Chapter 241: You Are Nan Zhi
Chapter 241: Chapter 241: You Are Nan Zhi
Lai Liang, in the end, returned to his position as the teacher.
The children had already been waiting for nearly half an hour, and the fourth morning period was about to end. Normally, it would be lunchtime.
When Nan Zhi taught the cooking class, she would typically use the Food the children made under her direction for their lunch, putting everything to good use.
But Lai Liang didn’t do that.
He was a chef of Japanese cuisine—a top-tier one, at that.
If he were to make sushi and sashimi for each and every one of the dozens of kids, he’d probably collapse from exhaustion.
So, Lai Liang opted for a different approach.
No matter how reluctant he was, he had to admit that Miss Chang was right.
He had to showcase what made his cooking class unique, beat Nan Zhi, and completely overshadow her.
And nothing was more effective than "storytelling."
And so, Lai Liang straightened his collar, put on a warm and friendly demeanor, and began to recount his experience studying in R Country.
It had to be said, there was a reason Lai Liang had become a minor celebrity chef. He certainly had his talents.
At the very least, when he told his story, he was remarkably witty and humorous—
Lai Liang said that he had eaten Japanese cuisine as a child and was stunned by its exquisite flavor. From that moment, he fell in love with a style of cooking that highlighted the purest essence of its ingredients. By the time he was in high school, fueled by sheer passion, he made the bold decision to drop out and travel across the ocean to R Country, seeking to become an apprentice to the legendary God of Sushi.
The God of Sushi’s restaurant was tiny, seating only ten guests at a time. Furthermore, the menu was dictated entirely by the freshest ingredients of the day, as he approached his craft with a tireless pursuit of perfection.
This outstanding and distinguished craftsmanship made Lai Liang vow that he had to study under the God of Sushi. Unfortunately, the master turned him away at the door because of his nationality.
But he didn’t give up easily. Instead, he chose to win the master over with his sincerity, cleaning the front of the shop for free every day. He even scrubbed the doormat until it was spotless.
Ultimately, his persistence won over the God of Sushi, who took him on as an apprentice. And so, Lai Liang became the God of Sushi’s one and only disciple from Hua Country!
Lai Liang said, "We can’t deny that Japanese cuisine holds a prestigious position internationally. Many of the top three-star Michelin restaurants are Japanese. But why does it have to be made by people from R Country? I, Lai Liang, am going to prove to everyone that people from Hua Country can make the best Japanese food, too!"
Lai Liang was a decent orator, telling his story with a dynamic and impassioned rhythm.
The children, who had initially been a little resistant, found themselves unconsciously drawn in...
"He must think he’s the star of a power-fantasy novel."
An abrupt voice sounded beside Nan Zhi’s ear.
Nan Zhi, who had been listening to Lai Liang speak from a corner with her arms crossed, suddenly turned to find Fu Chao had appeared beside her at some point.
She immediately glanced at the camera behind her.
"What are you doing here?"
Fu Chao gave her a reassuring look.
"Don’t worry, my mic has been off for a while. I know yours is off, too."
Nan Zhi knew Fu Chao wasn’t an idiot.
Her eyes crinkled with amusement.
"Here to console me?"
"I know you’re not one to be easily beaten. You’re Nan Zhi, after all!"
Fu Chao seemed to have more faith in Nan Zhi than she had in herself!
Nan Zhi chuckled.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Anytime."
After a moment of silence, Fu Chao couldn’t suppress his urge to start roasting him again.
"Tsk, ’travel across the ocean’? It’s only a four-hour flight from Sea City to R Country. How does that count as ’across the ocean’? You’d at least have to cross a *real* ocean, a flight of ten-plus hours!"
"Tsk-tsk, he needed to be taught how to fold towels as an apprentice? I thought that was something you could learn just by watching. Is he sure that ’God’ of his wasn’t just messing with him on purpose?"
"Tsk-tsk-tsk, and all that talk about ’pursuing ultimate beauty regardless of cost,’ ’restoring the truest flavor of the ingredients,’ and ’Japanese cuisine is the art of cooking.’ Easier said than done. Does he really think I’ve never eaten kaiseki before?"
"..."
Fu Chao kept up a running commentary in Nan Zhi’s ear.
It got to the point where even Nan Zhi couldn’t help but remind him:
"Keep your voice down."
Fu Chao was defiant.
"My back is to the camera, they can’t see me talking!"
Nan Zhi found it increasingly amusing.
Even though Fu Chao was a few years older, sometimes he seemed younger than her, like a little kid.
Roasting Lai Liang from the corner was a risky move. To keep Fu Chao from getting himself into trouble, Nan Zhi took pity on him and decided to lead him away.
The two of them quietly slipped out of the cafeteria, hugging the wall, and went out to the spacious athletic field.
Nan Zhi raised a hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes as she scanned the quiet surroundings.
"Did you come by yourself?"
At her words, Fu Chao awkwardly rubbed his face and said nothing.
Nan Zhi immediately sensed something was up.
"You snuck away from your work, didn’t you?"
Everyone knew that Fu Chao, as one of the village’s "key figures," had a heavy workload and was almost always too busy to get away.
And yet, at such a crucial time, he had actually snuck over to the village school without even bringing his cameraman?
Nan Zhi could just imagine the utterly lifeless, dead-fish expression Director Xu Lin must be wearing!
Fu Chao started rubbing his nose, looking left and right.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he spotted two small figures who had also snuck out.
"What are you two doing out here?"
Nan Zhi looked over in the direction of his voice.
She saw Nan Yi and Qi Zhang running out of the cafeteria, one after the other.
For some reason, no one had stopped them from "skipping class."
Nan Zhi, for her part, wasn’t surprised. She stroked Nan Yi’s flushed little face.
"What’s with all the running? Look at you, you’re all sweaty."
Nan Yi puffed out his cheeks. He really wanted to say it was because he was mad.
But he didn’t want to worry his mom, so he forced the words back down.
However, Qi Zhang was right beside him and sold him out without a second thought.
"Auntie Zhizhi, you have no idea! Yiyi was so mad just now, his face got... wow, super red!"
Two distinct splotches of red appeared on Nan Yi’s pale cheeks.
"I was not!"
Qi Zhang looked back at him innocently.
"You totally were."
Nan Yi huffed and turned his face away.
Qi Zhang looked a little lost.
Not wanting the two little ones to have a falling out over something so trivial, Nan Zhi quickly changed the subject.
"Uncle Fu Chao invited us to come see where he works. Do you two want to come along?"
As both their teacher and a parent, Nan Zhi felt no guilt whatsoever about helping the little ones skip class.
Hearing this, Fu Chao asked with a blank look in his eyes:
"Huh? I did?"
Catching a glimpse of Nan Yi and Qi Zhang’s confused little faces, he immediately nodded without a second thought.
"Oh, oh, right! That’s right! I did invite you!"
A moment later, Nan Zhi’s personal cameraman finally arrived, just in time to capture their retreating figures as they left the school.
On the screen of the otherwise dull livestream, a single comment suddenly floated by:
[Seeing their retreating figures is so sad]
The rest of the chat was dead silent.