It was the day of the cooking battle between Lu Xinyi and Ye Xieren. Unlike the previous cooking battle, there weren’t many spectators in the audience area although Lu Xinyi’s family and friends gathered in the VIP area.

Lu Xinyi and Ye Xieren entered the cooking arena and welcomed by the loud cheering from the crowd. Each had a fair share of supporters; some were waiting to see if Lu Xinyi only managed to become the rookie of the year by mere luck.

Ye Xieren turned his head and looked at his opponent. His eyes narrowed as he thought how this woman had beaten him and Yan Chen several times before. If people couldn’t see and refused to acknowledge Lu Xinyi’s ability to cook, they must be blind or in denial.

As to who was better between them, Ye Xieren wasn’t certain. There were instances that Lu Xinyi wasn’t able to grasp the flavors of the new dishes she created with her own hands, which led to Ye Xieren’s advantage.

Since he was more experienced in cooking and working in a restaurant, Ye Xieren knew a variety of cooking techniques while he noticed that Lu Xinyi relied more on her tongue and her experience in home cooking.

‘I need to get rid of Lu Xinyi,’ Ye Xieren thought as he bit his thumb, trying to figure out why the woman across him was still calm and unperturbed. ‘I wouldn’t be able to beat the rest of the Cream of the Crop if I couldn’t beat her.’

Wasn’t this the first time she’d have to defend her seat in the Cream of the Crop?

His thoughts were disturbed when Huo Meili stepped onto the stage and greeted them.

“Welcome back, everyone! We’ll now witness the rematch between the best junior students of our academy. Two of them are considered the best of their batch and had always been neck and neck in their class ranking, along with Liu family’s representative Yan Chen.” Huo Meili’s eyes brimmed with excitement as if she was about to witness another unforgettable battle in Silver Leaf’s history.

“This time, Ye Xieren has issued the challenge for the 10th seat of Cream of the Crop. Would he be able to snatch it from Lu Xinyi, or would she be able to defend her seat? Let’s find it out.

“For today’s cooking battle, we invited two top chefs who’ll judge both of Ye Xieren and Lu Xinyi’s dishes, together with our headmistress, Han Zhiling. Please welcome, Chef Qin of Oriental Jewel Restaurant and Chef He from Grace Palace Restaurant.”

“What? Chef Qin? Isn’t he Ye Xieren’s uncle? Isn’t this unfair to Lu Xinyi?” someone asked from the crowd.

“How could it be? There’s also Chef He with him. I don’t think Chef Qin will have the guts to favor his apprentice when there’s a two-star Michelin chef beside him,” his friend commented. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

“He can’t be partial to Ye Xieren,” another one commented, “Headmistress Han is also a member of the judges’ panel. We all know how strict she is when it comes to cooking.”

On the other side of the stage, two men and a woman came out and walked towards Huo Meili. The two chefs were wearing their white pristine chef coats while Han Zhiling was still in her usual business attire. She pushed the bridge of her glasses as she regarded the newest prodigies of their academy.

At the mention of He Haotian’s name, Lu Xinyi lifted her face up and turned to see her mentor shamelessly grinning at the crowd near him. Her brow arched as her eyes asked her mentor the obvious question. The man only chuckled and winked back at her before following the other judges to their seats.

Lu Xinyi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on her chest. No wonder He Haotian had refused to taste the new dishes she’d made during her palate training aside from the sweets she made.

“For today’s cooking battle, the theme for each round has been decided by our Headmistress Han. Headmistress Han, could you please tell us what’s the first dish our two chefs need to prepare for you?” Huo Meili beamed a smile to the judges.

The older woman nodded and focused her attention on Ye Xieren and Lu Xinyi, her eyes watching the two with curiosity. One was the apprentice of Chef Qin while the other was the daughter of the legendary chef of Silver Leaf Academy.

“For the first dish, I want the two of you to replicate my Squid Ink Pasta.” A staff of the academy entered the cooking arena and presented two identical plates of Squid Ink Pasta to Ye Xieren and Lu Xinyi.

It was squid ink pasta with honey mushrooms and a soft-boiled egg on top. Lu Xinyi tilted her head on one side, with her hands clasped on her back, as she checked the visual details of the dish as well as its mild scent.

“I think this sophisticated dish will put your cooking skills to the test.” Han Zhiling continued, her eyes glued on Lu Xinyi who was focused on the plate of pasta in front of her. “This test is a replication as I said earlier.”

“This is challenging indeed, Headmistress Han.” The chef beside He Haotian was in his early forties, but his face aged as if he’d gone through a lot of challenges in his life. “The first thing our young chefs need to do is to delicately fillet and collect all the ink that they could get from the squids to make their handmade jet black pasta. This isn’t easy to do if you are not familiar with squids, and your knife skills aren’t perfected. One should be cautious not to waste any ink from the squids provided.”

At the audience area, Xia Yuhan nudged Yuan Jin’s side to get his attention.

“Hey, do you think Lady Boss can do it? I haven’t seen her cook seafood before,” she asked. She’d never seen Lu Xinyi cook unless she was in a cooking battle like today.

“You worry too much. Xinxin can do it. If there’s something she’s proud of, it’s her knife skills. I haven’t met anyone besides her that could make a clean cut with meat,” Yuan Jin replied. He watched how his friend picked up a fork and took a taste from the squid ink pasta they needed to replicate.

“Ah, that’s just the first step,” He Haotian interjected Chef Qin. “After that, they need to make their own pasta from scratch, making sure to use the squid ink they collected and produce perfectly-cooked soft-boiled eggs that will give a glossy, runny yolk once cut.”

Han Zhiling slightly nodded. Indeed, this dish would not only test their knife skills to get the squid ink but also their ability to predict the time to make perfectly-cooked soft-boiled eggs. Every second spent on cooking and how they cool it down were crucial in making one. Also, their sense of taste will be tested as to how they’d balance the flavors of the dish.

“You only have an hour to present us, your take on my favorite squid ink pasta. Everything you need is already prepared ahead to save time. Now, please head to your kitchen counters because the timer starts now!”

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