Chapter 337 - 218: Mashed Potato and Seafood Porridge

Chapter 337: Chapter 218: Mashed Potato and Seafood Porridge

The chatrooms in both Erica’s and Lin Chen’s live streams exploded, but unfortunately, neither of them was aware of it. They were both staring at Ariana, who was standing right in front of them, with entirely different expressions.

"You weren’t? What a shame."

Ariana shrugged, bent down, and leaned in to get a closer look at them.

"Hmm, your lips are quite dry. They don’t look like you’ve just been kissing. It seems you were just checking his temperature after all. Still, you should probably do that when no one else is around next time. It’s far too easy to get the wrong idea."

Robert, Daniel, and Hei, who had followed her in, exchanged glances behind her back. They winked and nudged each other, mischievous grins spreading across their faces.

They only wiped away their sly grins after receiving a harsh glare from Lin Chen, clearing their throats and looking away.

Erica, on the other hand, was completely unfazed. She stared at Ariana, who was mere inches away, and broke into a smile.

"Don’t worry. Lin is different from any North American or European man I’ve ever met. I could be standing naked in front of him, and he wouldn’t even bat an eye."

"A man as innocent as him would probably only be intimate with the woman he loves, right?"

"Do men like that really exist in this world?"

Ariana stared right back at her, then turned her questioning gaze toward Lin Chen.

"Of course, they do. With billions of people in the world, you’ll find every kind of person. It’s perfectly normal."

"He dodged my question. Looks like he isn’t one of them."

"What?"

Erica put her hands on her hips, looking displeased. "What’s that supposed to mean? That you’re just not interested in *me*? Am I that charmless? Is my figure not curvy enough? Not feminine enough to attract you? Or do my looks just not suit your taste?"

Lin Chen’s lip twitched, and he gestured toward Ariana.

"Come on, I’m still running a fever here. Is this how you treat a sick person?"

"Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot. Come on, let me take your temperature."

As she pulled a forehead thermometer from the medical kit, she tried to comfort Erica, "Don’t worry, it’s not just you. He’s not interested in me either. Before..."

"Ahem." Robert quickly cleared his throat.

She froze for a moment, then it hit her: she couldn’t reveal that Lin Chen had been in contact with the production team beforehand.

"Before?"

"Uh, well..."

Ariana’s mind raced, and in just a second or two, she came up with the perfect excuse.

"You know how there’s a one-week orientation period before the competition? Lin Chen and Andre arrived a bit early, and since we knew them, we did their pre-competition interviews ahead of time. Afterward, we all grabbed a bite to eat and I showed them around Panama City."

"We passed a beach and played some volleyball. I was in a bikini. So, that’s pretty much the story."

Phew...

Robert let out a quiet sigh of relief and shot her an appreciative glance.

’She couldn’t reveal that they’d met a month ago, but saying it was a week was perfectly fine.’

’What a perfect excuse!’

"101.5. Congratulations, Lin. Your high fever has broken. If you get some more rest, you might be back to normal by morning."

Having narrowly avoided a slip-up, Ariana also breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly finished her checks on Lin Chen and turned to leave, afraid she’d accidentally let something else slip if she stayed any longer.

"Wait!"

She had just stepped outside when Erica darted in front to block her path. Erica circled her twice, then pointed to where Ariana’s lab coat was buttoned up tight to her neck.

"Mind if I feel?"

"?"

"?"

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"?"

Looks of pure astonishment flashed across the faces of all the men present. Robert quickly pushed Daniel and Hei out the door, while inside, Lin Chen quietly turned his back.

Ariana stared calmly at the young woman before her. After two seconds of silence, she nodded.

"Fine. But then I get to feel yours."

A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps faded into the distance.

Erica walked back in with a peculiar expression. She stared at him for a few moments without saying a word, then pulled a bamboo tube, as thick as her forearm, from her basket and opened it.

A rich, fragrant seafood aroma wafted out. Lin Chen had barely eaten all day, and upon smelling it, his stomach, which had been quiet until now, suddenly let out a loud GROWL.

"I whipped up a little something. It tastes pretty decent. I brought some for you to try, and maybe you can tell me if there’s anything I can do to improve it."

"What is this? I think I smell seafood."

Lin Chen deliberately avoided mentioning the audacious exchange he’d just overheard. Pretending as if nothing had happened, he focused all his attention on the bamboo tube, its center charred black from the fire.

’This bamboo tube was opened differently. It actually had a window cut into the side, just like the bamboo rice I used to eat when I went hiking.’

’Cutting a window like that without a saw... she must have put in a lot of effort.’

’Of course, this method has its advantages. The surface area for heating is large and even, unlike a vertical opening where only the very bottom gets hot.’

Through the window-like opening, he could clearly see a sticky, porridge-like substance inside. It was an orangey-red color, with lots of fine, orange-yellow flecks mixed in.

The color immediately made him think of a shrimp and crab porridge.

He wafted some of the scent toward himself. His nostrils flared, and sure enough, he caught the distinct, savory aroma of crab.

It looked like porridge, but he was certain it wasn’t, because there was no way they could have rice in the forest.

"Is this mashed potatoes?"

Remembering the technique he had shown her yesterday, he quickly figured out what the mush really was.

"That’s right! You’re amazing, you figured it out just by looking."

Erica giggled. "I saw you had a lot of ingredients left over yesterday, so I fried up the seafood, then added the mashed potatoes and cooked them together. I even added a little coconut milk. When I was a kid and had a fever with no appetite, my dad used to make me blueberry oatmeal."