Ch. 1251..1260
Chapter 1251: The Way to Slap His Face is Always So Unique_1 “Also, based on your description, the person is badly injured.
If that were the case, I would be in the operating room right now.
And, we have indeed not admitted any patients with such serious injuries this morning,” the doctor said.
“How about this, give me the name of the patient, and I’ll search it in the system,” the doctor said.
“Joshua Clarke.” Adam Zahn carefully enunciated each word.
“Yes, we do have a patient by that name,” the doctor confirmed, “But he didn’t have a car accident.
He just had a panic attack and low blood sugar, came here for glucose, and the family has arranged a day’s admission.”
“I see, that sets our minds at ease.
...
He is Adrian’s father-in-law.
But Adrian is currently in a meeting and can’t step away, so he asked me to check up on the situation,” Adam Zahn casually explained.
“No problem.”
After hanging up, Adam Zahn relayed what the doctor said to Adrian Zhekova.
Adrian Zhekova sent a reply to Cindy Clarke immediately: “So, you don’t need to worry.
At the same time, I have already sent people to the hospital to check the specifics, to see what they are actually up to.”
Cindy Clarke was reassured, confirming her earlier suspicion. This was just an excuse to trick her into going back.
As for what they planned to do with her after tricking her back, Cindy Clarke had no idea.
The timing was too coincidental, just before the competition, just when Morgan Zhekova felt in danger.
What had Wendy Clarke intended to do?
Did she plan to sabotage her competition and cause harm to her?
Even if Cindy Clarke didn’t go to the competition, someone else would fill in.
Everyone was competitive; her absence wouldn’t matter.
Was Wenday Clarke simply trying to deny her this opportunity?
But even if Wendy Clarke were a fool, she should know that even without this chance, Cindy Clarke would have many other chances.
Or could it be that hindering her from the competition would negatively impact Adrian Zhekova?
Cindy Clarke frowned, unable to figure it out herself.
It would be simpler to ask: “If I am unable to participate in today’s competition, would it affect you in any way?”
“Me?” Adrian Zhekova was taken aback by her question.
“What impact would it have on me?”
Adrian Zhekova mused for a while, and suddenly remembered: “Wendy Clarke hasn’t had a fallout with Ethan Zhekova yet.”
“Not yet?” After Cindy Clarke had tricked Wendy Clarke previously, she ceased following Ethan’s and Wendy’s matters.
Though she seldom bumped into them, spending time around the Zhekova Family gave her a certain level of understanding about Ethan.
Given that Ethan was a face-saving man, Wendy’s actions were akin to slapping him in the face; could Ethan still bear with it?
She had never realized that Ethan could be so forbearing.
“They’re currently partners; only occasionally…” Adrian Zhekova was too embarrassed to go into specifics with Cindy Clarke.
But Cindy Clarke understood the implications.
Ethan indeed was disillusioned with Wendy Clarke, had no plans for a long-term sustainable relationship, nor any intentions of developing anything with her.
Evidently, Ethan had been willing to play the charade previously.
But Wendy’s slap in the face stripped him of the willingness, even for pretense.
And stated bluntly their relationship was merely a professional one.
However, the two of them spent a considerable amount of time together scheming against others, and Wendy was restless.
Why wouldn’t Ethan enjoy the convenience, knowing she offered it willingly?
Therefore, occasionally they would have a no-strings-attached relationship.
Cindy recalled: “You mentioned before that Ethan was getting close with Wendy to harm you, intending to use her to hurt me, thus countering you.”
According to Cindy, it’s no wonder that Ethan never made any significant stride despite his lofty self-perception.
If Ethan were truly capable, he would have achieved similar success as Lyke Zhekova and Samson Zhekova by now.
Up till now, Ethan had not surpassed either of them.
He consistently blamed Adrian Zhekova for thwarting his success and Gabriel Zhekova for blocking his path.
In reality, his limited capabilities were his undoing.
His arrogance blinded him to his shortcomings, including his lack of ability.
He wouldn’t hard confront Adrian even if he intended to take him down.
Or maybe he was aware that a face-to-face confrontation wouldn’t make him Adrian’s match, hence he resorted to such roundabout tactics.
But not being Adrian’s match, Ethan refused to acknowledge.
Believing he was clever, he convinced himself that such roundabout tactics were profound.
He took a circuitous route, even thought to attack Adrian through her of all people.
How pitiful it is, always looking for a chance through her.
Even resorting to dirty tricks, he dared not directly target Adrian.
“So, this time when Wendy suddenly chose this moment to trick me over, is it also for the same reason?” Cindy Clarke asked in confusion, “Although I can’t understand why.
Even if I don’t participate in the competition, it would only result in short-term loss for me.
How would it harm you?
I can’t figure it out, that’s why I didn’t consider him at all.”
Not only was Cindy Clarke puzzled, Adrian Zhekova was also caught off guard by the sudden question.
No one could understand a fool’s logic.
They just weren’t on the same wavelength and couldn’t comprehend each other.
Adrian’s fingers unconsciously tapped on the desk, not quite sure as he said, “Could it be that they think if you miss the competition, they can generate a scandal, deem your culinary skills as below par, and claim you were forcibly pushed into Pingla.
Could they think that they can embarrass me, make people believe I abused Pingla’s resources to make you famous?
Maybe they think they can use this point to hit me and create distrust within the company and the family?”
Adrian’s voice lacked the usually high level of confidence he exuded, as he was unsure if his analysis was correct.
Who would come up with such a ridiculous plan!
But when applied to Ethan, Adrian felt that it might not be entirely impossible.
Every time he thought no one could be this stupid, Ethan managed to prove him wrong with his actions.
Ethan always had a unique way of slapping him in the face.
It was the first time Cindy Clarke had seen a lack of confidence from Adrian Zhekova.
From the moment she knew him, no matter what happened, Adrian was always able to analyze with precision and emanate confidence from the depth of his heart.
For Ethan to throw Adrian Zhekova off guard was indeed a formidable ability.
Cindy wondered whether Ethan himself knew he had this capability.
Cindy Clarke definitely did not understand Ethan as thoroughly as Adrian did.
If Adrian himself was unsure, Cindy was even more uncertain.
At that moment, a man suddenly rushed towards their car.
Cindy Clarke had left early, so they were already out of the city.
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While the city center was experiencing traffic congestion, there were hardly any cars in her area.
Not only were there few cars on the road, but also very few pedestrians.
Now, someone suddenly sprang out; it was too deliberate to be a coincidence.
Cleave Roland was quick to react and immediately steered in a different direction.
Luckily, there were no other cars on the road, or else Cleave Roland wouldn’t have been able to keep calm.
The sudden swerve startled Cindy Clarke, making her flustered.
She quickly grabbed the back of the front seat.
The little one also exclaimed in surprise, tightly gripping the armrest to stabilize himself.
Chapter 1252: To Become Stronger_1 “Mrs, Young Master, are you both okay?” Cleave Roland temporarily parked the car on the roadside.
“I’m okay.” Cindy Clarke was still in shock, her breath was somewhat rapid.
Without caring about the ongoing call with Adrian Zhekova, she quickly asked the little one: “Morgan, how about you?”
“I’m okay too,” Morgan also called out.
On hearing the worried voices from the other side, Adrian started panicking as well.
He immediately stood up, “Cindy, what happened?”
Cindy Clarke was looking at Cleave Roland, who explained, “A man suddenly rushed towards our car just now.
I’m not sure whether he wanted to commit suicide or scam us.”
If he was attempting a scam, he was very bold.
Their speed was within limits, but it’s still a moving car.
...
There was no vehicle or person in front, so apart from maintaining the speed, they didn’t have any need to slow down.
If they weren’t able to swerve in time and he was hit by the car, could the scammer actually end up losing his life?
If it was suicide, that would be devastating.
It’s not that Cleave Roland was insensitive, but if you’ve made up your mind to take your own life, please spare others who still find hopes in life.
Cleave Roland was still in shock and quite scared.
If he didn’t react in time, the car would have hit the man.
