Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 231 Not a Taoist Priest, But a Cosplayer: The Theme Draw for "Eastern Region 3" (Second Update)
"That uncle's cursing posture is kind of cool, he must be a real Taoist priest!"

Qiao Ruoning's eyes lit up, and she said with a smile.

Xia Ming was slightly confused. Was this even possible?

Isn't it said that those who cultivate Taoism are not allowed to get angry?
Just as she was wondering if it was some kind of joke, she saw the middle-aged man suddenly turn around and glance at Qiao Ruoning.

"Young lady, you have good taste. It's a pity this isn't a Taoist robe, it's a cosplay outfit!"

Have you ever heard of Wang Ye of Wudang, Feng Hou Qi Men?

As he spoke, the uncle turned his back, revealing a large "Above One Person" logo printed on the back of his robe.

In that instant, everyone in the room was stunned, and even Xia Ming fell silent, a rare occurrence for him.

After a while, Qiao Ruoning reached out and touched her forehead.

"Who dresses Wang Ye like that?!"

"Alright, seeing is believing. I know who he is now."

As she spoke, Qiao Ruoning looked at Xia Ming beside her, then leaned closer to him and whispered her introduction.

"Xia Ming, this should be 'COS Chef' Luo Hui. This uncle's background is quite amazing. He started as an office worker and was a second-generation anime fan."

"Then one day he saw someone on TV recreating dishes from anime, and he thought he could do it too, so he tried to make it, and unsurprisingly he failed."

"After failing, this guy went crazy. He quit his job and enrolled in a course specifically for this purpose. At first, everyone thought he was joking. Then..."

Just as Qiao Ruoning was saying "then," Luo Hui had already walked up to Jing Ran.

"Looking at him with his greasy hair and powdered face, how come he does nothing right!"

"You know this girl, yet you flirt with her! Come on, come on, flirt with me!"

Jing Ran was stunned when he saw Luo Hui's stubble as he leaned closer.

He comes from a well-off family and considers himself to be a gentleman when he goes out. He's never seen anyone so shameless!

A chill ran down my spine, and I immediately hid to the side.

Seeing that he had chased Jing Ran away, Luo Hui also turned around and glanced at Hu Xing.

"There are a lot of bad people out there. Don't be fooled by their appearance. If you need to refuse, then refuse. Don't be shy."

That's what they say, but someone who's a regular anime fan could tell at a glance that Hu Xing might be a bit socially awkward, so he also sat on the other side.

Seeing his actions, Qiao Ruoning secretly gave him a thumbs up.

"Then, this guy took the exam all the way up to Hua 4 without ever being ranked. Although it was a bit bumpy and he was not young anymore, he found a new point of convergence between his hobby and his career."

"Now, he has a 'gourmet coffee shop' in the Dahu District. The shop not only has coffee maids, but also some anime-style dishes."

"Sometimes, he'll cosplay as a character and cook for the diners while performing, so you could call it a 'specialty restaurant'!"

Of course, that's what she said, but Qiao Ruoning knew in her heart that being able to pass the "Hua Level 4" exam was not easy in itself, and her basic skills were definitely not a problem.

Xia Ming noticed that when Qiao Ruoning was quietly talking to him, Luo Hui would glance at Qiao Ruoning at certain intervals.

"That's interesting. This uncle seems to have pretty good hearing, and as for the person himself, he seems to be a fairly decent person."

Xia Ming smiled, ignored Jing Ran beside him, and continued to look at the door.

Right after the dispute over the venue ended, the person who opened the door this time was someone Xia Ming knew.

"Hi, Xia Ming, good morning~ Wait, Qiao Ruoning, what are you doing here too?"

Zheng Zeqian, dressed in a rather simple spring outfit and sporting a small dark circle under his eyes, greeted the two of them. Xia Ming, seeing this, gestured for him to come and sit down.

Zheng Zeqian didn't mince words in response.

Leaning against Xia Ming, Zheng Zeqian finally understood the current relationship between Qiao Ruoning and Xia Ming.

Seeing Zheng Zeqian's slightly dark circles, Xia Ming smiled and asked him if he was still working as a gaming companion.

Zheng Zeqian waved his hand in response.

"No, since last time I've switched to being a teacher, like the tutors you often see in anime!"

