Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

　As Lia's voice rang out, Bai Yuan looked over and saw her with a bright smile, hopping towards him like a lively little rabbit.

　"First place in Group C, you can praise me now!"

　Before she could make her next move, Alice Nakiri jumped into Bai Yuan's arms, wrapped her arms around his waist, and said coquettishly.

　"Great job, that's really amazing."

　Faced with the girl's coquettishness, Bai Yuan smiled and patted her head, speaking in a doting tone, something the two of them often did in the past.

　Whenever Alice Nakiri performs exceptionally well in cooking, he would coax her in a tone that sounded like he was talking to a child, and Alice would always smile happily.

　At the same time, Tadokoro Megumi and the others also gathered around, talking all at once about the course of the competition, and finally announcing their own results.

　Erina Nakiri, second in Group B.

　Liu Yu, fourth in Group B.

　Kawanoka, Group D First Place

　Megumi Tadokoro, fourth in Group D.

　Almost all the participants passed the selection rounds, except...

　"It's okay, just try harder next time."

　Seeing Hisako Shinto looking dejected and barely speaking since then, Shirabuchi gently patted her shoulder to cheer her up.

　She ranked fifth in Division C, just one place away from qualifying for the main competition. This was something Alice Nakiri secretly told Bai Yuan when she picked her up.

　In addition, he received another piece of information.

　Soma Yukihira has also come to Fujian.

　Although the reason is unknown, he not only participated in the competition, but also achieved a commendable fourth place in the C division under the pressure of so many talented chefs.

　With a mixed fried shrimp dish combining different fruit flavors, the contestant ultimately won high praise from the judges and successfully advanced to the main competition.

　"Did Yukihira come here on his own? With his skills, he should be able to qualify..."

　There was a strange sense of surprise, yet it also made sense. That kid's improvisational skills were impressive; this youth chef competition was going to be quite interesting.

　Bai Yuan pinched his chin and murmured.

　Soma Yukihira is a genius who relies entirely on his performance in the moment. He may only be at the level of a first-class chef in normal times, but he can often make a special-grade dish in official competitions.

　This is related to his upbringing. From childhood to adulthood, he had been competing in cooking with Joichiro Yukihira, and the subject matter was always chosen randomly, which greatly enhanced his creativity.

　"Let's go back first, it's getting late. Do you all know the questions for the competition?"

　They glanced at the dwindling crowd around them, and the sky had completely darkened. Because they were wearing masks and standing together, they attracted a lot of attention.

　"It hasn't been given yet..."

　"I don't know, I don't even know who my opponent is."

　"The Young Chef Competition uses a live draw to determine the theme of the competition, and participants must choose the theme they are assigned and can only use the ingredients provided by the organizers."

　besides..."

　Just then, Kawashiro's voice rang out.

　Before coming, she carefully read the official website. The main competition of the Fujian Youth Chef Competition uses a live draw, and the ingredients are placed on a shared cooking table for the contestants to choose from.

　Each player can choose up to ten ingredients, and can anchor three of them. After the ingredients selection is complete, the opponent can choose from the other player's selections.

　I took three items from the ingredients for my own use.

　This is to increase the difficulty for both contestants, and also to test the chefs' ability to adapt to changing circumstances. These are all things that must be experienced to become a top-tier chef.

　If the Totsuki Culinary Competition is at the level of elementary school, then the Young Chef Competition jumps directly to the level of university, demanding extremely high personal qualities from the chefs.

　"I see. That's quite interesting. It's a challenge for you guys. Shine brightly on the field!"

　After listening to Kawanoka's explanation, Bai Yuan nodded slightly, then looked at the others and said the following words.

　"Absolutely! No matter who the opponent is, we will fight with all our might to win!"

　Liu Yu, who had been silent all along, spoke up, her face full of seriousness.

　Her advancement this time was somewhat lucky; the fifth-place contestant had the same score as her, receiving ratings of 7, 9, and 7, for a total of 23 points.

　She received scores of 8, 7, and 8, totaling 23 points. However, because two judges gave her higher scores (2:1), she advanced to the main competition.

　"That's right, no matter who we face next, we won't lose!"

　Lia raised her arm high, her face radiating confidence and arrogance. She had absolute confidence in her abilities; she was sure she could at least crack the top three!

　"The official competition will be held in three days, which means we have three days to prepare. Let's go back and start special training! At least we can familiarize ourselves with the competition process."

　"I agree, then let's be rivals..."

　The girls chattered away, and Bai Yuan watched from the sidelines without interfering too much, after all, this was their competition.

　"Yukihira, I failed, seventh place..."

　There really are always people better than you. I thought that even if I didn't advance, the gap between me and the person in front of me wouldn't be too big, but the reality was quite the opposite.

　Soma Yukihira and Takumi Aldini walked together along the path to the hotel, the setting sun casting long shadows on them.

　"Based on what you just said, you encountered a topic that you are least good at, so it's understandable that you didn't do well and your final score wasn't high."

　Don't worry, I'll keep winning, including your share!

　Seeing Takumi Aldini's dejected look, Soma Yukihira couldn't help but comfort him. As companions who had come to China together, the two had a good relationship.

