When the Mo siblings left, Lu Xinyi and Shen Yi went to the kitchen only to find He Haotian with Gu Meina and Gao Hong talking about the concoction He Haotian recently made.
“I swear to god, you, Chu Anyang, are shamelessly terrifying sometimes! Are you trying to ruin Madam Shen’s palette with that liquid?!” Gu Meina threw her arms in the air and frowned.
Gao Hong rubbed his nape and smiled awkwardly. He never expected that He Haotian could be outrageous sometimes, but he was still starstruck when Lu Xinyi first introduced him to the Michelin chef.
“Tsk. Xinxin can tolerate this. This is a test, and I intend to find out how sensitive her taste buds could be? How can I let this chance escape without letting her try this concoction?”
“What are you talking about?” Lu Xinyi made their presence known to the three. Her eyes then landed in a big cup of…”What the hell is that thing?!”
“Oh, Xinxin. You just made it in time. Let’s start your first lesson, shall we?” He Haotian walked toward her and led her to stand in front of the counter.
Lu Xinyi was taken aback. If she had known what was waiting for her, she shouldn’t have gone here.
“W-what?”
“Taste this and find out what are the ingredients and spices I used on this concoction.” He Haotian happily pushed the cup to Lu Xinyi.
Lu Xinyi took a quick sniff of the greenish-black liquid, and her face blanched with terror.
“Uncle, how about no?”
The man laughed and patted her shoulder.
“What are you afraid of? I used the best ingredients to that drink! I swear it would be good for your health. I assure you this will help you restore your vitality in a few days. You only have to take a few sips to taste it.”
Lu Xinyi then tried to beg for Shen Yi’s help with her eyes, but the rascal decided to sell her out. He shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to be dragged as a guinea pig by this professional chef.
“It’s okay, Xinxin. As long as it won’t harm you.”
Lu Xinyi glared daggers at her husband, wishing she had a chance to strangle him at this moment. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Wouldn’t harm her? That liquid seemed like a drink from hell!
How would she be able to survive the day if she drank it? The drink was too dark; she couldn’t even see or predict what kind of ingredients had been used by just looking at it. She didn’t believe in one bit that she could stomach to drink the full cup.
No matter if she could taste whatever on it, she believed that this one was the nastiest drink she’d seen in her twenty-five years of existence.
“Go on. Don’t be shy. Here, take this.” He Haotian passed a small notebook to her. “Write all the ingredients you could taste from this drink. You only need to take a sip three times. If you fail, you have to finish the whole cup.”
What? Finish the whole cup? She would rather kill herself thank drink all of it! That only meant that she had to be careful, shouldn’t waste her time, and taste the drink carefully.
“Oh, don’t forget you cannot puke or spit it out, or else you automatically lose at once!”
He seemed to have prepared everything before her arrival. Since she agreed to become his apprentice for a week, she really didn’t have a choice but to do what he asked for. Gu Meina and Gao Hong looked at her with pity, but they were glad that they weren’t the one to taste that drink. Else they would die with a swift death.
Lu Xinyi took a deep breath before she begrudgingly took the cup and had the first sip. She tried so hard not to puke and spit the disgusting liquid once it hit her tongue. It was overwhelming. The bitterness of the drink was thick and suffocating. She could taste a little sourness as she tried to keep the liquid stay on her tongue.
Too strong, too powerful. Lu Xinyi couldn’t even figure out how to disintegrate the taste. The layers of flavors were contradicting each other, trying to outdo one another. She felt like her tongue being pierced of tiny needles, wanting to push the disgusting liquid from her mouth. With a last string of courage, Lu Xinyi swallowed it with difficulty.
As soon as the liquid slid down her throat, the bitterness came back in full force. She felt like her mouth had been assaulted with such horrifying flavors. At that moment, Lu Xinyi realized that flavors could be frightening. She could feel her stomach starting to revolt, threatening to make her vomit all over the place.
“So? Do you find something familiar in it?” He Haotian asked with a goofy smile.
In her mind, Lu Xinyi tried to remember the tastes that her tongue tasted. She really had no idea how to differentiate the layers of flavors and how to exactly pinpoint the ingredients from it. All these time, she relied on her tongue as if it has its own memory. The scent of the dish also helped her distinguish the ingredients.
Lu Xinyi lifted her pen and started writing down the obvious ingredients she’d tasted. Apart from ginger and bitter gourd, she was able to taste mint leaves, parsley, some garlic, and citrus peels. Once she stopped, He Haotian took a pick on her list and nodded.
“Are you sure that’s all?”
Lu Xinyi glared at him before taking another mouthful from the cup. Holy shit. It really made her stomach kept on contracting violently and trying to force everything up and out. Her face was white and dripping with sweat, and tears. Still, she kept the concoction in her mouth and let the liquid swish back and forth so she could find the other flavors that were missing.
