Chapter 100.
Noticing the sudden, subtle shift in her boyfriend's tone, Rindou tilted her head, her golden eyes flashing with feline curiosity.
"What's wrong?"
Shijun desperately wanted to explain the linguistic nuance to her. In his native dialect, the phonetic pronunciation of "lemon" carried a very specific, deliberate resonance with the phrase "missing you."
He wanted to tell her that the bittersweet, lingering acidity of the dish was a direct reflection of the fifty-two agonizing days and nights he had spent waiting for her to return.
In the end, he just smiled and shook his head.
He didn't need to spell it out. Once she tasted the dish, she would understand his heart perfectly.
Rindou didn't press the issue; her attention had already been entirely hijacked by the intoxicating aroma wafting from the plate. The rustic, earthy fragrance had completely filled the dining area.
It smells incredible!
Unable to resist, Rindou unconsciously leaned forward, her nose twitching rapidly as she sniffed the air like a hungry, impatient cat. The sheer anticipation on her face was absurdly cute.
"Don't rush, let me get the rice first."
Shijun laughed, turning back to the kitchen.
A heavy, flavorful braise demanded a bed of fluffy white rice. To balance the meal, he also brought out a cold appetizer: a crisp, refreshingly spicy plate of pickled pepper shredded chicken feet.
Rindou practically vibrated with excitement as she grabbed her chopsticks. She couldn't wait another second to dissect this impossible dish. She pinched a generous piece of the braised sweetfish and popped it into her mouth.
Instantly, her golden eyes widened to their absolute limits.
"Ah... this texture...!"
The flesh was impossibly plump and tender, yet it carried an aromatic depth she had never encountered before. It was a mouthfeel entirely divorced from the coastal freshwater fish of Japan.
Having grown up hunting and foraging across the Japanese countryside, Rindou was intimately familiar with the delicate, almost fragile texture of a standard Ayu. But this?
Shijun's braised sweetfish was a paradox. The meat possessed the slightly coarse, resilient bite of a wild carp pulled from the deep, landlocked rivers of the Asian continent. Yet, against all physical logic, it flawlessly retained the Ayu's signature, melon-like umami. The flavor was profoundly mellow, coating the palate and leaving a lingering, addictive richness.
"How did you actually do this?"
Rindou asked, her voice hushed with genuine culinary shock.
She was staring at a miracle. He had fundamentally rewritten the inherent biological properties of the ingredient. If this technique could be widely applied, a chef could take the cheapest, muddiest trash fish and elevate it into a peerless, apex-tier delicacy.
"Remember when I stuffed the sponge soaked in concentrated lemon juice into the belly cavity?" Shijun leaned against the table, looking incredibly smug. "The citric acid reacted with the heavy salt deposits, neutralizing a specific margin of the sodium. Then, utilizing that specialized massage technique, I physically forced the excess moisture and impurities out through the micro-incisions."
He gestured to the plate.
"By aggressively purging that specific volume of 'salted' moisture from the cellular walls, the physical structure of the meat tightens. It alters the molecular characteristics of the flesh, giving you that robust, slightly coarse bite you'd expect from a true inland river fish, while stripping away the oceanic odor completely."
Shijun looked at his girlfriend with a triumphant smirk.
The exam question you gave me was far too simple.
Rindou sat back, utterly convinced. She hadn't expected the mechanics to be this insanely complex.
Listening to his breakdown, she realized with a pang of awe that this wasn't a technique she could easily replicate.
Squeeze out excess salt and alter cellular density through a manual massage?
It sounded deceptively simple. But executing it required a terrifying, encyclopedic understanding of the ingredient's exact anatomical structure. One wrong press, and the fish would turn into an unpalatable, mushy disaster.
He truly is the heir to aristocratic culinary dynasty, Rindou thought.
Through Momo Akanegakubo's reluctant gossip, Rindou was already aware of Shijun's prestigious background. But she honestly didn't care about his pedigree. She only cared about the man sitting across from her.
Having unraveled the culinary physics, Rindou happily dove back into the meal, thoroughly surrendering herself to the exquisite experience.
