The Game of Life-Chapter 756 - 755 There Are No Coincidences

Chapter 756: Chapter 755: There Are No Coincidences

Chapter 756 -755: There Are No Coincidences

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Peng Changping’s words came from the heart, leaving Jiang Feng with no room for rebuttal.

Peng Changping wasn’t the first to point out this problem to him; before him, Sun Maochai had said something similar. Sun Maochai felt that Jiang Feng lacked the demeanor of a big shot, while Peng Changping thought he lacked the arrogance of a genius.

Jiang Feng felt he shouldn’t possess these qualities.

He was neither a big shot nor a genius.

He was merely at the bottom of the Jiang family’s food chain, an ordinary man with a hint of culinary talent but not much else. Were it not for the game, he might have graduated normally, taken a postgraduate exam, worked, and been the best cook among balding workers, but he would never have entered the culinary industry.

He might not have met Professor Li’s family, wouldn’t have known so many stories, and Taifeng Building wouldn’t have reopened. He also wouldn’t have met Wu Minqi, Zhang Guanghang, Sun Jikai, and the Chess Club might have been shut down instead of thriving as it was now, even capable of competing with the Domestic Service Club.

Although all this had happened, Jiang Feng was very clear about whose credit it was.

The culinary skills were his own, but the achievements belonged to the game.

Sometimes Jiang Feng even felt like he was playing a holographic game, a global server where he was the only player, where the painful process of work and cooking practice for others were leveling up for him. Going to work might be painful, but leveling up in a game certainly wasn’t.

Perhaps because he was too aware, knowing that his so-called talent, genius and meteoric rise were all due to cheating, Jiang Feng never considered himself a genius.

He had never been a genius, not before, not now.

He was a cheater.

Jiang Feng found it hard to imagine what it would be like for him to be proud, or where such pride would come from.

Who would cheat and still be proud?

Maybe some would, but when Jiang Feng encountered those brash cheaters in games, he would usually utter ‘you’re amazing, big shot’ and then silently report them.

Perhaps Peng Changping and Sun Maochai were right, but he couldn’t do it.

At least not now.

By the time Zhou Shi brought in the hot water Peng Changping needed and Lu Sheng returned with a pot of fine tea made from incredibly expensive leaves, the discussion about Jiang Feng had ended.

The current topic was the reality show proposed by Chef Arno.

As the owner of Yonghe House, Lu Sheng thought the reality show was a great idea.

An opportunity to advertise for free without affecting normal business too much was an offer no boss could refuse.

But because this pie had fallen from the sky so unexpectedly and smelled so sweet, Lu Sheng was hesitant to take a bite.

He was afraid of a trap.

After all, society is dangerous, and the peaceful, democratic United States isn’t a charity; Lu Sheng thought this pie might not let him bite so easily.

Xu Cheng had the same thoughts and even more. If Lu Sheng and Jiang Feng could barely be called small capitalists, Xu Cheng was a bona fide big capitalist, the kind with a family legacy, excluding the food critique business, all his other businesses were about making money.

To digress, Xu Cheng is currently the highest-paid food critic in the world. Aside from his appearance on the Good Taste cooking competition, where he judged as a favor for Han Guishan and ended up paying out of pocket, his appearance fee for other competitions is extremely high.

As a capitalist who maintains his Forbes ranking year-round, Xu Cheng wasn’t thinking about being a judge, but how to secure the exclusive broadcasting rights, exclusive naming rights, and a series of exclusive deals for the reality show if it actually materialized.

Of course, Xu Cheng didn’t voice this capitalistic topic, and neither Jiang Feng nor Lu Sheng thought of it.

Overall, everyone was optimistic about the reality show.

Although the competition format and even the funding hadn’t been set, and if Chef Arno didn’t join the production team would have no money, which would lead to the show being cut and everyone missing out on the pie, everyone was already imagining the taste of the pie.

Therefore, after discussing for over half an hour, the only conclusion they reached was that tomorrow Jiang Feng must perform well, ideally perform above expectations, in a way that gave Arno a sense of crisis, ignited his competitive spirit, and made him change his battle target from Peng Changping to Jiang Feng, ensuring the success of this pie-in-the-sky reality show.

Yes, in the eyes of Lu Sheng and Xu Cheng, this reality show had already become a pie-in-the-sky reality show.

Jiang Feng: ?

By the time the discussion ended, it was after ten. Jiang Feng’s already full stomach had been further inundated with several cups of tea and two pastries during the exchange, leaving him utterly overstuffed. Although he wasn’t in pain, he definitely felt uncomfortable.

