Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

But when you bite into the heart of the cabbage, the true deliciousness bursts forth. The cabbage heart soaks up the broth like a sponge, and the sweet cabbage and rich meat broth blend together to create an incredibly delicious flavor.

"Delicious, so delicious!"

Soma Yukihira closed his eyes, a look of fascination on his face: "This soup is like a giant spider web, gathering all the flavors together."

"Ugh... I feel like I'm soaking in a hot spring..." Yoshino Yuuki cupped her face in her hands, collapsing onto the tatami mat as if she had melted away. "I feel like my bones are melting..."

Hojo Miyoko drank the soup mouthful after mouthful, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“Chen Yuxing, how many more tricks do you have up your sleeve…” Hojo Miyoko put down her bowl and looked at Chen Yuxing. “No wonder my senior Kuga lost to you. Before this, I didn’t know that Sichuan cuisine had this side to it.”

Chen Yuxing took a sip from his bowl, leaned against the wall, and smiled as he watched everyone divide the soup in the pot clean.

He really enjoys the atmosphere of everyone sharing delicious food together.

"I'm glad everyone likes it."

……

In the following days, the name Chen Yuxing spread far and wide throughout Far Moon.

The news that he had defeated Kuga Terunori, the eighth seat of the Elite Ten, in a head-on confrontation during the Moonlit Night had spread like wildfire throughout the entire academy.

If we're talking about his performance in the previous food battles and residential training, only the first-year students knew about him.

This time, he also came into the sight of all the senior students and the school professors.

The academy forum was abuzz with talk of his defeat of Terunori Kuga, the dishes they made in the Food Wars, their skills, and Chen Yuxing's refusal of a spot on the Elite Ten.

This last point had an even greater impact on the academy than it did on Kuga himself.

"I don't want to be one of the Ten Heroes because I think it's too much trouble."

This reason was incredibly audacious, but it was precisely for this reason that his popularity in Totsuki Academy skyrocketed.

Every time he walks on campus or attends class, the students around him look at him curiously.

Some were in awe, some were curious, and some even tried to recruit him into the club.

Privately, some students even formed a fan group called "Chen Yuxing Support Group" and gave him all sorts of miscellaneous nicknames.

Some call him the "Monster of Polaris," because Polaris Dormitory has produced far too many powerful individuals; others call him the "Idle Tyrant," because he is powerful and simply refused a spot among the Ten Heroes just to avoid trouble.

However, the most common one should be the 'uncrowned eighth seat'.

Chen Yuxing himself didn't care about these things at all.

He still attended classes as usual every day. After class, he would either go back to the Polar Star Dormitory or go to the Chinese Cuisine Research Club to discuss recipes and have a small competition with Terunori Kuga. During this time, he even got along well with the members of the Chinese Cuisine Research Club. Sometimes, the members would bring their own dishes for him and Terunori Kuga to taste, and then the two of them would give their opinions.

He would go back to his small shop and open it for two days on weekends, and the neighbors would come to try his newly learned recipes. Katsunori Okamoto even brought his friends from the TV station to eat there once. They praised his skills and even took pictures and posted them on food forums to help promote him.

Another week has passed.

During this time, Polaris Dormitory gained a new regular visitor.

After that celebration party, Hojo Miyoko would head straight to the Polar Star Dormitory as soon as get out of class was over. Coupled with her outgoing personality, she quickly became good friends with Yuuki, Ryoko, and the others.

However, what she did most at Polaris Dormitory was to assist Chen Yuxing with Xiao Hui, ostensibly to 'learn the true essence of Chinese cuisine'.

"Chen Yuxing, you mentioned adding rock sugar when caramelizing sugar for braised pork. How do you control the heat?"

In the communal kitchen on the first floor of Polar Star Dormitory, Hojo Miyoko was helping to chop scallions while turning to ask Chen Yuxing, who was tossing the wok.

"When caramelizing sugar, you must use low heat to avoid burning and making it bitter. After that, wait until the rock sugar melts and turns into a dark reddish-brown color and starts to bubble, then add a little boiling water and stir well. Then wait for two or three minutes until the color stabilizes, and it's ready to use."

