Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

"Chef Xia, please take a short break here."

The staff led Xia Yu, Zhu Qing, and Liu Ying to the backstage of the venue.

There was no separate resting area, and when Xia Yu and his party arrived, two groups of people were already seated backstage.

One group was Ye Feizhou and Lei Aoxue. As they heard the sound, they both turned to look at Xia Yu. Ye Feizhou even stood up first, approached Xia Yu, and smiled in a manner different from his usual polite demeanor, fresh and clean.

"Just now Xue was telling me that you were busy developing new dishes lately and might be late or not come at all."

Lei Aoxue sat there, pouting.

She was obviously an old acquaintance of Ye Feizhou and had come over after hearing some news from somewhere.

Xia Yu had a good impression of Ye Feizhou, shook his hand, blinked his eyes, and said, "Next, please guide me in all aspects, Mr. Ye."

This statement contained implications.

"No, no, I should be the one asking for guidance. I came this time intending to learn from the two seniors." Ye Feizhou kept a very humble posture.

An icy gaze suddenly descended.

"Oh?"

Xia Yu seemed to have only just noticed the second batch of guests, looking at them without expression.

He was observing the distinguished middle-aged man, who also scrutinized him with a cold and examining gaze, their eyes meeting without either retreating.

Is this Wei Zhong?

After all, as a graduate of the "Five Chinese Talents," Wei Zhong had a handsome and dignified appearance, resembling the kind of mature handsome uncle with a story. His temples were frosted, and the dark blue uniform, resembling a Zhongshan suit, made his figure appear even more upright.

Judging by his demeanor, the other party did not seem like someone who would use insidious methods like "public opinion," yet would a villain really display the word "villain" on his face?

Just like Ghost Father, Tiqie Ji, whose exterior was that of a gentlemanly and elegant middle-aged man, but inside, he harbored a mad and paranoid soul.

Moreover, in the world of adults, the so-called boundary between good and evil is actually very blurred. Without touching personal interests, anyone can be a good friend or partner. But once interests are violated, the friendly lamb will discard the guise of gentleness and become a ferocious wolf.

In terms of position and interests, the Xia Family and the Huang He faction were in relentless opposition.

Seeing Xia Yu with an expressionless gaze, also assessing himself, Wei Zhong shook his head: "You, Demon King Xia, have excellent culinary skills, but your character has serious issues. A senior in the culinary world is sitting right here, and you act with such an attitude? Hmph!"

His gaze was icy.

He pointed at Ye Feizhou, "Look, compare this, Ye Feizhou, Heavenly King Disciple, Crown Prince of a nation's culinary world, yet he humbly calls you senior and welcomes you by standing. And you?"

Saying this, Wei Zhong stared into Xia Yu's eyes.

Those young eyes still showed no emotion.

Wei Zhong raised his eyebrows.

Is he not angry?

In Wei Zhong's mind, if he wanted to deal with this Demon King Xia according to his mentor's orders, the most direct way was through a food duel.

However, a food duel is not something that can be initiated at will.

Even at the same culinary level, if a senior proactively initiates a food duel with a junior, it would be criticized by public opinion. So, what to do? The smart aides offered many plans.

"Shouldn't you greet your senior?" Wei Zhong said leisurely, sitting on the chair.

Today's program recording would provide ample opportunity to provoke this Demon King Xia, prompting him to initiate a food duel himself, thereby eliminating the duel's obstacles instantly.

"Senior?"

"Greet?"

Xia Yu smirked, "Regarding these words about having character problems, I'm returning them to you without change!"

"Furthermore, seniors who leverage age inappropriately do not deserve respect from me!" Xia Yu spoke calmly, "For example, giving up a seat on a bus should be done but isn't mandatory! Old bastards wanting special treatment? Haha..."

He sat down leisurely.

Seeing this, Wei Zhong's anger shot up to his throat, and his face sank.

The atmosphere in the room was tense and suffocating.

