Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 146: Aftertaste

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: Aftertaste

On a Saturday morning, during the sensational Food Duel, it all came to a quiet end.

By the time the auditorium was clearing out, it was nearly twelve o’clock, and the "kitchen spirit" test wasn’t immediately conducted. Aoki Motota sat in the guest seating area, waving his hand to signal Far Moon’s assistants to come up on stage and announce the start of the testing for the next class.

The crowd dispersed.

A group from Polar Star Dormitory blended into the throng of exiting people.

The crowd was buzzing with debates about the recent Food Duel, with some normally amicable friends turning red-faced over their differing opinions.

"Where’s Senior Ichise?"

At the entrance, Tanaka Hikari and Yoshino Yuuki were looking for someone.

"Morioka’s gone too," said Xingping Chuangzhen, hands in his pockets.

"Then let’s head back," Shen Liangzi suggested softly, and no one objected.

Meanwhile, back in the auditorium, the judges had not left.

After the crowd had mostly dispersed, Dojima Yin finally let out his last breath and put down his chopsticks, "The taste has finally completely dispersed!"

"Mhm."

Liangzi Lina nodded, "It’s been about half an hour since the spices finished playing their lingering tune. But even the remnants were so eloquent, long-lasting, and rich... Is this what harmonious Chinese spice pairing is? Balanced and peaceful, taking over the taste buds in a straightforward and upright manner, instilling no disgust but only enjoyment!"

"He won."

Dojima Yin revealed a bitter smile, "Si Yingshi relied solely on the quality of White-haired Cinderella Beef to forcibly elevate the cuisine to the semblance of Special Grade Cuisine."

"And he," Dojima Yin continued somberly, "simply used the most common chicken found in the market, and like magic, let us taste meat quality that was not inferior to Special Grade ingredients. Even without the flames and spices, the chicken itself is already as delicious as the White-haired Cinderella Beef!"

"You can’t separate them," Shinohara Shigetaro shook his head, "Without the flames and spices, the chicken would not have reborn from the ashes to become a Phoenix!"

"The ingredients, spices, temperature control, and so on, in short, all the elements merged into one in the cuisine, and I saw the number ’one,’ a true and perfect fusion!"

One’s fusion?

Hearing this, Dojima Yin and Aoki Motota looked at each other with understanding, knowing how difficult it is to blend ingredients, spices, and other elements into "one" at the Special Grade level.

"Harmony!"

Tiqie Xianzuowen suddenly stood up, "Cuisine that shines is the most harmonious in form!"

He was merely repeating what an old friend had told him over the phone.

Indeed.

On the night of the banquet at the Tiqie Mansion, the Far Moon Commander had inquired to Xia Qing about the secret of shining cuisine, and he had received a definite answer. Since a hundred years ago, on the Chinese land, countless shining cuisines were born.

A cuisine that does not shine is not good cuisine.

This phrase was once prevalent in the Chinese Cuisine World, and today, chefs who remember this saying are fewer and fewer, only to be found in the literature of renowned culinary families.

And as far as Xia Qing knew, the number of chefs of Chinese descent who had mastered the secret of "shining" was no more than a handful. Each one of them was a pillar in the Chinese Cuisine World.

Even among them, one living chef made Tiqie Xianzuowen involuntarily feel reverence upon hearing his name.

"Send out the announcement—"

Waving his hand to call over Keiru Kuushou, the director of the Food Duel Administration, Tiqie Xianzuowen declared, "The winner is Xia Yu, Instructor Xia. Far Moon fully acknowledges his strength as an instructor. If any students question and challenge Instructor Xia in class, and if the incident is serious, the academy’s board of directors has the right to expel them!"

"Yes!"

Keiru Kuushou felt a chill in his heart.

...

In the backstage rest area of the auditorium.

Tiqie Helinai barged in without saying a word. Xia Yu was still in the changing room getting dressed. When he emerged, he found the Divine Tongue collapsed on the ground, with two chopsticks scattered beside her.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes hazy with intoxication, fully embodying the allure of a drunken beauty. Her heavy breathing filled the quiet resting room with a sense of whimsy.

"Don’t sneak a bite, hey!"

Xia Yu glanced at the small bowl he had just placed on the table, which contained the chicken meat he had packed up, and he immediately knew what was happening.

"Sit tight—"

He helped the limp Tiqie Helinai up, positioning her in a chair, and retrieved the chopsticks. After wiping them with a paper napkin, Xia Yu was about to tuck in and sample a piece of his own creation when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It’s, it’s me." A slightly flustered, timid male voice.

"Come in."

And thus, the "Table White Knight," carrying a pristine white ceramic plate, entered cautiously.

Si Yingshi entered and jumped at the sight of Tiqie Helinai.

"Miss Tiqie is here too?"

"What’s there to fear, she’s already out of her senses," Xia Yu joked with half a glance at the collapsed Divine Tongue in the armchair.

"This is my dish—" Si Yingshi gently placed the ceramic plate he was holding down; on the plate was a piece of White-haired Cinderella beef steak that he had purposely set aside.

The dish was very simple, devoid of excessive seasoning, its essence captured solely by the beef’s natural aroma complemented by the tantalizing fragrances of green peppercorns and rosemary.

In fact, Xia Yu was very curious about Si Yingshi’s cooking.

After all, it was a pseudo Special Grade Cuisine, and if it weren’t for his odd state of inspiration that led to the creation of the glowing "Nine Feathered Phoenix," it would have been impossible for him to take control of the chariot and steamroll to victory.

Taking the knife and fork handed to him by Si Yingshi, Xia Yu cut a corner of the beef steak, forked it, and took a careful taste.

"So refreshing!"

Xia Yu was startled. "The simplest marination with green peppercorn didn’t let the beef’s natural flavor escape; moreover, the rosemary complements the taste brilliantly!"

With each bite, the sensation of large sea salt crystals shattering was felt.

His tongue got an electric jolt. Xia Yu gripped the cutlery firmly, "Such a natural feeling! A dish without the chef’s fingerprints! It’s magical!"

Indeed!

Xia Yu’s verdict on Si Yingshi’s dish was "magical"!

It didn’t seem like something that could be made by a human but more like an Exiled Immortal descending from the heavens, picking available ingredients from the surrounding environment with a nonchalant flick, leaving no trace as the dish miraculously came together.

"Um, Instructor Xia, may I have a taste of your dish?" Si Yingshi gazed at the chicken meat in Xia Yu’s bowl, secretly swallowing.

"Of course!"

Xia Yu shrugged, "But there are no chopsticks left, only one pair, here, take the fork—"

He handed over the fork he had just used.

"My apologies." Si Yingshi pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, meticulously wiped the fork, and then forked a piece of the chicken.

As soon as the meat entered his mouth, a look of distortion flashed across Si Yingshi’s handsome face.

"This flavor... delicious!"

Si Yingshi felt as though a Phoenix, bathing in flames, cried out, carrying with it a refreshing whirlwind of spices, swooping down from the high skies towards him.

Before he could react, the Phoenix seized him tightly in its claws and soared up to the Nine Heavens Immortal Vault.

"The sensation of flying—"

He murmured to himself, and with each chew, Si Yingshi had only one sensation—

His body was weightless, and he felt as if he had taken flight.

It was as though he could ascend to immortality at any moment.