Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 555 - 554: The Cheating Cat

Chapter 555: Chapter 554: The Cheating Cat

Dong.

Two fried buns, each missing a corner, fell to the ground.

Tiqie Ji’s face stiffened.

Another girl immediately bent down to pick them up, staring at the pastries as the beef jus spilled out, her beautiful brows furrowed into a knot.

"How strange."

Zhu Qing gobbled up the pastry in a few bites, licking her fingers and said, "I saw a radiant church... What’s going on?"

She glanced sideways at Eriina.

Zhu Qing was feigning ignorance.

She could sense something was off in the kitchen’s atmosphere.

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro, those uninvolved, didn’t think much of it, but they were instead intrigued by the ’Chef’s heart’ Tiqie Eriina had imparted to the dish. Both were equally shocked and delighted.

"It’s the Chef’s heart!"

"The intensity of this fantasy can’t be wrong!"

Tiqie Zongwei and his wife exchanged surprised looks.

Leonora couldn’t help but step forward, hugging the girl tightly against her chest, joyfully mussing her hair and asking, "Eriina, when did you come to realize such a Chef’s heart?"

Caught off guard by the mature woman’s ample bosom, the girl who felt suffocated frantically pushed with her hands.

Noticing the tsundere girl’s resistance, Leonora let out a chuckle, shook her head, released her, and took a step back, looking at the girl with flushed cheeks, she asked again with concern, "Is it the Chef’s heart? Tell us, what happened!"

And so, a group gathered their attention.

"Chef’s, Chef’s heart?"

Tiqie Ji stared at his daughter in disbelief.

Sen Tian Makki’s eyes roved between the girl and the boy, her expression complex. She felt a squeeze in her heart, wondering if she had indulged her opponent too much, allowing them to grow too strong. The girl asked herself over and over.

"I call it... ’The Heart of Radiance’!"

Tiqie Eriina slightly raised her fair chin with a hint of pride, decidedly not showing the timid character of a shrinking violet like Tanaka Hikari.

The Heart of Radiance?

With her confirmation, Tanaka Hikari felt bewildered, while the others pondered and reminisced.

Did the so-called radiance feel like the sensation of being pierced through the body by a column of light just now?

Or was it the imagery seen in the radiant church?

Everyone had their guesses.

The ’Chef’s heart’ was something fanciful; an epiphany or breakthrough wouldn’t be surprising.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Applause.

Xia Yu looked at the ’Divine Tongue’ and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Eriina, you now have a complete Chef’s heart, the threshold for special grade is practically non-existent for you. I think Far Moon will soon have a young special grade chef."

The girl frankly accepted everyone’s praises, but when Instructor Xia spoke, she couldn’t pretend anymore and turned her head away hurriedly, leaving people to see only her delicate cheek flushed with crimson.

Xia Yu was smiling.

He understood the sentiment Tiqie Eriina had put into her cooking, but how to respond, he found that difficult.

Affection? Such a thing did exist. After all, everyone has a desire for beauty, and who wouldn’t want to put crystal slippers on such a lively, fragrant girl with an angelic appearance? However, Eriina’s cooking also made Xia Yu realize that he was not ready to accept a marriage that came out of nowhere. Simply put, his fondness for the girl was still budding and speaking of marriage was premature.

Just like his relationship with Sen Tian Makki. In the past six months, Xia Yu had only begun to come to terms with his childhood friend intruding into his daily life.

Hmm...

But being an ostrich wouldn’t do either.

The girl had mustered the courage to communicate through her cooking; he had to respond.

Otherwise, with the ’Divine Tongue’s’ wild imagination, Xia Yu feared she might overthink.

"You’ve all come at the right time."

Hands in his pockets, Xia Yu spoke up while Dojima Yin, Tiqie Ji, Saito Chiyokuro, and the others looked at him uncomprehendingly, the boy merely smiled and said, "Even if it’s to kick off a celebration early for the overall champion, I’ll go get the ingredients. Wait for me!"

Xia Yu returned ten minutes later.

He only brought back two ingredients—

egg liquid and Gem Meat.

But the main ingredient of the "Gold and Jade" recipe, "star rice," was nowhere to be found.

