Era: You're asked to cook a home-style dish, but you cook Wellington.

Liu Jianye mechanically turned his head, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Gao Yang.

He was just a hair's breadth away from declaring Shata the winner of the match on the spot. Even if it was against regulations, he could still get the money Qin Wanshan gave him after the match by holding the perpetrators accountable.

Now, it's good that he's been given a chance to catch his breath.

Gao Yang naturally understood this as well, and deliberately wanted to provoke Liu Jianye.

"Judges, may I begin judging my dish?"

His tone was smug, with a blatant hint of provocation.

Xu Qinyun, who was standing to the side, didn't have time to stop him. Now that she saw this scene, she wished Liu Jianye would suffer in silence. She was so happy that she covered her mouth and chuckled to herself.

Gu Jingzhou remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescing to Gao Yang's actions.

"you!"

Liu Jianye was so angry that his hands started to tremble.

Since he took this position, who has dared to speak to him like that?

Now, being pushed to this point by a chef from a small town, I feel humiliated, angry, and frustrated.

"Boss Liu, watch out, you might end up on the front page."

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, and that if things continued like this, Liu Jianye might actually take action, which would also affect her, Xu Qinyun quickly tried to smooth things over.

Sure enough, Liu Jianye remembered that there were still many media reporters at the scene, pointing their cameras and microphones at him.

Helpless, he took a deep breath and could only suppress the anger in his heart.

"I won't hold it against you."

Liu Jianye sat back down in his chair and looked at Gao Yang.

"Tell me, what dish did you make?"

Gao Yang slowly pushed the three plates in front of him forward and removed the lids from them.

"Please enjoy the Italian crispy foie gras mousse."

The lid was opened, revealing a pale white plate with golden spaghetti coiled in the center, a piece of foie gras about half the size of a palm resting quietly on the spaghetti, and a small red flower as a garnish.

Upon closer inspection, you can still see a light-colored sauce adhering to the surface of the pasta and foie gras.

"Hmm, it looks pretty good."

Xu Qinyun couldn't help but laugh.

Yesterday's creamy mushroom and Arctic surf clam pastry left a deep impression on her. If she weren't currently a judge in a competition and in a special capacity, she would really like to have a chat with Gao Yang and specially commission the front page of the next issue of the magazine for him.

Now that Gao Yang has presented such beautiful dishes, how could she not be tempted?

She picked up the knife and fork, but instead of tasting it, she gently turned the pasta.

Shata, who was standing to the side, had not yet stepped off the stage. Upon seeing this scene, he assumed that the judges were extremely critical of Gao Yang's dishes, and his amber eyes were full of apology.

"I'm sorry, this wasn't what I originally wanted to do. I don't know why, my body just wouldn't listen to me, and then this happened."

Her voice was very soft, her hands nervously twisting her clothes. She lowered her head, looked up at Gao Yang's eyes, and then quickly looked away.

Gao Yang shook his head.

"It's not your fault. I suspect it's related to the gambling king, but I'm afraid we'll have to wait for him to tell us the specifics."

Gao Yang spoke in a serious tone.

He remembered that at that time, the gambling king's lips opened and closed, muttering to himself, and then Shata's eyes went vacant.

To achieve such an effect, only psychological hypnosis can scientifically explain it.

But if we don't follow science, there are countless ways to control people.

Gu poison, witchcraft, black magic...

There are many such methods, but each one comes at a high cost.

He knew that the gambling king had traveled the world and knew many secret methods. Now that there were no countermeasures, he really didn't dare to confront him head-on.

Disbelief filled Shata's eyes.

In her memory, this kind of situation often happened. She thought it was her own problem, but she never expected that it was actually the gambling king secretly manipulating things.

She recalled the things her body had done unconsciously, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Don't let the gambling king see this."

Gao Yang whispered a reminder.

Shata then realized what was happening, suppressed her emotions, turned around to avoid having her face captured by the camera, and looked at the judges.

The three judges nodded repeatedly, apparently having discovered the secret to this dish.

Gu Jingzhou cut off a small piece of foie gras, ate it along with pasta, and put it in his mouth.

He kept chewing, without saying a word.

The other two remained silent, quietly eating their pasta.

"No, what's going on? This is too weird. Why aren't they saying a word and just eating?"

"Yes, yes, it would be good if we knew what they were saying and how it all went."

The audience remained silent for five or six minutes before someone finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Alright, alright, stop struggling. You look like you're not happy with that expression. You guys who bet on Gao Yang to win, just accept your fate."

"Yes, with performances like this, have you forgotten what the judges were like after eating the salad? I say, let's just forget about it."

A few words echoed in the hall.

Those who were optimistic about Gao Yang also fell silent, not uttering a word, and not even having the courage to refute him.

Yes, Shata performed so well, is there anyone who can surpass Shata?

They wanted to support Gao Yang, but the irrefutable evidence was there, making it difficult to deny it.

Only the third brother of the Green Dragon Gang looked at them, a disdainful smile on his lips.

He understood that Gao Yang was someone who could bring miracles, and that his words only proved that they were just a bunch of frogs in a well. Once the results came out, they would definitely be able to give these people a good slap in the face.

The atmosphere on stage grew increasingly tense as they looked at the judges on the platform, hoping they would say something.

But silence awaited them.

Seeing this scene, the gambling king also had a bad feeling.

On the stage, the three judges had already finished tasting the food and sat in place without saying a word.

After a long while, as if savoring the moment, Gu Jingzhou was the first to sigh.

"Sigh, it's all worth it to be able to eat this kind of food in my lifetime."

"Yes, I don't know if I'll be able to eat this dish again in the future. If I don't, I'm afraid I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Xu Qinyun echoed her sentiment, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could there be such a comment? I must be dreaming!"

"They're judges! How could they say something like that!"

The entire venue erupted in cheers; the audience felt like the world had gone mad.

They're seasoned judges, they've seen it all, yet they're giving a dish a life-long evaluation? They must still be dreaming.

The gambling king stared wide-eyed at all of this.

He glanced at the crowd, then at the judges on the platform, trying to discern something from their expressions.

But he saw nothing; he only saw the judges still savoring the moment.

A short while later, Gu Jingzhou picked up the microphone and looked at the audience below the stage.

"Cough cough."

His voice was hoarse, tinged with emotion.

In an instant, the entire room fell silent, awaiting his answer.

"I, Gu Jingzhou, am willing to risk my entire life's honor. Only those who have tasted this dish can understand its exquisite nature."