Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 425 - 424: The Competition for Jade

Chapter 425: Chapter 424: The Competition for Jade

"The lottery begins."

"You have obtained the ’Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings’ (recipe, fragment)."

Uh.

After seeing Indira out, Xia Yu had his friends taste the curry and meanwhile submitted his task to the system.

He didn’t expect it to be this recipe!

His heartbeat slightly faltered.

Opening his backpack, the golden glowing fragment lay quietly.

"Extract data!"

"’Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings’: A sacred recipe passed down from the Three Kingdoms to the Bai Luo Family. It requires the culinary technique ’White Luo Snake Refining’ and the ingredient ’Thousand-Year-Old Dough’ to be cooked together."

"Fragment collection: 1/3."

"Note: Once all fragments are collected, the system will automatically compile a complete recipe."

Damn it!

Slapping his heated forehead, Xia Yu realized, "Shit, I forgot it was for a fragmented recipe!"

"I still need 2 more fragments!"

Sweat formed on Xia Yu’s palms, showing how desperately he wanted the ’Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings.’

Unlike ’Rainbow Liquor’ or ’Rainbow Pudding.’

To Xia Yu, the ’Four Divine Seafood Eight Treasure Soul Suppressing Dumplings’ definitely belonged to the supreme festival of the Chinese One System and could be considered a secret mastery in the pastry realm.

Simply put, the recipe matched perfectly with the field he was good at.

If he could obtain it and delve into it, Xia Yu trembled inwardly, as if he saw a gleaming throne of the Pastry King beckoning him.

The rebirth of the Chinese Pastry King!

However, this Pastry King was not named Luo; his surname was Xia!

Allowing himself a slight flight of fancy, Xia Yu quickly regained focus.

The recipe was still far off, and the required ingredient—the "Thousand-Year-Old Dough"—was enough to give him a headache.

Sending off a group of interns from Far Moon to work, Xia Yu kept the Yuchuan Sisters and locked the kitchen door.

Yuchuan Ayaka had just seen off visitors, including Aoki Motota and Shanben Xiaoshu.

There, locked in the kitchen as soon as she arrived.

As Xia Yu turned around, he met her puzzled eyes.

Yuchuan Meisha, meanwhile, hung her head, obviously scared of her older sister.

"Slap!"

A slap on her shoulder, Xia Yu said helplessly, "Sister Meisha, don’t you have anything to say?"

Yuchuan Ayaka simply crossed her arms.

"We both have ’super hearing’..."

Unexpectedly, after a long silence, the kitchen’s quiet was broken by Yuchuan Ayaka, casting a scrutinizing look at Yuchuan Meisha, "I’ve actually known about your existence all along. Father mentioned you to me."

Whoosh—

At these words, Yuchuan Meisha looked up in astonishment.

"He is an excellent House Chief, but not a good father."

Mentioning their father Yuchuan Xin, Yuchuan Ayaka’s tone was quite detached.

That made sense.

Yuchuan Ayaka was sent to Shi Lin Temple at a young age, probably feeling more attached to her order than to the Yuchuan family.

Xia Yu was an outsider, quietly observing, inappropriate to intervene.

That was all he could do.

"And you..." Yuchuan Meisha pursed her lips, looking at Yuchuan Ayaka with eyes full of longing.

Seeing this, Xia Yu sighed inwardly.

This girl, who grew up in Yuchuan Temple dealing with spirits, had always hoped for her perfect family.

Yuchuan Ayaka’s body trembled.

She turned her back, unable to meet the genuine eyes of Yuchuan Meisha.

"You shouldn’t return to the Yuchuan family!"

"Erase this surname!"

Her tone suddenly harsh, Yuchuan Ayaka said, "If father looks for you soon, or any other Yuchuan kin does, don’t agree to anything with them. You are you, live with the rhythm you are familiar with... and never, ever step into the Yuchuan Main House!"

Xia Yu’s expression turned peculiar.

Yuchuan Ayaka’s words had overturned his past impressions of her.

It seemed that this sister wasn’t so incompetent after all.

Yuchuan Meisha’s eyes widened in shock.

She wasn’t foolish, she clearly understood the implications in Yuchuan Ayaka’s words.

For them, having ’super hearing,’ the family—or the great surname Yuchuan—was like a form of bondage born from their lineage.

Having said that, Yuchuan Ayaka didn’t stay long, stepping toward the kitchen door, she turned the lock and was about to leave, but she paused and surprisingly left a final remark:

"Remember what I said! You are you!"

