Shen Lingqing’s bodyguards weren’t surprised at all with Liu Jinfei’s performance. Although he didn’t have a fancy way to cook, his every movement was precise and bore such confidence. This alone made Qiao Lian think that he might have a chance of enticing Shen Lingqing to eat today.

Thinking about it, she was sure as hell that the Shen princess only had a steamed bun and coffee for breakfast. Now that lunchtime was fast approaching, her hunger would surely strike anytime soon.

The one-hour limit seemed too fast for the spectators—which were the restaurant staff trying to get a better look at what was happening inside the kitchen. Even if an hour was within the serving time, an hour would still be hard to make something from scratch.

From the scent alone, they could tell that Liu Jinfei was truly an amazing chef. It was as if this was a testament that he also graduated from the same academy Lu Xinyi came from.

They also try to guess Shen Lingqing’s impression of Liu Jinfei, but her impassive face was just too impossible for them to know what she was even thinking at the moment.

Lin Xiaoyu came towards Shen Lingqing and served her a newly brewed tea and some biscuits for her to eat while waiting for Liu Jinfei to finish. Shen Lingqing only thanked her and took a sip from her cup. However, she completely disregarded the plate of short biscuits next to her.

“Qing, I’ve been wondering…” Qiao Lian couldn’t help but ask her boss about something that had been bothering her since Shen Lingqing’s return.

“Hn?” Shen Lingqing raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well… you did say that you only eat food and dishes prepared by your mother and your uncle…”

“I also eat what Uncle He makes for me,” the Shen princess corrected her. Why was Qiao Lian bringing up this topic, anyway? Qiao Lian was one of the few people who weren’t blood- related to her that could talk to her casually like this, not fearing her or anything. Could it be that Qiao Lian mistook her actions for favoring Liu Jinfei today?

“Right. Right.” Qiao Lian huffed. “So I’ve been wondering how you eat abroad when no one is cooking for you.”

“I cook my food myself,” Shen Lingqing said in a matter-of-fact tone, not only surprising Qiao Lian but also Jiao Jiao who was within earshot.

Wait. Did they hear her right? Did Shen Lingqing say she cooked her own meals? Qiao Lian had to pinch her arm to make sure she wasn’t hearing things.

When pain shot through her, that only added another level of shock to her. So she wasn’t really hearing things!

“Y-you cooked?” She asked Shen Lingqing in disbelief.

Ever since they were younger, she had never seen Shen Lingqing step in the kitchen and cook something. The Shen princess kept claiming that cooking was so troublesome that she would rather do something productive and earn money.

So for Qiao Lian to hear that Shen Lingqing cook was something she couldn’t even imagine.

“What do you think? Do you know how hard it is to have a ‘cursed tongue’ like this? If I didn’t cook my own meals, I would have died from hunger now.” Shen Lingqing rolled her eyes at them. It wasn’t like she really wanted to waste time studying food and taking the necessary methods to appease her so-called blessing.

While some people think that she was blessed with an absolute tongue her mother and maternal grandfather possessed, Shen Lingqing thought that it was a curse itself. Who could stomach not being able to eat in peace just because her tongue decided to investigate the food she was eating? It didn’t help that her Uncle Lingyu thought that she had a superior tongue compared to her mother, something that only displeased the Shen princess even more than she already was.

There were times she wished that she could be a normal person who could eat anything she wanted without being so critical of the food in front of her. Alas, her tongue forbade her to do so. This was why she never accepted any invitation of her schoolmates to eat out or try a new place to dine.

People around her expected that she would become a chef like her mother or become a food critic because of her superior ability to discern dishes. Fortunately for her, both of her parents had given her the liberty to decide which path she would take.

Shen Lingqing was very lucky that both of her parents were supportive of her decision to follow in her father’s footsteps instead of becoming a chef.

“I just never thought that you would do such a thing.” She heard Qiao Lian admit, which made sense in Shen Lingqing’s opinion. Since she had avoided the kitchen where her mother was working for a long time, it only made sense why Qiao Lian would think that she wasn’t proficient enough to cook her meals.

“Do you think so lowly of me that I couldn’t even feed myself?” Shen Lingqing scoffed, turning her attention back to Liu Jinfei’s work. Forty-five minutes had already passed, and Liu Jinfei would need to start doing the final touches on his dishes before she could judge it.

“So… was it edible?” Qiao Lian winked at her boss, teasing her. It immediately earned a fierce glare from Shen Lingqing.

“Don’t worry, Lian. If there’s another day that I must make my own meal, I would surely keep in mind not to let you try any of it!”

“Hey! I’m just joking! Do you really have to exclude me?!” Qiao Lian pouted, which made Jiao Jiao laugh at their interaction. Seeing them arguing like this made her remember their old days when the two women were younger.

Twenty minutes later, Liu Jinfei finally finished the test Shen Lingqing had given him. In less than an hour, he managed to cook and prepare three different main course dishes using the fishes she provided him.