On the other hand, Ye Xieren’s mood was different from earlier. Now, he found something interesting that could challenge him in a proper match. It had been a long time since someone was able to tie up with him— what’s more, it was a woman. The intense excitement running through his veins didn’t reflect on his actions though.
He was very calm and collected, and his focus was on the dish he would be making. The judges never mentioned any specific noodles to make so he chose the easier one to produce in a short time. For this round, he decided to cook soba. With a huge mixing bowl in front of him, he sifted the flour.
Unlike the hand-pulled noodles that Lu Xinyi made earlier that needed gluten to be firm, Ye Xieren’s soba didn’t have gluten. For this reason, the noodles he should create shouldn’t be too long; or else it would break apart.
He made sure that there were no remaining lumps on the flour before pouring water on it. Using his bare hands, he mixed the two as if playing with sand and water on a hot summer day. The flour formed into small, soft b.a.l.l.s as he ran his fingertips on it. His mixing technique then changed into something else.
His hands played with the flour mixture as if there was an explosion on every movement of his hands. The gravity forced the flour to stick together. The last part of his mixing technique was to mix everything in huge circular motions with his hands.
Ye Xieren was Chef Qin’s nephew. He’d been working under him since he was nine. His talent in cooking was accidentally discovered when he made changes on a soup that his uncle left to simmer. Since then, Chef Qin took it upon himself to train the young Xieren. Although he didn’t have to work full-time in his uncle’s restaurant, he spent most of his free days in the kitchen, watching and copying the skills of the chefs—engraving them on his mind.
At the age of twelve, he started partic.i.p.ating in different amateur cooking compet.i.tions, earning him the t.i.tle ‘the young prince of cooking.’
Mixing his dough for the last time, he let his fingertips do their magic as his hands started to bind everything in a ball of dough and knead it in the mixing bowl. His movements were precise as if he was doing the same thing for a long time. He never faltered and let his whole body release the tension from him, balancing his actions and letting himself to connect with his dish.
He continued to knead until he was able to produce a smooth and elastic dough before giving it a rest. After giving it enough time to rest, Ye Xieren dusted his countertop and started stretching the dough with his palm and a rolling pin. Stretching it carefully and evenly, he folded the dough several times and started cutting it with a knife.
To finish everything, he cooked the soba noodles on the boiling water and transferred it to a bowl before adding the soup base he prepared. He was done.
His eyes lifted up just in time and saw Lu Xinyi twisting her dough in the air before making loops several times. ‘So she chose to do it in a traditional way? How absurd,’ he thought. How could she serve a dish that needed to cook for hours in one hour? Although he was really interested to see what else Lu Xinyi could do.
Meanwhile, Lu Xinyi hadn’t noticed the eyes that were watching her every move. She was deep in her thoughts, seeing if the noodles were cooked properly. At least she was able to finish on time before the sound of timer distracted her. It sounded like the horn of a juggernaut: blaring and unceasing, crippling her thoughts and a.s.saulting her ears. It was genius on Silver Leaf’s part; no examinee could ignore a sound like that.
She then decided to serve her dish as soon as possible to avoid ruining the dish. Just when she was about to serve it, Ye Xieren lifted his hand indicating that he was about to present his dish for the second round.
The interests of the judges shot up! The two had tied on the previous round; now, who would dominate the second round?