The next day, Lu Xinyi left the hotel early with He Haotian after having a quick breakfast. Neither had mentioned anything from the previous commotion at Flair Apparel the other day. Lu Xinyi offered a share to her mentor from the four million dollars she'd taken from Chu Zhihao, but he declined, saying that it wasn't important to him at all.
"What can you say about Ye Xieren's cooking style?" He Haotian asked as they stood in front of an old ramen shop near the sea bay. The woman beside him blinked twice, giving the establishment a second look to make sure that her mentor wasn't deceiving her.
"Ye Xieren doesn't seem to like the local cuisine and preferred the minimalist but intense flavor of Japanese cuisine," she paused, eyeing at her mentor. "Uncle, are you sure we are in the right place? It doesn't seem like the shop is open for business."
"Nonsense. Xin'er, you should know by now that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. My dear friend has been running his business for more than twenty years now. Sibai and I used to dine here when we were younger."
The man waved a hand at her and took the initiative to enter the old ramen shop.
At the mention of her father's name, Lu Xinyi smiled. She didn't know a lot of people who knew her father and was happy to hear such things about him. There were times she wondered what kind of life did her father had when he was attending Silver Leaf.
Did he have a lot of happy memories during his stay, or was he like her that got excited whenever he saw a worthy competition in cooking?
Lu Xinyi only knew that her father was once a student at Silver Leaf because her mother told her so, but the details during his stay were unknown to her.
"Xin'er, what are you waiting for?"
Her musing was disturbed when He Haotian called her back to reality. Shaking her head, she followed her mentor and stepped inside the old shop. What greeted her was a clean, long counter for customers and a clean kitchen space in the middle.
"See? I told you it's not closed. This restaurant opens and serves when night comes." He Haotian said as he settled on one of the stools beside the counter. "Hey, Kawashima-san, we're here!" he called out.
There was a sound coming from the next room without a door. It was only been separated with two small curtains. A man in his late forties came out and gave He Haotian a huge smile like it was meeting an old friend he hadn't seen in years. He came out with a huge wooden box on his arms and placed it on an empty counter across He Haotian.
"Chef Chu, it's nice to see you again." His eyes then shifted to Lu Xinyi. "Ah, and this is?"
"This is Sibai's daughter. Her name is Lu Xinyi. She's attending Silver Leaf now so I brought her here to learn something from you." He patted Lu Xinyi's shoulder proudly.
"Xin'er, this is Kawashima Tohaku. Your father and I met him at Silver Leaf, too. I could say that he's one of those worthy people that can compete with Chef Qin in Japanese Cuisine. Ye Xieren would most likely have taken his preference on this cuisine. I know that you are more inclined to pastry arts and baking, but your tongue must be able to try some varieties to be able to improve your dishes."
"Chef Lu's daughter?" The man called Kawashima Tohaku shook Lu Xinyi's hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you. I've been an acquaintance of your father, and I owed him a lot of favors I'd never be able to return."
"Please, Chef Kawashima. I'm pretty sure my father helped you because you are a friend and not expecting you to return the favor in the future." Lu Xinyi lowered her head slightly.
The man released her hand and cupped his hands together.
"You resemble your mother," he commented while He Haotian snorted.
"Don't get fooled by her appearance, Kawashima-san. She's more like her father in so many ways. Beware of her little horns that protrude on her head and fangs on her mouth. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing."
"Hey, Uncle! That isn't nice to say in our first meeting." Lu Xinyi pouted. Why was her mentor also bullying her now?
"What?" He Haotian raised a brow on her. "Have you forgotten how you extort money from my relatives the other day?"
Kawashima Tohaku smiled as he watched the two bickering. He then turned around and prepared tea for his guests.
"You didn't intervene, and I'm just giving them a way out, eh? They must thank me for only taking money from them and didn't let my husband deal with them because who knows? Maybe now, they'll be kicked out on their own home."
The Japanese chef placed two cups of tea on the counter while holding a tray.
"Right. You just made them coughed up four million dollars in one night. You sure are a merciful one, oh my goddess Xin'er."
"Four million dollars?" Kawashima Tohaku blinked. He wasn't sure if he heard it right.
"Hai. Hai. See? I told you she's more like Sibai in many ways. Remember when he went to the noodle club and said instant noodles were way better than what they made?" Lu Xinyi's mentor asked his friend.
The other man nodded, remembering what transpired years ago during their stay at Silver Leaf.
"Yes, didn't he help them tweak their recipes which helped them win the noodle-making tournament that year?"
He Haotian took a sip from his tea and nodded.
"Yes, that's it, but you didn't know Sibai also extorted money from them. He charged each of them seven thousand yuan." He then released a sigh. "Do you know what he said when I asked him why he asked money from them? He said, 'My services aren't free for the outsiders. They must thank me for improving the quality and the taste of their noodles. It's a win-win situation. I get my money, they get their championship.'"
Lu Xinyi's eyes were brimming with pride of her father. Seven thousand yuan for tweaking a recipe to make it better? Why hasn't she thought of it before? No wonder her father wasn't short of money.
"How many people did he charge for it?" she asked curiously.
"Around 12 to 15 club members, and that's only for a day."
"Pfft." Lu Xinyi laughed at that. That would mean he easily earned 100 thousand yuan for his 'help'. She was really her father's child then. However, his 100 thousand yuan was way smaller than the four million dollars (27.6M yuan) she extorted from Chu Ting's family.
"But still, four million dollars is a huge amount of money," Kawashima Tohaku said, "I wouldn't be surprised if it left a dent on the account of your relatives," he told He Haotian.
The two-star Michelin chef shrugged and decided to change the topic. He couldn't care less if Chu Zhihao's family went bankrupt anytime soon. It was their own fault by provoking Shen Yi and Lu Xinyi anyway.
"So, Kawashima-san, do you think you can help Xin'er and teach her the basics of Japanese cuisine?" After all, this was why they were here, to help Lu Xinyi improve her palate while learning the other cuisine.
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