Yumemi completely disbelieved Ayanokoji's explanation.
Even if the wasabi wasn't spicy enough, there should still be some reaction, right!?
Her entire face had turned red after eating it, her eyes bloodshot, while Ayanokouji Kiyohira's eyes were clear, a stark contrast to hers.
She had endured a week of continuous training to achieve this feat, so why could Ayanokouji Kiyohira eat wasabi as if it were cream, without changing his expression!?
Yumemi was convinced in her heart that Ayanokouji Kiyohira, just like her, had secretly prepared!
However, she had no idea what method Ayanokouji Kiyohira had used.
Ayanokoji had only learned about this game a few minutes ago, so it was impossible for him to have prepared in advance like her...
Never mind, if she couldn't figure it out, she wouldn't think about it.
Although Yumemi couldn't see how Ayanokouji Kiyohira did it, she believed Ayanokoji couldn't tell which plate contained her wasabi cake, so she still had an advantage in this round.
As long as she guessed which plate Ayanokoji's wasabi cake was on, she would win!
"Before guessing, I have a question."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira glanced at the idol girl standing beside him, then at Yumemi, and suddenly asked, "You didn't collude with them, did you? If you already knew which plate the cake was in, there's no need for me to compete with you."
Before Yumemi could speak, the girl standing beside Ayanokoji glared at Ayanokoji: "You're questioning Yumemi's character! She would never collude with us; she was completely unaware when we were arranging the plates!"
"Exactly, apologize to Yumemi quickly!" Another girl also looked at Ayanokoji with hostility.
"I was just asking, don't be angry... I apologize."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira had just asked casually and hadn't really thought that way; he quickly apologized.
He looked at Yumemi with some surprise, not expecting that in her friends' eyes, her character was so good? They would go to great lengths to protect her...
Yumemi was a little happy when she heard her friends speak up for her.
She had indeed not colluded with her friends, as for why she didn't...
Please, if even an acting competition required stooping to that level, how would her friends view her!?
Yumemi still cared about her reputation.
At least in front of her friends, she would maintain an attitude of fairness, strictness, and diligent effort.
However, she was regretting it a little now.
She hadn't expected Ayanokouji Kiyohira not only to avoid making a fool of himself but also to show no flaws, leaving her at a loss now...
"Alright, let's start guessing now!"
Regretting it now was useless, Yumemi shook her head, forcing herself to focus on the gamble before her.
First, the first plate was absolutely impossible.
Ayanokouji Kiyohira had personally praised her cake as delicious; he couldn't possibly be eating wasabi while praising her "cream-flavored" cake as delicious, could he?
He hadn't tasted it before; if he hadn't truly tasted it, it would be impossible to know the cake was "cream-flavored"!
So, the choice was between the second and third plates.
Yumemi was actually leaning towards the second plate.
She had tasted it for a week straight and knew how strong and pungent the wasabi was upon entering the mouth. If Ayanokouji Kiyohira ate it last, he should at least have some reaction; even if he didn't cough or cry, he should at least sneeze, right?
If the wasabi cake was on the second plate, he could use the sweetness of the cream from the third plate to neutralize the wasabi's taste. If his tolerance was a bit higher, it wouldn't be impossible for him to remain expressionless...
"I choose B!" Yumemi made her decision immediately, without hesitation.
"...Then, it's my turn to choose."
Ayanokouji Kiyohira looked at the plate in front of Yumemi and said casually, "The wasabi cake you ate was on plate A, right?"
Plate A, which was the first plate.
Yumemi had originally been very confident in her acting, but upon hearing Ayanokouji Kiyohira utter that answer, she gasped in surprise: "How did you know!?"
Yumemi was very surprised because the answer Ayanokouji Kiyohira gave was the correct one; she had eaten the wasabi cake on her first taste.
"Do you want to know?" Ayanokoji asked with a smile.
"Of course!" Yumemi nodded without hesitation; she really wanted to know where she had given herself away!
Ayanokouji Kiyohira didn't answer immediately; he just pointed to her earpiece. Yumemi realized Ayanokoji didn't want their conversation to be public, so she reached out and turned off her mic.
It was then that Ayanokouji Kiyohira spoke: "My observation is quite meticulous. I noticed that when you ate the first cake, although you made chewing motions, the force of your chewing was very light, and the number of times was very few, as if you were chewing slowly and deliberately.
And when you picked up the cake and chewed it a second time, both the force and number of your chewing motions were greater than the first time.
On the third chew, the number of your chews was significantly less than the second time."
"Based on your chewing frequency, I guessed that you got the wasabi cake the first time, but you didn't eat it all at once. Instead, you cautiously ate only a small piece of the edge, confirming that the cake's filling was wasabi.
Then, you ate the outer layer of the cake, and then you didn't touch the wasabi, simply leaving the remaining wasabi portion in your mouth without tasting it.
When you ate the second cake, you then chewed the wasabi and cream together, neutralizing the wasabi's taste and reducing its spiciness, minimizing the stress reaction the wasabi caused you.
And on the third chew, the spiciness of the wasabi still lingered in your mouth. You endured the discomfort brought by the wasabi and then sped up your chewing rhythm, not wanting it to stay in your mouth for too long, so the number of chews decreased..."
After hearing Ayanokoji's explanation, Yumemi's first reaction wasn't surprise at his keen observation, but rather a flushed, angry retort: "Hey, who stares at a girl eating and counts her chewing motions? That's very rude!"
Although girls don't mind eating in front of others, if they knew someone was constantly staring at them while they ate and even counting their chewing motions, anyone would feel shy.
Especially Yumemi, as an idol, she was even more conscious of this.
Even during the competition, realizing that Ayanokouji Kiyohira had been watching her so closely, Yumemi still felt a blush creep across her cheeks.
Fortunately, her cheeks were already red from eating the wasabi, so no one noticed anything amiss.
"Hey, this is a competition. If I don't stare at your face, what else am I supposed to do? Should I face the wall and reflect?" Ayanokoji said helplessly.
It was as if Yumemi hadn't been staring at him when he ate; wasn't it normal to stare at your opponent during a competition?
Yumemi also knew she was being unreasonable, so she didn't dwell on the issue. She snorted, turned on her earpiece, and put on an unconcerned expression, flashing a brilliant smile at the audience.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have both made our choices, and now it's time to reveal the answers!"
Yumemi looked up and said to her teammate in front of her, "Little Yui, I'll leave it to you to open the envelope!"
The girl nodded, opened the envelope, and inside was the correct answer.
"For Yumemi, the wasabi cake was in plate A. For Ayanokoji, his wasabi cake was in... plate C."
The girl announced the answer with some difficulty: "Round one, the winner is... Ayanokouji Kiyohira."
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