Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　Subaru Mimasaka glanced at Shirobuchi, who was comforting Mito Ikumi, and a hint of envy appeared in his eyes, but it quickly turned into a faint jealousy. The next moment, he turned around and left the competition venue through the player passage, and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

　"Go back now, I'll cook for you all tonight and throw a short celebration."

　As Erina Nakiri and the others came down from the stands, Bai Yuan's voice rang out: "Advancing to the official tournament is a good thing, and it's necessary to hold a celebration."

　"Yay! I can eat Shirai-sensei's cooking again!"

　"That's awesome! I can't wait!"

　"I'll show off my skills tonight too. I've recently developed an amazing dish that will definitely tantalize your taste buds!!"

　"Hehehe, leave the final dessert to me. I just researched a molecular gastronomy dish last month, and it's at the level of a top-tier one-star chef!"

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, the audience was initially taken aback, but then burst into laughter and cheers, filling the air with a joyful atmosphere.

　Bai Yuan looked at Huang Mei and the others who were staring at him expectantly, and said, "You guys come over tonight too, as well as everyone from Polar Star Dormitory. My yard is quite big, so we can have a barbecue party."

　·

　·

　"cheers!"

　Countless beer glasses clinked together, containing juice, cola, beer, fruit wine, and all sorts of other beverages.

　"Congratulations on advancing to the official competition, Yuuki and Megumi."

　Seeing Yoshino Yuuki and Tadokoro Megumi's smiling faces, Sakaki Ryoko forced a smile, raised her wine glass, and addressed the two.

　"Ryoko..."

　Seeing Sakaki Ryoko forcing a smile, Tadokoro Megumi and Yoshino Yuuki exchanged a glance, both withdrawing their smiles and seeing worry in each other's eyes.

　The other person is the only one of the three who did not advance. Although she seems to be in good shape now, only she knows the truth.

　"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll go to the kitchen and get the barbecue ingredients."

　Ryoko Sakaki waved her hand, smiled to indicate that she was fine, and then walked towards the house.

　Since it's a competition, there are winners and losers. It's just that she was the one who lost this time. That's nothing, it's normal. There are winners and losers.

　"Da da da."

　Footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor as Ryoko Sakaki headed alone toward the kitchen.

　"Ryoko".

　Biting her lower lip, Ryoko Sakaki felt her nose getting stuffy, and tears streamed down her face. When she heard someone calling her, she immediately wiped away her tears with her sleeve and forced a smile.

　"You performed very poorly this time; this is not your true ability."

　Noticing that Sakaki Ryoko was not in a good mood, Baiyuan did not immediately comfort her, but instead criticized her because she had performed particularly poorly.

　"I'm sorry, Professor Bai Yuan, I've let you down."

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's accusations, Sakaki Ryoko's eyes dimmed. She then placed her hands at her sides and bowed to him with deep apology.

　Then I felt something was off.

　Enough. He knelt down and performed the scholar's bow to Bai Yuan.

　This time, she truly disappointed Bai Yuan.

　Teacher Baiyuan probably thinks she's useless...

　Seeing Ryoko Sakaki's actions, Bai Yuan did not stop her, but squatted down and looked at her head until she raised her head again.

　"So you know your problem now?"

　"My...question?"

　Looking at the handsome face so close to hers, Ryoko Sakaki was stunned for a moment and couldn't answer, so she stammered.

　"Put your hand out."

　Ryoko Sakaki was very obedient; she stretched out her hand as soon as Shirai finished speaking.

　"These three slaps are for reminding you that you're only focused on wallowing in your disappointment and not analyzing why your grades are so low."

　A ruler appeared in his hand without his knowledge. Bai Yuan tapped Sakaki Ryoko's hand three times until it turned red before taking it back and speaking slowly.

　Ryoko Sakaki kept her lips pursed the whole time, and didn't utter a sound even when she was in pain, because she really deserved to be hit.

　"Have you figured out why you failed now?"

　Seeing Sakaki Ryoko's slightly furrowed brows, Bai Yuan spoke again.

　"No..."

　Ryoko Sakaki seemed to realize something, and her face suddenly turned red, but she still spoke honestly.

　"Then you're in trouble. Turn around and face me with your backside. I'll stop whenever you remember."

　Of course, you can cry, but that would only excite me more and serve no purpose.

　Bai Yuan's voice was devoid of any emotion; he merely sighed inwardly, never expecting that he would ultimately have to resort to this method.

　Ryoko Sakaki is a person.

　He looks very mature.

　But when faced with setbacks, she is the most helpless one. She studied hard but failed to advance even in the official competition, which must have been a huge blow to her.

　Especially when two other people enter.

　Therefore, Bai Yuan did not intend to give her time to grieve, and the way to distract her from her grief was to make her think about the shortcomings of her cooking.

　Once you immerse yourself in cooking, you won't think about anything else.

　“Pah~Pah~”

　She gritted her teeth, lay prone on the ground, and draped her body over Bai Yuan's legs, looking like a kitten lying down.

　"If you still can't remember, I won't be responsible if someone sees you later."

　Looking at Sakaki Ryoko, who was gritting her teeth and racking her brains, Bai Yuan said in a light tone. After all, it wasn't him who would be embarrassed by such a scene.

　"I..."

　"Taste, texture..."

　"As for the flavor, I used the techniques I'm good at, which can't be improved in a short time. But the texture is good. As long as you get the ratio of lean to fat right and pay more attention when cutting, you can elevate the texture of the dish to another level!"

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, the girl's body trembled involuntarily, as if she had imagined a terrible scene.

　Almost shouting, Ryoko Sakaki, combining her own understanding, rattled off all the improvement methods she had come up with.

