Ch. 621..630

Chapter 621: I’m Afraid We Need to Calculate This

“Why else do you think we know about your every move?” The stranger said, “It’s because we’ve been keeping a close eye on Wendy Clarke, and we know she contacted you.”

“So you don’t need to worry, as long as you have no contact with Wendy Clarke, our young master won’t bother with you.”

Mrs. Lopez breathed a sigh of relief and explained, “After all, according to Wendy’s words, this matter concerns my family, so I have to be cautious and investigate carefully. I have doubts about her words, so I need to find out the truth even more.”

“If I have offended in any way, please convey my apologies to your young master. I have no intention nor dare to offend.”

The stranger nodded, seemingly looking at Mrs. Lopez with different eyes.

He didn’t expect Mrs. Lopez to be such a sensible person, rather smart.

Previously, the investigative report mentioned that Mrs. Lopez wouldn’t allow Mr. Lopez to have children outside their marriage, causing a big commotion between them.

There wasn’t much other description, so the stranger unconsciously thought Mrs. Lopez was just like the average wealthy wife, not realizing she was quite clever.

“Rest assured, I’ll pass on your words.”

Mrs. Lopez still couldn’t be completely at ease.

Though the stranger said their young master wouldn’t pursue the matter.

But who knows?

Perhaps their young master’s intention not to pursue was to give a small punishment as a warning.

Not the kind of not pursuing at all that she understood.

Therefore, Mrs. Lopez was still cautious: “I will buy the nearest flight to Nork City immediately; if there’s anything I can help with, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Although I’m a housewife with not much ability, I have some connections in Nork City. Although I can’t do much, I can still lend a helping hand against Wendy.”

The stranger looked at Mrs. Lopez’s determined gaze and couldn’t help but admire her.

“I will pass on your words. If there’s really a need, my young master will contact you.”

Mrs. Lopez hesitated and asked, “Do I need to leave my contact information?”

The stranger laughed, “When we have all your actions in our hands, would we not have your contact information?”

Mrs. Lopez began to feel a bit frightened.

Her nape hairs stood on end, and goosebumps appeared on her skin.

The stranger was right.

They could know her every move so clearly; they would naturally know how to contact her.

All of her information was held in their hands, and Mrs. Lopez couldn’t help but feel scared.

Fortunately, she was cautious and had only come to take a look.

She hadn’t intended to hurt Morgan Zhekova and was only planning to investigate everything first, narrowly escaping disaster.

Otherwise, who knew how the young master the stranger spoke of would deal with her.

“I’ve delivered the message, so head back to Nork City and have a safe journey,” the stranger said.

Mrs. Lopez nodded quickly and, without any delay, drove to the airport.

The stranger still followed to make sure Mrs. Lopez went to the airport and boarded the nearest flight back to Nork City.

Then the stranger called Adrian Zhekova, “Master Adrian, everything is settled. Mrs. Lopez is quite smart; after she returns, she might plot against Wendy.”

Morgan didn’t know that he had been investigated.

He returned home carefree, and as soon as he entered, he saw Cindy Clarke waiting for him at the entrance.

Morgan immediately pounced on Cindy’s legs, although his height had already exceeded Cindy’s thighs.

Hugging Cindy’s thigh was no longer as satisfying as before.

But Morgan tried hard, bending his knees and hugging Cindy’s leg like a koala bear.

“Cindy, I missed you so much.”

Cindy was both amused and exasperated by the little one’s reaction, as if he had been away for a long time.

In reality, he had only left home for less than a day to attend nursery.

“You didn’t cause trouble today, right? Did you bully Uncle Cleave on the way?” Cindy joked.

“Of course not!” A sly expression appeared on Morgan’s innocent face.

“I’m such a well-behaved child, if you don’t believe me, just ask Uncle Cleave.”

Cindy looked at Cleave Roland, who nodded in agreement, “Young Master was very well-behaved in the car, and he didn’t even eat any snacks. He said you told him that if he ate snacks before dinner, he wouldn’t have an appetite, so he held back.”

Cleave Roland had prepared various snacks and drinks in the car for Morgan to pass the time, but Morgan didn’t eat much.

“This morning, I went to the nursery and showed the headmaster the photo of your marriage certificate,” Morgan said, looking up at Cindy.

Cindy: “…”

“Why did you show the headmaster that?”

“To let the headmaster know that you two are already married, so he won’t worry all the time and guess when you two will break up. To prevent the headmaster from thinking that dad isn’t my biological father, such misunderstandings are not good. In case the headmaster misunderstands and does something, it would be unfair to him. So, I told the headmaster, and it’s all good,” Morgan explained.

Cindy was helpless with the twisted reasons her son came up with.

“So, the headmaster doubted that your dad isn’t your biological father?” Cindy couldn’t help but ask.

“It was just a misunderstanding,” said Morgan, not wanting to get the headmaster in trouble, as he had been doing well recently.

As for guessing when she and Adrian Zhekova would break up,

Cindy could understand.

Many people held such opinions.

Many people thought that there was a huge gap between her and Adrian Zhekova and that they couldn’t last.

Cindy had grown used to this and didn’t take it to heart.

In the end, it was her and Adrian Zhekova’s business, and as long as they both knew it, it was enough.

“Then how did you explain it to the headmaster? Did you use the same words your dad used at the wedding?” Cindy asked.

Morgan shook his head immediately: “No. Good children don’t lie, so I didn’t explain.”

Just when Cindy began to feel relieved, she heard Morgan cunningly say, “Anyway, the headmaster is imaginative and let him think whatever he wants.”

Cindy: “…”

At this moment, Cleave Roland was about to take his leave.

“Hold on,” Cindy said, asking Cleave Roland to wait for a moment.

She went to the kitchen and took out a box of pastries for Cleave Roland. “I just baked these this afternoon, take them and give them a try. It’s a new product, and I think it tastes good, but I still need to hear feedback from others.”

“Try them and tell me what you think,” Cindy said.

Adrian Zhekova and Morgan would always say everything she made was delicious, which was not objective enough.

Since she wasn’t running the private home-style cuisine business anymore and couldn’t let customers try the food, she could only let people around her have a taste.

“Also, thank you for picking up and dropping off Morgan every day.”

Although her child was well-behaved and adorable, Cindy knew how difficult the little one could be at times.

Cleave Roland had to deal with him every day, not knowing how the little one teased him along the way.

“Thank you, Mrs. Zhekova,” Cleave Roland quickly accepted the offer.

Chapter 622: Little White Mouse

Cleave Roland took the snacks from Cindy Clarke and happily ran off.

Just kidding.

He had to run; the scumbag CEO would be returning soon.

If the scumbag CEO saw that Cindy had given him something delicious, he would surely bite someone.

After Cleave left, the little fellow looked at Cindy with misty eyes.

Those big, clear eyes were so pitiful that they could break a person’s heart.

“What’s wrong now?” Cindy didn’t know why the little one suddenly had this expression.

Morgan asked, “Cindy, is there no snack for me? You used Uncle Cleave as a guinea pig?”

Cindy: “…”

“Of course, there’s one for you and Dad. Change your shoes and clothes first, and then come have a taste.”

The little one finally cheered up and quickly changed into slippers.

He went back to his room to change into home clothes and then came out bouncing happily.

Cindy took out the snack for Morgan: “You can only try one piece, or you won’t be able to eat dinner.”

The little one looked at the big box of snacks with reluctance, only able to take one piece.

His expression made Cindy laugh, saying, “You look like you’ve never eaten before. I’ll save the rest for you to take to the nursery tomorrow, okay?”

Upon hearing this, Morgan finally cheered up.

But now that he could only eat one, he didn’t want to finish it all at once, so he took small bites.

Cindy could only watch helplessly as he ate; why did he look so pitiful?

It was as if she usually withheld food and clothing from the little one.

If the child acted like this outside, people would think he was suffering a lot of abuse at home.

Morgan slowly finished his snack, and just in time, Adrian Zhekova came home.

When Adrian went to change clothes in his room, he pulled Cindy in as well.

