Today's weather was clear, with not a cloud in the sky; a gentle breeze brought waves of coolness over the plaza, where figures clad in white chef uniforms could be seen everywhere.
This competition day was sacred to many chefs, who rarely received attention in their daily kitchen routines. This cooking contest provided the perfect stage to showcase their skills, and earning a good ranking might lead to a career leap with offers from so star-rated hotels.
"Lin Chen, everyone is wearing their chef uniforms! You are way too unprofessional like this," Xue Zi Qi pouted, looking at Lin Chen in his casual clothes.
"No one told
to wear a uniform," Lin Chen replied helplessly.
"Didn't you read the competition notice?" Xue Zi Qi pointed out the notice's instructions with annoyance.
"I really didn't read it," Lin Chen scratched his head.
"Your cooking should have no problem getting into the top three, but you can forget about winning the championship—it's definitely going to be Miss Anna's," Xue Zi Qi analyzed.
Lin Chen smiled and looked at the bustling crowd entering the venue, "My goal isn't the championship or the prize, but sothing special."
"What's that?" Xue Zi Qi asked curiously.
"Secret!" Lin Chen grinned, deliberately being mysterious.
"I know! You definitely want to catch Miss Anna's attention. Humph, showing your true colors now, aren't you!" Xue Zi Qi exclaid.
"Miss, you have too much imagination," Lin Chen said, shaking his head in resignation.
"All right, it's about ti. I'm headed in!" With that, Lin Chen walked towards the venue.
"Good luck!" Xue Zi Qi cheered, making a fist in encouragent.
Lin Chen gave an ok sign and walked into the venue.
All the contestants wore chef uniforms, while Lin Chen, dressed in street market clothes, stood out conspicuously among them.
Standing among the competitors, Lin Chen felt a little excited, spurred by the atmosphere.
After all, Lin Chen was only eighteen and, despite his mature mindset, still possessed the youthful arrogance and defiance.
He surveyed the other contestants and was inwardly surprised; this competition had attracted chefs from all over the country and even many from abroad.
"Lin Chen, there you are! Hey, why aren't you wearing a uniform?" Li Fei squeezed through the crowd to greet Lin Chen warmly.
"Where would an amateur like
get a uniform from?" Lin Chen laughed awkwardly.
"If you're an amateur, then the rest of us might as well not bother competing," Li Fei said, giving Lin Chen a sidelong glance.
"By the way, where's the check-in?" Lin Chen asked.
Li Fei pointed towards a corner: "The room after you turn left is the check-in area."
"Alright, I'll go check in first." Saying this, Lin Chen walked in the direction Li Fei had pointed.
Just as he reached the corner, he ran into Sun Lina head-on.
Sun Li smiled slightly, "Lin Chen, you're going to check in, right? Co with
to the VIP room; with your skills, there's no need to go through the preliminaries."
"Thank you, Aunt," Lin Chen nodded and followed Sun Li to the VIP room.
"Lin Chen, a lot of strong competitors have co from out of town this ti. DY is counting on you. Aim for the top ten!" Sun Li had tasted the fried rice Lin Chen made and had so confidence in his culinary skills.
"Hmm, I'll try my best!"
Lin Chen smiled slightly. He possessed the Master Chef System, and his goal wasn't the top ten, but the championship.
He knew that the higher the ranking he achieved, the more his popularity would grow. Now, Lin Chen was nearly broke, and he wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to increase his popularity.
"The competition will be held in a stadium, and the final will consist of one hundred and fifty contestants. These one hundred and fifty contestants will be divided into several rounds of assessnts, with so being eliminated in every round. Hence, the difficulty increases as the competition progresses.
The last ones remaining will be the champions of this event," Sun Li explained the competition rules while they walked.
"Hmm!" Lin Chen nodded as the two of them had now arrived at the competition venue.
The stadium was divided into several areas, each with a platform. Many contestants had already entered the stadium using their number cards at the entrance, and the other end of the venue was already filled with spectators.
Lin Chen followed Sun Li to the VIP seats, where a row of people was already sitting.
The VIP seats included the judges from last ti, as well as so unfamiliar faces.
At that mont, Lin Chen's gaze suddenly fell on a middle-aged woman.
"Yuan Li is here too," Lin Chen said, sowhat shocked as he looked at the middle-aged woman sitting in a central position.
Yuan Li was the host of a popular food program on Huaxia TV. He hadn't expected the competition committee to invite her as well.
Sun Li led Lin Chen to Yuan Li and said with a smile, "Sister Yuan, let
introduce you to Lin Chen, the one I ntioned to you before."
"Oh, you must be Lin Chen. I've heard your fried rice from last ti was astonishingly good, it's just a pity I didn't have the luck to try it," Yuan Li said with a smile.
"You're too kind, Aunt Yuan. I often watch your cooking program and am actually a fan of yours," Lin Chen said with a smile.
"It's just fried rice, what's so impressive about that? Sothing that's not even fit to be showcased is hardly worth boasting about," an out-of-tune voice interjected at that mont.
Lin Chen frowned and looked back, seeing a young man with a cold expression walking toward them.
Seeing the young man, Yuan Li was also startled, "Zhou Tian, you've co as well."
Zhou Tian, the eldest son of the Zhou family, one of the four major families of Capital City, was known to be an anomaly in Capital City due to his passion for cooking. He had won the youth championship of the Capital City Cooking Contest and taken third place in the Huaxia Cooking Contest, earning the title of Huaxia's Young Cooking God. His culinary skills were formidable.
"Aunt Yuan, what's so special about an olette made by a bumpkin? Just tell
whatever you want to eat, and I'll make it for you," Zhou Tian said arrogantly.
Although Yuan Li was dissatisfied, offending the Zhou family was not sothing a host like her could afford, so she laughed awkwardly, "How could I dare have Young Master Zhou cook for ? With your status, why would you even participate in this minor competition?"
Zhou Tian smirked and replied, "I wouldn't be caught dead in this trashy contest if it weren't for Anna."
"Who is this guy?" Lin Chen asked, curious about the young man's arrogance.
Sun Li leaned in close to Lin Chen and whispered with a smile, "You don't want to ss with this one. He's the fourth son of the Zhou family, the leading family among Capital City's four major families."
"The Zhou family!" Upon hearing the background of the young man, a trace of coldness flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.
"I may not be able to fight for the first place this ti, but the second place is still undoubtedly mine," Zhou Tian asserted confidently.
"Don't pull the bow too tight, lest you take a tumble later and embarrass yourself," a mocking voice suddenly rang from behind.
"Who's spouting nonsense?" Zhou Tian's expression cooled as a chill flashed in his eyes, and he turned around.
"The top two spots are out of your reach. You might as well try for third place," Lin Chen said tauntingly, looking at Zhou Tian with playful arrogance.
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