Can you handle my Hikigaya's cooking?

"So that's how it is..."

As if he understood the signal from his heart, Hachiman just smiled indifferently.

At this time, Tansho put his hands on his chest as if he was a little nervous, and said with a sob:

"Actually, Hikigaya-san's cooking is delicious! It's just as good as Joichiro-san's ramen."

"But...but...I think from the bottom of my heart that when I ate the ramen that I thought would be very greasy but turned out to be extremely refreshing, my heart was still shocked like never before, so..."

Hachiman shook his head slightly, with no intention of blaming Tansho.

After all, as my father said, cooking is cooking and has nothing to do with any external factors.

And if you lose, you lose, and no excuses can cover up this fact.

Joichiro smiled and patted Hachiman's shoulder with some pride:

"Hachiman, now you are also defeated."

"How does it feel to fail? Hahaha!"

Hachiman: "Although in a sense I am not afraid of failure, and I even expected this result just now, but... to be honest, this time it is a bit uncomfortable."

Although he couldn't understand the signals coming from his heart, there was one thing he understood.

If you don't win when you can, it will be painful no matter what.

People are all the same. Most of the time, they don't want to fail. No matter how used to it they are, they cannot resist their physiological nature.

This has nothing to do with rational or emotional reasons, it's simply because we are human.

Isshiki: "Well, Hikigaya-kun, I really think you're amazing to be able to be only one point behind Mr. Joichiro."

Granny Wenxu: "Well, compared to Chengyilang's cooking, it's more suitable for old people like us."

Ryoko: "Well, if you work harder in the future, you can surpass your father!"

Faced with these encouragements, Hachiman still shook his head calmly, but his eyes were firmly fixed on Shiroichiro.

However, Shiroichiro raised his hand lazily, stretched his waist, and then said casually:

"I said everything I needed to say yesterday. Now, the only thing I can give you is the cooking principle. At least now, your cooking seems very interesting."

"So? Did you find the answer?"

Hachiman smiled faintly:

“I can’t find it at all...”

"But I will continue on this path."

"And Dad, you didn't use your full strength."

"Next time, I will win."

Seeing Hachiman reveal such a strong desire to win for the first time, not only everyone but even Hachiman's biological father, Shiroichiro was completely stunned. In his memory, Hachiman was a child who did not fight or compete since he was born. Although he was very obedient, in a sense, he had lost all ability to resist.

The tenacity revealed by Hachiman now is definitely the result of getting rid of his weakness, and that transformation will surely take his cooking to a higher level.

Because he had no passion or motivation for cooking in the past, all he did was what any ordinary chef would do.

But he is different now.

After seeing through the deep darkness, he was able to rise up in resistance and be kind to the world. Without the need for any reason, Hikigaya Hachiman will only continue on this path. This is also his own choice.

No matter the family, no reason needed, no matter the purpose.

Just to follow your heart, that's enough.

Witnessing the growth of your own children is definitely a very happy thing. For the past Hachiman, Shiroichiro missed too much, because he himself still had too many unfinished things, and it was not easy to take care of his children without worries.

And now, as a father and son, everything has been made clear about cooking. Witnessing this moment of growth, Shiroichiro's heart is deeply shocked.

He firmly believed that if he was given more time, his two children, Hikigaya Komachi and Hikigaya Hachiman, would definitely write a new chapter for the culinary world of this world and would definitely take two paths with different endings from his own.

From beginning to end, he was just a father, an educator, and a bystander.

This is enough.

Joichiro:

“Remember, only when you give everything to the food will the food give you feedback.”

"I'll be waiting for you. Before you lose to me next time, don't lose to anyone in Totsuki Academy."

Chapter 76: Autumn Selection List, Erina is Misunderstood

It seemed like just a short stop, and Shiroichiro did not choose to continue in Totsuki.

After the duel with Hachiman, Shiroichiro looked at Hachiman tacitly and didn't say anything more.

Just as he said at the time, everything that could be said had been expressed through food, and the next step forward was for him to walk on his own. Hachiman, who understood this, did not try to keep him.

Although many things are still hard to accept, and there are various mysteries waiting for him to solve, perhaps he will know them one day in the near future.

But now... Hachiman, who had already found the way, just took a deep breath.

Although I don’t have such a grand dream, but for now... I’ll just try to surpass my dad.

On the other side, Shiroichiro had already packed his luggage in advance. After giving Hachiman the last lesson, he picked up the suitcase with a calm expression.

"Are you leaving now?"

The voice coming from behind was naturally from Grandma Wenxu. After noticing his actions, she was a little angry. It was true that Ichiro Bijo came back too little, and it was rare for him to come back, but he only stayed for such a short time. Compared with Dojima Gin next door, there was really a world of difference.

Joichiro: "Well, staying here any longer may not be a good thing for him."

“People can only grow in difficult times. If you always live in the sunshine, you will never succeed.”

Granny Wenxu: "Even so, it would be good to give him some more advice. In my opinion, he still knows too little about the profession of chef. He is obviously your child..."

In response to Granny Wenxu's words, Cheng Yilang just shook his head:

"Although he is my child, I don't want him to follow my footsteps. If so, everything will be meaningless. I hope he can climb up step by step like he is doing now."

Perhaps she was a little bit overwhelmed by Cheng Yilang, so Granny Wenxu just put her hands on her waist and said unhappily:

"You're such a failure as a father."

“Hahahahaha, now that you mention it…it seems like you’re not wrong.”

The two smiled at each other again, and Grandma Wenxu understood Chengichiro's inner thoughts very well. In addition, he was a laissez-faire guy, so it was not surprising that he would make such a choice.

but...

