After following Huo Ting, Yu Mian also followed Wilster.
But for the interstellar netizens who were watching the drama unfold at high speed, Fish Soup Noodles’ online appearance had reached peak comedy.
Especially the phrase #TeacherFishSoupNoodlesdoesn’twantyouanymore!#, which, amid a flood of “hahahaha’s, was quickly pushed to the top of the hot searches.
As for the unfamiliar account that Yu Mian had specially followed, everyone rushed over at full speed. The moment they saw the surname, they instantly had a hunch.
[Wow, could this be the same bigshot Huo who’s always next to our Teacher Fish Soup Noodles during his live broadcasts? Is this his full name!? OvO]
[Hehe, leaving a comment and marking my presence real quick…wait, damn, I think I’ve seen this name in the news before!]
[I remember too! Isn’t this the general who was standing on the left behind Military Committee Chairman Michaels? I even thought he looked surprisingly young at the time!]
People quickly dug up the sparse official reposts on Huo Ting’s account.
And when they connected the dots with the visuals from Fish Soup Noodles’ live broadcasts, someone soon circled some blurry screenshots from the news, asking if it was really him.
After all, with that build and aura, he was honestly quite easy to recognize.
[This is our senior from the military academy back then! He was also the speaker for that year’s all-star-system graduation ceremony. He is so awesome! I can’t believe he’s actually close friends with Teacher Fish Soup Noodles…double fandom bliss! [photo]]
Many of Huo Ting’s former classmates who recognized him also started posting extremely rare childhood photos, causing a wave of astonishment.
Even Yu Mian was caught off guard. He glanced at the pictures, then at Huo Ting in front of him.
“What’s wrong?”
Huo Ting had actually wanted to stop Yu Mian. It was obvious that the moment Yu Mian followed him, his barely-used account would immediately attract attention.
But after hearing Yu Mian’s words, Huo Ting inexplicably paused for a moment. Then, he watched as Yu Mian swiftly tapped the follow button.
As expected, his account immediately started gaining followers…
“Why do you look so… so handsome as a kid!?”
Yu Mian had never hidden his obsession for good looks, but he hadn’t expected that young Huo Ting would be so eye-catching. He had that cool, expressionless handsome look, exactly the kind that made people want to reach out and ruffle his “grumpy face”.
Thinking about it, Huo Ting’s parents must have been really good-looking to have a son like him.
Huo Ting heard Yu Mian’s comment and subtly flipped a page of his document.
It sounded like a compliment, but why did it feel a bit off?
What did “so handsome as a kid” mean?
“Oh, this brat Huo Ting looked even more handsome when he was young, and he was much more fun too!”
Hearing that Yu Mian was curious about Huo Ting’s childhood, Huo Yuejiang immediately pulled out a thick photo album.
Huo Ting had never expected his grandfather to join in, let alone put on his long-forgotten glasses.
“These are from a long time ago…”
“Brat, don’t worry about this and go do your own thing!”
Huo Yuejiang, having finally found an opportunity, immediately shooed his grandson away when he tried to interrupt.
“Huo Ting, I kind of want to see them. Can’t I?”
Yu Mian traced the album cover with his fingers, looking at Huo Ting as if seeking his permission.
Every time Yu Mian called someone’s name, there was an indescribable sincerity in his voice, making it hard for the other person to refuse him.
Huo Ting: “…”
“Do whatever you want.”
In the end, Huo Ting gave up and quietly sighed in his heart.
The thick album indeed proved to be a treasure trove, and Yu Mian flipped through it with great enthusiasm.
Even Qiao Ni, on hearing the commotion, joined in, laughing as she explained the stories behind the photos, when they were taken, and what had happened back then.
Looking at these photos, which recorded Huo Ting’s growth bit by bit, Yu Mian suddenly realized that behind each photo, there was so much love and companionship.
But the photos abruptly stopped when Huo Ting was around his early teens.
If they had all been taken by his mother, then thinking back to what Huo Yan had once mentioned in passing, Yu Mian could almost guess why they had stopped.
When he turned to the last page, even Huo Yuejiang, who had been excitedly showing off the album, sighed and removed his glasses.