As she chewed, a profound realization bloomed on her palate.
Buried deep beneath the savory braise and the fiery kick of the spices, a delicate, almost hidden wave of sweet and sour citrus suddenly burst forth. It was the residual kiss of the lemon.
Ah.
The ultimate, perfect experience washed over her. In that fleeting burst of sweet and sour, she instantly decoded his intention.
The bittersweet sting of the lemon. The warmth of the spice. It was the physical manifestation of fifty-two days of longing, perfectly crystallized onto a single plate.
Rindou shot Shijun a sidelong, incredibly affectionate glare, her golden eyes practically melting.
This infuriatingly talented man always insisted on speaking his heart through his cooking. It immediately pulled her back to the day they met—how this tall, aloof underclassman had flawlessly bypassed her defenses by presenting her with a meticulously crafted, heart-shaped Baumkuchen.
The two locked eyes and shared a quiet, deeply contented smile. No words were needed.
After a thoroughly satisfying lunch, Shijun and Rindou took a leisurely stroll through the sprawling Totsuki campus, completely indulging in their long-overdue reunion date.
"Look... isn't that Rindou-senpai from the Second Seat? And Shijun from the Eighth Seat!"
"The rumors were actually true! They really are dating!"
"Two active Elite Ten members openly dating? That's practically unheard of in Totsuki history!"
"They look so incredibly good together..."
Because the Autumn Election roster had been posted that morning, the campus was still swarming with lingering students. Naturally, the sight of the famously elusive Second Seat and the terrifyingly overpowered Eighth Seat walking hand-in-hand sent shockwaves across the courtyards. Whispered gossip followed them like a shadow.
Shijun and Rindou exchanged a glance and laughed, entirely ignoring the crowd. They both possessed fiercely independent, untamable personalities; the opinions of the student body meant absolutely nothing to them. As long as they were happy, the rest of the world could talk.
"Ah! Shijun! Rindou-senpai! You're back!"
A familiar, timid voice called out.
Shijun turned to see Megumi Tadokoro walking toward them, flanked by Yuki Yoshino and Ryoko Sakaki. Rindou immediately recognized the Polar Star girls; they had served as the impromptu judging panel during Shijun's casual Shokugeki against Soma Yukihira months ago.
"Shijun! We all made the cut! We were selected for the tournament!"
Yuki practically bounced over, desperate to share the good news with her friend.
"You idiot, Shijun is in the Elite Ten. He's had access to the finalized roster for weeks."
Ryoko sighed, deadpanning as she reigned her hyperactive roommate in.
"Oh. Right. I got a little too excited." Yuki rubbed the back of her neck, laughing sheepishly. Then, her eyes lit up. "By the way, Shijun, we're throwing a massive celebration party at the Polar Star Dorm tonight! Do you want to come?"
"Yuki, you can't just ambush them with an invitation like that! Shijun and Rindou-senpai are clearly on a date; you're going to bother them!"
Megumi panicked, waving her hands frantically. She felt her roommate was being incredibly dense.
Can't you see they're having a romantic moment?!
"Do you want to go check it out?"
Shijun looked down at Rindou. Strolling around campus was nice, but the chaotic, alcohol-fueled parties at the Polar Star Dormitory were undeniably legendary.
"Is Isshiki going to be there? Sounds perfect! I haven't crashed a Polar Star party in ages!"
Rindou's eyes sparkled with immediate enthusiasm.
"Wait, Rindou-senpai, you've been to our dorm before?"
Yuki gasped, amazed.
"Are you kidding? I've been terrorizing the high school division for three years! Is there a single corner of this academy I haven't raided for food?"
Rindou laughed, instantly linking arms with Megumi and Yuki.
Within seconds, the Second Seat was animatedly chatting with the first-year girls, seamlessly integrating into their group dynamic as they all began walking toward the dorm.
Watching his girlfriend happily bond with his club members and completely leave him in the dust, Shijun stood frozen on the sidewalk.
Wait a minute, he thought, a sudden wave of regret washing over him. Did I just accidentally third-wheel my own date?