Chen Yuxing deftly flipped the iron wok, the bright red pork belly constantly being stir-fried in the wok, emitting an enticing aroma of oil.

"Ah-Xing, all the ingredients you requested are ready." Tadokoro Megumi walked over with a small plate.

"Just put it next to me," Chen Yuxing replied while tossing the wok. "Xiao Hui, while you're at it, turn the heat down a bit to reduce the sauce."

The three of them worked together very well in the kitchen, just as the pork belly was about to be taken out of the pot.

With a loud bang, the door to the Polaris Dormitory was forcefully opened.

Yoshino Yuuki burst through the door of the Polar Star Dormitory, holding an envelope in her hand, her face beaming with excitement.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! Everyone come and see!"

Yoshino Yuuki shouted at the top of her lungs, and everyone who heard the noise came down to see what was going on.

"Yuuki, what good news have you heard this time?" Daigo Aoki walked over with a glass of water.

"Look at this! It just arrived this morning!" Yoshino Yuuki excitedly placed the letter on the table. The envelope was stamped with the red wax seal of the Totsuki Academy Food Wars Bureau. "Autumn Selection! These are the questions for the preliminary rounds of the Autumn Selection Tournament!"

Upon hearing the words "Autumn Selection," everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around.

Soma Yukihira also rushed down from upstairs.

"What?! What's the question? Quick, open it and see!" Soma Yukihira's eyes lit up.

The Autumn Selection Tournament is an elimination-style cooking competition held annually at Totsuki Academy in early autumn to select outstanding students based on their usual performance. It is also an important competition for first-year students, and those who can stand out from this competition are basically guaranteed a place in the Elite Ten.

Furthermore, the judges for the autumn selection competition are different from those of ordinary ones. The judges are composed of high-level figures in the culinary industry, so this is also a platform to showcase whether the contestants can achieve great success in the future.

Yoshino Yuuki took a deep breath and carefully opened the envelope, pulling out a card from inside.

Everyone crowded around, their eyes all focused on the line of text on the card.

Yoshino Yuuki swallowed hard and read it aloud: "The 92nd Autumn Selection Tournament of Totsuki Academy, the unified theme for the preliminary round is 'Curry Dishes'."

"Curry...dish?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment when they heard this.

"Why is it curry?" Shoji Sato asked, somewhat puzzled. "Isn't curry usually made by cooking curry cubes or curry paste and then serving it with white rice?"

“Don’t be silly, Shoji.” Marui Zenji squeezed in at some point, pushed up his glasses and explained, “There are thousands of types of curry. It originated in India, but it’s famous throughout Asia. There are also curries in Europe and America that have been adapted to local tastes, so it’s no longer just the simple Indian curry sauce.”

Ultimately, curry is essentially a mixture of various spices.

“Marui is right.” Isshiki Satoshi walked over with a teacup, looking at everyone with a smile. “This time, the test isn’t just about making simple curry, but about your ability to control spices. If you’re just making simple curry rice, you definitely won’t pass the preliminary round.”

"A mix of spices... there are too many kinds, I can't think of any good ideas right now..." Soma Yukihira scratched his head.

"There are too many kinds, and I'm at a loss for what to do," Soma Yukihira said, scratching his head and clicking his tongue.

"Actually, it's just about using spices to complement sauces in cooking." Chen Yuxing tidied up the kitchen counter and came out carrying a plate of braised pork. "Dishes with a strong or spicy flavor should be fine. The focus of this preliminary round should be on how to harmonize the spices and ingredients."

Everyone quieted down and started thinking. The topic sounded very simple, but creating a work that would truly impress the judges was probably not so easy.

Miyoko Hojo turned to look at Chen Yuxing thoughtfully and said, "Chen Yuxing, I remember that curry isn't used very often in Chinese cuisine, is it? What kind of curry would you like to make?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him.

Chen Yuxing put the braised pork on the table and wiped his hands with a tissue.

