Chapter 89: Is This All Yatai’s Head Chef’s Got?

Chapter 89: Is This Really Yatai's Head Chef?

The back kitchen of Yatai had a lazy, sluggish atmosphere. Someone was squatting in a corner, bored out of his mind, secretly playing on his phone, while others were half-heartedly shredding a few carrots, planning to stretch a basket of ingredients to coast through the day.

The manager's face was stern as she said to Che Shijie, "This is Jinyan's latest menu. Have a look."

As soon as Che Shijie saw it, his face went pale.

His signature dishes, along with Yatai's current signature dishes, were all on Jinyan's menu.

One Iberian pork cheek dish was named "Monument to Hypocrites," a bamboo charcoal seafood amber soup was called "Crocodile's Tears," and a smoked whiskey mousse was titled "Truth in the Fog"...

These were clearly all aimed at satirizing him—Che Shijie!

The manager continued, "Their flavors and ingredients are almost identical to ours, but the dishes we use as selling points are placed at the very bottom of Jinyan's menu, priced so low they look cheap and beneath us. Now there are many posts online comparing Yatai unfavorably, making us look outdone by a new place, not upscale enough, and we're losing customers fast."

"That's insane!" Che Shijie fumed. "Who stole my recipes and sold them to Cao Xu?!"

The manager hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but held back. After Cao Xu left, Che Shijie had gotten rid of a bunch of old staff from the kitchen, including his own apprentices. Who knows if those apprentices held a grudge and took his secret recipes to defect to Cao Xu?

As things stood, when it came to character, Che Shijie was actually inferior to Cao Xu—he was just better at faking it.

She sighed and said, "Chef Che, we need to roll out some new dishes ASAP, and we need to keep them strictly confidential. Can you source some more upscale ingredients?"

Che Shijie said discontentedly, "Why should I be the one to cave? Do you have any idea how long new dishes take to develop? As the manager, you should be backing me up and taking on Jinyan!"

The manager's face went red and pale by turns, and she blurted out, "When Chef Cao was around, he came up with new dishes every month, and his dishes weren't that easy to copy!"

"What Chef Cao? I'm the only head chef at Yatai! Watch your mouth!" Che Shijie's face suddenly darkened.

The manager's lips were trembling with rage as she spun around and stormed out, cursing inwardly that this nepotism hire had no real skill beyond the boss's backing. She'd offered him a way out, but he was too stubborn to listen.

Che Shijie spat, grinding his teeth and cursing Cao Xu and Zhao Yu under his breath. As he entered the kitchen and saw everyone eavesdropping on his conversation with the manager, he flew into a rage. He kicked a table and snapped, "What are you staring at?! Get back to work!"

He thought that by driving Cao Xu out, Yatai would be his turf, where he could throw his weight around. But now, more and more people in the kitchen were going through the motions and slacking off.

Even when he threw a tantrum, who actually respected his authority? They just went back to slacking off.

...

Jinyan's kitchen was bustling with excitement. Fatty was rambling on a mile a minute about the scene in Yatai's back kitchen, saying he still had a few buddies there, but everyone there wanted to bail, and they were jealous he'd gotten a fat severance package.

"Chef Zhao, man, this move of yours is savage!" Fatty gave him a thumbs up. "You basically stomped Che Shijie's face into the ground."

Zhao Yu beckoned him over with a finger, and when he leaned in, Zhao Yu slung an arm around his round head. "Your recipes deserve some credit too. Since you've proven your loyalty, I'll let you stay at Jinyan."

"Really?" Fatty looked at Cao Xu, flattered and in disbelief. "Really?!"

Cao Xu nodded. "Zhao Yu trusts you, and I trust his read on people."

"Thank you, Chef Cao! Thank you, Chef Zhao!"

"Little Fatty, help me pull out that dish steaming in the pot," Zhao Yu said with a raised eyebrow.

"Coming right up! Is this Che Shijie's 'Scorched Earth Flower'?"

"What 'Scorched Earth Flower'? This is 'Plastic Flower in Salty Soil.' Chef, come taste it. Everyone, come over—there's plenty to go around."

