Chapter 34 Part 2

You stole my character model, you trashy little star! Having a few fractions of resemblance to me is already your supreme fortune. In heart and character, you ultimately cannot be mentioned in the same breath as me, Long Aotian!

As Lu Aotian thought this, his two small hands, placed behind his back, formed numbers with his left “four” and right “nine”. Then he clenched them fiercely, adding another “treacherous and cunning” tag to Han Cheng in his heart.

~

The trio took on the one-kilogram white waste task. After refilling the distillation pot with seawater, they quickly headed back to the place where they’d collected bottles that morning.

After exchanging with the production team, this white plastic was generally a one-way transaction. So the two adults and one child first prioritized picking up broken trash. They left behind bottles and jars that looked still usable for future purposes, perhaps as water bottles or to make traps.

The two adults and one child spread out to move, with little Lu Ao’ao as the center, and Ji Nuo and Han Cheng quickly gathered one kilogram of white waste.

Little Lu Ao’ao busied himself sorting out large bottles that could still be reused. He even found a heat-resistant meal container with a #5 marking on the bottom—polypropylene plastic that could go in the microwave. Moreover, the container body was completely intact and could be used after washing.

This tickled Lu Aotian pink. He tossed the other bottles into the net bag Ji Nuo had found for him to drag along, and bounced off to the shore first to wash the lunchbox clean with seawater.

On the way back, he showed off to Ji Nuo and Han Cheng, mainly targeting Han Cheng: “Oh man, I didn’t even see it. I just stepped on something hurting my foot. I never expected it to be pp material, can withstand temperatures up to 130 degrees~ ooh~”

Ji Nuo smiled and played along. “Our Ao’ao is truly a little Koi fish, so lucky! This uncle is so jealous!”

Lu Aotian simply couldn’t control his soaring chin. The angle between his chin and neck gradually went from 45 degrees to 60 degrees, to 90 degrees… Drowning in Ji Nuo’s rainbow farts, Lu Aotian nearly tilted his chin all the way to 180 degrees.

If Han Cheng hadn’t reached out in time to prop up the back of his head, Lu Aotian would have nearly bent backward and fallen.

Han Cheng seized the opportunity to ruffle the child’s soft little occiput, mimicking Ji Nuo’s tone. “Mhm, today’s Ao’ao is the little Koi Fish in the trash heap.”

At the word “trash,” Lu Aotian’s eyes flew wide open.

Right! Picking up trash, how was it anything to be happy about!

He was Long Aotian! Lowering his noble self to pick up trash was already preposterous! Why was he feeling joy and satisfaction over this?!

Lu Aotian’s grey-blue eyes glared. “Don’t talk to me!” He finished and huffily marched off.

Han Cheng spread his hands in a helpless gesture. Ji Nuo doubled over laughing, sighing that when these two, big and little, clashed, there was never a good outcome.

The Danmaku “fought” over this:

[That’s wrong of Teacher Han. What do you mean, “little Koi Fish in the trash heap”? How bad does that sound? How can our universe’s most adorable cub be associated with a trash heap?]

[Yeah, yeah, who compliments someone like that? No wonder our Ao’ao puffed up and walked off. If you swapped it and said Han Cheng is a superstar in a trash heap… That doesn’t sound good either, right?]

[Han Cheng was just stating facts. He really was getting high picking up trash~ Ao’ao is really opening up more and more. During the pilot episode, I thought this little runt would be very persnickety. Never thought he’d be so happy picking up trash now hahahaha.]

[A tsundere little bro who loves picking up trash~]

~

Since the time exchanged for the tool was very short, Ji Nuo began pre-processing the Coconut Snail first.

Han Cheng found a rectangular stone slab about twenty centimeters long. Ji Nuo adjusted the angle, feeling it could perfectly substitute for a cutting board.

“If you cook the Coconut Snail first, it’s very hard to dig out. You have to remove the meat while it’s fresh…” Saying this, Han Cheng demonstrated the technique he’d seen others use when preparing it.

It involved continuously tickling near the shell opening, then when the snail relaxed, pulling the meat out in one go.

