Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

At almost the same time, Kojiro Shinomiya's French custard pie also came out of the oven.

The rich aroma of vanilla and butter instantly filled the entire kitchen.

The pie's crust is baked to a golden brown and crispy, while the egg and milk filling inside has an equally enticing pale color, making it seem as if it would ooze out at the slightest touch.

Shinomiya cut the pie into several pieces and arranged them on an exquisite porcelain plate, then served them to Dojima Gin and the others.

Chen Yuxing also divided the Soul-Soothing Noodles he had prepared into several portions and pushed them in front of the graduates.

"Soul-Soothing Noodles, please enjoy."

"French custard pie, please enjoy." Shinomiya Kojiro pushed up his glasses.

Dojima Gin and the others exchanged glances, and first picked up the French custard pie prepared by Shinomiya Kojiro.

As the fork cuts into it, the crispy crust makes an enticing "crunch."

The moment it enters your mouth, a rich aroma of cream and vanilla explodes in your mouth.

The rich flavor of the egg yolk blends perfectly with the sweetness of the butter.

"It's perfect!" Guan Shouping exclaimed, squinting his eyes. "The crispy crust is like chewing layers of flaky pastry, and the egg and milk filling is baked to perfection, retaining its tender texture while also absorbing the salty aroma of bacon and the sweetness of spinach."

“It is indeed impeccable.” Dojima Ginya nodded. “The cooking time, seasoning, and crispness of the dough are all perfect. This is a dish that is worthy of being the final dessert in a Michelin three-star restaurant.”

Shinomiya's lips curled up slightly, then she glanced at Chen Yuxing beside her.

"So, next is..." Dojima Gin put down his knife and fork, picked up his chopsticks and soup spoon, and looked at the small bowl of Soul-Suppressing Noodles in front of him.

Not only Dojima Gin, but everyone's attention was focused on the Soul-Suppressing Surface.

In the clear broth, there was only one long noodle. There were no complicated toppings or fancy plating. It looked like a simple bowl of clear soup noodles.

Dojima Gin picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a noodle, and put it in his mouth.

"Suck it-"

The moment the noodles entered their mouths, all the graduates were stunned.

The texture of these noodles is so unique.

The moment you bite into it, you can clearly feel an incredible elasticity, and the unique slightly sour wheat aroma of Shu Han noodles is amplified infinitely by the clear soup.

But what's truly amazing isn't just the taste.

It's not so much the feeling of eating noodles, but the sensation that strikes right at your soul.

The moment you close your mouth.

An illusion has descended.

If the illusions created by the delicious food we usually eat are clothes bursting off, wild waves, or passionate volcanoes.

So this bowl of soul-soothing noodles brings more like a baptism of the soul.

Dojima Gin found himself no longer standing in the kitchen of Totsuki Resort, but instead on a dark sea in a raging storm, surrounded by towering waves—the high pressure, heavy workload, and endless responsibilities he faced every day as the manager of Totsuki Resort.

The pressure and exhaustion made him feel a little breathless.

Just when he felt he was about to be swallowed up by the storm.

A crack slowly appeared in the sky.

A colossal dragon, radiating a soft golden light and composed of countless delicate strands of silk, slowly emerged from the clouds.

Instead of letting out a deafening roar, the dragon gently rubbed Dojima Gin's forehead with its massive horns.

"boom--"

The storm subsided instantly, and the dark sea transformed into a calm, mirror-like blue lake.

A ray of warm sunshine shone down, and a gentle breeze caressed my face.

All the fatigue, all the stress, all the irritability were completely soothed by this warm scent at this moment.

In reality, when Dojima Gin opened his eyes, he found that his muscles had completely relaxed, and his nerves, which had been tense for the past few days, felt an unprecedented sense of ease.

He turned to look at the others.

Hinako Inui was holding her face in her hands, with a perverted smile on her face, as if she had already ascended to heaven.

Fuyumi Mizuhara even lay face down on the table and started talking in her sleep.

Guan Shouping, who is usually quite serious, closed his eyes at this moment, with a slight smile on his lips.

Even Kakuzaki Taki, who is usually extremely irritable, had a tear slip from the corner of his eye at this moment, whether it was from emotion or relief, it was hard to tell.

“These noodles…” Dojima Gin put down the bowl in his hand and let out a long breath, “have a magical power to soothe people and calm their emotions.”

“Shinomiya’s French custard pie is impeccably perfect in terms of technique.” Dojima Gin looked at Chen Yuxing. “However, Chen Yuxing’s Soul-Soothing Noodles have transcended the level of taste. I would even say that this bowl of noodles has touched the soul of the diner.”

