Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　But how do I bring this up?

　Zhou Tai fell into deep thought.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, may I ask you a question?"

　Just as Zhou Tai was pondering how to begin, and Bai Yuan was preparing to get up and leave.

　Tadokoro Megumi appeared in front of him. She looked up, her expression a little embarrassed, but she still mustered up the courage to ask him a question.

　Unfortunately, Bai Yuan had clearly stated that the competition required relying on one's own strength to verify what one had learned during this period, so it was best not to ask him for advice.

　However, keeping a problem bottled up for too long can easily turn into a knot in one's heart, so after struggling with it for a few days, she finally decided to come and ask Bai Yuan.

　Even if she gets scolded in the end, or even dragged into a small room to spank and asked if she knows she was wrong, she's willing to do it!

　Thinking back to how she was worried about Ryoko Sakaki and went to the villa to comfort her, only to stumble upon Shirai spanking her, Megumi Tadokoro's face suddenly turned very red.

　However, although it's a very shameful thing, if the person who hit her was Bai Yuan, it doesn't seem so hard to accept, and might even be a little exciting...

　Ugh! What is she thinking? How could she possibly be excited about something like this!

　If you're really excited, wouldn't that make you a masochist?!

　"What's wrong? Your face is so red."

　Seeing Tadokoro Megumi blushing and lost in thought just by looking at him, Shiro Awakened looked puzzled, then raised his hand and gently pinched her cheek.

　Hmm, it feels soft to the touch and has a faint warmth, giving people a strange feeling.

　"Well..."

　Suddenly having her cheek pinched, Tadokoro Megumi couldn't continue speaking and could only make muffled sounds, her gaze fixed on Shiro Awakening, her heart beating a little fast.

　"Alright, ask whatever you want. As long as you don't keep asking questions from beginning to end, one or two questions are fine. After all, it takes skill to be able to bring in outside help."

　Seeing the girl's conflicted expression, Bai Yuan instantly understood her worries and then chuckled.

　He did say that it's best not to ask him during a match, but if it's just some basic question, it's as easy for the other person to ask him as to look it up online, so he can't possibly keep quiet about such a question.

　The only questions he refused to answer were when the other party brought him food and asked him what needed improvement and how to improve it.

　This is real cheating.

　"Actually, I was planning to make a lemon mint sauce, which uses honey as an ingredient, but I always felt that maple syrup was better."

　To support my idea, I conducted an experiment.

　I tried both, and the final products tasted very similar, but with subtle differences.

　Seeing that Bai Yuan agreed, Tadokoro Megumi's face lit up with joy, and she began to talk at length about what had been troubling her these past few days.

　"If it's a cold dish, maple syrup is more suitable for vegetables because its sweetness is more refreshing than honey, without the rich and heavy feeling of honey, which is perfect for the already fresh vegetables."

　After thinking for a moment, Bai Yuan gave a simple explanation. He had a rough idea of ​​what kind of dish Tadokoro Megumi wanted to make, which was probably a refreshing cold dish.

　Since both lemon and mint leaves have a refreshing taste, and the theme drawn by Megumi Tadokoro was cold dishes, the answer was already quite obvious.

　"I see."

　A look of realization flashed across Tadokoro Megumi's face. The problem that had been troubling her for so long had been solved so easily. She really was worthy of being called Teacher Baiyuan!

　"Then I'll be going now, Teacher Bai Yuan."

　He glanced at Senzaemon Nakiri and Zhou Tai sitting next to Bai Yuan, knowing that they probably had other things to do next.

　Megumi Tadokoro nodded politely to them, bowed slightly, and then jogged over to Ryoko Sakaki and Yuuki Yoshino, who were waiting for her not far away.

　"Let's go too, let's go to my place and have a cup of tea."

　As the three girls walked away, Senzaemon Nakiri's voice rang out, inviting them to have a cup of tea before they left.

　Bai Yuan thought he had nothing else to do, so he nodded in agreement. Zhou Tai, on the other hand, didn't refuse because he had something to ask of him.

　The departure of the three giants caused Kikuchi Sonoka on the judging panel to pout. At this moment, she stared longingly at Bai Yuan's back, feeling somewhat depressed.

　She still wanted to go with Bai Yuan!

　"Ding."