The two cooperated, one tickling, the other seeking an opportunity to pull the meat. Their heads were practically pressed together. Lu Aotian, at this moment, couldn’t care less about anything else, leaning over the stone slab, his eyes glued to the sight of the two digging out the snail meat.

He had seen it clearly—the meat near the shell opening was tough, truly unappealing. But when the Coconut Snail tentatively stuck its head out, a small inner section was distinctly white, tender, and smooth. Just looking at it made one’s mouth water, especially with his little tummy utterly deflated.

Through the joint efforts of Ji Nuo and Han Cheng, a moment of inattention by the Coconut Snail allowed Ji Nuo to yank it completely out of its shell in one swift motion.

At first glance, the meat yield seemed high, but in reality, many parts were unsuitable for eating. Ji Nuo planned to remove the tail and all the internal organs to avoid any problems from eating.

Lu Aotian watched as the Coconut Snail’s tail was removed, revealing a large expanse of snowy white snail meat. He was already getting excited, rubbing his little wheat-colored paws together, his grey-blue eyes sparkling.

Ji Nuo then used his fingertips to poke into the snail meat, attempting to dig out the internal organs by hand. Just at that moment, a bright orange bead dropped out with a “click,” landing on the stone slab and rolling once before stopping.

Ji Nuo was stunned. He asked the little dumpling who had been staring intently at the snail meat, “Did that come out of the snail meat?”

Lu Aotian blinked, confirming, “Yes, that’s… a conch pearl?”

In his past life, he’d never been interested in jewelry and accessories, but he had seen them. However, the conch pearls he remembered were all pink and peachy. How was this one orange?

Could it be that whatever color the sea snail is, it grows a pearl of that color? He really didn’t know much about this area.

Under the sunlight, the pearl was a bright orange-yellow with distinct flame patterns. Han Cheng picked it up and verified it. His gaze toward the little runt became even more complicated. “This is a very rare kind of conch pearl called a Melo Pearl. Judging by the color and size, this one is worth at least a million.”

As a winner of the birth lottery that everyone always envied, Han Cheng also had to admit, this kid’s luck was insanely, ridiculously good.

The broadcast room’s Danmaku instantly filled with question marks:

[A million-dollar level??? Is this really the kind of development a kid variety show should have!!!]

[If I say you’re not a prop, you pick up props everywhere. If I say you’re a props department, who would be willing to arrange a million-dollar-level prop?! Damn…]

[Searched it. Han Cheng was being conservative. A hundred-carat Melo Pearl sold at auction before for nearly thirty million… I’m looking at this one, and it’s not small…]

[Is there a possibility Teacher Han meant US dollars… Wuwuwu, a million US dollars, I wouldn’t dare think about that even in my dreams! Ah!]

[Damn, I’m so jealous, I’m really so, so jealous! Forget love, not getting Han Cheng is whatever. But why didn’t the Coconut Snail I ate yesterday have a Melo Pearl!!!]

[Cub, ah, if things keep going like this, your mama is out of your league QAQ!]

[Repost this Ao’ao and rub some of the Koi Fish Baby’s luck. You’ll have explosive luck all next year~]

After hearing the price, Ji Nuo was even more dumbfounded. “Is it really that valuable?!”

Han Cheng nodded slightly. “Melo Pearls are also called Dragon Pearls. To date, they cannot be cultivated artificially and are extremely rare in number.”

To find a Melo Pearl inside the Coconut Snail delighted Lu Aotian as well, but it didn’t excite him as much as discovering delicious food.

After all, he did a quick calculation. Although his father, whom he’d never even met, wasn’t the Richest Man yet, with the Lu Family’s enormous wealth, he still looked down on these little pearls.

Though the flame pattern was quite pretty, he wasn’t very fond of it either. He always felt it lacked some fluorescent sensation. If only it could truly present a bright, blazing color like a real flame… Lu Aotian smacked his little lips, his face full of regret.

The broadcast room exploded again and again over this. On Ji Nuo and Han Cheng’s side, however, things quickly wrapped up after Lu Aotian stuffed the pearl into the zippered pocket on his chest.

