The Game of Life

Did he really look lecherous when he laughed?

How lecherous?

What kind of lecherous look?

If it wasn’t for the fact that Taste’s photographers had already arrived in the kitchen to take pictures, Jiang Feng would have wanted to find a mirror to study how to smile without looking lecherous.

Jiang Feng stood in front of the chopping board, pretending to chop vegetables as the photographer had instructed.

Jiang Feng twitched the corners of his mouth, initially wanting to smile, but recalling Sang Ming’s comment about his lecherous smile made him too self-conscious to do it, so he kept a serious face.

There were three photographers, one for each subject, and two photographer’s assistants who were there to assist and learn.

Zhang Guanghang was handsome, and no matter what action or pose he took, it always looked good on camera. He was the first to finish shooting and went up to the third floor to be interviewed by Xu Cheng.

“Good, very good, just like that. That serious expression is great. Yes, keep staring at the radish, maintain that look, very good!” the photographer was very satisfied with Jiang Feng’s solemn expression.

“Could you please make a cut? Ah, right, like that, don’t move, hold it there. Move the knife up a bit, very good, keep that pose, don’t move, hold on just a bit longer!”

Jiang Feng’s knife hovered above a radish, with a slice as thin as a cicada’s wing beneath the blade.

The pose and gestures were fine, but Jiang Feng always felt that someone was staring at him, and the gaze didn’t seem friendly; it sent chills down his spine, making his scalp tingle.

The one staring at Jiang Feng with an unfriendly gaze was naturally Shen Yao.

After seeing the three of them, it took Shen Yao only a fraction of a second to determine that Jiang Feng was Chen Xiuxiu’s childhood sweetheart.

Wu Minqi was a woman, so it couldn’t be her, and Zhang Guanghang was clearly not of pure Chinese descent, making him unlikely as well.

The only option left was Jiang Feng, who wasn’t very tall, strong, or handsome, looked mediocre, and seemed even less impressive than himself—at least in Shen Yao’s biased view.

Xu Cheng liked to be alone with the person he was interviewing when he did features.

Back when he wasn’t writing stories, he enjoyed watching the chefs he interviewed cook, casually asking them some questions related to the dishes while observing their preparation.

After he realized that he could pad his word count with stories behind the dishes, Xu Cheng’s interviews evolved into one-on-one conversations in a private room, similar to a talk show format. They used a voice recorder to capture the conversation, which Editor Jiang would later organize and hand over to Xu Cheng to write the article.

After one round of shooting, Jiang Feng cleaned up the ingredients used for the photo props, cutting what needed to be cut, and throwing away what should be discarded, tidying up the kitchen station thoroughly.

“Excuse me, are we done with the shooting now?” After cleaning up the kitchen station, Jiang Feng asked, a newbie’s uncertainty in his voice.

“Done? It’s still early; we’ve just begun. The shoot will continue for a few more days,” the photographer said.

“A few more days?!” Jiang Feng looked surprised. How could the magazine include so many photos? Even if Xu Cheng wanted to fill space, he didn’t need to go to such lengths, did he?

Seeing the surprise and shock on Jiang Feng’s face, the photographer explained: “The photos we took today might not all be used. We’ll go back and sort them out and then present them to Mr. Xu for approval. Only after he gives the nod will they be formatted and published in the magazine. We’ve only shot your cooking process today. We still need to take full-body shots of you and close-ups of the dishes. If Mr. Xu wants additional photos later on, we will have to continue shooting.”

The photographer shooting Jiang Feng was an old hand at Taste, very familiar with Xu Cheng’s interview process and habits, and he took the opportunity to enlighten Jiang Feng.

“Mr. Xu’s interviews typically take 3 to 4 days to complete. He will sample all of your dishes, eating them over several days before selecting the ones he wants to write about. My name is Chu, and this is my apprentice, Shen Yao. I’ll be in charge of your photoshoot, and we’ll be seeing each other over the next few days,” Photographer Chu said warmly.

“Then I’ll be in your care, Brother Chu,” Jiang Feng said with a smile, and he also nodded with a smile at Shen Yao.

Shen Yao returned a very insincere smile.

Jiang Feng: ???

He couldn’t help but feel that smile was a bit off.

Xu Cheng was still interviewing Zhang Guanghang. Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi’s shooting had also ended. Both felt a bit nervous, so they sat in the outside lobby chatting quietly to calm their nerves.

The five photographers sat not far from Jiang Feng, chatting casually among themselves, with Photographer Chu being the most talkative.

Since they were sitting close by, Jiang Feng could faintly hear their conversation.

“If you ask me, the best job at our magazine is following Mr. Xu on feature interviews—paid travel and gourmet meals,” Photographer Chu said.

“Yeah, it’s just that Mr. Xu doesn’t do features more than twice a year, and every time the spots for these trips are so coveted they could break your head. This time, you two kids got lucky, interviewing three chefs at once, needing more photographers and even taking you two assistants along,” another photographer agreed with a nod.

“Master, do we get many opportunities to travel for work at our magazine?” another assistant photographer asked, eager.

“Plenty. If you want, you could be traveling every day, lugging your equipment for over ten hours on the go, exhausting yourself to death!” another photographer said, “There’s an assignment next month in Central Asia, and no one really wants to go. You go, experience what it’s like to carry your gear and run around for ten-plus hours a day in a foreign country.”

“No, no, I think it’s pretty good to stay in the country,” the assistant photographer hastily declined, “But I wouldn’t mind following Mr. Xu on a feature trip abroad.”

“Do you think you’d get a chance to go abroad for an exclusive interview before your master? Even I don’t get that chance. Around here, the only one who might is probably Old Chu,” the photographer said.

