The first time, the leaf remained unchanged in Lin Ze's hand.
The second time, the leaf transformed into paper.
The third time, the paper became a blank book.
The fourth time, the leaf transformed into a massive, incredibly thick book.
Lin Ze flipped through it, glanced over the contents, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright, this is our world, the country I'm from. All eight of the Great Cuisines are in here."
"It's enough for you to study and research for a lifetime. Many people spend their entire lives trying to master just one cuisine and still never fully understand it."
He placed the massive book before Xiangling, its weight pressing down on the very earth beneath it. Lin Ze spoke slowly.
"Five thousand years of culinary wisdom, all condensed within these pages."
*Slurp!*
Xiangling's eyes lit up like gold as she gazed at the book Lin Ze had placed before her, a blissful smile spreading across her face. Drool even trickled from the corner of her mouth.
*A treasure! This is truly a precious treasure!*
Seeing Xiangling's reaction, Lin Ze reacted swiftly.
He immediately pulled out his phone and began snapping photos of her in rapid succession.
*Such a sight is rare indeed!*
"Zhongli's one thing—he's the Emperor, after all. I can understand collecting his reaction images. But Xiangling, why are you taking pictures of her?"
Noticing Lin Ze's movements, Hu Tao leaned closer to peek at his screen, her expression puzzled.
She understood Lin Ze collecting Zhongli's reaction images. She herself was trying to gather some, given how rare they were to capture.
But why was he taking so many photos of Xiangling?
Especially when she was drooling and grinning foolishly.
For Xiangling, these were downright embarrassing photos.
"You wouldn't understand," Lin Ze replied casually, dismissing her with just three words.
*Silly little Hu Tao, what could she possibly know?*
"What's this 'dark history' you speak of? Call me the Dark History Collector!"
"...I may not understand, but taking photos of girls without their consent and hoarding them isn't exactly proper behavior! You should know Xiangling and Yanfei are very close."
Hu Tao admitted she didn't fully grasp his motives, but felt compelled to warn him.
Xiangling and Yanfei were close friends. If Xiangling wanted, Yanfei could have Lin Ze thrown in jail at any moment.
"Yeah, Big Brother, secretly taking photos of people is wrong," Yaoyao chimed in. After all, why else would she find Lin Ze so amusing?
His actions and words often left everyone scratching their heads.
Sometimes, he even committed minor offenses, like he was doing right now.
"Could it be that taking candid photos isn't illegal in Mr. Lin Ze's world?" Yun Jin asked, her brow furrowing slightly. She was also concerned about Lin Ze's actions, and her impression of him had diminished somewhat.
"Of course taking candid photos is illegal, but I wasn't taking candid photos. I was openly taking pictures, and Hu Tao didn't even try to stop me. When Xiangling comes to her senses, I'll tell her about it and show her the photos."
Lin Ze hadn't thought much of it. Candid photography was illegal, but he hadn't been taking candid photos, nor did he intend to hide anything. He was simply casually documenting interesting moments in his life.
Besides, Lin Ze was puzzled by their sudden group attack. He had freely posted photos in his diary before without any issues.
What Lin Ze didn't understand was that for girls, such photos were considered unflattering and embarrassing if shared publicly! The photos he had posted in his diary were normal, presentable ones.
"Huh? What photos?"
After hearing her name mentioned repeatedly, Xiangling finally snapped out of her daze. She looked at Lin Ze and the others with confusion, unsure what they were talking about.
"What photos? What happened?" Xiangling asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
"Lin Ze took some pictures of you drooling earlier," Xinyan explained, stepping forward to clarify. "He even said he was going to keep them."
Xinyan, who hadn't had a chance to join the others in teasing Lin Ze earlier, decided to take the initiative and explain the situation to Xiangling.
"Let me see! Let me see!"
To everyone's surprise, Xiangling's first reaction wasn't anger, but curiosity. She even leaned closer to Lin Ze to examine the photos on his phone.
"Hmm, these aren't very flattering," she remarked, tilting her head. "Was my expression really that weird?"
Resting her chin in her hand, Xiangling critiqued Lin Ze's photography skills. Her expression couldn't have been *that* strange—it must be his poor technique!
"You're not mad?" Hu Tao and the others stared at Xiangling, their faces etched with bewilderment. How could she not be angry?
"They're not posted online, and I'm sure Mr. Lin Ze will delete them, right?" Xiangling replied, her tone surprisingly calm.
"He's probably just teasing me," Xiangling said, exchanging innocent glances with Hu Tao and the others. "Mr. Lin Ze loves to tease people, you all know that."
Xiangling believed that all holders of the diary copies were well aware of Mr. Lin Ze's fondness for teasing. She suspected his actions were simply another attempt to tease her.
"So, there's no need to get angry, as long as it's not an excessive joke. They're just some photos, after all. What excessive joke could he possibly make with them?" Xiangling asked, blinking innocently.
Hearing Xiangling's words, Mr. Lin Ze nearly wept with emotion. *Look at this wonderful child,* he thought, *actually defending me!*
"Look at Xiangling, then look at yourselves. What were you all thinking?" Mr. Lin Ze said, deeply moved. *The recipes from the Eight Great Cuisines weren't given away for nothing.*
"Huh? What do you mean, 'what were we thinking'?" Yun Jin asked, glancing at Mr. Lin Ze before turning back to Xiangling. "Xiangling, these are embarrassing photos of you! How can you not care at all?"
"Ugly photos? Xiangling, you really don't care at all?"
"I do care, but if it's Lin Ze... there's nothing I can do. As long as they don't get spread around, it's fine."
Of course Xiangling cared—the photos made her look terrible. But since it was Lin Ze...
*You can't bite the hand that feeds you!*
"Besides, think about it: the Eight Great Cuisines, five thousand years of culinary wisdom... trading that for a few ugly photos? When you put it that way, it actually sounds like a pretty good deal, right?"
By the end, Xiangling said something that left Hu Tao and the others speechless.
Yaoyao, looking thoughtful, kept glancing back and forth between Lin Ze and Xiangling.
"So that's how it is... I understand now. Big Brother really is a good person."
"I'm not sure what Yaoyao thinks she understands, but if we look at it from Xiangling's perspective..." Xinyan said, her expression a bit strange. "Then, to use Lin Ze's words, shouldn't Xiangling be saying to him, 'You're actually a pretty decent guy'?"
Xinyan stared at Xiangling with a peculiar expression, a hint of worry in her eyes. *Could I be next to have my ugly photos taken?*
But then she thought about it, and it did sound like a pretty good deal after all.
....
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(End of Chapter)