Chapter 7
Universal Live Broadcast Room.
After the Paranoid Possession world was unlocked, every stream displayed a small progress bar at the top, labeled “Plot Decryption Progress.”
Until now, Jian Yunlan’s stream had been stuck at 0%.
But the moment he “forced” Ning Sheng to peel shrimp for an entire day and “humiliatingly” threw 50,000 yuan at him—
His progress bar moved forward by 5%!
Just like that, he broke into the Top 100 of the progress leaderboard!
…Even if he was just barely hanging onto the last spot.
Before this, viewers had been worried he’d be eliminated within a week. Though now, even at 5%, he was still quite far from the 15% target he needed to reach within a week…
[This makes no sense at all!!!]
[The top-ranked streamer, who has maxed-out luck, insane work ethic, and can recite the original plot backwards, has only managed to reach 13%—and barely at that…]
[=?= Going from 0% to 5% in just a few hours… Am I dreaming?]
Of course, there had been cases of dumb luck before.
In the previous season, a challenger had recklessly blundered through the storyline, accidentally pushing the progress bar up by over 20% in the first week.
At the time, everyone thought they had finally found the chosen one who would conquer Paranoid Possession.
But two weeks later, that lucky contestant was eliminated for failing to maintain steady progress.
So… Jian Yunlan’s situation was probably the same, right?
…Right?
The audience sincerely hoped so.
Otherwise, if he actually turned out to be a genius, the other streamers were going to lose their minds!
With Jian Yunlan suddenly making the leaderboard, many new viewers flooded into his stream, curious about this “dark horse” newcomer.
His viewer count instantly doubled, breaking past 2,000.
[New viewer here—this streamer is so handsome! Staying to watch!]
[If he progressed so fast, he must be amazing! Can’t wait to see his interactions with Ning Sheng—are they cute and sweet?]
[Hehehe, new fan reporting in! I feel like I just discovered a hidden gem. Any old fans here to tell me what kind of streamer he is?]
Seeing these innocent and clueless newcomers, the veteran viewers fell into deep silence.
They thought back to their own naïve selves just a few days ago.
Quietly, they lit a cigarette.
—New friends, you don’t understand…
—You are staring into the abyss.
Since Jian Yunlan was a new streamer, he didn’t have channel moderators or an official fan club.
But the veteran viewers spontaneously flooded the chat with a welcoming chant:
[(Heart)(Flower)(Wave) Simple and pure, blue skies and white clouds—let’s walk this path together!]
[Follow and join the fan club! Every day, our handsome streamer will be live (Heart) unraveling (Heart) the plot (Heart) with thrilling interactions and insane tension! It’ll get your adrenaline and saliva pumping at the same time!]
[Invest now, no regrets! (Light sign) (Light sign)]
—Once you’re here, don’t think about leaving.
The more people who get hurt, the better.
The veteran viewers thought bitterly.
*
After seeing off the male model squad, time quickly reached 6:30.
While the male models were busy peeling shrimp, Jian Yunlan had not been idle either—preparing ingredients, kneading dough, wrapping wontons, and simmering broth.
Today’s menu: Seaweed Fresh Shrimp Wontons.
He had woken up early to pick out the freshest shrimp from the seafood market. Since peeling and deveining shrimp was a labor-intensive task, he even hired extra help.
Now, everything was ready for the stall.
Stepping onto his three-wheeled cart, Jian Yunlan set off right on time.
But the weather wasn’t on his side today.
Just halfway through the ride, a rumble of thunder echoed in the sky, and light rain began to fall.
“It’s raining!”
“Quick, run! There’s a mall up ahead where we can take shelter.”
The crowd scattered in all directions.
Jian Yunlan, however, was in a tough spot.
His tricycle, gifted by the God of Cooking System, was a cheap, bare-bones model—it had a canopy, but it couldn’t stop the slanting raindrops from getting in.
With no other choice, he pulled over and took out a transparent waterproof cover, hurriedly shielding his pots, utensils, and food.
Just then, a red Hongqi sedan slowly pulled up beside him.
Professor Wang rolled down the window and looked at Jian Yunlan, who was struggling to protect his cart from the rain. With a warm expression, he asked, “Young man, do you need any help?”
Professor Wang was a doctoral advisor at Beijing University’s Computer Science Institute—an academician and a leading figure in his specialized field.
Seeing Jian Yunlan, a young man on a tricycle in the rain, instantly reminded him of his own youth.
Professor Wang came from a poor mountain village. Back then, he had no money for school, so to make ends meet, he pushed a street food cart every day while seizing every spare moment to study.
Then came the college entrance exam, years of struggle, and serving his country—his life changed completely.
But he had never forgotten those hard days.
So, when he saw Jian Yunlan, soaking wet and scrambling to cover his cart in the rain, his mind automatically filled in the blanks:
—A hardworking, studious young man, forced to drop out due to poverty, now running a food stall to support his family. Despite the hardship, his thirst for knowledge remained strong, so he chose to set up his stall near Beijing University, dreaming that one day, he too would pass the entrance exam and walk through those prestigious gates…
So touching.
