Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

From the other end of the phone, Xia Yu faintly heard care and concern. Having spent a lot of time with his aunt, who was like half a mother to him, he deeply understood her sharp tongue.

"Aunt Qing, speak nicely, don't start yelling right away!"

Xia Yu chose to surrender.

The phone went silent for a moment as the angry breathing gradually calmed.

"...You really don't know what's happened?" In a large mansion in Jingguan City, a woman visiting the Zhu Family after the New Year blinked in doubt.

"..." Xia Yu parted his lips.

"Enough!"

Zhu Qing switched to asking, "Did anyone visit you at home yesterday?"

"Uh..."

Xia Yu seriously thought about it, "I think, no?"

He used a questioning tone.

The woman rolled her eyes, "Did someone or not? Give me a clear answer!"

Xia Yu sweatily said, "Even if someone did, without an appointment on a visit card, just coming directly to knock on the alley door, who's going to hear that?"

"I've been researching new dishes these days." He added a sentence, and said nothing more, as it was unnecessary.

Zhu Family mansion.

In the long corridor, Zhu Qing held her phone, covering her face with the other hand, "I knew it!"

She silently cursed.

The sound of knocking? A cooking maniac focused on his own world probably filters those sounds out directly with his ears.

Liu Ying is the same, a major Demon King account, a minor account, the culinary world is online, while the real world is offline and idle.

In fact, Zhu Qing left the Xia Mansion and returned to her clan days ago.

Anyway, Zhu Qing remained unmarried, her home was still with the Zhu Family.

As for the old man, he disappeared a step ahead of Zhu Qing. One morning when Xia Yu got up, the old man was gone, like he vanished into thin air, as always just like a Divine Dragon.

It's said the old man went to the Imperial City, and Xia Yu vaguely heard about the third Pavilion Master seat election at White Jade Tower in the Five Talents Sword Discussion Group. However, he didn't believe that his family's old man with that stinky toilet temper would be willing to sit on the chair, be controlled by the dragonhead, and be restrained by Wei An and Kong Chun.

"Don't go out!" Zhu Qing hastily instructed, "I'll head back right now!"

As soon as the call disconnected, buzz buzz!

The phone continued to vibrate.

"Oh, come on!"

Xia Yu glanced at the caller ID, noting the remarks as 'Dragon Pot employee,' and declined the call directly.

Unexpectedly, the phone received a barrage of @ messages, vibrating non-stop.

He had no choice but to go online in the Five Talents Sword Discussion Group.

The group had already exploded, with Xia Yu seeing 99+ unread messages, lacking the patience to sift through previous chat records. He typed a bewildered message: "Why are you all crazily @me?"

"Wow!" Wu Yingying covered her mouth with a shocked expression.

"The main guy is here!"

'First seat' Li Han sent a nose-picking emoji.

"..."

Chen Yang, Zhao Zhen, and others were eagerly watching, looking to pass the time.

"Are you hanging up on me again?!"

'Dragon Pot employee' Tang Yuqiong sent an emoji of boiling anger.

"What's going on?" Xia Yu's forehead throbbed, "I'm researching new dishes, why are you all so agitated?"

Tang Yuqiong immediately pasted a link to an article, "Look for yourself—"

The article title was "Chef Against Chef? Beyond Cooking, Let's Start the Discussion from Respecting Elders in the Culinary World..."

Just by the title, Xia Yu sensed something unusual, the taste of conspiracy.

Indeed!

After skimming through the article, his eyes lingered for a minute on the medals and awards showcase of a certain chef.

Lastly, his gaze returned to the image at the start.

A certain middle-aged man stood displeased in front of the weathered red door of a deep alley old mansion.

Although the image had been somewhat blurred, Xia Yu immediately identified—

"Isn't that the Xia Family ancestral residence?"

Sweat instantly covered his back.

In the Five Talents Group, the only one who hadn't popped in was Ye Feizhou, who was in the Liu Family mansion, closely monitoring the phone chat group interface, waiting for Xia Yu's response after reading the article.

The once-bustling chat group suddenly fell silent.

