Chapter 21 Listen to Mom

Seeing her best friend frowning again, Asuna leaned over and the two girls began to chat in private. Li Xuan had nothing to do and didn’t bother to eavesdrop, so he had to practice out of boredom.

As Li Xuan closed his eyes and practiced, Erina’s sense of comfort became more obvious, but Asuna still didn’t feel anything, she just felt that her body seemed a little light.

“Asuna, when did you get to know Xuan-kun? I never saw you being so proactive when we were in school?” Erina asked in a low voice.

Asuna just thought it was a normal question between best friends, so she didn’t hide anything and told him what happened in the past two days.

When Erina heard that Li Xuan was actually going to open the Crystal Palace, her eyes lit up. This was good news, there was an outlier in the Xia family.

Although he was secretly happy in his heart, there was no expression on his face. He continued to listen to Asuna talking about what happened in the past two days. While listening, he was thinking about how he could meet Li Xuan by chance, or create an opportunity to be alone with Li Xuan.

While Erina was modifying her little plan, the next moment Asuna said something that made Erina ecstatic.

“Erina, let me tell you, my mother told me last night that a man like Li Xuan’s family background determines his life and marriage, and I don’t have much power to decide. But if I can make him like her, it will be a successful investment. And Irene and the others don’t seem to object. What should I do? Should I do what my mother says?” Having said this, Asuna turned her head to look at Li Xuan with a bit of distress, and found that Li Xuan was resting with his eyes closed. His handsome face from every angle fascinated Asuna.

Erina almost laughed out loud after hearing what Asuna said, and thought to herself, Asuna, you are really the best friend in the world, and it’s good that you listen to your mother. But she still comforted Asuna and said, “It’s okay, Asuna, there is always a way to solve the problem. If you are troubled, you can talk to me. I will be happy to be your listener. After all, we are the best of friends.”

Asuna was immediately moved when she heard Erina’s words, so she hugged Erina and said, “Thank you, Erina.”

Erina was moved by Asuna’s sincerity and felt guilty for a moment, but it disappeared the next second. Erina thought that at most she could call you sister from now on.

The two chatted for a while, and the waiters began to bring the ordered dishes one after another, followed by a middle-aged man wearing a white hat.

The man followed in and saw Erina. He walked up to her and greeted her with a smile, saying, “Ms. Erina, good afternoon. It’s been a while since I last saw you. Please try my cooking and give me some comments.”

“Good afternoon, Master Liu,” Erina responded politely, then called Asuna and Li Xuan, who had noticed a stranger coming into the private room and stopped to practice and opened his eyes, and started eating the food on the table.

After greeting Erina, Master Liu was about to retreat to the door. After all, the opinions Erina gave after each meal would more or less inspire his own cooking skills. However, when Master Liu was about to turn around, he glanced at Asuna and Li Xuan. This was the first time he met Asuna, but he seemed to have seen Li Xuan before. After a few seconds, a picture emerged in Master Liu’s mind.

That was when he had just been promoted to a top chef. He returned to the family to register and then received culinary instruction from the family’s higher-level master. That day happened to be the birthday of the young master of the Xia family, the head of the family. Except for those who stayed at home to deal with emergencies, all the top chefs and above in the family went to the Xia family to cook for the young master’s birthday.

Of course, Master Liu’s top-grade skills are not enough to qualify him to cook for direct descendants such as Li Xuandi and Li Qinghe. Only the patriarch of the family, the immortal chef, can do it himself. Master Liu, together with other top-grade chefs and Linlong chef, cooks for other guests of the Xia family.

When Master Liu was serving the dishes, he glanced at the table of the young master of the Xia family from afar. The looks of the Li Xuan siblings were unforgettable at first sight, as if they were the most perfect masterpiece of God. The sister was so beautiful that she was as stunning as the fishes that sink to the bottom of the water and the geese that fall, and the moon that hides in shame the flowers. If there was any adjective to describe the brother Li Xuan, Master Liu felt that Song Yuweijie was the one who described him.

