?

The few classmates who had called him “Dad” felt a chill run down their spines.

Gu Jiancheng watched this group of idiots gloomily from behind.

I haven’t even gotten to call him Dad yet!

Zhan Yunkai received a string of praise and hung up the phone happily.

“Hiss, why do I feel a bit cold?” The sports representative, who was the first to call him Dad, rubbed his arms.

“Are you not wearing enough? I feel a bit cold too.” The group of foodies didn’t notice Gu Jiancheng’s gloomy gaze and continued their foodie declarations. “I’m begging you, let our dad open a restaurant! I’ll definitely be a daily customer.”

“It would be a waste of such great skill not to open a shop!”

“This isn’t a heavy suitcase; this is our dad’s heavy love!”

Duan Hong and Bao Qingshan also watched this group of idiots gloomily.

Sob, sob, sob, they ate half the stash in Zhan Yan’s suitcase!

This group of idiots even pointed at them. “You guys, eating such good food behind our backs!”

“Quick, tell us! What other dishes made by our dad have you eaten before?”

One could only say that the power of good food was infinite. The group of foodies persisted in claiming a new dad, even under the chilly aura of the great Shadow Lord.

Bao Qingshan was very displeased. “Go, go! You’re getting addicted to mooching. Mooching food and drinks is one thing, but you’re even mooching a dad. Is that something you can just mooch randomly?”

Gu Jiancheng was very satisfied with Old Bao’s performance.

Bao Qingshan: If they all acknowledge him as their dad, then I’ll end up with a whole bunch of new ‘uncles’ in the family hierarchy!

The mooching classmates left behind a pile of snacks and fruits. Although they still coveted the remaining stash in Zhan Yan’s suitcase, they couldn’t be so shameless as to eat it all in one go, could they?

Duan Hong looked at the snacks on the table with a pained heart. “I think we got the short end of the stick!”

Dad Zhan’s cooking is better than a three-star Michelin restaurant!

Zhan Yan was writing feedback on the cold-served meat for his dad.

His classmates hadn’t tasted cooking of his dad’s caliber before, so they couldn’t find any faults, they just thought it was delicious.

He was halfway through writing when someone sat down next to him.
Gu Jiancheng whispered close to his ear, “When can I call him Dad?”

Zhan Yan was troubled.

Before, when it came to meeting the parents, his only worry was that he hadn’t told his family yet. But now the situation was completely different!

His dad was the Chongming Demon King, and his mom was a Tianshi. And they belonged to two rival organizations.

The Wan Yao Alliance and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had no less than a hundred conflicts, big and small, every year. If their covers were blown, what a huge uproar it would cause!

Their family’s current situation was really not suitable for meeting the parents.

“Can we talk about it later?” Zhan Yan said worriedly.

Gu Jiancheng: Not! Happy!

The unhappy Shadow Lord decided to find some abnormals to vent his anger on that night.

Seeing his boyfriend so easily brushed off, Zhan Yan couldn’t help but feel his heart soften.

Of course, Gu Jiancheng wasn’t easy to fool. He had readily agreed because he could see that Zhan Yan was genuinely in a difficult position.

To solve this problem as soon as possible, Zhan Yan decided to redouble his efforts!

He needed to weave the relationship between the Wan Yao Alliance and the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau even closer, and he also needed to quickly grind for a new “information secrecy star.”

First, continue digging into Puyang Xia’s business, and investigate why he was researching grape-flavored lychees. If there were no issues, he would recommend Mentong County’s great grapes to his mother’s company.

The story originated 466 years ago.

[Grape Yao Puyang Xia, under the protection of Teng Yuan’s merit, successfully passed his transformation tribulation.]

Zhan Yan knew the concept of a transformation tribulation. Except for half-yaos, all yao cultivators had to pass a tribulation to take human form, and it was especially difficult for plant yaos.

Puyang Xia had been a spirit for over eight hundred years, but he only transformed a little over four hundred years ago.

Yao cultivators often face tribulations when transforming. For those with minor tribulations, they can seek refuge with a person of great merit to avoid it.

The name Teng Yuan sounded a bit familiar to Zhan Yan, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it. But no rush, he could investigate that later.

[After successfully passing the transformation tribulation, Puyang Xia transformed into a youth in purple clothes. He was very grateful to Teng Yuan and said he wanted to repay the favor, asking Teng Yuan what his wish was.
Teng Yuan looked at the youth-like Puyang Xia with great disappointment and said, “What’s this? I thought it would be a beauty.”]

Zhan Yan: …Pfft.

[Puyang Xia had no intention of changing his gender to repay a favor. He said he couldn’t fulfill this wish and asked Teng Yuan to make another one. Teng Yuan said, “I want to eat lychees.”
Puyang Xia said, “I’m a grape yao, I can’t bear lychees. How about I bear some grapes for you?”
Teng Yuan said, “No, I want to eat lychees. Grapes aren’t as tasty as lychees.”]

Support me on Ko-fi