Zhu Qing and Liu Ying were as if on pins and needles.

Outside the resting room, through a half-open door, the confrontation between Xia Yu and Wei Zhong was clearly visible. The female director Lu Qinghong smiled more playfully, "Tsk tsk, this tension, feels like they're about to fight!"

The female assistant beside her was having shoulder tremors, whether from excitement or fear.

Lu Qinghong glanced sideways at her assistant, "Did the 9 trainees selected through layers of screening arrive?"

"Yes!"

"What about the ingredient reserves?"

"Ready!"

"Great, then notify them, 15 minutes later, we officially commence the program recording—"

Lu Qinghong entered the dressing room herself, sat before the makeup mirror, patted her face in the mirror, and muttered to herself, "Strange, after all these years of doing shows, I haven't felt this anticipation and anxiety for a long time!"

"Wei Zhong, Ye Feizhou, and Demon King Xia..." She chuckled, muttering the list of guests.

These three represented the three tiers of Lin Chef: top, middle, and bottom.

New Lin Chef Ye Feizhou was the "bottom horse", whereas the "middle horse" and "top horse" were Demon King Xia and Wei Zhong respectively.

The "Kitchen Three Kingdoms" program's biggest highlight wasn't it about the mentor guests supporting trainees to fight, the so-called proxy war?

Imagining the upcoming knives and shadows during the program recording, the director's legs below the dressing table suddenly tightened and twisted with somewhat alluring breaths echoing in the cramped resting room, "Interesting!"

…

A quarter hour later, 9 trainees who had passed multiple selections awaited at the main stage entrance of the venue.

These 9 people had a wide age range, the youngest, roughly the same age as Xia Yu, still wearing a certain high school uniform, and the oldest were middle-aged uncles and aunties.

An uncle looked like he had just come from a mine, wearing a miner's cap, with dark skin and a simple smile on his face.

The female host's voice came from the front stage:

"Oh, this is the first episode of 'Kitchen Three Kingdoms' after the New Year, have you all been waiting long? In addition, on behalf of the program group, I'd like to present New Year's greetings to the audience friends in front of the televisions. Thank you for continuing to watch and support our program!"

A burst of applause.

At the recording site of the program, naturally, there were audiences. These audiences were lucky, invited by the program group to watch the unedited version of the program in advance.

The hostess on stage continued speaking, while the audience below whispered among themselves.

Recording devices are prohibited, and with dim lighting, the lucky audience could only scratch their heads, looking at those three wide chairs on the stage, each with a mentor guest sitting, yet without lighting, their identities remained a mystery.

"For the first program of the spring, the mentor lineup must be luxurious, right?"

"Of course!"

"There are no small figures in Lin Chef, which lineup isn't luxurious? Alas, I've applied to the trainee class many times yet never got selected, eliminated at the first stage, tough. Luckily, this time, I won two tickets in the lottery, came with my close friend, at least it compensates for some regrets!"

Zhu Qing, Liu Ying, and Lei Aoxue were in the first row.

Lei Aoxue's expression was uncertain.

"He shouldn't have come!" Lei Aoxue whispered, "That Wei Zhong clearly set a trap!"

"I also advised him not to come—" Zhu Qing stretched, but had a smile on her face, "However, last night I changed my mind. Because I suddenly heard from the old man that the program group and its backstage turned out to be third parties."

"That's good."

"Good?" Lei Aoxue was baffled, "Isn't this like a sheep into the tiger's den?"

Zhu Qing chuckled.

"I meant a platform. With this platform, Yu can probe Wei Zhong's reality up close and compare his gap with seniors, otherwise I'd fear him causing a major accident again with some earth-shattering food duel."

Lei Aoxue fell silent.

"Now, let the three mentors reveal themselves—"

On stage, the hostess's speech took a turn, and the venue lights beamed down, chairs spun synchronously, facing the stage fully.

When the three appearances became clear, large gasps ensued.

"My goodness..."