Chapter 1567 - 1582: Impressive Skills

Chapter 1567: Chapter 1582: Impressive Skills

In just over ten seconds, a piece of dried tofu was transformed into strips of silky white threads. Lin Mu flicked his wrist and tossed them into the boiling water. The entire sequence of movements was as fluid as a flowing stream, graceful yet with elegant restraint, reminiscent of a literary master splattering ink with both flamboyance and finesse. It left Song Yanan staring in amazement, unable to suppress a voice of admiration.

"Such impressive knife skills, absolutely extraordinary. I’m afraid even the top chefs in Wancheng might not possess this technique."

"What’s so impressive? It’s just cutting some vegetables, anyone can do that."

Sophie pursed her lips, outwardly showing disdain, but inside she was slightly flustered. As the saying goes, when an expert makes a move, you can immediately tell whether they are remarkable or not. A superb chef needs more than just knife skills, yet when those skills reach such a level, their culinary prowess is unlikely to fall short. After all, who would spend their days endlessly practicing with a kitchen knife just for leisure?

"This is ridiculous! Did this guy serve in the cookhouse during his military years?"

Watching Lin Mu’s dazzling technique, Sophie’s heart began to sink little by little. No, if this continues, I’m definitely going to lose. Thinking about Lin Mu’s lewd and unscrupulous demand, the beautiful CEO couldn’t help but shiver, and thus, plucking up courage, she stepped forward, saying, "Hey, do you dare to raise the stakes? If I lose, besides the usual, I’ll agree to one additional request of yours."

"Uh, is that so generous?"

Lin Mu stopped his task, astonished, and asked, "What about if I lose?"

"If you lose, the conditions remain the same, but the rules now need adjusting. You only have twenty minutes to make three dishes. If you don’t succeed, I win. How about it, do you dare to bet?"

"Seriously? Feifei, even internationally renowned chefs wouldn’t complete the three dishes in twenty minutes."

Looking at Song Yanan’s peculiar expression, Sophie felt the heat in her cheeks and muttered, "A bet should have a bit of challenge to be interesting, don’t you think? Look, I even raised the stakes, he’s not at a loss."

Song Yanan was speechless.

The words seemed logical, but it was clear to any observer that Sophie was trying to cheat. In twenty minutes, stir-fried shredded pork and fried greens might be doable, but sweet and sour ribs were simply impossible. Not to mention the preparation and seasoning, the pork tenderloin itself might not even be cooked thoroughly. This was outright unreasonable.

"Hey, Lin Mu, aren’t you really skilled? Why aren’t you saying anything now?"

Afraid the other party would decline, after provoking him, Sophie also playfully threw over a subtle, alluring glance. "I did raise the stakes, didn’t I? One condition, any condition you want."

Admittedly, Sophie had pinpointed Lin Mu’s weakness. Initially he didn’t intend to agree, but after hearing the latter part of her sentence, he immediately changed his mind, "Alright, I accept, but if I do win, you can’t cheat and back out."

"Of course, whoever cheats is a puppy."

Sophie waved her hand firmly.

"Feifei, why do I feel something weird between you two today?"

Watching Sophie who was nervously watching the stopwatch and frequently glancing towards the kitchen, Song Yanan couldn’t resist asking.

"Weird? I don’t think so."

"Come on, whenever there’s an issue at the company, you don’t act like this. It’s just a little wager now, and you’re so nervous you can hardly sit still." Saying this, Song Yanan asked with a face full of Eight Trigrams curiosity, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Goodness, Sister Nan, your imagination is too wild, isn’t it?" Sophie’s heart skipped a beat. Feigning calmness, she took a sip of tea and said, "It’s a bet, who wouldn’t want to win? Paying a bit more attention isn’t a big deal."

"Really?" Song Yanan was puzzled but didn’t press further and changed the subject, casually saying, "By the way, what kind of milk does Lin Mu want to drink that he’s staking on a bet? Is it hard to find?"

Sophie’s small hand trembled slightly, nearly spilling the tea on herself. Suppressing the panic welling in her heart, she blushed and pretended to speak nonchalantly, "It is pretty hard to get, imported from France, requires air transport..."

"What’s the item that needs to be airlifted?"

As they spoke, an aromatic smell wafted over, causing Sophie’s expression to change as she quickly grabbed her phone.

Only seventeen minutes had passed, and this speed of serving made her eye twitch uncontrollably twice.

"How was that, no overtime, right?"

Lin Mu placed the three dishes on the table, proudly clapping his hands.

"Oh my, in such a short time, how did you do it?"

Song Yanan’s eyes widened in surprise.

The three dishes on the table were of exquisite taste with an enticing aroma. From the appearance and smell, they were comparable even to a high-end restaurant’s craftsmanship. Especially the sweet and sour ribs, they were vibrantly colored, tender and smooth, the mere sight of them was enough to whet one’s appetite.

"Humph, don’t get too excited, we won’t know who’s won or lost until after tasting."

Sophie cooled her expression and was about to pick up her chopsticks when Song Yanan eagerly grabbed a piece of green vegetable, stuffing it into her delicate mouth, "Mmm, it’s light but not bland, crispy yet not tough, really quite flavorful."

"Thank you for the compliments. Why don’t you try the sweet and sour ribs next?" Lin Mu smiled, extending his hand.

"Alright!" Song Yanan was initially worried that with the short time, the meat might not be cooked thoroughly, yet to her surprise, the tenderloin was crisp outside yet tender inside, melting smoothly in the mouth. As she chewed slowly, a rich fragrance wafted around her palate. She had tasted this dish many times before, but never had the flavors been so unique, the texture so remarkable, "Lin Mu, your sweet and sour ribs..."

"How is it, Sister Nan, isn’t it terribly bad?"

Sophie’s face lit up with expectancy, quickly jumping into the conversation.

"What are you talking about? They’re incredibly delicious! After tasting Lin Mu’s sweet and sour ribs, I realized that the ones I had before were like wax, not even on the same level."

"Sister Nan, are you catching a cold? In such a short time, whether the meat was cooked is one thing, how could the flavor be..."

Sophie halted her speech, eyes widening in disbelief, forgetting even to pull out the chopstick resting on her lips.

How is this possible? In such a short time, how could he make sweet and sour ribs so delicious? As her thoughts raced, Sophie hurriedly reached out her chopsticks and tried the other two dishes, but without exception, they were top-notch in flavor. Even with her picky taste, she couldn’t find even the slightest flaw.

"This is unfair; I cut down on complementary ingredients and limited the cooking time, yet ended up losing anyway. Where on earth did this monster come from? It’s too insane!"

While Sophie was in a turmoil of confusion, not knowing what to do next, Lin Mu, like a magician, pulled out two bottles of red wine.

"Come! CEO, Sister Nan, let’s have a few drinks together. After all this busyness, it’s time to relax."

"Sure, great!"