Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

The bottom layer is a slightly charred English muffin, sandwiched with thick slices of bacon that are still sizzling with oil. On top is a plump, white poached egg, covered with a layer of bright yellow special Hollandaise sauce. The sauce is of just the right consistency, slowly dripping down the surface of the poached egg, and is also garnished with some ground black pepper.

Chen Yuxing picked up a knife and fork and made a single cut right in the center of the poached egg.

"Pfft."

A soft cracking sound rang out as the egg white was cut open, revealing a thick, golden yolk.

Like a punctured water bag, the water gushed out through the hole in the egg white, flowing down instantly and soaking the bacon and muffins underneath.

He cut off a large piece, along with bread, bacon, egg, and hollandaise sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth in one bite.

The moment he put it in his mouth, Chen Yuxing's eyes narrowed.

The Hollandaise sauce has a very rich buttery flavor, and the proportion of lemon juice added is also very precise and just right!

The refreshing lemon flavor explodes on the tongue, quickly washing away the greasiness of the butter and bacon.

Then comes the richness of the egg yolk, the saltiness of the bacon, and the crispness of the muffin. These three distinct textures blend perfectly together in the mouth with the Hollandaise sauce.

"Is this the 'God Tongue'...?"

Chen Yuxing swallowed his food, wiped his mouth, and didn't hold back his praise, "The sauce is perfectly seasoned, and the cooking time is flawless. It's truly a flawless Eggs Benedict, absolutely delicious."

Upon hearing the words "very delicious," Erina Nakiri raised her head haughtily, crossed her arms, and gave a cold snort.

"Do you even need to tell me? My cooking is absolutely perfect, of course." Although she said that, a hint of barely concealed glee flashed in her purple eyes.

The fact that this guy had bowed his head in agreement made her feel inexplicably better.

Chen Yuxing didn't linger, waved, and continued strolling through other venues.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out nearby.

"Look over there! What is that red-haired student doing?!"

"What amazing technique! How interesting!"

Chen Yuxing followed the crowd's gaze and saw that Soma Yukihira's stall was already crowded with diners watching his performance.

Soma Yukihira had his signature white headband tied around his head, and he was frantically whisking eggs with both hands, flipping the frying pan up and down in his hands. His movements were exaggerated but also very entertaining, which attracted the attention of many passersby.

In his pot, fluffy, huge soufflé omelets, like clouds, were taking shape.

These omelets, whipped with a lot of air, expand to an exaggerated size the moment they touch the hot pan, turning golden brown, and make a "buzzing" sound as Soma moves them around in the pan.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Would you like a special soufflé omelet?! Freshly made, the omelet melts in your mouth, offering a cloud-like texture that will leave you wanting more!" Soma called out loudly, then jerked the pan in his hand, sending a steaming golden, fluffy omelet flying onto one of the customers' plates.

The customer instinctively picked it up and took a bite, his eyes instantly lighting up as he exclaimed, "So delicious!"

With the first customer's approval and the interesting live performance, other customers soon wanted to try it too.

"Give me one!"

"Give me two servings too!"

"It looks so delicious, like soft, fluffy clouds!"

"What a wonderful aroma! Quick, quick, quick! I want some too!"

Because there were so many customers, Soma Yukihira even picked up three frying pans with both hands and started cooking at the same time. His arms moved so fast that afterimages appeared, and fluffy omelets were quickly served to the customers' plates.

Looking at the long line in front of the Creative Cooking Station, Chen Yuxing glanced at the clock on the wall.

There were only three minutes left until the end, and the announcement had not yet been made that Soma Yukihira had passed.

"That kid always likes to make things so thrilling." Chen Yuxing leaned against the pillar, looking at Yukihira Soma's face, which was covered in sweat but had a very bright smile, and couldn't help but smile as well.

"Ding-dong-"

"Announcement over the loudspeaker: Soma Yukihira, booth number 18 in venue A, has completed 200 dishes!"

Just ten seconds before the countdown ended, a life-saving announcement finally came over the loudspeaker.

