Chapter Nine: Claiming First Place!

In the span of an hour, under the busy hands of the guests, time passed swiftly. Li Weiwei announced, “Alright, time’s up. Please bring your dishes to the table in the center.”

The long table in the middle, which had once been crowded with ingredients, was now thoroughly cleared. The first three contestants quickly set their dishes down, with only Jiang Mingzhao still ladling something from his pot—a bowl of unidentifiable mush?

For the sake of fairness, Yao Xiucheng had stepped out during the cooking process. Now, he entered the room. His gaze swept across the space, and instantly, his attention was caught by the mysterious bowl of mush on the table.

“What… what is this!?”

The bowl appeared to be made of flour, thick and coarse, with yellow and white bits floating—presumably egg.

Without even tasting it, Yao Xiucheng eliminated the dish. “I believe a proper dish must not only taste good, but also look appealing.”

Jiang Mingzhao shrugged indifferently; he had known from the start he couldn’t cook and was only forced to participate by Shen Yue. Now, being the first one eliminated, he was actually a little relieved.

It was Shen Yue who frowned in displeasure. If she’d known, she’d have entered herself.

The audience in the livestream erupted in laughter.

[Haha, I’m dying! Young Master Jiang’s cooking is truly dismal!]

[It’s honestly worse than my mom’s! Won’t this upset your stomach?]

[Come on! Could your mom’s cooking be any worse than mine?]

The comment section quickly veered off-topic.

[Lol, looks like all moms are the same everywhere. I suddenly feel better about mine.]

Next up was Nan Yan’s dish—a brightly colored plate, golden egg crepes encasing minced meat, fried to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender within. She had even thoughtfully cut it into bite-sized pieces for everyone to sample.

Yao Xiucheng picked up his chopsticks, tasted a piece, chewed thoughtfully, and nodded before moving on without a word.

The next dish, by Jian An’an, was a simple home-style stir-fry: tomatoes with broccoli. Yao Xiucheng sampled a bite, nodded, then shook his head.

“Everything else is fine, but the timing was off—the dish is overcooked, and the texture suffers.”

Though he didn’t spell it out, Jian An’an understood immediately; she was certainly out of the running, not even in second place. She bit her lip in frustration, unwilling to accept defeat, but managed to feign composure. “It’s an honor to have your critique, sir. I apologize for not doing better this time.”

In the livestream, Jian An’an’s fans were full of sympathy.

[Don’t worry, An’an, you did your best.]

[Yes, compared to a certain someone, you’re already amazing!]

[Our An’an looks so sad… it breaks my heart.]

[Hey, there’s no need to put others down just to praise her!]

[Who’s putting anyone down? She’s just stating facts. Some of you only care about looks, not character!]

[How shameless can people get???]

Soon, Yao Xiucheng arrived at Song Waning’s dish—a pot of steaming soup, its fragrance whetting everyone’s appetite. He relaxed his brow, eager to try a slice of beef. He inhaled its aroma before tasting it, and his eyes began to light up. After savoring the beef, he picked up a seafood mushroom and tasted it as well.

[Uh-oh, judging by the master’s expression, it must be delicious!]

[Don’t you think Song Waning’s dish looks tempting even before tasting it?]

[Absolutely. The moment she lifted the lid, I was starving.]

[But she made it so quickly and carelessly—how good can it be?]

[The judge doesn’t know who made which dish; he has no reason to lie.]

[Exactly. The results will be announced soon!]

“I never expected a simple broth to be this unique—the beef is tender and juicy, the flavors melt in your mouth, and paired with this sauce, it’s simply irresistible.”

He had already made up his mind.

After a brief pause, Yao Xiucheng declared, “I announce that the winning dish is…”

“This pot of fresh soup!!”

But instead of applause, his words were met with utter silence. Even the lively livestream chat froze for an instant. Then, a flood of reactions burst forth.

[No way! I’m shocked! Song Waning actually won first place!]

[Nan Yan! The heiress of the Nan family! Her mother is a famous food influencer, and Song Waning beat her? Unbelievable!]

[Mom! Tell me this isn’t real!]

Before the audience could discuss further, Li Weiwei announced that the livestream had concluded and the feed was cut off, leaving the stunned viewers only able to exclaim their disbelief.

The silence in the room was finally broken by Nan Yan. She rushed to Song Waning, genuinely joyful. “This is wonderful, Waning! You won first place!”

Jian An’an’s face paled. She couldn’t believe she had lost to someone like Song Waning, whose personality she found so disagreeable. Nevertheless, she forced a smile. “Congratulations, Ningning.”

Shen Yue blurted out, “Song Waning, how did you suddenly become so skilled?”

Song Waning’s expression remained unchanged, as if she had been confident of victory all along. “Why, do you have a problem with that?”

Shen Yue pursed her lips, clearly dissatisfied, but said nothing more. After all, Yao Xiucheng’s judgment was fair and impartial, with so many witnesses in the room and countless viewers watching the stream. No matter how much she wanted to protest, she couldn’t.

Li Weiwei stood and led the applause. “Congratulations to our team—Wen Jingxing and Song Waning—for winning first place. Your reward is a day of rest.”

At her signal, staff immediately brought eight chairs to the long table’s center. Several side dishes were served—the guests would dine together tonight, along with Yao Xiucheng.

He had originally planned to leave after judging, but chose to stay, explaining simply that the soup was too delicious to resist.

Even the staff couldn’t help glancing over repeatedly; the aroma of that pot of soup was simply too tempting.

Once everyone was seated, they tasted the dishes made by Jian An’an and the others—except for Jiang Mingzhao’s.

Wen Jingxing was the first to reach for Song Waning’s beef soup with his chopsticks. Surprise flickered in his eyes at the taste—it was truly delicious. He glanced sidelong at Song Waning, who was quietly enjoying her meal beside him, finding her more and more unfathomable.

After sampling, Wen Jingxing tried Nan Yan’s golden egg-wrapped meat, which was also quite good.

Jian An’an, seeing him sample two dishes in a row, looked on with nervous expectation, her gaze flickering from him to her own tomato and broccoli stir-fry. Her heart pounded with excitement at the thought of Wen Jingxing tasting her dish.

Wen Jingxing, try mine! Please try my dish!

He reached out with his chopsticks, seemingly headed for her plate of broccoli—but bypassed it entirely, heading straight for another slice of beef from the soup.

Jian An’an’s expression froze; her features twisted in momentary disappointment.