Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　Don't worry, I'll keep winning, including your share!

　Seeing Takumi Aldini's dejected look, Soma Yukihira couldn't help but comfort him. As companions who had come to China together, the two had a good relationship.

　"These are all excuses. The truth is, I'm not good enough. If I were strong enough, I could pass the test even if it's a dish I'm not good at."

　Takumi shook his head; he had no intention of shirking responsibility for this defeat. Being less skilled was simply being less skilled; there were no excuses.

　If you're less skilled than others and still desperately try to find excuses to shirk responsibility, that's truly shameful.

　"What are you going to do next? Go back? Or wait until the Youth Chef Competition is over before we go back together?"

　"Isn't that obvious? Since we're already here, even if we don't participate in the competition, we should watch the matches before going back. None of those who made it to the main tournament are weak, and their matches are sure to be incredibly exciting!"

　Upon hearing Soma Yukihira's question, Takumi Aldini rolled his eyes at him, somewhat speechless. Even as a spectator, one could still learn a lot from the duel between these talented young chefs.

　"Don't worry, I'll support you. Are you familiar with the competition process? There are three days to prepare. During this time, I'll simulate the competition with you to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the process."

　As if he had just thought of something, Takumi Aldini spoke up before Soma Yukihira could even open his mouth.

　If you don't familiarize yourself with the new competition rules beforehand and just start playing at the venue, you might be caught off guard.

　The gap between theoretical understanding and practical operation is huge; you can only know this after experiencing it firsthand.

　"I understand, thank you."

　Upon hearing Takumi Aldini's words, Soma Yukihira expressed his heartfelt gratitude. He had just been about to speak when the other man spoke; he was truly considerate.

　"No, I'm too angry today. Let's skip the rest tonight and have a cooking competition, with the theme drawn by lot."

　"it is good!"

　·

　·

　Three days flew by.

　Besides the cooking competition, Bai Yuan also took the girls on a tour of Fuzhou, where they sampled all the local delicacies and experienced the authentic flavors of Fuzhou.

　This is not only to satisfy their appetites, but also to give them confidence and make them understand how formidable their opponents are. Only by knowing themselves and their enemies can they win every battle.

　"I'm actually the first one to play, but it's good that I finish the match early and advance to the next round, which will reduce a lot of my anxiety."

　The phone rang, and Alice Nakiri, who was eating, glanced down at the message on the screen, her face burning with fighting spirit.

　Are you a player in the first round?

　Erina Nakiri's expression shifted slightly. They had conducted a lot of simulated training these past few days, but there was always a difference between simulation and reality. Now that the official competition was finally about to begin, they could see the differences.

　"That's right! My time to shine has finally come! This time, I will be the center of attention and the one who receives everyone's adulation on the field!"

　Alice Nakiri said with great enthusiasm, "Not competing in Totsuki back then left me with a great regret, and now I can't miss it again!"

　"I hope you won't be eliminated in the first round."

　"How could that be! You think I'm like you?!"

　Erina Nakiri said with a slightly malicious tone that if Alice Nakiri were eliminated in the first round, then Bai Yuan would focus all his attention on her.

　Faced with Erina Nakiri's rudeness, Alice Nakiri rolled her eyes cutely and didn't really take it to heart.

　"But why didn't you tell me who my opponent was?"

　After carefully checking her phone messages again to make sure nothing was missing, a hint of doubt appeared on Alice Nakiri's face.

　"We'll let you know this before the competition starts, to avoid targeting the players."

　Seeing Alice Nakiri flipping through the information repeatedly, Kawahira explained that this kind of thing had happened before in the Young Chef Competition.

　Because the opponents were revealed in advance, some people might hire someone to harm them in order to advance to the next round, causing their opponents to be seriously injured before the match.

　If it weren't for the fact that it was always the opponent of that contestant who got injured, and the organizers hadn't started an investigation, such egregious behavior might not have been discovered, since people were still quite simple and honest back then.

　"How could such a thing happen? They resort to dirty tricks when they can't win the competition, making the whole event a mess!"

　Upon hearing Kawanoka's account, there was a moment of silence, followed by some people expressing their indignation and criticizing this despicable behavior.

　For those born in Totsuki, a cooking duel is just a cooking duel; they've never experienced anything like this before. Shirai, on the other hand, remained expressionless, showing little emotion, as if he already knew about it.