He took the opportunity to tease and cling to Cindy.

Then Adrian said, “I just saw a bit of snack crumbs on Morgan’s lips.”

Cindy: “…”

What kind of eyes did this man have? They were so sharp.

He didn’t miss even a bit of the snack crumbs.

This made Cindy doubt; was Adrian’s Family Head ability really limited to mind-reading?

She felt that his vision was also better than ordinary people.

Adrian immediately asked, “Did you secretly give Morgan a snack again?”

Without sharing with him, Adrian’s heart was very hurt.

Cindy quickly said, “No, I prepared some for both of you. It’s a new snack I made with a new recipe. I don’t know if it tastes good, so you can try it when we drink tea at night.”

Adrian finally gave a satisfied “hmm” sound.

Listening to him, Cindy felt like she was pleasing a big dog that had been petted comfortably.

“By the way,” Adrian put on his round-neck T-shirt and said, “Do you still remember Mr. Lopez?”

Cindy was stunned for a moment and nodded.

Although she had never met the legendary Mr. Lopez, she knew that Christy Xenos and Wendy Clarke had plotted against her to send her to Mr. Lopez, which had always disgusted Cindy.

So mentioning Mr. Lopez didn’t improve Cindy’s mood.

She couldn’t help but feel nauseous.

Adrian had previously investigated Mr. Lopez and showed her the information, including photos of Mr. Lopez and the child Wendy had given birth to for him.

Cindy had seen them all.

The fat and flabby appearance was truly nauseating.

If he were a good person, even if he were not good-looking, a kind heart would still make him seem good.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lopez was not good-hearted and was addicted to debauchery.

Even just looking at his photos, one could see that he had the appearance of being outwardly strong but inwardly weak due to his excessive indulgence.

Therefore, thinking of that face made Cindy feel sick.

“Wendy went to see Mrs. Lopez,” Adrian said.

Cindy raised an eyebrow: “Wendy dares to meet the other woman’s wife.”

“She went to talk about you,” Adrian said, “Wendy has been feeling that five years ago, you were truly taken advantage of. She thinks that you said you successfully ran away and lied to her.”

“She and Christy visited your cooking videos from before, and noticed that Morgan appeared in the videos. Although his face was not shown, only his hand, your fans knew that he was your son, and you never denied Morgan’s existence. So they knew about Morgan.”

Cindy frowned tightly, “I should have known that I shouldn’t have let Morgan appear in the video, not even a single hand.”

“It’s not your fault,” Adrian kissed her forehead, “You never denied Morgan’s existence, and you openly affirmed Morgan. Not showing his face is a protection for him. And openly admitting that you are a single mother, and acknowledging that you have a son named Morgan, this is also protection for Morgan.”

“You did nothing wrong. Otherwise, would you have to hide Morgan for the rest of your life?” Adrian smiled faintly, “That would be unfair to Morgan.”

Cindy fell silent.

Initially, she had thought the same way. That’s why, when Morgan appeared in the video, she didn’t cut him out.

The video happened to capture her at a key moment in her cooking process, and Morgan accidentally entered the frame.

She could reshoot the video, but it was just troublesome, not that she minded the trouble.

However, Cindy always felt that there was nothing shameful about having Morgan as her son.

If she hid and refused to admit Morgan’s existence, that would be unfair to him.

Cindy had never regretted her decision, and her fans were all kindhearted people.

They never said anything bad about Morgan and her.

But now, knowing that Wendy was aware of Morgan’s existence, Cindy regretted it a little.

She feared Wendy might think of something and hurt Morgan from behind the scenes.

Adrian said, “Don’t worry, I’m here. If something happens to Morgan under my watch, I would be too incompetent. I’ve always had people watching Wendy, so I knew immediately when she approached Mrs. Lopez and her intentions.”

Combining what Adrian had just said, Cindy suddenly had an epiphany.

She incredulously asked, “Does Wendy think Morgan is Mr. Lopez’s son?”

Adrian was already very angry; he was angry that Wendy couldn’t mind her own business and was always looking into Cindy’s affairs, not letting Cindy live in peace.

Adrian didn’t understand why.

When Cindy was not doing well, it didn’t have any effect on Wendy.

When she was doing well, it didn’t harm Wendy’s interests either.

But Wendy just couldn’t stand Cindy being well off; it was inexplicable.

Now, thinking that Wendy believed Morgan was Cindy’s and Mr. Lopez’s son,

Adrian felt disgusted.

His wife, his son, what right did they have to be associated with another man?

Chapter 623: Appraisal Report

Not to mention, that man still looked like a greasy, big-eared, middle-aged man.

Of course, Adrian Zhekova knew that Cindy Clarke had no relationship with Mr. Lopez.

But every time he thought about Wendy Clarke spreading such nauseating rumors, Adrian Zhekova was infuriated.

Adrian Zhekova nodded, silently cursing Wendy Clarke for being a blockhead.

Then he told Cindy Clarke, “So Wendy Clarke went to Mrs. Lopez because Mrs. Lopez would never allow another child to enter the Lopez Family. Wendy thought that if Mrs. Lopez knew that Mr. Lopez had another son out there, she would definitely not spare you and Morgan. She wanted to use Mrs. Lopez’s hand against you both.”

“But Wendy miscalculated. Mrs. Lopez is not as foolish as she thought. On the contrary, I admire her. She and the wife of the richest businessman in Nork City are both intelligent and calm.” Adrian Zhekova nodded.

“What does the wife of the richest businessman in Nork City have to do with this?” Cindy Clarke asked, puzzled.

Adrian Zhekova explained, “The so-called bystander sees clearly. She had some suspicions but needed someone to help her analyze the situation. So she went to Henry Doone’s wife. After discussing, Mrs. Doone introduced Mrs. Lopez to a detective, who Mrs. Lopez then asked to investigate you and Morgan.”

“Of course, my people are also involved, and he could not find any information about you and Morgan. But I needed to ease Mrs. Lopez’s doubts, so I deliberately exposed some information about you and Morgan’s identity and gave it to the detective to pass on to her. That’s why Mrs. Lopez personally came to Belfard today and saw Morgan from a distance.”

Cindy Clarke was startled, as Morgan hadn’t mentioned this: “Did she not reveal herself in front of Morgan?”

“No, at least she knew her boundaries.” Adrian Zhekova said, “Even if she really wanted to go to Morgan’s face, she would have to see if I would allow it. From the moment Mrs. Lopez stepped into Belfard, my people have been following her. If she makes any inappropriate moves, they will stop her immediately, without disturbing Morgan or you.”

“She doesn’t know that you are my husband and Morgan is my son.” Adrian Zhekova explained, “After all, even if Mrs. Lopez is rational, she is still an outsider, and I cannot trust her completely. What if she leaks this to the Clarke Family? So all I want her to know is that your husband, Morgan’s father, is someone they cannot mess with in Nork City.”

“Mrs. Lopez saw Morgan and knew without even looking at the paternity test results that he had no relation to Mr. Lopez. I had someone explain and warn her, so she naturally knew she had been fooled by Wendy Clarke.”

Cindy Clarke was silent for a moment before asking, “So Mrs. Lopez has already returned to Nork City?”

“She left this afternoon.” Adrian Zhekova confirmed.

It was because Mrs. Lopez was so decisive and rational that Adrian Zhekova did not make things difficult for her.

If there were more smart people like her, Adrian Zhekova could save a lot of trouble.

Cindy Clarke’s mouth twitched with some indifference: “Mrs. Lopez won’t spare Wendy Clarke when she returns, will she?”

“Of course, she won’t.” Adrian Zhekova sneered, “No one would be happy knowing that they were used by a stupid woman, let alone being manipulated by a stupid woman like Wendy Clarke. Mrs. Lopez knows what to do when she returns to Nork City.”

“Wendy Clarke won’t be let off the hook by Mrs. Lopez if she stays in Nork City. If she dares to come to Belfard, I’ll be waiting for her here. No matter where Wendy Clarke goes, she won’t escape.”

At the moment, Mrs. Lopez had just landed in Nork City.

