Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

"And you, you have your path."

"I also have my path."

Xia Yu turned his gaze to Liu Ying, and only then did he notice the young girl's hands tightly gripping her chopsticks, her big eyes eagerly fixed on him.

"Mr. Xia, what is your knife technique like?"

Liu Ying is just a curious little one.

Xia Yu opened his mouth to answer, but unexpectedly, a female voice laughed out loud.

"His knife technique?"

"In terms of overall culinary skills, I admit I'm far inferior to you, easily defeated by you in a face-to-face match. But when it comes to knife skills, I've never feared anyone, not even if the opponent is a genuine Dragon Chef!"

"Pfft!"

Xia Yu was amused too.

Has Lei Aoxue truly witnessed the knife technique of a Dragon Chef? Talking so arrogantly.

He's seen the old man's knife skills, and it's like a painting.

Lei Aoxue's knife skills do have a certain artistic charm, that's true, but her canvas is monopolized by lotus blossoms, with other elements seemingly invisible, no highlights at all, which goes entirely against Xia Yu's culinary philosophy.

You should know, the old man's 'kindness in knife technique' is like a chicken pierced by countless blades yet still dancing gracefully, as elegant as a Phoenix. Isn't that the soul of the painting?

This is the fundamental difference!

"Why are you laughing?!" Lei Aoxue's sensitive and fragile inner string kept being strummed, provoking a surging anger that was about to overflow and explode.

Xia Yu ignored her.

He gently patted Liu Ying's little head and casually rubbed her smooth hair on top, feeling that his disciple needed to inherit his culinary philosophy and not be led astray onto a no-return path by Lei Aoxue's 'blades of lotus.' So he looked into Liu Ying's expectant eyes and smiled: "My knife skills are not as good as Lei Aoxue's, but they have their own style, Little Ying, you'll probably like them!"

"I promise!"

He winked at Liu Ying.

After speaking, he stepped into the front kitchen position, which is the chef's spot.

He scanned the remaining ingredients on the cooking station.

"Hmm, enough to make a Xia Family's Thousand Island Noodle Strips Banana!"

Swoosh!

He started by pouring some medium-gluten flour.

Medium-gluten flour is just regular flour encountered in everyday life, suitable for making Chinese pastries like noodles, buns, and dumplings.

In terms of dough-making, Xia Yu wasn't a newbie. Firstly, he mixed the batter, washed a small basin clean, filled it with flour, added extra lemon juice, and then Xia Yu turned to the sink, turned the faucet on with a click, and meticulously washed his hands.

His earnest profile conveyed an inexplicable sense of devotion, embodying a hint of a chef's charisma.

He repeatedly washed them several times, ensuring there was no grime in his nail creases, his hands delicate and as alabaster as an artwork. Only then did Xia Yu take a towel, dried off the water stains on his hands, abandoned chopsticks and other mixing tools, and directly inserted his hands into the basin, stirring the flour and lemon juice inside.

His movements were extremely gentle.

So much so that Xia Yu slightly closed his eyes, his face showing enjoyment, as he captured the gradual fusion and transformation between the flour and lemon juice in his hands.

No need for vision; his "skin" seemed to become a precise observation instrument.

In his mind, the flour gradually transformed into paste-like liquid in the basin.

"Drop..."

The delightful sound.

A drop of refreshing pure lemon juice seemed to drip deep into his spirit, Xia Yu shivered and a subtle blush crept across his profile.

"Hmph, pretending to be mysterious!"

Lei Aoxue didn't understand Xia Yu's approach of using hands instead of mixing tools. Although pure handmade allows chefs more operational autonomy, she didn't believe that mere hand-kneading could bring a qualitative improvement to the batter. Yet, those hands seemed to have been granted "magic power," destined to challenge Lei Aoxue's culinary perceptions today.

"Mr. Xia... looks so focused and seems to be enjoying it!" Liu Ying noticed Xia Yu's expression and stared at him, her pupils filled with her master's figure.

Mixing the batter took just two or three minutes.

Next came kneading the dough, Xia Yu still used his hands. With a thud-thud-thud, on the countertop, the small, bowl-sized white dough seemed to be treated as a toy like playdough, those hands were very naughty and mischievous, kneading out lots of odd shapes.

Throughout the process, Xia Yu's lips held a slightly playful smile, childlike at heart remains.

Fun.

Want to keep playing?

