694 Under Pressure (2)
As expected, the festival was filled with people and buzzing with their excited conversations. Liu Jinfei and Lin Xiao were both surprised when they saw where the competition would take place.
A huge pavilion that sat near the lake housed several cooking stations in its open area. According to He Haotian, this was the same place where Lu Xinyi and Shen Yi competed when they acquired the Grace Palace Restaurant for the first time.
Shen Lingqing didn’t say anything about it and had joined her Grandpa He and Uncle Huang in the audience while waiting for the competition to start. She was sandwiched between the two men, forbidding anyone to take advantage of their Little Qingqing who was definitely not so little anymore.
“Do you really have to accompany me here?” Shen Lingqing asked the two.
“Hey. It’s not like we didn’t trust you, Qingqing. We just don’t trust people who covet after you,” Huang Shenghao said in defense.
The Shen princess raised a slender brow, but she didn’t say anything in return. Did these two think she would allow other people to take advantage of her just because she was dressed in a hanfu?
“If your father and your Uncle Lingyu were here, they would have done the same,” He Haotian agreed with Huang Shenghao.
“See? Even your grandpa agrees with me. We’re just doing this for your sake, Princess.”
“Ridiculous,” Shen Lingqing muttered under her breath. The men in her life could be annoying sometimes. They really didn’t know how to control themselves well.
In case these two were forgetting, she was already a grown-up woman. She wasn’t a kid who needed their protection from strangers anymore. If it was in the past where she was young and innocent, she could understand why these two wanted to spoil her… but not this time.
“Joking aside, do you think they have a chance to win?” Huang Shenghao asked them. He had only worked with Liu Jinfei in the kitchen for two days, and he was impressed with how calm and collected the younger chef was despite working in an unfamiliar kitchen.
He Haotian glanced towards the two chefs conversing in low voices at their designated cooking station. Liu Jinfei was calm and collected, while it was the older chef—Lin Xiao—who looked nervous in his place. He kept looking around the spectators of this competition.
“It’s hard to tell. Liu Jinfei used to be a second placer at Silver Leaf, but I feel he’d changed over the years since our last meeting.”
“I already said this. It didn’t matter to me if they won or lost. As long as I would be able to see their team play and how they deal with working under pressure.”
Working in the kitchen could be unpredictable at times, and such things should be resolved as soon as possible. It’s important that Liu Jinfei and Lin Xiao knew how to perform under pressure because Shen Lingqing wasn’t planning to go easy on them in the future.
The competition officially started, and Liu Jinfei’s team easily excelled in the preliminary rounds, allowing them to secure their place in the top ten of the competition. Meanwhile, because Shen Lingqing and her companions were seated near Liu Jinfei’s team, they were able to see how the two chefs prepared their entries. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Well, I don’t think you have to worry too much about them, Qingqing. I see no problem with them,” He Haotian said.
“Not really—” Shen Lingqing retorted. She almost spilled out the truth about Liu Jinfei’s problem with his palate, but she was able to stop her train of thoughts.
“You mean they have a problem, or you don’t worry about them?” Huang Shenghao asked her, but the Shen princess only shrugged.
Who said she was worried? It’s not like those two chefs she brought with her were amateurs. Lin Xiao had a lot of experience in the kitchen, but not on a professional level; while Liu Jinfei graduated from Silver Leaf with flying colors. That, alone, had set them apart from the other participants of this competition.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the two needed to face challenges and perform under the strict guidance of the committee, Shen Lingqing wouldn’t bother registering the two in this competition.
During a break, Liu Jinfei and Lin Xiao met Shen Lingqing outside the pavilion; while it was being cleaned and prepared for the next rounds of the competition.
“It will be harder from now on. Don’t pressure yourself to win; instead, pressure yourself to present the best dish you can produce,” she reminded them.
“Understood, Director Shen,” Lin Xiao replied with eagerness. Although it was obvious that he was nervous, his eyes shone with excitement in them.
It couldn’t be said to Liu Jinfei though, who looked calm and reserved at the same time. He was neither pleased nor irritated to be here in this competition.
“So there’s one more round and then semi-finals,” Huang Shenghao said, “It would be harder to climb up at this point.”
“They are here to train, not to compete,” He Haotian commented, “Qingqing wants to see if they have improved or not anyway.”
“Ah, so that’s why.” Lin Xiao hummed. It seemed that Liu Jinfei’s assumptions about Shen Lingqing were right. She was using this opportunity to see if they managed to learn something from He Haotian and Huang Shenghao at the same time.
Liu Jinfei understood Shen Lingqing better than him. Lin Xiao thought, but he didn’t dare to think more about it. It was enough that Shen Lingqing trusted the two of them and wanted them to improve their skills.
“Qingqing, do you plan to give them a reward if they win this competition?” Huang Shenghao curiously asked. He knew well how generous the Shen family was when it came to their chosen beneficiaries.
“Hmm, I didn’t realize I need to prepare one,” the Shen princess admitted, her succeeding words only confusing the men around her, “I think I have to reconsider.”