Mrs. Lopez turned off her mobile phone’s airplane mode, and as the signal was restored, she received a message.

Attached to the message was a photo.

Mrs. Lopez opened the photo to find a scanned copy of a paternity test report.

Mrs. Lopez subconsciously thought it was Morgan’s paternity test.

However, when she downloaded the picture, saved it, and zoomed in to view the results, she found it was actually the paternity test report for the child Mr. Lopez had brought home!

And the other one was of Wendy Clarke!

The report showed that the child in the Clarke Family was indeed Wendy’s biological son.

Mrs. Lopez was shocked and took a breath. Even though she’d had some doubts before, seeing it now was still shocking.

Mrs. Lopez enlarged the report and examined it in detail.

When she got home, she even printed out the scanned image for easier examination.

In the end, she was sure that the child was Wendy Clarke’s.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the report was fake. But Wendy Clarke and the child were still in Nork City, and the child was at her house.

To verify the authenticity, it was really too simple.

Before, she just didn’t know who the child’s mother was. But now that she had Wendy as a target, it was much easier.

Mrs. Lopez remembered Brenda Wright’s earlier speculations.

Brenda Wright had asked about the time when the restaurant that Wendy Clarke managed started preparing for its opening, and whether it matched the time when the child arrived at the Lopez Family.

Mrs. Lopez had also asked the detective to investigate this, but there hadn’t been any results yet.

But now that they had Wendy Clarke as a target, it was much easier to handle.

Mrs. Lopez didn’t delay, especially since Mr. Lopez hadn’t returned home for a long time. Going anywhere now wouldn’t arouse his suspicion.

Mrs. Lopez came out from her room, went downstairs, and saw the child, Samuel Lopez.

Samuel Lopez was sitting on the sofa playing a game, and the coffee table in front of him was piled high with snacks.

His hands were still greasy from eating some dried meat, and his mouth was coated with some snack crumbs.

Seeing Mrs. Lopez come out, Samuel Lopez didn’t even bother to move his eyes.

Mrs. Lopez felt a surge of disgust. Even if the child Mr. Lopez had brought home were somewhat attractive, at least it could be pleasing to the eye.

But Samuel Lopez inherited all of Mr. Lopez’s appearances and shortcomings.

Moreover, he wasn’t her biological child, so how could Mrs. Lopez like him?

This child had been gluttonous since he was little, but Mrs. Lopez was too lazy to control his diet and left it all to the maid.

The maid, of course, didn’t care about Samuel’s figure or health.

As long as he liked eating snacks, she would let him eat, resulting in his current sloppy appearance on the sofa.

Mrs. Lopez went to the door to change her shoes, and only then did Samuel finish a round of his game. During the break, he turned his head and asked her, “Mom, where are you going?”

“I’m going out for a while. You can have dinner at home by yourself.” Mrs. Lopez replied coldly.

Especially now that she knew that Samuel might be Wendy Clarke’s son, Mrs. Lopez felt even more disgusted.

She really hadn’t misjudged Wendy Clarke.

That woman was no good.

Before, when she heard that Cindy Clarke had given birth to Mr. Lopez’s child, Mrs. Lopez still had a skeptical attitude.

But when it came to Wendy Clarke, Mrs. Lopez had no doubts at all.

That was indeed something Wendy Clarke would do.

Chapter 624: Don’t Touch a Dog’s Temperament

Instead of calling a driver, Mrs. Lopez herself drove to the detective agency that Brenda Wright had introduced her to.

Mrs. Lopez met with the detective and directly stated the reason for her visit.

She needed something from Wendy Clarke containing DNA for identification purpose.

The detective stated, “I just found out that the time when Wendy Clarke officially started investing money into the restaurant wasn’t the time it opened.”

The detective was indeed remarkable, directly giving all the investigated information to Mrs. Lopez.

“Here are the bank records of Wendy Clarke’s transactions at that time, her bank account suddenly had 10 million more five years ago, the capital she used to open the restaurant came from this 10 million,” the detective said.

“Wendy Clarke is also quite capable, the restaurant is well-operated, so this 10 million is sufficient to cover costs.”

“Additionally, I discovered something intriguing,” the detective said with a smile.

“What?” Mrs. Lopez leaned forward, intrigued.

“She was not in Nork City for over eight months before these 10 million suddenly appeared in her account. Only after these eight months did she come back to Nork City. Just shortly after her return, Mr. Lopez brought home a child.”

What did Mrs. Lopez not understand?

Once this was stated, everything connected.

That child was most likely the one Wendy Clarke gave birth to for Mr. Lopez.

Used to exchange for the 10 million from Mr. Lopez.

Mrs. Lopez sneered, Wendy Clarke even accused her sister unjustly.

In retrospect, those excuses Wendy Clarke used against Cindy Clarke could entirely be employed to herself.

Wendy Clarke said that Cindy Clarke had an affair with Mr. Lopez when she was in college, in fact, the one who had a relationship with Mr. Lopez five years ago was probably Wendy Clarke herself.

Mrs. Lopez was unclear why Cindy Clarke would run off to Belfard.

But given Wendy Clarke’s malintent towards Cindy Clarke, it was likely that there were problems between the two sisters, causing Cindy Clarke to flee to Belfard.

Of course, these were none of Mrs. Lopez’s business.

Moreover, Cindy Clarke was now well-off having married a wealthy and influential man.

Wendy Clarke was dreaming if she thought she could harm Cindy Clarke again.

Given that, it was rather ironic.

Mrs. Lopez sneered, Wendy Clarke always wanted to become wealthy, even seeking such a shortcut, but isn’t she now completely stressed out?

But Cindy Clarke, on the other hand, had a marriage that others would envy.

However, Wendy Clarke had given Mr. Lopez a child and made a good plan. In the future, when her son inherited Mr. Lopez’s property, Wendy Clarke would also attempt to snatch it away.

Now that Mrs. Lopez had figured out Wendy Clarke’s scheme, naturally, she would not let her have her way.

Having agreed with the detective, the final test result was the only thing left to confirm everything.

Only then did Mrs. Lopez leave.

***

Belfard.

In the blink of an eye, it was already Saturday.

The new round of Cooking Competition took place as scheduled.

Because all the contestants knew about Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova’s relationship.

So Adrian Zhekova directly took Cindy Clarke to the backstage, not hiding anything from anyone, showing it openly.

When Adrian Zhekova entered the backstage, all the contestants fell silent.

Even if they already knew about Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke’s relationship, after not seeing them for half a month, they had somewhat forgotten about the initial shock.

Now seeing them again, it was just too surreal.

Yannick O’Brian chuckled, “Let’s quickly get used to it, as Master Adrian may appear on every competition.”

Adrian Zhekova smiled, this feeling of being able to follow Cindy Clarke openly, it was extremely nice.

Adrian Zhekova adjusted his tie and clear his throat, giving an impression that he had something important to announce.

Billy Houston immediately arrived upon hearing this, along with Manager Zhu from the planning department and five referees.

The plan that Manager Zhu employed for this competition was conservative.

Ensuring the contestants wouldn’t get into trouble, Billy Houston would have no chance to put the blame on him.

Obviously, Billy Houston has a lot more experience in dealing with Adrian Zhekova than these young contestants.

After all, the contestants were young, had limited experience, and they hadn’t dealt with the scumbag CEO often, they couldn’t understand his temperaments.

Right after Adrian Zhekova cleared his throat, Billy Houston immediately asked, “Mr. CEO, do you have important things to announce?”

Adrian Zhekova looked at Billy Houston again, he was indeed outstanding to be in charge.

It was evident that Billy Houston had special talents.

Billy Houston, under the approving gaze of Adrian Zhekova, smiled even broadly, his eyes seemed to sparkle and the wrinkles on his face becoming pronounced.

“Yes,” Adrian Zhekova replied, “There’s an important thing to announce. Not only is it important, but it’s also a joyful event, a tin of good news for everyone at Pingla Group.”

Upon hearing this, Billy Houston immediately knew what it was. Wasn’t it the marriage between Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke?

