A mocking expression appeared on Xie Baomin's face when he saw the banner.

"Mr. Middle Guo?"

Lin Xu looked in the direction of the banner, his curiosity piqued. Weren't the stories of Mr. Dong Guo and Mr. Nan Guo just fabrications from history? So, there really are people with that surname?

Xie Baomin said with a smile, "The previous head chef of Building No. 10 was Guo Jichang, a senior chef on par with our Master. The current executive chef is Guo Jichang's youngest son, Guo Weidong. The one participating in today's competition is Guo Weidong's nephew, Guo Xinghai... The elder in their family is Old Guo, the younger is Young Guo, so Guo Weidong, being in the middle, became what we call 'Mr. Middle Guo.'"

TSK... Hearing the distinct mockery in his Senior Brother's voice, Lin Xu had a sudden thought: "Senior Brother, during the middle-aged group competition, were you the one who defeated this Guo Weidong?"

Xie Baomin stretched out his hand, spreading all five fingers as he said, "Thanks to me, Guo Weidong took second place for five years straight. Just when he had painstakingly practiced various lost culinary arts to defeat me, the middle-aged group competition was canceled. Isn't that infuriating?"

Senior Brother, you know that look on your face is just asking for a beating, right? No wonder those guys are so obsessed with the three-peat, always trying to suppress Building No. 2. It must be because Senior Brother offended them too deeply in the past.

While the two chatted, Shen Jiayue and Geng Lele, carrying Dundun the cat, found Chen Yan, Wu Kexin, and the others, who were adjusting the live broadcast equipment at the venue.

"Why are you guys here?"

"My Xubao is representing Senior Brother's Building No. 2 in the competition today. Dundun and I came to cheer him on."

"TSK, TSK, TSK, you sound just like those young wives who bring their children to cheer on their husbands... With such a great atmosphere today, why don't you two just get married already?"

Chen Yan always looked helpless whenever her younger cousin flaunted their public displays of affection. But I have to admit, they're so lovey-dovey, they really have the capital to show off. Unlike me, just a fair-skinned, beautiful, single older sister with a beauty score of *only* 97. SIGH! When will I ever find my destined one?

"Dundun, quick, call me 'Auntie'!"

Since Chen Yan couldn't find her own true love, she could only take it out on Dundun. She grabbed the chubby cat's head, gave it a couple of ruffles, making the little fatty perfectly embody the classic internet saying: "If you don't work hard, you'll end up as a pretty woman's plaything."

Watching Ms. Chen's antics, Geng Lele really wanted to tell her: If you keep bullying the Holy Master of our Meow Meow Sect like this, you might just stay single for life, you know!

「Not far away.」

At the location of Building No. 10, Guo Xinghai looked helplessly at the middle-aged man beside him and said, "Third Uncle, please take down that banner. It's so embarrassing! The competition hasn't even started, and you're already proclaiming victory. Aren't you implying there's some foul play involved?"

He was tall and robust, wearing a well-fitted chef's uniform, but his face was filled with helplessness. Why does Third Uncle always insist on these cringeworthy antics? If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come to this competition today even if you beat me to death. It's too humiliating!

The somewhat gaunt Guo Weidong glanced at Xie Baomin in the distance, his eyes filled with bitter resentment. "What foul play? This banner just shows our confidence, that's all. Wait, there's another banner we haven't hung up yet."

With a wave of his hand, several young chefs next to him hung another banner.

"Building No. 10's Food and Beverage Department wishes the young competitors from all our fellow buildings the best of luck in competing for second place!"

Seeing this, Guo Xinghai immediately covered his face. Third Uncle, oh Third Uncle. Do you think you're Wu Shansheng, so unafraid of offending people? What good will offending the head chefs from all the other seventeen buildings do you?

"HA! They've put up another banner."

Seeing the situation, Xie Baomin waved to the two young chefs beside him, and Building No. 2's banner was also unfurled:

"Congratulations to Building No. 10 for being eliminated from the 2022 Young Chefs Cooking Competition without achieving the three-peat!"

At both ends of the banner, there were even emoji of middle fingers sticking up.

"You really know how to stir things up, Senior Brother!" Lin Xu didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he looked at the banner beside him.

Building No. 10 had started by taunting the entire assembly, earning everyone's disdain. In contrast, Senior Brother only targeted Building No. 10 and instantly won cheers from the other buildings:

"Nicely done, Head Chef Xie! That's how you deal with Building No. 10."

"Exactly! Claiming a three-peat before the competition even starts? That's way too arrogant!"

"We should also spare a thought for Head Chef Guo. He was defeated by Head Chef Xie for five consecutive years. In the sixth year, he started preparing more than half a year in advance, painstakingly practicing his unique skills, only for the competition to be canceled…"

"PFFT... I laugh so hard my stomach hurts every time I think about it!"

「Close to ten o'clock.」

When the invited media began testing the live broadcast signal, Buildings No. 2 and No. 10 tacitly took down those banners.

Well, internal squabbles were one thing. But in front of outsiders, they still had to project an image of harmony and mutual respect among brothers.

「At ten o'clock sharp.」

The judges for the competition arrived on the scene. There were eight judges and one chief judge, a total of nine people, with Geng Lele's grandfather, Geng Lishan, standing in the very middle.

He was dressed in a Tang suit and wasn't particularly tall. He had a rather scholarly air, making it difficult to reconcile him with the image Senior Brother had painted of someone who would furiously berate people at a competition.

After the judges took their seats, the consultants from Fishing Platform entered.

These were all elderly men with white hair, also dressed in immaculate chef's uniforms, each embroidered with the national emblem, signifying that they had all participated in State Banquets.

Among these elders, Lin Xu spotted his Master, who hadn't shown himself for several days. He, too, wore a chef's uniform embroidered with the national emblem, his face bearing an unprecedented air of solemn dignity.

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