Chapter 121: Judging Character Through Cuisine

"Come on, you tell me first: which one did I make?" Han Jiayi teased him. "If you guess wrong, I’m going to be mad, okay?"

"You girl... are you trying to sabotage your boyfriend's show at a time like this?" Bai Renzong flicked her forehead and frowned, but he still picked out one dish. "This French braised pork with beans—this is your work, right?"

"Hmph..." Han Jiayi furrowed her brows, her little mouth ready to pout to the heavens. "You’re just too smart..."

"It’s not being smart; it’s knowing you," Bai Renzong said, patting her head. "This delicate yet playful style—I can tell it’s yours the moment I taste it. Besides, I knew the most delicious dish here had to be yours."

"Hehe..." Han Jiayi giggled, looking proud.

Next, Bai Renzong turned to the pan-seared salmon. "This dish uses a searing method, keeping the fish skin crispy and delicious while the meat remains tender and juicy. The sauce is a bit heavy-handed. Overall, it’s standard and solid, showing a chef with a steady character but a touch of playfulness and flair. I suspect this was made by the current head chef."

As he spoke, he looked at Su Hui, whose heart began to race: he nailed it!

After that, Bai Renzong moved to the Italian egg dumplings. "The dumpling skin is soft and chewy, perhaps cooked a bit short of perfection, but the sauce is excellent—a perfect consistency and seasoning with a profound depth. Likely brandy was used. The chef knows their weaknesses and understands how to play to their strengths. Steady, yet with a glimmer of wisdom. This is Old Hu's work."

"It, it is me..." Hu Xin swallowed nervously.

Bai Renzong continued his critique. Although he didn't know the others, it didn't stop him from evaluating their cooking. "Cabbage rolls: the cabbage was overcooked, losing its texture, which caused the juices inside to leak out and the flavor to suffer. Were you distracted while making this? Just doing your part and being satisfied with the status quo will only make you stagnate. Which chef made this? A public reprimand for you."

In the crowd, someone quietly shuffled backward.

"Salmon confit: the heat wasn't managed well; it was a bit overcooked. Truly excellent salmon confit should have a texture between raw and cooked, but this is essentially cooked fish. However, daring to attempt such a difficult dish for a staff meal shows a desire to challenge yourself and pursue a higher standard. Not bad. You have ambition; you will definitely become a better chef in the future."

A young woman lifted her chin with pride.

"Lasagna: when making this, different materials must be layered—a layer of pasta, olive oil, meat sauce, then repeat. You tried to save a step by making the pasta sheets thicker, but it resulted in a texture that wasn't soft enough, and the cheese on top was overbaked. The person who made this has quite good fundamentals but loves to take shortcuts... There are no shortcuts in cooking, you know?"

A young male chef lowered his head in shame.

"And then there's this one..." Bai Renzong wanted to continue, but seeing that he was about to critique everyone, Han Jiayi quickly interrupted. "Oh, alright, alright! Everyone just used the leftover scraps from today, don't be so hung up on it."

"Alright then." Bai Renzong shrugged.

"I'm not mad at you, you know?" Han Jiayi touched his head tenderly and whispered, "After all, we earned two stars today, it’s a day worth celebrating. If you keep criticizing like this, everyone will lose their appetite."

"I know," Bai Renzong nodded. "I'll keep eating."

The people on the scene breathed a sigh of relief and began whispering to each other. "That was terrifying. He just ate one dish and it felt like he saw right through my soul..." "Right? I told you, it’s like being stark naked in front of him..." "But he praised me! He said I have ambition!" "Don't get cocky; he started by criticizing your heat control, remember?"

Wang Bei was excitedly filming everything from the sidelines. "Hehe, this is what my Old Bai calls 'judging the person through the dish'... Making this into a video will definitely be explosive."

As she spoke, Wang Bei grabbed some food and turned the camera toward Bai Renzong and Han Jiayi.