　Looking at the world of Little Master, while such things are not common, they are certainly not rare either. Having seen them many times, he naturally became more cautious.

　"What's next? Should we continue the duel? After all, the match is tomorrow."

　"I won't continue, Brother Bai Yuan. Come inside with me. I need you to help me relax and relieve my fatigue."

　When asked by Lia, Alice Nakiri waved her hand in refusal; she didn't want to have to work overtime tonight for the official match tomorrow.

　At a time like this, of course she should ask Brother Bai Yuan to help her relax!

　The accumulated pressure made her body stiff. If she didn't release it properly, she wouldn't be able to perform well in tomorrow's competition, which was not what she wanted.

　"Okay, let's go into the room then."

　"I don't want to move an inch right now, I'm so tired, I need you to carry me!"

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but act coquettishly, opening her arms and looking at him expectantly, treating herself like a lump of mud.

　"it is good."

　Seeing this, Bai Yuan also bent down affectionately, supporting her back with one hand and wrapping the other hand around Alice Nakiri's knees.

　He picked up Alice Nakiri horizontally and strode into a smaller room further inside.

　The other girls watched from outside, their eyes unreadable, their thoughts a mystery.

　"The Youth Chef Competition will be held tomorrow. It's a rare and grand event. I should go back to sleep and get some rest so I won't be sleepy during the competition."

　Raising her hand to yawn, Hojo Miyoko said as she left Shirai's room, turning back to her own room.

　"That makes sense. Let's go home and rest early today."

　The others nodded in agreement, and soon Bai Yuan's room was empty. Tadokoro Megumi, who was the last to leave, thoughtfully closed the door and took one last, reluctant look at the room, lost in thought.

　the other side.

　Alice Nakiri gripped the pristine white sheets tightly with both hands, her beautiful swan neck held high, and beads of sweat seemed to still cling to her forehead.

　Her fair, pearly toes curled slightly, her chest rose and fell, her eyes swirled with emotion, her pearly teeth bit her lower lip tightly, and her white hair was scattered on the bed, creating a beautiful scene.

　"Is the pressure satisfactory for the customer?"

　Bai Yuan placed Alice Nakiri's feet on his lap, a smile on his face, and gently pressed his fingers on various acupoints on her feet. This was his usual massage routine, always starting with the feet.

　"Satisfied!"

　Alice Nakiri suddenly gripped the sheets tightly, her face flushing. Bai Yuan's hand began to point elsewhere, making her body tense, but she quickly relaxed completely again.

　That familiar tingling sensation spread from the inside out, making one want to murmur aloud.

　For massage, Bai Yuan is a professional.

　This is thanks to a wealth of accumulated experience.

　Among them, Alice Nakiri made the greatest contribution.

　Chapter 237 Crazy Fans, Fierce Showdown

　"Distinguished guests, dear audience members, good evening! It's a pleasure to see you all on this exciting day. Welcome to the annual Young Chef Competition!"

　I'm the host tonight. You can call me Dong Dong, the Dong Dong of chairman, not the Dong Dong of sensible person.

　It's a great honor to witness this ultimate showdown between young chefs with everyone!

　The girl was dressed in red, and her voice was passionate as she looked directly at the audience in front of her, as well as at Alice Nakiri and another contestant who were already waiting in the contestant tunnel.

　"Now, please welcome our two players for the first match to the stage!"

　They are Zhong Yi from Xiamen, Fujian, and a member of a self-proclaimed mysterious dark organization codenamed 'Love'—a member of the dark culinary world!

　The spotlight swayed rapidly, eventually settling on the young men on either side of the playing field.

　First to arrive from the East is Alice Nakiri, a member of the Dark Cuisine world, codenamed 'Ai'. Dressed in a white chef's uniform, her short white hair is particularly eye-catching. Although the upper half of her face is covered by a mask, she still exudes a heroic and handsome aura.

　The Western one is Zhongyi from Xiamen, Fujian. He has a black, split-hem design and is covered in designer brands from head to toe. The bracelet on his wrist alone is worth over ten thousand yuan.

　The host's enthusiastic voice had barely begun when everyone's attention was drawn to Alice Nakiri wearing a mask and Zhong Yi with a middle-part hairstyle.

　"Oh!"

　"Zhongyi, Zhongyi, you are my ideal!"