Everyone in the Pingla Group head office knew about it.

As Adrian Zhekova took his marriage certificate to work on Monday after getting married on Saturday.

But the damnable CEO still chose not to use his private elevator and insisted on cramming in with the employee’s elevator.

Furthermore, he insisted on picking the rush hour when the elevator was the fullest.

Right from the moment Adrian Zhekova entered the Pingla Group’s door, he took out the marriage certificate, showing it to the security uncle at the door and then to the security lad next to the security uncle.

The security staff at the Pingla Group had sharp eyes, quickly congratulating Adrian Zhekova, “Mr. CEO, did you get married? Congratulations, congratulations! This is something wonderful! Have a blissful marriage!”

Adrian Zhekova walked through the door with a satisfied smile.

Upon getting to the gate where the access card is required, he had to take out his work card.

Adrian Zhekova pretended to take out a card from his pocket and swiped it across the sensor, to no response.

He swiped it again, but still to no response.

The other lanes around him were all filled with employees stepping in and out, breezing through after swiping their access card.

Only Adrian Zhekova was delayed, and as the employees passed by, they couldn’t help but glance his way to see what was the matter.

Their eyes gradually moved from Adrian Zhekova’s face to his hand, to see him holding a red booklet.

Everyone didn’t think much of it immediately, believing that Adrian Zhekova had added a cardholder to his card.

Just then, Mr. Olsen from the HR department happened to pass by.

Seeing Adrian Zhekova, he greeted him first, “Good morning, CEO.”

Adrian Zhekova arrogantly nodded his head and continued with punching his card.

Seeing this, Mr. Olsen asked, “Mr. CEO, is there a problem with your card?”

Adrian Zhekova finally had someone to pay attention to him.

He took a deep breath and replied with a puzzled look, “That shouldn’t be the case. I use the same card every day.”

As he pretended to check here and there with a bewildered look, he happened to flip the card in his hand.

Then, embossed in golden letters, the words ‘Marriage Certificate’ on the red booklet was thus revealed.

Chapter 625: Let Him Be Rude Again

Mr. Olsen: “…”

He was too naive.

Since that scumbag CEO started dating and made it public in the Company, he flaunted it for half a month before he finally calmed down.

Perhaps the painful days had passed too long, causing people to forget.

This made Mr. Olsen drop his guard, and today, he fell into the scumbag CEO’s trap again.

Mr. Olsen thought to himself, if he had known, he would have done like others and kept his distance.

Pretending not to see anything, he hastily clocked in and entered the elevator.

Never again will he let his tongue slip!

He had to greet Adrian Zhekova, now look, he’s in trouble!

Mr. Olsen had no choice but to switch to the boot-licking mode immediately, a big grin spread across his face, like a steamed bun.

“Mr. CEO, is this… is this… a marriage certificate?!”

Mr. Olsen was a mixture of shock and joy, his exaggerated facial expression appeared especially sincere to Adrian Zhekova.

It wasn’t until then that Adrian Zhekova showed the red booklet and said: “Yeah, I accidentally got married.”

“Congratulations, Mr. CEO, Congratulations!”

Mr. Olsen really wanted to ask if Cindy Clarke was the bride?

But, he felt if he really asked, he might get fired.

So, Mr. Olsen held back his curiosity and didn’t really ask.

“When did you get married, Mr. CEO?” Mr. Olsen saw that Adrian Zhekova didn’t seem to have had enough of the questioning, and immediately asked again.

Adrian Zhekova rolled his eyes: “Why would it concern you when I got married? As long as I have the marriage certificate, that’s enough!”

Mr. Olsen: “…”

Why the hell is the scumbag CEO flipping out?

Was there anything wrong with his question?

Little did he know, Adrian Zhekova already had a plausible excuse for his marriage to Cindy Clarke at Charlotte York’s wedding.

If he told the truth in the Company, wouldn’t it be a disaster if it get out later?

So Adrian Zhekova simply stopped explaining.

Poor Mr. Olsen was kept in the dark, becoming more and more confused about the scumbag CEO’s changing moods.

He’d gotten married, so his mood should be better, right?

Why did his mood swings progress even more?

Did you bring your card, Mr. CEO?” Mr. Olsen asked again.

Adrian Zhekova reached into his pocket again. He had one hand in his pocket and the other was holding the marriage certificate.

When he raised his hand, he showed the shiny “Marriage Certificate” words again.

In Mr. Olsen’s mind, he sneakily calculated that Adrian Zhekova had been searching his pocket for a good 5 minutes.

So he had been holding the marriage certificate up high for everyone to see for a good 5 minutes before he finally took out his work card.

The scumbag CEO isn’t even tired!

“Oh, it’s here,” Adrian Zhekova said.

Mr. Olsen: “…”

With pockets as shallow as yours, you needed 5 minutes to find it?

You think we’re idiots!

Adrian Zhekova didn’t care about Mr. Olsen’s complaints, he clocked in and went through the gate.

He walked up to the staff elevator, which was already filled with employees.

Given the number of people, one elevator probably wouldn’t be enough.

Luckily there were 3 elevators in Gale Enterprises, of which 2 were for employees and the other was specifically for Adrian Zhekova.

But Adrian Zhekova didn’t take the exclusive one, instead, he wanted to get on the crowded staff elevator.

Everyone stopped asking, after all, Adrian Zhekova had done this before when he started dating – they still haven’t forgotten.

The memory of Gale Enterprises’s employees was rather good, so when the elevator arrived, they made a path for Adrian Zhekova.

“Mr. CEO, after you.”

Adrian Zhekova wasn’t modest at all, he nodded and got on the elevator first, standing at the very back.

The remaining employees still standing outside looked at one another and really wanted to give the entire elevator to Adrian Zhekova.

They didn’t want to go in.

For a moment everyone was silent, but there was an unprecedented mutual understanding.

When the elevator doors were about to close, slowly meeting in the middle.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Great, we don’t have to share the elevator with the scumbag CEO.

But suddenly, Adrian Zhekova strode forward and pressed the elevator’s open button.

The doors, which had been slowly closing, reopened.

Employees: “…”

Adrian Zhekova said impatiently, “What are you dawdling for? Get on the elevator quickly, don’t waste the company’s resources, or I’ll mark you all down as late!”

Employees: “…”

With no choice, the employees reluctantly walked in one by one.

They all deliberately slowed down.

They hoped to be last, thinking that if the elevator was full, they could avoid getting on.

But everyone thought the same.

No one went into the elevator.

“Mr. Olsen!” Adrian Zhekova suddenly shouted.

Mr. Olsen walked through the crowd wiping his sweat, cursing under his breath.

He regretted his loose tongue, if only he had kept quiet, now the scumbag CEO remembered him, didn’t he?

Whenever something happened, he would be the one getting called out!

“Mr. CEO, what can I do for you?” Mr. Olsen immediately asked.

Adrian Zhekova said: “See who they are and what department they’re from. Note down those who don’t get on the elevator.”

Mr. Olsen: “…”

What the hell do you want to do, scumbag CEO?

Employees: “…”

With no choice, you have to face what you need to.

The world is just that cruel.

The employees had no choice but to enter the elevator in order, and those who stayed outside because the elevator was full, breathed a sigh of relief.

Up until the elevator doors closed, everyone pressed the buttons to their respective floors.

Everyone crowded together, making a pile and leaving some distance around Adrian Zhekova.

They didn’t want to share an elevator with Adrian Zhekova, but since they had to face the reality, they could only stay as far away from Adrian Zhekova as possible.

At this moment, Adrian Zhekova raised his hand high, showing his marriage certificate again.

Adrian Zhekova stopped making excuses, and stopped playing tricks, he bluntly asked, “Did you all see it?”

The crowd hurriedly nodded their heads: “We saw it, we saw it.”

Adrian Zhekova held the marriage certificate to his chest, striking a pose.

It looked like a celebrity endorsing a product.

Both cool and stylish, the pose perfectly highlighted the product he was promoting.

In this case, the product Adrian Zhekova was promoting was the marriage certificate in his hand.