Now Master Liu took a look at the man brought by Asuna. His appearance was highly consistent with the young master of the Xia family in his impression. He was simply a grown-up version. So Master Liu stopped and turned to look at Li Xuan who had not started yet, and asked, clasping his fists, “Excuse me, are you Young Master Li Xuan?”

After picking up some food for Asuna, Li Xuan was a little surprised when he heard the chef calling out his name. He raised his head slightly and answered, “Yes, I am. Are you from the Liu family?”

Li Xuan guessed something from the way Erina greeted the other party just now.

After getting the confirmation, Master Liu became very excited. He clasped his fists and bowed slightly to Li Xuan, saying, “Yes, I am Liu Yuan, the Liu family’s top chef, and I didn’t know that the young master had come. I am sorry for the rudeness.”

He is from the Liu family, a top chef, and seems to be quite old. He must have seen me when I was in Daxia. After thinking about it, Li Xuan understood why Liu Yuan recognized me.

He waved his hand and said, “This is not Daxia. There’s no need to be so polite. Just go and mind your own business.”

After hearing what Li Xuan said, Liu Yuan said, “Yes, young master, Liu Yuan is just outside the door. Just let me know if you need anything.” Then he retreated to the door of the private room.

When Erina saw the respectful attitude of Liu Yuan, the top chef whom she usually had to treat with courtesy, towards Li Xuan, she had a new understanding of Li Xuan’s family background, and the little flame in her heart began to grow.

Because Li Xuan was around, Erina enjoyed this meal very much. In the past, even when she ate at Liu Yuan’s place, her taste buds were more or less picky, but today, she was like a good baby and felt that today’s meal was very delicious.

During the meal, Erina was a little surprised to see Asuna beside her eating the food prepared by the top chef with a calm face, so she asked, “Asuina, what do you think of the taste of this food?”

Asuna thought that today’s food was quite delicious. Although not as good as yesterday at the China House, at least a mermaid wouldn’t appear after taking a bite. So after swallowing the food in her mouth, she replied to Erina, “It’s delicious.”

After saying that, she put some food into her best friend’s bowl.

Erina, who didn’t get the answer she wanted, rolled her eyes and asked Li Xuan, “Mr. Xuan, what do you think of today’s food?”

Li Xuan actually thought that Liu Yuan’s cooking was quite good and unique, but in terms of material handling, knife skills, and timing of heat, he was still far behind Liu Quan, so he also said, “It’s okay.”

Liu Yuan, who had been waiting outside the door, clenched his fists happily when he heard Li Xuan’s evaluation of his cooking.

Chapter 22 Yuanyue College

Erina didn’t get the answer she wanted from either of them, so she was a little depressed.

But thinking about Li Xuan’s family background, the food prepared by the top chef was only acceptable to him.

Li Xuan saw Erina’s depressed expression, chuckled, and said to Erina, “Erina, if I have time next time, I will take you and Asuna to the Zhonghua Building for dinner as a thank you for lunch today. Then I will ask Liu Quan to cook for you to try.”

When Erina heard Liu Quan’s name, she knew he was from the Liu family. After thinking carefully, the Liu Quan in Zhonghualou couldn’t be that person, right? So she stared at Li Xuan with her moist eyes and asked, “Liu Quan in Zhonghualou, is he the owner of Longchu, Liu Quan?”

Li Xuan smiled and nodded, “Liu Quan is indeed the shopkeeper.”

When Asuna heard Li Xuan mention the incident at the Zhonghua Building, she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin, took Erina’s arm, and told Erina what happened yesterday at noon in her ear.

After hearing Asuna’s narration, Erina also confirmed that this Liu Quan was the famous Dragon Chef owner Liu Quan in the food world. Liu Quan’s talent was not the best in the Liu family, so after his potential for promotion to Dragon Chef was temporarily exhausted, he left Daxia and went to Xiaoying, where he presided over the family’s catering business in Xiaoying.

Liu Quan rarely cooks, and Erina only tried Liu Quan’s cooking when he first arrived in Sakura and came to visit her grandfather. Erina has never experienced that feeling in the cooking of any other chef except her own grandfather.

