Chapter 54: Soul

Han Jiayi glared fiercely at Bai Renzong and demanded, “Then why did you turn him down? He offered such good terms!”

“He…” Bai Renzong frowned, thought for a moment, and replied, “His ‘soul’ has a problem.”

“???” Both Han Jiayi and Wang Bei were full of questions.

“It’s just…” Bai Renzong began to explain, “Isn’t it said that a true Michelin three-star restaurant has a soul? Something unique, impossible for others to imitate. The best chefs let you taste their soul through their dishes. But his cuisine…”

As he spoke, Bai Renzong’s expression darkened. “It’s full of mockery and irony, almost as if he’s saying, ‘You guests have no idea what real deliciousness is.’”

“Why?” Wang Bei asked, intrigued.

“Look at the way he serves his dishes,” Bai Renzong replied. “The priorities are reversed—appetizers and soup play the leading roles, while side dishes and main courses are mere background. And in every dish, the apparent star is actually the supporting player. Don’t you think it's a subtle jab at those customers who don’t understand the secret, but just think it tastes good?”

“Hmm…” Han Jiayi and Wang Bei both fell into thought.

“The feeling his dishes give me is…” Bai Renzong suddenly changed his expression, mimicking Yang Hua’s posture, and sneered arrogantly, “You mortals—no matter if I toss you some pig feed, you’ll just say it’s delicious! You can’t appreciate my art at all!”

“Pfft…” Han Jiayi burst into laughter, “That’s spot on! Isn’t it, Xiao Bei?”

“It really is!” Wang Bei laughed until her eyes sparkled. “You nailed it!”

“In any case,” Bai Renzong returned to his usual self, “In my opinion, the soul reflected in cuisine should be something positive and moving, not this sort of… arrogance.”

“Then why didn’t you tell him all this to his face?” Han Jiayi asked curiously.

“Don’t be silly,” Bai Renzong shot her an annoyed look. “He’s a business partner! He paid for this! How could I say such things directly? After all, those are just my suspicions, whereas what I told him earlier were facts.”

“But you were so blunt when you talked about me!” Han Jiayi retorted, “When you critiqued Yijia Pavilion, you said the boss got inflated, thought she could relax, and then just ran off to do other things! Didn’t you say that?”

“That’s not a business collaboration,” Bai Renzong replied, utterly unashamed.

“Fine, I’ll pay you! Make another video about Yijia Pavilion!” Han Jiayi insisted, tugging at his arm. “Clear my name! I don’t care!”

“Oh, stop it!” Bai Renzong scolded with a frown. “Don’t you have anything else to do? You said you’d get that Michelin three-star ahead of him, and now you’re just talking big?”

“O—of course not!” Han Jiayi protested, but she sounded unsure. “I mean, I want to do it! But whether I can manage, I’m not sure… That guy is pretty famous in the scene, and he was a star student at Le Cordon Bleu…”

“But you’ve got me, don’t you?” Bai Renzong declared confidently. “With my help, you’ll earn a star in no time.”

“Well…” Han Jiayi suddenly grew shy, counting on her fingers. “I’ll try, then…”

“Hey, Old Bai,” Wang Bei teased, “What do you think is the soul in Sis’ cooking?”

“Her?” Bai Renzong looked at Han Jiayi, who was so nervous she couldn’t meet his gaze: What will he say about me?

“I’m afraid…” Bai Renzong shook his head, “Her cooking doesn’t have a soul…”

“What do you mean!?” Han Jiayi demanded, pounding his shoulder in anger.

“To be precise…” Bai Renzong quickly caught her slender wrist—so slim that his hand could easily encircle it. “The soul in her cooking isn’t strong enough for others to sense yet!”

Han Jiayi’s expression softened a little. “I’ve been searching for my own style, but it’s not so simple…”

“Well, just take it slow,” Bai Renzong stretched lazily. “Time to go edit the video.”

Once in the car, Wang Bei started the engine and remarked, “But Old Bai, your teamwork with Sis was great. Just by improvising together, you created a menu that beat the competition…”

“That’s different,” Bai Renzong shook his head. “Improving something is easy, but the real challenge is creating from nothing.”

Han Jiayi was silent in the passenger seat, but she felt a bit lost: She knew full well that if it hadn’t been for Bai Renzong’s guidance today, her dishes would have been utterly outmatched by Yang Hua.

“This can’t go on…” Han Jiayi mumbled gloomily. “But what should I do?”

Back home, Bai Renzong immediately began editing the video, while Han Jiayi shut herself in the kitchen.

As Bai Renzong edited, he felt a bit uneasy: This was a business collaboration—was it really appropriate to point out so many flaws in the video? And those words he said in the kitchen at the end—would adding them make someone lose face?

But he couldn't compromise his style.

The benefits of a business partnership are fleeting; if he altered his approach for one deal, he’d lose all the fans he’d worked so hard to build. Better to forgo this profit than change his style.

Besides, Bai Renzong always spoke honestly, and Yang Hua himself admitted that the menu created in partnership with Han Jiayi was superior.

So, he finished the video and handed it to He Guang for post-production and release.

Unexpectedly, the first like came from the “Lanwafang Official Account.”

Not only did they not mind his bluntness, they praised his culinary discernment highly.

“The creator’s ability to appreciate food has far surpassed my expectations. It would be a huge mistake to assume he can only critique street food. This level of culinary insight is top tier even among gourmets worldwide. I believe one day, he’ll become a globally renowned food critic. I hope our next collaboration comes soon.”

Reading Lanwafang’s comment, Bai Renzong felt a bit uneasy: What tricks was this person playing?

He didn’t know that Yang Hua’s reputation in the culinary world was actually quite prominent—a prodigy at Le Cordon Bleu, and after graduation, his skills ranked among the world’s best.

So it was no surprise that Han Jiayi’s cooking couldn’t match his. In fact, there were only about a dozen chefs globally whose skills could rival his.

As a result, Yang Hua’s words carried weight. His comment under Bai Renzong’s video amounted to an endorsement in the culinary community. For a time, everyone who knew Yang Hua took note of this creator.

“Old Bai!” As Bai Renzong pondered if there was some deeper meaning to the comment at his computer, Wang Bei burst in excitedly. “A public account has invited you to be their food columnist! Are you interested?”

(Thanks to my brother for the 10,000 tip, thanks to Da Yang, Moody as the Weather, No Money No Beauty, Scholar of Noble Families, Hai Yi for their monthly tickets, thanks to Qingleng Jiaoyang for two monthly tickets, and thanks to Flying Secrets for the tip.)