There was something wrong with her soup—that Lu Xinyi was sure. The taste wasn't evenly well-incorporated. There was something missing that she couldn't point out.
Shen Yi could only watch and couldn't help but notice that his wife was struggling. For the past hour, Lu Xinyi silently cooked her corn soup and seared foie gras, leaving Shen Yi alone at the corner, waiting for her to ask anything.
"What's wrong?" he asked when she grumbled to herself about the seasoning. "Do you need me to get something for you?"
"No need. I just need to figure this out…" Lu Xinyi placed her hands to the countertop and closed her eyes.
Her mind went back on deconstructing the flavor and ingredients used in He Haotian's corn soup, trying to remember the layers of flavors, as it touched her tongue. Was her tongue deceiving her? Or He Haotian's claim was false after all?
Only one hour left, her primed rib should be ready to be put in the oven. For now, she had to find a way to fix the flavor of her corn soup and foie gras.
The ingredients used in the dishes were simple, but the cooking process was quite tricky for an amateur like her. This was a big difference between her and to a professional chef like He Haotian.
Lu Xinyi relied most of the time on her father's and grandmother's teaching. She hadn't really thought that by tasting dishes, she could come up with a better version of it. As long as the dishes she made taste good, she never really bothered with the technicalities of cooking.
Even now, she wondered if she only passed Silver Leaf out of pure luck… or she really had something—a talent to be proud of.
She took a sniff of the scent of her own corn soup and knew she failed this attempt.
Shen Yi's eyes slightly widened when she turned off the heat and took the pot away from the stove.
"What's wrong?"
"This isn't good. I don't think I can make it." Lu Xinyi lowered her head, refusing to meet his eyes.
"What?"
Shen Yi moved towards her, picked up a clean spoon on his way, and took a taste on her corn soup. He stopped and stared at the simmering soup at the pot.
How could she say this was a failure? The soup was thick and creamy like He Haotian's. The taste of corn came to him in waves of flavors.
"Isn't this good?" He took another spoonful of the soup and brought it to his mouth.
"Not good enough," Lu Xinyi replied as she sauntered towards the fridge to take out the prime rib she left out earlier.
Just from the scent alone, she could tell that her soup was far inferior to He Haotian's corn soup. He Haotian's soup had a strong aroma of the corn—the sweetness of it hadn't been ruined by the other herbs and spices but complemented each other. Her soup didn't have the same harmony of flavors. It was like they were trying to outdo each other.
Lu Xinyi could only make another soup again hoping that this time, it would yield to a better result. Her heart was filled with frustration. What's the use of having a divine tongue when she couldn't estimate the right proportions and amount to be used?
She prepared another batch of ingredients for her soup while the prime rib was cooking at the oven. Without enough time remaining to cook everything, Lu Xinyi had to cook the soup and the foie gras at the same time. Standing in front of the frying pan over the stove, she pushed her thoughts aside, focusing on the task on hand rather her inner turmoil.
Lu Xinyi sighed, one of her hands resting on the countertop and the other wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her mind was trying to figure out the missing ingredient, wanting desperately to solve this missing puzzle.
The silence within the kitchen was broken by a short, sharp scream. Her scream.
"Xinxin!" Lu Xinyi heard her husband calling out her name, but the pain in her hand was unbearable. She dropped to her knees on the floor along with frying pan that fell down next to her.
Her left hand clutching her right as she bit her lip in pain. The burn on her hand was bright red and nearly swollen and tender.
"Xinxin?!"
She looked up only to see Shen Yi towering over her. His eyes widened at the sight of her painful reaction. Without another word, he rushed over on her side, kneeling down and gently hoisting her up, soon bringing her swiftly to the sink.
Shen Yi turned on the cold water, testing it with a hand before sticking Lu Xinyi's injured hand under running water. Lu Xinyi hissed and gritted her teeth for a moment when the coldness touched her burns.
"I'm sorry. I should've paid attention," she whispered to her husband.
"You are distracted. Don't blame yourself." His voice was emphatic as he kept her hand under the water.
Shen Yi's jaw clenched as he watched his wife struggle. He hadn't seen her this worked up and frustrated since they got married. He could only hope that whatever she was thinking wouldn't hurt her in the long run.
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