As Shen Siqi continued to exclaim her admiration, Qin Tian led the two girls to the gathering spot by the lake.
Many eyes from both classes immediately fell upon the trio. Xia Nuannuan was naturally recognized by everyone, but a few gazes from the girls in the second English class sized up Shen Siqi with a hint of curiosity.
"Shen Siqi, you're here!" Chen Zhuang, who was grilling skewers behind the barbecue stand, called out with a hearty laugh.
Shen Siqi, still harboring some resentment, huffed and turned her head away. Chen Zhuang's smile froze, and he looked at Qin Tian in surprise.
"Encountered some trouble," Qin Tian said casually and walked straight towards him.
"Weren't you told to watch the fire? Why are you cooking?"
"I was afraid they'd be hungry, so I made a little something. It's edible now. What kind of trouble did you encounter?"
"They were waiting for me, and some out-of-line guys tried to hit on them." Qin Tian explained.
"What?" Chen Zhuang became furious, his face darkening as he asked, "Where are they? I'll go find them."
"Don't bother, it's already handled," Qin Tian advised.
"No, I have to go teach them a lesson again," Chen Zhuang said with a frown.
"What are you going for? Qin Tian already took them down. By the time you get there, they'll be gone," Shen Siqi said, giving him an annoyed glance.
"Damn it, I should have gone too. Brother Tian, why did you leave me here to watch the fire!" Chen Zhuang looked at Qin Tian with a resentful gaze.
"How was I supposed to know something like this would happen?" Qin Tian rolled his eyes.
Hearing this, Shen Siqi's resentment faded significantly. She said, "It's fine, we didn't lose out. Qin Tian is very skilled; he took them all down by himself."
"How many?" Chen Zhuang asked, surprised.
"Four!" Shen Siqi held up four fingers, her face filled with excitement. "You should have seen how cool Qin Tian looked. I didn't even react before he had all four of them on the ground in a matter of seconds."
Chen Zhuang stared blankly at Qin Tian for a moment, then retorted with feigned defiance, "Only four people, what's the big deal? Believe it or not, if I had gone, those four guys wouldn't have dared to say a word and would have turned tail and left."
"Yes, yes, you're the most powerful," Shen Siqi replied dismissively, then looked at the skewers on the grill and exclaimed, "These look pretty good!"
"Of course! Try them!" Chen Zhuang beamed and handed her two grilled lamb skewers.
"Alright, I'll try them then." Shen Siqi took the skewers and gave one to Xia Nuannuan.
Xia Nuannuan accepted with a smile and, after taking a bite, nodded in praise, "Not bad, they're quite tasty."
"Hmm, they're okay!" Shen Siqi echoed, finishing her skewers in a few bites.
"Heh heh... Then you should eat more." Chen Zhuang happily gave his spot to Qin Tian and said to Xia Nuannuan, "Brother Tian's skewers are also good. Xia Nuannuan, you should eat more of his later, so he doesn't blame me for overstepping."
"Hehe... It's fine, it's fine. I haven't eaten much seafood, so I can still eat a lot!" Xia Nuannuan said with a smile.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way." Qin Tian impatiently pushed Chen Zhuang aside and took the skewers he had made, handing them to Shen Siqi.
"Here, take these. It's Chen Zhuang's good intentions, don't waste them."
"What are you talking about? He made them for both of us to eat." Shen Siqi blushed a little shyly and reluctantly took them.
Chen Zhuang, standing by, looked as if he were blooming with happiness.
"Brother Zhuang, Yu Meng said the lamb skewers you just made were delicious. Are there any more? Bring a few over!" A loud shout suddenly came from afar.
Shen Siqi's face stiffened, and she turned to look at the group playing poker. Chen Zhuang's smile instantly froze, and he glared fiercely at Zeng Xin, as if he wanted to devour him. Sitting opposite Zeng Xin was the girl, Yu Meng, who had just called out "Brother Zhuang." As if by prior agreement, she deliberately put on a bashful expression.
"Chen Zhuang, take them over. I'll wait for Qin Tian's to be ready too." Shen Siqi withdrew her gaze and calmly handed the skewers she was holding to Chen Zhuang.
Chen Zhuang was stunned and flusteredly explained, "Shen Siqi, don't misunderstand. The girls ate what I made before and all said it was delicious. Zeng Xin is just doing this on purpose."
"Is that so? They all said it was delicious? It seems our Chef Chen is very popular!" Shen Siqi said with a meaningful smile.
Chen Zhuang's forehead broke out in a sweat, and he cast a pleading look at Qin Tian.
"Why are you looking at me? I don't know anything." Qin Tian busied himself with grilling skewers, secretly gloating. Shen Siqi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Chen Zhuang was completely taken aback. Then, steeling himself, he thought, 'You won't help, huh? Then we'll go down together!'
"Everything I said is true, and besides, the girls later scrambled for Qin Tian's skewers, praising his as even more delicious, saying nicer things than each other."
"Chen Zhuang!" Qin Tian exclaimed, dumbfounded.
"Chef Qin, didn't you say you'd personally take action when I arrived?" Xia Nuannuan's voice, tinged with complaint, sounded.
Qin Tian's lips twitched fiercely. Thinking quickly, he smiled and said, "Nuannuan, I've never grilled before. I was just thinking of letting them help with taste-testing to practice, so that when you arrived, I could make even better ones!" He then put on a serious and earnest expression, assuring her, "Don't worry, what I'm about to make will be much, much tastier than before. Just now, I was only using five percent of my power, no, three percent. Now I'm going all out."
"Is that so! Alright, then I'll look forward to it. Hurry up and make them." Xia Nuannuan's face lit up with a smile, and she eagerly urged him on.
"You got it, coming right up." Qin Tian nodded with a hearty smile.
Chen Zhuang was utterly bewildered, thinking, 'This is possible too?'
"Brother Zhuang, don't worry, I definitely won't mention that you were chatting happily with those girls, or that the girl also called you Brother Zhuang." Qin Tian said nonchalantly while basting the skewers on the grill.
Xia Nuannuan looked at Chen Zhuang with astonishment. Shen Siqi's gaze became very dangerous. Chen Zhuang's entire face turned as black as a pot, and he deeply regretted trying to pull Qin Tian down with him. 'I can't compete with this at all!'
"Here, Brother Zhuang, take them all for your Sister Meng to eat!" Shen Siqi said coldly, walking over and stuffing the skewers into Chen Zhuang's hand.
"Don't! You listen to my explanation, it's not what you think."
"No need to explain. What does it have to do with me? I just want to eat Qin Tian's even more. Hurry up and take them over, they're waiting, and they won't taste good if they get cold."
"Siqi..." Chen Zhuang felt like crying, wishing he could jump into the Yellow River.
"Brother Tian, you're so wicked!" Xia Nuannuan sidled up to Qin Tian and whispered.
"If a man isn't wicked, women won't love him. Don't you like it?" Qin Tian winked at her.
Xia Nuannuan smiled like a flower, shyly giving him a pair of rolled eyes.