If his car killed the man, then even if he didn’t kill him, a severe injury caused by him would lead him to village too.
Cleave Roland was now filled with anger.
At this moment, he saw that man limping towards their car.
Then he fell in front of the car with a huge cry.
Cleave Roland: “…”
Cindy Clarke: “…”
Cindy Clarke was not alarmed now, she told Adrian first, “We’re okay.
We had run into a scammer.
Cleave swerved and didn’t touch him at all.
He just fell in front of our car pretending to be hit.
Don’t worry, both Morgan and I are alright.”
“Daddy, we’re okay,” Morgan also shouted so that Adrian Zhekova on the other end of the phone could hear him.
Adrian was finally slightly relieved.
At least no one was hurt.
“Where are you now?
Send me your location,” Adrian said, “I will bring people over.”
“Do you have a meeting to attend?” Cindy asked.
The meeting can be slightly postponed, it’s okay.” Adrian said as he was walking out, “This morning Wendy tried to trick you, and now you’ve run into a scammer, a really big coincidence.
Plus, our earlier guess might be actually right.”
In his heart, Adrian cursed Ethan Zhekova for his underhanded tactics.
He stepped out of his office, stopped talking to Cindy for a moment, turned around and said to Adam, “Call ten people over immediately, come with me…”
Adrian told Cindy again, “I’m hanging up now.
After sharing your location, call me again, make sure to stay in contact with me.”
“Okay,” Cindy nodded, immediately after hanging up the phone, she quickly sent him the location of where they were.
Adrian forwarded the location to Adam, “Immediately!”
“Yes,” Adam hurriedly summoned ten people.
“CEO, I…”
“You stay here and take care of the situation, the meeting can be postponed,” Adrian told him.
Adam knew that whenever it involved Cindy, Adrian would definitely go in person.
So he didn’t say any more.
***
Over at Cindy’s, she remained on the call with Adrian, “I’ll focus on the situation first.”
“Put me on speaker, let me listen,” Adrian reminded her.
Cindy turned on the speakerphone.
Cleave was reversing the car while sticking his head out the window, warning, “Stop pretending, my car has a recorder, it has recorded everything.
You can’t frame us at all.”
Hadn’t it been for Cindy’s pressing matters, Cleave Roland would have called the police to apprehend the conman.
Who knew that after the man in front got up, he said something into his collar, and suddenly a group of people appeared from the roadside.
Cleave made a rough count, there were about eleven or twelve people in total, and they all surrounded them.
If those people had a car, Cleave was confident that he could lose them.
But these people just used their bodies to surround them, Cleave couldn’t possibly run them over with the car.
Although these people were audacious, they were actually certain that Cleave Roland would not run them over directly with the car.
Cleave quickly rolled up all the car windows and locked all the car doors, reminding Cindy Clarke and Morgan, “Mrs, Young Master, no matter what happens, don’t get out of the car or open the window!”
“Okay,” Cindy immediately unbuckled Morgan’s seat belt, picked him up and held him in her arms.
Morgan also clung tightly to Cindy’s clothes with a pair of anxious and cautious eyes staring out of the window.
Cindy thought, Morgan’s danger-prediction ability was quite accurate.
Now it is proving to be true so quickly.
Last time, perhaps some people had already begun plotting against her, Morgan, or Adrian.
Because of the malicious intentions, Morgan had a premonition.
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It was not clear whether Morgan’s premonition was only for people who harbored malice towards him, or also included those around him.
Because now she and Morgan were both in danger.
To threaten Adrian, not only could they start with her.
They could also target Morgan.
Moreover, the main purpose of this matter was directed at Adrian.
So it was still unclear whether Morgan’s dangerous premonition included those around him or not.
Cleave started the car with a straight face, inching forward bit by bit.
But those people were fearless.
Four people stood in front of them, yelling, “Hit us!
If you’ve got the nerves, hit us!”
Four people also surrounded each of the car doors on the left and right, hitting the windows forcefully and urgently, “Get out!”
“Don’t be afraid,” Cindy comforted Morgan in her arms.
“I’m not afraid!” Morgan felt pretty sad right now.
He was too young and had to hide in Cindy’s arms.
He always said that he was a man and was going to protect Cindy, but when it came to a critical time, he couldn’t do anything.
Morgan couldn’t help but remember what the Old Master proposed before, he wanted him to go for training at the Lanarn Training Ground.
At that time, although Morgan agreed, he still prayed in his heart that that day would come as late as possible.
He could delay it for one more day.
He didn’t want to leave Cindy so soon.
Even if he could come back every week, it was still different.
But right now, Morgan had truly made up his mind.
He was going to Lanarn Training Ground, he was going for training, he wanted to become stronger!
So that he could protect Cindy!
“Open the door!
You hit someone and don’t get out of the car, do you want to escape?” Those people yelled from outside.
Cleave tried to nudge them out by moving the car slowly.
The car was not moving fast, but how could human strength possibly resist the car’s force?
He didn’t hit them, but he also wouldn’t let them block the car.
Who knew that one of those people suddenly climbed onto the hood of the car?
Chapter 1253: We’ll Wait Right Here_1 The car was moving at a snail’s pace, and the person was managing to sit stably on the hood.
However, if Cleave Roland accelerated, that person would surely be flung off the car and get hurt.
This made Cleave afraid to speed up.
He continued forward, slowly.
At this rate, they would not reach Pingla by this afternoon.
“Get out of the car!
You hit someone!
...
Compensation!” The people outside kept banging on the vehicle windows.
The person sitting on the hood also knocked on the windshield, obstructing Cleave’s view.
Cleave picked up his mobile phone, dialed 911, and showed it to the person on the hood: “If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police!”
Because he didn’t dare to open the windows, he wasn’t sure if the people outside could hear him.
But as long as they saw the number 911 on the screen, they should understand what he intended to do.
Unexpectedly, after pausing briefly, they resumed their window-banging activities, showing no signs of fear.
The banging noise seemed to strike Cindy Clarke’s heart each time.
Cindy hugged Little Morgan tightly.
These people did not seem like ordinary scam artists staging accidents for money.
Such scam artists mostly aimed at extortion, they could be troublesome at most, but would not act so audaciously.
They feared nothing, blocking the car and even climbing onto the hood.
Even the threat of the police didn’t deter them.
They clearly had a target, a purpose, and organization.
Seeing that their initial ploy had failed, a sudden influx of people appeared from nowhere.
It was clear they had prepared beforehand.
Fortunately, they did not have any weapons.
Their slapping hands merely created a loud noise.
Cleave initially refrained from calling the police because he hoped that Adrian Zhekova would arrive soon to handle the situation discreetly.
However, considering the current situation and Adrian’s delayed arrival, he needed to get Cindy to Pingla Academy first.
Therefore, Cleave quickly dialed 911, reporting his license plate number for the police to track his location.
As soon as Cleave finished the call, he saw someone in the mob pull out a baseball bat from behind them and swing it at the windshield.
Cindy instinctively protected Little Morgan’s head, pressing his face tightly into her chest.
At the same time, she leaned over and rotated her body to shield Little Morgan completely.
Now that someone was smashing the windshield, it wouldn’t be long before they targeted the side windows.
Cindy worried that flying glass shards might hurt Little Morgan.
More to that,
What if they reached into the car through the broken windows to drag somebody out?
At least, Cindy could prevent them from hurting Little Morgan.
Little Morgan clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to cry out.
At this time, since he couldn’t possibly assist them, he could only avoid adding to their worries.
Not screaming or making noise could make people more disturbed.
However, the expected scene of shattered glass flying around did not occur.
To Cindy’s surprise, the windshield was unscathed.
The bat kept pounding the windshield, producing loud “thud” sounds.
However, the windshield remained unaffected.
Even so, the huge banging sound was frightening enough.
Cindy’s heart fluttered with each thump.
Cleave Roland looked back at Cindy and said: “Mrs., please don’t worry.
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The car has been modified by the Wolfe family.
Nobody is going to break the glass.”