So tear-jerking.
Without waiting for Jian Yunlan to respond, Professor Wang volunteered to step out of the car. He even asked his students to get out and help cover the cart with the waterproof sheet.
With their combined efforts, the cart was quickly covered—not a single raindrop made it into the wontons.
“Thank you so much!” Jian Yunlan said, deeply moved. “You’re such a good person.”
Because of his help, Professor Wang’s suit got wet, and mud splattered onto his leather shoes. But he just waved a hand dismissively:
“I’m just an ordinary academician passing by.”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
Alright. Not that anyone asked.
“Young man, where are you setting up your stall?” Professor Wang asked kindly.
“At the south gate of Beijing University.”
As expected! Professor Wang thought, just as I had guessed.
He had worked at Beijing University for decades, climbing from student to professor, and he knew Beijing University students’ eating habits all too well. Jian Yunlan setting up a food stall at the south gate? Business probably wouldn’t be great.
He might not even sell a single bowl of wontons all day.
Feeling a bit sorry for him, Professor Wang said, “I’ll drop by to support your business. I haven’t had dinner yet, and I’m getting hungry.”
Hearing the words “hungry,” Jian Yunlan’s eyes instantly lit up, sparkling with excitement.
“I’ll give you a serving right away!”
—He couldn’t allow anyone to go hungry in front of him!
Professor Wang: “…”
This kid… so stubborn. Couldn’t he tell that he was just trying to help and wasn’t actually hungry?
“No worries, no worries. I’ll just follow you to your stall.” Professor Wang said.
Jian Yunlan let out an “Oh.”
After a brief hesitation, he slowly said, “Then you might have to wait in line.”
Professor Wang nearly laughed.
Wait in line? At the south gate? What a joke.
This kid was too optimistic.
He instructed his driver to follow Jian Yunlan, slowly making their way to Beijing University’s south gate. And then…
Professor Wang’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked out the window.
—Despite the pouring rain, there was already a scattered line of 20 to 30 people waiting at Jian Yunlan’s stall.
Students, security guards, office workers.
Professor Wang even spotted one of his own PhD students—a serious, diligent scholar who rarely even smiled.
As soon as the tricycle arrived, the crowd cheered, faces lighting up with joy:
“Boss, you’re here!”
“We were worried you wouldn’t come because of the rain…”
“What kind of wontons today? We’re starving!”
“Boss, is it still limited to two servings per person today? Please lift the limit! I’ve been waiting for days and still haven’t had a chance to try them…”
Many accusing gazes turned toward the one who suggested lifting the limit.
Two servings weren’t even enough! And now someone wanted to mess things up?!
Jian Yunlan smiled, greeting everyone before announcing:
“Today’s limit is still two servings per person. But you can’t buy both at once—you have to finish one and then rejoin the line for the second.”
That way, more people could get a taste.
Then, he turned back to Professor Wang and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to set aside a portion just for you?”
Looking at the long line of people waiting, Professor Wang’s expression was utterly confused.
A street food stall at the south gate… with a line?!
And from what they were saying, the wontons were in such high demand that they had to be rationed?!
In all his decades at Beijing University, he had never heard of such a thing.
His gaze toward Jian Yunlan subtly changed.
“…I’ll line up too.”
With a wave of his hand, he grabbed an umbrella and walked to the end of the queue.
—He had said he would support the business, so he would see it through to the end.
Absolutely not because he was curious about what kind of wontons could make so many people wait in line…
*
Meanwhile, near the front of the line, PhD student Han Lin was feeling restless.
She was the group leader of Beijing University’s Algorithm Discussion Group. Yesterday, after seeing Li Mingxi’s message in the group chat, she rushed to the south gate and was lucky enough to get a bowl of bone broth wontons.
Those wontons… were too good.
She had come for algorithm discussions, but after one bite, all other thoughts vanished—she just wanted to eat more.
She had been distracted all day.
With final exams approaching, most group members were buried in assignments, but several of them had planned to come today—under the pretense of discussing algorithms, of course.
“I need help with this data structure…”
“I still don’t fully understand binary tree traversal algorithms.”
“Do you think the boss codes in Java, Python, or C++?”
Most of them were people who arrived too late yesterday and missed out on the wontons.
But for Han Lin, who had already tasted them, all thoughts of coding and computer science had long been thrown aside.
As long as she could eat these wontons, she could die without regrets!!!
In the queue, besides the students from the algorithm group, there was another group—girls from the Mechanical Engineering Department.
The Mechanical Engineering girls were there for the eye candy.
When Jian Yunlan arrived on his tricycle, his bangs were damp from the rain, giving him a delicate and vulnerable beauty unlike his usual appearance.
The girls immediately whipped out their phones and snapped countless photos.
