"Honey, can you check if this outfit makes my belly look big?"

Before the official recording of the show began, Yu Antong, dressed in chef's attire, whispered to Xing Lixuan.

This episode of "The Chef Has Arrived!" was filmed at a hotel where Judge Sun Ming serves as the executive chef, and all contestants had to wear the hotel's standard chef uniforms.

The crew provided Yu Antong with a uniform in his size, but he felt it accentuated his belly.

"It does a bit," said Xing Lixuan. "Do you want to ask for a larger size?"

As they spoke, the show's director called out, "Everyone, get ready; we're about to start filming."

Yu Antong didn’t want to delay, "It's fine, I doubt anyone will notice."

Xing Lixuan, serving as a judge, separated from the contestants and moved to the other side.

As the recording began, the host appeared holding a small black box, his face displaying a sly grin, and cryptically said, "To start this episode, as always, we will draw lots."

"Based on the ranking from the last episode, Yu Antong will go first."

Yu Antong stepped forward and drew a card. Unlike previous numbered cards, this one had a single word: "Red."

What does it mean? Prosperity? Is that the theme for this episode's dish?

Before Yu Antong could comprehend, the other three had already drawn their lots.

Zhuang Zhouyang inquired curiously, "Mine shows a 'blue' character. What did you guys get?"

"I got 'blue' as well." Fu Fengxing revealed his card.

Fu Fengxing and Zhuang Zhouyang drew the same, whereas Xie Wenchang and Yu Antong got identical cards.

The host announced, "Based on the colors of the cards you've drawn, you'll be divided into the Red and Blue teams. You'll work in pairs to take on this episode's challenge!"

Yu Antong was taken aback. In all the previous episodes, the contestants had always competed against each other. Never before had they collaborated, and now, his partner appeared to be the weakest among them.

"You'll have two hours to collaboratively prepare four dishes. Five VIP guests from the hotel, along with our panel of five judges, will then assess your creations."

"The winning team advances directly to the top three. The losing team, however, will face a brutal overtime challenge where teammates become adversaries. The victor of this overtime challenge will secure the last spot in the top three."

The host continued, "An exemplary chef should be able to adapt and lead a new team quickly. Therefore, this challenge has one final rule: each team comprises just two members, meaning none of your original teammates can participate in this challenge."

Yu Antong, taken aback, opened his mouth in astonishment. Without the assistance of Jiang Yuxiu and Lin Haoning, he wasn't sure if his stamina would endure through the competition.

Given the lesser strength of his teammate, Yu Antong harbored concerns about the upcoming challenge.

Various scenarios raced through Yu Antong's mind.

The best-case scenario was a swift win, sparing them from the overtime challenge.

The second and most likely scenario was them losing, pitting him against Xie Wenchang.

Although at a glance Xie Wenchang stood little chance, after a taxing two-hour bout, Yu Antong would be fatigued. If they were dealt a particularly strenuous task, like hand-beating beef balls, victory would elude him.

He could conserve his energy during the initial two-hour challenge, but that would mean sacrificing Xie Wenchang for his own gain.

Such a thought was immediately dismissed by Yu Antong.

While he yearned for victory and his ambition to clinch the championship had only grown, he couldn't resort to such self-serving strategies.

In a culinary contest, it's all about skills and talent.

With unwavering determination, Yu Antong assured Xie Wenchang, "We must win!"

Xie Wenchang, being acutely aware of his own limitations, hadn't expected Yu Antong's faith and encouragement.

Yu Antong's trust and belief rekindled the dying flames of confidence within Xie Wenchang.

Dispelling all lingering self-doubts and despondence, Xie Wenchang declared, "I'll give it my all. We will prevail!"

The host revealed the four dishes for the challenge: "Crab meat lion's head, white sauce hilsa fish, tomato thyme sturgeon, and pan-seared scallops with foie gras sauce. Two eastern dishes and two western dishes. The clock starts now!"

Flawless Fiction Website.

Yu Antong isn't skilled in Western cuisine, but when he saw the two Western dishes listed, he looked at Xie Wenchang with a hint of surprise: "Aren't you an expert in Western cooking?"

One reason Xie Wenchang's performance on the show had been average was that the program, promoting Hua Nation's culinary culture, rarely assigned Western dishes for the contestants.

Given his mediocre skills in Chinese cuisine and the lack of opportunities to showcase his expertise in Western dishes, Xie Wenchang's journey had been quite challenging.

Today seemed like a rare opportunity for him. Gaining confidence, he high-fived Yu Antong, "Yes, we've got this in the bag!"

The duo quickly divided their tasks and got to work, while Zhuang Zhouyang's team faced disagreements.

Both had their own perspectives, with neither yielding to the other.

Zhuang Zhouyang proposed, "I believe we should prep all ingredients first before starting the cooking process. This ensures dishes remain at optimal temperatures when presented to the judges."

Fu Fengxing retorted, "That could get chaotic. It's better if one person takes responsibility for one dish."

They argued for a while, ultimately deciding to work independently.

Without extra hands, Yu Antong had to manage everything, which slowed his progress.

Preparing the Crab Meat Lion's Head was time-consuming, so he started with that.

He began by steaming the crab, making a small pot of chicken broth. While that was underway, he minced fatty pork to pomegranate seed size and prepped other ingredients.

