Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

the other side.

After grabbing Bai Yuan's hand, Huang Mei moved forward quickly and soon left the school grounds.

The two arrived at a commercial street, where people were bustling around. Fortunately, there were no acquaintances around.

"Chief, could you please not say those things in front of so many people next time? I'll take it seriously! I'll pester you relentlessly, so don't accuse me of insubordination!"

The little girl slowly stopped, panting heavily to calm herself down. Then she glared at Bai Yuan with a complicated expression, seemingly annoyed.

The leader was still as frivolous as ever. The two of them were clearly just in a pure superior-subordinate relationship, yet he gave her flowers in front of so many people and said such ambiguous things.

Of course, she didn't dislike it.

The premise is that Bai Yuan is sincere. Even if she were asked to serve the leader alongside the leader's wife and the others, she would be happy to do so and would even consider it an honor.

But!

She was certain that Bai Yuan didn't have any romantic feelings for her.

She heard that when the other party was teaching Alice Nakiri and the others, they would use punishments that were inappropriate for children.

But when it came to her, even if carelessness led to failure, the other person would gently pat her head and tell her not to be discouraged and to keep trying.

This means that Bai Yuan has no sexual interest in her whatsoever, and most likely only sees her as a younger sister.

I’m really unwilling!

She just developed a little later, resulting in a flat figure, not as impressive as those giant O-shaped monsters, right? Men are all the same!

"Insubordination?"

Bai Yuan was somewhat puzzled upon hearing Huang Mei's words.

Why is this guy suddenly saying all this...?

"Oh, don't worry about that, anyway..."

Seeing Bai Yuan's puzzled expression, Huang Mei realized how rude she had been, but she felt uncomfortable keeping her words to herself, so she simply closed her eyes.

"If you don't intend to take proper responsibility for me, then don't give me flowers in front of so many people!"

I'll feel touched, I'll overthink things, and I'll think you're interested in me!

She poured out all her heart in one breath, and although her voice trembled slightly at the end, her body suddenly felt light.

"I see. So, do you want me to be interested in you or not?"

Bai Yuan placed the flowers in Huang Mei's hand and looked at her with a half-smile, saying something.

"I..."

Looking at the flowers that Bai Yuan forcefully shoved into her hand, and thinking about what she had just said, Huang Mei's face flushed, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment.

I blurted everything out in my haste, how am I supposed to clean this up now?

After listening to those words, the leader even placed flowers in her hand. Was he implying something to her?!

Bai Yuan's simple words stirred up a myriad of thoughts in Huang Mei.

After all, she was young and had absolutely no romantic experience. Before joining the world of dark cuisine, she was the daughter of a fishmonger. Her family was really poor and raised her to be dark and thin. She was not liked by anyone and didn't even have a single male friend.

It wasn't until later that Bai Yuan discovered her and brought her into the world of dark cuisine.

The food has improved, and she looks much more attractive.

Unfortunately, due to malnutrition in her childhood, she can now look down and see her feet directly without any obstruction.

This is also where she lacks the most confidence.

Could she truly be worthy of the White Abyss Leader's affection? Huang Mei asked herself honestly, feeling it was somewhat difficult, after all, the other party's preferences were obvious to all.

She blurted out her true feelings in her haste, and now she doesn't know how to handle the situation.

Should she admit her feelings? What would the leader think of her then? Stubbornly refusing to admit it... seems like a good method, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

As expected of the leader, she easily returned the difficult problem to her!

Thinking of this, Huang Mei glared angrily at Bai Yuan, as if rebuking him for pushing her into this situation, before looking away.

"Regardless of your final choice, let's go eat now. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"

I stood there idly for ages, and it got dark, but I still couldn't see a restaurant. If this continued, I didn't know when I would be able to eat!

"I want to eat mushroom hot pot, the kind from Yunnan!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Huang Mei suddenly looked at him with excitement. This was the dinner she had come up with while absentmindedly making wagashi this afternoon!

"Speaking of mushroom hot pot, I just saw one on my way here. Judging from the sign, it seems to be run by people from Yunnan. They said if it's not authentic, you don't have to pay."

When it came to food, Bai Yuan's expression became noticeably more excited.

Compared to romance, he was more interested in satisfying his appetite.

When it comes to mushroom hot pot, Yunnan is second to none!

That's the province where people hallucinate after eating mushrooms, and insist that it's just because the mushrooms weren't cooked properly!

"Yunnan mushroom hot pot? I'd love to! I've been wanting to try it for ages, but I've never had the chance!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Huang Mei's face lit up with excitement.

