CHAPTER 697: CHAPTER 696: START (PART 1)

No matter what, the second day of the "Academic Festival" ended with a classic image—

The picture showed two renowned chefs who had contributed wonderful culinary performances in the Sapporo competition.

They faced each other.

One was a special chef, the other a Lin Chef.

One calm, the other with eyes filled with indignation.

That day, because of the related news reports, the online world was in an uproar.

In the evening sunlight on the commercial street,

through the partially closed door, the sound of a TV news broadcast could faintly be heard:

"... We interviewed several eyewitness tourists, who reported that Lei Zhe, the chief chef, should take the primary responsibility for this public conflict. Judging by his Lin Chef tasting standards, how many high-end restaurants in Tokyo would still suit his taste? Far Moon is the strongest culinary school in Japan, and its students are the future hope of the culinary world. For Lei Zhe to criticize these students with his picky taste is a loss of dignity!"

This was a commentary from Tokyo TV Station.

"Wow, they’re actually quite impartial!"

A voice of surprise.

At the table, Zhu Qing responded without turning back, "What did you expect? This is Japan, not the United States. Lei Zhe can act up, but that doesn’t mean people are afraid to speak out. If the Culinary World wants to dominate here, destroying Far Moon alone is not enough; there is also Shi Lin Temple above it."

"Really?"

Returned from school, Xia Yu, rarely at leisure, plopped down next to Zhu Qing and grabbed the remote control.

Beep!

The channel switched to another TV station.

A guest lamented:

"Expulsion? Too rude, too discourteous! This is a desecration and disrespect of Lin Chef! The treatment by Far Moon School completely disregards Lin Chef; it’s a contempt for the entire chef ranking system. I think Lei Zhe should apply to the IGO and the upper echelons of the Culinary World for sanctions."

Another guest concurred, "Yes, Chef Lei Zhe showed great restraint, facing such an insult calmly and choosing to leave. Clearly, he did not want to spoil the ’Academic Festival,’ even condescending to instruct juniors at the college, but alas, Far Moon School failed to appreciate his good intentions."

Puff!

Zhu Qing and Xia Yu burst out laughing.

"Such a load of nonsense!" Zhu Qing chuckled.

Xia Yu managed to swallow his tea without spitting it out.

"Let’s not watch anymore."

Grabbing the remote, beep, the TV screen went black, and the moment the sound of news ceased, Xia Yu felt as if the world’s malevolent side had receded.

"Let’s leave the verbal battles and the character assassinations to the media themselves," Xia Yu said before drinking another cup of tea and going upstairs, holding a draft book, "Aunt Qing, have you seen the water pen? I clearly left it in the cabinet on the second floor; strangely, I can’t find even one."

"Find it yourself."

Zhu Qing pouted.

Hearing this, Xia Yu felt gloomy. Having another person in the house changed many routines; this elder’s scatterbrained nature meant he often ended up cleaning in the evenings. At that moment, Xia Yu wanted to shout—

What use are you!

But after thinking of the "Jade Dragon Pot" in the kitchen sink and Lei Zhe, those major villains driven mad by legendary culinary tools, Xia Yu’s anger evaporated completely.

Without this elder to watch over things, his life would indeed never be peaceful.

"Meow—"

From the direction of the courtyard, a cat cried, followed by Hua Mao running toward Xia Yu, jumping onto the table, and dropping the water pen it held in its mouth, looking up at Xia Yu with pleading eyes.

"So it was you, little rascal, who hid it, wasn’t it?" Xia Yu chided with a laugh, tapping Hua Mao on the forehead. The silly cat looked aggrieved, its meows sorrowful. After meowing a few times at Xia Yu, it leapt down from the table and followed Xia Yu to the courtyard, stopping at the cloister and continuing to look at him pitifully.

Those tiny eyes seemed to say the pen was found right there.

Hmm!

Under the dim light, several pieces of broken rope lay on the floor, right by a large column.

Thus, the purpose of the rope was obvious.

"Binding...?"

