Era: You're asked to cook a home-style dish, but you cook Wellington.

In an instant, thunderous applause erupted, and the entire stadium was filled with cheers.

The audience was thrilled and stood up to applaud.

Zhao Lei, as if he had won a battle, stood on his seat and celebrated loudly.

Only Guo Yun remained, slumped in front of his seat, looking as if he had aged twenty years, his face gaunt and withered.

"Just as I expected."

A smile that looked more like a grimace stretched across his face.

Lin Xiaoyu was extremely puzzled. She turned her head, her small face filled with disbelief.

"No, Chef Guo's dish is completely inedible, how could he have won first place?"

Gao Yang looked at her and replied, word by word.

"Don't you understand now? Zhao Lei bribed the referee."

It was only then that Lin Xiaoyu realized what was going on.

"So that's what Master Guo was after."

He wasn't confused, he wasn't ruining his reputation, and he certainly didn't want to win.

He deliberately ruined the dish, using an inedible dish to test his hypothesis.

Lin Xiaoyu's eyes instantly reddened as she looked at the hunched and haggard figure on the stage, feeling a pang of sadness and bitterness in her heart.

It turns out that Master Guo already knew the judges had been bribed.

Regardless of whether he performs well or not, winning the championship is a stroke of good fortune.

"So what do we do?"

Since the judges have been bribed, the Hongyun Hotel will win the competition regardless of whether there is a competition or not.

In that case, the alleyway hotel would be in danger.

Seeing her like this, Gao Yang suddenly felt that he was being a bit wicked. He had clearly discussed many things, but he could only keep them from Lin Xiaoyu.

However, there was nothing she could do until everything was settled, so Lin Xiaoyu could only shake her head with a solemn expression.

"have no idea."

…………

In the evening, the two returned to the alley hotel and began cleaning.

"Oh my, who do we have here? It's our Master Gao! What's this all this time, all that publicity and you didn't even make it to the finals?"

An untimely voice rang out.

Gao Yang, Lin Xiaoyu, and the other diners all turned to look.

Zhao Lei swaggered into the alleyway hotel, followed by Guo Yun.

However, Guo Yun did not look very well at the moment. He had a scraggly beard and his eyes revealed exhaustion, like a body whose soul had been drained.

Zhao Lei walked slowly around the shop with his hands behind his back, clicking his tongue twice in a sarcastic tone.

"Look at this shabby place, small and old, it can only fool unsuspecting people. It didn't even make it past the preliminaries, so it must be a waste of its skills. Why don't you just transfer the alley hotel to me?"

He paused, then patted Guo Yun on the shoulder, while Guo Yun was so smug he almost floated on air.

"See that? This is Guo Yun, the head chef of Hongyun, who came in first place in the preliminary round! And look at you, what kind of chef are you? That's all you've got!"

Guo Yun trembled slightly when Zhao Lei slapped him, but he kept his head down and remained silent. Deep in the weariness in his eyes was a humiliation that even he himself was unaware of.

Lin Xiaoyu's face turned pale with anger. She took a step forward to speak, but Gao Yang gently stopped her.

Gao Yang put down the rag in his hand, his expression calm, and his gaze passed over Zhao Lei, landing directly on Guo Yun.

His voice was soft, but every word was clear.

"Master Guo, do you really think winning first place in the preliminary round is an honor?"

"boom!"

Gao Yang's voice was like a thunderclap, striking Guo Yun hard.

Guo Yun's body stiffened abruptly.

Zhao Lei's face darkened, realizing something was wrong.

"Gao Yang, stop trying to sow discord!"

He raised his hand, pointed at Gao Yang, and his angry words carried a hint of barely perceptible guilt.

Gao Yang didn't even look at him, still staring at Guo Yun, each word like a heavy hammer striking people's hearts.

"Master Guo, I remember you used aged vinegar in the competition, right?"

Gao Yang's words were like a blunt knife, slowly cutting open the wound that Guo Yun had deliberately kept hidden. His hand, hanging by his side, clenched tightly, his knuckles turned white, and his nails dug deep into his palm. But this pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Lei felt uneasy and immediately stepped forward to block Guo Yun, shouting fiercely but inwardly.

"What's wrong with aged vinegar? What seasonings Chef Guo uses is none of your business. That's Chef Guo's idea. Stop spreading rumors and shut up!"

He thought that this would shut Gao Yang up and also improve his image in front of Guo Yun, killing two birds with one stone.

However, Guo Yun slowly pushed Zhao Lei away, still keeping his head down, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing.

"What do you know? Authentic squirrel mandarin fish never uses aged vinegar. I've been cooking for thirty-four years, I know it better than anyone else."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei's face instantly turned ashen, and the other diners began to murmur amongst themselves, their eyes filled with suspicion as they looked at Zhao Lei.

"This is the owner of their Hongyun Hotel."

"This person is such an amateur! Can they really cook anything well?"

"I'm not going anymore, I'm not going there anymore, I'll never go there again."

The rustling voices reached Zhao Lei's ears.

Zhao Lei's expression changed.

He recognized them as big shots from all walks of life. After they said that, how could Hongyun Hotel survive?

Gao Yang's gaze was deep as he continued speaking to Guo Yun.

"You're not that you don't understand, you're just forced to understand."

"You ruined your best dish with aged vinegar. It's not that your skills have deteriorated, it's that your spirit is half dead."

"You want to see for yourself how Zhao Lei can disregard all culinary rules, turn black into white, and make an inedible dish win first place in order to win."

Every word struck Guo Yun's heart like a hammer blow.

His shoulders trembled violently, and a torrent of emotions surged in his cloudy eyes.

Resentment, grievance, anger, and the desolation of having wasted decades of time.

He still remembers when he first became an apprentice, his master held his hand and gently made incisions on the fish.

"Xiaoyun, let me tell you, we chefs must first be good people before we can make good food; the right taste comes from a right heart."

He recalled the time when Hongyun was just starting out, when diners would finish their fish and thank him with satisfied expressions; those were his proudest moments.

He recalled every little detail of the past, all of which were beautiful memories he repeatedly savored.

However, Zhao Lei has now destroyed all these beautiful memories.

Look at Hongyun's kitchen now, it's a mess of smoke and fumes everywhere. He himself has fallen to the point of being someone who uses things and then discards them. He even has to be careful with the money for his son's wedding.

Finally, he could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks, landing on the back of his rough hands.

"I'm not reconciled!"

"I've cooked my whole life, never cheated a single customer, never wasted a single ingredient. But in the end, I have to cook dishes against my conscience, accept awards that go against my conscience, and watch my life's reputation being trampled underfoot. I'm not reconciled!"

Everyone present felt a pang of sadness, as if a piece of their heart was missing.

"Is there any way to help him?"

With a sob in her voice, Lin Xiaoyu tugged at Gao Yang's clothes and shook him gently.

At this moment, Gao Yang spoke calmly.

"Master Guo, if you're willing, Xiaoxiang Hotel is willing to hire you as head chef with double the salary."