Shinomiya Kojiro, standing to the side, looked at everyone's reactions with some disbelief.

He picked up a bowl of soul-soothing noodles from the side, ate some noodles, and put them in his mouth.

Shinomiya was stunned the moment he started chewing.

He no longer felt like the chef in Paris trying to improve his restaurant's star rating. He sat in a quiet courtyard, a cup of hot tea in his hand, lying quietly outside watching the clouds in the sky.

The bowl of noodles seemed to be telling him, "You've done a great job. You don't need to keep tense. You can stop and rest for a bit."

"Clap."

Kojiro Shinomiya dropped his chopsticks on the ground.

He lowered his head, placed his hands on the table, and his body trembled slightly.

If Tadokoro Megumi's rainbow jelly helped him find his direction, then Chen Yuxing's bowl of soul-soothing noodles completely helped him rediscover his original passion for cooking.

"I lost."

Kojiro Shinomiya closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his relief was evident.

"Therefore, I declare the winner of this competition to be—Chen Yuxing!"

The kitchen was quiet, and no one objected to the result.

"Ding!"

[Side Quest: An Invitation to Sparring from a Graduate of Totsuki Academy, Completed.]

[Reward issued: The recipe for "French Braised Cabbage Rolls (Shinomiya Kojiro Edition)" has been included in the cookbook.]

As Chen Yuxing listened to the system notification in his mind, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

Shinomiya Kojiro stared at Chen Yuxing for a long time before finally letting out a breath and walking up to Chen Yuxing.

He reached into his pocket, took out a folded piece of paper, and handed it to Chen Yuxing rather roughly.

"Here you go! This is my recipe for French custard pie." Shinomiya Kojiro turned his head and snorted coldly. "Don't think you've already won. Your bowl of noodles relies too much on the ingredients themselves. If you can't fully integrate those ingredients with your skills, you'll hit a bottleneck sooner or later. Next time we compete, I definitely won't lose."

Chen Yuxing was stunned for a moment.

He never expected that Shinomiya would be able to detect the flaws caused by his over-reliance on "Shu Han Old Noodles"!

As expected of a monster on the front lines, its tongue and sense of smell for food are truly amazing.

"I've learned a lot, Chef Shinomiya." Chen Yuxing nodded earnestly to Shinomiya.

"Hmph. The students outside are still waiting for the banquet, don't waste your time here." Shinomiya turned around and strode back to his cooking station. "Get moving, or if the banquet is delayed, I'll be the first to kick you out!"

Seeing the revitalized Shinomiya Kojiro, Dojima Gin smiled with satisfaction.

"Alright, Chen Yuxing, that bowl of noodles you made wasn't enough." Dojima Gin clapped his hands. "Since it's going to be part of tonight's dinner, shouldn't you make a few more?"

"Spare me..." Chen Yuxing wailed with a bitter face, "Making a few more servings of noodles like that will kill me!"

Despite his complaints, Chen Yuxing carefully put away the recipe given to him by Shinomiya and washed his hands again.

For the noodles he made later, he didn't use the precious "Shu Han Old Noodles" again, but instead chose ordinary refined white flour from the kitchen.

Although it lacks the extraordinary properties of Shu Han noodles, the clear soup noodles he makes are still excellent thanks to his "White Snake Refining" technique.

For a full hour, Chen Yuxing frantically tossed, pulled, and cooked noodles in the kitchen, finally managing to prepare enough for the banquet's climax.

……

When I returned to the banquet hall, the dinner had already begun.

The students enjoyed the various top-notch delicacies prepared by the graduates themselves, and they were all as happy as if they were in paradise.

Chen Yuxing rubbed his slightly sore arms and quietly slipped back into the banquet hall through the back kitchen passage, heading towards the large round table where the Polar Star Dormitory members were.

As soon as he pulled out a chair and sat down, everyone at the table turned to look at him.

"Ah Xing! Where have you been?!" Yukihira Soma mumbled, his mouth full of a large piece of grilled meat. "I couldn't find you when the food was being served! I missed out on so much delicious food!"

"You bet!" Yoshino Yuuki leaned closer and sniffed him hard. "Why do you smell so good? You didn't sneak off to the kitchen to eat behind our backs, did you?"

Tadokoro Megumi poured a glass of juice and handed it to Chen Yuxing: "Yuxing, you look so tired, are you okay?"