Cleave’s eyes sharpened, “If worst comes to worst, I’ll plow through them!”
“Don’t do something foolish!” Cindy immediately objected.
If Cleave ended up seriously injuring anyone, he’d have to pay the price.
“Don’t get yourself involved because of these people.”
“Otherwise, I’ll get off the car first and draw them away.” Cleave thought for a moment, then added, “I can handle three or four of them.
The remaining six, I could probably keep them in check.”
He might get ambushed and hit a few times, but he could manage to keep them occupied for a little while.
“Then, you quickly move to the driver’s seat.” Cleave advised, “But whatever you do, don’t get off the car.
Just move within the car.”
Cindy was thin, so she shouldn’t have a problem.
“After that, you’ll get in the car with Little Morgan and leave.
I’ll be here and can wait for the CEO to arrive.” Cleave said.
“I won’t attend the competition, I’ll call the instructors and have them replace me.” Cindy said, “It’s just a competition, not a big deal.
Don’t worry about it.”
“Since the car has been modified by the Wolfe family, regardless of their efforts, they won’t be able to leave a single scratch.” Cindy stated, “We could just wait here.
We will be fine once the police and Adrian arrive.”
“They can’t possibly lift the car and take it away, can they?” Cindy said coldly, “Even if they try to push it, they won’t be able to move it fast.”
“But…” Cleave hesitated.
“No buts.
I can’t possibly leave you alone here, what if something happens?” Cindy said, “Since it’s safe inside the car, we’ll wait here.”
“The competition doesn’t matter, compared to human safety, what’s the importance of a competition?” Cindy stated.
Seeing Cindy’s firm decision, Cleave felt touched inside.
Following Cindy’s suggestion, he quickly engaged the parking brake.
This way, even if those people intended to push the car, they wouldn’t be able to.
Since the car windows were safe, Cindy sat up straight but still held Little Morgan in her arms.
She lowered her head and asked Little Morgan, “Are you scared?”
“Not scared!” Little Morgan replied boldly, “They can’t get in, so I’m not scared.”
In Cindy’s arms, Little Morgan drew a large circle with his arms: “These two cars are like a small fortress right now.”
Though Little Morgan appeared not to be scared at all.
As Cindy held him, she could feel his stiff little body.
It meant that Little Morgan was in fact scared.
He was just trying hard not to appear that way so that they wouldn’t worry.
Cindy held him tighter out of sympathy.
This was all she could do to give him a sense of security.
“Don’t be scared, no matter what happens, I’ll always be with you.” Cindy kissed Little Morgan’s forehead.
“Okay.” Little Morgan nodded.
Adrian Zhekova, on the other line of the phone call, heard their conversation and became even more anxious.
Once he left the city, the road had fewer cars.
Without caring about speed limits anymore, Adrian floored the pedal, racing forward.
The cars behind followed closely.
“Cleave, my mobile phone is on call with Adrian.
You use your phone and call Teacher Wesley Gordon.” Cindy instructed.
“Okay.” Cleave didn’t have Wesley’s number, so Cindy looked it up in her phone book.
She didn’t hang up her call with Adrian; she only brought up the home screen of the phone, which did not disrupt their call.
After finding Wesley Gordon’s phone number, Cindy dialed it using Cleave’s mobile phone.
It was already 9 o’clock.
Pingla Academy had allocated a large practice room specifically for the competition.
Chapter 1254: These People Are Too Bold_1 All the competitors from Pingla are already here, including those who won’t be competing today, leaving only Cindy Clarke still absent.
“Why hasn’t Cindy arrived yet?” Hunter Clarke kept checking the time.
“We have an hour and a half left, there’s still time.” Wesley Gordon tried to reassure him, but his face showed visible anxiety.
“You say an hour and a half, but the Indian Triad will be here at the latest by 10 o’clock.
If Cindy isn’t here by then, it’ll be too late.” Hunter Clarke pointed out, “When we introduce the competitors, it would be bad optics if one of them wasn’t present.
It would be useless if she arrived just before 10:30.”
“We still have an hour left.” Wesley Gordon insisted.
Still, Wesley couldn’t help but plan who would replace Cindy if she really didn’t make it.
...
“Cindy is not someone who would abandon her responsibilities just like that.” Hunter Clarke frowned, “Even if she had to be late due for some reason, she would at least call and explain the situation.”
“Do you think something happened to Cindy?” Jasmine Hudson asked her companions worriedly.
At that moment, Wesley Gordon’s mobile phone rang.
The call was from an unfamiliar number.
Upon answering, he heard Cindy’s voice, “Teacher Gordon, I’m so sorry.
I might be late.”
“What happened?” Wesley could hear a flurry of activity on the other end of the call, “Is everything okay over there?”
“We ran into fraudsters on the road, but it’s not a simple scam.
It seems like they’re deliberately preventing me from getting to the competition.”
“Who’s behind this!” Wesley automatically suspected a conspiracy.
Could it be the Indian Triad?
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How did they know Cindy would be competing?
More importantly, how did they know how capable Cindy is?
It was illogical if they were smart enough to block Cindy but not smart enough to block the other competitors.
If they blocked all the competitors, wouldn’t they win without fighting?
All kinds of conspiracy theories manifested in Wesley’s mind, all pointed to the Indian Triad.
Not once did he suspect any foul play among his students.
These children had such a good relationship, there’s no way they would try to sabotage each other for a chance to compete.
“I have a suspicion.
It seems to be a personal issue on my end.” Cindy admitted, “I’m sorry.
It appears my personal matters have interfered with the competition.”
“We’ve reported to the police, and Adrian Zhekova is also on his way.
I’m just uncertain if I can make it to the Academy on time.
Therefore, Teacher Gordon, I’m afraid I might not make it in time.
Maybe you should find a suitable replacement.”
Wesley Gordon could still hear the commotion on the other end, he asked hurriedly, “What’s happening now?”
“People have surrounded the car and Cleave Roland can’t just hit them and run.
We can’t move the car since they’ve surrounded it.” Cindy explained, “Thankfully the car has been modified so even if they’re trying to wreck it, they can’t do any real damage.
So we’re actually quite safe inside.”
Even though Cindy sounded calm, Wesley could only imagine how terrifying it would be to be inside a car being attacked by a mob.
“Where are you right now?
I’ll try to work out the logistics.
If you’re near the Academy, our security team might arrive faster than Adrian,” Wesley suggested.
Cindy quickly checked her GPS and relayed their location to Wesley.
“You’re not too far from the Academy, less than half an hour by car.” Wesley said, “No matter how far Adrian and the police are, I’ll send our security team over first, just in case they can arrive earlier.”
“How many people are there?” Wesley asked again.
“There are 12 of them.” Cindy said.
“Okay, make sure you stay safe.” Wesley admonished.
Wesley didn’t waste any more time chatting and immediately contacted the security department.
Only after everything was arranged, did everyone gather around Wesley Gordon, eager to know what was happening.
They were hesitant to ask before as they didn’t want to impede Wesley while he was dealing with the situation.
After hearing the whole situation, Parker Honi exclaimed, “I bet it’s the Indian Triad!
Those bastards are behind it!”
The others chimed in, “Those people are the absolute worst.”
Even though they hadn’t participated in past competitions, they’d watched them.
In each and every one, the Indian Triad never played fair.
It’s as if they didn’t even know how to spell ‘fair competition’ in English.
Forget about Chinese, they probably wouldn’t recognize it!
Wesley was silent…
So in their eyes, how infamous was the Indian Triad?
They were the first to be suspected whenever something went wrong.
Oh, also Des Moines.
Compared to these two countries, it was hard to tell which was worse.
It’s just their methods of misconduct differed.
“The Indian Triad isn’t to blame this time.” Wesley explained, “According to Cindy, it’s due to some personal matters.”
The crowd went silent, each conjuring up a saga of family drama in their minds.
“With that said, if Cindy arrives on time and is able to settle down, she will still be the one competing.”
No one objected to Wesley’s proposal.
They had all tasted each other’s cooking the prior day.
