Chapter 257: Took the Bait

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Took the Bait

When Lai Liang woke up in the morning, he did his usual one-hour workout.

He had his assistant film it so he could post it on Weibo later.

He’d pair it with a caption like, "The basic qualities of a chef."

No doubt, he could reap another wave of praise and pity from his fans.

After his workout, a sweat-drenched Lai Liang received a call from Principal Zhang, who told him that Nan Zhi wanted to cook for the children herself at noon, so Lai Liang didn’t need to trouble himself today.

You have to understand, the daily task of cooking from a large pot for dozens of people was something that greatly irritated Lai Liang—

His Japanese restaurant was a three-star Michelin, focused on high-end service—small and exquisite.

Mass-produced meals were simply not within his area of expertise.

Besides, if ingredients like tuna and salmon were served freely to dozens of people, the cost would likely be astronomical.

But that Miss Chang, Chang Mu, had insisted that he couldn’t lose to Nan Zhi. Since Nan Zhi was going to cook cafeteria meals, he had to do it too.

Lai Liang had no choice but to agree, but inside, he was annoyed to death.

He was annoyed with Nan Zhi, and even more annoyed with Chang Mu.

In the end, he just casually threw together the cafeteria meals every noon.

He’d have his assistant make some rice balls or oden, claiming that kids love that stuff, and that was enough to get by.

Of course, all the seasoning packets were store-bought; Lai Liang couldn’t be bothered to make them himself.

Even so, Lai Liang’s patience was just about at its end.

He was just thinking about finding a chance to offload this thankless, tiring job.

After all, seeing the way those school kids ate their tasteless food every day...

But now, Principal Zhang had called him.

Lai Liang’s idea changed in an instant!

He sounded very enthusiastic on the surface:

"How could we possibly trouble Nan Zhi with something like this? It’s better if I do it!"

Teacher Zhang earnestly tried to persuade him for a moment.

The gears in Lai Liang’s head started turning:

"How about this, I have an idea. Why don’t Nan Zhi and I have a PK today? HAHAHA, just kidding, just kidding. I’m not trying to compete with her. I’m a professional chef; how could I do something like bullying the weak? I mean, we could prepare lunch for the kids together. We could even change today’s cooking class topic to ’A Clash of Two Cuisines.’ What do you think?"

Lai Liang’s tone was slow and unhurried, laced with a veteran’s confidence.

The Teacher Zhang on the other end didn’t seem to catch the underlying meaning and happily agreed before hanging up.

His assistant, standing nearby, was surprised to see Lai Liang’s mood suddenly brighten.

"What happened?"

"Someone who doesn’t know their own limits just served themselves up on a platter. It’s the perfect chance to teach her a lesson."

Lai Liang raised an eyebrow mockingly.

The assistant quickly understood:

"Nan Zhi?"

Lai Liang didn’t answer directly, asking instead:

"Have the ingredients for the day after tomorrow arrived yet?"

The day after tomorrow was his last day in this godforsaken valley. According to their original plan, it was supposed to be a grand show. He would pull out all the stops, leaving the deepest impression on the audience and creating a classic scene for the program!

For this, Chang Mu had gone to great lengths to transport the necessary expensive ingredients into the mountains, even buying a large freezer specifically to store them. You could say she had spared no expense!

But now, Lai Liang decided to start the show early!

The assistant could roughly guess Lai Liang’s intentions and answered honestly:

"They arrived last night. Almost everything is here. But if we’re going to use them, shouldn’t we ask for Miss Chang’s permission?"

The smile on Lai Liang’s face froze.

He hated the feeling of being controlled by someone else, but there was nothing he could do. Just as his assistant said, Chang Mu was the one footing the bill.

"I’ll call her."

Lai Liang waved his hand, signaling for his assistant to step away, before dialing Chang Mu’s number and explaining the whole situation to her.

Unsurprisingly, he was met with Chang Mu’s opposition.

Lai Liang didn’t mind that Chang Mu had objections, but for her objections to stem from a fear of Nan Zhi?

Lai Liang’s face fell instantly.

"Miss Chang! Cooking is a profession that requires both diligence and talent. A female celebrity who can’t even act properly wants to switch careers and become a chef, a top chef at that... It’s by no means an easy feat! I don’t know what tricks that Nan Zhi used to fool everyone, but even if her cooking skills are real, based on the level she’s shown so far, she’s far inferior to me!"

His voice rose, and he lifted his head high.

He especially emphasized the last sentence!

Chang Mu seemed to be wavering.

Lai Liang had to suppress his impatience and persuade Chang Mu:

"Please, Miss Chang, just think about it. In front of the livestream cameras, when I present an artistic feast of delicacies, what can Nan Zhi offer but those greasy, mass-cooked stir-fries... From a purely visual standpoint, who wins and who loses? The audience is made up of visual creatures!"

These words from Lai Liang indeed swayed Chang Mu!

Indeed!

The audience is made up of visual creatures!

Through a screen, you can’t smell the aroma or taste the flavor. The visual impact is everything!

And she had personally tasted Lai Liang’s flashy culinary style. The flavor wasn’t particularly outstanding, but the visual effects were maxed out!

Chang Mu was completely convinced. She nodded and agreed to Lai Liang’s proposal, adding that he could ask for whatever he needed, as long as he could completely crush Nan Zhi this afternoon!

Lai Liang was full of confidence:

"Of course, that’s not a problem!"

Not only would he crush Nan Zhi, but he would also make those who had chosen her over him see just how wrong and absurd their decision had been!

The news quickly flew over to Nan Zhi’s side.

Qi Pei’er, who happened to be with Nan Zhi, was so excited she nearly jumped for joy!

She clapped her hands in delight:

"Zhizhi, you’re a genius! Lai Liang actually agreed!"

Nan Zhi sat behind a desk, flipping through the homework the children had turned in the day before.

Because her attention was on grading, she seemed a bit absent-minded:

"Oh, is that so?"

In Qi Pei’er’s eyes, this attitude was a sign of solid confidence.

Qi Pei’er was full of admiration, rambling on and on:

"I was worried before, you know? What if Lai Liang had refused or didn’t take the bait? All our extra arrangements would have been for nothing! I can’t believe he agreed so readily. He probably wanted to beat you face-to-face for a long time! Heh, I really don’t get why that jerk is so hostile towards you!"

Nan Zhi gave another distracted "mhm."

Qi Pei’er leaned in curiously:

"What are you looking at so intently? Oh, is that Yiyi’s workbook? Her English handwriting is beautiful, even better than mine!"

Nan Zhi smiled and nodded.

"She’s made a lot of progress. It’s clear she’s been putting her heart into it."

Nan Yi had never studied English before, only having some exposure to it in kindergarten before coming to the mountains.

Her real learning surprisingly began after she came to the village school, taught personally by Nan Zhi.

As expected of the genius certified by the original novel, Nan Yi’s progress was advancing by a thousand miles a day.

As for Lai Liang and his antics, in Nan Zhi’s eyes, he wasn’t even as important as a single page of Nan Yi’s homework.