The Onion-Cutting Ninja's Secret Crush

113 Worthy of Praise

Xiao Ming wasn't quite sure what to do. This kind of behavior from Nin Sha really wasn't too strange considering how he had behaved before. But then, that still didn't mean that others wouldn't find it weird and might pay more attention to it. It really made him wonder if next week, there would be a new headline on those websites, talking about how one of the main judges of 'Golden Spoon' had some kind of inexplicable relationship with one of the contestants and was being biased in his rating.

It really was something that he didn't want to experience but he also didn't know what to do against it. Anyway, it wasn't like he could tell Nin Sha to look somewhere else, could he? Actually, considering that he was sitting in the middle of the table since he had walked in second, people might not even notice. Yes, maybe he was thinking too much.

Trying to convince himself of this, Xiao Ming picked up his spoon just like Mister Yu and Miss Chu so that everyone could have a taste of the dish.

Mister Yu seemed a little surprised and put down the spoon. After a moment, he finally nodded. "Not bad! Last week in the casting, I didn't have anything to critique about your dish. I was a little confused though as there were quite a few people who made the very same dish and I couldn't help but wonder if your skills in cooking would still be up to par when it came to making another one.

"Now, I can see that I was worrying without reason. This congee, it really isn't bad. Even though you only had two hours, for that time, the consistency is acceptable. For a seafood congee, I also think that you chose your ingredients well and the seasoning is also very fitting. It stays in the spirit of what congee was originally supposed to be, while also having a bit more taste as you might individually prefer it. Overall, this really is very good."

Next to Mister Yu, Xiao Ming faintly raised his brows, waiting for Si Jin to say something.

Originally, Si Jin hadn't intended to do so but seeing Xiao Ming's expectant expression, he finally tilted his head slightly and nodded. In fact, his gaze was still on Xiao Ming but unless people looked very closely, they wouldn't realize.

Xiao Ming almost heaved a sigh of relief and only held back at the last moment. He turned to the side to check whether Mister Yu had anything else to say and then turned back to the bowl in front of him to give his own evaluation when that didn't seem to be the case.

He needed to think for a moment, wondering what else could be said. "First off, I agree with Mister Yu about the consistency and the taste. All of that is very well done.

"Other than that, there is one other thing that I would like to emphasize: I saw that when you originally heard the task, you only took a few moments to consider. Then you went about things in a very collected manner, doing everything step-by-step. When it comes to managing time, you have taken all the right steps. I was a bit worried at the end when you let the congee cook until just a minute before the countdown was over but as it seems, you were still able to make it work.

"Clearly, your time management is on spot. Especially for a task like this where time was essential, this is worthy of praise. There is just one thing I would like you to keep in mind for the future. That is that congee is relatively easy to plate. Doing so in a minute or even less will likely not be a problem.

"For future tasks though, that might be something more difficult, so don't forget that you need to plan for that as well. You probably won't but just make sure there won't be bad surprises because you get used to something like this."

Xiao Ming smiled before taking another glance at the bowl. Since this was the first time he had to judge on the actual show, he couldn't help but feel that he should say a bit more.

He looked at the arrangement in front of him and then motioned at the top. "Last week in the casting, you brought us a bowl of soup. The plating was relatively simple which also fit the dish. I see that you have gone for a similar presentation this time around as well.