“But isn’t there one more, the best-looking one? The one you always carried with you, even when you were rescued from the sea?”
Trying to lighten the mood, Qiao Ni reminded him.
“Oh, you mean that one? Your parents saw it too.”
Huo Yuejiang immediately pulled out a photo that had been carefully tucked inside his old pocket watch.
“My parents saw it too?”
Curious, Yu Mian looked at the photo inside the watch.
It was a young Huo Ting wearing a military uniform for the first time. The miniaturized version of him was so cute, making Yu Mian’s heart melt.
No wonder Huo Ting’s grandfather treasured it so much, it was a total elder killer.
“Your parents liked it a lot when they saw it back then. After that, they gave me that golden conch shell.”
Huo Yuejiang coughed a few times, carefully avoiding any mention of that childhood engagement. What if he made these two youngsters awkward?
Though, the more he looked at Yu Mian, the more he liked this little guy.
But what if Yu Mian didn’t like his blockhead of a grandson? What then? Sigh, even at his age, he still had so much to worry about.
Yu Mian glanced at the photo, then at the golden conch shell in the aquarium, feeling like his parents might have forgotten to write to him about something so important.
Like maybe they had once saved a kind-looking old man, and that old man’s grandson happened to be really handsome?
And if it really had been his parents, didn’t that mean the ocean they had been in was actually a convergence point between two worlds? That would explain why Huo Yuejiang had never been able to find that sea area again after searching for it later.
So, when Huo Ting returned to the study that night, he found Yu Mian holding the golden conch shell, studying it intently.
“Is there something wrong with it?”
“I’m just curious why my parents gave this conch shell to Grandpa.”
After all, Yu Mian knew he came from Earth. Theoretically, his parents and Huo Yuejiang should have never crossed paths.
However, Yu Mian noticed that Huo Ting subtly avoided answering. Instead, he turned to his desk and started flipping through some documents.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Ask Grandpa.”
“Grandpa said they gave it to him after seeing your photo. Could it be because he thought you were cute as a kid?”
“…”
Huo Ting suddenly regretted not stopping Yu Mian from following his account earlier. That way, none of these photos would have resurfaced, and they wouldn’t have ended up back on the topic of the conch shell.
“Then how did you end up inside the conch shell?”
Looking at Yu Mian who was studying the conch shell on the side, Huo Ting couldn’t help but ask this question with curiosity.
After all, his grandfather had studied this conch shell hundreds of times in the past.
“Uh… I took a really, really long nap, and when I woke up, I was inside it.”
At the time, he had been weak and couldn’t stay in human form for long.
Yu Mian casually explained. He couldn’t exactly say that ta little system had brought him here.
Huo Ting thought for a moment but found no answer. Finally, he took out some ointment from the drawer and gestured for Yu Mian to extend his hand.
The light colored, sparkling scales on Yu Mian’s wrist were actually quite beautiful, but Yu Mian himself felt uneasy about these non-human traits. He didn’t like them much.
At least with regular application of the ointment, they hadn’t spread further.
“We’ll find your parents. Hals and the others have started retracing the clues again.”
Huo Ting spoke softly.
A lone mermaid… was highly unusual.
Yu Mian endured the itchiness on his wrist from the medicine and couldn’t help but think that no matter what, this golden conch shell had been sent to him by the system.
“Maybe I’ll find them first, and when I do, I’ll take you to see my parents…”
As his popularity points continued to grow, who knew what new rewards would be unlocked?
[Uh… That actually makes sense. As the quantity and variety of works increase, there is indeed the possibility of unlocking more unknown rewards.]
The little system responded in a timely manner to Yu Mian’s inner thoughts.
“Why do I feel like you’ve been offline a lot lately?”
Yu Mian had the impression that the system wasn’t as active as before.
[Ahem, I just… developed some personal hobbies, that’s all.]
What the system didn’t tell Yu Mian was that it had been binge-reading “God of Cooking”. As a system reading about systems, it never expected to get so hooked.
And why did it feel like the system in the book was so much more powerful than it? Spiritual springs, mysterious spaces…so many high-level features.
After reading so much, the little system was starting to feel a bit self-conscious. It didn’t even dare look directly at Yu Mian anymore, feeling like a useless excuse for a system.