　The phone rang, and Kikuchi looked down at her phone. The resentment on her face melted away and turned into a smile. She then quickly typed a few words on it.

　【Alright, I'm going to take a bath now~】

　The screen displayed a message from Bai Yuan, essentially telling her to go to Alice's house to take a shower first, that the key was under the carpet, and that he would take her out on a date in the afternoon.

　I don't recall ever actively inviting someone out.

　Almost every time, she would miss Bai Yuan, send him messages, and ask him to come and keep her company.

　Even when Bai Yuan is extremely busy, he will always find time.

　She was very satisfied with the fact that the time passed quickly, because she felt love in it.

　"This girl..."

　On the other side, looking at the slightly provocative message on the screen, Bai Yuan chuckled, already making plans for their afternoon date.

　·

　·

　"Congratulations on advancing to the semifinals! I knew you could do it!"

　Liu Yu and Wang Jing walked side by side. Thinking about the exciting match just now, Wang Jing praised the game with a smile.

　As a sister, she was genuinely happy for her.

　"It's just the semi-finals, nothing special. We need to get at least a top-two finish to attract the attention of the Dark Cuisine world and be nurtured by the leader."

　Faced with Wang Jing's congratulations, Liu Yu's expression remained unchanged; she simply shook her head slightly, clearly dissatisfied with her ranking.

　She needs to go further and stand at the true pinnacle so that the leader will notice her and nurture her with great effort.

　As for why she so desperately wanted to be trained as a leader, it was partly due to the chef's pursuit of culinary skills, and partly due to her identity.

　She was a member of the Liu family, a renowned Shanghai culinary family. To be precise, she used to be a member of the Liu family, but now she has long been expelled and has become a rootless person.

　"One day I'll make you regret it."

　Thinking of the Liu family, a fierce glint flashed in Liu Yu's eyes, and her fists clenched involuntarily.

　Six years ago, on a rainy night, her mother was falsely accused of poisoning the newborn child of the matriarch of the household, resulting in the child's death.

　That child was the only male heir of the Liu family, the heir whom the entire household had been eagerly awaiting. This made the head of the family at the time extremely angry, and he completely disregarded past feelings, directly driving her and her mother out in the pouring rain.

　What's even more infuriating is that the maid and housekeeper, who were originally very kind to them and even called them "Miss," took away all the things belonging to the Liu family from them, not allowing them to leave with a single penny.

　Her mother, being an orphan and a full-time housewife for several years, was used to spending money lavishly. Suddenly leaving the Liu family and losing her support, she lost all her ability to survive.

　It was raining, and the two girls were hungry. In order to make sure they had enough to eat, the mother ran to a noodle shop, knelt down, and begged the owner to give them a bowl of noodles.

　The kind-hearted shop owner quickly helped her up and served the mother and daughter two bowls of steaming noodles so they could have a full meal.

　Later, my mother found a job as a waitress. She also helped out in the restaurant kitchen, serving tea and water and tidying up the stoves every day.

　Although that period was tough, it was very fulfilling. She secretly learned a lot by watching the chefs cook.

　But this good fortune didn't last long. Suddenly one day, the restaurant owner fired them. They tried several restaurants in a row, but none of the owners wanted them.

　This puzzled them greatly. Later, a kind-hearted boss told them the reason, letting them know that it was the Liu family who were behind it.

　The other party is one of the leading figures in Shanghai's culinary scene, and their word is law. Just by expressing this sentiment, no restaurant dared to hire them again.

　After that, her mother took her away from Shanghai and died five years later from overwork. At that time, the fourteen-year-old girl had already begun to make a name for herself in the restaurant.

　Her main purpose in honing her culinary skills was to seize the Liu family's business and become the head of Shanghai's premier restaurant, Qunyinglou.

　According to the rules established by our ancestors.

　Any living member of the Liu family whose culinary skills surpass those of the head chef can unconditionally inherit the Qunyinglou restaurant and take full ownership of it.

　This was her plan for revenge. Once she reached the level of a top-tier three-star expert, she could surpass the father who had listened to slander and abandoned her and her mother.

　At that time, he will use absolute strength to take away what he is most proud of in his life.

　However, given her own abilities, reaching the Special Grade Three Star level would be extremely difficult, possibly taking ten or twenty years.