"Let's go then, I remember the shop is this way..."

Seeing the excited girl, Bai Yuan also smiled.

He then led her toward a mushroom hot pot restaurant, and soon they arrived at a bustling mushroom hot pot restaurant.

"It looks so lively! I can already smell the delicious aroma of the mushrooms!"

Standing beside Bai Yuan, looking at the scene before her, Huang Mei took a deep breath and said with a look of utter delight.

"It truly tastes like authentic Yunnan mushroom hot pot. The broth is made from free-range chicken, old duck, and ham bones, and is light with minimal seasoning, highlighting the freshness of the mushrooms."

The mushrooms in the pot included not only common varieties like green-headed mushrooms, chanterelles, milk-cap mushrooms, and bamboo fungus, but also more prized and flavorful species such as matsutake, termite mushrooms, morels, and porcini.

With a slight exertion of his super sense of smell, Bai Yuan was able to detect the components of the pot bottom.

Hearing his words, Huang Mei looked at him with immense admiration.

As expected of Teacher Bai Yuan, he obtained the shop's secret recipe with just a slight twitch of his nose!

"It's not good to just stand at the door, let's go inside."

He clapped his hands to attract Huang Mei's attention.

"I saw someone ordering tripe and duck blood at the door, let's add some too."

"That's perfect! What's the point of eating hot pot without tripe?!"

As they were talking, Bai Yuan grabbed Huang Mei's wrist and led her into the shop.

Huang Mei did not resist, but looked around excitedly, just like a child being taken out by his parents to see the world.

However, Huang Mei did not resist the role because she had always treated Bai Yuan as an older brother, and what he did was normal to her.

Of course, whether this brother-sister relationship changed during their time together is unknown.

"Welcome, two guests."

Upon seeing Bai Yuan and Huang Mei arrive at the door, the greeter called out loudly.

"Please come this way, guest."

Upon hearing the greeting at the door, a waiter immediately came out to greet them and led the two to a table in a corner of the restaurant.

Is this side okay?

Because business is booming, there are very few empty tables in the shop. The table in front of us is the last one left because Bai Yuan and Huang Mei arrived by chance.

"Okay, bring the menu over."

Bai Yuan looked at Huang Mei and, seeing her nod slightly, spoke to the waiter.

"Please take a look. Our soup base is standardized here. It is made by simmering free-range chicken, old duck, and pork bones. It has a rich flavor but a relatively light taste, which can bring out the flavor of the mushrooms themselves very well."

Upon seeing this, the waiter immediately handed over the menu while explaining the situation.

This also made Huang Mei's eyes light up.

"Beef tripe, duck blood, high-calcium mutton, meatballs, shrimp paste..."

Bai Yuan glanced at the menu below and quickly ordered his food.

Because this is a mushroom hot pot specialty store, the soup base and mushrooms are sold as a package deal.

The waiter asked him to order, and he ordered ingredients other than mushrooms. Of course, he could have added more mushrooms, but Bai Yuan didn't. He got tired of eating too many mushrooms, so he ordered some common ingredients for hot pot.

"OK, just a second."

As they were talking, the waiter took back the menu, and soon various ingredients were brought to Bai Yuan's front, with a copper pot of mushrooms cooking in the center.

"Excuse me, where do you put the chopsticks here?"

The mushroom hot pot and ingredients were served, but there were no chopsticks. Huang Mei wondered if the waiter had forgotten them, so she stood up and looked at the waiter in confusion.

"The mushrooms cannot be eaten if they are not fully cooked. We will bring the chopsticks over when the alarm goes off. Please understand."

The waiter offered a slightly apologetic explanation, then placed a small alarm clock in front of Bai Yuan and Huang Mei, and brought chopsticks when the alarm rang.

"It seems to be genuine Yunnan mushrooms."

Seeing the waiter's apologetic expression and wary demeanor, Bai Yuan spoke up.

"The ingredients in our shop are all air-freighted, so the prices are relatively high, but you can rest assured that the taste is definitely worth the money!"

However, all of this depends on the premise that they have been cooked.

What happens if you eat it undercooked?

Hearing the waiter's words, Huang Mei's voice was tinged with curiosity, while the waiter simply smiled apologetically at her.

He seemed reluctant to reveal anything.

"It might allow you to meet your great-grandmother directly."

Bai Yuan glanced at Huang Mei and said in a casual tone.

"Huh? Is it that serious!? I... I suddenly remembered I have some things to take care of at home, and this meal doesn't seem absolutely necessary..."