CHAPTER 688: CHAPTER 687: A PAINTED SKIN CANNOT HIDE THE BONES

"Ah!"

A scream.

Yoshino Yuji broke free from the captivating vision of the food, her palms sweating with excitement and exhilaration!

Looking down at the warm soup bowl in her hands, she expressed disbelief, "So the flavors of nature can also be this shocking..."

"Right, completely different from Senior Ichise’s style!"

Sato Shoko and Aoki Daigo, who also tasted the taro stew, had their eyes wide open in amazement.

"Every detail... filled to the brim!"

The usually reticent Iwazaki Jun rarely spoke up.

At that moment, the hustle and bustle of the Polar Star Dormitory’s outdoor restaurant had significantly died down, as the third serving of taro stew had long been served, and the diners had devoured every bit.

It was now break time for lunch, so a group of friends had the good fortune of enjoying Xia Yu’s taro stew.

"Sigh—"

Beside a low table near the stream, Ichise Hui exhaled, neatly placing his chopsticks across the large bowl, and unexpectedly brought his palms together in a gesture of gratitude toward the young instructor, bowing slightly, "Thank you."

His thanks seemed somewhat mysterious, and Makki, who had also awakened from the spell of the food, looked at him with eyes of astonishment.

Xia Yu, however, simply smiled without speaking.

In the original ’Food Wars,’ there were many chefs bound to vegetables, seeking nature, and aiming for a return to simplicity.

Shigong Xiaoci Lang was one of them, nicknamed ’The Vegetable Magician.’

And the current one before them, the seventh seat of the Elite Ten, Ichise Hui, was also one of those chefs seeking the natural path.

A recipe could reveal a lot.

In the past, Shigong Xiaoci Lang’s "Nine Treasures Vegetable French Freeze" revealed his own lack of "Heart of Cooking," and he was saved by learning from the heartfelt dishes of Tanaka Hikari and Morioka Makoto.

As for the issue with Ichise Hui, Xia Yu had a vague discovery when previously analyzing his recipe "Taro Vegetable Beef Hotpot"—

Too subdued!

Subdued and composed are commendations, but taken too far, they lead to a conservative trend.

Discussions of Ichise Hui’s character in the original ’Food Wars’ never ceased.

Many readers speculated that he was the ultimate big boss, outwardly bright but inwardly scheming. However, from Xia Yu’s actual interactions, that was not the case; the guy just slightly strayed off path, and any conspiracy theories could be dismissed.

Thus, Xia Yu used a revised recipe to tell him something—

Who says natural and modesty are synonymous with nature?

That’s just superficial, a mere facade.

Natural dishes can still astonish diners, giving them a feeling of ascending the ninth heaven or the breath-stopping sensation of falling into an abyss when hit by a cutting wind.

It’s called dramatic fluctuation, it’s called life, and it can also be called the myriad flavors of nature.

Being purely mellow and subdued would only deprive the taste buds of that sense of discovery, like finding a flowering village after a dark forest.

"One can paint the skin, but not the bones," Xia Yu thought as he looked at the dazed Ichise Hui, "Body aprons and such, surely they’re related to his culinary pursuits. Just as I thought, it’s an act of performance art that should be viewed from an artistic perspective, not some reprehensible fetish!"

Beep, a notification popped up:

"System: Mission time exhausted!"

"Objective 208/200."

"Mission target achieved!"

"Culinary skill overall level 55→level 56."

The increase in culinary skill level was an unexpected pleasure. Including the level-up bonus of 1 Talent Point, this time there were a total of 6 Talent Points credited. Xia Yu opened the data panel to check.

"[Heart of Cooking] (Purple→Gold), Upgrade Progress: 40/100."

He chose to infuse Talent Points, and the refreshed data popped out.

Only 60 points to go!

Almost there!

Counting the tasks on hand, Xia Yu glanced at Ichise Hui and Morioka Makoto beside the table, thinking to himself, "The ’mentorship’ mission of influencing students far and wide requires me to guide a student to break through to a special level. Excluding the first and second seat of the Elite Ten, Ichise, Makoto, and Eriina are currently the most competitive candidates for special grade promotion."