"Are you used to this? This 'potluck' style?" Han Jiayi watched Bai Renzong devouring the food and asked with a smile.

"It's not bad, I was hungry," Bai Renzong replied. "You should eat too, you've been hungry since earlier."

"I'm actually fine, because I was constantly tasting while cooking," Han Jiayi said. She reached out to wipe a bit of sauce from the corner of his mouth and smiled sweetly.

"Look at you, so cute..." Bai Renzong stroked her cheek playfully.

For now, the two only had eyes for each other, automatically filtering out everyone else in the room. The people around them were sensible enough to eat their own meals without disturbing them.

"Mm-hmm, fresh 'dog food' pairs really well with this meal, don't you think?" Wang Bei chuckled to herself triumphantly.

When everyone left the restaurant after the meal, it was nearly ten o'clock. Wang Bei drove the two of them home.

"Alright, I won't disturb you two anymore. Have a good night," Wang Bei said with a knowing smile.

"What do you mean 'have a good night'? It's just like any other day, you girl..." Han Jiayi frowned.

The two watched Wang Bei drive away before turning to enter the elevator. As the elevator ascended, their hearts raced. Han Jiayi stole a glance at Bai Renzong and gently tugged his arm. Bai Renzong caught her reflection in the elevator wall and smiled, gently patting her head. They both seemed to be desperately suppressing the sweetness and happiness bubbling inside.

Finally, the elevator opened and they entered the apartment. Han Jiayi couldn't hold it back anymore; she threw herself into Bai Renzong's arms. "Old Bai!"

"Yeah, I'm here," Bai Renzong held her, resting his cheek on her head. "We're finally dating... I'm glad everything went smoothly."

"Hehe." Han Jiayi looked up at him and smiled. "You liked me so much, why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Then you wanted to date so badly, why wait until the restaurant got two stars?" Bai Renzong countered.

"It's just... because Yang Hua always says I'm a one-star Michelin chef, and I... I was a bit unconvinced," Han Jiayi murmured, tucked into his chest. "I knew if I got with you, he would definitely bring that up, so I wanted to..."

"Right? Me too," Bai Renzong said, stroking her hair. "I felt that if this girl is earning so much and I don't have the equivalent ability, people would definitely say I'm a freeloader."

"Hmph... two stubborn donkeys," Han Jiayi couldn't help but laugh.

"Really..." Bai Renzong shook his head and sighed, still holding her. "What if we hadn't passed?"

"I still would have dated you," Han Jiayi hummed. "Just... without as much confidence. I would have just continued hiding behind you like before."

"I think that would have been fine too," Bai Renzong said with a smile, holding her tighter.

"Do I smell like cooking smoke?" Han Jiayi suddenly asked, feeling a bit worried.

"Hmm... a little." Bai Renzong buried his face in her hair and sniffed. "I can smell butter, bread, cheese, and a bit of steak..."

"I'm going to take a shower!" Han Jiayi pushed him away and ran off, covering her face.

"Slow down, don't trip," Bai Renzong urged quickly.

By the time Bai Renzong finished his shower, it was eleven o'clock, but neither had any intention of sleeping.

"Play some games?" Han Jiayi asked, looking at him with a grin.

"No," Bai Renzong shook his head. He took Han Jiayi's hand and sat down in the living room. "Now that I've won your heart and the restaurant has its two stars, I want to talk to you about my plans for October."

"Mm," Han Jiayi nodded with a smile.

"September's goals are basically achieved. The rate at which I'm gaining followers has slowed down, which means the buzz from the previous videos has mostly been digested. For October, my plan is to sign with a streaming site to earn some extra money, and then go explore shops in other cities with you to diversify our content." Bai Renzong explained.

"Mm!" Han Jiayi nodded happily. "I'll listen to you."

"That's the simple goal; we'll discuss the details later." Bai Renzong studied her pretty face, smiling as if he were seeing her for the first time. "Given that, we need to make more videos in the next two weeks of September so we have time for streaming and traveling in October. Plus, we'll have fifty or sixty thousand in public funds by then, enough for high-end places."

