Shen Xue’s heart was grieving and weeping as he watched the judges enjoy his sister-in-law’s cooking. Why the heck weren’t they allowed to taste it? Had his brother known this all along and decided to pass the baton of suffering to him?
One by one, the judges gave their scores until it reached the perfect 5 scores. They didn’t bother to explain their decision and proceeded to call in the next examinee. The crowd roared in surprise. Some couldn’t believe how easy it was for Lu Xinyi to get a perfect score in the first round. Even Lu Xinyi was stuck in her place. No one had expected that she would also get full marks for the first round.
“What? A perfect score like Ye Xieren?! Who’s that woman?!”
“Isn’t she the sponsored student of the Shen family? Wow, she really caught them off-guard this time!”
“Makes me eager to taste what she served to the judges. Damn, does anyone have snacks to offer? I’m hungry!”
“Shen family, huh? Of course, they wouldn’t send someone who couldn’t meet their standards.”
How was it possible?! The dish that she came up with was the fried rice she’d first learned from her father. She only had revised the steps and the outcome, but that significantly improved the taste of the fried rice.
“Thank you, Miss Lu. You can head back to your station.” Jun Simin told Lu Xinyi. Lu Xinyi nodded absentmindedly and went back to her station. Their decisions were undisputed.
“A perfect 5 score! Congrats, Sister Lu!” Surya Rathore congratulated her. His cheerful attitude surprised Lu Xinyi. Compared to the other examinees, he seemed to enjoy the competition and wasn’t bothered by it. “I haven’t seen the judges lose composure while tasting the other fried rice. Yours was truly something, Sister Lu!”
Lu Xinyi smiled and nodded at him before cleaning up her counter for the next round. She was still speechless and didn’t know how to react. The other examinees eyed at her warily. Ye Xieren jumped off from his counter and stared at Lu Xinyi with interest!
Finally! Someone who could match up with him! Now, he was looking forward to what Lu Xinyi would do in the next round. He didn’t have to play safe and must take the exams seriously because he’d just found his first rival at Silver Leaf.
Meng Jiao refused to acknowledge Lu Xinyi and was deep in her own thoughts. The Tang twins were silently whispering to each other, discussing what to do on the second round while Yan Chen regarded Lu Xinyi and wondered if she was another examinee he should look out for—aside from Ye Xieren.
Tong Yan bit her nail and cursed Lu Xinyi. She wasn’t aware that Lu Xinyi was this good—that she could get a perfect score on the first round. She looked at Sun Feiyan’s reaction, afraid that her mistress would be upset on this development; but she was wrong. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
‘What? She’s smiling? Why?’
Sun Feiyan was smiling as if she was really enjoying the show in front of her. This didn’t sit well with Tong Yan at all. Clearly, there was something wrong with her mistress.
Beside Sun Feiyan, Shen Xue was mourning over the fried rice. If they gave Lu Xinyi a perfect score, then it must really be that good. Not that he doubted his sister-in-law’s capabilities. He could only readily picture his brother’s reaction at Lu Xinyi’s success.
‘Look at my wifey, isn’t she great?’ Ah, this would surely boost Shen Yi’s ego.
At the audience exit, two men wearing Silver Leaf sports jersey were watching from afar. One of them was Tian Lingyu. There was softness in his eyes and gentleness on his rare smile as he looked at his younger sister.
No one had expected that the young, skinny Tian Lingyu grow up to become a popular cook with an amazing ability that could make professional chefs run for their money. By the time he reached his teenage years, his skinny body was filling out; he had muscles from training and constant lifting while working on different restaurants and hotels. By the age of twenty, it wasn’t just the girls after him.
He had grown some fine and charming features; his bone structure was fine and perfectly symmetrical. It was manly. As he aged, he became all the more striking. He had the kind of face that could stop someone in their tracks. He had tousled dark brown hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were mesmerizing deep brown eyes.
A prominent jaw curved gracefully around, and the strength of his neck showed in the twining cords of muscle that shaped his entire body. Strong arms, bold thighs and calves, a firm chest and abdomen…he was an Adonis among the other men who each paled in comparison.
“Lingyu, why didn’t you tell me you have such a cute little sister? And oh, look at Xieren’s face,” Huang Shenghao nudged Tian Lingyu’s side to get his attention. “Priceless! It’s been a long time since he found someone worthy of his time!”
Tian Lingyu ignored him. Huang Shenghao, the senior representative student of the Liu family and currently holding the rank number 1, munched on his cheese waffle.
“Can you at least introduce me to her? You know maybe she’s the one I’ve been waiting for.” He teased, but the unexpected kick he received from Tian Lingyu made him cry in pain. “Oww… I was just joking, idiot!”
Now, he really got Tian Lingyu’s attention this time.
“Stop joking around, or I’ll kick you back to the training camp.” Tian Lingyu glared at him. His gaze went back to Lu Xinyi, wondering why she was involved with the Shen family when she should be married to Li Yuren any time soon.
