Chapter 421: Don’t Tell Me He Already Named the Child While She Was Busy?
Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Don’t Tell Me He Already Named the Child While She Was Busy?
As soon as Shen Lu entered, the contestants who had already advanced all turned to look at her.
Their expressions ranged from surprise and astonishment to contempt and disdain.
Shen Lu took in all their gazes without batting an eye, then found a less crowded spot to sit down.
With no Light Brain, all she could do was watch the competition.
A competition is just like an exam; once someone finishes early, it puts pressure on those who are still working.
Shen Lu could see that the faces of the remaining nine contestants had turned grim. Some with weaker nerves were even starting to lose their form, their movements becoming sloppy.
The competition had a time limit. When the final bell rang, there were still two people who hadn’t finished cutting.
One of them was the female chef who had been taunting Shen Lu earlier.
She bit her lip, refusing to give up, determined to finish cutting the meat in her hands.
But a mechanical arm snatched the kitchen knife from her hand with lightning speed, making it impossible for her to continue.
The advancement spots for the first round were relatively generous. There was no strict rule on how many could advance from each group. In total, six people from Shen Lu’s group successfully advanced.
Perhaps due to the shallow camaraderie forged from competing in the same round, the other five people naturally sat near Shen Lu after entering the lounge. Each held a drink, sighing and making idle conversation.
"The preliminary rounds weren’t nearly as tense as today. It’s so strange."
"We need to get used to this feeling, or we’ll only be able to perform at thirty percent of our true ability."
"Speaking of which, young lady, your knife skills are amazing," the burly man sitting to Shen Lu’s left said, striking up a conversation. "You were so fast and precise."
Shen Lu pressed her lips into a smile, feigning shyness.
"The next round is about heat control and seasoning. I bet a lot of people will be eliminated."
"This is all child’s play. I’m looking forward to the later rounds, where the judges give us random prompts and we have to create a suitable dish within the time limit. Now *that’s* a real challenge."
The whole time, Shen Lu listened quietly, absorbing useful information, her eyes fixed on the large screen.
The contestants in the next group were all unfamiliar faces, so Shen Lu only gave them a cursory glance. But in the fifth group, she saw someone she knew.
Shen Lan was focused on chopping her ingredients, completely unaware that Shen Lu had been staring at her on the screen for quite a while.
Shen Lan’s knife skills weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible either. Just average.
Considering how long she’d been studying cooking, reaching this level did suggest she had some talent. No wonder she was so high-profile and confident.
’It’s just a pity that no matter how good Shen Lan is, she can never take first place.’
’Putting me aside, just Sang Yue alone is an insurmountable mountain for Shen Lan.’
’In the original plot, Shen Lan was just a minor, C-list supporting character—named cannon fodder caught in the blast radius of the female lead’s halo.’
Thinking of this, Shen Lu rubbed her chin, feeling she was being a bit too rigid in her thinking.
’I can’t keep applying the original plot to the current situation. Since there’s no mysterious force course-correcting the plot here, it could go off the rails at any moment.’
’The original second male lead, Xue Can, and Sang Yue don’t seem to have sparked anything yet. Could it be that even the heaven-made-pair male and female leads might not click?’
Shen Lu was startled by her own thought. ’The plot wouldn’t shatter that completely, would it?’
While she was lost in her wild thoughts, Shen Lan advanced and entered the lounge.
The young woman had been quite happy about securing her spot, but upon entering, she immediately saw Shen Lu, who was deep in thought. Half of her happiness vanished.
’Wait, why is *she* here too?’
’How could a lowlife from the Lower City District possibly manage to advance?’
Shen Lan puffed up her cheeks in anger and stormed over to Shen Lu, demanding rudely, "Did you bribe the judges?"
Shen Lu looked at her as if she were an idiot. "What? Are you questioning the judges’ impartiality and fairness?"
"I’m not!" Shen Lan denied it flatly.
"Then you’re accusing me of bribing the judges?"
"I..." Shen Lan also realized her blunt words had been poorly chosen. "Don’t twist my words! I’m questioning your skill!"
"You’re welcome to question it. In any case, this is only the first round of the official competition. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to be defeated by me," Shen Lu said with a sweet smile.
"You!" Shen Lan was rendered speechless by the retort. She raised her hand as if to strike, only to belatedly realize this wasn’t the place. Not only were there cameras at the competition site, but there were cameras in the contestants’ lounge as well.
However, there was only one camera in the lounge, providing a panoramic view, so not many people were watching it.
But some people would still be watching.
Shen Lan froze, changing her gesture to pointing at the tip of Shen Lu’s nose. "Stop your arrogant boasting! Shen Lu, you’ve already stolen seventeen years of my life! I will never let you take anything from me again!"
Shen Lu... found it hard to comment.
First of all, she wasn’t the original owner of this body, and the original owner hadn’t stolen seventeen years of Shen Lan’s life. Secondly, the Kitchen King Competition had just begun. It was still unknown who would win the title of Kitchen King, yet Shen Lan spoke as if the title were already in her pocket.
Her tone was arrogant and unpleasant.
Shen Lu scoffed but didn’t bother to retort further.
’What’s the use of saying more? Crushing her with skill is the only true checkmate.’
’Let Shen Lan live in her beautiful fantasy for a couple more days.’
Song Zhigao also passed the knife skills test smoothly. He was even more silent than before, heading to the farthest corner of the lounge upon entering and lowering his head, lost in thought.
Soon, it was time for the final round. Before the eight contestants took the stage, the fashionably late Eldest Prince made his grand entrance, causing today’s viewership to spike.
—The Eldest Prince really came!
—I thought he wouldn’t show up until the later rounds!
—According to the grapevine, the Eldest Prince was here today to inspect the compensation supplies being distributed to the Lower City District. He just happened to be near the competition venue and decided to drop by.
—The Eldest Prince is truly the member of the Royal Family who cares most about the people.
—I love the Eldest Prince so much!
—I’M LOSING MY MIND! HUBBY!
The screen was flooded with a dense barrage of comments. In the contestants’ lounge, many young female chefs stared dreamily at the dazzling Eldest Prince on the screen, their eyes full of stars.
Even Shen Lan was clutching her chest like a classic damsel, temporarily setting aside her hostility toward Shen Lu to become one of the Eldest Prince’s fangirls.
"The Eldest Prince is just... so handsome," Shen Lan murmured.
He was.
As the male lead, the Eldest Prince’s looks were top-tier. He had sharp, sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, and a straight, high nose. His form-fitting white suit with gold trim outlined his tall, slender figure. He exuded an approachable aura, yet the slightly pale shade of his irises created a sense of unbreachable distance.
Truly captivating.
Everyone can appreciate beautiful things, and Shen Lu was no exception.
After carefully sizing up the male lead in the flesh, Shen Lu withdrew her gaze.
’Actually, Fu Cheng is no less handsome than the Eldest Prince. He just lost out because of his physical disabilities.’
’But now that he’s been fitted with all new parts, they’re on equal footing.’
Thinking of Fu Cheng, Shen Lu secretly wondered if she should take some time to visit him in the hospital after this round of the competition was over.
Since her last visit, she had been busy with her shop and the competition and hadn’t gone to see him again.
’And what about that female doctor, his old classmate, who touched him? How far have they gotten?’
’They haven’t taken advantage of my being busy to the point where they’ve already picked out a name for their baby, have they?’