"As soon as I got back to the shop, the Wang brothers called me to fill in for their dad, who has a cold. It was an emergency, so I just packed some clothes and left immediately. The book you gave me... I just tossed it in my room and didn't bring it with me."
"I really didn't mean to stand you up last night, my lady!" Mo Bai's survival instincts went into overdrive, accidentally activating some hidden racial talent. He launched into a tearful, yet perfectly articulated, high-speed divine-word RAP that made the darkening Sagisawa Fumika hesitate.
"Is what you're saying true?"
"If I had planned this, there's no way I could have been in Chiba City yesterday afternoon and then flown to Akihabara this morning for a competition, right?"
Reluctantly accepting Mo Bai's explanation, the dark aura behind Sagisawa Fumika dissipated.
"Are all girls this terrifying after being stood up?" Mo Bai tugged at his collar to relieve the suffocating pressure he'd just felt.
Having exited her dark state, Sagisawa Fumika's eyes widened as she stared at the large, crimson stain spreading across the collar Mo Bai was touching with his right hand.
"Your hand!" she stammered, covering her mouth.
"Huh? Oh, come on, my clothes." Mo Bai looked down, an expression of pure disgust on his face.
Sagisawa Fumika: ???
Your hand is like that and you're worried about your clothes?
"Let me re-bandage it for you." Fumika remembered her main reason for seeking out Mo Bai and quickly took out a prepared first-aid kit.
Mo Bai froze. Damn it, he and Xiao Bai had gone to great lengths to sneak some ketchup and gauze from the recording studio, and now, not long after getting back to his room with his disguise complete, it was all about to be exposed?
Surprise? The unexpected? I'll be damned! What the hell was all that effort sneaking around with Xiao Bai for?!
"No, no, it's fine. A little injury like this is nothing." To make his words more convincing, Mo Bai squeezed his fist hard.
With a squelch, the viscous Mr. Ketchup burst furiously from the gaps in the tightly wrapped gauze.
In an instant, Fumika's cheek, barely an arm's length away, was splattered with a warm, red liquid.
This is the end!
Mo Bai clearly saw every single frame of the process: Fumika's eyelid twitched, and then she began to inhale, preparing to scream.
"Don't!" At the critical moment, Mo Bai executed a forced-dash-and-silence technique, clapping a hand over Fumika's mouth.
Silence returned to the room once more.
"Shh! Don't scream."
"Actually, I've been super healthy since I was a kid. The red liquid is just ketchup I put on to fake it."
"Do you get it now?" Mo Bai explained, right up in her face.
"Mmmph." Fumika nodded, her face red.
"Good." Just as Mo Bai breathed a sigh of relief, he felt something was off.
They were too close.
So close that they could feel each other's heartbeats and see their own reflections in the other's pupils.
Sagisawa Fumika's bright, azure eyes seemed to possess a charm that could pull you in.
Mo Bai's breath caught, and he quickly let go.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so forward."
"I-It's fine."
After going to the bathroom to wash the ketchup off his hand, Mo Bai offered her a clean towel. "Here, wipe your face."
"Thank you."
"So, Mr. Mo Bai, you weren't frostbitten at all? Then why pretend to be injured?" Sagisawa Fumika asked, her face, still flushed, full of confusion.
Mo Bai was relieved that Sagisawa Fumika didn't press him on why he wasn't frostbitten, a question he couldn't answer.
"To feign weakness to my enemies and make a fortune in secret, of course." Mo Bai gestured downwards with his hand. "Keep it on the down-low."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Oh, right, let me re-bandage it for you."
"Excellent." Mo Bai suddenly felt that Sagisawa Fumika was quite astute.
After lunch, Sagisawa Fumika left with her friends. She left behind a note with her phone number and a new bandage on Mo Bai's hand, tied in the shape of bunny ears.
"Xiao Bai, status screen." After seeing Sagisawa Fumika off, Mo Bai calmed down and pondered how he'd achieved such an excellent state that morning.
===
Host: Mo Bai
Chef Level: Zero Star
Physique: lv10
Knife Skills: lv6
Heat Control: lv6
Chef Skill: Intuition (Beginner)
Mastered Recipes: Great Sea Soul Repose Noodles (Two-Star), Rainbow Leopard Grouper Sashimi (Five-Star)
Culinary Heart: Propriety
Points: -300,000,000,000
===
"Hmm, it seems my Knife Skills and Heat Control both went up a level because I entered 'the zone.'"
