Chapter 123: Turns Out to Be a Phony

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Turns Out to Be a Phony

The terrible premonition brewing in his heart grew stronger.

But Li Shan refused to admit it. Suppressing his fear, he deliberately sneered:

"What’s the matter, old-timer? You’re going to report me?"

"A report won’t be necessary. However, as the chairman of the Gourmet Record’s judging committee, rooting out a black sheep like you shouldn’t be a problem."

The older man said coldly.

Li Shan’s legs nearly gave out, and he stammered:

"You... you are..."

"Yes, I’m Zhu Jin. To think you don’t even recognize me."

The older man—or rather, Zhu Jin—found it quite amusing.

’A man who calls himself a Gourmet Record judge has never even met the chairman of the judging committee?’

Zhu Jin said grimly:

"It seems I’ve been too kind and hands-off, so much so that everyone thinks they can treat me like a pushover!"

Those were harsh words!

Li Shan was trembling with fear.

"N-No... it’s not like that! I didn’t! I was just..."

The composition of the Gourmet Record’s judging committee was very complex.

As the saying goes, taste is subjective; what suits the palate is what is treasured.

A single judge’s palate cannot represent those of all the food lovers in the world.

To ensure an unbiased selection process, committee chairman Zhu Jin, who had single-handedly fostered the Gourmet Record’s growth and development, personally proposed a system combining permanent judges and public judges.

Including Zhu Jin, there were no more than twenty permanent judges. Among them were discreet multimillionaires who had inherited their fortunes, like Zhu Jin himself, as well as self-made entrepreneurs, renowned university professors devoted to their research, and authors earning tens of millions in royalties...

They were not only leaders and titans in their respective industries, but they also had one thing in common: they knew how to eat!

They were all genuine epicures, well-versed in the intricacies of the culinary arts, and could recount food-related tales and trivia with ease.

The public judges, on the other hand, had a much lower bar for entry. There were nearly a hundred of them, and the roster changed every year.

There were two ways to become a public judge for the Gourmet Record:

The first and most common way was to be selected through a screening process after submitting an application.

The second was through a recommendation from a permanent judge, which bypassed the screening process.

The fact that Li Shan didn’t recognize Zhu Jin meant he was only a public judge—and a public judge who had gotten in through a recommendation, no less!

Otherwise, a fool who spouted such nonsense would never have passed the screening!

Zhu Jin was both furious and dismayed.

It was like finding a piece of rat dung in his own soup. He was just about to make a call and demand an explanation...

Li Shan’s mind went blank, and he hastily tried to stop him.

"No, no, no! You can yell at me or hit me, that’s fine, but please, consider my second uncle..."

’Crap!’

Li Shan cursed himself. ’This is bad!’

He was so afraid of making a scene that he’d tried to play the sympathy card with Zhu Jin, completely forgetting about all the eyes on him!

"No, it’s not like that."

Li Shan tried to explain, his voice weak.

But Zhu Jin already understood.

He narrowed his eyes.

"The one who recommended you is your second uncle? With a surname like Li... are you Li Zhenhui’s nephew?"

Li Shan’s head was buzzing.

He finally understood that there was no way out of this.

「Meanwhile.」

Countless people in the livestream were enjoying the drama.

At first, they were completely baffled and had no idea what the conversation was about.

But as people in the know began to explain things piece by piece...

...everyone slowly started to get it.

[Wait, wait, wait, so this ’Teacher’ Li Shan guy is just a public judge for the Gourmet Record? One of a hundred? And he’s throwing the Gourmet Record’s name around like that? How is that any different from me buying something on Black Friday and then claiming I was involved in a multi-billion dollar project?]

[A public judge is still a judge. It’s just not as prestigious a position, that’s all. We should be fair!]

[But he wasn’t acting like just any public judge! Speaking of which, a friend of mine was a public judge for the Gourmet Record one year. She said it wasn’t that hard to get in, but then again, she’s a total foodie and has a great palate.]

[Hey, you’re all missing the point! The issue isn’t about permanent versus public judges. It’s that this Li Shan guy got his public judge spot through connections!]

[This is hilarious! Now it looks like all his other titles, like ’senior magazine contributor’ and ’special guest judge for Michelin,’ are completely bogus! The guy’s a total fraud!]

[I knew there was something off about this Li Shan guy! He’s always online "exposing" this restaurant and that one. Looks like he was just getting paid to trash them! He finally picked a fight he couldn’t win!]

[Yeah! He trashed a place I like, claiming they used inferior ingredients. So many of his fans spammed them with hate, and it really hurt their business! I tried to call him out back then, and his fans harassed me for two weeks straight!]

[Tsk, tsk. Where are all of Li Shan’s fans and defenders now? Where’d they go?]

[Fans? More like paid commenters!]

...

"This development is just too... interesting!"

Fu Chao watched the drama unfold with great enthusiasm.

The tension that had been building quietly dissipated.

Xie Yu glanced at Nan Zhi.

He noticed she had been completely relaxed the entire time.

She was currently sizing up the man who called himself Zhu Jin, and then she murmured:

"Oh, it’s him."

"You know him?"

Xie Yu asked.

After a two-second pause, Nan Zhi turned her head, realizing Xie Yu was talking to her.

Then, she nodded.

"Mhm. He tried my fried rice once and posted an article about it online."

But after the "abuse" scandal broke, he’d vanished without a trace.

Nan Zhi had just assumed he was another person who’d been swayed by public opinion.

She hadn’t expected to see him again after all this time.

Xie Yu laughed in surprise. "Well, that’s great," he said.

"With a heavy hitter like him leading the charge, we don’t even have to get involved directly."

It wasn’t that Nan Zhi couldn’t have stepped forward herself.

But there was a world of difference between her doing it and a more influential, senior food critic delivering the takedown.

The impact would be completely different.

Just then, Qi Pei’er snuck over, clutching something suspicious.

"I looked it up online. This whole thing has blown up. Tons of people are digging up dirt on Li Shan! Someone even revealed that he once tried to extort a restaurant for money, and when they refused, he published over a dozen articles to smear them until they were forced to shut down! He’s a real piece of work!"

"Let me see! Let me see!"

Fu Chao was the most eager.

So was Nan Yi.

She was still leaning against Nan Zhi’s side.

But in reality, her eyes were practically glued to the phone screen.

’Wait a second... Aren’t the cast members forbidden from using phones with internet access?’

Nan Zhi shot a meaningful glance at the camera.

Behind the cameras, an awkward silence fell over the production crew.

After a long moment, someone finally spoke.

"Didn’t we check their luggage? How did she get that in?"

"Qi Pei’er’s phone is right here with me. Ahem. It seems she has two."

"Should we..."

"Forget it. Let them have their fun."

The one who said this last part was Xu Lin.

Just a moment ago, his expression had been grim, as if shrouded by dark clouds.

But now, the storm had passed, and you could even make out the hint of a smile.

Everyone else on the crew felt much the same.

No one had expected this sudden crisis to end in such a ridiculous, yet satisfying, way.