With Fatty's recipes, Cao Xu's guidance, and Zhao Yu's talent, replicating all of Che Shijie's dishes was no challenge. Today they'd perfectly recreated another new dish, ready to hit the menu tomorrow.

After wrapping up the closing work, Zhao Yu was about to head home when he reached the door and realized it was pouring rain.

The first autumn rain came suddenly, dropping the temperature sharply, and the wind carried a chill.

The weather had been fine when he left for work in the morning, so Zhao Yu had only worn a short-sleeved shirt. Now he felt goosebumps from the cold. Riding his motorcycle was out of the question. He opened his umbrella and walked to the roadside, about to hail a car, when he suddenly noticed a black Maybach parked quietly by the curb.

The car door opened, and a man stepped out holding a black umbrella. His leather shoes splashed through puddles, and the hem of his trousers was dampened by rain drifting under the umbrella. A navy blue overcoat was draped over his arm as he walked toward Zhao Yu.

Rain pelted noisily against the umbrella. Zhao Yu watched his face come into focus—no longer the disheveled mess from their last meeting, the bruises on his face completely healed, back to his polished, elite self.

For a moment, Zhao Yu wanted to turn away, but when he met Gu Hansheng's gaze, his steps faltered.

Even impeccably dressed, with every detail of his clothes and hair exuding precision and refinement, this man before him was still the same one who had cried in his arms that day, looking at him with the same eyes.

Seeing Zhao Yu standing still, Gu Hansheng lowered his umbrella, ducked under Zhao Yu's, and draped the overcoat over his shoulders, his eyes reflecting Zhao Yu's face. "I'll take you home."

Zhao Yu didn't refuse. The car was dry and comfortable, filled with the faint, cool fragrance Gu Hansheng always used. When selecting scents for the restaurant, Zhao Yu had smelled many and gradually learned to distinguish some—like the one Gu Hansheng favored, which had a vetiver note.

Nearly ten days had passed before Gu Hansheng suddenly appeared. Sometimes Zhao Yu felt like he'd been played—he'd said all those things to him, taken him to the hospital, driven him home, inexplicably softened once, and then been left hanging.

As if reading his thoughts, Gu Hansheng explained, "I was dealing with family matters the past few days. They're resolved now."

"Mm." Zhao Yu propped his head on his hand, looking out the window.

The car slowly pulled into the neighborhood and stopped outside Zhao Yu's building. As he pushed the door open to get out, Gu Hansheng spoke again, "What time do you start work? I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."

Zhao Yu paused. "Ten. No need to come if you're busy."

With that, he walked quickly through the entrance, shaking out his umbrella at the door, and saw Gu Hansheng still parked there. It was the same as last time—he wouldn't look away until Zhao Yu had walked off and disappeared from sight.

Zhao Yu went upstairs and, on a whim, stepped onto the balcony to glance down, as if to confirm he'd made it home. Only when the light in his apartment came on did the car downstairs slowly drive away.

Zhao Yu drew the curtains, hung up the overcoat—its dense double-layer design was very warm, with a soft texture, and the fabric carried a pleasant scent.

When he came downstairs in the morning, Gu Hansheng was already waiting, and he'd brought him breakfast.

"I've already eaten," Zhao Yu said.

He started work at ten, so of course he'd had breakfast. Gu Hansheng hadn't thought to come earlier, but he silently noted it and said, "It's supposed to rain for the next few days. I'll have someone drive you every day, alright?"

Alright? Gu Hansheng was actually asking him—alright?

Zhao Yu suddenly couldn't help scratching his ear, glancing at him several times. "No need to go to all that trouble. I have a waterproof jacket, and the rain won't be too heavy these next couple of days."

He wasn't deliberately refusing—he was just being honest. He was used to riding his own bike and found being chauffeured around a hassle.

Gu Hansheng was silent for a long moment, until he dropped Zhao Yu off at the entrance of Yinwanhui. Just as Zhao Yu was getting out, he said, "Be careful when you ride."

"Mm." Zhao Yu closed the car door and caught one last glimpse of his expression—it seemed a little disappointed.