“Why aren’t you taking photos of me?!” Adrian Zhekova said gravely.

These people, why are they so clueless?

They still needed him to remind them.

Those people have wasted their years at Gale Enterprises, they had no synergy at all.

When he took out the marriage certificate, the crowd should have already raised their mobile phones.

And started snapping away.

Only now did the crowd come to their senses, they hurriedly raised their mobile phones and took a few random shots of Adrian Zhekova.

Chapter 626: Life Is Too Difficult

Anyway, it’s not possible for them to take great pictures from every angle and position.

That’s when Adrian Zhekova said, “When you guys go back, I’ll edit the photos, choose the best-looking one and send it to each other. Report my good news to all our colleagues in the company.”

Everyone hurriedly agreed, “Don’t worry, CEO, we’ll do it well.”

When they finally reached the floor of their department, their colleagues hurried out of the elevator as if they were fleeing for their lives.

At first, Adrian Zhekova had dared to claim to be her fiancé when he was still single, which had tormented them for a long time.

Now that they were married, they couldn’t stand it anymore.

At least for the next month, they’d have to listen to Adrian Zhekova talking about his marriage.

It was too terrifying.

Why was it so difficult to work at Pingla?

They usually had to deal with their superiors’ strict demands, as well as Adrian Zhekova’s brainwashing attacks.

“Remember, make sure every colleague who didn’t get on this elevator sees it,” Adrian Zhekova instructed again.

The crowd repeatedly promised that they would complete the task and quickly left.

At first, when Cindy Clarke appeared at Adrian Zhekova’s side, they weren’t even boyfriend and girlfriend yet.

Everyone was still curious about Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova’s relationship, and they wanted to gossip about it.

But now, they were totally not in the mood for gossip.

Just pass a message saying the scumbag CEO got married and be done with it.

Poor Pingla Group employees, from Monday to Friday, had to listen to Adrian Zhekova’s nagging.

Usually, in the company, whoever encountered Adrian Zhekova had to listen to his nagging about his marriage and take a look at his marriage certificate.

During these five days, Adrian Zhekova never took his private elevator.

He was always sharing the elevator with the employees.

Employees said they didn’t want Adrian Zhekova to share their joy.

Finally, it was Friday, the last day of work this week.

In the coming weekend, they could relax and wouldn’t have to run into Adrian Zhekova anymore.

But in the afternoon, each department received a cake from the cake shop.

Before people had time to see how the cake looked, they received a group email notification from Sheldon Rowland.

“To celebrate CEO’s marriage, CEO himself wants everyone to share his joy. So, out of his own pocket, he ordered a cake for each department as an afternoon snack. Please enjoy it.”

Everyone suddenly had a bad premonition.

When they opened the cake box and took a look, their eyes went black.

The cakes were all in the shape of marriage certificates!

Now, the cake-making technology is so advanced that it can be lifelike and almost real.

The cake in front of them was exactly the marriage certificate of Adrian Zhekova that they had seen every day for the last five days.

Now, every employee who saw this little red book was about to vomit.

Married people said that they would lock up their little red books at home and never look at them again.

Unmarried people said they had no plans to get married in the next few years.

They had no idea that they had been dreaming about Adrian Zhekova showing them his marriage certificate every night and threatening to fire them if they didn’t look at it.

Life was too hard.

Billy Houston also heard about it from Mr. Olsen.

Mr. Olsen, in order to vent his frustrations from the past few days, told Billy Houston everything that had happened at Pingla Group in detail.

He didn’t leave out a single detail.

As a result, although Billy Houston hadn’t experienced this firsthand at Pingla Group, he could feel the hardship of the people at Pingla through Mr. Olsen’s description.

Actually, when Adrian Zhekova cleared his throat, Billy Houston didn’t want to join the conversation at all.

But he also knew that what would come would come, and he would have to face it sooner or later.

Better a short pain than a long one.

He quickly cooperated with Adrian Zhekova.

Hearing Billy Houston’s cooperation question, Adrian Zhekova straightened his suit.

He pulled a marriage certificate from his pocket with a flick of his hand.

Cindy Clarke: “…”

Why did this man carry a marriage certificate with him?

On Charlotte York’s wedding day, it was understandable that they carried the marriage certificate with them when they went to get it.

But it had been five days, so why was Adrian Zhekova still carrying it?

She had clearly seen Adrian Zhekova lock the marriage certificate in the safe before. When did he take it out?

Even Cindy Clarke was shocked. What exactly was this man’s operation?

Cindy Clarke felt very embarrassed, and her face turned red.

Billy Houston pretended to be shocked when he learned that Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke were married: “CEO, you’re married!”

The contestants: “…”

President Houston, that expression is too exaggerated.

Adrian Zhekova coughed again, raised his hand with the palm down, and made a pressing gesture in the air.

“I just completed an important life event. Don’t be too shocked, everyone. Let’s keep it low-key.” Adrian Zhekova said.

Everyone: “…”

They hadn’t said anything yet, and they were being pretty low-key.

It’s just not clear whether or not Adrian Zhekova knows the meaning of the word low-key since everything he’s doing now, as well as the expression on his face, has nothing to do with it.

Yellen Brooks gave them face and was the first to say, “Cindy Clarke, congratulations.”

Others also congratulated them.

Adrian Zhekova nodded with satisfaction and said, “Everyone, rest assured, even though Cindy Clarke and I are married, I won’t interfere with the competition results. Whoever is supposed to win will win. You don’t have to worry about that. Just participate in the competition normally.”

“Before, Cindy Clarke kept our relationship a secret because she was afraid that the contestants would think too much. But now, with you guys left, you don’t care about these things, so I can say it with confidence.”

Wesley Gordon also said, “Everyone, please rest assured. As judges, we will score fairly and won’t be biased. The scores will be what they should be, and there won’t be different treatments because of family background.”

“Moreover, since the beginning of the auditions, there have been people who have tried to take shortcuts. Some rely on their background, and some on connections, all wanting to get at least an audition advancement quota.”

“But we didn’t agree to any of them. I can’t prove to you the fairness of this competition because it’s ultimately up to our human scoring. But I can guarantee that we are truly conscientious in the evaluation of the competition.”

“Teacher, we believe in you,” Parker Honi said first.

Aiden Huxley said this idiot has confidence like no one else has, always full of confidence no matter what.

But they did believe in the judges and in Cindy Clarke’s character.

“Alright, everyone get ready. We’re going on stage soon,” Michael Greene said.

Adrian Zhekova turned to Cindy Clarke and said, “Then I’ll take Morgan back to the stands. Call me if you need anything.”

Chapter 627: Not Devout at All

Cindy blushed and nodded shyly.

After all, there were so many people around.

Moreover, Adrian Zhekova had a special status, as the top boss of this major competition, so it was better to skirt around suspicions.

Since it was already public, Adrian Zhekova had no intention of avoiding any suspicion.

What was the point of going public if they couldn’t openly show their affection?

Adrian Zhekova had been holding back so much before, so now that they were public, he was going all out.

“Cindy, Dad and I are leaving first.” Morgan Zhekova waved to Cindy. “Good luck in the competition.”

Cindy smiled and nodded.

After Adrian Zhekova left, Billy Houston and the five judges also left.

Only a few contestants were left waiting.

When it was time for the competition to begin, everyone went onstage.

Wesley Gordon began: “Before the competition officially starts, there is something we need to announce.”

“The International Culinary Competition, which takes place every four years, is about to begin. It is a rare opportunity since it only happens every four years.”

“You all know that there are usually 10 spots in each International Culinary Competition, and these 10 spots are chosen from the Pingla Culinary Competition.”

The Pingla Culinary Competition is not the same competition that Cindy is currently participating in.

Cindy is actually participating in the Pingla Youth Culinary Competition, which is simply referred to as the Pingla Culinary Competition.

The actual Pingla Culinary Competition has no age limit.

The range of chefs participating is broader, and as a result, there are more highly skilled chefs, making the competition more challenging.

