The story begins in Food Wars, when Alice took him home.

Senzaemon Nakiri didn't care about that. What man isn't a womanizer? Especially powerful men, it's common for one man to marry several women.

The key is not to forget your roots. You can't forget your old love just because you have a new one. A man like that is terrible and can't be entrusted with important responsibilities in any way.

"There's no way to hide this kind of thing, especially since Erina is a really nice girl, quite likable."

Bai Yuan expressed his thoughts.

Although Erina Nakiri in the anime is very arrogant and behaves quite rudely.

But anime is anime, and reality is reality. The focus is on Erina Nakiri's attitude towards him, not her attitude towards others.

"She would be very happy to hear you describe her like that."

Thinking back to his conversation with Erina Nakiri a while ago, when they talked about Hakugen, Senzaemon Nakiri couldn't help but sigh.

"Maybe, she might also feel disgusted, after all, she's being targeted by a man who's several years older than her."

Upon hearing Senzaemon Nakiri's words, Hakugen couldn't help but tease him.

"Age is not a problem. My wife is more than ten years younger than me. You two are only a few years apart! As long as you two truly love each other, there will be no problem. Even if there is, you can overcome it smoothly."

Senzaemon Nakiri shook his head and looked into the distance.

"Do we truly love each other...? I understand now."

Bai Yuan nodded, glanced at the incredibly bright moonlight, and then quickened his pace: "Then I'll go ahead, old man."

"I wonder how far those two little ones will ultimately go under his tutelage."

Watching Bai Yuan's receding figure, Senzaemon Nakiri muttered to himself.

The peaceful days lasted for several months. Compared to the terrifying midterm exams, the final exams were child's play for those who stayed behind, since Bai Yuan wasn't involved.

After successfully passing the midterm exams, the students embarked on their journey home.

When they come back next year, they will be genuine high school students and will participate in the competition for the Elite Ten.

"Professor Baiyuan, are you really not planning to stay at Totsuki Academy during the winter break?"

Looking at Shiroyuki, who was about to embark on a long journey with the Seven Star Sword on his back, Erina Nakiri stood at the entrance of Totsuki Academy, her eyes filled with reluctance.

Everyone has finally left. If Bai Yuan can stay, then it will belong solely to her.

After all, her home is in Far Moon, and she can't leave during the winter break, so she can enjoy Bai Yuan's one-on-one personal guidance!

Unlike now, when I'm idle, my grandfather has forcibly assigned me a series of tasks.

The main tasks are handling matters related to the graduation of senior high school students and taking over the top ten spots.

Currently, she ranks first in her class. Although Alice Nakiri is better than her, she entered school too late, and her overall assessment score is not as high as hers.

Therefore, after her seniors graduated, she was automatically promoted to the tenth seat of the Elite Ten, with a three-day public announcement period during which she could accept challenges from anyone.

If anyone can defeat her, they can replace her as the tenth seat of the Elite Ten, which has always been a tradition of Totsuki Academy.

Coincidentally, her public announcement period coincided with the short time after Alice Nakiri flew to China to participate in the master chef assessment.

Thus, she successfully became one of the Elite Ten while still in elementary school.

"I still have some things to take care of here, but I should be back a week before school starts. You can come find me then."

Bai Yuan could naturally see through Nakiri Erina's thoughts, so he smiled and rubbed her head, feeling the softness and coolness of her long golden hair, and spoke gently.

"Okay! It's a deal!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's promise, Erina Nakiri's dim eyes lit up once more, and she took two steps forward, getting extremely close to him.

These two movements confused Bai Yuan. Firstly, they were too close, and secondly, Erina Nakiri's swaying motion was really captivating.

Especially with such a sudden approach, the vibration is quite significant due to the high speed.

"Where are you looking, Professor Bai Yuan?!"

Noticing that Shirai Abyss had automatically locked onto a certain spot, Erina Nakiri's face visibly flushed red, and she took two steps back.

"I'm ignoring you now, I'm going back first, be careful on the road."

After saying this, Erina Nakiri suppressed the flutter in her heart, turned her back, smiled slightly, and then quickened her pace to leave.

Hisako Shinto, who had been standing to the side, handed a box to Shirabuchi as Erina Nakiri turned to leave.

"These are some herbal cookies I baked last night. You can take them with you on the way as a snack. If you don't need them, you can just throw them away."

After hastily finishing her sentence, Hisako Shinoto, without waiting for Shirai to say anything, turned around with a slightly flushed face and ran towards Erina Nakiri: "Erina-sama, wait for me!"

"I will savor it."

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Bai Yuan shook the cookie box in his hand a few times, a smile appearing on his face, before leaving the foot of Mount Totsuki.

He only carried the Seven Star Sword on his back; he didn't take anything else with him, or rather, he didn't want to take anything. He could just buy whatever he needed.

His purpose in leaving Totsuki this time was to travel around Japan, sample the local cuisines, and absorb the best aspects of their cooking.

Compared to China, Japan is not very large. A two-month vacation is enough for him to travel from south to north. Hopefully, he will encounter some great food.

"Teacher Bai Yuan! Over here!"

