Chapter 363: Making Trouble

“Who’s this big shot?” Qin Lang asked with a hint of curiosity.

“Ahem, I can’t disclose that for now,” Zhou Tianhao apologised with a smile, “There are some things the meeting specifically instructed to keep confidential.”

“I understand, I won’t ask then.” Qin Lang nodded in understanding.

“So how’s your competition with Shen Qian going?” Zhou Tianhao queried.

“I’ve already signed up. Shen Qian was one step behind me, I suppose she’s still on her way to the Spirit Chef Association for registration.” Qin Lang couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of Shen Qian’s reaction when she returned. “You both are incredibly fast, aren’t you?” Zhou Tianhao clicked his tongue, “I would’ve thought you went shopping if I didn’t know better.”

Remembering how these two managed to collect three First-Level Food Recommender Badges in just two days, compared to his six days, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of defeat.

Comparing oneself with others really could be aggravating.

The two of them talked for a while before a bedraggled Shen Qian rushed back.

“I was so close!” She poured herself a glass of water from the flask, and humphed at Qin Lang, “If I hadn’t wasted so much time on the road, I might have won.”

“I didn’t waste any less time on the road either.” Qin Lang said, grinning, “Anyway, since Zhou Big Brother’s meeting has ended, and we’ve both finished our registration, why don’t we explore Xianyu City together for the next three days?”

“Sounds great.” Shen Qian’s eyes lit up, and her attention swiftly shifted, “I passed a few places with lovely sceneries on the way, one of them is a landmark building in Xianyu City, the Sail Memorial Hall. Shall we go there together?”

“I heard it houses hundreds of years old sails and various mementos left by adventurers upon their return from the sea!”

“When I visited the Food Recommenders, I also saw several nice places,” Qin Lang suggested, “We could go check out the Azure Observation Deck. I’ve heard you can see the boundless sea from the top.”

“When I left the Association, Mr. Zhang Tianze also recommended several scenic spots to visit,” Zhou Tianhao took out a small notebook, “I have them all noted down here. We can pick a few to visit together in these three days.” “Let’s get going!” Shen Qian couldn’t wait any longer and stood up, pulling both their hands.

“Hold on, we’ll go tomorrow.” Seeing Shen Qian’s eagerness to leave at once, Qin Lang pointed at the dark sky outside the window, “It’s already night time.” “Indeed, setting off tomorrow won’t be too late,” Zhou Tianhao agreed, nodding before touching his stomach, “By the way, have you both had dinner?”

Qin Lang and Shen Qian looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

“No.”

“In that case, let’s have dinner together.” Zhou Tianhao laughed, “I suggest making the six dishes you both prepared to obtain your badges.”

“Good idea.”

“Qin Lang! Catch!”

Three days later, on the boundless beach, Shen Qian, donned in a skimpy swimsuit, leapt high from the soft sand, slamming the volleyball towards Qin Lang on the other side of the net.

“Impressive move!” Qin Lang’s eyes shot sparks, closely watching the fast-flying volleyball in the air. His feet moved quickly while his fingers were interlinked tightly, waiting to strike back with his forearm.

The two of them had a lively back-and-forth with beach volleyball.

Not far away, Zhou Tianhao leisurely leaned back in a deckchair, holding a glass of juice in his hand, watching the two people’s “battle” from a distance.

“Playing by the seashore is indeed fun,” he sighed, turning his gaze to the Food Spirits building sand castles together on another side.

“Ding dong–”

Two consecutive notification sounds came from Zhou Tianhao’s tiny table.

Zhou Tianhao glanced at the mobile phone screen that lit up on the table and quickly turned his head to the pair still playing volleyball, “The text message with the scoring competition theme has arrived!”

“That’s it! We’ll end it here! It’s a draw!”

Shen Qian glanced at the ball that Qin Lang had served, which she had no chance of hitting back, and without any hesitation, she announced, before turning towards Zhou Tianhao.

Qin Lang twitched the corner of his mouth and quickly followed after her.

The Food Spirits who had been building sand castles also stopped what they were doing and curiously came over to peek at the text on the phone screen. “Hiss–” Shen Qian quickly read through the text and after disbelievingly reading it a second time, she gasped, “This theme…”

“Is the host trying to stir things up?” Qin Lang touched his chin, a wry smile on his face.

” What’s the theme?” Zhou Tianhao watched their dramatic reactions with curiosity and sat up straight.

“The theme is ‘Pasta’.” Shen Qian shook her head.

“I thought it was some unique theme…” Zhou Tianhao laughed, “It’s just pasta… wait… Pasta?!”

His expression then turned dramatic too.

Pasta, in any place, is a usual theme, but for Xianyu City, it carried a different implication.

After traveling around Xianyu City for three days, they had gotten an idea about the local customs and specialties.

Xianyu City, didn’t have pasta.

The staple food was only rice.

This was partly due to the evolution of dietary habits over a long period, and also a local legend.

It was said that the greatest sailor-adventurer in the history of Xianyu City choked to death while eating noodles, hence, pasta was seen as a bad omen, especially in the eyes of local fisherfolks who sailed the ocean.

And now, the scoring competition theme given out by the Spirit Chef Association of Xianyu City, was pasta.

For Qin Lang and Shen Qian, this didn’t matter much.

But the local Spirit Chefs of Xianyu City, were they really okay with this?

Thinking about this, without saying a word, Qin Lang accessed the local forum of Xianyu City.

As expected, the forums and social media were abuzz with the announcement of the scoring competition theme.

“I’ve already seen posts demanding the host to reselect the scoring competition theme and this post has already garnered thousands of likes and shares.” Shen Qian, who was also browsing the forum, quickly pointed at her phone screen.

“Do you think the Spirit Chef Association might change the theme?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Qin Lang, who also saw the post, shook his head after carefully reading through it, “This is the first time I’ve encountered such a situation.”

As the two of them seriously discussed the situation, they didn’t notice that next to them, Zhou Tianhao’s expression, after browsing the forums and web pages, changed from surprised to understanding.

“I think the Association will not change the theme,” Zhou Tianhao slowly said, “As they intended it this way from the beginning.”

“Wiry is that?” Shen Qian asked puzzledly, looking at Zhou Tianhao.

On the other hand, Qin Lang had an enlightened look on his face.

“Big Brother Zhou, you mean the selected theme for this round is part of the Association’s arrangement against the Star Hunter?”

“That’s right, exactly.” Zhou Tianhao nodded.