Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

Thinking back to when Leah served French-style baked snails at the food competition, she failed because she didn't understand the challenge due to her poor Chinese skills.

"Chinese is so difficult! There's just too much vocabulary, and the same character can have many meanings. It's so hard to accurately grasp the meaning of every single word!"

Upon hearing that she had to learn Chinese, Alice Nakiri showed a pained expression.

When she was a child, she asked Bai Yuan to teach her some Chinese characters. At first, she was very interested, but she gave up completely in less than a month.

The reason is simple: it's just too difficult.

However, that was when she was nine years old. Now she is fourteen, and her ability to accept new things has increased significantly.

Now, building on that foundation, continuing to learn should be much easier.

"You've only scratched the surface, but two months is about right."

Abandon Chinese characters and focus solely on speaking. Dedicate two hours each day to practice, and you should be able to at least reach a level where you can communicate normally with others.

Looking at Alice Nakiri's appearance, Bai Yuan considered many things and decided to have Lia accompany her to avoid any misunderstandings.

While it's true that children will eventually have to venture out into the world as they grow up, this kind of careless approach is not appropriate.

This guy has far too little social experience. If we really let him go to China alone, there's a very high chance he'll run into problems.

Rather than letting the little girl cry alone in a foreign country, it's better for him to intervene, at least minimizing the risk.

"I'll study for three hours every day. I want to learn Chinese well; it's Bai Yuan's mother tongue, isn't it?"

As if she had thought of something, Alice Nakiri suddenly raised her head, looked at Bai Yuan's heroic and handsome face, and said the following words.

Last year, Baek Yeon left her and went to China alone.

At the time, she really wanted to learn Chinese because she could go to China to find him if she learned it. However, it was too difficult to learn on her own, and she also had to practice cooking every day, so she put the matter aside.

Now that Bai Yuan is willing to teach her personally, she naturally can't give up!

"I am back."

Bai Yuan unlocked the empty house with his key, called out to the inside as usual, and then took off his shoes and went in.

Alice Nakiri followed closely behind, her eyes fixed on his back, her fists clenched slightly, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally made up her mind.

"Master, I want to challenge you for the reward for first place in the midterm exam!"

Quickening her pace to overtake Bai Yuan, Nakiri Alice turned around, looking intently at his face, and spoke.

"Are you sure you want to redeem this reward now? This reward can be kept, and you can challenge it again in the future."

As soon as Bai Yuan stepped into the entrance hall, he heard Alice Nakiri's words and his expression showed surprise. He obviously did not expect her to suddenly challenge him.

"I want to challenge you to a duel right now. I feel I've learned a lot from this midterm exam, and I want to test my results against a strong opponent."

Facing the questioning gaze from Bai Yuan, Nakiri Airi met his gaze without fear, her face burning with fierce fighting spirit.

The showdown with her mentor marked the end of her midterm exams.

As for leaving the opportunity for later? Alice Nakiri had absolutely no intention of doing so.

Unlike others, if she wanted to challenge Bai Yuan, all she had to do was act cute.

They are a proper master and disciple, and Bai Yuan favors her. They are not comparable to those outsiders!

"Alright then, what do you want to compete against me in?"

Bai Yuan was unaware of Nakiri Alice's thoughts, and even if he did, he would probably just laugh it off, since her thoughts were also his own.

As his apprentice, Alice Nakiri does indeed possess privileges that others do not have.

Of course, having privileges doesn't mean you can abuse them, and he can't accept frequent challenges. He will only fight Alice Nakiri when her strength has greatly improved, so that she can understand her own position.

In addition, if Alice Nakiri wants to challenge him, she will have to pay a corresponding price.

His simple and unpretentious idea was to live in seclusion in the far moon, teaching beautiful girls by day and punishing them to a certain extent for the mistakes they made during the day at night.

Of course, with so many girls, winning them over is a skill in itself, and he has absolutely no clue where to begin.

Ultimately, if he had known what to do, he wouldn't have ended up a lifelong bachelor in his previous life.

"Sigh, if only dating were as easy as cooking."

As Bai Yuan walked towards the kitchen, this thought crossed his mind, and his expression became somewhat melancholy.

"It's almost noon now, what would you like to eat, Master?"

Seeing Bai Yuan stop at the kitchen door, Nakiri Alice also stopped and stood beside him, asking him a question.

"Then let's make fish. It just so happens that the first round of the midterm exam was held by the river. Making fish for this competition will make it a complete success."

Upon hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Bai Yuan didn't mince words and stated the theme of the competition.

He is skilled at cooking any kind of food, whether it flies in the sky, swims in the sea, runs in the mountains, or grows in the ground.

He has cooked almost every ingredient available in this world.

Especially during that year in the world of bizarre cuisine, his subordinates contributed many rare ingredients and brought many unconventional recipes.

He learned the recipes, integrated them, and created new dishes. After a year of filling in the gaps and making improvements, there was no ingredient in the world that could stump him!

He could easily become a biologist now, given his vast knowledge base.

"Fish? Sure, speaking of which, we used to live near the port, which was also a place rich in fisheries."

