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

"Gao Yang, are you leaving after this competition?"

After the celebrations, most people had left. Gao Yang sat at the entrance of the Grand Hotel, looking at the moon in the sky.

Lin Ran walked over and saw the ring on Gao Yang's left middle finger, and her heart involuntarily ached.

"It's Lin Ran."

Gao Yang was a little startled. He had been so engrossed in his work that he hadn't even noticed Lin Ran walking up to him.

He looked up and met Lin Ran's delicate face.

"I don't know either. President Su told me to come back and recuperate for a while after finishing the Yuncheng project, but in the end, I guess I'll go wherever I'm needed."

Gao Yang shook his head.

He couldn't explain Su Wanqing's arrangements either.

With great power comes great responsibility. With such ability, he naturally had to help Su Wanqing reach her ideal level.

"President Su is really bad."

The little girl muttered something softly, but her voice was so low that Gao Yang couldn't hear her clearly.

"What did you say?"

Lin Ran shook her head and said nothing more.

At this moment, Gao Yang felt something was strange. Lin Ran's appearance today was completely different from what he remembered. For some reason, she seemed to have something on her mind.

He saw the glistening tears in Lin Ran's eyes, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn't know how to start, and could only shut up in frustration.

Just at this time.

"Gao Yang?"

A man and a woman walked over on the street. When they saw Gao Yang sitting at the door, they showed excited expressions.

"Who are you?"

Gao Yang was puzzled; he didn't recall having any memory of these two people.

Especially their hair color.

The man had blue hair, and the woman had red hair. The two of them walking side by side would be a very conspicuous sight on the streets even thirty years from now, let alone now.

Lin Ran simply couldn't accept it.

Her thinking was relatively conservative to begin with, and upon seeing them now, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, looking at the two of them with considerable disdain.

The two of them noticed Lin Ran's gaze and sighed helplessly.

"My name is Nangong Lian, and her name is Nangong Hong. We are from the Nangong family."

"The Nangong family?"

Lin Ran looked completely bewildered; she had never heard of it before.

She looked at Gao Yang, only to see that Gao Yang had a solemn expression on his face.

"What's wrong?"

She tugged at Gao Yang's sleeve.

Gao Yang then looked over and patiently explained, "The Nangong family is a traditional Chinese restaurant family. Their ancestors were all imperial chefs for the emperor and accumulated a great deal of wealth. They are now living in seclusion, but you can still see their presence in many restaurants on the market."

Nangong Hong was also somewhat surprised when she heard this.

The Nangong family was extremely secretive, and Gao Yang was surprised that he could recite this part of history so easily.

Nangong Lian, on the other hand, had a smug look on his face.

"How about that? Aren't we awesome? Let me tell you, we're both going to participate in this competition. I heard you're really good. See you on the field!"

Nangong Hong slapped Nangong Lian on the head.

"I'm sorry, my brother offended you, but he's right about one thing: see you on the field."

Her eyes also shone with a fierce fighting spirit.

"Hey, isn't this Gao Yang?"

An aged voice interrupted their conversation.

Everyone turned to look.

An elderly man dressed in a white suit and wearing a hat walked over, leaning on a cane.

"Oh my, young man, I never expected that at my age, I would see such a brilliant and outstanding young man."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Zhou Yifen, but you can also call me Steven."

"Steven!"

Gao Yang's pupils contracted.

This one is even more impressive. Born in the United States, he was exposed to the culinary cultures of various countries from a young age. He studied all over the world after growing up and even earned two Michelin stars.

"Oh, they're children from the Nangong family."

Steven couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the two young people, one in blue and one in red.

The two men, however, had strange expressions.

"Sir, have you seen us before?"

Steven replied with a smile, "That was a long time ago. I visited your Nangong family and met the head of the family at the time, as well as you when you were young."

"I never imagined that after so many years, the Nangong family, which is the most traditional family, would have two such rebellious children."

"Rebellion?"

Nangong Lian rubbed the back of his head, which had been slapped by his sister, and said with a sullen face and a hint of resentment in his tone.

"Is dyeing your hair rebellious? Times have changed. Chinese cuisine is stuck in its ways, clinging to the traditions of our ancestors. It hasn't innovated in all these years, and it will be eliminated sooner or later."

Nangong Hong nodded slightly, her tone full of composure.

"Sir, my sister and I dyeing our hair is just our own personal preference and it won't affect our cooking skills. We wouldn't dare to discard the essence left by our ancestors."

Upon hearing this, Steven nodded slowly, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

"Indeed, I judged you by your appearance. I am very much looking forward to your performance on the field."

Lin Ran, who was listening from the side, was completely confused. Standing next to Gao Yang, she nudged him with her elbow.

"What are they talking about? Is this old man very impressive?"

Gao Yang explained in a low voice.

"In foreign countries, there is a gold standard for judging restaurants called Michelin, which ranges from one star to three stars, and the higher the star, the more prestigious it is."

"Normally, it is a great honor for a restaurant to get one star, and two stars are one in a million. This old man has two stars."

"Moreover, Steven has been learning all his life and has mastered skills that are far beyond what others can match. You could say that his qualifications are more senior than those judges in the previous competitions."

"Wow, that's amazing."

Lin Ran was shocked after hearing Gao Yang's words, and her expression toward the old man became even more respectful.

Moonlight streamed into the hotel entrance, and a cool night breeze added a touch of tension to the otherwise relaxed atmosphere.

Steven looked at Gao Yang, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Young man, I've come here for you."

"I?"

Gao Yang was puzzled and looked at the others, but to his surprise, the Nangong siblings were also looking at him.

Steven nodded, tapping his cane on the ground.

"That's right. I've investigated all the chefs participating in this competition, and you're the one who interests me the most. I've also learned about all your dishes."

"I have tasted the cooking of countless famous chefs. There are many artisans who stick to tradition, countless chefs who follow the trend of Westernization, and even more chefs who use expensive ingredients to cover up their cooking methods."

"But you alone can perfectly blend the everyday life of the common people, the techniques of the court, and Western creativity, and you have a perfect sense of proportion. It can be said that if you were given another ten years to grow, with your talent, you would probably have surpassed me long ago."

This praise was sincere and carried great weight.

Nangong Lian put away his composure and turned his gaze to Gao Yang.

He had only heard that Gao Yang was currently riding high, so he wanted to come and have a friendly competition. He didn't expect Mr. Steven to give him such a high evaluation.

He stared intently at Gao Yang, already regarding Gao Yang as his strongest opponent.

This change made Gao Yang give a wry smile.

This is what we can see; the hostility is already this strong. In places we can't see, if those big shots get together, they'll probably tear each other apart.

However...

He's not afraid.