Once the crab was ready, he extracted the meat and crab roe, sautéed it with wine to remove any fishiness, setting some aside for garnish and mixing the rest into the pork filling.

After seasoning and kneading the meat mixture, he wet his hands and shaped it into balls. Due to time constraints, he made them not too large, ensuring they would cook through.

He lined a clay pot with cabbage leaves, placed the meatballs inside, garnished with reserved crab meat, covered with more leaves, poured in the chicken broth, and let it simmer.

A glance at Xie Wenchang assured him that things were on track on his end, so Yu Antong confidently proceeded with the next dish.

He cleaned and sectioned the hilsa fish, blanched it to remove surface mucus, rinsed it in cold water to firm up the flesh, and drained it.

Using a hot wok, he added pork lard, scallions, and ginger. After extracting the aroma, he seared the fish pieces, transferred them to a clay pot with rice wine, and let them simmer before adding bamboo shoots, seasonings, and water.

Upon serving, the broth was creamy, resembling milk. The fish was succulent, its flavor complemented by the bamboo shoots.

Pleased with his creation, Yu Antong was confident it would impress.

"Three minutes left!" The host's announcement came just as Yu Antong took a brief respite: "The first dish to be presented will be Tomato and Thyme Sturgeon."

Yu Antong asked Xie Wenchang, "How's it going?"

Having just finished, Xie Wenchang gave a thumbs-up, "All set."

This was his best rendition yet. The freshly fried sturgeon, crispy and golden, emitted a tantalizing aroma.

The delicate sturgeon paired perfectly with the tangy cherry tomatoes, infused with white wine and accentuated by the unique aroma of thyme – a true representation of French culinary romance and finesse.

Garnished with a cherry tomato and two broccoli florets on a white porcelain plate, it could easily grace the menu of a five-star hotel.

Yu Antong gave him a thumbs up, then glanced over to Zhuang Zhouyang's side.

Zhuang Zhouyang was in charge of this dish, and it seemed he did quite well too.

Shortly after, the host announced, "Time to serve the dishes!"

Dedicated waitstaff came over to take their prepared dishes out. The crab meat meatballs were the last to be served, so Yu Antong just let it stew right up to the last moment.

He felt that letting the crab meat meatballs stew longer would yield better results. However, due to the time constraints of the competition, there wasn't much he could do.

This was the dish he was most concerned about. But on the bright side, his competition wasn't a standard crab meat meatball dish. From the blue team, he noticed that Fu Fengxing's meatballs were even larger than his, which could mean they weren't thoroughly cooked in the center.

He still felt he had a good chance against the blue team.

——

"Did you double-check everything? Admission ticket, ID, and pens?"

On the day of Yu Annan's college entrance exam, Yu Antong got up early and had Xing Lixuan drive her to the test center.

Yu Annan did a quick check, "I've got everything. Brother, I'm heading in now. Xing, please take my brother back home."

"Alright, stay calm and do your best. We'll pick you up at noon."

Yu Annan looked at her brother's belly, "Bro, don't stress out in the sun anymore. You might get sunburned, and it's not good for my little nephew."

Outside the school's entrance, there was a huge crowd of students and their accompanying parents. The area was congested and didn't seem very safe.

"Alright, alright," Yu Antong reluctantly agreed, after accompanying her only this once.

After the two-day exam, Yu Antong picked up his sister and planned to prepare a feast for her as a reward.

"That's quite a lot," Xing Lixuan commented with a hint of jealousy, "Six dishes in total. That's very auspicious."

He never received such treatment.

Yu Antong shrugged, "They're just simple homemade dishes, not much effort at all."

Moreover, the housekeeper had prepped all the ingredients. It was easy and efficient for him to cook, not tiring at all.

Still, Xing Lixuan was concerned, "She'll be staying with us for a few days this summer. You can cook for her multiple times. No need to prepare so much at once."

"She's not staying anymore," said Yu Antong, "Her friends invited her for a graduation trip, and they'll be leaving the day after tomorrow."

Yu Antong sighed, "Being young is great. Travel wherever you want, whenever you feel like it."

Xing Lixuan hesitated, sensing he might be stepping into a trap.

As expected, Yu Antong cast a meaningful glance at him, "I also want to travel."

Xing Lixuan quickly replied, "We'll go, we'll go. Once the baby's born, you can travel wherever you wish."

Yu An Tong voiced her displeasure: "I want to go now."

Xin Li Xuan looked at her, the ever-dramatic queen of the house, and remarked, "Dreams can travel faster than planes."

Yu An Tong, feigning outrage and amusement, handed the spatula to the maid and lunged playfully at him. "You're so annoying!"

Author's Note:

Many thanks to the lovely angels who supported me from 23:56:30 on February 29, 2020, to 00:28:43 on March 2, 2020, with their power votes or by gifting nutrients!

Shout-out to the angel who donated a mine: Wan Dou Ni - 1.

Heartfelt thanks to the angels who poured nutrient solutions: Wei Da Da, Tai Feng Orange Wolf, Ba Pu Grass Fragrance - 10 bottles; Xiao Xiao, Dong Lang Ru Jian - 5 bottles; 42532695 - 3 bottles; Ying Jie - 1 bottle.

I'm deeply grateful for all your support. I promise to keep working hard!

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