Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 107 Oleander, Peach Blossom Pastry, Food Cleaner? (First Update in 4K)
"Chain hotel, in the room"

Back in his room, Xia Ming washed his nose with water and then opened the window for ventilation.

After carefully recalling the scent on the woman, Xia Ming finally found the corresponding item in the corner of his memory.

"Oleander fragrance"

Oleander is a common green plant in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen area. It's not surprising that you might carry a little bit of its fragrance if you pass by or accidentally brush against it.

This kind of unconscious, basic contact will not have any impact on a person.

The problem is that when Xia Ming smelled it just now, the scent of oleander was noticeably stronger.

Although some expensive perfumes on the market contain oleander, it is generally used to adjust the fragrance notes.

Xia Ming wasn't familiar with perfume scents, but he was very familiar with the scent of oleander.

It tastes very similar to a plant called "Summer Floss Fruit" from the Nine Provinces continent. More importantly, these two plants share the same characteristic.

That means the entire plant is poisonous. Whether it's the fragrance, the sap, or the roots and leaves, everything is poisonous.

Of course, the least important factor is its fragrance. After all, if oleander could poison people just by its scent, it wouldn't have been chosen as a houseplant.

For ordinary people, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting will only occur if the scent of oleander is strong enough and lasts long enough.

The plant has a rather peculiar smell; some people find it very fragrant, like cream, while others find it smells like slightly moldy, rotten eggs.

Xia Ming couldn't be completely sure what the woman had done to the high school boy, but he figured she must have left something behind.

Otherwise, what if a stunningly beautiful woman falls from the sky, asks you for nothing, even pays for your room, and doesn't invite you up for a chat before leaving? Well, you must have met a lucky charm on your journey.

In Xia Ming's eyes, this was no different from wearing "scheming" on one's face.

"Only a fool with a pure heart would believe that he could encounter such a thing as romantic luck by relying solely on his own meager charm."

After ventilating the room for a while, he felt that the smell had completely disappeared, so he opened his backpack to take out his clothes and take a shower.

Since he's entering the preliminary rounds the day after tomorrow, he hasn't picked up his knives yet and plans to go tomorrow morning.

As soon as he opened his backpack, he smelled a somewhat familiar scent.
Xia Ming blinked as he looked at the box wrapped in a plastic bag inside his backpack.

"There was a traffic jam on the way to the high-speed train, and we almost missed it. In the rush, I forgot about you on the train!"

As he spoke, he took out the "Italian Peach Blossom Pastry" that Fang Xiao had given him earlier, then opened the plastic bag and remained silent for a moment.

You might say this thing isn't good-looking, but it's actually quite well-made. The problem is...
"Shouldn't peach blossom pastries usually highlight the unique flavor of peach blossoms? Why did making a slight change in shape completely ruin the flavor?"

"Also, shouldn't the flaky crust of peach blossom pastry be made of lard mixed with flour, which ultimately creates a unique fatty aroma?"

"Why does it taste sour after using butter? It can't be that you combined 'Italian shortcrust pastry' and 'peach blossom pastry' together. What, did you add lemon juice to the peach blossom pastry?"

"Mechanical assembly, a prime example of ideas conceived on a whim, with fixed recipes but no actual execution."

Xia Ming didn't quite understand whether Fang Xiao had learned this recipe from Little Red Riding Hood or those so-called internet celebrity recipes. In any case, in his eyes, this thing was not as good as the last box.

It's the kind of food that you don't even bother to taste; you just throw it in the trash.

Just as he raised his hand to throw the thing into the room's trash can, Xia Ming suddenly paused, then withdrew his hand and walked outside.

He didn't want to be surrounded by this smell tonight.
After leaving the room, Xia Ming walked along the corridor. In his memory, chain hotels like this usually have trash cans at the stairwell or elevator.

Fortunately, the hotel's elevator and stairs are not far apart.

Just as Xia Ming rounded the bend, he suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance.

Looking up, he saw the girl he had seen downstairs earlier standing not far from Xia Ming, a look of curiosity on her face.

"Young man, did you make this box of pastries?"

Xia Ming's eyebrows twitched slightly. The girl's use of "little brother" was completely different from Fang Xiao's natural "Brother Xia."

He could clearly smell a malevolent green tea scent coming from it.

Xia Ming glanced down at the pastry in his hand, and was about to reply when he noticed that the girl had walked up to him in a few steps and was speaking in a slightly exaggerated tone.

"Young man, this pastry smells so good! Can I have a bite?"