Rubbing his belly, Jiang Feng stood at the entrance of Yonghe House and took several deep breaths. Feeling somewhat relieved, he checked his phone and noticed that his ride from Didi was still three kilometers away. There was still time to rub his belly a bit more, so he continued to do so without any concern for appearances.

“Waiting for your car?” Zhou Shi came out of Yonghe House, saw Jiang Feng still at the entrance, and took the initiative to say hello.

“Congratulations to you today, you were formally taken in as an exclusive disciple by Master Peng. I guess you’ll be coming to Yonghe House tomorrow to start learning with Master Peng,” said Jiang Feng, stopping his belly rubbing and smiling warmly.

Even though due to some unexpected circumstances Zhou Shi, the protagonist-in-waiting, ended up more of a supporting character, or even just scenery, today was still his big day, and a congratulation was definitely in order.

“It’s going to take another couple of days. I didn’t plan to stay permanently this trip and only brought a few changes of clothes. My old belongings had been sent back long ago. I just rented a new place, and my mom only packed and shipped things from home yesterday; it’ll likely take me a few days to sort everything out,” replied Zhou Shi.

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Jiang Feng expressed understanding; moving was a hassle, the mere act of unpacking deliveries could make a well-arranged and cleaned room look like a wreck, leaving any visitor to lament, “You just moved in, huh?”

“How is your mom about you staying in Beiping again…”

“She’s quite supportive.” Zhou Shi said as he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, turned his head to exhale, “My mom looked up Master Peng’s name online. She doesn’t really understand but knows that I’ve stumbled upon a great opportunity and told me to stay put here. As for breaking up with my girlfriend, she said, let it be.”

Jiang Feng: Pfft.

“Broke up already?”

“Not yet, but I’m guessing it’s coming soon.” A slight sadness appeared on Zhou Shi’s face.

Thinking it over, Jiang Feng knew that Yonghe House’s kitchen only had two female staff—one was about to get married, and the other had a child nearly in middle school. It looked like Zhou Shi would not even have the opportunity for an office romance. If things ended with Jingjing, his path as a single man seemed destined to be a long one.

“Actually, today, when I listened to you guys talking about ‘Chicken Bean Flowers’ and reality shows, it felt like listening to someone tell a story,” Zhou Shi chuckled, took another couple of puffs, then stamped out the cigarette. “I should’ve come back earlier. Staying back home for half a year made me feel like I was rotting away, and I’ve become out of touch with you all.”

“If you had come earlier, you might not have bumped into Master Peng, and it would’ve just been a regular visit and checking in on old friends,” Jiang Feng said.

“No.” Zhou Shi shook his head. “If I had come earlier, I would still have stayed.

Jiang Feng was taken aback.

“Life offers many choices; sometimes, even when we know there is a better option, we’ll choose the one that doesn’t seem as good because it’s what we want,” Zhou Shi suddenly turned philosophical. “Like when I was nineteen, a fellow villager asked me to quit working in the restaurant’s kitchen to join him in making big money. He made a killing and came back home, bought a house, and became a sensation. Practically everyone who left with our group knew about it, but I still refused and stayed in Beiping.”

“And then?” asked Jiang Feng curiously.

“He got arrested for fraud, sentenced to eight years. He was released a couple of years ago.”

Jiang Feng: …

“I don’t think so; I think it’s often serendipity. You might not have planned it that way, but then the opportunity just arises, and everything falls into place,” Jiang Feng disagreed with Zhou Shi’s view.

“Even if an opportunity does arise, it’s still up to you whether you seize it,” Zhou Shi looked at Jiang Feng. “Just like me, if I hadn’t been coming to Yonghe House every day, I would never have met the master, nor would I be in the situation I am now.”

“There’s no such thing as chance; even if chance appears, it’s our own choice. We only call it chance retrospectively, after making our choice. Everything has a cause and effect. Just like how a wife won’t fall from the sky—you have to meet through normal dating or matchmaking. There always needs to be a start and a process.”

Jiang Feng froze, wanting to say something, yet not knowing what to say.

Just then his phone rang; the Didi he had called arrived.

A black sedan was parked on the road.

“My ride’s here, I’m off.”

“Bye.” Zhou Shi waved at Jiang Feng, then turned and walked toward the dimly lit front.

Jiang Feng watched the swarm of tiny bugs circling above Zhou Shi’s head, his shadow elongated by the dim light, like a photograph.

Free and easy.

And dashing.

Just like the rings of smoke that had just dissipated into the air.