Chapter 79:
Tang Yu never expected that Xiangling would be so easy to conquer. He hadn't even had deep conversations with her yet, but her favorability was already maxed out.
He wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Once Xiangling's hands and feet were warmed up, Tang Yu helped her back to her room.
After that, he returned to his own room.
Since Xiangling still had a competition tomorrow, Tang Yu didn't buy a new character immediately. He decided to wait until after her match.
In this way, he drifted off to sleep in a daze.
The night passed without dreams.
The next day!
Tang Yu and the others woke up very early. After a simple breakfast, they headed straight to Shanghai Grand Hotel.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the competition officially began.
This round was the top 10 to top 4.
The theme was Cantonese cuisine!
Xiangling successfully advanced with an imaginative White Cut Chicken.
Next came the top 4 to top 2 round.
This time the theme was Hunan cuisine!
Using her skills once again, Xiangling conquered all the judges present and successfully advanced to the finals.
The other finalist was Lao Hei — the champion of the previous competition!
At this point, the excitement reached its peak.
One was the representative of the new generation of chefs. The other was the veteran Chef God.
Would it be the rise of new forces, or the successful defense of the old champion?
Bing Bing stood between Xiangling and Lao Hei.
Facing the camera, she looked extremely excited.
"The finals are about to begin. May I ask how both of you are feeling?" Bing Bing asked.
Lao Hei answered first with a calm smile: "I was the champion last time, so I don't have any special feelings."
After saying that, Lao Hei glanced at Xiangling with appreciation and added: "I am quite surprised, though. My opponent this time is so young."
Bing Bing said: "Not just you — I'm surprised too."
She then turned the topic to Xiangling and asked: "Miss Xiangling, how are you feeling?"
Xiangling thought for a moment and replied: "I just want to finish the match quickly and go home to sleep."
As soon as these words came out, Bing Bing couldn't help but smile.
Lao Hei also laughed.
In the family seating area, both sides' supporters laughed along.
The atmosphere at the finals venue was surprisingly relaxed instead of tense.
The netizens watching online, after watching the entire day's competition, also showed relaxed smiles.
{Nice! Xiangling's mentality is awesome!} {Hahaha! This is our 2D spirit — the sky is big, the earth is big, but sleeping is the biggest.} {Interesting, very interesting. I like this.} {Hope Xiangling wife can win the championship and prove the power of 2D!} {Haha! My mom watched the competition and was shocked. She said it's unbelievable that such a young girl can cook so many dishes!} {My dad also said that if I could marry a daughter-in-law like this, he would die without regrets.} {........}
Amid the netizens' discussion, the finals quietly began.
First, they had to draw lots to decide the theme of the dish.
As the previous Chef God, Lao Hei graciously let Xiangling draw first.
Xiangling didn't refuse. She reached her small hand into the box held by the etiquette lady and pulled out a slip of paper.
Lao Hei did the same.
Finally, under Bing Bing's reminder, both of them opened their slips at the same time.
"Wow! Xiangling drew 'Warmth'," Bing Bing said with feigned surprise while looking at Xiangling. Then she shifted her gaze to Lao Hei: "Tsk tsk! And it's 'Temperature'." She covered her mouth, pretending to be extremely shocked.
"I didn't expect their themes to be so similar."
{WTF! What kind of theme is this? No specific cuisine required?} {Uh… I'm a bit confused. So they can do whatever they want?} {Interesting! In that case, it depends on their creativity.} {Haha! Then Xiangling is definitely going to win! When has 2D ever lost in imagination?} {Don't get too excited. In the end, the taste of the dish still decides everything.} {Yes! Lao Hei's cooking skills can't be underestimated. Although he's older and his imagination may not be as high, his technique is solid!} {You all make good points. Let's keep watching. We don't know who will win yet!} {.....}
The netizens discussed the format of the finals.
They generally agreed that if it came down to imagination, Xiangling would definitely win.
But some believed that the deliciousness of a dish had little to do with imagination.
In the end, a dish's quality was still decided by its taste.
"Please create a dish based on the theme you drew. You have thirty minutes," Bing Bing announced at this time.
After speaking, she signaled for Xiangling and Lao Hei to return to their stations.
After returning to her station, Xiangling didn't start cooking immediately. Instead, she fell into deep thought.
She had drawn "Warmth." What exactly was warmth?
She sank into contemplation.
On the other side, Lao Hei was also deep in thought.
Like Xiangling, he didn't rush to start cooking.
Because he knew that if the dish he made didn't match the theme, no matter how delicious it was, it would lose a lot of points.
Temperature! Temperature!
What kind of dish could be considered to have temperature?
Lao Hei closed his eyes and thought. Scenes from his childhood, helping his father run a roadside stall, flashed through his mind.
They were very poor back then.
What they sold at the stall in the mornings was soup noodles — the kind with a few slices of meat and broth that could be eaten right away.
It wasn't expensive, but every morning, many workers would come to eat.
After eating, they would walk into the factory with smiles on their faces.
At that time, the soup noodles had warmth.
Thinking of this, Lao Hei's eyes suddenly opened. He whispered softly: "I understand."
With that, he began slicing meat, chopping green onions, and so on.
Seeing this, Bing Bing quickly said: "The Chef God has started cooking. He's slicing meat? Is he making rural stir-fried pork?"
{What rural stir-fried pork? That's not how you slice it!} {Those meat slices look more like the ones used in soup noodles. Is he making soup noodles?} {No way? Making soup noodles in the finals? But it's possible! Because it fits the theme!} {Ah, but how delicious can soup noodles be?} {What about Xiangling? What dish will she make? I'm so looking forward to it!} {........}
Amid the netizens' discussion, Xiangling's mind also drifted back to a scene from her time in Teyvat.
Back then, crazed Hilichurls had stormed into the village and stolen the villagers' food.
To survive, the villagers could only hunt wild rabbits on the mountain and roast them to fill their stomachs.
Warmth — wasn't this exactly warmth?
The warmth that came from cute little rabbits.
Xiangling thought to herself.
But when she looked at the ingredient station, she found there were no rabbits.
"Host, may I ask if there are any rabbits?" Xiangling suddenly asked.
Bing Bing was stunned!
Rabbits?
Why did she want rabbits?
In the live room, the netizens were also full of confusion.
However, they quickly realized —
Wait!
Xiangling, you're not going to use rabbit as an ingredient, are you?
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