‘She’s preoccupied,’ Shen Yi thought to himself as he followed each of Lu Xinyi’s movements with his eyes. She wasn’t as excited and attentive, unlike her previous performances. He could tell that her mind wasn’t fully focused on this cooking battle against Ye Xieren. Something must have come up for her to be like this.

After Lu Xinyi gathered all the ingredients she needed, she took a cookie scoop and scooped out ice cream into aluminum cupcake liners lined with a cling wrap before placing it back in the freezer to harden while she was working on her mochi layer.

As she waited for the ice cream balls to refreeze, she placed glutinous rice flour in a microwavable bowl. Carefully, she added water a little at a time, mixing it continuously with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Once she was satisfied, Lu Xinyi mixed in sugar and food coloring until they were well-combined.

Covering the bowl with plastic wrap, she placed it in a microwave on medium for two minutes. Using a wooden spoon that she dipped in water, she mixed the dough and placed it back in the microwave for another minute. When she took it out, the mixture was ready as it was smooth and shiny.

Lu Xinyi repeated the procedure twice, yielding a three batch of different-colored dough for her mochi ice cream. Across her, Ye Xieren had already finished his first batch of mochi ice cream and placed it back in the freezer.

While the two were busy preparing their confections, He Haotian and Qin Jiahao were busy talking to each other in low voices.

“Don’t you think it’s like you and Sibai all over again?” He Haotian chuckled.

“Don’t tell me Lu Xinyi is his daughter!” Chef Qin was frustrated that he’d never got a chance to win against Lu Sibai, and now, his own nephew challenging Lu Xinyi had indeed reminded him of his old nemesis.

“Ah, I thought it was already obvious.” The two-star Michelin chef pointed out, “Most of our colleagues here at Silver Leaf have already known it since the entrance exam. Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of Lu Xinyi making the Lu-Style Double Egg Fried Rice?” He raised a brow at him.

Qin Jiahao remained silent. He had heard about it of course, but he refused to believe that someone as amateur as Lu Xinyi was able to replicate Lu Sibai’s Double Egg Fried Rice. Now that He Haotian mentioned it, it now made sense to him why Lu Xinyi was able to defeat Ye Xieren during their entrance exams.

“It doesn’t matter if she’s really Lu Sibai’s daughter. With me around, I’m sure Ye Xieren will be able to beat her one of these days,” he muttered but loud enough for He Haotian and Han Zhiling to hear him.

Han Zhiling shook her head. These men… weren’t there anything else on their minds but to compete with each other?

He Haotian grinned and tapped his fingers on the table as he regarded Qin Jiahao.

“Keep on dreaming then, Chef Qin, but I don’t think your apprentice can beat mine at this rate.”

“You! Do you mean to say Lu Xinyi is your apprentice?” Qin Jiahao pointed a finger accusingly at the other man, with wide eyes.

“Why do you think I agreed to Miss Han’s request to judge this cooking battle?” He Haotian chuckled lowly. “It’s all because I want to see that desperate face of yours once Lu Xinyi kicks Ye Xieren’s ass again.”

“Why, you!”

“Can’t you two stop bickering beside me? I thought after years have passed, you two will behave like proper adults.” Han Zhiling pushed the bridge of her glasses up, glaring at both men.

“Fine!” Qin Jiahao huffed and crossed his arms. “But I’m telling you now, Chu Anyang: Ye Xieren will win this round,” he said with confidence in his tone. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

He Haotian didn’t disagree with him. For one, he wasn’t confident that Lu Xinyi could win this round even if she’s been doing a lot of pastries and confections in her lifetime. Ye Xieren’s familiarity with mochi ice cream was his advantage while Lu Xinyi’s warm hands were a contrast to the cool confection they were making.

That was why Lu Xinyi had to use plastic gloves so her hands wouldn’t melt the ice cream easily. Because the mochi needed to engulf the ice cream scoops, she’d have to contort it—manipulating the ingredients much more than for a typical ice cream sandwich.

Both participants of the cooking battle covered the work surface with parchment paper and dusted it generously with potato starch before transferring the cooked mochi on top of it.

To prevent sticking, Lu Xinyi sprinkled more potato starch on top of the mochi. Once it’s cooled down a bit, she then spread the mochi into a thin layer with her hands and then with a rolling pin later on.

Ye Xieren finished his mochi at the same time Lu Xinyi did as they transferred the mochi with parchment paper onto a large baking sheet and left it to refrigerate for fifteen minutes until the mochi was set.

Just by looking at the confident smile Ye Xieren had, Lu Xinyi expected that she wouldn’t win this round easily. Ah, would this mean that she needed to face him for another round? She rubbed her temples. Clearly, she wasn’t in the mood for a cooking battle. She’d need to finish this as soon as possible.

In the next half hour of the round, Lu Xinyi and Ye Xieren finished their colorful mochi ice cream and presented it to the judges. The audience area was filled with whispers and excitement as two sets of mochi ice cream was flashed to the big screen behind Huo Meili.

“Wow that looks so smooth and pillow-like like a big cotton ball,” someone commented.

“It looks so beautiful. I’ll feel bad to eat it.”

“What can you tell about your mochis?” He Haotian took a piece of mochi ice cream from Lu Xinyi’s plate.

“I tried my best to make a perfect one,” Lu Xinyi admitted.

“You do know ‘trying’ wouldn’t make you advance forward. If you keep doing the same thing, I’m afraid, Miss Lu, you wouldn’t be able to keep your seat for too long,” Qin Jiahao commented.

The judges cut the mochi they had checked the ice cream filling inside. Lu Xinyi’ wasn’t as soft as Ye Xieren and was still solid frozen while the latter got the perfect texture of his confection.

Lu Xinyi’s jaw hardened. She kinda regretted not paying attention to the rice flour she’d used in her mochi. Ye Xieren stood beside her, confident that he got this round.

After some deliberation, the three judges announced Ye Xieren as the winner of the second round, which didn’t surprise the audience and both participants.

“Why did Mommy lose this round? I don’t get it. Her mochi ice cream looks delicious to me,” Shen Zichen complained. He crossed his arms and slumped back in his seat, annoyed that Lu Xinyi lost.

“Miss Lu! Don’t worry! You’re going to win the next round!” A boyish voice yelled behind the Shen family, taking Shen Yi and the twins’ attention. They turned to see who it was, and Shen Yi’s right eye twitched when he saw Liu Jinfei with his grandfather watching the cooking battle behind them.

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