From an observer's perspective, Xia Yu seemed to be playing with toys rather than cooking, his style in the kitchen was easy-going and unrestrained, making the kitchen atmosphere suddenly relax, Liu Ying, and Mrs. Liu were influenced by the rhythm of his hands, their faces showed quiet smiles.

Lei Aoxue's tense facial lines showed a trend of uncontrollable soothing.

"Such curious hands!"

Turning her head away, no longer looking at those hands, Lei Aoxue barely maintained the stern curve on her lips.

The fire in my chest vanished without me knowing when.

Thump thump!

And my heart was beating unusually fast.

With a sidelong glance, I noticed Xia Yu had finished kneading the dough and was using a rolling pin to flatten it into a sheet, then grasped the knife in his right hand... Seeing this, Lei Aoxue's heartstrings tightened, "Knife skills! His knife skills are his weak point, that's absolutely true. That's the conclusion I've drawn from repeatedly watching his past cooking videos!"

Swoosh——

The light of the knife flashed and disappeared.

Even more silent and gentle than hers.

Strands of noodle strips scattered, and suddenly Lei Aoxue's face turned pale, "No, this isn't right!"

In her vision, there was clearly a sharp brilliance flashing, yet her eyes weren't hurt, nor did she feel the oppression of facing sharp objects.

Relaxed.

A gentle slice.

With such knife skills, even if the blade were resting on my neck, I'd find it hard to muster any fighting spirit, right?

A sentence suddenly emerged from the depths of my heart, immediately causing cold sweat to cover Lei Aoxue's body.

Indeed.

Xia Yu was cooking the third dish 'Thousand Island Noodle Strips Banana'.

The recipe process was almost unchanged, but with a more meticulous and gentle handling of the batter and dough.

Oh, by the way, the knife skills also made a brief appearance when peeling and dicing the tomatoes and cutting off the tips and tails of the bananas, but the moment was too fleeting, far less significant than when Xia Yu sliced the noodle strips.

Approximately 10 minutes later, sizzle sizzle sizzle, Xia Yu used chopsticks to pick out golden "snacks" from the bubbling oil pot, stacking them on a plate, drizzled Thousand Island dressing and lemon zest, completing his dish.

"Everyone, give it a taste, see what's different!" Xia Yu said with a smile as he placed the dish on the table.

Liu Ying, Liu Feng, and Mrs. Liu immediately gathered around.

"No, it's completely wrong!"

A somewhat sharp voice called out.

Lei Aoxue gazed at the young man, unable to believe it.

Her face felt hot.

She was originally a master of knife skills, of course she could see that Xia Yu's knife skills compared to his past efforts were utterly transformed, developing his own style and aura.

Thinking back to how she confidently believed this guy had lousy knife skills, and voiced that opinion, Lei Aoxue was totally hit in the face, shamefully wishing to hide herself.

However, reaching the peak of embarrassment, Lei Aoxue got even angrier, her body trembling, "Your knife skills are clearly so excellent, why haven't you shown them before?"

Xia Yu was quite amused.

"Because, knife skills have never been my strongest point, I have better control over heat and seasoning techniques." He shrugged as he replied.

"…You, you!"

Lei Aoxue was speechless.

"Moreover..." Xia Yu was about to say his knife skills had only recently improved, when Liu Ying tugged at his sleeve, drooling at the fresh crispy banana on the table, "Mr. Xia, I want to eat!"

"Then eat, no need to hold back!"

Patting Liu Ying's head, Xia Yu also picked up a pair of chopsticks, grabbing a steaming fried banana, intending to bring it to his mouth, yet Lei Aoxue was staring at him in his peripheral vision.

Stare——

A strange gaze, rather amusing.

"Do you want to eat? Come on!"

He stepped forward a few steps.

"No, I won't eat!"

The long-legged woman retreated step by step, her face flustered.

"Don't be shy!"

Lei Aoxue was forced into a corner, her body pressed tightly against the cabinet.

A pair of chopsticks extended straight toward her moist lips, holding the long, thick, golden crispy banana.

"Stop resisting, I said before, my knife skills aren't on the same path as yours, or rather, our philosophies differ fundamentally, you'll understand just by tasting!" The boy blinked and smiled mysteriously, "Want to see my world of knife skills?"

"You'll find enjoyment!"

His lips moved as he spoke, but when he said "enjoyment," deep in Xia Yu's heart was a little demon with a pitchfork, laughing mischievously——

That was training indeed!