“Teaching someone a dish, or basic cooking skills, and charging by the session or by the hour, I earn much more than before.” Xia Ming pointed to his dark circles and asked what happened. Zheng Zeqian replied that it was from working overtime.

"Yesterday, I earned more than half a month's salary in one night by giving a private lesson that cost 1000 yuan per hour, from 8 a.m. to 4 a.m.!"

"When Ms. Li left, she left me a reservation fee of 2000 yuan, saying she'd come again next time~"

Looking at Zheng Zeqian's appearance, Qiao Ruoning seriously suspected that this guy was not just a cook.

Xia Ming could tell that he didn't make any other moves. After all, his arm muscles were trembling slightly, but his thighs and calves were very steady, which was not typical of male models.

As they were talking, the door was pushed open again, and this time more than a dozen people came in at once.

Upon seeing Xia Ming, many of them wore solemn expressions, while only Chen Xiaodong, standing in the middle, was overjoyed.

"Xia Ming, you've finally arrived!"

Xia Ming blinked as he looked at Chen Xiaodong in front of him.

"Who are you again?"

Chen Xiaodong felt like a million curses were running through his mind, and he wished he could just raise his hand and give Xia Ming a good beating.

What do you mean, "who am I"? I am Chen Xiaodong!
I don't remember "One Meal Makes You Famous"!
You have a bunch of tails that come looking for me every day, don't you remember?
Of course, even though he was conflicted, Chen Xiaodong still didn't actually say it.

Xia Ming naturally remembered Chen Xiaodong, but the reason he asked that question was mainly to see how Chen Xiaodong would react.

Seeing that he was indeed less arrogant than before, Xia Ming smiled.

"I remember now, Chen Xiaodong, right?"

Chen Xiaodong nodded, gave Xia Ming a deep look, then shook his head and sat down to the side.

It was obvious that he judged that he couldn't beat Xia Ming, or even Zheng Zeqian sitting next to Xia Ming, so he didn't deliberately sit next to Xia Ming.

Qiao Ruoning glanced at Chen Xiaodong with curiosity.

She didn't really know much about Chen Xiaodong; aside from the data on paper, she mostly knew a few "little stories" about him and Xia Ming.

Qiao Ruoning had never actually asked Xia Ming to verify the specifics of the situation or how much of the so-called challenge was genuine.

Afterwards, they encountered Bai Heng, and also met Yang Yanbin and Lin Chao.
Just as people were heading to the waiting hall one after another
"Beijing District Chefs Association, Interior Room"

After the seven judges passed their identity verification, they activated the AI ​​program in front of them.

There is still one hour before the official live broadcast of the competition begins. According to regulations, in order to prevent the exam questions from being leaked, the exam questions for this "Hua 5 Level" exam will be finalized on the spot only after everyone is together.

Among these seven judges, there were several familiar faces to Xia Ming.

Yin Shengjiang, Tan Zhifeng, Cheng Xieyun.
The reason why Sui Wubai did not come to be an examiner this time is that after cooperating with Xia Ming last time, he immediately exchanged for the "Tou Si Ji" video.

Judging from the timeline, he should be in seclusion conducting research right now, and I heard that his video streaming account has been temporarily suspended.
Seeing the complete map of China appear on the AI ​​screen, Yin Shengjiang nodded to the camera next to him.

"Seniors, we're about to start drawing up the test questions."

"The exam questions were discussed by the seven of us and confirmed by the first five seniors in the video before being finalized."

"The core concept behind this round of 'Hua 5 Level' exams should be 'the extraordinary within the ordinary'."

"After we select the regions, we will need to use them to propose the corresponding main ingredients."

"Since the exam is still an hour away and there are 119 candidates, we need to select the most suitable ingredients possible."

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's begin!"

As he spoke, Yin Shengjiang gestured for Tan Zhifeng to tap on the AI ​​screen next to him.

A flash of light appeared, and the map of China on the screen instantly cracked into countless small pieces, which then began to scroll rapidly in the center of the image.

After spinning for a while, the seven commenters present pressed the button one after another.
Finally, after the markers stopped completely, everyone looked up at the screen.

What was written there was clearly visible.

[Eastern Region 3 - Liaoning Region]

(End of this chapter)