"Got it." Han Jiayi nodded, looking at him with tenderness.

Bai Renzong smiled slightly, took her hands, and kissed them. "Let's get some sleep? You're exhausted today."

"Mm... goodnight." Han Jiayi replied with her head down, while internally roaring: *Han Mumu, don't smile, hold it in!*

"Goodnight." Bai Renzong patted her head gently. "Get some rest."

They returned to their separate rooms. Bai Renzong let out a long sigh and lay down on his bed. "All these years of waiting were finally worth it... I really found a good girl to be my girlfriend." He looked at the ceiling, making detailed plans in his heart: "Make more money, marry her sooner... finish the videos for October this month, then go travel to explore shops next month... collaborate with other creators to boost each other's traffic..."

Back in her room, Han Jiayi flopped onto her bed and hugged her teddy bear. "I have a boyfriend!" She rolled around on the bed, hugging the bear. "Hehe! After twenty-some years, finally!"

Then, Han Jiayi suddenly sat up, grabbed her bear, and said seriously, "Han Mumu, from today on, you are someone's girlfriend. You must work hard to be even better, develop yourself in all areas, and be a qualified girlfriend. Yes."

After a moment of silence, she rolled on the bed again. "No! I'm too excited to sleep!"

*Is Old Bai the same?* Han Jiayi looked up, climbed out of bed, and tiptoed to the door of Bai Renzong's room, pushing it open a crack.

"Old Bai..." she called softly. "Are you asleep?"

Bai Renzong: "Zzzz... next month, go..."

"This guy!" Han Jiayi said, annoyed. "I thought he'd be as excited as me!"

She pushed the door open, crouched by his bed, and looked closely at his face. He was quite handsome, but not so much that he'd attract trouble—just right for her requirements.

"Hmph, my boyfriend," she smiled, pursing her lips. "You have to spoil me in the future... and you can't roast me."

"Next month... Mumu..." Bai Renzong muttered in his sleep.

"Hmph, thinking about me even in your dreams. If you like me so much, you shouldn't have roasted me before," she couldn't help but laugh.

After thinking for a moment, she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Without waiting to see if he woke up, she scrambled away.

Running back to her room, she hugged her teddy bear and lay down, her heart still racing. "From now on, we'll work hard together. Hehe..." She thought, feeling a wave of sweetness.

She had been exhausted, and once her mood calmed down, she closed her eyes and fell asleep shortly after.

The next morning, when Bai Renzong woke up, he checked the time: 7:45.

"Mumu didn't come to wake me up today?" He thought with interest. He got up and went downstairs to check, but she wasn't in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He went to her door to knock, but it opened at the slightest touch: it wasn't locked.

"No caution at all, is she not afraid I'd sneak in at night?" He thought with a huff, pushing the door open.

Han Jiayi was indeed still asleep. She usually woke up on time; she must have been truly exhausted yesterday. She was lying on her side, hugging her toy bear. Her soft hair was spread across her face, and her long legs were crossed, creating a beautiful curve that made Bai Renzong's heart itch.

He sat on the edge of the bed, brushed the hair from her face, and gently cupped her cheek. "Mumu."

"Mm..." She hummed, rubbing her cheek against his hand in her sleep without opening her eyes.

"Han Mumu." Bai Renzong called again, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He couldn't resist planting a kiss on her forehead. "It's almost eight, Han Mumu..."

"Hmm?" She frowned, reluctantly opening one eye, then suddenly fully awakened.

"Old Bai?" She smiled, pursing her lips. "Hehe, morning..."

"Morning." Bai Renzong smiled, stroking her hair. "It's almost eight. Do you want to sleep more?"

"It's almost eight!?" She was shocked. Today was their first day dating! How could she oversleep!?

"I'll get up right away! Are you hungry? I'll go make you breakfast!" She sat up in a hurry.