“Okay, then it’s a deal, Xuan-kun.” Erina agreed after hearing Li Xuan’s invitation.

Asuna, who was still eating, looked at her bestie a little strangely after hearing what Erina said. It’s just a meal for you, what’s the big deal? Why did you make an appointment? However, the little doubt in her heart disappeared after Li Xuan put some food in her bowl. Who cares? Eating is more important.

“Woo~ So satisfied” Asuna and Erina said after finishing their meal, raising their hands high and stretching their waists.

After eating and drinking their fill, the four people prepared to leave Totsuki Street. In the afternoon, they planned to visit Totsuki Academy under the leadership of Erina. Totsuki Academy was a little different from ordinary academies. After the holidays, many students of Totsuki Academy would choose to stay in school to study and further their culinary skills. Erina even stayed here for two holidays when the International Academy was on vacation and improved her culinary skills.

After walking out of the private room and seeing Liu Yuan standing outside the door, Erina said to Liu Yuan, “Master Liu, your cooking today is great. My tongue is not picky about food today.” This is the highest praise Erina has given so far.

However, Liu Yuan just smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment, welcome to visit next time.” He nodded to show that he accepted the praise, and then looked at Li Xuan with burning eyes.

“Acceptable” is a concise and to the point evaluation of Li Xuan on Liu Yuan’s cooking.

However, Liu Yuan was ecstatic when he heard Li Xuan’s evaluation, because this was an evaluation of himself from someone who had eaten the immortal chef’s food.

“Thank you, young master. Liu Yuan will work hard to improve his cooking skills,” Liu Yuan said happily.

Li Xuan didn’t care. He waved his hand and left Yuyuelongmen with Asuna and the other two. With Feishazi’s guidance, they slowly strolled to the entrance of Totsuki Academy after their meal to digest their food.

The appearance of Totsuki Academy is rather ordinary, and it doesn’t look like the best culinary academy in Sakura at all. However, looking inside, you can see that it covers a large area. At first glance, you can see the buildings of almost all countries in the world with culinary culture. Moreover, a large number of students dressed in academy uniforms are conducting culinary research or simply competing on the spot in open areas of the school.

The entire Far Moon region is filled with a strong atmosphere of culinary research and competition.

According to Erina’s introduction just now, these should be the students who stay in school. Li Xuan saw the pure eyes of many of these students and couldn’t help but praise the golden-haired girl next to him, “It seems that Totsuki Academy has always attached importance to the core ideas of Mr. Saemon when it was founded.”

When Erina heard Li Xuan praising her grandfather, the corners of her mouth curled up, looking very proud.

Several people walked slowly in the campus, occasionally looking at the competition among those who were competing, but most of them were competitions below three stars, which were very simple, smaller than the formation of Fukada Isamu and Yamagami A seen on Totsuki Street just now.

There were also many students who were trying the food they cooked for free. Li Xuan and Asuna would try some from time to time. Asuna mainly tried some things she had never seen before, while Li Xuan couldn’t resist Asuna’s expectant look and tried some of the better ones.

Erina is not particularly picky. Basically, she will try anything that Asuna and Li Xuan have tasted.

The students of Totsuki today felt like they had seen the end of the world, because Erina Nakiri, the granddaughter of the dean who was a devil commentator at Totsuki, actually said a word of encouragement after eating their food.

You have to know that when it comes to Erina Nakiri, even among the Ten Greatest Talents of Totsuki, she can basically only get a not-so-bad evaluation. As for encouragement, please, do I have to say you’re a loser to be satisfied?

Li Xuan also found it a bit strange to see Erina tasting food beside him. According to his understanding, this golden-haired girl is not someone who can tolerate these ordinary dishes. The hippopotamus and chimpanzees in the hot spring are the best evidence.

Erina knew the reason. Ever since she had been with Li Xuan, her usually rebellious taste buds had seemed to have gone into hibernation. Erina took advantage of this time to try many dishes that she had always thought were good but were rejected by her taste buds.

