THE REAL PROTEGE

Butler James saw Nina in the living room, lost in her thoughts. The security had reported to him about Nina's attempt to run away.

"Young Miss, would you like some snacks? The Michelin chef has arrived and has been waiting for you. He has made some snacks while doing so. Why don't you try it so you'll know what you can create in the future." Butler James encouragingly told Nina.

But Nina seemed not to even care about what he said. She just looked at him with a straight face and turned to look away again.

"Young Miss, do you know that Michelin chefs are extremely difficult to hire? Inviting a Three-star Michelin chef would cost several millions of dollars to cook a meal for a day.

However, Master hired a Five Star Michelin Chef to teach you how to cook, and it would take several days. Can you imagine how much money they have paid for him, and you are wasting his time?" Butler James made an effort to explain to Nina.

What Butler James said made Nina turn and look at Butler James. She couldn't believe what she had heard about paying millions of dollars to these so-called Michelin chefs, and she didn't even know what they were.

'A three-star and a five-star? What would make a chef have all these stars? I only hear them with the military generals.' Nina thought.

"Lead the way," Nina monotonously said as she stood up and followed Butler James.

When they reached the dining hall, the Butler said, "First, you should have some snacks. You didn't eat much during breakfast. Wait for a while and have a seat." The Butler left but returned in no time, with servants carrying several snack trays and laying them in front of Nina.

Looking at the snacks made Nina's stomach growl. She was indeed famished. One of the servants also served her warm milk and fresh orange juice.

"Please help yourself, Young Miss." The helper carried one of the trays to Nina for her to pick. Nina took several and placed them on her plate. Just as she did, her parents arrived to join her.

"Nina, we just finished yoga!" Her mother exclaimed happily as she got off from her scooter. "At first, we didn't think we could do it, but the instructor was so good that we could do everything in the end!" Mrs. Xu couldn't hide the excitement from her voice and joined Nina at the dining table, with Mr. Xu following behind.

Nina could see her parents were so happy. She looked down and remained silent while taking a bite of the snack. It was delicious, but why couldn't she seem to swallow it?

"Um, these snacks are delicious!" Mr. Xu mumbled while eating.

"They are prepared by the chef who will teach the Young Miss." Butler James announces.

"That will be best! My daughter will be able to cook delicious meals for her future husband and in-laws. Then no one can look down on her." Mr. Xu said with pride.

Nina didn't say a word, but her heart was troubled.

"Young Miss, after you eat, I will show you the kitchen where the Chef is waiting for you." Butler James asked Nina courteously.

Without a word, Nina stood up, looked at Butler James, and gave him a nod. Butler James took this as his cue to lead her to the kitchen.

Nina didn't expect to see a young foreign man be the Michelin Chef.

"Good Morning, you must be Nina. I'm Chef Leon." He introduced himself with a strong accent.

"Would it be alright to teach you how to cook?" Chef Leon asked Nina with a big smile, showing how handsome he was.

Nina could only purse her lips and nod.

"Perfect! Let us start then!" Chef Leon exclaimed enthusiastically.

He called for his assistant and asked to give Nina an apron, cover her hair, and assist her in washing her hands.

"Have you ever cooked before?" Chef Leon asked her.

Nina shook her head.

"That's alright. Let me show you around the kitchen first and give you an idea of all the equipment and tools and what they are all about," Chef Leon said.

After some time, Chef Leon finished showing each and explaining each item, even showing Nina the types of knives and their uses.

"First, I'll teach you how to cut and slice differently. Chef Leon said he took another type of vegetable and a knife and cut it into other pieces and sizes.

"These are various ways of cutting. This cut is what you call a batonnet, while this is julienne, rough julienne, macedoine, large dice, medium dice, small dice, brunoise, crush, wedges, and split.

There are plenty more, but these are the most basic. So I'd like you to start with these." Chef Leon explains while pointing to all the vegetables sliced on the table and showing them to Nina.

Looking at them, they looked effortless in Nina's eyes and mind. 'How can cutting these vegetables into squares and rectangles be so difficult?' Nina thought mindlessly and snorted.

"Okay," Nina answered flatly.

"Come here. Let us do Julien first. I'll show you how to do it step by step. You follow me." Chef Leon instructed Nina.

Chef Leon gave Nina a piece of red pepper and a knife, and they stood face to face, with the sample of julienne-cut pepper between them.

But Nina did not waste time waiting for Chef Leon as instructed; instead, she directly cut the red pepper the way she wanted to and believed that she could do it in her mind.

Chef Leon could only watch her attack the poor pepper recklessly, and he was not surprised to see Nina's finger bleeding the next minute. His assistants were dumbfounded but came running with the first aid kit.

"Young Miss! Let us wash your finger first so I can apply some ointment immediately!" Chef Leon's assistant said anxiously.

When Chef Leon's assistant was already applying the medicine to Nina's wound, she said to Nina, "Young Miss, How could you not listen to Chef Leon? Do you know how precious his time is? He never takes a student.

If not for your brother, Chef Leon would never take you, who knows nothing about the kitchen. If Chef Leo chose to be a mentor, he would have chosen someone with knowledge but turned everyone down." The assistant said bitterly.