Despite the terrible conditions and the nausea-inducing smell, they could still taste how delicious Cindy’s cuisine was.
“But in case she really can’t make it, Leon Hernandez, you will fill in for her.” Wesley decided.
“Understood.” Leon Hernandez nodded.
***
On Cindy’s end, the security guards from Pingla, Adrian Zhekova’s men, and the police all arrived nearly simultaneously.
It was a matter of seconds between their arrivals.
Ahead, the security guards from Pingla parked their car in front of Cindy’s.
From behind, police cars blared their sirens as they approached.
Meanwhile, Adrian Zhekova parked his car beside Cindy’s.
“Stop!” A police officer jumped out of the car and rushed over.
These guys were too audacious!
Open daylight, they dared to surround the car, demanding money.
This wasn’t a scam, it was robbery!
This was premeditated injury!
No hands were needed from Adrian Zhekova’s men or the security from Pingla, the police officers quickly subdued the mob.
Furthermore, with the police around, Adrian Zhekova’s men couldn’t intervene.
Seeing the police arrive, the mob realized they were outmatched and tried to retreat.
But the Pingla security was blocking their escape route in the front, not letting them flee.
Cleave Roland took the opportunity to get out of the car, helping block their escape.
With his assistance, the police were spared from having to do anything apart from handcuffing the culprits.
“Cindy!
Morgan!” Adrian hurriedly opened the car door.
He saw that Cindy was holding little Morgan in her arms.
They both looked at him at the same time.
“Are you both okay?” Adrian quickly asked, “Are you scared?”
“I’m okay.” Cindy replied calmly, “But Morgan’s scared.”
Adrian took Morgan into his arms.
Seeing that the child was indeed frightened, he immediately hugged Adrian’s neck for comfort.
Now, the police approached Adrian to gather information about the incident.
Chapter 1255: Team 3_1 Adrian Zhekova was gently patting the little tyke on the back, comforting him, occasionally massaging the back of his head.
“Hello, we need to understand the specific situation,” the police officer said.
“Officer, I’m the one who made the call.” Cleave Roland came forward.
“Then we’ll need you to accompany us to the police station for a statement,” the policeman said.
Cleave looked towards Adrian.
If he leaves, who will take Cindy Clarke?
“Go ahead,” Adrian said, “I’ll take them to school first.”
Since he has already arrived.
...
The school is less than half an hour’s drive from here.
He felt more at ease taking them there himself.
Seeing Adrian even brought so many people along, Cleave wasn’t worried about not having anyone to take him back to the company.
He nodded and followed the police to make a statement.
“Officer,” Adrian called out, “these people seem to be premeditated, they’re not just here to stage a traffic accident for extortion.”
The officer nodded, based on his experience, he had indeed never seen fraudsters willing to go this far.
“Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to find out,” the policeman said, “this lady as one of the victims, should you come with us too.”
“I’m really sorry,” Cindy said, “I have an important competition coming up, I can’t leave right now.
Can I cooperate with your investigation after the competition is over?”
“Of course, there’s no problem.” Cindy wasn’t the suspect, but the victim, so they could accommodate her when it was convenient.
So, Cleave was the first to go to the police station.
Adrian drove Cindy and Morgan to school.
There were also the people Adrian brought with him and the security guards Wesley Gordon had called.
A procession of cars escorted them, ensuring no further problems would arise.
On the road, Cindy called Wesley: “Mr.
Gordon, the security guards have arrived, as well as the police.
The issue we ran into is already resolved, and we’re heading to school right now.”
She glanced at the time, “We should arrive at about 9:40.”
“Great,” Wesley breathed a sigh of relief, “Are you feeling alright now?
Can you still compete?”
Seeing Wesley still wanted her to participate in the competition, Cindy was surprised.
She hadn’t expected him to still save a spot for her.
“Of course, I can,” Cindy said, “I’m all ready.”
“Good,” Wesley said, “if you can get here before 10am, you’ll still be the one to compete.”
Ten o’clock.
Cindy looked at the time, it was more than enough.
Because of the special circumstances, Wesley had arranged for the car to be driven directly into the campus.
So Adrian drove his car right into the school gate and parked it under the competition building.
Adrian got out of the car carrying Morgan.
The little guy was genuinely shocked.
Although he had been sitting alone in the safety seat at the back, he kept staring at Adrian’s face.
Every time Adrian looked in the rearview mirror, he could see the little tyke watching him.
Which was rare, Adrian was unusually gentle with the little tyke.
Even after getting out of the car, he took the initiative to go to the back.
He opened the car door and lifted the little guy out.
The little tyke was pleasantly surprised; he didn’t expect Adrian to take the initiative to lift him out.
Adrian usually refrained from such un-masculine behavior.
The little tyke looked at Adrian in surprise, unsure of how long Adrian would carry him and when he would be put down.
“Do you want to stay here and watch Cindy’s competition?” Adrian asked.
” If you’re not comfortable, I can take you back to the family mansion first, where you can play with your grandparents.”
The little tyke shook his head and said, “I’m fine now, I won’t be afraid as long as I can stay with everyone.”
With that being said, the little tyke lowered his head again, nuzzling Adrian’s shoulder, somewhat coquettishly.
Had it been any other time, Adrian wouldn’t have let him act so spoiled.
But now, Adrian let him behave as he pleased, patting him on the back, over and over again.
“Alright, when Cindy is competing, she won’t be able to attend to you.
If you feel uncomfortable, tell the two judges.
You know them,” Adrian reminded him.
“Okay,” the little one obediently nodded.
“Cindy needs to get ready for the competition soon, may I put you down?” Adrian asked again.
Adrian was being unusually gentle with the little tyke at this moment.
Cindy, who was watching from the side, couldn’t help but smile.
Although Adrian usually seemed strict and always appeared annoyed with the little tyke.
He really cares about the little tyke.
“Okay,” the little tyke nodded.
Adrian put him down.
Cindy came over and took the little tyke’s hand.
The little tyke was still somewhat reluctant to let go of Adrian.
Adrian waved his hand: “Go ahead.”
“Bye, Dad!” The little tyke, who had been comforted by Adrian, was now unusually clingy to Adrian.
Cindy, laughing, led the little tyke into the building.
Only then did Adrian choose a car from the back, get in and leave.
This car was left here for Cindy.
Cindy took Morgan and quickly arrived at the practice room for the competition.
Adrian had informed Wesley beforehand that Morgan would be coming to watch the competition.
However, Wesley hadn’t expected that after the accident on the road, Morgan still insisted on remaining here.
Everyone knew Morgan, although the Indian Triad team hadn’t arrived yet.
Upon seeing Morgan, everyone surrounded him, asking in concern:” Were you guys hurt in any way?”
“We’re fine,” Cindy said with a smile, “Morgan was a little frightened, but he’s been comforted by his father on the way here, and he feels much better now.”
“That’s right!” the little tyke nodded, “I’m okay now, you guys don’t need to worry.”
Seeing Wesley and Hunter Clarke come over, Cindy said: “I will have to trouble you two to look after Morgan.”
“Don’t worry,” Hunter waved him over.
Morgan immediately came up to her.
“You should get ready,” Hunter reminded, “The Indian Triad team should be here soon.”
Cindy then instructed Morgan, “Be good and don’t cause any trouble for the teachers.”
“Okay.” Morgan nodded, promising to be good.
Cindy then went to get ready.
In actuality, before the competition began, except for the basic cooking utensils, nothing else could be placed on the countertop.
Now, it was mainly about adjusting her state of mind.
Cindy carefully sorted out her cooking process, calculated the time each step would take, and firmly memorized it.
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At this point, Wesley received a call.
“Okay.”
Hanging up the phone, Wesley told everyone: “The Indian Triad team has arrived.”
Everyone then followed him out of the practice room to greet them.
Not long after, they saw the Indian Triad team.
The three team leaders stood in the center, the man in the middle was somewhat fat, with a very protruding belly, and slightly short.
Another person was exceptionally thin, while the last one had a normal build.
