The main banquet hall, "Great Waves Sifting the Sand," of Haicheng International Hotel was bustling with activity at the moment. Dozens of tables were neatly arranged. Contestants in spotless white chef uniforms were nervously preparing for the competition. Several cameras were focused on these contestants, while in the spectator seats at the back, gourmets from various industries in Haicheng, specially invited by the organizer, were sitting. They would serve as the public jury to conduct the preliminary evaluation of the dishes.
The theme of this competition was "Seafood Feast." All the ingredients were fresh and lively seafood just caught from the sea. It all depended on the chefs' skills to use these seafood to create a "Seafood Feast" that was not only beautiful and delicious but also novel and unique.
This competition was divided into three rounds. The first round was the cooking skills competition, the second round was the scoring by the public jury, and the third round was the final evaluation by the professional jury based on the dishes selected by the audience. Xie Shi and Jiang Chang'an, the head chef of Haicheng International Hotel, would make an appearance in the third round.
When Yan Yincheng and Xu Zixi arrived at Haicheng International Hotel, the cooking competition had just started.
As soon as they stepped into the hotel lobby, they smelled the alluring aroma wafting out continuously. Yuan Xiaoxu's eyes immediately sparkled, and he drooled as he said, "Mommy, it smells so good! Xiaoxu is hungry!"
Xu Zixi suppressed her smile and said, "You just had breakfast before you left home, Yuan Xiaoxu. Can your little tummy still fit more?"
Yuan Xiaoxu had indeed eaten a bit too much for breakfast, so he had no choice but to cover his mouth and abandon his little idea.
The closer they got to the banquet hall, the stronger the aroma became, and the sound of spatulas colliding with woks never ceased. Since the competition was being broadcast live on Haicheng TV, some of the camera lenses were focused on the contestants and the cooking stations in front of them, while some were focused on the gourmets in the spectator seats waiting to score.
Therefore, when Yan Yincheng and Xu Zixi walked into the banquet hall side by side, holding the two little ones' hands, they were completely captured by the cameras.
Yan Yincheng was tall and straight, with a strikingly handsome face that made others jealous. Xu Zixi had a charming figure and a beautiful and cute face. Coupled with the two identical little ones they were holding, such a combination was very visually impactful. Although they only appeared on the screen for two seconds, they instantly caught the attention of the audience in front of the TV.
In less than five minutes, on the most active social forum in Country C, someone had already captured the screen and started a heated discussion around the two of them.
Netizen: "Who are these two people? The guy is so handsome, and the girl is so beautiful. Oh my god, they are so well - matched!"
Netizen: "Are they a couple? Those two kids look like both their dad and mom. They are so pretty and cute!"
Netizen: "It's another day of envying other people's fairy - tale love!"
Netizen: "Why do I think this girl looks a bit familiar?"
Netizen: "Hey, dude above, are you being too much? Is it the kind of familiarity where you know the beauty but the beauty doesn't know you?"
At the competition site, under the guidance of the staff, Xu Zixi, Yan Yincheng, and the two little ones came to four empty seats in the front row of the spectator seats.
After sitting down, feeling the many inquisitive and scrutinizing looks from behind, Xu Zixi leaned slightly towards Yan Yincheng and asked:
"Did you arrange these seats?"
Her breath was so close to his ear as she spoke, and there was a hint of playfulness and a little bit of pride in her words, which made Yan Yincheng can't help but curl his lips. If it weren't for the large number of people here and his fear of scaring her away, he really wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
With a teasing attitude, he also leaned over to her ear and said, "Yes, in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Yan the Third."
Xu Zixi's cheeks and ears instantly became burning hot. She covered her chest, where her heart was pounding violently. She said angrily, "I hereby declare again..."
"I know. You're not ready to accept me yet, right?" Yan Yincheng said while suppressing his laughter.
Since he had seen through her identity, he was no longer worried about her harsh words. He thought that being contradictory might be a way for her to protect herself. She was still concerned about what he had done to Yuan Xi before and was reluctant to easily give her heart away for fear of getting hurt again. He could understand that very well.
Moreover, the "Bible of Spoiling Your Wife" also said that when the wife was being contradictory, as a husband, what he should do was not to expose her but to understand her intentions, indulge her, humor her, spoil her to the sky, and make her the envy of everyone, so as to firmly capture her heart.
He whispered, "This competition is not open to the public because it will be broadcast live on TV. You must have an invitation card to attend as a spectator. And I only got one. If I didn't say so, you and the two kids wouldn't be able to get in. It's just a temporary measure. Zixi, bear with it, okay?"
Sure enough, Xu Zixi was coaxed by him. She pretended to be reluctant and said, "Fine." But actually, the corners of her lips couldn't help but curl up.
Sitting upright in her seat, Xu Zixi pretended to casually look around, trying to find Xie Shi among the people on - site other than the contestants. But after scanning her eyes around, she found nothing, so she had no choice but to focus on the competition.
Although she was only interested in cooking and didn't intend to make a living from it, since she had studied under a famous master, she gradually got absorbed in it as she watched, and her expression became serious.
Backstage at the competition, Xie Shi pulled Yin Shulan and curiously peeked towards the spectator seats. Her mouth never stopped:
"I saw Yuan Xi once at your husband's birthday banquet before. At that time, she should still be in school. She looked pure, weak, and easy to bully. I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, she's a mother now. She looks different from before."
"Lan, I saw the two kids! Well... They look like their dad and mom. They will definitely be two little heart - throbs when they grow up."
"Look, A Cheng's attention is all on the kids' mom. He keeps leaning over to talk to her from time to time. He looks so submissive. He obviously is afraid of his wife. I didn't expect this brat to end up like this one day. Hahaha."
Yin Shulan watched as her son, whom she had raised with her own hands, clung to the woman beside him like a piece of chewing gum. Although the woman beside him looked annoyed, she actually responded to him all the time.
Moreover, the woman also tried her best to defend him in front of the neighbors.
The innocent words of her little grandson about being "kissed by God" were the most pleasant words she had heard in these years.
A Cheng wasn't the only one making efforts. This was good enough. As for the contradictions between them, she would leave them to solve by themselves. She believed that one day, A Cheng would bring the girl back to Fengcheng to live with them.
Ms. Yin had figured it out. She felt a bit lost, but more of all, she was relieved.
"A Shi, I'm tired. I'll go back to my room to rest first."
"Huh? Are you leaving already? Don't you want to meet your future daughter - in - law with me?"
Yin Shulan shook her head with a smile and turned to leave in another direction.
The one - hour competition time passed in a flash. The participating chefs moved the prepared "Seafood Feasts" to the tasting tables. At this moment, the competition entered the second round - the audience tasting and evaluation round.
Yuan Xiaoxu couldn't sit still anymore as he smelled the fragrant aroma. Seeing the people around him getting up one after another to go to the tasting tables in front to taste the delicious food, he anxiously grabbed Xu Zixi's hand and pouted:
"Mommy! Xiaoxu... Xiaoxu also wants to go..."
Xu Zixi was extremely helpless. She really underestimated Yuan Xiaoxu's persistence. The Seafood Cooking Competition was all about seafood. If she really let Yuan Xiaoxu go, he wouldn't stop until he had tasted everything on - site. But a child's stomach was very fragile, and seafood was really not suitable for over - consumption.
As if knowing her dilemma, Yan Yincheng said, "Yuan Xiaoxu, come here."