“Mr. Xu used to go overseas for interviews a few years ago, but nowadays, he seldom goes abroad,” Photographer Chu sighed with some regret, “The trip 8 years ago to interview Masters Peng Changping and Qin Guisheng in the United States, that was a truly grand feast. Those two masters are old now and don’t cook anymore, you can’t even taste their cooking if you wanted to. It’s just a pity that back then I was still an assistant photographer, couldn’t make the cut to go. I remember Editor Jiang went along on that trip; back then he was still an associate editor.”

The others could only nod along with respect, unable to imagine the grandeur of the ‘feast’ Photographer Chu described.

Jiang Feng heard them mention Cao Guixiang’s two martial brothers, Peng Changgui and Qin Guisheng, and couldn’t help but turn to listen, curious about what Photographer Chu would say next.

However, the topic quickly shifted and they stopped discussing Peng Changping and Qin Guisheng.

“But speaking of which, I remember Editor Jiang mentioning that his son was getting married in May. It’s August now and there’s still no news; did the wedding fall through?” asked another photographer.

“You don’t know? You’d better not bring this up in front of Editor Jiang, he’s been in a foul mood. Haven’t you noticed him fretting these past few months?” Photographer Chu reminded them.

“What happened? Did the marriage fall through?”

“More than just falling through, I heard they were already engaged, but then his son’s fiancée had an affair and got pregnant. At first, they didn’t know about the affair and thought it was double the happiness, until during a prenatal visit, they realized the timing was off. The month she got pregnant, his son was on a business trip, and the two hadn’t seen each other at all. He nearly became a cuckold.” Photographer Chu gossiped with enthusiasm, his tone full of ebbs and flows, as if transporting listeners right into the thick of the drama.

“That’s terrible!” someone exclaimed, voicing what Jiang Feng felt.

“Indeed, didn’t you see how heartbroken Editor Jiang was at lunch today? I guess he was really venting. Don’t mention anything to do with marriage in front of Editor Jiang, nothing at all!” Photographer Chu warned everyone.

Just as they were discussing this, Editor Jiang came downstairs along with Zhang Guanghang, and immediately the crowd went silent as chickens.

Mr. Xu’s exclusive interviews are sometimes conducted in several stages, and Editor Jiang was discussing with Zhang Guanghang some of the things he needed to prepare and sort out when he returned that day.

“May I ask Wu…” Editor Jiang hadn’t finished speaking when he caught sight of Jiang Feng and was taken aback.

Jiang Feng also froze, even more stunned than Editor Jiang.

The man in front of him was Editor Jiang, Jiang Yong, the younger son of Jiang Weiming.

“Is it my turn?” Wu Minqi stood up.

“Ah, yes, I… Photographer Chu, please accompany Miss Wu Minqi upstairs,” Jiang Yong said, looking at Jiang Feng with complicated emotions, not knowing what to say or how to face his nephew.

“You…”

“My name is Jiang Feng. Our family owns Taifeng Building,” Jiang Feng said, his own feelings equally complex.

They had only seen each other hurriedly during the New Year, and Jiang Feng remembered that he hadn’t introduced himself to Jiang Yong, who naturally did not know his name. At that time, Jiang Yong told Jiang Weiming about going to his son’s wedding in May, but after that, there was no further news. They all thought it was because Jiang Yong was still holding a grudge against Jiang Weiming and had changed his mind, leaving Jiang Weiming in dejection for a long time.

But the truth turned out to be that his son had been cheated on, and the fiancée was gone.

Without the wedding, thus there was no news.

Jiang Yong also hadn’t expected that during the New Year, the relative he had acknowledged was so prestigious; Taifeng Building was actually owned by Jiang Feng’s family.

“And my father…” Jiang Yong was distraught over the last few months with his son’s situation of being cheated on, and didn’t know how to explain the scandal of his grandson being cheated on and the wedding being called off to an elderly father he had only contacted once in decades. So, he simply didn’t reach out to Jiang Weiming.

Then, with all the work at the magazine, time slipped by and he gradually forgot about the matter.

Now, seeing Jiang Feng, he didn’t know how to explain.

Jiang Feng also wasn’t sure what to say. Should he tell him that he had just heard gossip about his poor cousin being cheated on, so the wedding was canceled, and that he didn’t intentionally avoid contacting his father, his Granduncle Weiming?

“Granduncle Weiming and my grandfather are at the teahouse at the end of the street, drinking tea. Do you want to go see them?” Jiang Feng decided to give Jiang Yong the choice.

“Sure.”

“I’ll take you there.” Jiang Feng led Jiang Yong out of Taifeng Building.

The teahouse at the end of the street not only served good tea, but also had comfortable loungers. Recently, the two elderly gentlemen had enjoyed going there after lunchtime to sip tea and doze off in the loungers.

“How’s my father been recently health-wise?” Jiang Yong asked.

“Granduncle Weiming is quite well; he’s also very spirited. Next month, I am planning to take him for a full health check-up during Taifeng’s employee medical examinations,” Jiang Feng responded.

Jiang Yong could only nod: “That’s good.”

The two quickly arrived at the teahouse. Jiang Feng stopped in front of the teahouse, “They should be on the 3rd floor, I won’t go up. I’ll head back first.”

“Okay.” Jiang Yong hesitated at the entrance, then walked into the teahouse.

This was a moment for the father and son, and Jiang Feng knew he didn’t need to intrude.

Even Jiang Yong himself hadn’t realized that he might never completely forgive Jiang Weiming for the neglect and preferential treatment towards his older brother, but the few times he addressed Jiang Weiming as ‘Dad’ during his conversation with Jiang Feng just now were more natural than they had been at the beginning of the year.

Not forgiving him didn’t mean he hadn’t loved him.