The appearance of everyone in this team was typically Indian, like those often seen in movies.
Chapter 1256: Who Cares if They Call Me Old Flower_1 Their features are deep-set, but they have a darker skin tone.
Looking at their team, Cynthia Florine whispered to Jasmine Hudson, “Why do they all look alike?
I can’t tell who’s who at all.”
“Neither can I,” Jasmine Hudson whispered back.
“And did you notice?” Gladys Joy said, “There’s not a single female competitor in their team.”
From the coaches to the competitors, there wasn’t a single woman.
“The Indian Triad is infamous for its low status of women, who are disrespected and often harmed in their society,” Jasmine Hudson said, “I guess even if someone wanted to sign up, they wouldn’t be allowed to join.
Or perhaps there are very few or even no female chefs in their industry.”
“True, I’ve seen so many news stories about women being victimized that I’m now afraid of men from their place.” Gladys Joy whispered.
By this time, the members of the Indian Triad were nearly upon them.
...
Although they couldn’t understand, Gladys Joy and others stopped talking.
Wesley Gordon made some insincere pleasantries with the opponent’s coach.
The opposing competitors were also looking at Pingla’s players.
When they saw that there were three female contestants in Pingla’s team.
The Indian Triad team was also whispering.
“Hearth Nation is always the same, always having women in their competitions.
It’s an insult to us.”
“Are they out of people?
They need women to compete?”
“Their women, they love being in the spotlight, thinking they can surpass men.”
“At least they are quite pretty.” Someone looked from head to toe at Cindy Clarke and the others, “Just a bit flat-chested.”
“One has a nice figure.” Someone glanced at Cindy Clarke, “The fifth one from the left.”
They seemed to be scrutinizing them, apparently unconcerned about the competition.
It seemed they didn’t regard the players from Pingla as opponents at all and were confident of beating them.
Due to the distance and their soft speaking voices, combined with their extremely thick accent in English, the players from Pingla couldn’t really make out what the Indian Triad team was talking about.
They just noticed their quiet discussion and knew they were talking to each other.
“Why do their gazes suddenly become lewd?” The always observant Leon Hernandez remarked with a frown, “Guys, let’s protect Cindy and the others, I think they are eyeing our girls.”
The other male participants quickly surrounded Cindy and the rest, forming a tight protective circle.
Cynthia Florine reached out and pinched Leon Hernandez’s back: “Who called me old florine!
Call me Florine sister!”
“Ouch!” Leon Hernandez winced in pain, let out a soft cry, “I’m protecting you guys, and you repay me with this?”
Prompted by Leon Hernandez’s warning, Parker Honi instantly sharpened his gaze, locking it onto the Indian Triad team.
Sure enough, a few of them had sneaky, malicious looks in their eyes, obviously glancing over at Cindy and the others.
Parker Honi immediately thought of the unfavorable news about the Indian Triad.
Without any hesitation, he reprimanded, “What are you looking at?
Show some respect!”
Parker Honi spoke in English, considerate enough to make sure they would understand.
His comment immediately attracted everyone’s attention.
The competitors from the Indian Triad were immediately upset: “What are you talking about?
Is that how you treat your guests?”
The coach of the Indian Triad’s team also confronted Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke, “Why is your contestant being so impolite to us?
Or, are your contestants so exalted that they can’t even be looked at?
Are your contestants aristocrats?
Are they concerned about caste?”
“If that’s the case, then our contestants are not ordinary people either.” The short and fat coach from the Indian Triad said, “If we can’t even look, then how can we compete?”
Wesley Gordon asked Parker Honi, “What’s going on?”
He didn’t immediately confront them.
Their contestants from Pingla have never been arrogant.
“Their gazes were disrespectfu;.
they kept looking at our girls.” Parker Honi explained in English.
Hunter Clarke noticed that the male competitors had already rearranged their stance, protecting the girls.
Hunter Clarke’s face turned stern immediately and he coldly said, “Don’t bring your Indian Triad’s customs and norms to our Hearth Nation!
We don’t subscribe to your ways.
If you want to participate in our competition here, show some respect to our women!”
Hunter Clarke also didn’t have a good impression of these people, especially noticing that while she was speaking, some contestants still showed contempt.
Some eyes were frivolous, some were arrogant, overall there was not a shred of respect.
Hunter Clarke, even more furious, coldly told the short, fat coach, “Either your contestants show some respect, or we will report straight to the association.
We will not accept opponents with such behavior.”
“We will also make your behaviour public.” Wesley Gordon said, “Let everyone around the world know about your deeds.”
Especially now, when women’s rights activists around the world continue to protest against such behavior, speaking out for gender equality.
The news from the Indian Triad was already reprehensible; if there was any more issues, they would truly be left without face.
The short, fat coach finally lowered his head and reprimanded his team, “What the hell are you guys doing!
Stay in line!
Don’t disgrace the people of Indian Triad!”
Someone murmured, “You lose no meat for having a look.”
“They dress like that, isn’t it for people to look?”
“Hearth Nation people, what gives them the right to be arrogant.”
“Anyone who speaks again doesn’t need to compete!” the coach warned in a low voice, “If you’re so resentful, then go ahead and crush the other team during the competition!
With your capabilities, go crush them, win the competition, and you can brag and insult as much as you want, I won’t interfere!”
Upon hearing this, everyone finally quieted down.
“It was them who didn’t understand the rules, they didn’t do it on purpose, you guys misunderstood.” the short, fat coach hypocritically explained.
“I know, there are some negative news.
But don’t look at my contestants with biased eyes.” said the short, fat coach.
Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke both sneered inwardly, not taking his words seriously.
Wesley Gordon invited them in for introductions.
The short, fat coach was called Luke Shaw, the particularly thin one was called Edward Bennett, and the neither fat nor thin one was called Xavier Cartier.
Wesley Gordon explained the rules, just as he and Hunter Clarke had discussed.
Then, both teams sent representatives to draw lots.
Wesley Gordon generously let the Indian Triad go first.
No matter how the lots were drawn, the result would still be under their control.
However, before that, Wesley Gordon escorted the three coaches from the Indian Triad to a room next door.
He left Hunter Clarke and a few other teachers from Pingla behind.
Wesley Gordon was concerned that if Hunter Clarke was left alone, she might be taken advantage of.
Indeed, after meeting the Indian Triad competitors today, Wesley Gordon knew his concerns were justified.
Chapter 1257: Who are you guarding against?_1 The mentor from Indian Triad was invited to the next room.
Luke Shaw was very unhappy: “Is it necessary to be so cautious?
We still need to draw lots.”
“You are being cautious in case we cheat and exploit our students.
Without any of us in the next room, we won’t know if you’re trying to cheat,” Shaw said indignantly.
“Next door they’re drawing lots to decide what color bowl each team will use.
If we let you guys watch the process and see the colors the teams chose, it would defeat the purpose of blind judging,” Wesley Gordon replied.
Did Shaw not know this already?
...
Clearly, these shameless people are doing this on purpose.
They must think they can just bluff their way through this.
“Moreover, our Hearth Nation citizens are highly principled and won’t stoop to your level of dirt playing.
No matter what kind of competition – we have always been on the receiving end of unfair treatment, but all our events are definitely fair,” continued Gordon.
“And besides, there are live broadcasts and dedicated referees to supervise the competition.
You have nothing to fear.”
Shaw and his two companions wore heavy expressions, the tall gaunt Edward Bennett looked around, his gaze flickering. His gaunt look and his hooked nose made him look a bit sleazy and cunning no matter how you looked at him.
Accompanying Bennett into the room was a logistics assistant for the team.
Bennett beckoned, and the assistant came over to him.
He then whispered something in the assistant’s ear.
The assistant nodded, ready to go out.
But before they even touched the door, Gordon stopped them.
“Hey!” Gordon barred the assistant’s way.
“To ensure fairness and prevent any cheating, once you enter this room, you can’t leave.
I’ll do the same – once I’m in, I won’t leave.”
The assistant blabbered: “I need to use the restroom.”
