“Did you see it? Full marks for the first round! Oh, my god, Xinxin! I love you!” Xiao Lan squealed and shook Yuan Jin’s arm much to his irritation. The pregnant woman was driving him insane ever since Lu Xinyi started befriending this woman.
“Calm down, woman. Or are you forgetting that you are pregnant?” he reprimanded Xiao Lan, who flushed from embarrassment and sat back on her seat. “Of course, it’s Lu Xinyi! She can overcome any obstacle they throw her way. Right, President?” He turned to Shen Yi who was brimming with pride for his wife.
“Yes,” Shen Yi agreed, making Yuan Jin roll his eyes. The man was clearly head over heels with his wife. Yuan Jin wouldn’t be surprised if President Shen was totally whipped by his best friend. Shen Yi hadn’t joined their conversations but watched his wife like a hawk from the sky.
Another fifteen minutes had passed; and from 73 examinees, it went down to 47.
“We are officially closing the first round of Silver Leaf’s Annual Examinations! Congratulations to all passers! Now, are you excited to see the initial ranking of our examinees?” Huo Meili asked the audience. She then turned to the examinees that remained. “Examinees who’ll pass all rounds will get an exclusive black chef uniform and the official flower insignia of their respective families!”
Sudden darkness engulfed everyone. The monitors above the stage were the only source of light. It flashed name after name with their scores until it scrolled up, highlighting the top 10 examinees for the first round with Ye Xieren and Lu Xinyi holding the top spot.
Because there could never be two people holding a single spot, those who had finished earlier had the advantage to the other; hence, Ye Xieren took the number 1 spot with Lu Xinyi following after him.
1 Ye Xieren (Li Corporation) 5.00
2 Lu Xinyi (SY Holdings) 5.00
3. Tang Lilou (Griffin Entertainment) 4.80
4. Tang Liang (Griffin Entertainment) 4.60
5. Meng Jiao (Sun Corporation) 4.50
6. Yan Chen (Liu Technologies) 4.50
“What? Why is she only number 2? Shouldn’t she be number 1, too? She got the same score, right?” Shen Zhichen frowned and puffed his cheeks. He was upset that his mommy was number 2.
“It’s the rules within Silver Leaf, baby. Your Mommy was late so the other guy had the advantage,” Xiao Lan said and consoled the little boy. “That’s okay, Mommy Xinxin is still your number 1, right?”
“It’s okay, Zhichen. Mommy will make a yummier noodle next round,” said Little Yuyan like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world.
Lu Xiulan grunted, leaned her back on her seat, and closed her eyes.
“That would be hard for her. Lu Xinyi doesn’t like making noodles,” she grumbled.
“Really?” Xiao Lan then tried to remember when was the last time Lu Xinyi cooked noodles for her or for anyone but failed. “Why?”
“Hmm. I remember Xinxin saying that making noodles is hard and takes years to master. To be fair, she did try before. Her last attempt was passable for most people, but she knew that the quality and taste were far inferior to any chef that could make it.” Yuan Jin explained. He dearly hoped that Lu Xinyi had already thought of a solution to this problem.
Meanwhile, Shen Yi was aware of their concerns; but he wasn’t worried about it. Lu Xinyi knew her weaknesses. She knew that she had to do something about it and had practiced several times at their kitchen, kneading and making noodles for the whole week before giving up. Shen Yi forced her to stop, or else she would further hurt and injure herself from intensive practice.
The whole week should have at least given Lu Xinyi some knowledge she could use on the next round. He kept his eyes to his wife and realized that until now, he couldn’t believe she was his. He was attracted to her with the kind of heady trance that brought a butterfly to nectar. She was just the right blend of confidence and sweetness. She was the kindest and most reliable person he’d ever met, and he loved her with a fiery passion.
“Again, congratulations to our examinees! Wow, you just add spice to our school. Mister Ye and Miss Lu just made the history for having the same score at the top ranks.” Huo Meili grinned while the audience cheered for more. They were all excited to move to the next round. “We will start the next round after ten minutes. Examinees, please take this time to mentally list down the ingredients you need because time is your enemy.”
The lights came back. The audience started betting and predicting the next result later. Shen Yi kept his attention on his wife, and he saw Lu Xinyi staring back at him with a smile. Yes, he was now sure. She was the one.