My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Wayne chuckled and said, "If I really have to say what I'll miss, it's you~"

The noblewomen of the kingdom often went to great lengths to outdo each other in their attire, even adorning the hems of their skirts with gold and silver threads; however, the young girls' clothing had a different charm, not pursuing expensive ornaments and accessories, but rather showing unique ingenuity in many small details.

Of course, this doesn't mean it's not expensive.

Noticing Wayne's admiring and greedy gaze fixed on her figure, Goli found it hard to resist.

"Don't look anymore!" she said angrily.

"Okay, okay, I won't look." Wayne immediately covered his eyes with his hands. "I won't look at you anymore. Don't rush off, talk to me a little longer."

Under Chris's dominance, there were very few opportunities to spend time alone with Ge Li during the day, let alone go out for fun.

If it weren't for the guise of a group activity, it would be difficult to find a suitable time throughout the year.

Hearing his shameless yet somewhat pitiful tone, Ge Li said with a sense of helplessness, "Aren't you worried about Chris seeing us now?"

"..."

Can I say I'm not worried?

Finding that he was unable to refute the silence, Ge Li sneered and then turned and left without hesitation.

Silently lowering his hands that had been covering his eyes, Wayne saw that the person was gone, leaving only the deep-colored winter leaves swaying slowly in the breeze.

A faint, almost inaudible sigh escaped her lips: "Has spring not yet arrived?"

……

When Wayne found Chris in the crowd, she was excitedly taking out her pen and paper from her small handbag.

Incidentally, this small crossbody bag made of light gray fabric was hand-sewn by Chris.

Compared to the jewelry she usually wears, this small crossbody bag is really out of place, but despite its unassuming appearance, it is the special item that has been with Chris the longest.

In order to constantly remind herself of the unfortunate future that may lead to a disastrous end, and also to ensure that she has the most basic ability to cope when facing a crisis, Chris rarely leaves it at home when she is out.

—The reasons mentioned above were all revealed by Chris herself.

Although these reasons may sound far-fetched, it is undeniable that they have provided crucial support in many situations.

The same applies to this very moment.

“Anonymous voting! I will give each student a small slip of paper, and then everyone should write down the name of their favorite food and put it in this little box.” She shook the square wooden box she had somehow acquired. “After everyone has voted, I will announce the vote count on the spot and select the real golden dessert!”

Her eyes were full of anticipation for the final result.

Chris was even more delighted when she caught a glimpse of Wayne behind the crowd.

“Wayne! You’ve come at the right time.” She strode up to Wayne and, without a word, shoved the wooden box into his arms.

"To ensure fairness, let Wayne announce the final vote count."

Before Wayne could figure out what was going on, Chris conscripted him. Somewhat bewildered, he also picked up the wooden box and shook it to his ear.

It's empty.

He immediately realized that his action was foolish.

"Ahem." Without making a sound, Wayne put down the wooden box and casually asked, "What are you judging? What 'golden dessert'?"

The equally excited members of the Lily Society around him offered their explanations.

It turned out that Chris was the first to propose sponsoring a prize for the best dessert shop at the gathering, and then several students from well-off families responded enthusiastically, so everyone was forced to hold this vote.

"Doesn't Wangdu have a cooking competition?"

The once-a-decade culinary competition, hosted and organized by the royal family, is one of Lornes' traditional grand celebrations.

It is said that the initial purpose of the event was to encourage people to value food and promote public interest in improving cooking methods. However, to date, its manifestation has completely deviated from its original intention—food has also become one of the luxuries used for comparison and ostentation.

Chris replied nonchalantly, "A cooking competition is a cooking competition, and Lily Society certification is Lily Society certification~ Dear pastry chefs, tell me, do you want this prize money or not!"

The eagerly awaiting representatives from various stores stood in a row not far away, and upon hearing this, they all shouted in unison: "--Want it!"

Many people who hadn't participated but had been chatting nearby were also attracted by the loud commotion and curiously turned around to look.

Chris immediately raised her chin with a proud look, her smugness at having so many followers was obvious.

"Okay, you win."

Holding the box in his arms, Wayne walked to the front and cooperated fully, acting as a behind-the-scenes staff member.

With a happy smile, Chris neatly cut the papers and distributed them to all the students present.

During the distribution process, people continued to want to join, but fortunately, the total number of members in the Lily Society was not large, so there was no shortage of paper.

"You can only write the name of one dessert! Multiple votes for the same dessert will be invalid," Chris reminded her.

After everyone nearby had finished distributing the gifts, Chris looked up slightly and saw Golly Edgeworth standing not too far away, his arms crossed as if he were watching.

After a moment's thought, Chris's smile became even more pronounced.

She stepped forward.

"Miss Kaleidoscope is also interested in this kind of competition? Would you like to vote?"

Chris handed over the paper with a touch of wicked humor, but deliberately didn't extend it to Ge Li.

If they really want to receive it, Ge Li must take the initiative to raise his hand and accept it.

Then, those soft arms that had been resting on her chest were raised just a little bit—

I was so angry.

Ge Li took a deep breath, her chest heaving uncontrollably.

"I have absolutely no interest in this kind of boring, childish game. I hope you have fun, Miss Chris." She subtly mocked Chris for being both boring and childish.

Chris wasn't angry and calmly withdrew her hand.

"Thank you, I really had a lot of fun."

Chapter 565 Off-season crops?

Wien meticulously observed the food presented on the wooden shelves at the front desk of each dessert shop from every angle, his mouth watering as he secretly wondered which tasted better. He was completely unaware that a fire was brewing in the harem.