　"Brother Zhongyi, I want to have your babies!"

　As Zhong Yi entered the venue, a white banner appeared in the most conspicuous place in the audience, and the people holding the banner were a group of girls with exquisite makeup and full figures.

　"This is so frustrating, my darlings! Well then, let's win this game for you!"

　Listening to the sounds around him, Zhong Yi showed an expression of enjoyment on his face, and then suddenly opened his arms, making a gesture as if to pull the fans into his arms.

　"Ahhhhh!!"

　As Zhong Yi made this move, the cheers from the audience grew even louder, especially from the group of girls, who couldn't suppress their smiles.

　"When did the culinary world become like this? It must just be an isolated case..."

　Upon seeing this scene, Bai Yuan couldn't help but complain. The scene before him reminded him of the fandom in his previous life, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.

　"Go, Alice!"

　Looking in the direction where Alice Nakiri was, Bai Yuan cheered her on in his heart. He couldn't let this kind of guy win; that would be too embarrassing.

　Alice seemed to sense his encouragement, revealing a confident smile before turning cold as she looked at the man in front of her.

　"Are you putting on a concert? This is so noisy! Cooking isn't about who shouts the loudest!"

　Hearing the cheers of her opponent and watching the spectators who were bothered by the noise but dared not speak out, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but scoff. Bringing people here to disrupt the viewing experience—how utterly shameless!

　"This was all organized spontaneously by everyone. I tried to stop it before, but it was no use. But I can understand it. After all, I'm so handsome and my cooking skills are amazing. I'm practically an all-around genius. It's normal for them to like me!"

　"Ahhh!!"

　"Zhongyi, Zhongyi, you are my ideal!"

　Zhong Yi struck a pose with an air of arrogance, then blew kisses to the fans in the audience, causing his female fans to scream again.

　The audience members who were prepared had already covered their ears, their dislike for Zhong Yi on stage growing even stronger. After all, every idol has their fans.

　"It's a good thing you only lasted one round, otherwise the shouting of these guys would have been a form of noise pollution for the other players and even the audience."

　Reaching out to clean her ears and flicking away the debris, Alice Nakiri coldly stared at Zhong Yi, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.

　"You think you can last one round at most? You're really talking big. I hope you can keep that expression on your face later."

　Faced with Alice Nakiri's repeated provocations, Zhong Yi's expression turned cold, and his fist changed from an open fist to a loose clench. He couldn't pretend he hadn't heard those words!

　"If you're really good, then bring it on. I hope you won't let me down. A match with no suspense is very boring for the audience."

　Alice Nakiri echoed her sarcasm, believing that someone who spent all their time dressing up and marketing themselves couldn't possibly be very capable.

　"It seems that both players are highly motivated, which will surely bring us a wonderful match. Let's wait and see!"

　Instead of interrupting Alice Nakiri and Nakaichi's verbal sparring, he spoke up when the two were getting a little heated, and then began to explain, pushing the atmosphere to a new climax.

　Before the match begins, please allow me to introduce the referee for this match.

　They are: Chu Qiu, the head chef of the famous Fuzhou restaurant "Xia Ming Lou"; Mr. Jin Shan, the heir to the rapidly rising "Jin Hai Xuan" restaurant; and Master Zhang Zhong, the founder of "Shan Hai Hui"!

　The spotlight swept across the venue and quickly landed on the judges' panel.

　Xia Minglou's head chef was a lean and capable man with a small mustache. He didn't make any move in front of everyone.

　Jin Haixuan's heir, Jin Shan, is a fat man who has had a smiling expression on his face since just now. Judging from his appearance, he looks a bit like Jin Dafu, whom Bai Yuan met yesterday.

　At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on him. He smiled and waved, which was his way of greeting everyone.

　The last master, Zhang Zhong, was the old man who had taken him to find Jin Dafu. Unexpectedly, he also appeared here.

　"Now we will begin drawing the themes."

　After introducing the judges, the host continued speaking, and at the same time, someone carried a huge circular turntable onto the stage, dividing the various themes into different areas.

　"Go up and walk around. That way, even if you lose, you won't have any complaints."

　Zhong Yi stared at the spinning wheel without any change in expression, then turned to look at Nakiri Alice and told her to spin it.

　Choose a theme using the spinning wheel.

　"It's disrespectful."