When he heard the girl say "It smells so good," Xia Ming raised an eyebrow, stared at her nose for a moment, his mind racing, and then smiled slightly.

“Great! I was just about to bring some over for my friend to try. Since you have such good taste, why don’t you try half a piece?”

As he spoke, he opened the box, took out a piece, and then, in front of the girl, broke off a petal and casually put it in his mouth.

Then he handed the pastry with only four leaves left to the girl.

The girl seemed taken aback for a moment, but then smiled and took the pastry with her right hand.

Then, in front of Xia Ming, she took a small, seemingly gentle bite.

As he put the peach blossom pastry in his mouth, Xia Ming pretended to be looking forward to being recognized, watching the girl's every move.

The girl was fine at first, but after moving her tongue around, a look of surprise and confusion flashed in her eyes.

However, she quickly realized what was happening and then smiled, putting on a blissful expression.

"This is so delicious, young man! I've never had such tasty peach blossom pastries before!"

As she spoke, she lifted her low-cut cleavage and reached out her left hand to touch Xia Ming's face.

"The handsome young man treated me to peach blossom pastries, so how should I repay him?"

Xia Ming felt the scent of oleander in his nostrils growing stronger. He looked closely at her outstretched left hand and noticed a decorative ring on her middle finger, with a trace of crystalline liquid similar in color to her skin on the pad of her middle finger.

Seeing this, Xia Ming quickly reached out his right hand and then grasped her left wrist.

He then took a step, pinning her against the wall, and gave her a lecherous look.

"Of course I'll repay you!"

Seeing Xia Ming's expression, the girl in front of him also started to panic.

"Young man, there are security cameras here, it's not convenient!"

Xia Ming smiled slightly.

"I just checked, this spot happens to be a blind spot for the surveillance cameras."

Upon hearing Xia Ming's words, the girl blinked and then bit her lower lip.

Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, footsteps suddenly came from the side. Xia Ming glanced to the side and found that it was Sun Hao, whom he had met downstairs earlier.

At that moment, Sun Hao glanced at Xia Ming and the girl, then spoke coldly.

What are you doing in front of my door?

Seeing this, the girl began to struggle, and Xia Ming took the opportunity to let her go. Unexpectedly, the girl ignored Xia Ming and turned to glare at Sun Hao.

"What I do is none of your business! You're such a spoilsport!"

As she spoke, the girl glanced at Xia Ming, then turned and ran toward the elevator, disappearing around the corner of the corridor in just a few seconds.

Xia Ming ignored the girl's actions, but gave Sun Hao, who appeared in front of him, a meaningful look before speaking.

"It's obvious you know her."

Sun Hao was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Actually, I moved in here to be with her."

Xia Ming's eyes flickered.

"Ex-girlfriend?" "Yes."

After hearing Sun Hao's "hmm," Xia Ming fell silent.

A few seconds later, he squatted down to pick up the peach blossom pastries scattered on the ground, and then took a step back.

Judging from the appearance, they were making way for Sun Hao to enter the room.

Seeing this, Sun Hao walked up to Xia Ming.

She wasn't like this before.

Xia Ming remained calm after hearing this, without saying a word.

Sun Hao, on the other hand, started talking to himself.

“When we were together, she was very well-behaved and gentle. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone abroad to study cooking.”

Xia Ming remained silent despite Sun Hao's words.

Sun Hao felt slightly embarrassed by the situation and then sighed.

"Let's not talk about the past. By the way, what exactly was she trying to do just now?"

Xia Ming lowered his eyes and then smiled.

"Just now, just now she thought I was handsome and that my pastries were delicious, so she was about to kiss me."

Upon hearing Xia Ming's words, Sun Hao was momentarily stunned, then quickly frowned.

"That's outrageous! How could she do that! She's definitely using this kiss as an excuse to do something else."

"By the way, she touched the boy's face downstairs earlier. There's something fishy going on here!"

He paused for a moment to think about this.

"How about this, bro, can you come with me to that boy's room? I can't just stand by and watch Yao Yao make a mistake!"

After hearing this, Xia Ming glanced at Sun Hao and then slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

Do you know which room that boy stayed in?

Sun Hao nodded.

“I actually went upstairs with him. I saw him get off the elevator on the next floor and I was about to remind him, but I didn’t expect that when I turned around, he had already gone into the room.”

At this point, Sun Hao hurriedly headed towards the elevator, and Xia Ming followed him.

Seeing Xia Ming approach, he extended his right hand and thanked him with a smile.

"I knew you were a man of strong emotions. May I ask how to address you, brother?"