"The strawberries look pretty good..." he murmured.

"But the mango looks delicious too."

After hesitating for a long time, he suddenly had a sudden realization—

Oh right! It's not like I can only take one thing, so what am I even worrying about?!

In a flash of inspiration, he subconsciously turned around to search for Chris in the crowd, only to find that she was talking to Ge Li.

Both of them had faint smiles on their faces, and they looked quite harmonious.

Wayne, danger!

With a slight parting of his lips, Goli casually said something to Chris, whose face instantly turned extremely ugly, and she turned her head to look at Wayne.

Their eyes met just as Wayne peered out, and they looked at each other from a distance.

Wayne was incredibly nervous, but he still managed to force a naive smile at her.

Oh no! Could it be that Goley secretly poisoned her mind in front of Chris?

Chris strode towards her.

With his hair in a mess of braids, Wayne's body tensed, ready to flee the crime scene at any moment.

"Wayne, what were you doing behind my back just now?"

Chris's expression had lost its previous composure, but she still wanted to get an answer from Wayne; for the time being, there was no volcanic eruption.

Wayne glanced nervously at Ge Li outside the crowd, and unsurprisingly received a meaningful glare from her.

"What are you looking at?" Chris frowned angrily.

Wayne immediately straightened up, chest out and stomach in, his gaze fixed intently on her.

"I didn't do anything just now. I just lay on the grass and spaced out for a while. By the way, the sky is exceptionally clear today—"

"Stop changing the subject." She glared at him fiercely. "I'll settle the score with you after the vote."

Although she was very fierce, Wayne felt relieved after hearing her words.

—If something really important were to be exposed, Chris wouldn't have the mind to care about voting.

He then calmed down considerably.

"Although I don't know if others said something to you, I can say with a clear conscience that I didn't do anything just now," he insisted.

This is absolutely true, and it is not a lie.

Chris snorted and declined to comment.

After everyone had selected and tasted them, the slips of paper were put into the wooden box in front of Wayne.

"Aren't you going to vote yourself?" Chris asked casually, taking a small bite of her dessert.

"Because I like them both so much, I can't decide," Wayne said casually, revealing his true feelings.

“…That’s a bit hard to understand,” Chris said. “Even if you have two equally favorite foods in front of you, you have to choose one to eat first, right?”

Wayne was immediately surprised to realize that this was indeed the case.

but--

"Forget it, I'll just forfeit." Wayne always had an inexplicably persistent attitude in strange ways.

Chris looked at him with a puzzled expression, but didn't press the matter.

After everyone had finished voting, Wayne arranged for the representatives from the dessert shop to stand in a row behind him, and he counted the votes on the spot.

Each time a dessert name is read out, the corresponding dessert shop will step forward to claim it and report its accumulated votes.

The store with the most votes at the end will win a substantial prize.

At this stage, progress was very fast. One by one, the slips of paper were taken out by Wayne and announced to the public, and the differences in the number of votes for the various dessert shops became more and more obvious.

"This is the last one!"

Wayne turned the box upside down and shook it vigorously to show that there were no missing tickets inside.

"This one is for—【Berry Ocean Whirlwind】!" he shouted out the name of this ingenious dessert.

"Twenty-seven votes!" A man in his thirties, wearing a dessert shop uniform, raised his hand excitedly and announced his team's current vote count.

The outcome is decided.

Wayne smiled. "The final winner of this competition is the Starfish Dessert Shop, which provided the 'Berry Ocean Whirlwind' dessert!"

Chris, sitting in the audience, cheered and jeered in perfect unison, "Wow~ Wow~".

"Now it's time for the winners to give their acceptance speeches!" Wayne stepped aside.

The dessert shop chef, his face flushed and looking flustered, didn't know what to say under the gaze of the many privileged young men.

Wayne whispered a reminder to him: "Tell me about your production philosophy, or introduce your shop."

This is a great opportunity for publicity.

After all, the spending potential of these wealthy and leisurely families is not to be underestimated. Especially desserts, which can be used in any occasion as long as the children or the lady of the house like them.

With Wayne's prompting, the seemingly shy pastry chef instantly understood and gave him a grateful look.

"The Starfish Dessert Shop has been operating in the capital since my great-grandfather's time. Thanks to the support of many customers, it has grown many times over today." The man said with a spirited tone, "And this Berry Ocean Whirlwind is one of the new products that I created myself."

He held up a sample placed on a simple wooden stand and said loudly, "Look everyone! This dessert is mainly composed of three parts: cake base, cream, and strawberries. We have put a lot of effort into improving each part, and it tastes different from what you can usually find on the market."

"And the most labor-intensive and crucial element is the out-of-season strawberries that adorn this cream swirl!"

Upon hearing the words "out of season," Wayne's expression changed, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

He looked at Chris and noticed that she was also staring at the pastry chef with a very serious expression.

"As we all know, strawberries are only available in the market in late spring and early summer. Once autumn and winter arrive, almost all dessert shops will remove their signature strawberry products from the shelves and instead look for other alternatives or simply launch new products, waiting for the strawberries to ripen the following year before selling them."

"But our family has found a way to grow fruit that produces off-season fruit in a stable manner. The fruit produced by this method is both fresh and sweet, and has become one of the main features of our Da Hai Xing Dessert Shop."

The man was both happy and proud when he talked about it.

"If any of you gentlemen and ladies wish to purchase fresh fruit from our store, you are welcome to sign a long-term supply contract with our Da Hai Xing Dessert Shop. Your satisfaction is guaranteed!"