How novel. Gu Hansheng actually wore that kind of expression, speaking so cautiously too. Anyone would think there was a fragile glass heart beneath that suit and tie.

This man was like this in front of Zhao Yu, but a completely different person with others. His first move against Old Master Gu was to seize hold of his third uncle, Gu Hui. Everyone in the family knew exactly how many dirty dealings Gu Hui's company was involved in and how many interested parties could be implicated.

For the sake of their shared family fate, everyone covered for each other. If one person got into trouble, the others would inevitably be dragged in too.

But Gu Hansheng deliberately tore away that veil of concealment, putting the entire Gu family on the fire. The old master was so enraged his blood pressure spiked and had already gone to New Zealand to recuperate.

Everyone was afraid of being implicated, but he wasn't. He drank his last cup of tea at the old master's place, walked out of the estate as intact as he'd walked in, and even had the window from the room he'd stayed in removed—the very one Zhao Yu had taken apart to see him.

Zhao Yu had no idea who was thinking about him, but he sneezed twice as soon as he walked into Jinyan. Cao Xu heard and asked, "You catching a cold?"

"No," Zhao Yu said. "If I had a cold, I wouldn't dare show up to work."

Jinyan was disinfected twice a day. Anyone who was sick—even Cao Xu himself—had to stay home. That was his own hard rule.

The kitchen was orderly, and Cao Xu had a comprehensive reward and punishment system. He was skilled at everything from cooking to running the kitchen, and he'd taught Zhao Yu all of it.

At noon, a man wearing a mask walked into Jinyan and said, "I'd like a private room."

The hostess said, "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have any private rooms available. There's a quiet table on the ground floor—would that work?"

The man nodded and followed her to a seat by the window.

The window overlooked the river, which looked especially romantic in the rain, but the man seemed to be in a bad mood. With a sour expression, he ordered a few "standard dishes" from the bottom of the menu.

After a while, the dishes arrived one by one. The man took off his mask, revealing himself to be Che Shijie.

The plating, flavors, and ingredients were exactly the same as his own cooking. Che Shijie put down his fork, his face dark as a storm cloud.

Given Zhao Yu's extraordinary palate, replicating the flavor that closely wasn't actually hard.

The more talented Zhao Yu was, the more it made Che Shijie look bad. It was bad enough that Cao Xu was above him, but who the hell did Zhao Yu think he was?!

He angrily smashed the bread-and-soup dish into a mess, plotting how to cause trouble for Jinyan, when a woman with a selfie stick suddenly walked over.

"Hey? Isn't this the celebrity chef from Yatai!" The woman was live-streaming and immediately shoved the camera in Che Shijie's face, saying excitedly, "Hey guys! Look who I ran into? The head chef of Yatai is eating at Jinyan of all places!"

Seeing the viewer count scrolling on the screen, Che Shijie forced a smile onto his gloomy face: "Please move, don't bother me..."

"Chef, how would you rate Jinyan's flavors?" the woman asked again.

"Nothing but low-class dishes, and the flavors are mediocre," Che Shijie snorted coldly.

"Not fit for a proper table? But aren't these the same dishes you serve at Yatai? Aren't they your signature dishes?"

Che Shijie's face immediately fell, and he flew into a humiliated rage: "Move! What nonsense are you talking?! How can they compare to me? So rude!"

After cursing, he immediately put his mask back on and fled in panic, paid the bill, and quickly walked away.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments: "The head chef of Yatai has this kind of attitude? What's he so arrogant about?"

"With Yatai's reputation and size, why pick a fight with a new restaurant? No class."

"If even Yatai's head chef is interested, I've gotta go try Jinyan."

"Everyone's talking about Yatai—is it a really good restaurant?"

"Don't go to Yatai. After they changed their menu, it's both expensive and bad."

A storm of public backlash hit Yatai. When Zhao Yu had a free moment, Pang Ze filled him in, and he found it hilarious. He'd guessed Che Shijie wouldn't be able to stay patient and would come to scope out the competition, so Pang Ze had hired a foodie influencer who camped out there for three days, and sure enough, they nailed him.