“Who says there’s no curry in Chinese food?” He found a stool, sat down, smiled, and explained, “Chinese food is very inclusive. There’s Hong Kong-style curry, curry beef offal, and even curry seafood that incorporates local spices. These are all curry dishes.”

"Spice... Ah! I suddenly remembered that my dad mentioned it once when he came here before. He said that he was very familiar with Jun Shiomi, the spice professor at Totsuki Academy. She's the one who was a judge for Hoshino in the Food Wars, right? Dad said that we can ask her if there's anything. Do you want to go and take a look together?"

“Speaking of which, Professor Shiomi Jun was also a resident of the Polar Star Dormitory before. She should be Mr. Joichiro’s junior, right?” Isshiki Satoshi added.

“In that case, we should definitely go and ask. I’m quite familiar with Professor Shiomi Jun, and he even participated in Hoshino’s food battle before. I hope we won’t be kicked out,” Ryoko Sakaki said. “However, it might not be good for too many people to go at once, since it’s the professor’s research institute…”

“Then I’ll go with Soma. After all, Professor Shiomi Jun has tasted my cooking, and he also knows Mr. Joichiro,” Chen Yuxing suggested.

“Um…I want to go too…” Tadokoro Megumi raised her hand, “I’m not very familiar with spices, so I want to come along and take a look…”

“I’ll come too.” Miyoko Hojo also came out.

Soma Yukihira turned to look at her: "Hojo, you're interested in curry too?"

"I have been researching the application of spices. After all, Sichuan cuisine uses just as many spices as other cuisines. This research project is also related to my previous research direction."

Miyoko Hojo glanced back at Chen Yuxing. "When I was a child in Yokohama Chinatown, there was an Indian spice shop next door. I grew up smelling those things, which made me very interested in the use of spices."

“Let’s go together then, four people is just right,” Chen Yuxing decided.

After agreeing on the terms, the four of them greeted everyone and left the Polar Star Dormitory together, following the signs along the way.

They quickly found the Spice Research Institute, which was a huge area with several greenhouses and cultivation rooms for different spices on the outside and a research institute that looked like a warehouse at the very back.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Soma Yukihira exclaimed, looking at the place in front of him.

“After all, this is the research institute of Totsuki Academy. It’s completely different from those student-run clubs.” Chen Yuxing took the lead and walked in, knocking on the door. “These research institutes are founded by professors and funded by Totsuki. They are real culinary research institutions.”

"Excuse me, is this Professor Jun Shiomi's research institute? We've come to visit Professor Jun Shiomi."

Chapter 61 Spice Research Institute

The door wasn't even fully closed; Chen Yuxing simply knocked and it opened. Inside was a somewhat messy room, with documents and books scattered everywhere, and colorful spice jars piled in the corner.

There was a wonderful, complex scent in the air, like a mixture of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and some other spices I couldn't identify.

"What an amazing aroma..." Miyoko Hojo couldn't help but take a deep breath. She was also very good at curry cooking and was familiar with spices, but the smells in this room were so complicated that she couldn't recognize them all.

In the very center of the room, a young girl wearing a short-sleeved tracksuit and with her hair in a ponytail was sitting on the floor, holding a mortar and pestle and carefully crushing something.

The rich aroma emanated from the mortar and pestle in her hand.

She looked up as she heard the door open, only to see Chen Yuxing and the other three push the door open and come in. She almost dropped the mortar and pestle in her hand, and her eyes were full of panic.

"Ah! We have...we have guests! Why didn't you tell us beforehand..." Shiojian Run hurriedly put down what he was holding and stood up in a flustered manner. As a result, he tripped over his own feet and fell down with a thud.

"I'm so sorry! The room isn't tidied up yet, and the floor is a complete mess... I'll go make you some tea first! I'm sorry, I'm not very quick-witted and always mess things up..." She quickly got up from the floor and bowed to the group while apologizing.

The four of them were somewhat at a loss when they saw her reaction. After all, Shiomi Jun in front of them looked like a middle school girl, and it was hard to associate her with the title of "spice authority". However, she did fit the title of "the youngest professor in Totsuki".