"Clang—clang—clang—"

The somber chimes echoed throughout the banquet hall, signaling the official end of the two-hour breakfast session.

"Today's breakfast review session is over. All students, please assemble in the main banquet hall in ten minutes."

A collective sigh of exhaustion filled the hall as countless students collapsed to the ground, too weak to even stand up.

"what……"

Soma Yukihira put the spatula on the cutting board, then leaned against the counter as if all his strength had left him, panting heavily, his whole body drenched in sweat.

"Give."

A bottle of ice-cold mineral water with the cap pinched open was handed to him.

Xingping looked up and saw Chen Yuxing leaning against his kitchen counter, watching him.

"Thanks, Hoshino." Soma Yukihira took the water, gulped it down in one go, then let out a long sigh and grinned, "Phew... I almost crashed, luckily I made it in time..."

"You really have a big heart to finish two hundred copies right on time." Chen Yuxing smiled at Yukihira Soma and then raised his fist.

Soma Yukihira raised his fist and bumped it hard against him.

"I made a mistake earlier. But anyway, I survived!"

Ten minutes later, in the main banquet hall of the Totsuki Palace.

Dojima Gin took the microphone and walked back onto the podium.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

Dojima Gin's voice managed to rouse the students who were initially limp.

"Now, let's announce the results of the top ten in this breakfast project."

"First place, Erina Nakiri, with 490 meals taken."

"Second place: Chen Yuxing, with 407 meals taken."

"Third place, Alice Nakiri, with 380 meals taken."

……

"Sixth place, Megumi Tadokoro, with 310 meals taken."

"Seventh place, Hisako Niito, with 290 meals taken."

As the results were announced, many students began to chat amongst themselves. When Xiaohui heard that she was in the top ten, she excitedly covered her mouth.

"Alright." Dojima Gin paused for a moment. "Congratulations to everyone present, and thank you for your hard work during this residential training program. You have successfully endured these six days and five nights of hellish trials. Now, you can go back to your rooms and enjoy some well-deserved rest. Take a bath, get some sleep, and recover your strength."

Upon hearing Dojima Gin's words, a weak but undeniably joyful cheer erupted throughout the hall.

"Great! It's finally over!"

"I survived!"

Aoki Daigo and Sato Shoji hugged each other tightly and wept bitterly.

"but!"

Dojima Gin abruptly changed the subject, extinguishing everyone's excitement like a bucket of cold water.

"Please don't sleep too soundly. At 5 PM, all surviving students, please reassemble in the main banquet hall!"

"At that time, we will proceed with the last temporary task."

All the students in the hall crashed on the spot.

Then suddenly, a desperate scream erupted, even louder than the cheers from before.

"ah?!!"

"Are you kidding me?! Aa ...

"I can't go on, let me die..."

"No!!! Wasn't that supposed to be the final challenge?!"

Hearing the wails around him, Chen Yuxing rubbed his ears slightly, then stepped forward and patted the shoulders of the Polaris Dormitory members: "Let's go, at least we still have half a day to rest. Let's go back to our rooms and get some sleep. We stayed up all night tasting dishes and preparing ingredients yesterday, so we're really tired."

……

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

The main banquet hall of the Far Moon Palace was brightly lit.

The remaining surviving students, one by one, dragged their heavy steps, as if they were all heading to the execution ground, and walked into the banquet hall in a line.

Exhaustion and despair were written on everyone's faces, fearing that the "temporary task" would be another challenge that would make life worse than death.

Even Soma Yukihira seemed a bit listless, standing with his head drooping next to Chen Yuxing, while Xiaohui on the other side was also tightly gripping Chen Yuxing's sleeve.

But when they entered the hall, they found that something was wrong.

On either side of the hall stood two rows of Totsuki Academy graduates dressed as head chefs.

Kojiro Shinomiya, Hinako Inui, Morihei Seki, Fuyumi Mizuhara, Donato, Taki Kakuzaki... all the graduate lecturers who had tormented them to the point of ecstasy these past few days were now standing there in neat rows with smiles on their faces.

