The day of the remedial exam arrived. All the students of the special class stood stiffly as they waited for the facilitating proctor to arrive, their eyes occasionally taking a glance at the huge clock on a small stage in front.
They would be competing at the same cooking arena where they'd taken the last leg of their entrance exams.
Those who were short of 1,000 points hoped they could earn enough points to reach it. With Meng Jiao receiving the verdict the day before. Her credit points suffered the loss of 300 points. In addition, she would not spend her midterm break back at home but at the campsite where she needed to help the caretakers to look after it for two weeks.
As the allotted time draws near, the pressure within the arena had slowly risen. At this rate, Meng Jiao barely formulated a thought. With only 645 credit points remaining, she should earn enough points to advance for the next term.
White knuckles from clenching her fist too hard and gritted teeth from an effort to remain silent, her hunched form exuded an animosity that was like acid—burning, slicing, potent. Her face was red with suppressed rage, and when Lu Xinyi looked her way and gave her a mocking smile, Meng Jiao almost snapped back but didn't.
The audience area had several students waiting for the exam to start. Lu Xinyi waited patiently, but her thoughts were on the exam they were about to start.
If people thought that attending Silver Leaf was merely studying and competing with other students, they were mistaken. It wasn't all about how one could showcase their abilities as a chef but how to survive from the plots and schemes that other students laid in front of that person. In this competition, one could only advance if the other suffered a loss.
This time, she was the one laying her scheme in front of Meng Jiao.
Once again, there was a food stock set on the left side of the stage. The set-up reminded the thirty remaining students what they'd done during their entrance exam. The staff started to distribute the ingredients on boxes. While everyone was surprised to see the same items they'd use during the entrance exams, Lu Xinyi was calm and collected.
Her brother had informed her about this earlier but didn't discuss the specs of this activity. Lu Xinyi could only guess that the entrance exams had something to do with it.
"Are they trying to say we should recreate our dishes during the entrance exam?" One student raised his concern.
"It could be. How else could they know if we improve these past few weeks? Recreating our dishes is one good way to measure our growth," the other replied.
Seeing Huo Meili stepping up the stage was again, all the students felt a deja vu. Her appearance made them thought that they were going to cook the same dishes again.
"Hello, students! We've met again." Huo Meili said with a broad smile on her lips. "Can you guess what are you going to cook for us today?"
"Recreating our entrance exam dishes?" One was courageous enough to answer her.
Huo Meili chuckled amusedly. Joining her on stage was Jun Simin, Qu Shaowei, and the other two judges during the entrance exam. The four had high expectations at the remaining students in the class. After this, who knew how many of them would advance?
"Indeed, you are going to recreate the dishes," she paused, "but your classmate's signature dishes during the entrance exams!"
The arena was filled with gasps and exclamations. This was beyond their expectations at all.
"Oh, interesting. I'd like to see whose dishes I needed to recreate," Ye Xieren grinned. He glanced on Lu Xinyi's way, hoping he would be able to pick her dishes.
Lu Xinyi was taking the lead on their rank with him following closely at number two. If he would be able to make her signature dishes better than what she'd presented, then the doubt in his heart would finally come to an end.
Ye Xieren always thought that Lu Xinyi was always one step ahead of him. She'd rather take a risk than play safely.
On the other side, Meng Jiao blanched when she heard about today's theme. When they took their entrance exams, she hadn't paid much attention to everyone's dishes except for Lu Xinyi. Thinking about it, she wasn't confident that even if she got Lu Xinyi's dishes, she wouldn't be able to recreate and surpass its flavor.
"Since all of you have drawn the number earlier, let's see which dishes you should recreate this time!" Huo Meili's excited voice filled the arena.
The large screen behind Huo Meili and the judges showed a list of the student's names and the corresponding dishes they need to recreate. A smug look crossed on Lu Xinyi's face. Oh, how enjoyable it will be for her to crush Meng Jiao this time.
It turned out that the two were going to recreate each other's dishes. During the entrance exams, Lu Xinyi had made her signature Lu-Style Double-Egg Fried Rice, Handmade Noodle Dish, and her signature devil's food cake. On the other hand, Meng Jiao made a Khao Pad Goong for fried rice, Cold Sichuan Noodles, and her version of Devil's Cake.
Ye Xieren was disappointed for not picking Lu Xinyi's dishes; instead, he'd taken Yan Chen's. Yan Chen picked Tang Lilou while the Tang Twins had the other students' dishes.
Meng Jiao gritted her teeth. Although she paid attention to Lu Xinyi's dishes, she didn't watch how she prepared it. How could she recreate something she'd never seen cooking or tasted before?
"Each dish will be able to give you 100 points if you successfully surpassed the original flavor and quality of the dishes. If you failed, this 100 points will be credited to the original owner of the dish. This means that for this activity, the winner takes it all while the loser will go home with nothing!" Huo Meili explained. "So for this activity, the maximum points you can earn is 600 and the minimum is nothing at all!"
This sudden change lowered everyone's confidence. It was far from everyone's expectations. So it was like an 'all or nothing' approach.
Meng Jiao cursed inwardly for her misfortune. Take it all or nothing at all? That could only mean that she needed to surpass and improve Lu Xinyi's three dishes and hope Lu Xinyi will make a mistake so she'll earn another 100 points!
She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell everyone that it was unfair! For the past days, Meng Jiao thought that she still had hope to stay longer at the academy but this… her eyes clashed with Lu Xinyi's. Lu Xinyi was giving her a devilish smile, taunting her in her demise. If only she hadn't lost those 300 points, she wouldn't have to worry about her stay in Silver Leaf.
"You have three hours to complete all the dishes. The first dish which is fried rice should be presented in thirty minutes. Your timer starts now!" Huo Meili's voice made everyone moved and took a basket of their own to get the other ingredients they needed for the dishes.
Just like before, Lu Xinyi, Ye Xieren, and Yan Chen didn't fight their way on the mob. Instead, they use the first few minutes to brainstorm how to improve the dish of their opponent. Meng Jiao's dishes were spectacular to say the least. The only way she could beat her was to level up the flavor of these dishes.
As the students leave the food stock, Lu Xinyi made a move and took all the necessary ingredients. Following close behind her was Ye Xieren and Yan Chen.
"As much as I would like to recreate your dishes, Lu Xinyi, this isn't the right time to compete with you," Ye Xieren muttered behind Lu Xinyi's back.
"Oh? I didn't know you want to compete with me that badly." Lu Xinyi took a jar of tahini on a shelf before putting inside her basket.
"Just wait and see. I'll beat the two of you soon," Yan Chen interjected.
The three always at each other's necks, trying to fight for the top spot; but it was always Yan Chen who got beaten by these two.
"Beat me if you have the capability," Ye Xieren taunted.
"You guys stay below me. Women like it when they're on top." Lu Xinyi chuckled.
When Yan Chen heard it, he almost tripped on his own feet. His face turned beet red as a tomato with his ears flushed. He stared at Lu Xinyi with wide eyes.
This woman…
This woman was so shameless! Did she know how it sounds like to a man like him?
Seeing Yan Chen's face, Ye Xieren laughed like a madman. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Yan Chen."
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