"Isn’t it supposed to be Gold and Jade?"

The crowd was disappointed.

"Don’t waste the ingredients!" Dojima Yin murmured, "If you’re not using ’star rice,’ then there’s no need for Taboo Egg Liquid and Gem Meat either. Ordinary rice doesn’t match with these two ingredients."

"Who says they don’t match?"

Xia Yu chuckled, noticing the skepticism in everyone’s eyes. While rinsing the ordinary rice, he confidently said, "Trust me, this fried rice won’t fall far short of ’Gold and Jade.’ You won’t be disappointed!"

Gem Meat and Five-headed Bird Egg were a perfect pair, a CP combination. Xia Yu had used this duo to build a solid recipe framework in his duel against Mars.

Star rice was too delicate, troublesome to wash and cook, and with it still locked in the system store, there wasn’t much of the Taboo Rice left for Xia Yu to use. If he were to serve it to friends and family, it would all be used up in one meal. Considering the cost he had incurred acquiring "star rice," Xia Yu didn’t think he was generous enough to squander his wealth.

In short, he was confident that he could make the "Golden Egg Fried Rice" shine.

The egg liquid was stored in a sterile vacuum bottle.

First, he took a kitchen knife to cut the Gem Meat. It wasn’t easy to butcher a beautiful piece of meat, but Xia Yu did his best to keep the diced pieces intact, as these little bits would soon garnish the dish, adding decorative color.

Next, he cleaned the pot and started on the rice.

The pot was a clay pot, placed over the stove with a total of six burners. He filled each clay pot with rice and water, covered them, and then Xia Yu turned the valves in unison, igniting a ghostly blue flame underneath all six pots.

No need for a sous-chef.

Xia Yu turned around, brought over a small stove from the corner of the kitchen, and placed a Chinese Iron Pot on it.

"And charcoal!"

He continued to fetch more items. There was an abundance of charcoal, all transported by the IGO organization in truckloads over the past two days. Xia Yu first buried solid alcohol cubes at the bottom of the charcoal stove before heaping on the charcoal, then, he inserted a burning stick.

With a whoosh, the alcohol flared up, and the stove blazed fiercely.

The Chinese Iron Pot quickly made a sizzling sound.

But the young man took only a glance before returning to the cooking counter, folding his arms and watching the six clay pots perched on the stovetop.

Another ten minutes passed.

"It’s, it’s red-hot!"

Tanaka Hikari’s forehead was damp with sweat, her large beautiful eyes fixated on the iron pot whose bottom had turned red-hot.

Zhu Qing, Dojima Yin, Saito Chiyokuro, and others, had a serious look on their faces.

"Miss Zhu, is it possible to make fried rice with a red-hot pot?" Dojima Yin’s throat was dry.

"If one has that kind of cooking skill, it is possible..."

Zhu Qing frowned, adding, "But I’ve only heard of red-hot pots for stir-frying twice-cooked pork... Stir-frying rice in a red-hot pot... seems a bit reckless."

"A fried rice that won’t fall short of ’Gold and Jade’?"

Tiqie Ji kept his eyes fixed on the young man.

Among the crowd, he and Eriina were the fortunate ones who had tasted ’Gold and Jade.’

As such, Tiqie Ji simply couldn’t believe that any fried rice could reach the height of ’Gold and Jade.’ The Ghost Father probably didn’t realize that ’Gold and Jade’ had, in his mind, been labeled a classic.

Meanwhile, Tiqie Eriina faintly understood the meaning behind Xia Yu’s cooking; this might be his way of responding to her...

Thinking this, Eriina couldn’t help but glance towards the girl with long black hair, only to meet her dark, clear eyes.

The other’s gaze conveyed nothing but calm.

But the more it was so, the more uneasy and restless Eriina felt.

"Congratulations!"

Taking a step closer to approach, Morioka Makoto whispered into the girl’s ear, now dodging her direct gaze, "But I won’t lose to you, you cheating cat!"

She emphasized the word "cheating cat" heavily.

"I won’t lose either! No, I won’t give in!" Clenching her fists, heat flushed through Eriina, the label "cheating cat" striking her like a tail stepped on. Pride was utterly subdued by a wave of strange emotion, and she became surprisingly candid.