The Onion-Cutting Ninja's Secret Crush

121 A Fan of His ... Or Maybe Not

Xiao Ming was taken aback. She really made it sound as if that alone was already an unimaginable offense. But then, Fan Mei had attacked him before ever meeting him so in her eyes, that might actually be the case. Clearly, her opinion of him wasn't very high.

Realizing this, he actually calmed down a little. It was to be expected that some people just wouldn't like their style of doing things or were doubtful about online celebrities in general because there was so much you could make look better than they were when you weren't under constant scrutiny like celebrities that had gained their fame offline.

Anyway, he hadn't done anything wrong. Why should he be nervous? He had only ever wanted to pursue a career in cooking and even though things hadn't panned out the way he had originally hoped they would, he and his friends had made the best out of it under the circumstances they were dealt with.

This matter with Nin Sha, it had surprised him. But there wasn't anything shady about it so he could straightforwardly admit it: Yes, Nin Sha had helped him in the past. Even when their channel had only just started out and hadn't had any kind of following yet, he had been there. He had watched all their live streams, commented whenever he asked a question, and yes, it couldn't be denied that he had sent gifts that had tided some over some tough times and made sure they wouldn't give up their dream too early. But all of that had happened on the online platform that they had signed with. They had never met offline and never even talked privately about cooking.

All of that didn't change a thing about Nin Sha's ability to cook. It also didn't change how he thought of it. It didn't need to either. After all, Nin Sha was clearly good enough. The rice cake soup he had made in the casting had proven that and so had the congee he presented them with today.

Thinking of that, Xiao Ming smiled faintly. "There's no need to threaten me, Miss Fan. As far as I'm aware, Mister Si is one of the regular viewers of my channel, Bright Yellow Water. So I will admit that we know each other in a sense."

Fan Mei raised her head higher, feeling that this was going quite well. Just as expected, the soft spot in this relationship was Xiao Ming. She might not be able to get to that Si Jin or his assistant, but she definitely could deal with Xiao Ming. "So you admit that you know him. Don't you think that makes you seem biased?"

Xiao Ming faintly raised his brows. "Miss Fan almost makes it sound as if I was very close to Mister Si. As I just said: Mister Si is a viewer of my channel, somebody who ... comments, somewhat regularly even. But other than that, I don't know him. Until a few weeks ago, I couldn't even have told you who he was offline."

Fan Mei wanted to question him further but Si Yi already stepped back in. "This is an interesting point that Judge Xiao is bringing up there. Miss Fan, if I remember correctly, then it was you who actually made him aware of who my employer is. Before that, he was merely one of his viewers. So even if there was any bias, you would be the cause of that."

Si Yi took out a memory stick and held it up as soon as he had finished his words to Fan Mei. He turned to Yang Shu Na, turning it between his fingers. "Ms. Yang, considering that it is Mister Si who is being accused here, I hope that you will allow me to present our side as well. Miss Fan is making some outrageous claims here.

"I know that it might be strange for me as another contestant to get involved in this, but outside of this show, I am still Mister Si's assistant and I have an obligation to present his interests even now. I hope that my being a contestant won't keep me from doing so. If it does, please tell me now so I can resign. 'Golden Spoon' as a TV show should not impede my ability to do my job."

Yang Shu Na was taken aback at first that Si Yi would go this far. But then, when thinking about it more closely, it made sense. Most of the people that were now their participants were well-known professionals. While they were interested in being part of this show, it stood to reason that their jobs were more important to them than a small cooking show.