　After speaking, the girl turned her head and looked at Bai Yuan expectantly, hoping to see approval on his face so that she could get out of the awkward situation.

　Chapter 176, Match 1: Soma Yukihira vs. Sugimoto Ueno

　"go on."

　Upon hearing Ryoko Sakaki's answer, Shirayuki slowed his movements, looking at her with eyes free of any ulterior motives and filled with encouragement.

　"You can add some dried fruit to the sausage to increase the sweetness, or you can add some nuts to make something similar to the special nut sausage from Georgia."

　"Isn't there a solution we can come up with?"

　In addition, casings, sous-vide cooking, smoking, and even side dishes prepared for the sausages later can all be used to enhance flavor and texture.

　Bai Yuan stopped what he was doing and helped Sakaki Ryoko up.

　Because of the punishment Shirayu had just given her, Ryoko Sakaki's buttocks were in soreness that she accidentally fell onto him.

　The next moment, their bodies were pressed tightly together, making both of them somewhat distracted.

　Of course, he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface.

　"Alright, you can have a good cry now. Remember this pain and turn it into motivation for the future. Don't lose so badly next time."

　He reached out and put his arm around Ryoko Sakaki's waist, feeling the faint fragrance emanating from her body, and a warm sensation washed over his hand.

　Bai Yuan's words caused the girl's already dried tears to well up again.

　"Is it really okay to cry? Crying... feels like a cowardly escape from reality by the incompetent."

　Ryoko Sakaki raised her head and looked at Shirayuki. After what had just happened, she was no longer so sad. After all, she was too busy thinking about the shortcomings to be sad.

　However, when she felt the warmth on her body and heard the boy's caring words, she couldn't help but feel the dizziness that had subsided rise up again.

　"It's okay. Crying isn't necessarily a sign of weakness; it's just a way to release emotions. You don't have to suppress yourself."

　He patted Ryoko Sakaki's back, his voice gentle and soothing, which made the girl's body soften.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, waaaaah~"

　There was no sense of utter grief; rather, it was like a little girl being coquettish. Ryoko Sakaki had calmed down and now only wanted comfort from Shiroyuki.

　After all, he'd been hit so many times; he couldn't just take it all for nothing.

　只

　Yes, doing something so unlike her own personality made the girl blush furiously, her heart pounding, and her eyes filled with a dazed look.

　As for tears, I did shed some because of the surge of emotions earlier, but later, perhaps because of the joy in my heart, I couldn't cry anymore.

　So Ryoko Sakaki released her grip on Shiroyuki's clothes, took two steps back, coughed lightly, and said earnestly to him, "Teacher Shiroyuki, I will definitely get good results next time. Even if I fail, I will not give up, and I will not pity myself."

　"Remember what you said today: failure is not terrible. What is terrible is not daring to face failure. People who are defeated by setbacks will not go far."

　He pinched Ryoko Sakaki's cheek. She had a mature and sophisticated look, and in theory, she should be the type to listen to others' thoughts and offer guidance. But now she was acting all cute and coquettish towards him, which felt strangely contrasting.

　This feeling isn't bad; at least he quite likes it.

　"Yes! If I do what I did today again, Teacher Bai Yuan, please punish me as much as you like. I won't fight back no matter how many times you hit me!"

　Thinking about what had just happened, Ryoko Sakaki blushed deeply, but for the sake of her future, she gritted her teeth and said...

　Of course, more importantly...

　Despite being treated that way by Bai Yuan, she felt no disgust whatsoever; instead, she was filled with a strange sense of comfort.

　This feeling drove her crazy, yet she couldn't stop herself from doing it.

　Perhaps she is a psychopath at heart.

　Ryoko Sakaki thought with a sense of despair.

　"Alright, now that you've let it go, stop hiding in a corner and crying. Go over and get together with everyone. It's a rare treat to eat and chat together."

　"Ah."

　Feeling the warmth on her cheek, Ryoko Sakaki was reluctant to leave, but considering that Professor Shirabuchi might have other things to do, she finally nodded.

　"You really are here. Would you like to try my new dish?"

　As he watched Ryoko Sakaki's departing figure, a voice came from behind Shiro.

　Holding a bowl of squid legs mixed with peanut sauce, Soma Yukihira walked towards Shirai with a mischievous grin on his face, a squid tentacle dangling from his mouth.

　"Then let's try it."

　Upon seeing the visitor, Bai Yuan chuckled, reached out and grabbed the squid's tentacles that weren't covered in peanut sauce, took them out of the peanut sauce, and put the peanut sauce-covered side into his mouth to taste.

　"It's a bit like being entangled in something. I think it's acceptable to say it's bad, since peanut butter and squid legs are both good ingredients. It's just that the combination of them has a strange and novel feel to it."

　With his eyes closed, he was bound and entangled by something indescribable in the illusion, but as he exerted his muscles, he easily broke free of the restraints.

　"You know it very well."

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's evaluation, Yukihira Soma immediately showed an expression of having met a kindred spirit.

　"So, you didn't come here just to eat this squid leg, did you?"

　Swallowing the squid leg in his mouth, the flavors of squid and peanut sauce lingered on his tongue. Bai Yuan looked at Yukihira Soma with a half-smile and asked him what business he had come to see him about.

　However, I already have the answer in my heart.

　"I want to have a contest with you, a themed lamb competition!"

　Sure enough, Yukihira Soma's next sentence was about a contest.

　"Now is not the time."

　Knowing Yukihira Soma's thoughts, Bai Yuan shook his head, not intending to have the match before the official competition, as that would affect the opponent's condition.

　"When can we do that?"