Once the judges were done tasting the devil’s cake, they went back to Lu Xinyi’s counter, the woman still calm as ever. It was Jun Simin who asked her the question they’ve been meaning to ask.
“Lu Xinyi, tell us why did you choose to use a forbidden ingredient in spite knowing that it will be a possible ground for your application’s dismissal?”
“As I said earlier, the box I received contains certain ingredients that are different from what was indicated on the list. I also reported the issue to one of your proctors, but he dismissed my claims, forcing me to work on my devil’s food cake with the ingredients I received. It was a tough decision for me to make because I wasn’t sure if this was part of the exam or if someone is trying to sabotage us so we’ll lose this round.”
Jun Simin narrowed her eyes at Lu Xinyi’s last sentence. “Are you trying to imply that the academy had something to do with sabotaging your chances?”
Whispers arose once more from the crowd, but unlike the previous arguments, the people that Tong Yan paid to rile up the audience and stir up trouble for Lu Xinyi kept their mouths shut. They wouldn’t dare to step any further. Dealing against the academy and the Shen and Li families weren’t part of their job.
Lu Xinyi turned with a small smile. “Of course not, I trust that Silver Leaf Academy will stand on its moral. You will never allow anyone to use your name or tarnish your reputation in such an underhanded manner. Unless, of course, I am mistaken…”
“No. You’re right.” Jun Simin cut her off. She gritted her teeth. Damn, she wasn’t expecting that Lu Xinyi could play dangerously with words. Her underlying tone beneath her calm facade was sharp as a knife. “But have you any proof of these claims?”
“You can check the records of my complaints to your proctors. Also, there were still ingredients left inside my box. Feel free to inspect it as well as Surya Rathore’s and Ye Xieren’s boxes. I am certain that I wasn’t the only one who received a different box.” Lu Xinyi said, pointing a finger on her leftover ingredients.
“There’s no need for that. We knew from the start that there are five different boxes from the rest. It was distributed randomly to all of you.” Han Zhiling pushed the bridge of her eyeglasses up.
“Do you mean to say…?” Lu Xinyi trailed. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“This is a part of the exam?” Ye Xieren sounded annoyed. If he had known that it was a purpose to test his patience and will, he would have done better! He wasn’t satisfied and happy with what he’d done!
“Yes, the five different boxes were meant to challenge your ability to adapt in an unfavorable situation. We want to see how you will react and deal if unexpected problems arise. In the professional world of the culinary, problems like these are common. One should know how to adapt and make alternatives to one’s ingredients.” Qu Shaowei joined their talk.
Lu Xinyi nodded, but there was still an irking feeling within her that said it wasn’t a coincidence at all. When she turned her head to Sun Feiyan’s, she was greeted with an amused smile. What was she happy about? What did she found so amusing in her situation?
The audience’s suspicion of Lu Xinyi was instantly cleared with the judges’ explanation. Some were ashamed that they too naive to come up with their own conclusion without trying to find out what had caused Lu Xinyi’s decision.
If they were on her shoes, they would also hesitate to break one of Silver Leaf’s rules. Still, there were still who refused to acknowledge Lu Xinyi’s capabilities as a chef, and most of them were the fellow examinees that had been eliminated from the previous rounds. If they did, that would only confirm their own weaknesses in the matter.
After all, Lu Xinyi was a no-name prodigy that came out of the blue. No one knew who she was or what she can do, and that fact bothered them. If a no-name cook can make it and survive Silver Leaf’s competition, it would mean that they haven’t given their best.
“This concludes the final round of this year’s entrance exam. We will have a fifteen-minute short break! Examinees, please clean your counter and proceed to the examinees’ lounge while our judges prepare the tally and to finalize your scores.” Huo Meili took everyone’s attention.
As the examinees left their counters, Surya Rathore approached Lu Xinyi while rubbing the back of his neck. “Sister Lu, thank you for saving me earlier.”
“Eh? I saved you?” Lu Xinyi blinked, trying to figure out how was she able to help this foreign man.
“You see. I was afraid to report the wrong items, and I don’t think the officials will believe me if I did. So when you did, not only did you stand up for yourself but also for us who had been affected by the wrong boxes.” Surya Rathore explained. His tan-colored face matted with a veil of sweat.
“Oh…” Lu Xinyi had no idea that what she did had also helped the other examinees. She didn’t even realize that she earned the respect of her fellow examinees during the competition.
