Everyone was appalled by Lu Xinyi’s action. They started saying mean words against her which disturbed the Shen twins.
“Daddy…” Little Yuyan’s hands gripped Shen Yi’s sleeve. Her trembling voice sought out her adoptive father’s a.s.surance.
Shen Yi’s eyes showed the kind of gentleness he only gave his wife and these two children. He laid his hand lightly on Little Yuyan’s head, running his fingers on her soft locks. The little girl was soothed by it. He slid down and kept his hand on her shoulder and whispered with a calming voice.
“Mommy Xinxin is brave. She knows what’s she’s doing. There are just people who don’t know what they’re talking about. You have to understand that sometimes, speaking nonsense was faster than thinking twice for other people.”
“They’re mean. I don’t believe Mommy is cheating. Mommy isn’t a cheater.” Little Yuyan sobbed. She quite didn’t understand why people were suddenly against Lu Xinyi. They were cheering for her earlier, praising her with words, and encouraging her.
“She isn’t,” Shen Yi insisted. There was no way that Lu Xinyi would do it. If she broke a rule, that only meant something had been forced her to do such actions. Those people could complain all they want. It wasn’t them being pressured or who spoke bad things.
“You have only one hour to complete and present your devil’s food cake! Good luck, examinees!” Huo Meili’s voice wasn’t as cheery as earlier. The tension within the stadium had grown thick. Everyone was excited to see how Silver Leaf’s judges would deal with Lu Xinyi.
Huo Meili swallowed her nervousness. If she was to be honest, she also saw Lu Xinyi putting a spoonful of lemon juice on a cup of milk. She knew what it meant. Lu Xinyi was trying to make her own b.u.t.termilk. b.u.t.termilk was already included in her box; Huo Meili didn’t see any reason why Lu Xinyi chose to break a rule.
Meanwhile…
Director Han leaned forward, sliding her chair closer to the table. Her lips slightly parted as she watched Lu Xinyi pour the batter of her cake on two round pans.
“Oh, look at that!” Her father let out an amused laugh. “Ah, she’s truly a Lu after all.”
Han Zhiling couldn’t believe her father’s words! While she knew Lu Sibai didn’t really follow rules—and Tian Lingyu always had his way in cooking, that didn’t mean they could turn a blind eye to Lu Xinyi’s disrespect to the rules!
“Father, I do hope you see there’s a problem in here,” she pointed out.
Chairman Han rubbed his chin and grinned big. “I know. Someone’s trying to sabotage our examinees.”
Han Zhiling gasped. “Are you kidding?” This wasn’t what she meant when she asked him! She shook her head, “No, that’s impossible.” Who would dare to use Silver Leaf to their advantage?
“Unfortunately, there’s a rat in our team.” Chairman Han frowned and checked the other examinees struggling on their dish. “Someone purposely switched the ingredients for this round.”
Han Zhiling took notice the stern voice of her father. They couldn’t let the public know about this problem.
“I trust that you will settle everything, Zhiling.” Chairman Han tucked his arms and saw Ye Xieren throwing a fit on his counter. Lu Xinyi wasn’t the only one whose items got switched.
“I understand, Father.” Han Zhiling inhaled deeply through her nose and then exhaled through her mouth. She hadn’t really thought that this year’s examination would be a problematic one. The reputation of Silver Leaf that was built for thirty-five years would be in question. The academy had dealt with and overcome several problems before, and sabotaging the students with an inside job was included. However, none was as large-scale as this one.
She waved a hand, summoning one of their staff. “Get Huo Meili for me. I will join the judge’s panel.”
Han Zhiling never argued with anyone, but her words packed a powerful punch. Carefully spoken—without drama and sugarcoating, her words had an air of finality to them; and no matter how hard anyone railed against her, nothing would change her mind.
The staff gave her a confused look before turning around to call Huo Meili. Huo Meili arrived and had a small talk with Chairman Han and Han Zhiling. After that, she went back to the stage to announce the changes.
“For this round, our director, Han Zhiling, will join the judge’s panel.” Huo Meili fidgeted on her feet. She could hear heartbeat slamming on her ribcage. Something was wrong. Director Han wouldn’t step up if everything was fine. The judges made a s.p.a.ce in the middle to give way for Director Han. Han Zhiling sat and started a silent discussion with the other judges.
When Tong Yan heard that Director Han would be joining the other judges for the last round, she abruptly stood up from her seat. Her excitement was replaced with terror. ‘No! No! No! This shouldn’t be happening!’ she thought. Did the judges notice the problems with the ingredients?
Her face turned ashen, white, and pallid—limbs shaking. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Lu Xinyi should be the one suffering like this, not her! She wanted to flee and hide, but she could feel a cold stare set on her. Images of what-could-be flashed through her mind. With tight shoulders, Tong Yan lifted her head to see a glimpse of her mistress. Her pulse raced as she noticed the coldness on Sun Feiyan’s eyes.
Why was Sun Feiyan looking at her like that? Tong Yan bit her lip. Didn’t Sun Feiyan know that she sabotaged Lu Xinyi’s cake for her sake? Tong Yan felt that her mistress’s actions were a sense of being wronged.
“Mistress Sun…”
Sun Feiyan shook her head in disapproval but hadn’t said anything at all.