Scrolling further down the stats, a dazzling orange light flashed, bringing tears to Mo Bai's eyes.
An orange-rarity skill, Intuition? Mo Bai was so shocked his jaw dropped.
Judging by this insanely awesome description, its coolness factor seems a tier higher than skills like God's Eye, God's Tongue, or God's Nose.
But when did he acquire this skill?
A friendly sponsorship from Xiao Bai?
Mo Bai scoffed at the 'Xiao Bai sponsorship' theory.
Given how stingy Xiao Bai is, assigning quests without rewards or points, it would give him a skill?
Mo Bai even suspected that the 300 billion points he owed had likely been padded by Xiao Bai.
"Xiao Bai, analyze this."
"What's there to analyze? You started glowing, and then this thing lit up in your skill list."
Not only Mo Bai, but System Sprite Xiao Bai was also completely baffled.
Could it be that Mo Bai has some kind of 'breakthrough in the heat of battle' buff?
"Since we can't figure it out, let's just think about the finals." In any case, Mo Bai wasn't at a disadvantage for gaining an orange-rarity skill.
No matter how cunning you are, Xiao Bai, scheming like a fox, in the end, you still have to bow before my protagonist halo, don't you?
In a cheerful mood, Mo Bai turned on the TV to watch the afternoon's Group B competition while thinking about recipes.
Yellowtail, also called 'huang gan yu' in the Hua nation, is hailed as a top-tier ingredient in Japan.
The yellowtail has a relatively long growth cycle, taking about three years to mature from a fry. During this process, it is given a different name at each stage of its growth.
Aside from winter yellowtail, the stages known as "Buri," "Hiramasa," and "Kanpachi" are considered the best-tasting.
The yellowtail from Wang Xiang's fish stocks was a [Hiramasa]—over a meter long, rich in fat, with a deep flavor and a luscious, plump texture. It could be called a top-grade fish for eating, with everything in perfect balance.
"Trying to compete directly with top-grade bluefin tuna on quality is definitely a losing battle. Having been burned once, that rich boy Harano won't be foolish enough to serve a sashimi dish again."
"If I want to win, do I have to use the unique properties of my Culinary Heart to create a complex flavor?"
"Xiao Bai, what about a hot pot?" Mo Bai had an idea. "I think if I focus on the broth, I can overpower the flavor of the bluefin tuna."
"How would you focus on it?"
"First, shellfish are a must. Then, a sea fish with a compatible flavor. And maybe add some seaweed if possible?"
Mo Bai decided not to have a one-on-one duel with the rich boy Harano; he would crush him with the sheer complexity of his dish.
It's one of you versus all of us, or all of us ganging up on you.
Xiao Bai felt gratified by Mo Bai's shamelessness.
"The combination of a fresh broth from shellfish, seaweed, and fish isn't difficult. There's just one problem. Are three hours enough?"
"The seaweed needs to be soaked and cleaned, the sandbags removed from the shellfish, and the fish needs to be cleaned and undergo some other preliminary steps."
"And don't forget, in the public's eyes, you're still a chef with a crippled hand."
"Time..." Mo Bai's expression turned troubled.
The doorbell rang.
"At this hour? Who could it be?" Mo Bai got up to open the door.
The first thing he saw was Wang Xiang's old face, beaming with a suggestive smile.
"A girl is here to see you?"
"Huh?"
Wang Xiang stepped aside, revealing a petite, Japanese-style lolita with a hime cut and an uneasy expression.
"Gokou Ruri!?" Mo Bai's face went pale.
Are the girls I stood up forming a party to raid me!?
The image of Sagisawa Fumika's dark transformation was still fresh in his mind.
Just as Mo Bai was about to drop to his knees and beg for mercy... a bold idea suddenly struck him.
Eh? Wait a minute! If I don't have enough time, can't I just add an assistant chef?
Mo Bai vaguely recalled that the rules seemed to allow for assistant chefs, though they weren't permitted to touch the stove or participate in the cooking process. Just like the people who helped Harano Katsuya cut the bluefin tuna in the elimination round, assistants were only responsible for ingredient prep.
Mo Bai suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Gokou Ruri by the shoulders.
"Ruri-chan! This is the greatest request of my life!" Mo Bai's eyes were blazing as he spoke with utmost sincerity.
"The g-greatest request of your life?" A puff of steam shot out from the top of fourteen-year-old Gokou Ruri's head as her energy reactor went silent.
Wang Xiang silently turned, closed the door for the two of them, and walked away, his good deed done and his name unknown.
________________________________________
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