“There’s a restroom in this room,” Gordon laughed and pointed the direction.
The assistant shifted his eyes and surprisingly didn’t insist, turning to look at Bennett.
Seeing Bennett nod.
The assistant then proceeded to the restroom.
Once inside, he immediately pulled out his mobile phone and texted their team leader.
However, after the text was sent, the indicator showed that the message was stuck sending.
After a while, the assistant realized his phone had no service!
The assistant turned circles in the restroom, raising his phone in an attempt to find signal in different corners of the room, but to no avail.
The restroom was windowless, with only a ventilation hole.
Just then, the annoying voice of Gordon echoed from outside the door: “Are you done yet?
The competition is about to start.”
“Right away!” the assistant hastily replied.
Then he heard Gordon say again: “Oh by the way, I forgot to tell you, there’s no signal in the restroom.”
Assistant: “…”
The assistant finally emerged from the restroom only to hear the smug Gordon say: “There’s a signal jamming device installed in the restroom.”
Assistant: “…”
“Are you doing this to prevent us from cheating?” the assistant asked coldly.
“That kind of talk doesn’t do you any credit.
This was installed a long time ago to prevent students from wasting time playing with their phones in the restroom during class,” Gordon replied.
But the assistant remained suspicious.
“Hmph!” The assistant stormed out, explaining unnecessarily, “Had you not mentioned it, I wouldn’t have even known there was no signal in there!”
Gordon just smiled and didn’t say a word.
No matter what he said, one thing was for sure — they wouldn’t be able to use their mobile phones in the restroom.
Gordon thought to himself how smart it was of him to consider all these things.
Of course, this signal jammer was prepared specifically for these shameless opponents.
The assistant had no choice but to return to Bennett in a huff and whispered a few words to him.
Bennett also sneered at Gordon, then whispered something to Shaw and Xavier Cartier.
All three shook their heads, and in the end, they made no other moves.
Meanwhile, in the training room next door.
The team captain periodically checked his phone in his pocket, but he hadn’t received any alerts.
“Now, please place your mobile phones on the table,” Hunter Clarke said.
This was to prevent contestants from looking up recipes on their phones.
Although the competitors at this level wouldn’t do something like that.
But it was a tradition from the time the International Culinary Competition began.
Therefore, even now, it’s still strictly enforced.
Everyone turned off their phones and placed them in front of them.
“Please send representatives from both teams to draw lots,” Clarke continued.
Pingla’s contestants were not aware of Gordon’s arrangements.
Parker Honi, as the captain, stepped forward.
The captain from Indian Triad also approached the stage.
Honi made a gesture of invitation.
As the Offensive Team, Indian Triad had the right to draw lots first.
In this way, Honi had no choice.
He had to wait for the other team to choose first.
The remaining option would be his.
But Honi didn’t care.
The color of the utensils wasn’t that important.
The captain of the Indian Triad pulled out a green card from the box.
The captain of Indian Triad frowned.
Did it mean they were to use green bowls?
That color was too weird.
And it didn’t look high-end.
It wouldn’t do anything to enhance the cuisine.
Honi then retrieved the remaining card from the box.
This was a yellow card.
Upon seeing the color of Honi’s card, the captain of Indian Triad’s wrinkles eased, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
Looks like everyone was about the same.
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Yellow wasn’t any better than green.
Both colors looked like something you’d find at a roadside diner.
“Please return to your cooking stations,” Clarke said.
Both teams received an equal number of cooking stations.
The practice room was divided into two parts
Three cooking stations on the left were for Pingla’s contestants, and three cooking stations on the right were for Indian Triad’s contestants.
As for how to choose from the three internal cooking stations, that was up to them.
But neither side pondered too much.
After making their choices, they checked their cooking stations.
The contestants from Indian Triad were given their preferred cooking tools.
The same went for the contestants from Pingla.
And then, the staff from Pingla brought in the teams’ tableware.
When Indian Triad took a look, they were dumbfounded.
Their utensils were not green, they were black.
And the utensils on Pingla’s side were white!
The competitors didn’t even know the theme of the day yet.
The captain of Indian Triad asked, “Why are our utensil colors not the same as the ones we just drew?”
“It’s different for both sides.
The color on the card doesn’t correspond to the color of the utensils.
Rather, green corresponds with black utensils, and yellow corresponds with white utensils,” Clarke explained, unfazed.
“This is a double precaution against anyone revealing the color of the utensils in advance,” Clarke continued.
Who were they guarding against?
Of course, it was the judges from Indian Triad they were guarding against.
Chapter 1258: How Cunning are the People of Hearth Nation_1 The Indian Triad’s competitors noticed it too.
Indeed, they were trying to pass secret messages to the judges earlier.
“All right, if there are any objections, feel free to choose a different team to challenge and avoid competing against us,” Hunter Clarke said.
Indian Triad competitor: “…”
Isn’t this completely unreasonable?
How could they possibly switch teams now!
Hunter Clarke, smiling, pointed to the big screen in front: “Now, the association’s supervisors are watching.
If anything is against the rules, they will voice their objections.”
Hunter Clarke directly questioned the association’s officials.
...
Does Pingla’s competition rules violate any regulations?
“Not at all,” the supervisor from the association said, “You can choose not to compete.
In that case, this competition will be considered a loss for you.”
Indian Triad competitor: “…”
They were beyond frustrated.
This was incredibly unfair!
“You have three minutes to think it over.
If there are no objections within three minutes, the competition will officially begin.” The supervisor was visibly annoyed by the repeated challenges from the Indian Triad competitors.
Without their coach, the competitors from the Indian Triad had to discuss among themselves.
After the discussion, their leader said with frustration: “We have no objections.”
“All right then.
Let me explain today’s rules and the theme,” said Hunter Clarke.
After stating the rules and the theme, Hunter Clarke checked the time: “The cooking duration is one hour.
Before that, you have 15 minutes to pick your ingredients from the food storage room next door.”
“I’ll count down ten seconds.” Hunter Clarke began his countdown, “10 … 3, 2, 1!”
The competitors from the Indian Triad were the first to rush out.
Cindy Clarke and her teammates didn’t show any courtesy to the Indian Triad competitors.
They knew the layout well and knew what they needed, thus eliminating the need for a chaotic rush.
Once the Indian Triad competitors went out the door, their leader started scheming again.
He was looking for an opportunity to contact his coach.
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But to his surprise, Pingla was fully prepared.
A row of Pingla officials formed a human wall at the door.
They kept a close watch on the competitors from the Indian Triad, ensuring that they could only go towards the food storage room.
The officials from Pingla left only one way to the food storage room.
As the leader of the Indian Triad competitors tried to look the other way, a staff member from Pingla, pretending not to notice his intentions, said: “The food storage room is over there.”
Leader: “…”
He did not dare to delay because the competition was extremely important.
If they failed this time and didn’t perform well, there was no guarantee that they would get another chance in the future.
With thoughts gathered, the leader quickly headed to the food storage room to choose ingredients.
Pingla’s students had already arrived at the food storage room.
They went straight to the area with the ingredients they needed, making their selection quickly.
Watching this, the contestants from the Indian Triad felt even more aggrieved.
They already knew the topic beforehand.
This was an unfair competition!
But they could not contest it.
Those were the rules.
Pingla did not violate any rules.
In fact, this was the purpose of the tiring ordeal.
Both the attacking and defending parties had certain advantages.
The key was to fully utilize one’s resources to defend or acquire badges.
The contestants from the Indian Triad only saw Pingla’s advantage in this competition, forgetting that their team was also defending in the Indian Triad.
The advantages they created for themselves were much more excessive.
Being in the defence, naturally, one must make every effort to safeguard the badges.
Upon making their selection, Cindy Clarke and her teammates returned.
The contestants from the Indian Triad seized every opportunity, even if it meant returning a minute earlier.
Eventually, they rushed back to their cooking station just in time.
Hunter Clarke again started the timer: “Start cooking!”
