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

Noticing Hisako's current state, he pressed her head against his chest to cover her unsightly appearance. Hisako's body twitched slightly at his words.

"This is……"

Beside her, Erina Nakiri was a little confused, not knowing what had happened. Hisako Shinoto was fine just now, so why was she suddenly crying?

Did Teacher Bai Yuan bully her? No, she overheard their conversation just now, and there was nothing wrong with him bullying her...

"Alright, don't worry about it, let's eat."

Having had a similar experience, Alice Nakiri stared at Hisako Shinomiya for a long time until Erina Nakiri was about to ask a question that would ruin the atmosphere, at which point she spoke up to stop her.

"Eh?"

Erina Nakiri still didn't quite understand, but she also seemed to understand but not quite. Worried about saying the wrong thing, she shut her mouth and returned to her seat.

Hisako Shinto's crying lasted for five minutes. As the girl's body gradually calmed down, Shirayuki took out a tissue from his pocket.

"You performed very well today. Just continue to play normally and you should be able to achieve good results."

Looking at Hisako Shinto as she got up from his arms, her eyes were red, and Shirai gently wiped away her tears with a tissue.

However, it must be said that her red eyes and tearful appearance are really cute and give people a lively feeling.

"Ah."

Without opening her mouth, but instead making a sound through her nose, Hisako Shinoto nodded, feeling a little shy as she thought about what had just happened.

As a student, she actually buried her head in Bai Yuan's arms and cried inside him. How embarrassing!

However, the moment she leaned closer, the faint fougère scent on Bai Yuan's body lingered in her mind; she must have sprayed perfume before leaving home that morning.

"The roster for Group A is almost finalized."

Looking up at the now-stopped leaderboard, Bai Yuan said calmly.

An hour had passed since Hisako Shinto left and returned. Several people in Group A had finished cooking, and those he had been watching all achieved good results.

"Is it all decided? Let me see who advanced!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Hisako Shinto immediately stepped forward out of curiosity and looked at the leaderboard above, where she was shocked to find that her ranking had dropped to fourth.

"Ok?"

Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she couldn't believe her name had dropped so drastically. Her gaze shifted upward, and Hisako saw the name above hers.

Liu Yu, 93 points.

Kurokiba Ryo, 90 points.

Ryo Hayama, 87 points.

Nito Hisako, 87 points.

Tacko Aldini, 83 points.

Soma Yukihira, 82 points.

Yoshino Yuki, 80 points.

Ueno shirt, 69 points.

"Two players scored 90 points! They're really hiding their true abilities... But is the gap between them really that big? There aren't any players in the 70-point range."

Staring intently at Liu Yu and Kurokiba Ryo's names, determined to surpass them, Shinoto Hisako looked down and was surprised to find that the eighth-place finisher in the group stage was a player with 69 points.

"The gap in the culinary industry is inherently large."

Mediocre people, no matter how hard they try, will find it difficult to catch up with geniuses. Even if they do, the genius can easily leave them far behind again with a little effort.

Looking at the freshly released scores, Bai Yuan slowly spoke.

Despite Ueno Sugi's significant improvement in strength after being trained by him, he still couldn't compare to the already formidable protagonists.

Of course, compared to others, this is already a very good result.

If Yoshino Yuuki and Sakaki Ryoko hadn't received his instruction, their scores would probably be similar to Ueno Sugi's current scores.

Of course, this is because the judges ate his whole lamb shumai before the competition. Under normal circumstances, Ueno Sugi would have no problem getting more than 80 points.

"Let's go check out the situation at venue B."

As Bai Yuan spoke, he picked up the food on the table, swallowed it all in a few bites, and prepared to leave to check out the situation at Venue B.

I don't know if it's fate or something else.

Most of the people from the Dark Cuisine world went to Venue B. In addition, Tadokoro Megumi, Hojo Miyoko, and others were also there.

"You finished it in just two bites."

At this moment, Hisako Shinto was still shocked by Shirai's actions. Looking at the empty bowl in front of her, she rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had seen things wrong.

Is it normal that the other person finished such a big bowl of beef fried rice in less than ten seconds?!

"It's basic stuff. You've all almost finished eating, so I can't keep you waiting. Okay, hurry up and catch up."

Bai Yuan shrugged and said somewhat nonchalantly. Soon, he arrived at the door of the VIP room and stopped, seemingly waiting for them.

"Let's go, little secretary."