Chen Yuxing, who had seen Shiomi Jun before at Food Wars, was also a little surprised to see her. When he saw Professor Shiomi Jun from the judges' panel, he just thought she was a bit short, but he didn't expect her to be so petite up close.

"It's alright, it's alright. We came without prior notice, so we're the ones who should be apologizing!"

Seeing Shiomi Jun apologizing repeatedly, Tadokoro Megumi quickly took out her homemade cookies and went over to him.

"Um... these are some snacks we made ourselves. Please accept them if you don't mind, as an apology for the sudden inconvenience."

"Eh? No, no, no... I can't accept this... It's clearly my fault for not being hospitable enough..."

Shiomi Jun waved her hands repeatedly when she saw the delicate cookies, and her face turned bright red.

Seeing the two of them stuck in a vicious cycle of apologizing to each other at the door, Chen Yuxing sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Hojo Miyoko also looked at them speechlessly.

Yukihira Soma looked at Shiomi Jun in front of him for a moment. Perhaps because she had changed her clothes and looked quite different from when she was in Food Wars, he didn't recognize her and asked directly, "Little sister, is Professor Shiomi Jun inside? We've come to visit her."

Just as Chen Yuxing was about to say something, Shiomi Jun, who was making tea for everyone, suddenly changed her demeanor. Her previous social anxiety disappeared, and she turned to look angrily at Yukihira Soma, saying, "I am Shiomi Jun, but I just eat too many spices, so I look very young!"

"Hey! You're Professor Shiomi Jun?! My dad said you're his junior and that he allowed me to come and visit you." Yukihira Soma scratched his head, somewhat surprised.

"Who is your father?" Shioji Jun asked with some confusion.

"Caibo City One..."

Before Yukihira could finish speaking, a visible black killing intent suddenly erupted from Shiomi Jun, who had previously appeared very kind.

Chen Yuxing's eyelids twitched, and almost instinctively he took a big step to the side away from Yukihira Soma, while also pulling Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko, who were somewhat stunned, back as well.

next second.

"boom!!!"

Suddenly, Shiomi Jun rushed in front of Yukihira Soma, his right hand gripping the weapon tightly, and with a whooshing sound, he unleashed a Rozan Rising Dragon Fist that struck Yukihira Soma's chin.

The force of the punch was extraordinary. Before Soma Yukihira could even scream, he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, spinning 360 degrees in mid-air before crashing into a pile of documents and losing consciousness on the spot.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko were both completely stunned, their mouths agape, but they couldn't utter a single word.

Chen Yuxing calmly took out his phone and snapped a bunch of photos of Yukihira Soma lying on the ground, convulsing.

Looking at the album full of photos of Soma Yukihira unconscious, he nodded in satisfaction. Everyone in the Polaris Dormitory would definitely be very interested in these.

Shiomi Jun was still in a fist-pumping stance, her chest heaving violently, her face clouded with rage as she gritted her teeth and shouted at Yukihira Soma, "Get out of here right now! This place doesn't welcome the son of some Saiba-senpai! I don't want to remember anything about that devilish senpai!!!"

“But… Professor…” Tadokoro Megumi raised her hand tremblingly, pointing to Yukihira Soma on the ground, “Soma-kun… seems to have lost consciousness, and for the time being… he might not be able to get out…”

Just as the scene was becoming awkward and chaotic, a questioning voice came from outside the door.

"Run, I'm back... What are you all doing..."

A dark-skinned boy with silver-gray hair walked in carrying two large bags of daily necessities.

As soon as he entered, he glanced at Soma Yukihira, whose life or death was unknown on the ground, and frowned slightly. Then his gaze swept over Megumi Tadokoro and Miyoko Hojo before finally settling on Yuxing Chen.

"Oh? Isn't this Chen Yuxing, the 'uncrowned tyrant' who's been making headlines these past few days? What brings you to our Spice Research Institute all of a sudden?" His voice held a hint of surprise and a touch of wariness.