Since Hachiman is his child, as long as he stays in Polaris Dormitory, Shiroichiro will come back one day. Grandma Wenxu is not afraid of this.

"Well, I wish you a safe journey. I will take good care of Hachiman."

"Well, thank you for your help, Wenxu."

"Don't call me by my first name, asshole!"

With the two of them pulling and tugging, Shiroichiro left under Wenxu's gaze, and Hachiman, who was standing on the rooftop, also witnessed his departure from high above.

Just as he had imagined, Shiroichiro was still as cool and unrestrained as ever. After simply waving his hand, he left without any hesitation.

...

In the private car, Hisako was reporting to Erina about the work she had missed due to the school trip. Because of the failure of the bet with Yukinoshita, she would face Yukinoshita's challenges at any time, not only in work and cooking, she almost never stopped.

It can be said that Erina has not had a good rest recently. No matter how arrogant she is, she will never look down on Yukinoshita's existence, because she is indeed qualified to compete with her for a place in the top ten, so...

Even in such a high-pressure situation, Erina still often becomes distracted, just like now, when Hisako beside her keeps reporting the current situation, but Erina's mind keeps emerging from the quarrel she had with Hikigaya.

She obviously won every time, but she still felt unwilling in her heart. Why?

Even though Erina thought that the other party was not even a chef, his figure still appeared in her mind in the middle of the night, making her feel uneasy for a long time.

Why is it?

She just stared blankly at the car window, not knowing whether it was because she was too focused or too distracted, in the blink of an eye, she actually saw Hikigaya's figure appear outside the car window, but...

Because the car was going too fast, it only flashed by.

Erina put her hand on her chin, trying to ignore it, but...

"get off!"

Just now, she seemed to have noticed a figure that concerned her more. It was her idol in the photos she had collected.

"Eh?"

It seemed that she didn't react. Hisako just looked at Erina in a daze. Although the driver was stunned for a moment, he soon stopped.

After parking the car, Erina suddenly opened the door, but there was no one to be seen on this road...

"No...huh?"

Feishazi also caught up at this time:

"Erina-sama, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing..."

After getting in the car again, Erina was completely unable to concentrate. She believed that what had just happened was just an illusion. After all, it was impossible for her to see her guide in Totsuki. He had retired from the culinary industry more than 20 years ago, and Erina herself had only met him once.

Although there are legends about him circulating among the people, how many people have actually seen him in person?

only..

What Erina couldn't understand was why she thought Hikigaya was that person?

This question was buried in her heart again.

...

In the few days after Shiroichiro left, Hachiman's life seemed a lot calmer. He spent most of his time in classes, but speaking of classes, they were much more exciting than those in junior high school. Perhaps it was because of the Polaris Dormitory, he thought he would spend his break time alone again, but now he had someone to keep him company. In his spare time, he continued to study cooking, honing his basic skills while studying cooking books. He even learned new cooking techniques from seniors Isshiki, Ibusaki and others.

The so-called progress cannot be forced. If you force it too much, it will have the opposite effect. However, for a young person like Hachiman, because he knows nothing, no matter where he starts, he seems to make rapid progress.

Of course, due to the reasons after the school trip, there were not many students left in the first grade of Totsuki Academy. The original class no longer existed and was reorganized into classes ABCD.

As expected, Hikigaya was assigned to Class A. Because of his outstanding performance on the school trip, he directly attracted the attention of the school's top management. There were many familiar faces in Class A, such as Alice, Alice's little follower, Yukinoshita, Hayama, Takumi and his younger brother Isami, and Mito.

Most of the students in Polaris Dormitory were assigned to Class B, but even so, it did not affect their relationship. For example, during the course activities, they were like monkeys shuttling back and forth, constantly running between the two classes.

Since returning from the school trip, Yukinoshita seems to have turned back into the cold Yukinoshita. Most of the time, the two of them don't have any communication. No... I can't say it's with Hachiman, it's better to say that everyone in the class is the same, but...

Sometimes, when the school arranged group classes, Yukinoshita would consciously come to Hachiman's side. Yes... at this time, since Hachiman himself was not able to form a team, he didn't say much.

Only at this time can I hear Yukinoshita's words:

"Eh? Zombie-kun, has your hand recovered? You can actually move freely."

Perhaps because he had gradually gotten used to it, Hachiman didn't say anything, but every time at this time, he would respond:

"Yes Yes Yes."

I thought I would see the classic duel between the two women, but surprisingly, Erina seemed to not need to attend classes at all. She just put her name on Class A every day and then disappeared completely.

She is indeed a very busy person, but that does not deny that she is a very troublesome person.

This period of time passed quite quickly, and before he knew it, Hachiman had been exposed to cooking for nearly three months. Although he had only participated in one food battle, he did feel his own progress in Totsuki Academy, and within this month, he gradually developed his own cuisine. He no longer cooked by simply imitating and emulating others, but relied on his own abilities and knowledge.

This is already a very important step for Hachiman.

On a normal day, when the alarm rang, the whole school was in an uproar.

"Hey, hey, hey! The list of names for the autumn auditions is out!"

"I know, I know, get over there!"

"I think it's finally my turn this time. I've been working hard for this for a long time!"

"Come on, you're a complete novice with your skill level."

"Okay, okay, I'll shut your mouth with facts later."

In just a few minutes, the news spread all over the campus. Although Hachiman had never heard of the so-called autumn auditions, he had heard enough about it in this month, so...

It's more or less understandable.

Ryoko: "Hikigaya! Mito! Come out quickly, let's go and see the list of names for the autumn auditions!"