“But for this International Culinary Competition, there is a slight change. In order to give our younger chefs more opportunities to develop, the competition requires that all chefs be under 30 years old.”

“So, the winner of our current competition will get one of those spots without having to fight for additional spots. The remaining nine spots will be fought for within Pingla Academy.”

“Additionally, this International Culinary Competition has added a challenge round. In each country’s competition venue, an additional 10 contestants will be selected. These 10 contestants will also be considered backup contestants for the competition. These 10 backup contestants will stay in their own competition venue.”

“In the first round of selections, the official contestants from each country will be randomly chosen from participating countries. The specific number has not yet been determined. Once the contestants are selected, they will go to these countries for a challenge competition.”

“Winning adds points, losing deducts points, and ultimately, the ranking is based on the total number of points, leading to promotions and eliminations. So, 5 of the 10 challenge contestants will come from our current Culinary Competition.”

“The first place winner will automatically get a spot as an official contestant in the International Culinary Competition, while the second to sixth place contestants will get spots as challenge contestants. Moreover, the challenge contestants can challenge the official contestants, and if they win, they will automatically join the ranks of the official contestants, while the losing official contestants will be relegated to the first class of contestants.”

“That means the top six contestants in our current competition will have the chance to join the International Culinary Competition, so I hope everyone works hard.”

“Alright, with the pre-competition announcements out of the way, I’ll now announce the rules and topic for this competition. Today’s competition topic is ‘Meat Imitations.'”

“Nowadays, with the improvement of people’s living standards, more and more young people are paying attention to nutrition and health. Many young people choose vegetarian diets for weight loss or overall health, and some even choose vegetarianism due to personal beliefs.”

“And now, vegetarian restaurants are becoming more and more popular. A famous vegetarian restaurant under the Flag of Pingla, Fresh Vegetarian Restaurant, has become the leader among vegetarian restaurants nationwide with its menu of meat imitations.”

“The reason for this format is to accommodate those who are just starting to try vegetarian diets. At first, they might not be used to it and still miss the taste of meat. Most diners also try vegetarian cuisine out of curiosity.”

“But vegetarian dishes alone are too bland and do not satisfy the requirements of most ordinary diners. Those who try vegetarian cuisine out of curiosity are usually used to eating meat-based dishes, and when they first try vegetarian cuisine, they find it tasteless.”

“So, the chef of Fresh Vegetarian Restaurant researched and developed dishes using vegetarian ingredients to imitate the taste of meat, trying as much as possible to mimic and recreate the texture and aroma of meat.”

“Therefore, that is today’s topic. Your dishes should make us feel as if we are eating meat. What we see should be meat, and what we taste should be the texture and flavor of meat.”

“Today’s competition will last for an hour and a half,” said Wesley Gordon. “The competition officially begins.”

Nobody had been informed earlier.

Who knew what the topic of this competition was?

Now that they heard Wesley Gordon announce the topic, everyone was a bit stunned.

Even Parker Honi and a few others from Pingla Academy were surprised.

Although Pingla Academy’s culinary range is comprehensive and extensive,

The majority of their dishes are still meat-based.

Some may dabble in all-vegetarian cuisine, but that’s just out of interest.

They rarely study it in their daily lives.

Even Cindy rarely studied it.

Even when she prepared low-fat meals for girls on diets in the past,

Low-fat meals still included meat.

The key issue with this competition is not only making vegetarian dishes

But making them look and taste like meat dishes as well.

In front of her cooking station, Cindy closed her eyes and thought.

She tried to block out the distracting noises from the racecourse and the audience.

“Why is this competition so difficult?” the Old Madam protested. “It’s already hard enough to make vegetarian dishes, but they also want us to replicate the flavor of meat! Isn’t that setting us up for failure?”

“If you want to eat meat, just eat meat! Embrace being vegetarian if that’s what you’ve chosen, and stop caring about the taste of meat.”

“Wanting to eat vegetarian and still craving the taste of meat is simply insincere!” The Old Madam said unhappily.

“Mom is right!” Victoria Wheeler firmly supported any opinion of the Old Madam.

“Yes, what your grandmother and your mother said are both right!” Maverick Zhekova added from the side.

Adrian Zhekova: “…”

“Dad, who came up with this topic?” Morgan Zhekova asked, tugging on Adrian Zhekova’s coat.

Wasn’t this superfluous?

Great Grandmother’s words made a lot of sense.

If you want to eat meat, just eat meat!

Why pretend to be vegetarian?

In the organizer’s area across the aisle, Manager Zhu, who was responsible for planning, was also present.

“Achoo!” Manager Zhu suddenly sneezed.

Chapter 628: The Zhekova Family is Poisonous

Could it be that the scumbag CEO scolded him again?

Manager Zhu hurriedly turned his head to look at the stands on the other side.

Because of the distance, he couldn’t hear what the Zhekova family was talking about over there.

Just by looking at their expressions, they didn’t seem too happy.

Could there be any objections to this Competition?

As Manager Zhu was thinking, he suddenly saw the Zhekova family members, young and old, turn their heads and look over again, all with accusing gazes.

From the Old Master, the Old Madam, to Maverick Zhekova and Victoria Wheeler, to Adrian Zhekova and Morgan Zhekova, they all had a look of condemnation.

Manager Zhu: “…”

What happened this time!

“President Houston.” Manager Zhu quickly passed the pot, “Look, the CEO’s family is all looking at you!”

Billy Houston: “…”

Billy Houston pretended not to hear.

He was determined not to turn his head to look.

If he didn’t see it, he could pretend he didn’t know.

The Zhekova family is poisoned!

At the cooking station, Cindy Clarke emptied herself to think for a while, and finally came up with an idea.

Only then did she go to the food storage room.

Just when the Competition started, other contestants had already selected their ingredients from the food storage room.

Just then, it was very crowded.

But now that Cindy went, since all the other contestants had already picked their ingredients, only she was left to choose.

The food storage room was thus spacious.

As long as she had enough time, Cindy could choose the ingredients leisurely.

“Huh? Cindy chose the king oyster mushroom?” Hunter Clarke said.

Because she was the last one to go to the food storage room.

It was inevitable that she would attract more attention.

Since there was only her in the food storage, there was no one else to watch.

The other contestants were still in the early stages of preparing their cuisines, and nothing could be seen yet.

“Is Cindy going to use the king oyster mushroom to simulate meat?” Rosaline Parker couldn’t help but say.

“This method is common in ordinary recipes, but it doesn’t have much of a competitive edge in this Competition.” Rosaline Parker said regretfully.

“It shouldn’t be. Judging by Cindy’s performance in the previous Competitions, she would not make such a common choice.” Charles Dean still had unwavering confidence in Cindy.

“So far, there are only 14 contestants left in the competition. The competition is getting even more challenging. The gap between the contestants is not significant. It can be said that as long as there is a slight error, or even not a mistake, as long as the performance is mediocre or even just playing it safe, there is a possibility of being eliminated.” Michael Greene said.

“Yes.” Wesley Gordon nodded, “At this stage of the competition, it is no longer possible to stay afloat by playing it safe. Competitors must ensure the taste and quality of their dishes while being innovative, having their own distinct features and creativity.”

“When there were more contestants before, playing it safe and maintaining mediocrity meant not being outstanding but also not being eliminated. However, now that there are only 14 people left, those who continue to be mediocre will be eliminated.”

“Playing it safe, maintaining mediocrity, and not taking risks is indeed unreliable.”

Charles Dean shook his head and said, “I don’t think Cindy will. When there were many contestants before, she didn’t play it safe, putting herself in a safe position. She didn’t prioritize advancing to the next round but kept challenging herself and being innovative.”

“If she could be innovative in the previous Competitions, I believe she won’t disappoint in this one. Even if she is eliminated, her creativity will definitely be there.”

Everyone nodded.

“It makes sense what Charles said. She had performed so well before, and there is no reason to fall behind at such a crucial time.” Michael Greene laughed, “Charles, you have always been very optimistic about Cindy.”