The tall woman left.

The setting sun cast a blinding light into the room.

Tick tock.

The illuminated floor was quickly wet with shimmering teardrops.

Xia Yu turned and looked at Yuchuan Meisha, who was covering her mouth, but he did not rashly go up to comfort her.

These were not tears of sadness; Yuchuan Meisha was an optimistic and strong woman, and she did not need his comfort.

Soon, Yuchuan Meisha wiped the tears from her fair cheeks and looked up at him.

"All right, your sister told you, didn’t she? There’s no need to go back to the Yuchuan house now," Xia Yu, with his hands in his pockets, said, "I will take you back to Kamakura tomorrow. That’s the place you are familiar with."

Unexpectedly, Yuchuan Meisha shook her head.

"Uh? You still want to go back to the Yuchuan Main House?"

"No, not that!"

"Oh, you want to stay in Tokyo a bit longer?" Xia Yu asked tentatively.

Yuchuan Meisha nodded slowly.

"I want... to talk more with her."

With her palm pressed tightly against her chest, Yuchuan Meisha’s eyes filled with even stronger longing, and her cheeks flushed with rouge.

She wiped away another tear and, breaking into a smile, said, "I can’t just watch you bully my sister!"

"Me, bully her?"

Xia Yu immediately thought askew.

...

For now, the affairs of the Yuchuan Sisters were put to rest.

In the following days, Xia Yu spent his time leisurely, occasionally visiting his plantation, and sometimes encountering Sen Tian Makki, Hozoi Midori, and Niho Fuyuka worrying over their curry dishes; he would give them a tip or two.

Of course.

It was just advice.

His involvement was limited to this extent, and he did not dictate what dishes the students should cook.

Even for Sen Tian Makki, who was closest to him, Xia Yu had no secrets.

Before long, it was the end of the month.

August 25.

Dressed only in a loincloth, almost naked, walked Ichise Hui, carrying farming tools as he returned from outside.

His forehead was covered in sweat, but because of the hard work early in the morning, he looked very spirited.

Passing by room 303.

The slight movement inside the room caught Ichise Hui’s attention.

In fact, apart from the dormitory matron Mrs. Wenxu, the whole dormitory building was only occupied by Ichise Hui and Xingping Chuangzhen.

"Ah...?"

Trying the door handle, he didn’t expect it to open without resistance.

Ichise Hui, half-naked, peeked inside and saw Xingping Chuangzhen sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor, surrounded by bowls and dishes, with another tray containing half a pot of cold curry.

The smell of spices filled the air.

Hearing the door open, Xingping Chuangzhen mechanically turned his head, looking listless and said, "Ah, Senior Ichise, good morning!"

He had heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"Xingping, stayed up late again? You really are working hard!"

After a while, Ichise Hui brought a small bowl of invigorating breakfast and watched Xingping Chuangzhen devour his meal, his eyes full of admiration, "You’ve got a mountain of practical work piled up. In a few days, on the 30th, it will be time for Far Moon’s holidays to end. So, Xingping, are you ready for the ’Autumn Selection’?"

"I’ve got a plan!"

Xingping Chuangzhen put down his ramen bowl, exhaled heavily, and thanked Ichise Hui, "Senior Ichise, thank you for the breakfast. These last few days, I need to work even harder! I’ve almost figured out how to master the ’Indra Moon Orange’!"

Indra Moon Orange...?

Ichise Hui paused, then solemnly said, "Xingping, using Fantasy Ingredients below the special grade can easily run into various tricky problems, are you sure you want to use Instructor Xia’s curry framework to compete?"

"I have turned Instructor Xia’s recipe into my own!"

Xingping Chuangzhen’s smile was soaring.

Confidence!

"Interesting! Very interesting, Xingping!"

Ichise Hui walked to the door and, before leaving, looked back only to find Xingping Chuangzhen already fast asleep on the floor.

He gently closed the door.

Standing in the hallway, Ichise Hui looked up at the ceiling, his eyes brimming with limitless anticipation.

The Yuchuan generation’s selection competition was indeed very interesting!

These gems, what kind of sparks would they produce?

In Ichise Hui’s mind, the first images that came to mind were of the members of the Polar Star Dormitory.

"Xingping..."

"And Sen Tian!"

"This time, the honor of the Polar Star Dormitory is up to you to defend!"