However, the person standing on the high platform directly in front of the hall was not Dojima Gin.

Instead, it was that imposing old man, as majestic as an iron tower—the headmaster of Totsuki Academy, Senzaemon Nakiri!

The group, who were initially quite tired, immediately stood up straight the moment they saw the commander-in-chief.

With his hands behind his back, Senzaemon's sharp eyes swept over the hundreds of exhausted young people below the stage.

"Everyone," the commander-in-chief began slowly, his voice deep yet penetrating.

"Look at you all now. Exhausted, confused... Have these six days and five nights of hellish training made you feel like you'd rather be dead?"

The students below the stage swallowed hard, not daring to even breathe.

Senzaemon suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter filled with a sense of boldness.

"But you should be proud! Because you made it through!"

He suddenly waved his hand, pointing to everyone below the stage, "The fact that you are still standing here proves that you have the resilience and potential to be chefs!"

"In this hellish training camp, you have pushed your limits. I am here on behalf of Totsuki Academy to commend your growth!"

Upon hearing these words, many students' eyes instantly welled up with tears. The grievances and pressure of the past few days turned into tears of excitement after the commander-in-chief's affirmation.

"So, as a reward for your hard work these past few days."

Senzaemon paused, a bold smile curving his lips. "I hereby announce that the final temporary task for this residential training program is—"

"Go and enjoy yourself! Savor the celebratory dinner that these graduates have personally prepared for you!"

"Tonight, all the dishes will be prepared for you by these outstanding graduates of Totsuki Academy who are standing on either side of you! Go and taste them, go and feel them, this is the height you will reach in the future!"

"After this dinner, have a good night's sleep at Totsuki Palace! Tomorrow morning, a bus will take you all back to school safely!"

Chapter 37 The Match with Kojiro Shinomiya

"Go and savor it, go and experience it! This is the height you will reach in the future! After this dinner, have a good night's sleep at the Far Moon Palace! Tomorrow morning, the bus will take you all back to school safely!"

The words "Nakiri Senzaemon" echoed throughout the hall, like a heavy hammer shattering the boulder in the hearts of all the students.

After a brief silence, someone took a deep breath, followed by deafening cheers from the students.

The entire hall seemed to be ablaze with excitement, with students cheering and celebrating, while others hugged each other and wept.

"We survived! We survived!"

Daigo Aoki grabbed Shoji Sato by the collar and shook him wildly, snot running down his face from excitement. "Shoji, did you hear that?! It's over! We all made it! Tonight we can enjoy the chefs' dishes! Tomorrow we can go back to Polar Star Dormitory!"

Although Shoji Sato was a little dizzy from being shaken, he was equally excited and shouted, "I heard you! Let go! You're strangling me! Long live the Commander-in-Chief!"

Yoshino Yuuki collapsed, embraced by Sakaki Ryoko and Tadokoro Megumi. Clinging tightly to them, Yuuki buried her face between them and sobbed uncontrollably, "Waaaaah... Ryoko, Megumi... We made it... It's finally over, we can go home..."

Xiaohui stumbled slightly as Yoshino Yuuki hugged her, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her face. She patted Yuuki's back and nodded, "Yes! Everyone's still here, that's so good..."

Ryoko Sakaki also let out a long sigh of relief, feeling a sense of relief: "Yes, it's all over. Everyone worked very hard."

Ibuzaki Shun still had that cool look with half his face hidden in his hair. He didn't say anything, but he clearly seemed to have relaxed.

"Oh! So, the upcoming dinner will be prepared by the graduates themselves? That's amazing! I have to try every single one!" Soma Yukihira's eyes lit up as he looked at the chefs on the main stage, tearing off the white cloth strip tied to his head and retying it on his hand.

"You, is cooking all you think about?" Marui Zenji leaned weakly against the wall and pushed up his glasses. "Right now, I just want to find a place to sit down, eat, go back and get a good night's sleep, and then I can go home tomorrow."

"Alright, alright. Everyone, stop standing here like idiots and go inside to find a good seat." Chen Yuxing pointed to the inner part of the banquet hall.