Charles Dean smiled, “My eyes have always been quite accurate. Look at the many star-rated restaurants I own. I have personally recruited each of the head chefs. Some are already well-known, and some are not yet famous, but as I think they have potential, I am willing to give them a chance. There are some that were not even head chefs before, but I brought them to work in our restaurants. As you can see, now each restaurant is very successful. So, I have faith in Cindy, and I believe she won’t let me down.”

“Cindy has a kind of vigor and a spirit of exploration and upward striving in cooking, which I appreciate very much. As long as this spirit continues, she will not fail. What I mean by failure is not just winning or losing in the competition, which is not absolute. A temporary loss is just temporary, but in the course of her entire cooking career, she will undoubtedly be successful.”

“Thank you for the lesson, you really make a lot of sense with what you said.” Rosaline Parker joked, “I didn’t expect that, Charles. Normally you’re always laughing and making jokes, and you don’t seem to be serious. But your insights at crucial moments are really thought-provoking.”

“Of course.” Charles Dean laughed.

All the contestants were focused on their cuisines, with no more Zoe Silverstone, no more Iris Doone, and no more Blake Walker.

The remaining contestants had a very harmonious relationship, with competition and victory or defeat only on the racecourse, focusing only on the cuisine and nothing else.

The judges noticed that Cindy had cut the king oyster mushroom into thick slices and then cut patterns on the edges.

So far, they couldn’t tell what pattern Cindy was cutting.

After blanching these mushroom slices and cooling them, she put them into the refrigerator for refrigeration.

Then she made soy milk, adding gelatin sheets and mashed snow pear.

“What is Cindy doing?” The Old Madam couldn’t understand and turned to ask Adrian Zhekova and Morgan Zhekova, “Did Cindy ever make this for you?”

Adrian Zhekova and Morgan Zhekova, big and small, shook their heads together.

Morgan Zhekova said, “I’ve never seen it before. It should be something that Cindy thought of on stage today.”

Maverick Zhekova nodded, “After all, it’s just the topic we just learned about. There’s no such thing as a coincidence that it would happen to be something she had made before.”

Other audience members were also guessing.

Looking at it this way, they really couldn’t see what the contestants were doing.

Not just Cindy, but they couldn’t see the other contestants’ dishes either.

Finally, the time was up.

Everyone stopped at the last second.

The judges then went down to the field directly and tasted the dishes in order according to the contestants’ cooking station numbers.

“Is this imitation crab?” They were in front of Natalie Campbell’s cooking station.

Michael Greene could see what it was just by looking, even without tasting.

Natalie Campbell nodded, her heart pounding.

Because she had never been exposed to this kind of cuisine before, and today on stage, with the stress and the rush, she couldn’t think of anything.

In the end, she had a flash of inspiration and made this imitation crab dish.

“This imitation crab dish, using uncomplicated ingredients, can be made and tried by an ordinary family, making it a home-cooked dish.” Hunter Clarke said.

“The simpler the dish, the harder it is to make it outstanding.” Rosaline Parker tried a bite and said, “There’s the taste of ginger, and the ginger granules are finely ground, but some coarse particles are retained at the same time.”

Chapter 629: Picking a Fight

Natalie Campbell nodded, still a bit tense as she explained, “I tried to recreate the taste of eating crab as much as possible. For example, crab roe has a fine granular texture, which goes well with minced ginger and vinegar.”

“So, I ground ginger into fine particles to mimic the texture of crab roe,” Natalie said. “The coarse minced ginger recreates the sensation of eating crab with ginger and vinegar as condiments.”

Hunter Clarke nodded and said, “I can see that you’ve put a lot of thought into this dish.”

“If it were made using traditional methods, it could have some fish or broth to enhance the taste. Unfortunately, today’s theme limits the potential of this dish,” Rosaline Parker said regretfully. “Otherwise, this dish could be outstanding.”

Today’s cuisine requirement is vegetarian.

Whether eggs can be considered vegetarian has always been a debatable topic.

There’s disagreement among vegetarians too.

However, a considerable number of vegetarians do accept eggs as part of their diet.

Otherwise, Natalie’s entire dish would be at risk.

Even so, it’s clear from the judges’ comments that Natalie’s dish is not successful.

Natalie’s expression darkened.

Although she was mentally prepared for the high probability of being eliminated in this competition.

She felt that even if she had a higher chance of being eliminated, she should at least perform well in this competition and be defeated with honor.

She never thought she would perform so poorly.

Being eliminated didn’t upset her.

What upset her was that her elimination was not graceful.

As the five judges continued their evaluation, they came to Parker Honi’s cooking station.

They saw a plate of braised “pork” on Parker’s station, which looked enticing with its caramelized red color.

The “pork” was glistening with oil on the surface.

There was no need to get too close to smell the aroma of the “pork.”

Wesley Gordon’s face lit up with surprise.

Parker Honi, of course, wouldn’t be foolish enough to use real meat.

This was definitely a vegetarian imitation.

And that’s what made it all the more impressive.

It was almost indistinguishable from the real thing!

Michael Greene cut a small piece of the “pork” to examine the cross-section.

“Parker, well done,” Michael said with a smile. “It doesn’t just look like the real thing, the inside does too.”

“The lean part has clearly defined striations, and the fatty part is translucent,” Hunter praised. “And the cutting texture is similar too.”

Charles Dean tasted a bite and exclaimed, “It’s very close to the texture of braised pork.”

“Is the lean part made of vegetarian chicken?” Rosaline asked.

Parker nodded, “However, the texture of vegetarian chicken is still a bit too delicate compared to meat. So I rapidly froze and thawed it to create more air pockets, giving it a chewier texture. The sauce is also more easily trapped in the air pockets, creating a burst of flavor when bitten.”

“And the fatty part on top?” Charles asked, cutting a separate piece of the “fat” to study closely.

“It’s pear,” Parker answered. “The pear is cooked until soft, and when you eat it, it melts in your mouth.”

“Because you can prepare braised pork heavily seasoned, it can make up for the lack of meat flavor. It smells almost the same; it’s just the taste that’s different,” Parker said, somewhat regretfully.

“What’s with the regret in your voice?” Wesley chuckled. “After all, it’s not meat; you can’t just create the flavor of meat out of thin air.”

“You can only get as close as possible. Otherwise, if it was that easy to create, customers would have already tasted it by now.”

Especially for people trying to lose weight, it would offer a satisfying taste of meat without eating any, making it easier to control their diet.

“So far, you’re my top choice for tonight,” Hunter said.

Only Cindy Clarke remained after Parker.

It could be said that Hunter’s assessment was already very high.

If Cindy doesn’t surpass Parker, then at least in Hunter’s opinion, Parker would be the best in the competition.

“Hahaha!” Charles, who always had high expectations for Cindy, laughed.

He was probably the one among the five judges who had the highest hopes for Cindy.

“It’s up to Cindy now,” Charles laughed.

Michael grinned, “Oh, Charles, you’re stirring things up.”

“How is it stirring?” Charles laughed. “I’m just curious.”

“Fine, you can have the first taste,” Wesley said.

So, the judges arrived at Cindy Clarke’s cooking station.

“Huh?” Rosaline was surprised to see Cindy’s dish.

Cindy made sashimi.

“You’re the only one who made sashimi today,” Rosaline said, astonished.

The other contestants made cooked imitation meat dishes.

Only Cindy took a different approach.

Sashimi is typically made with seafood.

Is seafood considered meat?

Of course, it is.

It’s not only the meat found on land that counts as meat.

Everybody knows this common sense, but when it comes to meat-eating, people instinctively choose land-based sources.

Natalie did make imitation crab, but as a traditional specialty dish, it has a long history.

Unlike Cindy and Parker, who came up with their dishes on their own.

“Yes,” Cindy pointed to the plates and introduced each one. “This is octopus sashimi, this is salmon sashimi, and this is sea urchin sashimi.”

Just by looking, they truly resembled the real thing.

It was almost impossible to tell the difference.

Of course, professional chefs wouldn’t be fooled.

But for ordinary customers, these three dishes would have surely passed without raising suspicion.