This is what they meant by “so beautiful it’s edible”!!!
Although Han Lin also appreciated Jian Yunlan’s looks, she wasn’t that obsessed.
In the lab, she had always maintained the persona of a cold, focused, and dedicated scholar. She absolutely did not want anyone to know that she was secretly lining up at a street food stall.
Until ten minutes ago, she was safe.
…Until Professor Wang showed up.
Why was her advisor here?!
What was wrong with this world?!!!
She just wanted to relax and treat herself to some street food—but now her ruthless, no-nonsense advisor was standing in the same line?
This was pure psychological torture.
Professor Wang had clearly noticed her too—he waved at her from the end of the queue.
Han Lin awkwardly forced a smile.
Now she faced a critical dilemma:
In front of her—the wontons were so close she could almost taste them.
Behind her—stood her professor, who held the power to decide her academic fate.
…Should she offer her spot to her professor?
Standing in line, Professor Wang naturally exuded the authoritative aura of a doctoral advisor.
Han Lin trembled slightly and cautiously sent him a WeChat message:
“Professor Wang, why don’t you move ahead? I can go to the back instead.”
Professor Wang, maintaining his dignity, replied:
“No need.”
The huge weight on Han Lin’s heart instantly lifted.
She turned off her phone screen and focused entirely on waiting for her food.
Meanwhile, Professor Wang, who had been waiting for her to ask a second time so he could then reluctantly accept the offer:
“……”
Why didn’t she ask again?
What Professor Wang didn’t know was that just asking once had already broken Han Lin’s heart.
She had stood in the rain for 30 minutes just to get this spot in line!
—”My advisor is precious, but good food is even more valuable.”
*
Once Jian Yunlan arrived, the queue finally started moving. But each batch of wontons took five minutes to cook, so Professor Wang still had to wait a while before it was his turn.
“One serving of fresh shrimp wontons.”
“Got it!”
Jian Yunlan swiftly scooped the wontons into the boiling water.
Five minutes later, a steaming hot bowl of fresh shrimp wontons was handed to Professor Wang.
By then, many students had already gotten their food. Huddled under umbrellas, they gathered in small groups, taking careful bites as the hot broth scalded their tongues, making them hiss—
But they were incredibly happy.
“This is too good!!!”
“I can die without regrets now…”
“Life is worth living for this one bite.”
Professor Wang looked at the crowd, then down at the wontons in his hands.
Under the warm glow of the streetlight, the semi-transparent seafood broth bubbled gently, revealing pan-fried shrimp shells shimmering in golden hues. The slow-simmered soup had turned a rich, milky white, smooth and velvety.
Floating in the broth, thin-skinned wontons tightly wrapped around plump, pink shrimp, bobbing up and down in the steaming seafood soup.
A wave of fresh, umami-rich aroma filled the air.
The presentation was, admittedly, quite appealing.
But… young people these days really overreact.
Professor Wang mused to himself.
He had grown up in an era of scarcity, when all vegetables were pesticide-free, and ingredients were always fresh from the source. After all these years, what kind of gourmet food hadn’t he tasted?
It was just a bowl of wontons.
Nowadays, many street food stalls overuse MSG and artificial additives just to keep customers hooked. A bowl filled with “technology and dark tricks.”
Hopefully, this bowl wouldn’t disappoint him.
Professor Wang scooped up a wonton, lifted it to his lips, and took a bite—
—The rich, savory seafood broth, still slightly scalding, spread across his tongue, carrying the deep, natural sweetness of shrimp. The faint hint of pan-seared shrimp oil added an extra warmth and depth, awakening his appetite. The smooth, velvety soup, bursting with umami, instantly stirred his hunger, making his stomach growl in protest.
The tiny wonton, soaked in the broth, was delicate yet firm. As he bit into it, the tender, succulent shrimp filling burst forth—bouncy, fresh, and impossibly sweet, with not even a trace of fishiness—just the purest, most exquisite taste of shrimp.
With each chew, the flavors layered beautifully—the wonton wrapper soaked up the broth, and the umami of the seaweed intertwined with the shrimp’s sweetness, elevating the taste to an entirely new level.
Outside, the autumn night breeze carried a light drizzle. The bustling city noises filled the streets. But at this humble little food stall, it felt like a world of its own—warm, peaceful, and serene, lit by a single dim, amber-hued night lamp.
Here, there was no urban rush, no overwhelming chaos—only a hardworking street vendor and a group of customers completely lost in the joy of good food.
In this quiet, comforting atmosphere, Professor Wang found himself completely immersed in the healing power of this simple yet perfect meal. Without a word, he continued eating, spoonful after spoonful, completely focused.
“……”
By the time he finished, he had unknowingly scraped the bowl clean, not leaving even a single drop of broth behind.
It was only then that Professor Wang finally snapped back to reality.
The corners of his eyes felt slightly damp—his vision a little blurry.
He could feel his old heart trembling slightly…
This… was the taste of home.
