The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 175: The Second Round

Upon hearing Yu Zaozao's words, Qin Lang and the other two exchanged a smile.

"It's a pity, but that's all we can do," Zhao Qian said, shrugging. "After all, we're not a rare animal hunting team."

“Yes.” Cao Dongdong shrugged. “It’s a pity they didn’t get to try my egg yolk pastry; it’s absolutely amazing.”

After Zhenling appeared, the harmonious atmosphere between the two sides became somewhat strange, and in that situation, leaving seemed to be the best solution.

Seeing that Yu Zaozao still seemed a little regretful, Qin Lang smiled and said, "I actually encountered a rare spirit before in Bailushan City."

"But we never intended to seize it. On the contrary, the rare spirit hunting team tried to take the rare spirit, and we beat them up badly."

"If we obtain this rare spirit by deceiving Yang Xingze, or if we seize it by force because Yang Xingze is an ordinary person, then we will be no different from the rare spirit hunting team."

“A rare spirit is indeed precious, but there are far too many things in this world that are more precious than a rare spirit.”

“Okay, I admit you’re right.” Yu Zaozao sighed. “I will keep this a secret and won’t tell anyone.”

"Thank you so much." Qin Lang smiled.

"There's nothing to thank me for." Yu Zaozao puffed out her chest. "I'm perfectly righteous, okay!"

"But... could you give me another serving of fried rice as hush money?" Yu Zaozao licked her lips, adding somewhat reluctantly.

She hadn't had enough of the fried rice she had before!

Qin Lang smiled gently.

"it is good."
-

"Hiccup~"

In Qin Lang's hotel room, Yu Zaozao let out a burp, patted her round belly, and looked at the camera next to her with a sly grin.

"Dear fans in the live stream, I hereby officially announce that I have tasted the super, super, super delicious egg fried rice made by Qin Lang himself!"

As she finished speaking, the words "unfollow" scrolled rapidly across the screen.

They're not only eating, but they're also livestreaming themselves eating.

Is this streamer a dog?!

"Ahem, let's get back to the main topic." Seeing that a fan wanted to unfollow, Yu Zaozao quickly sat up straight and forcibly changed the subject.

She took out another phone and went to the official website of the Royal Chef Association.

"The four-day preliminary round has officially ended."

"After more than 20,000 contestants went through a rigorous selection process across ten venues, only 334 contestants ultimately stood out."

"These 334 contestants will then compete fiercely in the next qualifying rounds, with only 16 ultimately advancing!"

"This is an incredibly high elimination rate!"

Although Yu Zaozao's topic change was abrupt, her words drew the fans' attention to the cooking competition.

"The next qualifying rounds will not be held in different venues, but will be held in the main venue." Yu Zaozao's tone became serious. "This time, the contestants will not be able to choose their food at will."

"They need to cook within a specified theme, and then ten judges will taste and score them!"

"The judges are the ten chief judges from the preliminary rounds."

"They will score each contestant's dish. The highest and lowest scores will be removed, and the average of the remaining scores will be their qualifying score."

Only the top sixteen players from the second qualifying rounds will be able to advance to the next knockout stage.

“And now…” Yu Zaozao’s tone trailed off, “There are three minutes left before the themes for the second round are drawn and announced!”

"The 334 contestants only have 24 hours to prepare!"

"The second qualifying round will officially begin in 24 hours!"

"Now, let's wait together for... the announcement of the subject matter!"

"You know what," Cao Dongdong said, peeling a tangerine, popping a segment into his mouth, and nudging Qin Lang with his elbow. "Yu Zaozao really does look like a presenter right now." "Don't ruin the mood," Qin Lang said, giving Cao Dongdong a wry smile, and snatched the tangerine from his hand.

"Hey! I only ate one segment!" Cao Dongdong couldn't help but shout, "Couldn't you have peeled it yourself?"

"No." Qin Lang chuckled. "The capable should do more. I'll appoint you as the little expert at peeling tangerines."

"Shut up, both of you!" Zhao Qian couldn't help but yell.

Of the three people present, she was probably the most nervous.

Cao Dongdong wasn't nervous at all, because he was absolutely certain of being eliminated.

Qin Lang wasn't nervous at all, because he was almost certain to advance.

Only Zhao Qian…

Whether she can perform well depends on the subject matter she draws.

With Yu Zaozao's encouragement, her heart was in her throat, and she got angry just looking at those two guys.

Qin Lang held up two fingers and made a zipping motion over his mouth, then glanced at Cao Dongdong with a smile.

Cao Dongdong resignedly picked up another tangerine and started peeling it.

The final wait seemed particularly agonizing. Finally, with Yu Zaozao counting down, a new announcement was released on the official website.

"The theme is out!" Yu Zaozao couldn't help but exclaim, "It's [sweet and sour]!"

Sweet and sour?

Qin Lang was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but lean closer to take a look.

Sure enough, the only subject matter that came into view was "sweet and sour".

It is said that the themes of cooking competitions are diverse, some focusing on ingredients, some on flavors, and some on more abstract topics.

Drawing the "sweet and sour" color is fairly average.

In an instant, a large number of sweet and sour dishes flashed through Qin Lang's mind, and then he lazily leaned back in his seat.

This topic is fine.

"Great!" Zhao Qian exclaimed excitedly. "This is a great topic! I happen to have a dish I'm very good at making—it's sweet and sour!"

Although it was a pity that she didn't draw the theme corresponding to the "Thousand Flavors of Sheep" that she was best at, drawing the "Sweet and Sour" theme was still better than she expected.

With a little effort, she might just make it into the top 16.

Thinking of this, Zhao Qian's eyes immediately lit up with fighting spirit.

Although she prefers battles between food spirits, it is also very interesting to achieve a good ranking in the cooking competition!

Qin Lang certainly wouldn't have any problems with this subject matter, right?
Thinking of this, Zhao Qian glanced at Qin Lang.

Seeing the other person's relaxed state, she knew the answer in her heart.

Zhao Qian's gaze then fell on Cao Dongdong beside Qin Lang, but she was taken aback.

Because Cao Dongdong, who was so relaxed before, is now so nervous that he has started sucking his thumb.

"Sweet and sour...why is it sweet and sour...?"

Cao Dongdong stared blankly at what was in front of him, his eyes vacant.

"What... what's wrong with you?" Zhao Qian couldn't help but ask.

"I..." Cao Dongdong said with a mournful face, "I happen to have a dessert that can meet this request!"

He hadn't thought he could pass, but now he's starting to get nervous.

(End of this chapter)