SAG -Chapter 146 Unshakable Confidence

After Zhang Siyan accepted the flatbread and took a bite, Prince Haiman looked at her expectantly.

“Well? It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

Zhang Siyan’s expression changed several times before she finally forced a smile.

“Mm… it’s not bad.”

“Come, come, miss, you should try some too.”

Receiving Zhang Siyan’s “approval” greatly boosted Prince Haiman’s confidence.

Zhao Jingyu accepted the flatbread that the prince had personally baked, feeling deeply honored.

At that moment, she desperately wanted to take out her phone, snap a selfie, and post it on social media to show off—but she ultimately restrained herself.

After taking a bite, her expression remained perfectly composed.

She gave a thumbs-up and said solemnly, “It tastes wonderful.”

Seeing this, Zhang Siyan began to wonder whether she had somehow imagined the strange taste earlier.

So she subconsciously took another bite.

Afterward, when she looked at Zhao Jingyu again, her eyes were filled with admiration.

“Move aside, move aside! Stop poisoning my daughter. Can that thing even be called food? Come on, sweetheart, try the bread your dad made.”

At that moment, Zhang Ran walked over, shoved Prince Haiman aside, and proudly presented his own freshly baked bread.

The corner of Zhao Jingyu’s mouth twitched.

Zhang Siyan hesitated.

But seeing the eager expression on her father’s face, she couldn’t bear to refuse.

She picked up a piece and took a small bite.

Not willing to let Zhao Jingyu escape, Zhang Ran added, “Assistant Zhao, right? Come on, have some too. I’m not bragging, but my bread is absolutely top-tier!”

Having already prepared herself mentally, Zhao Jingyu accepted a piece without hesitation and put it into her mouth.

Neither of them noticed that Lin Mei, Liu Lu, and the four children had all retreated far away from the kitchen.

Since yesterday, Zhang Ran and Prince Haiman had inexplicably begun competing over their cooking skills.

The entire household had suffered as a result.

To make matters worse, both men deliberately chose dishes they weren’t good at making.

At first, everyone had been excited.

Gradually, however, they fell into complete despair.

Now, whenever either of the two entered the kitchen, the entire family fled as if avoiding a plague.

The worst part was that neither man possessed the slightest self-awareness.

Every time they finished cooking, they insisted on making everyone taste it.

Because of their status, Liu Lu and Zhang Sicheng found it difficult to criticize them directly.

Lin Mei, meanwhile, was the type of person who always spared others’ feelings.

Thus, through a bizarre series of events, the two men had developed an utterly unfounded confidence in their culinary abilities.

The four children, though young, were all remarkably clever.

As for Susu, she simply didn’t want to hurt her grandfather’s feelings, so she always praised him.

Most importantly, neither Zhang Ran nor Prince Haiman ever ate their own cooking.

They only tasted each other’s food—and then mocked one another relentlessly.

After finishing Zhang Ran’s bread, Zhang Siyan felt utterly miserable.

Yet facing her father’s hopeful expression, she could only nod.

“It’s… very good.”

Zhao Jingyu, as always, raised her thumb.

“Mr. Zhang’s skill is worthy of a master.”

At that moment, Zhang Siyan finally understood why Zhao Jingyu had achieved such a high position at such a young age.

The ability to lie with a perfectly straight face was clearly an essential qualification.

Hearing their praise, Zhang Ran looked triumphantly at Prince Haiman.

The prince snorted disdainfully.

“They’re only being polite. Don’t you know how terrible your food actually tastes?”

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone else looked at him strangely.

How could he possibly say that with a straight face?

Zhang Ran immediately fired back.

“Yours tastes worse! What you make is an insult to the very concept of food!”

“Hah! Go look at my social media account. Do you know how many people are begging to eat my cooking? Doesn’t that prove something?”

Prince Haiman refused to yield.

Then he suddenly remembered something.

“Honey, come here! Take a photo for me and upload it to my account.”

Recently, Prince Haiman had been updating his social media far more frequently than before.

The content was also drastically different from his previous image.

Yet people clearly loved this version of him.

The likes and comments poured in, most of them showering him with praise.

Sometimes he even uploaded photos of both his own dishes and Zhang Ran’s creations, asking followers to judge which looked better.

Of course, he always dropped enough hints that anyone with basic social awareness knew exactly which answer to give.

“They’re not craving your food,” Zhang Ran said dismissively.

“They’re interested in you, not your cooking.”

Soon afterward, however, Zhang Ran ignored him and turned back to Zhang Siyan and Zhao Jingyu.

“Come on, eat more. Don’t be shy. I made plenty.”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Even Zhao Jingyu nearly lost her composure this time.

Zhang Siyan quickly changed the subject.

“Actually, I came today to discuss something with Prince Haiman. It’s business.”

To emphasize her professionalism, she had even changed the way she addressed him.

Having just finished taking photos, Prince Haiman looked puzzled.

“What kind of business?”

“It’s like this. I’m here on behalf of Kangshilan Company to discuss a potential cooperation project with you.”

Zhang Siyan spoke with complete seriousness.

Yet no sooner had she finished than she noticed Prince Haiman glancing toward Zhang Ran.

Before Zhang Ran could say anything, she hurriedly added, “Your Highness, this is official business. Business should be handled professionally.”

Zhang Ran laughed and waved his hand.

“Go ahead and talk. Don’t look at me. Business is business. No personal favors involved. Just don’t come crying to me if you lose money.”

Prince Haiman snorted.

“Lose money? Do you have any idea how rich I am right now?”

Zhang Ran replied with only two words:

“Heh, heh.”

…

Half an hour later, Zhang Siyan finished explaining the details of the project.

Prince Haiman showed little reaction.

Lin Mei, however, nodded approvingly.

“It’s a good project. We’re interested as well. To be honest, if Yaotian hadn’t offered such exceptional terms before, we would have seriously considered working with your company back then.”

Prince Haiman also nodded.

“I think highly of this cooperation too. Let’s settle it like this. After the New Year, meet with my team and work out the details yourselves.”

With that, he prepared to leave.

But after taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around.

Looking at the two women with anticipation, he asked, “I still have some of the flatbread I made earlier. Would either of you like another piece?”

Zhang Siyan and Zhao Jingyu were completely speechless.

They had both prepared numerous arguments and proposals before coming.

Yet it seemed none of them were necessary.

As for Zhang Siyan, her emotions were even more complicated.

She clearly understood that this partnership existed largely because of her father’s relationship with Prince Haiman.

But at the same time, a deep sense of pride welled up within her.