Have you ever seen glowing food? That's why you draw a food-themed anime.

"Those top students got into key universities, unlike us. They're busy with their studies. Do you think they're all like us, just staying in small cities all the time?"

The people speaking were Du Yichen and a few others; in their own world, their relationship wasn't too bad.

There was a hint of reproach in their tone.

I blame myself for not contacting them these past few years.

Xu Zhou exchanged a few polite greetings, but in his heart he was thinking that when he was in high school, he seemed to be focused on getting into university, and apart from Jiang Yaotiao, his childhood sweetheart, his relationship with everyone else was neither good nor bad.

I was even busier in college; clubs, student council, and heavy coursework left me no time to think about anything else.

When the atmosphere had eased considerably, Zhu Zixuan leaned against the kitchen doorway, glancing over several times before finally interjecting, "Hey, top student, I heard you opened a restaurant too?"

"Ah."

"They opened a shop without even telling us. What? Do they think we old classmates are too uneducated and have no use to them?"

After graduating from high school, most of his classmates were admitted to Songnan University, but Xu Zhou was the only one who went to a university far away.

I didn't contact my classmates at all during my four years of university, and I didn't like attending class reunions.

So what if I'm smart?

What's wrong with top students?

Zhu Zixuan felt increasingly aggrieved; they didn't even notify us when they opened the store!

Don't we have any value to us?

It's better to use us classmates than to ignore us!

...

When I think of it.

Zhu Zixuan was very unhappy.

He couldn't help but wave to Jiang Yaotiao.

"Yaotiao, how are you going to film the video for your store? Liu Shuang is free tomorrow, so why don't you go and film the dishes that will be featured at your food festival?"

"Okay, Yaotiao, you can name a time."

Liu Shuang readily agreed: "I'm free tomorrow."

Jiang Yao said without hesitation, "Give my share to Xu Zhou, he also wants to participate in the food festival."

Although Xu Zhou didn't say anything, he could see the displeasure on Liu Shuang's face.

really.

The next second, Liu Shuang's tone was apologetic: "I'm afraid that won't work, every video I make needs to be of high quality..."

"Quality? Xiao Zhou's food is delicious!"

Jiang Yaotiao had eaten Xu Zhou's oyster congee before, so she naturally knew how good Xu Zhou's cooking skills were.

Before she could say anything more, Liu Shuang said with a helpless tone, "I finally managed to get this account's ranking up. What if Jiang Wen's fans report it a few more times and my account ranking drops? Account ranking is the lifeblood of us self-media creators."

Zhu Zixuan frowned slightly, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, then awkwardly kept quiet, perhaps thinking of something.

Forget it, Xu Zhou is really something else!

They didn't come to a single reunion in four years of university! We don't need these classmates at all!

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Liu Shuang spoke very directly: "His store is too far removed from your store in terms of level. If I film his store, my fans will suspect that I received advertising fees for this video."

Seeing that Xu Zhou didn't speak, Liu Shuang hesitated and added, "Actually, I think you should focus on improving the store's reputation and your own cooking skills... There's no need to advertise, and advertising is meaningless at this stage."

The area suddenly fell silent.

After all, Liu Shuang's words came out in a rather sharp tone.

Zhu Zixuan, standing next to him, interrupted impatiently: "Alright, what are you talking about? Let's talk about something else. He learns everything quickly, how bad can his cooking be?"

"What does a store's star rating even represent? Don't you know that a top student just graduated and came back?"

"Besides, a top student like him doesn't need you to teach him how to do things. And you're already giving him pointers? Getting cocky?"

The expressions of Liu Shuang's classmates changed immediately, and they all frowned.

Liu Shuang looked speechlessly at her classmate who was as lively as a firecracker. Didn't she say she would never treat the top students as friends? Especially Zhu Zixuan, wasn't he the one who called her the most cheerful before?

So I was the only one who took it seriously?

You guys are staring at me so hard my eyes are about to pop out!

He immediately apologized, feeling embarrassed: "I was wrong, I misspoke!"

...

Today, we've brought alcohol, beverages, and dishes.

Because several classmates own shops, they specifically chose a large villa with a kitchen.

Xu Zhou sat to one side, pondering whether he should take the opportunity to slip away later so that he could easily enter the system's food preparation room to cook.

Parties are something like...

The reason I didn't participate during my four years of university seems to be because the school was too far away, and I always missed the deadline due to unforeseen circumstances.

Zhu Zixuan, unconvinced, came over and clinked glasses with him, his tone not very friendly.

"Does your store really need advertising?"

"what?"

Xu Zhou didn't react for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, I don't care about these things."