Cindy Clarke first deboned the chicken leg, used the removed bones along with dried bonito bones, wrapped them in cheesecloth, and put them into water for simmering.
In her soup, she only added a bit of salt for flavor.
The fresh taste of the rest of the ingredients was already sufficient.
Japanese cuisine emphasizes the original flavor of the ingredients.
The soup was being slowly stewed on low heat on the side.
Cindy Clarke ground the deboned chicken thigh, then stirred it continuously, creating a thick and sticky texture.
Then she blanched the chicken skin to remove excess fat and rinsed it repeatedly with cool water.
The oil on the chicken skin was completely washed off, and it became extra chewy.
After that, she chopped the chicken skin into tiny pieces and added them to the chicken paste.
She also mixed minced green onion, starch, miso, egg, and mirin into the chicken paste.
After mixing everything evenly, she shaped it into meatballs.
Afterwards, she put the meatballs aside and began to peel and cut the radish into three pieces, each about seven to eight centimeters thick.
She placed the radish pieces into the simmering soup.
She also added matsutake and beech mushroom to the soup.
The unique fresh taste of the matsutake and beech mushroom slowly infused into the soup during stewing.
The fresh taste merged together from the chicken bones and dried bonito simmering, further penetrating into the mushrooms.
And it slowly seeped into the radish.
Radish gets easily softened during stewing, absorbing the flavor of the soup like a sponge.
Finally, Cindy Clarke removed the package with the chicken and fish bones from the soup and added the chicken meatballs into the pot.
While simmering, she gently scraped off the foam from the surface of the soup.
The radish in the soup had turned into a light brown color through stewing.
The advantage of soup is that you can keep stewing it and it will become tastier over time.
There was no need to worry about it being overcooked and losing its taste.
Or that it was prematurely made and had lost its optimal eating time.
Cindy let the soup simmer, timing it to ladle the soup into bowls in the last three minutes.
Three judges, three bowls of soup.
In each bowl, she added two chicken meatballs, a piece of radish, two slices of matsutake, and a cluster of beech mushrooms.
“Time’s up!” As Hunter Clarke’s call came out, all the competitors stopped cooking.
Cindy had just finished garnishing her soup perfectly.
At the same time, the wall-mounted large screen transitioned into a picture-in-picture mode.
The supervisor’s image was reduced to the top-right corner.
The main screen displayed the judge’s room.
The dishes prepared by all competitors were brought to the judges’ table by the Pingla staff.
In front of each judge, two bowls were placed, one white and one black.
“Judges will taste and compare in pairs, without assigning scores.
They will only vote for either the black bowl or the white bowl,” Wesley Gordon said.
Luke Shaw first picked up the white bowl in front of him and discreetly touched the bottom of the bowl.
Wesley Gordon laughed: “The reason we chose to differentiate with colors this time was to avoid labeling the bottom of the bowl.
This prevented you from accidentally touching and seeing the contestant’s name on the label.”
Luke Shaw: “…”
These people from the Hearth Nation, why are they so cunning!
Feeling the smooth bottom of the bowl, indeed there was no label.
He had to give up on the idea.
In each round of tasting, the results were given immediately after completion.
In the end, with six votes for the white bowl and three for the black, the white bowls won the day.
Luke Shaw and his fellow judges nervously eyed Wesley Gordon.
So whose side had they chosen?
“Don’t look at me.
I don’t know either.
I was in this room with you guys,” Wesley Gordon shrugged.
Chapter 1259: Personal Matters_1 Luke Shaw cursed inwardly, not believing for a second that Wesley Gordon was clueless.
Wesley Gordon was acting high and mighty, but really, he was no better!
Luke and his team were escorted back into the competition’s room.
Under the supervision of the monitor, the results were announced.
“Six votes for the white bowl, three for the black,” the monitor stated, “The winning team is the Hearth National Team!”
“By drawing lots, Hearth National Team got the white bowl and the Indian Triad Team got the black bowl,” said the monitor, “So, the Hearth National Team ultimately won with a 6:3 ratio.”
The faces of the Indian Triad Team turned dark.
The mentors, including Luke Shaw, were grim-faced and silent.
Who would have thought that they each cast two votes for Hearth Nation!
...
Luke Shaw asked the other two, “Which three dishes did you vote for?”
The three of them exchanged their votes and found they voted for the same dishes.
They seemed to have similar tastes as they agreed on their voting choices.
They had to admit, the dishes they voted for were indeed great.
“The skills displayed in those two dishes are enough for them to qualify for the Offensive Team,” Edward Bennett glanced at Wesley Gordon, “Are all chefs in Hearth Nation this good?
To have such talented, young chefs, yet they can only be in the Defensive Team?”
Their Offensive Team comprised all the best chefs they could find nationwide, and they all stayed with the Offensive Team.
Compared to the Offensive Team, their Defensive Team was somewhat lacking.
That’s why whenever Hearth Nation challenged them, they always won.
But when they came to challenge Hearth Nation, their victory was not guaranteed.
It seemed as if they were inferior to Hearth Nation.
The two nations always had ongoing friction.
Particularly within the Indian Triad, they always felt inferior to Hearth Nation.
They thought they lagged behind in terms of national and urban development.
Some people in Indian Triad even thought that Mesolin City in Hearth Nation was fifty years behind their Mumbai City.
Therefore, despite all this, they couldn’t accept their repeated losses to Hearth Nation in their own industry.
They, too, lost more often than they won when it came to the Offensive Teams.
When their Offensive Team competed against Hearth Nation’s Defensive Team, they still lost several times.
They had considered the possibility that Hearth Nation had intentionally retained one or two powerful contestants to preserve the badge.
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But they also remembered that despite this, the Offensive Team of Hearth Nation was exceptionally strong.
Being able to spare two such powerful contestants under these circumstances demonstrated the strength of Hearth Nation.
More importantly, Luke Shaw remembered that Hearth Nation’s Defensive Team wasn’t this strong in the past.
Although it was still strong, it wasn’t strong enough to crush them with a 6:3 ratio.
If powerful contestants like Cindy Clarke and Parker Honi were kept on the Defensive Team, then how strong would their Offensive Team be?
The competition was over, and at least Luke Shaw and his team did not dispute the results.
Despite the scheming and intrigue from both sides during the process, the cuisine competition was fair, and no one cheated.
As judges, they had tasted the dishes themselves and made their own selection.
At this point, Luke Shaw and his fellows had to admit their defeat.
Besides, it was not as if they could refuse to accept the outcome.
“The dishes we voted for were Hearth National Team’s Japanese Chicken Soup, Wine-braised Pork Bone Vegetable Soup, and the Indian Triad Team’s Japanese Tofu Soup,” said Luke Shaw.
The contestants from Indian Triad were surprised that only one of their dishes received votes.
“Without consulting each other, we all made the same choices,” said Edward Bennett, “We each cast one vote for these three dishes.”
“We want to know which contestant made these dishes,” said Xavier Cartier.
That’s when Cindy Clarke and the others stepped forward.
The one who got the vote from the Indian Triad was their team captain.
It seems the captain’s skills were indeed worthy.
Out of curiosity, Xavier Cartier asked, “I recall the chicken soup, or more accurately the chicken meatball soup, had a sort of chewy texture.
It wasn’t like muscle or bone, what did you add to it?”
“We added chicken skin.
After cooking it, it’s thoroughly washed with cold water until you don’t see oil anymore in the water you use for washing.” Cindy explained.
The process was similar to precooking chicken claws for pickling, boiling them and then thoroughly washing them to extract their gelatinous content.
After this treatment, the chicken claws would be very chewy.
“The chicken skin is resilient.
After dicing it and mixing it with the chicken meat, you get the mouthfeel you experienced,” explained Cindy.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Luke Shaw and his team instantly changed.
They didn’t eat chicken skin.
Back in their country, even well-known fast-food chains like KFC and McDonald’s would remove the chicken skin before frying.
And now they learnt that the chewy mouthfeel they praised was indeed from chicken skin!
This revelation caught them cold.
Of course, Cindy Clarke knew about their dietary habits, but she revealed it anyway.