Seeing that Hisako Shinto still wanted to say something, Alice Nakiri gently patted her shoulder, then jogged after Shirayuki.

"Go check if there are any formidable figures in Hall B; they might be your next opponents."

As Nakiri Erina spoke, she reached out her hand to Shinoto Hisako. Seeing this, Shinoto no longer hesitated, took her hand, and jogged to catch up with Shirai.

At this moment.

Zhang Chen, 94 points.

Wang Jing, 88 points.

Miyoko Hojo, 87 points.

Ning Feng, 83 points.

Li Wanwan, 81 points.

Huangmei, 81 points.

Mito Ikumi, 80 points.

Subaru Mimasaka, 80 points.

"Why aren't Xiaohui and Liangzi's names mentioned?"

Arriving at venue B, standing in the audience, looking at the leaderboard at the top and reading out the names and scores, Hisako Shinto frowned slightly.

Tadokoro Megumi and Sakaki Ryoko are both disciples trained by Hakubuchi and are quite strong. It is surprising that they are not on the list of those who advanced.

"Xiao Hui hasn't brought the food up yet."

Time passed slowly, and as the end approached, Tadokoro Megumi was still preparing the food, her focused face full of seriousness.

"That should be enough, it's time to end this."

"Indeed, the quality of this year's Summer Selection is several levels higher than in previous years. Every student is excellent, especially that Three-Pepper Tomahawk Lamb Chops. I never thought there was such a taste in the world!"

The plump old man patted his belly, his face filled with happiness and enjoyment. Coming to Totsuki today was definitely the right decision!

"But what I miss the most is the whole lamb shumai. It was really amazing. After tasting so many dishes, the taste of the whole lamb shumai I ate at the beginning still lingered in my mouth."

"You're absolutely right. That dish was simply a culinary miracle. It was the most delicious dish I've ever eaten in my life. It's a pity there's only one of it."

"I need to visit that teacher later, he's truly amazing!"

"I want to go too! Call me when you come!"

On the judges' panel, looking at the scores on the screen in the sky, the judges chattered and discussed, and their conversation eventually turned to the whole lamb shumai they had tasted before the competition began.

"That's a delicious taste that would make you willing to give anything, even fall into the deepest hell, and never regret it!"

As she savored the taste lingering on her tongue, a mysterious blush appeared on Chihiro Orie's face, and her eyes became slightly unfocused.

"Call it a day! Call it a day!"

As she spoke, Chihiro Orie stood up from her seat, stretched vigorously, and then prepared to leave under the escort of her bodyguards.

"Um, you haven't tried my cooking yet..."

Just then, Tadokoro Megumi finished cooking, carried the casserole to the judges' table, and looked at Senpyo Orie who had stood up, with a puzzled expression.

If I remember correctly, the game shouldn't be over yet, so why are you in such a hurry to leave?

"It's the kid who used the hanging cut method."

Upon hearing Tadokoro Megumi's voice, Sentawara Orie looked over and saw that it was the guy who had just used the hanging cut technique. She was startled and stopped in her tracks.

"There are still people here."

"I didn't notice it at all; it has such a weak presence."

As Megumi Tadokoro appeared, the audience immediately began to murmur amongst themselves. Her presence was so subtle that no one had even noticed she hadn't yet appeared.

Of course, the main reason is that the people in front of them performed so well that they attracted all their attention and couldn't spare any more focus.

In particular, Zhang Chen's Three-Pepper Tomahawk Lamb Chops shattered their understanding of cuisine.

You can actually do that?!

"Well, the competition isn't over yet, may I try my cooking?"

Tadokoro Megumi said somewhat embarrassedly as she carried the dishes forward, and the judges, seeing this, reluctantly sat back down.

I thought I was off work, but I didn't expect there was someone hiding behind me.

"Alright! It's finally Xiaohui's turn to go on stage!"

In the audience, a fishmonger wearing a cheering headband stood up.

At the same time, countless middle-aged men stood up behind him, holding up a cheering flag with a simple fish design, waving it high in the air.

"benefit!"

The men spoke up almost simultaneously, and their loud shouts immediately attracted the attention of those around them, causing Tadokoro Megumi, who was standing in front of the judges' panel, to pause in her actions.

"Everyone, why are we here?"

After quickly putting the food aside, Tadokoro Megumi jogged over to the audience seats and looked at the middle-aged men who had come to watch the game with surprise.