“Liu Shuang has something wrong with his head, don’t pay attention to him, he’s gotten arrogant, but my cousin’s account only has tens of thousands of followers, if you don’t mind…” Zhu Zixuan hesitated.

"Thanks, but never mind."

Xu Zhou thought for a moment: "I don't really need it. There will be enough people at the food festival. The aroma of the dishes will be the best advertisement."

If you have one, that's fine too.

I won't force it if I don't have it.

...

As the atmosphere grew lively, many people started to cheer and make a fuss.

"Zhu Zixuan showed off his skills!"

"That's right! Our class monitor's older brother is coming later, let's show him what you guys are up to!"

"Is that right, class monitor?"

Sitting to the side, wearing an expensive white shirt and looking calm, Jiang Han smiled and said, "My brother is quite good at cooking. You can cook all the dishes from your food festival, and my brother can give you some pointers."

Chapter 58 Preparations for the Monthly Food Festival

Zhu Zixuan, Liu Shuang, and even Jiang Yaotiao and Jiang Han were all urged to cook.

Many people are curious.

"Give us a sneak peek at the dishes you're preparing for your food festival."

"That's right! You guys are going to participate in the food festival, let us have a taste first."

Xu Zhou, whose phone kept receiving messages, didn't join in the commotion; he just kept replying to the messages on his phone.

[Jiang Mingzhu: Boss Xu! I've connected you with a really awesome media account. They've collaborated with our store many times and have over three million followers. They've already agreed to film a promotional video for you!]

[Jiang Mingzhu: I've already decided. Just show off your food festival dishes in the video.]

[Jiang Mingzhu: I've worked so hard, can I be rewarded with a VIP membership?]

Xu Zhou originally wanted to agree, but when she thought about how Jiang Wen's fans would report her, she refused.

If the account is actually reported and its ranking is lowered, then I'll owe that person a huge favor.

Three million is not three hundred thousand.

Moreover, I also wanted to see how many customers I could attract by relying solely on my abilities and the aroma of my imagined delicious food, without advertising.

Just as he rejected Jiang Mingzhu's message, he heard a chorus of jeers from his side.

"Top student! Aren't you going to the food festival too?"

"That's right!"

"Our class monitor's older brother is really awesome; he's a chef at one of the most prestigious restaurants in our city."

Xu Zhou waved his hand: "You didn't tell me in advance that I didn't bring any ingredients, so it might not be possible today."

Everyone around looked disappointed.

But I didn't insist.

Xu Zhou took a few sips of the wine on the table.

After playing a round of dice and cards, the people in the kitchen finally brought out their dishes.

The aroma instantly wafted out of the kitchen.

When Xu Zhou saw one of the dishes on the table, he spat out the wine in his mouth.

"puff……"

Xu Zhou never expected that one of the four dishes would look extremely familiar.

Of the four dishes, the one Zhu Zixuan presented was a replica of roasted meat.

Even the plating was exactly the same as in his comics, except that he seemed to be using smoked ham slices instead of bacon.

There is no such thing as bacon in this world.

There were smoked ham and roast pork jerky, though.

...

really.

When it was displayed, the students around it were all attracted to it.

"Holy crap, what is this dish?"

"It looks a bit like a big chicken leg!"

"You haven't seen it?"

Zhu Zixuan, beaming with pride, stole a glance at Xu Zhou and puffed out his chest proudly: "This is an inspiration I got from a food anime! It's called a replica of barbecue!"

"I just couldn't find what was wrapped around it, so I used ham instead!"

The other three dishes were all from recipes that already existed in this world. After the other students glanced at them and made a few compliments, they didn't react much.

Instead, they all gathered around the dish that Zhu Zixuan had made, a dish they had never seen before.

"Is this ham stuffed with mashed potatoes?"

"Can this taste good?"

"I'll have a taste!"

Everyone took chopsticks and plates and went over to distribute the food.

Zhu Zixuan carefully separated the imitation barbecue dish: "Of course it's delicious! I made it according to the recipe in that comic book!"

"You should all check out this manga, it's called Food Wars! It's really good!"

"I feel that this comic artist has a lot of ideas; at least this imitation barbecue dish is very interesting!"

Many students in the class crowded around and took a bite.

The potatoes in the smoked ham were also soaked in the broth. Although the red wine flavor in the broth was a bit sour, it didn't detract from the overall excellence.

"Great! I think this dish will be popular at the food festival!"

"Zhu Zixuan, your cooking skills have improved!"

Just as everyone was praising him, Jiang Han suddenly shouted excitedly, "Cousin!"