System Only Gives Me Useless Gifts

The filming for season 7 of Great Chef was about to begin.

The 16 contestants arrived at Panda City with a feeling of excitement.

Ang scoped out the other competitors. He wasn’t being arrogant, but he thought about his chances to win. In the past, the competitors who won weren't necessarily the best chefs, but one with a good background story and brilliant storytelling. Ang was a script writer, so he came prepared with food and recipes that will not only blow the judges away with flavors, but with sappy stories that will win their hearts!

Mingya, on the other hand, was fresh out of college. She cooked as a child for her family and fell in love with cooking. She was studying nursing, but she had always wanted a career as a chef. However, being a chef didn’t guarantee food on the table. She was hoping to gain experience and insight into the cooking world. Whether it would lead into to another path, she did not know.

“All right everyone, we will start filming today,” Director Xian announced.

The contestants clamored in shock. They had just arrived at the lobby of Dragon Luxury Hotel in Panda City. They were hoping to greet the other contestants first before the filming began. They didn’t expect the camera to start rolling immediately.

It seemed like the producers wanted real time interactions.

The contestants greeted one another, even the ones who were a bit socially awkward. It was difficult to greet people in random places, but here, everyone was an amateur chef and naturally have things in common.

“What do you enjoy cooking?”

“What’s your favorite dish to make? Worst dish? Dish you could make in your sleep?”

“How much experience do you have?”

Talking to the other contestants were great ways to get ahead of the curve. And then, there was Mingya, who was simply conversing with everyone like they were close friends. She was arguably the youngest of the cast, and probably the prettiest.

She was being swarmed with people. It was good that everyone had their name tags, otherwise, it was impossible to keep track of everyone. 

Mingya tried to be pleasant, but it was extremely difficult when people talked endlessly about nonsense that never seems to have an end.  She saw an unfamiliar face, and decided this was her chance to escape.  The young man was standing near the director and his name tag simply stated ‘Li Yun.’

As she walked toward him, Ang had already stopped by to say hello.

“Oh hey, you just arrived?” Ang asked Li Yun. “I’m Ang.”

Li Yun nodded and introduced himself to the two.

“So, what’s your main career?” Ang curiously asked. “I’m a scriptwriter, so it’s interesting to hear people who are lawyers and teachers taking time off to enter a cooking competition.”

Li Yun wondered if he should say researcher or surgeon. “I’m a doctor,” Li Yun responded.

“Ooh, interesting field! I think there was a doctor in season 3,” Ang replied, he was an avid fan before joining the show as a competitor. 

After he finished his introduction, Li Yun saw Mingya awkwardly circulating near them.

“Hi, I’m Li Yun, you’re Mingya?”

Mingya nodded. “Nice to meet you. I heard you’re a doctor, I’m studying nursing.”

“Good field to enter, but very tough,” Li Yun didn’t want to discourage her, but she wasn’t suitable to be a nurse. Her being in the competition had already shown her interest.

“Do you cook regularly at home?” She asked him.

“I'm not allowed to cook unless it's supervised.”

Mingya and Ang looked at each other, wondering if they had heard him right.

“Dr. Li is a funny guy!” Ang responded. “I was writing a script in college for this cooking program, and I was so absorbed in the research that I ended up becoming one. I bet you’re the type that cooks for your patients. The previous doctor on season 3 was a vegan, and only cooked healthy meals.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Li Yun noticed that Ang was really good with mixing half truths and lies. 

He had a very well rehearsed persona. Li Yun actually quite like Ang, he was very methodological in his approach. It was a competition, and some people did whatever it took to win. Telling the truths or making friends wasn’t the goal, it was winning 250k yuan was a lot.

Li Yun also greeted the other contestants. For the most part, they all assumed he was one of the contestants. 

Only a few contestants were keeping track of the number count.

“Why are there 17 contestants?” asked Anthonio, a lawyer. “I thought the director said sixteen?”

“Are you counting wrong?” asked Xinda, a marketing director. Xinda counted the heads of everyone. “There really are seventeen. Wait, I didn’t hear any news of the third judge, could they be here?”

“I think everyone has the chance to introduce themselves, so there will be some exciting changes to this season,” Director Xian announced just as everyone was starting to realize the number count. “Our guest judge will be cooking amongst you for the first round. Whoever can figure out the judge will have immunity for the first round.”

Another wave of shock vibrated through the competitors. The necks spinned around, looking at each other once again. 

Usually, the third guest was someone well-known or a big name celebrity, but they couldn’t recognize anyone. To some extent, everyone else was a bit normal. Was it possible to be an up-incoming celebrity that paid their way in? It was possible.

The following morning, the director ushered the contestants into the large kitchen. 

As the crew set up, everyone had their chances for a confessional style interview in a booth. The clips would only be seen during the broadcast.

Arriving at the scene near the shooting was Long Suah and Nicholas. They greeted everyone briefly.

It was also the first time Long Suah met Li Yun as her flight came in late last night.

“You must be Li Yun?” Long Suah asked.

The tone of her voice sounded a bit like the other elites he had encountered. As someone from the Long family, it was likely she was aware of his relationship status with Rouxi.

“Hi Ms. Long, nice to meet you.” Li Yun greeted her like any other.

Long Suah laughed. “Don’t be so informal. I have heard I bit about you. You can call me Sister Suah.”

Li Yun nodded, but everyone called her Sister Suah, so it really wasn’t anything special.

After the quick introduction, Long Suah stood in her position and introduced the format of the show.

“Welcome everyone! It’s me, Sister Suah, back again for another wonderful season of Great Chef!” Long Suah announced to the camera. “And no Great Chef will be complete without our own great chef, Nicholas!”

The camera panned to Nicholas who said more scripted lines. Afterward, it was the introduction of all the contestants, but since they had already filmed the individual segment, the introduction involved panning around the room with the contestants ready for their first competition.

“We have screened the best of the best amateur chefs from around China, with only one going away with the title Great Chef, 250k yuan in prize money, and an opportunity to cook at the most famous hotel in Imperial City,” Long Suah explained. “Now, everyone is wondering why I have not introduced the third guest. That’s because the third guest is hidden amongst the candidates.”

“I’m sure you’re all wondering if it’s a big time celebrity actor or chef, but it’s not,” Nicholas explained. “Our third guest is someone who has absolute taste, but not by modern standards. He’s capable of telling you the origin of the ingredients, and analyzing the effects it has on the body.”

“Absolute taste? I thought it was a myth.”

“I thought it was from a webnovel.”

The contestants wondered if there was really such a thing.

“After cooking the first themed challenge, we will judge the top three and bottom three. However, if you are able to identify the third guest, you will automatically pass to the next round. With the rules settled, I will give you one hint about the judge,” Nicholas paused for suspense, “he does not know how to cook.”