After Being Forced Into Marriage, I Became Very Successful - Chapter 33

33:

The wok the crew had prepared wasn’t big enough to make too many pancakes at once, so Jiang Yan had to do it in batches. But the aroma was truly unstoppable. Besides the host, more and more people craned their necks, eager for her to finish.

The camera followed Jiang Yan relentlessly. Plain dough disks, slick with oil, sizzled into temptation. Other guests lost focus, mechanically adding ingredients, minds drifting to Jiang Yan’s side, hoping for a taste.

He Youran nudged her husband, who was standing nearby, a little distracted. “Pass me the soy sauce! What are you looking at?”

“The aroma of those scallion pancakes is so overwhelming! I want to see how they’re made.”

“Let’s finish our dishes first. Even if we can’t beat them, we can’t lose so badly.”

Both of them were professionals with strong self-discipline. He Youran’s words quickly brought her husband’s attention back.

Jiang Yan’s scallion pancakes were distributed as soon as they came out of the pan. Naturally, Xia Yining was the first to taste them. She’d already been impressed by Jiang Yan’s cooking skills after trying a simple stir-fry, but she wasn’t expecting to be even more impressed this time.

This texture—it was so familiar.

With everyone watching, she couldn’t probe, but her awed expression was fully captured. Other guests shot admiring, envious looks—admiring Jiang Yan’s skill, envying Xia Yining’s fortune.

Someone sighed first. “If someone at home puts time and heart into a dish like this, why struggle to maintain marriage?”

Others agreed. “Sometimes life’s like that, you give effort, I give care, and it truly touches the heart.”

These guests were affluent; even former ordinary folks now enjoyed elevated lives. Yet marriage quality didn’t always match, family focus waned, petty matters eroding original intentions.

Jiang Yan watched Xia Yining devour bite after bite and knew she enjoyed it. She’d noticed it at their last afternoon tea at the company. Her cooking skills were more consistent now, and the taste was naturally closer to the quality of Boss Qian’s at the wedding banquet.

“How is it?”

Xia Yining swallowed the warm pancake, aroma lingering, and praised freely at Jiang Yan’s soft ear-whisper.

“Very good. It’s delicious.”

Her words deepened Jiang Yan’s smile, everyone craved affirmation for effort. She increasingly understood Boss Qian’s joy watching guests finish everything; owners’ eyes lit similarly for loyal regulars.

Verbal praise paled to action, finishing a dish was sincerest support. The host bit silently, frozen memories thawing with heartwarming warmth. Here was his cherished taste, his endless regret.

By all guests’ votes, Jiang Yan’s stir-fry and pancakes won overwhelmingly. As guest stars, they skipped final rankings, the scallion pancakes received the most positive reviews but didn’t receive any points, making it the uncrowned champion.

First place went to the stir-fried dish. Although also made by Jiang Yan, since they were competing on behalf of Yan Zi, the championship points naturally went to them.

Yan Zi, blessed by disaster, beamed. “Xiao Jiang, you’re so undercover! You have such amazing cooking skills, yet you’re keeping them a secret.”

Recalling Jiang Yan watching her practice, awkward overkill now. But nothing dimmed her joy: She beat He Youran, she was happy!

Xia Chenxu’s smile was subtle, but he thanked Jiang Yan politely. Regardless, Jiang Yan had indeed saved face for the Xia family today, and it truly surprised everyone.

Jiang Yan, though modest, said, “I just watched too much and learned blindly. I only know a few tricks, and they just happened to come in handy today.”

She credited luck; others doubted her humility.

“We never got how you won Yining, this ace must’ve helped.”

Who could resist such a culinary onslaught? The others were even more envious of Xia Yining. Jiang Yan came from a well-off family, and she was willing to practice his cooking skills for her.

What else could it be but love?

Talk shifted from flavors to loving effort, sweeter still, no prying who she’d mimicked.

Half-day filming ended. In the car home, Xia Yining formally thanked Jiang Yan.

“Why are you so polite all of a sudden? I was just trying to bluff. Maybe the other guests’ cooking skills weren’t that great, so I looked better.”

Xia Yining thanked the save and Xia-face-earning performance but disagreed. “Your scallion pancakes were truly good. Excellence needs no over-humility.”

Jiang Yan smiled, dropping it.

Minutes in, a message: Ye Chenchen.

Greedy Cat Ah Chen: [Jiang Yan, you’re in trouble. You’re in trouble.] It also came with an emoji of a cute cat waving its paw, looking both adorable and sly.

Since school, messages were rare, mostly to Xia Yining or food-related.

Jiang Yan sent a question mark; quick reply, no emoji—worse.