　"These are all excuses. The truth is, I'm not good enough. If I were strong enough, I could pass the test even if it's a dish I'm not good at."

　Takumi shook his head; he had no intention of shirking responsibility for this defeat. Being less skilled was simply being less skilled; there were no excuses.

　If you're less skilled than others and still desperately try to find excuses to shirk responsibility, that's truly shameful.

　"What are you going to do next? Go back? Or wait until the Youth Chef Competition is over before we go back together?"

　"Isn't that obvious? Since we're already here, even if we don't participate in the competition, we should watch the matches before going back. None of those who made it to the main tournament are weak, and their matches are sure to be incredibly exciting!"

　Upon hearing Soma Yukihira's question, Takumi Aldini rolled his eyes at him, somewhat speechless. Even as a spectator, one could still learn a lot from the duel between these talented young chefs.

　"Don't worry, I'll support you. Are you familiar with the competition process? There are three days to prepare. During this time, I'll simulate the competition with you to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the process."

　As if he had just thought of something, Takumi Aldini spoke up before Soma Yukihira could even open his mouth.

　If you don't familiarize yourself with the new competition rules beforehand and just start playing at the venue, you might be caught off guard.

　The gap between theoretical understanding and practical operation is huge; you can only know this after experiencing it firsthand.

　"I understand, thank you."

　Upon hearing Takumi Aldini's words, Soma Yukihira expressed his heartfelt gratitude. He had just been about to speak when the other man spoke; he was truly considerate.

　"No, I'm too angry today. Let's skip the rest tonight and have a cooking competition, with the theme drawn by lot."

　"it is good!"

　Three days flew by.

　Besides the cooking competition, Bai Yuan also took the girls on a tour of Fuzhou, where they sampled all the local delicacies and experienced the authentic flavors of Fuzhou.

　This is not only to satisfy their appetites, but also to give them confidence and make them understand how formidable their opponents are. Only by knowing themselves and their enemies can they win every battle.

　"I'm actually the first one to play, but it's good that I finish the match early and advance to the next round, which will reduce a lot of my anxiety."

　The phone rang, and Alice Nakiri, who was eating, glanced down at the message on the screen, her face burning with fighting spirit.

　Are you a player in the first round?

　Erina Nakiri's expression shifted slightly. They had conducted a lot of simulated training these past few days, but there was always a difference between simulation and reality. Now that the official competition was finally about to begin, they could see the differences.

　"That's right! My time to shine has finally come! This time, I will be the center of attention and the one who receives everyone's adulation on the field!"

　Alice Nakiri said with great enthusiasm, "Not competing in Totsuki back then left me with a great regret, and now I can't miss it again!"

　"I hope you won't be eliminated in the first round."

　"How could that be! You think I'm like you?!"

　Erina Nakiri said with a slightly malicious tone that if Alice Nakiri were eliminated in the first round, then Bai Yuan would focus all his attention on her.

　Faced with Erina Nakiri's rudeness, Alice Nakiri rolled her eyes cutely and didn't really take it to heart.

　"But why didn't you tell me who my opponent was?"

　After carefully checking her phone messages again to make sure nothing was missing, a hint of doubt appeared on Alice Nakiri's face.

　"We'll let you know this before the competition starts, to avoid targeting the players."

　Seeing Alice Nakiri flipping through the information repeatedly, Kawahira explained that this kind of thing had happened before in the Young Chef Competition.

　Because the opponents were revealed in advance, some people might hire someone to harm them in order to advance to the next round, causing their opponents to be seriously injured before the match.

　If it weren't for the fact that it was always the opponent of that contestant who got injured, and the organizers hadn't started an investigation, such egregious behavior might not have been discovered, since people were still quite simple and honest back then.

　"How could such a thing happen? They resort to dirty tricks when they can't win the competition, making the whole event a mess!"

　Upon hearing Kawanoka's account, there was a moment of silence, followed by some people expressing their indignation and criticizing this despicable behavior.

　For those born in Totsuki, a cooking duel is just a cooking duel; they've never experienced anything like this before. Shirai, on the other hand, remained expressionless, showing little emotion, as if he already knew about it.

　Looking at the world of Little Master, while such things are not common, they are certainly not rare either. Having seen them many times, he naturally became more cautious.

　"What's next? Should we continue the duel? After all, the match is tomorrow."

　"I won't continue, Brother Bai Yuan. Come inside with me. I need you to help me relax and relieve my fatigue."

　When asked by Lia, Alice Nakiri waved her hand in refusal; she didn't want to have to work overtime tonight for the official match tomorrow.

　At a time like this, of course she should ask Brother Bai Yuan to help her relax!

　The accumulated pressure made her body stiff. If she didn't release it properly, she wouldn't be able to perform well in tomorrow's competition, which was not what she wanted.

　"Okay, let's go into the room then."

　"I don't want to move an inch right now, I'm so tired, I need you to carry me!"

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but act coquettishly, opening her arms and looking at him expectantly, treating herself like a lump of mud.

　"it is good."

　Seeing this, Bai Yuan also bent down affectionately, supporting her back with one hand and wrapping the other hand around Alice Nakiri's knees.