Yu Yitong had started following Ma Lu since last night, working tirelessly until midnight, and she had to continue shooting early in the morning.
Moreover, while Ma Lu could rest, they couldn't. She was a bit tired now and closed her eyes for a brief rest by the flower bed.
It was only when she heard footsteps that she opened her eyes and saw Ma Lu passing in front of her with a bag of sunflower seeds and chips.
Ma Lu took a few steps and then walked back.
"Is there sothing wrong?" Yu Yitong asked.
"Are you hurt?"
"Not at all, what you want to do is your choice, even if you're seeing Miss Qi Shanzhu, I won't be upset."
"No, no, no, I'm not talking about that. It's your period, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
Yu Yitong followed Ma Lu's gaze, looked down, and noticed for the first ti that her skirt was stained with blood.
"Ah."
Yu Yitong's face instantly flushed with embarrassnt as she searched through her shoulder bag, but couldn't find a sanitary napkin.
Her period had arrived earlier than usual this ti, so Yu Yitong was unprepared.
Seeing this, Ma Lu took off his shirt and handed it to her.
Yu Yitong hesitated.
"What are you waiting for? Take it and tie it around your waist to cover the stain," Ma Lu said. "I'll go to the front desk and buy you a pack of sanitary napkins."
"There's no need, I'll get David to buy it for . Besides, it'll get your shirt dirty," Yu Yitong said.
"It doesn't matter. I brought three sets of clothes this ti, and I have to wear a chef's uniform for the competition. Chuan Ye Zhengming even lent one of his."
Ma Lu said, "Don't dawdle, look at that kid. Does he look like he'd co if you called him?"
Yu Yitong glanced at David not far away and saw him busily photographing Qi Shanzhu, without even noticing that his main subject, Ma Lu, was missing.
He had even assured her that he would keep a close watch on the person.
"Okay, then... thank you," Yu Yitong took the shirt.
Ma Lu then bought her a pack of sanitary napkins. Yu Yitong went upstairs to change into the napkin and a new outfit, and when she ca out of her room, there were no blood stains on her.
"I'll return your shirt to you once it's washed."
"Alright."
"..."
Afterwards, there was half a minute of silence between them, filled only with the slightly awkward sound of breathing.
"If you're okay, then I'll go back to swimming," Ma Lu said.
"Yeah, I'll go down with you because my job is to..."
"I know, I know. Let's go together then."
...
After swimming, Ma Lu had intended to invite Qi Shanzhu and Sun i to play cards, but Sun i refused.
Sun i explained that her leisure ti was over and that she had serious matters to attend to.
Ma Lu thought she was preparing for tomorrow's culinary competition, but as dinner approached, Chuan Ye Zhengming mysteriously pulled him aside to a special place.
"This is..."
"The back kitchen of a specialty restaurant. The hotel has cleared this space for us to practice and find inspiration," Chuan Ye Zhengming said.
Ma Lu poked his head around and indeed saw many contestants who had passed the first round busy experinting with new ingredients and new dishes.
Ma Lu also spotted a familiar figure. "Ha, isn't that Sun i?"
"Exactly, when I arrived I heard people say she has been here for over five hours already."
"That long? But don't we still not know what the competition will be about tomorrow? Is it necessary to prepare for such a long ti?" Ma Lu was puzzled.
"She isn't busy with tomorrow's competition," Chuan Ye Zhengming said.
"That's even more bizarre. If it's not for tomorrow's competition, why would she stay here? By the way, did you guys know, the hotel offers a foot massage service, and it's quite comfortable."
"It's to replicate 'Roasted Stead Bun,'" Chuan Ye Zhengming said.
"What?"
"Sun i is here to replicate your 'Roasted Stead Bun.'"
"Ah... wait, why?"
"Probably because she doesn't want to lose to you," said Chuan Ye Zhengming, "to prove that what you can do, she can do too.
"This kind of obsession with victory is probably why she, despite her young age, has won so many contests, defeated much older opponents and climbed to the pinnacle."
"Hmm... I can understand her tenacity, but unfortunately she won't be able to replicate this dish," Ma Lu said.
At one corner of the kitchen, Sun i furrowed her brows. She had already made a full eight 'Roasted Stead Buns,' but still had not succeeded, not even co close to success.
Finding a way to insert the ingredients without puncturing the bun skin had already taken up a lot of her ti.
It wasn't the sa as a stuffed bun, because there was considerable space between the filling and the top skin.
Figuring out how to maintain these gaps and prevent the paper-thin stead bun skin from collapsing down onto the ingredients was incredibly challenging.
Fortunately, Sun i finally thought of a solution, which was to inflate the buns with air.
Using a gas of sufficient density to prop up the bun skin.
But before she could celebrate, she encountered a new problem: the ethereal mist Ma Lu created was most likely steam.
This steam originated from the lamb chops and other vegetables in the ingredients, transforming into steam during baking and then getting trapped inside the bun by the skin.
Thus, when the bun was cracked open, a scene of swirling mist would appear.
The theory was sound, but in practice, it was very difficult because the bun skin itself wasn't waterproof. Once too much moisture gathered at the top, it would beco wet and collapse.
Furthermore, to ensure the gaps between the bun skin and the ingredients, Sun i had already inflated it, and these gases would expand when heated, either propping up the bun or causing it to deform.
This was why Sun i had attempted many tis and still declared failure, and she found it very difficult to control the final shape of the cooked ingredients.
Moreover, ensuring that both the lamb inside the bun and the top bun skin were perfectly roasted to the best condition was more difficult than Sun i had imagined.
Considering the thickness of the bun skin, she had to stay in front of the oven, keeping a constant watch on the changes inside, unable to wander around like Ma Lu.
But even so, it was still hard to control the cooking, let alone make 13 portions at once.
During her attempts at replication, Sun i also experienced flashes of doubt.
Can soone really achieve this level?
The answer, beyond doubt, was yes, because Ma Lu had done it before, in the midst of a competition, and that was why Sun i, after many failures, still wanted to try.
But now she had to stop, not because she was tired, but because she had nearly used up all the ingredients she borrowed from the kitchen, and the ruined 'Roasted Stead Buns' couldn't just be thrown away; that would be too wasteful.
After all, just because she hadn't replicated the 'Roasted Stead Bun' effect didn't an that the food was inedible.
Typically, a restaurant would have internal staff eat these spoiled trial products.
Only now, Sun i wasn't in a restaurant, she didn't have any staff around her, and she couldn't bring herself to offer these failed attempts to other chefs or to the public reviewing panel.
So she was stuck there, and thus when Ma Lu and Chuan Ye Zhengming ca by, she felt a sense of rescue.
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