The mentorship mission provides 15 Talent Points.

The manga expert mission provides 20 Talent Points.

Coupled with this school festival management mission, providing another 10...

Xia Yu’s breath grew hot with anticipation.

"Upon completing them all, the progress could be 85/100!"

...

Bang!

Ichise Hui stood statue-still in deep thought.

Makki moved a small box over and, pointing to the stack of school festival food tickets inside, said with a frown, "Yu, this is the revenue from your dish sales. How should we handle it?"

"Just separate it for individual accounting or merge it into the day’s total revenue as you please."

Xia Yu shrugged. "After all, it used up quite a bit of your ingredients, which is a business cost. If the ingredients didn’t generate revenue, it’s like I’m cheating you guys."

"Then, let’s wait for Senior Ichise to decide," Makki tapped her chin.

"I’m going to make a quick exit then—"

He got up, dusting off his pants.

It was supposed to be a break in the middle of the day, but the Far Moon School’s lawn under the trees was still crowded with tourists.

The school festival’s campus area was like a big pocket, constantly sucking in the flow of people and swelling.

Xia Yu was walking in the High Platform Area when a figure suddenly flashed in front of him.

"Who exactly are you?"

A deep, icy voice called out.

The young Chinese man, Chen Yang, blocked the way and gave Xia Yu a chilly look. His eyes made Xia Yu very uncomfortable.

Hmm?

A colder aura emanated.

Looking sideways, it turned out that a blonde woman was standing faintly under the trees in the flowerbed nearby. She seemed harmless, but Xia Yu’s skin crawled.

There were firearms, or rather guns, aimed at him!

Xia Yu wasn’t overly panicked.

"That’s the question I should be asking you, isn’t it?"

He retorted with a nonchalant smile and pointed to the man’s right palm, "What does that tiger head tattoo on your hand stand for?"

This was the second time Xia Yu noticed the tattoo on the young man’s palm.

The first time, on the school bus, the tattoo of the tiger’s head faintly reminded Xia Yu of the chefs from the Dark World, so, he decisively tracked the man and bluntly probed his secrets—

This guy was indeed dangerous!

"I’ll ask you one more time, who are you?" Chen Yang stared at him intently.

"Chen, handle it quickly!" The blonde woman nearby whispered a warning, glancing at a family of four approaching them.

Xia Yu’s hands were in his pockets, relaxed as could be.

Chen Yang, on the other hand, seemed unsure of what to do.

Was Xia Yu fearless?

"Hey—"

Suddenly, a woman holding a camera pole ran from a side path. The blonde woman didn’t have the time to sound the alarm. She tensed up, but when she saw who it was, fear showed in her eyes: "It’s Tang Yuqiong!"

"Let’s go!"

Chen Yang also spotted Tang Yuqiong and didn’t hesitate a second longer before turning to leave.

The two quickly withdrew.

Tang Yuqiong jogged over, turned off her live broadcast, tossed the camera pole to a stunned Ms. Li following her, then pulled the masked and knitted-hatted mysterious figure aside to whisper at the edge of the flowerbed.

"It’s really you!"

"Shush!"

"I thought so, that style of cooking, even if you change your skin, the core remains the same. And when did you master the ’Silver Chopsticks Flipping Ten Pots’?"

...

Dusk enveloped the Urban Academy.

The first day of the Far Moon "School Festival" officially came to an end at six o’clock in the evening.

Shops in the Corridor Area, Central Area, and High Platform Area were busy calculating the day’s revenue.

Xia Yu, however, met up with Dojima Yin and Jintan Shun in a part of the teaching area.

"Here are the photographs and information you wanted."

Jintan Shun handed over the information on the young Chinese man surnamed Chen, of course, including that tiger head tattoo. Xia Yu looked through the information and then snapped it shut!

"So that’s how it is!"

An icy look flashed in his eyes, "It seems I’ve really caught a big fish without even trying!"