Not all examinees joined and tried to fight to get their ingredients. Lu Xinyi noticed that she wasn’t the only one who stayed at her counter, watching the other examinees in panic while taking random vegetables that they might not be able to use after all. What amused her was the fact that the sponsored students of the other big families hadn’t left their spots just like her.

Lu Xinyi rubbed her chin and pondered. She had to come up with an extraordinary fried rice dish that could entice the judges to eat it. Taking a glance to the digital timer flashed on the monitors above the stage, she was shocked to find that five minutes had already been wasted. She quickly took steps towards the stalls to get the ingredients she needed.

Following after her, Ye Xieren, Li Corporation’s sponsored student, took a basket and carefully checked each vegetable and herbs he deemed good for his dish. For him, this dish was a child’s play; and the judges were ridiculous for coming up with such agreement.

Most of the examinees now went back to their spot and took their pans and utensils to start cooking. After spending another ten minutes at the food stock, Lu Xinyi calmly took her nonstick pan and start her preparations.

While the other examinees were already panicking and sweating on which one they should do, Lu Xinyi focused on her preparations. She only had fifteen minutes to prepare and cook fried rice. The world around her was totally forgotten. Cooking wasn’t a continuous process that flowed from start to finish; instead, it’s a series of steps or stages that included shopping, preparation, service, and cleanup. Of all these steps, preparation was the most important and would always take the most time.

From the audience area, Shen Yi kept his eyes on his wife and watched her cook. This would be the first time he would see her cook in public. He could tell there was a difference in her actions, but that didn’t bother him. His instincts though were in high alert. He was aware that this exam wouldn’t be so easy for Lu Xinyi.

“Mommy is so serious.” Little Yuyan noticed.

“Mommy will win this round!” Shen Zhichen boasted. His mother had always served them yummy desserts and meals. He refused to believe that Lu Xinyi would fail.

Like Shen Yi, Sun Feiyan’s interest was to see if Lu Xinyi could overcome whatever scheme Tong Yan prepared for her. She wasn’t really planning to attend this event or to support Meng Jiao; but when Tong Yan mentioned that the other families would send a representative, she begrudgingly agreed to come.

Suddenly, a burst of fragrance drifted out from the kitchen counter, driving the audience insane just from the scent of several fried rice that was being cooked at the same time.

“That smells wonderful! I wonder who’s cooking that delicious meal!”

“I already had my breakfast, but my stomach is begging me to eat again!”

“Where is that delicious thing coming from?! Please have mercy on this beggar!”

“Ah, did you smell that? How wonderful!” Huo Meili’s eyes sparkled in excitement. Now that the five big families of the capital city had decided to join this year’s competition, she was thrilled to see how they would face one another outside of the business world.

Shen Xue, who was sitting and watching the scenes, was salivating just from the aroma of the dishes. He wasn’t sure if he was in heaven that he was in the front seat to savor all the fragrant scent from the dishes, or if he was in hell and in torture for he would never get a chance to taste them. His heart bled, knowing that he could not taste his sister-in-law’s cooking.

Five minutes remaining—the examinees started to line and serve their dish to the judges, but Lu Xinyi wasn’t done yet. She refused to be interrupted in her cooking as she tossed the cold rice on the wok to stir-fry.

“Will she make it?” Xiao Lan was nervous and afraid that Lu Xinyi wouldn’t beat the clock, but no one answered her for they couldn’t tell if she’d be able to finish on time.

A few moments later, Shen Yi broke the silence. “She’s done.”

As soon as he said it, there was a loud ringing sound followed by a long beep, getting everyone’s attention.

“Time’s up!” Huo Meili’s voice stopped every examinee, and they all raised their hands in the air. “Stop cooking and serve your dish to our judges, please. Those who didn’t finish their fried rice, please step down and leave.”

Lu Xinyi stopped and held her hands up. Her eyes were on the timer. She released a breath and sighed. She was just in time. Any second later would surely lead to her dismissal.