"It's nothing, I just helped out Dojima-senpai." Chen Yuxing took the juice, drank it all in one gulp, and slumped into the chair, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Just then, the banquet hall doors were pushed open, and hundreds of exquisite small porcelain bowls were placed on a cart. A clear aroma of wheat instantly filled the entire hall.

The staff began distributing the final main course of the dinner to everyone.

"Dear students, this is tonight's special main dish—clear broth calming noodles," came Dojima Gin's voice over the loudspeaker.

Soma Yukihira picked up the small bowl in front of him, took only one sip of soup, and his eyes lit up instantly.

He turned to look at Chen Yuxing, who was slumped in a chair.

"Ah Xing...you didn't make these noodles, did you?!"

Chen Yuxing simply waved his hand.

The members of Polaris Dormitory exchanged glances and burst into laughter at Chen Yuxing's exhausted state.

The dinner party came to a close in this warm atmosphere.

Meanwhile, in the VIP box on the second floor, Senzaemon Nakiri stood with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at Chen Yuxing and Soma Yukihira downstairs.

"Has Shinomiya's cooking won you over, Chen Yuxing?" Senzaemon said in a deep voice.

"Hehehe... Joichiro's son and this Chen Yuxing. It seems that this year's 'Autumn Selection' will be accompanied by an unprecedented storm." A glint flashed in Senzaemon's eyes. "Is the stagnant water of Totsuki Academy finally about to be stirred up completely?"

Standing to the side, Dojima Gin listened to the commander-in-chief's words, and a hint of understanding appeared in his eyes as he looked at Yukihira.

'So he's Joichiro's son. No wonder he looks so much like him.'

Chapter 39 Rest, Back to the Restaurant

Early the next morning, the square in front of the Totsuki Palace was already filled with all kinds of buses and students who had packed their luggage to go home.

Compared to the panic and anxiety they felt when they arrived, the students who survived the six-day special training were still a little tired, but they were completely relaxed in spirit. Many of them were chatting with their arms around each other.

Chen Yuxing, carrying his knife case, walked with the others from Polaris Dormitory toward the designated bus. Everyone was very excited about passing the test. Aoki Daigo and Sato Shoji were still playing around as they walked. Yoshino Yuuki, holding Tadokoro Megumi's hand in one hand and Sakaki Ryoko's hand in the other, hopped and skipped toward the bus like a rabbit. Marui Zenji and Ibuzaki Shun walked at the back, watching everyone with smiles on their faces.

The hellish residential training program has finally come to an end.

"Wait a minute~ Xiao Hui, Ah Xing!"

Just as the group was about to get into the car, a familiar voice came from the side.

It was Hinako Inui. Today she was dressed in casual clothes. Without saying a word, she rushed over and hugged Megumi, rubbing her face against Megumi's body all the while.

"Waaah, Megumi, I really don't want to leave you! When you get back, you must take good care of yourself. If anyone dares to bully you, just call me and I'll come right away to beat them up." Hinako Inui pretended to wipe away tears while rubbing her face. Even the graduates who came with her couldn't stand it. Taki Kakuzaki rolled his eyes at her from behind.

"Chef Inui... Chef Inui, you're hugging me a little too tightly..." Tadokoro Megumi blushed, looking somewhat at a loss.

Hinako Inui released Megumi Tadokoro and then turned to Chen Yuxing, looking at him with some regret. "As for you, Yuxing, I originally wanted to take you back to my 'Mist House' to have a taste, but unfortunately, I plan to take a break for the next period of time and go to Paris, France with Shinomiya-senpai to help him out."

With her hands behind her back, Hinako Inui winked playfully at Chen Yuxing, "So I'll have to wait a little longer to fulfill your invitation. When I get back from France, I'll definitely go to Totsuki and bring you and Megumi to my restaurant!"

"Hinako, you better stop this now!"

Kojiro Shinomiya pushed up his glasses and strode over. Without any politeness, he walked up behind Hinako Inui and delivered a chop to her head.

"It hurts! Shinomiya-senpai! What are you doing?!" Hinako Inui immediately covered her head and squatted down in protest.

"Who gave you permission to come back to France with me? My restaurant doesn't accept freeloaders." Shinomiya Kojiro snorted coldly, ignoring Inui Hinako who was squatting on the ground drawing circles, and turned to look at Chen Yuxing and Tadokoro Megumi.

Shinomiya first looked at Tadokoro Megumi, who was startled by his gaze and stood up straight.

Seeing Tadokoro Megumi's nervous expression, Shinomiya also smiled.