　Moreover, the current head of the Liu family, her grandfather, is still alive.

　To truly seize the [Heroes' Tower] without any worries, you need at least a Special Grade Five-Star level.

　However, she could wait, after all these years, but she didn't want to wait too long, so she joined the world of dark cuisine.

　As long as she can gain Bai Yuan's approval, even if it's just becoming his disciple, her cooking skills can improve by leaps and bounds, saving her a lot of time.

　This is also the main reason why she volunteered to come to Totsuki.

　Two hours of expert guidance is equivalent to 100 hours of self-study. If you become number one this time, you might stand next to Bai Yuan...

　"I will support you from behind."

　Seeing the hatred in Liu Yu's eyes, Wang Jing gently patted her back to comfort her and said some comforting words.

　They knew each other's situations, and after chatting all night, they became best friends and learned about each other's past lives.

　To be honest, Wang Jing really felt sorry for her because Liu Yu had such a hard childhood, and it was already quite an achievement that she had survived to this age.

　"Before a new theme comes up, let's relax a bit. A proper balance between work and rest is the driving force for us to make steady progress on our culinary journey!"

　Stretching lazily, Liu Yu suddenly made a suggestion.

　You must relax after a long day of hard work, otherwise you will eventually break down.

　"Hmm, speaking of which, it's been a long time since we went swimming. There seems to be a new water park that just opened nearby, with lots of handsome young men. Want to go?"

　"Of course! Who doesn't like eight-pack abs! Let's go to the mall to buy a swimsuit first, and then we'll head over after lunch!!"

　Upon hearing Wang Jing's half-joking remark, Liu Yu immediately perked up, revealing a "you know me so well" expression on her face, before announcing the afternoon's plans.

　·

　·

　"Boss, these eels are pretty fresh! Weigh out two pounds for me, I want to make some braised eel with sizzling oil tonight!"

　"Got it!"

　In the bustling city, Alice Nakiri, carrying a shopping basket, stopped in front of a fish vendor and looked at the still-alive eels on the stall with a delighted expression.

　Eels are warm in nature and sweet in taste. They have the effects of replenishing qi and blood, warming yang and strengthening the spleen, and nourishing the liver and kidneys.

　Bai Yuan usually puts so much effort into her, and he also has to take care of other women. She needs to be properly nourished, otherwise it won't be good if she becomes weak one day.

　She has to support her own man; those other bad women don't care about his health at all, they only know how to take from him and don't care about him at all...

　While indulging in self-pity, Alice Nakiri promptly paid for the eel offered by the stall owner and moved on to the next stall.

　Last night, Bai Yuan told her that he was going to take Mujichi Yuanguo out on a date. She didn't refuse, but she kept asking him for it a few more times.

　This resulted in her being so tired in the morning that she couldn't get up, but it also drained Bai Yuan's reserves.

　Thinking of the madness of last night, Alice Nakiri stuck out her tongue and traced a circle around her lips, her mouth turning up involuntarily, as if she were savoring something.

　Chapter 196 Bai Yuan's Date, Tadokoro Megumi vs. Kurokiba Ryo

　"Alice Nakiri."

　Just as Alice was lost in thought, a slightly deep male voice sounded in her ear. Turning her head, she saw that the person was Ryo Kurokiba.

　"Kurokiba, what are you doing here?"

　Upon seeing Kurokiba Ryo, Nakiri Alice was startled, feeling as if she had been caught doing something wrong and was somewhat guilty.

　Then she looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that he was the only one there. At least no one else had seen her embarrassing state.

　"Of course I'm here to buy ingredients for tomorrow's competition. But what about you? Why are you here?"

　Kurokiba Ryo looked at Nakiri Alice with an expression as if she were an idiot, and then asked.

　"Buy dinner, I guess. It's my turn to cook tonight. I remember the theme for the third round was cold dishes, right? Are you planning to use fish to make a cold dish?"

　Alice Nakiri was somewhat surprised.

　"To be precise, it's shrimp and crab."

　Kurokiba Ryo didn't hide his idea of ​​cooking, and after looking around at the stalls selling fish, shrimp and crab, he shook his head in disappointment.

　"The goods here aren't very fresh, and even the live ones are sickly and the quality isn't very good. I need to find another place, so I'll take my leave now."