That’s because they looked so similar.

Rosaline stared for a moment, then asked, “Did you make this octopus sashimi using the king oyster mushrooms you were working on earlier?”

Cindy nodded and explained, “I carved the surface of the king oyster mushrooms to resemble octopus tentacles. After cooking, I soaked them in red wine and sliced them before refrigerating them to make their texture more similar to octopus.”

“For the salmon, I mixed in carrot juice for the red color. Then I used soy milk, tofu, gelatin sheets, and konjac to create a texture similar to salmon. The sea urchin is made with egg yolk, orange zest, and light cream,” Cindy explained.

Next to the three sashimi plates was a small saucer of soy sauce.

Beside the soy sauce dish, there was another small condiment dish containing freshly grated wasabi prepared by Cindy.

At first, the judges tasted the dish without any condiments.

Charles frowned slightly, saying, “If you just eat it like this, you can still taste the original flavor of the ingredients, which doesn’t resemble the taste of sashimi.”

Then, Charles picked up a piece of “salmon” with his chopsticks.

He first put a tiny bit of wasabi on the salmon, then dipped the side without wasabi into the soy sauce.

Since the spiciness of freshly grated wasabi was relatively mild, it had a unique aroma that was different from the tube wasabi sold in supermarkets.

Chapter 630: Have you seen Cindy Clarke?

Even with just a bite like this, accompanied by the “salmon,” one would not find it too spicy or pungent.

This freshly ground wasabi sauce must never be mixed with soy sauce.

Doing so would diminish the fragrance of wasabi.

Charles Dean took a bite and, after chewing for a while, suddenly stopped.

Charles Dean widened his eyes in amazement, “My God! After dipping it in soy sauce and wasabi, the taste completely changed.”

“I feel like I am eating raw fish. The combination of soy milk, gelatin, and cream has a texture that is strikingly similar to the white fat in the middle of salmon!”

“It’s amazing.” Charles Dean exclaimed, “The results are completely different compared to when you don’t dip in sauce, as if you’re eating two completely different dishes.”

Wesley Gordon closed his eyes and savored the taste, “it should be because of the impact of the soy sauce and wasabi.”

Cindy Clarke nodded, “And, it can evoke the diners’ memories.”

“Japanese cuisine is familiar to everyone and is eaten regularly. Excluding those who do not like sashimi itself, those who enjoy it have made dipping in soy sauce and wasabi a habit. These two tastes have become a deeply ingrained memory.”

“So, just by tasting these two flavors, diners experience a kind of mental suggestion, automatically evoking the memory of eating sashimi, including the taste and texture. Under the influence of this mental suggestion, it naturally feels more and more like the real thing.”

Cindy Clarke said sheepishly, “However, this is only true for a few bites. After eating more, the difference will become apparent.”

But achieving this level of imitation is already impressive.

Suddenly, the judges were faced with a difficult decision.

Cindy Clarke and Parker Honi’s dishes were both excellent, and they appeared on two different paths.

One imitated the pork of the land, while the other replicated the freshness of the sea.

But both chose to use soy sauce, a heavier seasoning, to mask the original taste of the ingredients.

Parker Honi’s dish was rich and heavy, while Cindy Clarke’s was light, fresh, and refreshing.

Each had its unique characteristics.

If it weren’t for the time limit of the live broadcast, the Five Judges wouldn’t know how long they would need to discuss.

In the end, the Five Judges finished their discussion and returned to the stage together.

“For this competition, the five of us have discussed for a long time, but we still can’t decide on who should be declared the ultimate winner,” said Wesley Gordon.

“So, in the end, we decided that Parker Honi and Cindy Clarke are both first in this competition,” Wesley Gordon declared.

Parker Honi pursed his lips, not completely satisfied.

Being first meant he was strong.

Being second meant his skills were inferior.

Being tied for first, he had no interest in that.

“This competition does not count scores or rankings. The only goal is to decide the first and last place,” Wesley Gordon explained.

“At this point in the competition, everyone remaining is not weak. It’s just that their opponents are stronger.”

“You all performed very well, and it was not because of mistakes that you were eliminated,” Wesley Gordon said.

“So, those who were eliminated shouldn’t be discouraged. Anyone who has made it this far is already outstanding.”

“Now, I will announce the eliminated player of this competition.” Wesley Gordon paused for a few seconds before announcing.

The audience was growing tense.

Wesley Gordon scanned the gaze over all the contestants before saying, “Natalie Campbell.”

Natalie Campbell let out a breath, not at all surprised by this result.

Since she had already prepared herself mentally, she was able to accept it calmly.

After seeing the dishes from the other contestants, she knew that her dish lacked competitiveness.

It was neither innovative nor flavorful.

In the end, only 13 contestants remained in this competition.

***

Nork City.

Even though Wendy Clarke’s restaurant issues were unresolved, she still kept an eye on Cindy Clarke’s competition.

Unexpectedly, Cindy Clarke won once again in this competition.

She even tied for first place with Parker Honi.

Wendy never believed that Cindy Clarke’s cooking skills could be so outstanding that she would consistently be ranked first.

Every time Wendy saw Cindy Clarke, she thought of Cindy Clarke’s son.

Wendy didn’t know how Mrs. Lopez was handling it or whether she had met Cindy Clarke.

Had Mrs. Lopez seen Cindy Clarke’s son?

If so, what was Mrs. Lopez’s attitude towards the boy?

Wendy had a lot of questions for Mrs. Lopez at this point.

Moreover, with Cindy Clarke advancing and achieving such promising results, Wendy simply couldn’t let go of her resentment.

As a result, she barely slept at all that night, spending the entire time tossing and turning.

Finally, when the next day came, Wendy immediately went to Mrs. Lopez.

Mrs. Lopez had received Wendy’s invitation and was actually looking forward to seeing her face to face.

Since Wendy had taken the initiative to reach out, it was perfect timing.

Mrs. Lopez had not forgotten that Wendy Clarke had tried to scheme against her.

Mrs. Lopez and Wendy met in a private room at a restaurant.

With only the two of them in the room, it was convenient for conversation without fear of being overheard.

However, they did not meet at Wendy Clarke’s restaurant.

Originally, Wendy planned to go straight to her restaurant.

Being on her own turf, it should have been more convenient.

Besides, dining in a restaurant always required spending money.

If Mrs. Lopez paid, it would directly benefit Wendy’s restaurant.

If Mrs. Lopez feigned ignorance and refused to pay,

Then after all, it was Wendy’s restaurant, whether coming in or going out, it would be the same.

Wendy’s calculations were excellent, but unfortunately, Mrs. Lopez rejected the idea of going to her restaurant and chose an unrelated one instead.

Mrs. Lopez’s thoughts were simple and direct.

She did not want to discuss matters on Wendy’s territory.

It made Mrs. Lopez feel too passive.

In case there was an accident on Wendy’s turf, it would be difficult to explain.

In the end, Wendy conceded.

After all, Wendy needed something from Mrs. Lopez at this point.

The two chose a seemingly ordinary restaurant and booked a private room.

Wendy was quite polite, ordering food and pouring tea for Mrs. Lopez first.

Then she asked Mrs. Lopez, “Mrs. Lopez, did you go to Belfard?”

Mrs. Lopez raised her eyebrows, “Are you trying to rush me?”

“No, just asking,” said Wendy immediately, “After all, it’s about my sister, I can’t help but be concerned.”

“You’re even more worried than your sister.” Mrs. Lopez smirked sarcastically.

“After all, I’m her sister,” Wendy sighed, “I want what’s best for her.”

Wendy’s expression darkened, “Even though she might not appreciate it.”

Mrs. Lopez sneered, even if she didn’t know about Wendy Clarke’s plot, she would never be fooled by Wendy’s acting.

Mrs. Lopez took a sip of tea slowly and said, “I have indeed been to Belfard. I just got back.”

Wendy unconsciously leaned forward and asked, “Did you see Cindy Clarke?”

Mrs. Lopez smiled and said, “I did.”

“I even saw her son,” Mrs. Lopez added.