Since the results were out, she wasn’t afraid that they couldn’t accept it.
Eventually, Luke Shaw and his team left with mixed feelings.
They managed to retain their badge, especially against their old rivals.
Everyone was overjoyed.
They should have celebrated, but Cindy had to go to the police station for investigation.
Hence, everyone decided to celebrate the next day.
Moreover, having a kid around wasn’t convenient.
Luckily, Cleave Roland had completed his statement and returned.
He then took Cindy and Morgan Zhekova to the police station.
Cindy provided a detailed account of the incident which matched Cleave’s statement.
Seeing Morgan Zhekova’s pitiful look, the officers, who were parents too, felt sympathetic.
Morgan was polite and cute, which made them like him.
Seeing the frightened and pitiful child, their determination to find out the sponsors of the crime hardened.
“Did you or your husband have any conflicts or disputes with anyone recently?” asked a police officer.
Of course, Cindy could not name Ethan Zhekova.
It was not that she wanted to protect him because of his Zhekova family relation.
It was more about the internal conflict within the Zhekova family, as it was a personal matter and hard to explain in a short time.
After all, it was a family matter.
Cindy thought about it.
While she had no right to decide what to disclose about the Zhekova family, she could decide on matters related to the Clarke family.
Cindy confessed, “Actually… I’ve been having some disputes with my sister.
I don’t know why, but she seemed to not want me to participate in the competition.”
“This morning, as I was on my way to the competition, she falsely claimed that my father was hospitalized due to a car accident.
However, my husband personally checked and found that my father was completely fine,” said Cindy.
Chapter 1260: Everyone Lies _1 “I just completed a call with her when someone tried to set me up and wouldn’t let me leave.” Cindy said, “Though I don’t have any proof, it might be worthwhile if you, officer, could investigate this suspicious coincidence.”
The policeman thought to himself, Cindy’s relationship with her sister seems to truly be extremely discordant.
So much so that she would unhesitatingly accuse her without hesitation.
After recording all of her statements, the police let Cindy go.
As soon as they got back into the car, the little one immediately regained his composure.
Looking at his face, there were no traces left of his pitiful demeanor from earlier.
Cindy never would have guessed that this young child could be so good at acting.
Even though it was her own son, Cindy was completely taken aback.
...
At this time, the little one licked his lips with a craving look and asked, “Cindy, can we have your chicken meatball soup for dinner tonight?”
“Of course, we agreed on this earlier,” Cindy responded.
The little one already had lunch at Pingla.
When Cindy was still participating in the competition, Hunter Clarke thoughtfully arranged for someone to buy him a meal from the canteen.
While everyone else was nervously watching the competition, only the little one was leisurely wavering his short legs, sitting on a chair and eating his meal while enjoying the live food competition show.
It was utterly pleasant.
“Oh!” Cindy suddenly remembered something, “I forgot to tell your Dad about the competition results.”
“Cleave, did you tell Adrian?” Cynthia asked.
“I haven’t yet.
I was thinking that it would be better if you announced the good news personally, so didn’t say anything.” Cleave Roland had been particularly considerate.
So, Cindy quickly messaged Adrian Zhekova about the competition results.
As expected, no one had informed Adrian Zhekova of the outcome.
Everyone had thought the same thing as Cleave Roland.
“I’ll make for you my winning dish tonight.” As Adrian Zhekova called, Cindy said.
“Alright.” Adrian Zhekova responded with a laugh.
“By the way, I just went to the police station and gave a statement.
When the police asked me if I had offended anyone, I directly mentioned Wendy Clarke,” Cindy said.
“Did you not mention Ethan Zhekova?” Adrian Zhekova asked.
“No, after all, this is rather complicated, and it involves personal family matters, so I didn’t say.
Explaining would be quite a hassle,” Cindy explained.
“The police are investigating, but at most, those people will be detained for a few days and will be released soon.
Regardless of whether the police uncover anything, once they are released, I’ll immediately follow up on them and get the truth out of their mouths.” Adrian Zhekova lays out his intentions.
“Alright.” After handing the matter over to Adrian Zhekova, Cindy didn’t interfere anymore.
She noticed that ever since being with Adrian Zhekova, Adrian tended to take matters in his own hands, causing Cindy’s anxiety to gradually lessen.
Indeed, she felt quite justified in entrusting everything to him.
She initially thought she was a worrier by nature.
Previously, when she was taking care of Morgan Zhekova, she felt the obsessive need to oversee everything and had an extreme attention to detail, with a tendency to worry immensely.
But now, that was completely gone.
Only then did Cindy realize that she wasn’t actually born to worry and mistrust everything.
It was just that there hadn’t been anyone whom she felt so assured entrusting her troubles with before.
Cindy began to notice that she was becoming more like Victoria Wheeler.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Victoria Wheeler had also not always been so carefree.
Perhaps it was entirely due to the doting nature of Maverick Zhekova.
To celebrate, Cindy made a special stop at the local supermarket with Cleave Roland and bought some snacks with her son.
Although he had Cindy’s cooking, he also liked to eat some junk food.
Things like potato chips, no matter how good her culinary skills, the taste can’t match store bought ones.
Upon returning home, Cindy began preparing for dinner.
She was getting ready to prepare a grand feast for the night.
Recently, Adrian Zhekova had been allowing her to focus on the competition and didn’t ask her to cook at home.
It had been a while since Adrian Zhekova and their son had been able to eat a dinner cooked by her.
As Cindy was preparing, her mobile phone propped up on the stand rang again.
This time, it was a call from Joshua Clarke.
But she didn’t know whether it was Joshua Clarke or Wendy Clarke who had made the call.
Either way, Cindy didn’t think it made much of a difference.
She sighed and put her Bluetooth earphones on and answered the call.
While continuing to prepare the ingredients, she said, “Hello?”
“Cindy.” It was Joshua Clarke’s voice on the other side of the phone.
But Cindy didn’t feel relieved at all because of this.
“When…
when will you come to visit me at the hospital?” Joshua Clarke asked.
Cindy was surprised, Joshua Clarke intended to deceive her himself.
This further confirmed that he agreed with Wendy Clarke’s idea to fool her during their phone call in the morning.
So, Cindy responded, “Wendy Clarke told me this morning that you were seriously injured and could hardly speak.
How come you’re fine now?”
“Ah, oh,” Joshua Clarke seemed almost exposed, he hastened to explain, “I’m much better now, at least I can talk.”
“From Wendy Clarke’s tone this morning, I thought you were on oxygen support at least.
However, you seem pretty sound right now, you sound healthy,” she responded.
“No…
that’s not the case.” Joshua Clarke said, “I simply didn’t want you to worry.
But, you are aware of how severely I’m injured, why haven’t you come to see me?”
“I couldn’t, I was injured too.” Cindy stated.
If they can’t tell the truth, then everyone might as well lie.
“Injured?
How are you injured?” Joshua Clarke asked, surprised.
“Right after my call with Wendy Clarke this morning, some people blocked my car.
It was quite scary, like a horde of zombies, some even jumped on the car and others were smashing the windows.
Not only was I injured, but Morgan Zhekova was also terrified.
He’s been crying continuously, and can’t leave my side.”
“Every time he can’t see me, he gets scared and starts crying for me,” Cindy finished saying and suddenly felt a gaze on her.
Turning her head, she saw her son standing at the kitchen door, holding a packet of chips in his hand.
Being small, he had to cradle the large packet of chips in his arms, which only emphasized the size of the packet.
He was holding a chip in his other hand, crunching joyously.
Cindy quickly made an apologetic gesture to Morgan Zhekova.
Sorry, that she had to speak about him like that.
And sorry, that she had to lie and that he had to witness it.
He mustn’t adopt the bad habit of lying.
Morgan Zhekova gave her a clean bright smile, indicating that he was okay with it.
He knows that Cindy had to lie due to the circumstances.
He won’t pick up any bad habits.
Touched, Cindy walked over, bent down, and gave him a kiss on his forehead.