Xia Yu’s mind was filled with question marks, picking up the broken rope, looking back at Hua Mao, the little creature sniffing its small, moist nose, eyes filled with obvious caution.

"Aunt Qing, what’s this?"

Back in the store, he tossed the broken rope onto the floor in front of Zhu Qing.

Zhu Qing was browsing on her mobile phone, glanced over, and said, "Oh, you mean this? There were thieves at the shop at noon, two dumb ones, tied up easily."

"What about them?"

Xia Yu simply stood perplexed.

"Mr. Shinohara has taken care of it. The Taidong District Police Station came by once, but didn’t dare to take over."

"Damn!" Xia Yu glared, "and you’re still sitting there all calm?"

Zhu Qing yawned, "Stop yelling!"

"I already told you that I’m handling the shop’s security, so just feel at ease."

As she spoke, it seemed she swiped to something amusing on her phone and Zhu Qing chuckled aloud.

"Alright then!"

That was really all he could trust her with.

Xia Yu shook his head and didn’t think about it anymore; he was waiting for Shinohara Shigetaro to give him a response. Right now, the pressing issue was the school festival’s operational task.

He sat down and pulled up the task panel.

"Advance! ’School Festival’ battle begins!"

"Progress: 36/100."

The task requirement was a footfall of a million over five days.

The system’s count for the first and second day was 360,000. With these figures, by the fifth day of the school festival, they would definitely fall short of a million.

Therefore, to achieve the task target, it was time to use his backup plan.

He spread out his sketchbook.

Xia Yu held a water pen, his frown deepening as he scribbled and crossed out.

"What are you doing?"

Someone asked.

"Designing the menu we’ll use tomorrow!"

After a while, Xia Yu suddenly looked up, blinking.

Standing quietly in front of the table, wearing a black leather jacket and pants, holding her sunglasses in her hand was Liangzi Lina, who was rumored to have been training at Shi Lin Temple.

"Liangzi, did you succeed in your training?"

The leading lady shook her head, "Success is an overstatement, just made a little progress. Also, I came here because the minister asked me to bring you something—"

She placed a document on the table, Xia Yu glanced at it, but shrugged, "A petty thief with a significant background? I figured that much. Let’s not talk about this, tell me about your training instead."

"Have you reached Lin Chef level?" Xia Yu was genuinely concerned.

"Lin Chef level isn’t that easy to advance to."

"Right!"

Zhu Qing chimed in, walking over, curious to look at the leading lady, "What’s your ’Food Justice’ then?"

"I haven’t thought of a name yet, I’ll name it when it truly hatches and is born," said Liangzi Lina.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but after coming down from the mountain, Xia Yu felt her aura was even more Detached.

Previously, she was like a Dahe Fuzi, seemingly cold on the outside with an icy expression, but inside she was very warm, like an elder sister. Xia Yu had always been taken care of by her, and felt somewhat embarrassed about it.

"No worries!"

Xia Yu almost patted his chest saying, "I’ll help you!"

A hint of a smile appeared in the leading lady’s eyes.

But Zhu Qing’s expression seemed off, "Help? Humph, you’re still so far from reaching Lin Chef level. How can you help others? Kids always love to spout nonsense!"

Xia Yu pretended not to hear.

With one Lin Chef level and one almost at Lin Chef level present, it was a good time to discuss the menu together.

Moreover, since Liangzi Lina was a key figure in the IGO organization, he still needed to rely on IGO for supplies for his restaurant. Having her around to offer advice made him feel much more at ease.

An hour later.

"It’s sorted!"

Looking over the two menu plans in his hands, Xia Yu was full of enthusiasm:

"System, any tasks?"

"Ding, new task."

"’First Step to a Gold Medal Chef’: Host a shop at the school festival, in the following three days, break through a daily turnover of 10 billion yen. The menu must contain at least one new dish (unreleased). Completion rewards: Enlightenment Crystal x1 (Gold)."

No Talent Points?

Xia Yu was disappointed.

"Speaking of which, what’s this ’Enlightenment Crystal’ about?"

The ensuing system information made his eyes widen in surprise, "This item can actually be used on... I must get it!"