Unexpectedly, Xia Ming completely ignored his handshake gesture, then walked straight to the trash can next to the elevator and threw the peach blossom pastry into it.

After throwing it away, he sighed as he looked at the peach blossom pastry.

"What a pity! What a waste!"

After saying that, he turned around and walked back the way he came, leaving Sun Hao, who was standing to the side, completely stunned.

"No, brother, didn't you go down with me?"

Xia Ming snorted coldly.

"When did I say I wanted to go down with you? I just dropped my peach blossom pastry on the ground and was just taking out the trash. I haven't even blamed you for ruining my plans yet!"

After saying that, Xia Ming disappeared down the corridor without looking back.

Watching Xia Ming's departing figure, Sun Hao frowned slightly, his expression changing a couple of times, before he stepped into the elevator himself.

Taking the elevator down to the next floor, he walked to the right through several rooms, then stopped at a corner and knocked rhythmically on the door in front of him a few times.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and a familiar purple-haired figure appeared in the doorway.

"Senior brother, you're back! How did things go?"

Sun Hao stepped into the house, closed the door behind him, and then shook his head.

"This person is extremely wary and very cold, completely different from the kid we met downstairs. He won't fall for it at all."

Seeing this, Lin Wanyao comforted Sun Hao.

"Senior brother, don't worry. I just tasted this guy's cooking, and it was terrible. There's no way he'll pass the audition."

"Besides, I observed him, and there were no calluses on his knuckles, fingertips, or the area between his thumb and forefinger. He looks like a novice chef. Could the information be wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Hao touched the scar on his chin.

"Logically speaking, no. According to the information I have, this guy was registered by the Luo family of Yunzhinan, so he can't be an ordinary person."

Lin Wanyao brought a chair over to Sun Hao and then waved her hand.

"He's worth only 4000 yuan. Maybe he's the child of one of the suppliers who's on good terms with the Luo family."

"After all, Master also said that the Luo family is now considered a business family, and since Luo Shurong got old, he has lost all the confidence he had back then."

Sun Hao sat down and thought about it for a while, and felt that what Lin Wanyao said made sense.

A novice chef who can't even make a proper peach blossom pastry and has no calluses on his hands doesn't pose much of a threat, even with a recommendation from the Luo family.

Not to mention this guy is only worth 4000 yuan, which is cheap compared to the 5 yuan that the previous guy had.

You know, even as "food cleaners," they don't take on just any job!
I just happened to come across this, so I'll deal with it all at once. If it works, great; if not, oh well, there are plenty of other orders coming up.

"Okay, that's settled here. Yao Yao, pack your things, let's go to the next hotel."

With that, Sun Hao tossed a room key to Lin Wanyao, then quickly packed his things in his room. Under the cover of night, the two checked out one after the other and left the hotel.

Just as they were leaving, Xia Ming sat by his window, breathing in the fresh air.

"The fake prosthetic finger is covered with a ring, and then oleander extract is applied to the finger. After being applied to the skin, it slowly penetrates and causes redness, swelling, and itching."

"If you don't scratch it, it will cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which will affect your performance in the game. If you scratch it with your fingernails, it will lead to poisoning, and in the worst case, you will lose your sense of smell or taste."

"If you take a shower with this on, the hot water will strongly irritate your nasal cavity, causing symptoms such as nasal congestion, nasal allergies, or temporary loss of smell."

"While not fatal, every move is aimed at the 'New Chef Competition'."

"It seems the city isn't as harmonious and peaceful as it appears on the surface."

Thinking of this, he narrowed his eyes.

"And this Sun Hao, he's clearly in cahoots with that girl, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, a trick that's been played to death in the Blood Blade Sect!"

"If I actually shook his hand, wouldn't I be falling into his trap? And then he said he accidentally saw the guy's room—that's ridiculous."

"If they were really that moral, they would have stopped them when they were downstairs in the first place. Why go through all that trouble? Are they trying to fool a three-year-old?"

Of course, even if Xia Ming knew this tactic and could pinpoint the boy's room by smell, he had no intention of helping him.
Because he realized that the two men were targeting a specific individual.

If you succeed, you'll most likely get paid.

This is no different from hiring rogue cultivators to ambush competitors outside the competition area before certain competitions in the Nine Provinces Continent; essentially, it's all about eliminating some powerful competitors.

In this situation, those who are selected should be the most promising talents in the "New Chef Competition".

Eliminating a potential rival he didn't even know was naturally also...
Beneficial and harmless
(End of this chapter)