The Onion-Cutting Ninja's Secret Crush

59 A Strange Direction

Needless to say, Mister Yu's premonition came true. The next person that came up after Si Yi was naturally Si Er. He showed a cheeky smile while he looked at Xiao Ming and actually crossed his arms in front of his chest while the two judges looked at the bowl of rice cake soup in front of them. He could actually see the humor in the current situation.

Xiao Ming felt a little unnerved under his gaze considering that this person had sent him videos in a rather strange way not just once but twice by now. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he was a little afraid of him. On the other hand, he could also perceive that this person didn't have any malicious intentions and was just playing around. It was just ... this manner of playing around was a little too frightening.

He picked up the spoon and had a taste, still feeling that it tasted the same. This time though, he was able to pick out a slight difference with the rice cakes. He spooned one of them out and held it in the camera, using the opportunity to make a comment. "These rice cakes are generally made rather well. I can see that you were going for a round shape. It is just that in some places, they are slightly uneven. It is hardly noticeable in the soup though and it doesn't impair the taste. In fact, they are evenly cooked." Saying this sentence, he had to stop again. This was the third time in a row that either of them said this sentence. One more time and he really wouldn't know where to put his face as a judge. Thus, he could only look at Mister Yu whose expression also seemed a little troubled.

Mister Yu had a spoonful to taste the soup himself and then nodded. "Yes, I have to say so myself. Also, the taste ... well, it is quite similar to the one from the participant before you." In fact, he couldn't help but think that if you were saying that the first rice cake soup that they had gotten was the perfect one, then the second one might be one step below because of the different amount of salt even though he didn't feel that the difference was big enough to really make it a problem. Then this one would probably be counted as two points below since not only did it have a different amount of salt like the second one but it also had a slight unevenness to the rice cakes in the soup.

This was a bit as if the three had done this deliberately. As if they were trying to make sure that they all had the best chances to get into the show but that they were still different so that the first contestant's chances would be better than theirs in case not all of them were able to get in. It was as if to them, this whole show was just a big joke that they could play.

To be honest, Mister Yu who had devoted most of his life to cooking was a bit angry. Even though this was a show on TV, he still wanted the contestants to take the cooking seriously. And this contestant ... he clearly didn't. The one before had still shown a good face but this one was clearly just laughing in their faces. How could he take that?

But still, as a judge, this wasn't the time for him to say that. He would bring it up to Xiao Ming later on and see whether he thought that they should consider this when they decided on the participants. After all, they were the ones who would make that final decision. If they figured that this wasn't alright, they might as well not let them into the first episode.

Thinking of that, he finally sent Si Er off with a few words, not bothering to say anything more. As for the other seventeen ninjas that came afterward, it depended a lot on their respective attitudes how he treated them. Si Qi managed to get a few words more considering that he showed a humble expression but some of the others were treated differently.

At this point, Xiao Ming was already praying silently that this stretch of the material wouldn't make it into the episode that finally aired. If people saw this, they would certainly turn into a joke. And considering that Mister Yu was somebody who had a good name, he was afraid that most jokes would be made about him and Bright Yellow Water instead. That definitely wasn't what he had wanted to see when he accepted the offer back then. And the worst was that this was not because his own skills weren't up to par but because the participants were playing some kind of joke on them. Just thinking about it made him quite sad.