“Alright then.”
‘So, systems could grow up and have their own worries too?’
Just as Huo Ting finished applying the medicine and was about to put away the ointment, Yu Mian suddenly knocked on the table and extended his fist again.
“Did I miss a spot?”
Huo Ting was about to reopen the ointment when he saw Yu Mian spread his palm. Lying inside was a small candy.
“Try it. It’s a new mint candy I made today.”
Yu Mian smiled at Huo Ting, urging him to take a bite and see if it tasted good.
“””
Meanwhile, in the Eternal Night star system, Wilster’s return was met with overwhelming enthusiasm. Everyone was eager to ask what it was like to meet “Fish Soup Noodles”.
“It was certainly a wonderful experience. The only regret is that he didn’t accept my invitation to visit the Eternal Night Star System.”
He had really wanted to show him his castle.
“But the person beside Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is really annoying, always stopping people from getting too close.”
Wilster was still upset about the hot search from StarBlog. Even though Fish Soup Noodles had followed him back the next second, he couldn’t get over it.
Why were those netizens saying Teacher Fish Soup Noodles didn’t want him anymore?
Lilith, on the other hand, recognized Huo Ting in the news photos. He was the very legion commander who had escorted her to the Federation Star.
However, compared to Huo Ting, Lilith and the other Bart people were far more interested in Fish Soup Noodles.
“What was he like?”
“He has a great personality, and I could tell that even by Eternal Night aesthetic standards, he must be an absolutely stunning beauty.”
Recalling their meeting, Wilster finally smiled.
The Bart clan book fans at the Moonlight Tea Party were both envious and amazed.
If they had known earlier, they would have played a cameo role and maybe could have met Fish Soup Noodles!
“Miss Lilith, you have an express delivery from the Federation Star!”
Just as they were all gathered around Wilster, an unexpected package arrived.
“Huanyu…?” Lilith, who had remained expressionless, instantly realized something upon seeing the sender’s name and quickly opened the package.
Inside was a full box of candy!
[Thank you so much for helping with the “Eternal Night Rose” movie. These candies were easier to ship and less likely to get damaged. Looking forward to you visiting the Federation Star again and taste some of the food ^_^ – A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles.]
“Ah! Teacher Fish Soup Noodles actually sent a package this time?”
“Lilith, hurry up and try one!”
As the others grew more and more envious, the courier also smiled and reminded them, “There’s a small box underneath filled with letters. It’s said he’s been slowly replying to the fan mail he received before, and now that he’s finished, he sent them all back together.”
“We got replies?”
“Christina, your letter got a response too!”
Excitement spread among them. They hadn’t expected that after all this time, their letters to Fish Soup Noodles would actually receive personal replies and small gifts.
“This is so embarrassing… I wrote a whole essay about my insomnia back then. It was like treating Teacher Fish Soup Noodles as my personal diary.”
Christina, who usually carried a slightly gloomy air, had grown much brighter since becoming a writer.
Holding the reply from Fish Soup Noodles, she suddenly recalled the time she had sent the letter and her face flushed red.
“He’s just… really good.”
Lilith alsysmiled as she hugged the box of candy.
Only Wilster, after flipping through everything, realized there was no letter for him.
“Did you forget? You were sleeping the whole time. You never wrote a letter, so of course, you didn’t get a reply. Here, have a candy.”
Christina patted her old friend on the shoulder.
“Then why didn’t you just wake me up back then?”
For the first time, Wilster felt that sleeping wasn’t as wonderful as he had always thought.
Meanwhile, “God of Cooking” had reached its first plot climax.
The newly introduced investigation tour team arrived at Taoyuan Mountain, and the first thing they saw was a long queue at the foot of the mountain.
Even the developer standing nearby was staring at Taoyuan Restaurant in confusion.
Why was this place still open?
Hadn’t they already scared that young man into leaving to pay off his debts?
[[“Don’t bother lining up. It’s already full! You guys are too late.”
Some people leaving the restaurant kindly advised the investigation team.
“Young man, what do you mean by ‘full’?”
After asking politely, the old man found out that it was the Taoyuan restaurant that sold a limited amount of food every day, and the food sold was all specialties of Taoyuan Mountain.