Just as Bai Yuan arrived at a nearby tram station, preparing to randomly choose a city as a starting point and then travel along the tram line to various cities to play.

He saw a familiar figure at the tram stop. The figure looked around and immediately went up to him with an excited smile on its face.

"What are you doing here? Are you heading home? Congratulations on your successful graduation. What are your plans for the future? As one of the Elite Ten of Totsuki Academy, you shouldn't have trouble finding a job anywhere."

Pointing to the tram station, the two began chatting as they walked inside.

“I’m planning to open my own Western-style restaurant, but before that I need to understand the standards and tastes of Western-style restaurants in my country, so I have to embark on a journey to study and learn from them all over the country.”

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's question, Kikuchi Yoko spoke up, but unlike him who was traveling light, she had two extra suitcases in her hands.

“Your attitude is good. For us chefs, we should travel around instead of staying in one place and sticking to what we’ve learned so far.”

But I remember you graduated a week ago, right? What are you doing here…”

Graduates leave a week earlier than current students, so Kikuchi Sonoka should have left long ago, instead of still being here now.

"Didn't you say you were going to travel to Japan during winter break? I think we have the same goal, so why don't we travel together and look after each other?"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's question, Mujichi Yuanguo blushed, inwardly cursing him for being such a blockhead and clueless about romance.

The girl was standing at the station entrance; wasn't she obviously waiting for someone?

"I see, then let's go together."

Bai Yuan wasn't truly unaware of the other person's thoughts. Upon hearing what Kikuchi Sonoka said, he agreed to her invitation without much hesitation.

Traveling can be lonely, but having a pretty girl as a companion can be a joyful thing.

Especially since this guy has already graduated, it will be hard to see him at school in the future, and he won't have time to go on a graduation trip after he starts working. This is probably what is called a graduation trip.

"Give me your luggage, I'll help you carry it upstairs."

They decided to travel together. Seeing that Kikuchi Sonoka was carrying two suitcases, Bai Yuan naturally took the handles and then put them in the car.

"We must win over Teacher Bai Yuan this time!"

Instead of rejecting Bai Yuan's thoughtfulness, she gazed intently at his retreating figure, her fists clenching slightly as she made up her mind.

Although the two expressed their feelings for each other and did many things that only boyfriends and girlfriends would do, they never took the final step.

This made her a little anxious.

Because her friend told her that if a girl isn't attractive to a guy, the relationship definitely won't last.

So, in the month before graduation, she tried her best to create opportunities for the two of them to be alone, but she didn't know if Bai Yuan had a problem in that area, because even though she took such initiative, he remained unmoved.

This was the most outrageous incident.

She finally mustered up the courage to put on the apron that was known as a male killer and invited Bai Yuan to her home for guidance.

As it turned out, he only glanced at her a few times before getting absorbed in cooking, and nothing happened between them all afternoon!

"The scenery is really nice. Even without any specific purpose, it would be great to go out and have some fun like this."

After placing their luggage at their feet, they found empty seats because it wasn't rush hour and there were few passengers around.

The seat faces a window, offering a view of the outside scenery.

"Indeed, I really enjoy traveling. I wish I had decided to be with you back then. I overthought things, and now I only have regrets."

Following Bai Yuan's gaze, Kikuchi Sonoka's eyes softened, the scenery outside the window was soothing, and her words reminded her of the past.

I wish I could go back a year and tell my past self that following Bai Yuan was far more promising than staying in Yuan Yue, and that I could find happiness there!

If she had stayed with Bai Yuan instead of returning to Yuan Yue, she might have become a top-tier chef by now.

Compared to the title of a master chef, the first seat of the Elite Ten is really not worth mentioning.

"Let's not dwell on the past. What matters is the present. Aren't we doing just fine as we are? Let's enjoy our graduation trip to the fullest."

As they spoke, Bai Yuan reached out and put his arm around Mujichi Yuanguo's waist. Since they had already established a relationship, his actions were very natural.

This is also the most frustrating point: they act like a loving couple in every way, yet they can't seem to take that final step.

Thinking of this...

"Teacher Bai Yuan, am I really that uncharming?"

Suddenly, Kikuchi Sonoka turned her head to look at Bai Yuan and asked this question.

"Why do you ask this suddenly?"

"Because you never touch me. I'm already 18 years old this year. In every respect, I'm old enough to be an adult!"

When she said this, Kikuchi Sonoka's face turned red, but taking advantage of the atmosphere, she still mustered up the courage to voice her doubts.

"Or is it that you, Teacher Bai Yuan, are not good at that? Do you need to go see a doctor?"

Swallowing hard, Kikuchi Sonoka uttered words that she would deeply regret a month later.

"Let's wait a month."

A month from now, even if you beg for mercy, it won't be enough. Not even the King of Heaven can save you!

Upon hearing Kikuchi Sonoka's provocative words, several veins bulged on Bai Yuan's forehead, and he squeezed the handle of his suitcase until it was deformed.

"I'm getting off at the next stop; I'm going to meet someone very interesting."

Looking at the station name, Bai Yuan's expression shifted slightly. A red-haired figure appeared in his mind, and an interested look appeared on his face.