After a while, the guy whose nickname was forcibly changed to 'Great Demon King' by the group owner replied with an "I got it," and his avatar went dark, entering offline status directly!

"Did he shut down his phone?"

"Ah, I can't reach him!"

'Dragon Pot employee' continued boiling with anger.

Not long had passed.

Zhu Qing rushed back from the clan.

"I just went home to visit the ancestors, and you, the young ancestor, got me into trouble!" She stormed into the kitchen, standing akimbo.

Hearing this, Xia Yu turned back from the kitchen counter, "Trouble?"

With an innocent yet speechless look, he said, "This is really trouble from the sky! I won't take responsibility for this!"

"Aunt Qing, someone wants to mess with me. Even if I run to the ends of the earth, they'll still try to mess with me!" He blinked to show his innocence, "Come, come, since you returned so urgently, you must have skipped lunch, right? Have a bowl of noodles to calm down!"

As he spoke, he ladled a bowl of freshly cooked ramen and cheerfully placed it on the table.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Zhu Qing was both angry and impressed; whenever this happens, Zhu Qing feels like she has wasted years of her life living like a dog, because this minor, who hasn't yet reached adulthood, can always remain calm in the face of negative storms.

If it were her, facing malice, media frenzy, she would be the first to explode, desperate to tear the culprit to pieces.

"Hmm?"

Her eyes were drawn to the ramen on the table.

When her eyes glowed with golden hues, Zhu Qing's tense face suddenly softened.

...

The incident quickly fermented on the same day, with the heat rising step by step.

Initially, the gossiping crowd held a tacit agreement regarding the two parties involved, discussing without naming them.

"Chef against chef, there's no concept of seniors versus juniors!"

A certain big-name influencer commented thus.

"Utter nonsense!"

Another industry influencer immediately jumped out, "In the culinary world, cooking may reign supreme, but seniors are still seniors, regardless of age or experience. The qualification of being a senior is right there. A young chap achieving dazzling success is indeed something for the culinary world to celebrate. We also gave him the applause he deserves, but that is a cheer for his culinary skills, not him as a person!"

"Now, let me withdraw past applause!" the viral comment said, "Besides, I also want to give a piece of advice to the young ones of the Chinese Realm—"

"Don't leap!"

"Even if you're at the same level of culinary skill, seniors are always your seniors!"

The public opinion broke into several battlefields.

One battlefield was about the debate on the status of seniors versus juniors.

Another corner concerned the authenticity of the images.

"Could the image be edited?"

"Whether the Reserve Pastry King is in Shu or not, the media can verify. I'm more curious whether he actually went to that old area?"

On the Yangtze River, Loulin Ship.

Reportedly, Xia Qing heading to the Imperial City was having tea and playing chess with Yan Qi, the leader of the Dark World.

Slam!

Yan Qi dropped a black chess piece, with a faint smile, "Brother Xia, what do you make of this encirclement?"

He looked up at Xia Qing's face.

"Break it?"

Who knew Xia Qing would swipe his hand across the chess table, sending black and white pieces scattering?

Pointing to the empty board, he said, "Why break it when this arrangement should be decided by us!"

Yan Qi was taken aback, "From our side, we indeed can control the game, but over in Shu..."

"That brat's been shouting about wanting to stir the waters, hasn't he?"

Xia Qing smiled, saying, "If he can break the game and defeat Wei Zhong, it shows he has the qualifications to be a piece on the board; otherwise, a small fish incapable of even getting on the board means nothing in diplomacy and strategy."

Yan Qi understood.

"You mean we should ignore it?"

"Brother Yan, I also know the Dark World holds significant authority in the media circles, Huang Faction's little moves can't escape your eyes..." Xia Qing picked up a white chess piece from the floor, dropping it on the board with a slam, his face suddenly turning cold, "The Loulin Ship battle a month ago, Huang He lost, forced to exit the Imperial City and return to his homeland. His henchmen along with White Cloud Pavilion won't be uprooted in one fight..."

"To destroy a menacing faction isn't easy; I've merely clipped Huang He's wings so he can't fly…" Xia Qing sighed deeply.

Yan Qi squinted his eyes slightly.