Greedy Cat Ah Chen: [Even my mom knows about the incident during your show recording today, and she’s already on her way to aunt’s. I guess when you get home, you’ll be receiving some kind of lecture and warning from your elders.]

Xia Yining was not only pampered by the Xia family, but also treated like a delicate flower in Xia’s mother’s family. Jiang Yan had previously thought Ye Chenchen’s protectiveness of her cousin was exaggerated enough, but Ye Chenchen’s mother, whom they had only met a few times, was even more fierce.

Jiang Yan had no choice but to respond: “Got it.”

Ye Chenchen, likely half-asleep, sent Good luck then silence.

Xia Yining had no idea who Jiang Yan was texting, but she only heard her soft sigh and assumed it was something bad. Jiang Yan now worked at the Xia family, so work wouldn’t be a major issue. Living in the Xia family, she didn’t seem to lack anything. The only thing that might bother her was probably the Jiang family’s affairs.

“Family issue?”

Jiang Yan pocketed her phone, hiding Ye Chenchen’s message, no badmouthing aunt via niece.

“No, I’m just tired.”

Today’s mishaps kept tension high; even Xia Yining felt drained.

When they returned to Xia family’s house, she saw Xia’s mother and Ye Chenchen’s mother sitting in the living room talking. Ye Chenchen was not at home, so it was normal for Yu Wanying to come over occasionally. Xia Yining didn’t feel surprised, she greeted them and prepared to go upstairs.

“Ningning, don’t rush—chat with us.” Yu waved smiling, glancing at Jiang Yan, smile fading slightly. “Xiao Jiang, you too.”

Seated, Yu asked filming details, then half-serious: “Ningning, you still have to be more careful in the future. If the accident today is more serious, it will be troublesome.”

She pulled Xia Yining’s right hand, inspecting it repeatedly—it was a minor burn, she felt relieved.

“Auntie, it’s just a small burn. It hurt at the time, but now it doesn’t feel much.”

Yining’s Mother glanced, less dramatic.

“You don’t care for yourself, how can we relax?”

After that, without waiting for Xia Yining to say anything, she turned to Jiang Yan and said in a very serious tone: “Xiao Jiang, you have to protect Ningning well. You swore an oath at the wedding.”

Jiang Yan nodded, she couldn’t argue here.

“Auntie, it’s all thanks to her today. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been just injured, I would have lost face as well.”

“Results don’t matter, retake anytime. But scars? It’s a huge loss.”

It was said to Xia Yining, but it was clearly to remind Jiang Yan.

Xia’s Mother intervened: “Enough, Wanying, they know. Don’t treat Yining like a child, she’s already married.”

“Married? She’ll always be our treasure, even as a mom.”

Final stern reminder to Jiang Yan: “Xiao Jiang, remember your words, protect her like we do, always.”

Yu Wanying stayed for dinner, and Xia Chenxu and Yan Zi came to thank her. Yu Wanying glared at Yan Zi, as if she was very upset that she had caused Xia Yining’s injury.

“I was certainly careless today. I didn’t notice the oil on the rag.”

“It’s okay to be competitive, but you should always consider your own abilities before competing. Yan Zi, don’t be so careless again.”

The Yu family is a prominent and wealthy one, and Yu Wanying has a close relationship with Xia’s mother, so everyone in the Xia family respects her. But it’s unclear whether her words today were her own, or whether Xia’s mother was reluctant to speak up and wanted her to speak through.

Xia Chenxu had to intervene: “Auntie, it was indeed our negligence today. I promise I won’t let Ningning get hurt again.”

—

Post-edit, the crew consulted Yan Zi and Xia Yining: keep injury-forfeit and Jiang Yan’s full cooking. With permission, the episode officially aired.

Soon, fresh buzz—not just performances, but Jiang Yan’s cooking spotlight.

Li Xiaoyuan and Qu Lan were both devoted fans of the variety show, never missing a single episode, not to mention the appearance of their Director Jiang.

“Director Jiang, there’s talk online about your stir-fry and scallion pancakes being pre-made and then edited in. Is it true?”

Jiang Yan browsed topics; any event drew doubters, it was laughable.

“Of course not.”

Xiaoyuan found another: “It also says yours tasted bad, but others faked enjoyment so Yan Zi got first.”

Implying fixed win for Xia face. Jiang Yan’s parachute-sub, crushing all—seemed fantastical.

Jiang Yan saw it, nearly laughing in anger.

“Maybe in the eyes of these people, there’s nothing worth believing in this world anymore.”

The instinct to question everything might not be an individual’s fault. Once naive, believing all; post-disappointments, severing sight from truth.

Jiang Yan reasoned that even the best food can only be truly believed when it’s in one’s mouth.