The snail meat, with the tail and internal organs removed, was rinsed repeatedly until the surface slime was basically cleaned. Before going to exchange white waste for the tool, Ji Nuo had Han Cheng put the male Coconut Crab—who had died because of trying to date—into the multi-purpose large pot to steam over high heat.

This time, it was still the Deputy Director who came to receive the trio. Although he wore a pained look on his face, he very cooperatively exchanged the knife for the three.

The moment he returned to the small cubicle where Bai Yong was, Bai Yong unceremoniously shooed him out again. “Go, go, go! Just looking at you raises my blood pressure!”

After shouting his dullard subordinate away, Bai Yong rubbed his temple while dialing the number of his little Assistant in Cloud City. Even if he hated to face it again, he had to arrange a Melo Pearl hot search for this heaven-defying cub, Lu Ao’ao!

Right now, his feelings were no longer just the helplessness of a Producer losing control of his show. It was purely from the perspective of a high-level wage slave. He was so jealous too! Why couldn’t he find a conch pearl comparable to a top-tier diamond?!

~

It wasn’t just Bai Yong. When other staff members of the production team looked at the tiny pocket on Lu Ao’ao’s chest, their eyes automatically turned green.

Only Ji Nuo and Han Cheng had fully accepted this windfall. Ji Nuo’s thinking was very simple: it wasn’t his, so why get so excited? He was very happy for Ao’ao, and that was enough.

As for Han Cheng, his line of thought was very similar to Lu Aotian’s. He found the Melo Pearl’s color too bland. It would be better if it were brighter. If it didn’t hit his aesthetic, it was just an ordinary piece of jewelry.

Ji Nuo carefully rationed his knife usage time. He first cut the Wild Pineapple core that had been soaking long enough, then started slicing the snail meat.

The live broadcast viewers hadn’t yet recovered from the blow of the heaven-sent wealth pearl when Ji Nuo’s knife skills, operating at what looked like triple speed, stunned the whole room again:

[Whoa… A live broadcast can’t be sped up, right? I’m seeing after-images…]

[Oh man, if I had this speed, I could go apply for a disability certificate this afternoon.]

[Although Ji Nuo is fast, he slices thin! That piece in Han Cheng’s hand is practically see-through! Good lord! Haters, come out and stretch your faces! Is this kind of knife skill something a script star can act out?!]

[Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ji Nuo, are you actually a chef by trade?]

[Gonna say it now, Ji Nuo chose the wrong industry. With Ji Nuo’s knife skills, cooking, and looks, any platform would scramble to have him as a top food content creator!]

[Ha…ha… I’m stunned… Let me tell you all something scary. I’ve cut Coconut Snail before, and that stuff is tough, especially the meat near the opening, like rubber…]

Ji Nuo was completely unaware of how astonishing his knife skills were. His entire mind was full of one thought: faster, a little faster, fight to save a few minutes of exchange time so they could use the next one longer.

As for the feel of cutting, Coconut Snail was indeed very tough, but he had strength in his hands, so cutting it was still very easy.

In under five minutes, Ji Nuo had sliced the snail meat, which weighed over two jin, into countless thin, cicada-wing slices. Every piece was like tracing paper—completely translucent.

Lu Aotian knelt before the stone slab, watching with extreme seriousness. Unconsciously, he placed his wrists together, palms turned outward, and propped his little chin in the center. Instantly, he transformed into a lively, adorable cub-shaped sunflower.

His raven-feather-like long lashes trembled from time to time. Amazed by Ji Nuo’s knife technique, his pink, pouty little mouth parted slightly.

When Ji Nuo stopped his knife, Lu Aotian was roused as if from a dream. He reached out a little hand to quickly wipe the corner of his mouth.

Looking up and seeing Han Cheng equally stunned, Lu Aotian hadn’t even put his hand down from wiping his mouth before he launched a heavy assault: “What are you daydreaming for?! Go return the knife, quick!”

Han Cheng’s cool, noble features showed a rare look of speechlessness. As he stood up, he very much wanted to give this little face-changing demon a flick on the forehead.