Hearing Bai Yuan's words, Nakiri Alice nodded, an expression of agreement on her face. Fish, as the theme for their duel, was very fitting!

"Okay, I'll call someone to bring it up."

After obtaining Alice Nakiri's consent, Shirabuchi took out his phone and dialed Megumi Tadokoro's number.

"Hello, Professor Bai Yuan."

Two seconds later, a gentle female voice came from the other end of the phone.

As soon as Tadokoro Megumi returned to her room and put down her luggage, she answered the phone without even wiping away her sweat, sitting down on the bed as she spoke.

"Xiao Hui, go to the pond behind your Polar Star Dormitory and catch two fish to bring over. Alice and I are going to have a cooking competition."

"And please invite Yuuki and Ryoko as well; the three of you can come and be judges."

Bai Yuan's voice came from the other end of the phone. Tadokoro Megumi lay on the bed, holding the phone in one hand, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Okay, I'll be there in 20 minutes."

After listening to Bai Yuan's words, Tadokoro Megumi felt a little tired, but she still agreed.

Physical exhaustion is nothing compared to savoring top-notch cuisine. Besides, Teacher Bai Yuan had gone to great lengths to ask her for a favor, and even if her leg were broken right now, she would still rush over in a wheelchair!

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."

As soon as she finished speaking, a beeping sound came from the other end of the phone. Tadokoro Megumi placed the phone against her chest, feeling the warmth emanating from it, and closed her eyes to rest for a moment.

"lets go!"

Opening her eyes, Megumi Tadokoro sat up in bed and ran downstairs, where she quickly found Yuuki Yoshino, who was carrying clothes and preparing to take a bath.

"Yuuki, don't take a shower yet. Professor Shirabuchi wants you, Ryoko, and me to go over there now."

"Huh? So sudden..."

Upon hearing Tadokoro Megumi's words, Yoshino Yuuki's face showed surprise, then she glanced at the clothes in her hand: "Then I'll put the clothes back. Go and call Ryoko. We'll leave in five minutes."

"Hmm, we'll go to the pond behind the mountain to catch two grass carp later. Teacher Bai Yuan is going to have a cooking competition with Alice, which should be the reward for getting first place in the midterm exam."

As if remembering something, Tadokoro Megumi shouted loudly while watching Yoshino Yuuki's retreating figure.

"To the pond behind the mountain? I see! So they called us over there to be judges? Great! We can eat Chef Baiyuan's cooking again!"

Tadokoro Megumi's words made Yoshino Yuuki fall into deep thought. Her mind raced, and after she had completely figured it out, a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"Yes, that's it."

Megumi Tadokoro nodded in response, then jogged downstairs to inform Ryoko Sakaki.

After a commotion, the three of them went to the back mountain together, caught two big, fat fish from the pond, and headed towards Alice Nakiri's house.

ten minutes later.

The three of them rushed to their destination. Tadokoro Megumi let out a soft sigh of relief, trying to appear normal, before stepping forward and ringing the doorbell.

The person who came out to open the door was Bai Yuan.

Seeing the three people with fine beads of sweat on their foreheads, he looked surprised, then stepped aside to let them in.

"Actually, it's okay to go a little slower. You can rest for a bit before coming over."

Bending down and reaching for the shoe rack to retrieve shoes for Tadokoro Megumi and the other two girls, Bai Yuan spoke gently as he looked at the girls whose breathing was disordered.

"We've got nothing to do at Polaris Dormitory anyway, and we're eager to eat your cooking. We've been so excited since we got the call!"

Seeing Bai Yuan's change in mood and understanding his consideration for them, Tadokoro Megumi felt a warmth in her heart.

As she spoke, she sat down in front of the entrance, bent down to take off her shoes, revealing black over-the-knee socks that covered her jade-like feet.

In an instant, a faint scent wafted through the air and reached Tadokoro Megumi's nose, making her so embarrassed that she hurriedly put her shoes back on.

"Sorry, I'll go back and take a shower before coming back!"

As they were talking, Tadokoro Megumi got up in shame and indignation to leave, but Bai Yuan grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"It's so easy for you to go back and forth like this. Just wash it here. Alice happens to have a lot of clothes that she doesn't wear often."

"Um...this isn't really a good idea."

“What’s wrong with that? Alice wouldn’t mind such a small thing, but the clothes in the main store can’t be touched, those are the ones she prefers.”

Hearing Tadokoro Megumi's hesitation, Shirobuchi shrugged indifferently and then took the fish from Yoshino Yuuki.

"You two should go take a shower too. Alice and I have already showered. We've been traveling all morning, so we should take a bath to relax."

"Is it okay? I was just thinking of taking a shower too!"

"Then excuse me."

Seeing that Ryoko Sakaki and Yuuki Yoshino were sweating a lot, Shirabuchi reached out to wipe their sweat away, then carried the fish to the living room.

"Alice, go find them some changes of clothes, then go to the kitchen to prepare the meal."

Looking at Alice Nakiri sitting on the sofa, who had just finished drying her hair, Bai Yuan gave her instructions.

"Okay, you can wait here for a moment."