Then they came to the conclusion that the sense of taste was right, except that it was a bit disregarding of the host’s life or death, which was not a good thing. Since they were not disgusted, Erina also generously encouraged Totsuki’s students.

Under the guidance of Hisako and Erina, they visited various scenic spots and the most culinary buildings in Totsuki, as well as the statue of the dean in the center of the pool in the middle of the academy. When Li Xuan saw the statue, he could feel that there was a considerable amount of air flowing inside the statue.

This was the first time that Li Xuan saw supernatural power with his own eyes. Only people who have practiced cultivation like Li Xuan could sense this power. Li Xuan also stayed at the position of the statue for a few minutes and roughly sensed the details of this power.

This should have been left by the statue itself, but unfortunately, it was not known whether the statue itself was not strong enough or was too severely worn out by the passage of time. Li Xuan tried to touch this breath with the golden light in his body, and then this breath suddenly collapsed. Li Xuan was sharp-eyed and saw tiny cracks beginning to appear on the waist of the statue. He immediately retracted the breath, kept a smile on his face, and followed Erina away from the place.

When it was night, according to Erina’s plan, she prepared dinner herself, and after dinner they went to the hot spring on Mount Totsuki.

Asuna had no objection. It mainly depended on Li Xuan’s opinion. If Li Xuan was willing, Asuna would follow.

Of course Li Xuan did not refuse and called Gurefia to inform her.

Chapter 23: Danger on the Mountain Road and the Hero Rescues the Beauty

– Erina Nakiri

In Totsuki Academy’s special food storage room, Erina asked Hisako to bring a lot of rare ingredients.

Erina did not let her cooking talent down. Asuna and Li Xuan agreed that the dinner was very well prepared, which made the golden-haired girl very happy.

After dinner and rest, the three of them started walking towards the hot springs.

The Totsuki hot spring is located on the mountainside behind the academy. The four of them started their journey, with Feishazi leading the way. When they arrived at the back door of the academy, they could see a wide stone road extending all the way up the mountain.

Several people walked up the mountain, and Erina explained to Asuna and Li Xuan the benefits of Totsuki Hot Spring. Because it is mountain spring water, and there is a dead volcano under the hot spring, it is a natural volcanic hot spring. The hot spring also contains various minerals that are beneficial to the human body, which can effectively maintain the activity of the skin and has a good anti-aging effect.

Most girls cannot resist beauty. After hearing what Erina said, Asuna took Erina’s hand and accelerated up the mountain. She seemed to wish the destination was around the next corner.

“Grunt~” Just when they were about to reach the destination, a few loud grunt sounds were heard from behind the woods not far away. The people who heard the sound stopped immediately, and Erina reacted immediately after a few seconds, and hurriedly said to the people around her, “Don’t stop, hurry up, it’s the sound of a wild boar.”

But it seemed a little late. In the horrified eyes of Erina and the other two girls, a huge wild boar, estimated to weigh at least four hundred pounds, covered in mud, with a long mouth and sharp fangs, ran out and rushed straight towards them.

“Ah, Erina, be careful, get out of the way,” the wild boar ran out and rushed straight towards Erina’s position in the team. Asuna reacted and shouted anxiously to her best friend.

The distance between the few people and the wild boar was less than twenty meters. In addition, the wild boar was rushing down from above, and its speed was faster than a normal sprint. Erina was frightened and stood still. She came to her senses only after hearing Asuna’s scream. However, the wild boar was less than ten meters away from Erina and was about to be hit.

Facing the impending scene of her death, Asuna trembled and closed her eyes in fear.

The team leader Hisako rushed towards Erina as soon as he saw the wild boar rushing towards her, but unfortunately Hisako’s speed was too slow.

Erina looked at the wild boar that was about to hit her. She could clearly see the sharp fangs on both sides of the wild boar’s mouth. She closed her eyes reflexively, waiting for the severe pain to come in the next second.

However, the next second, there was no severe pain. Instead, a warm breath enveloped her. “Boom”, accompanied by this huge roar, Erina opened her eyes and found that her slender waist had been hugged, and the person who hugged her was Li Xuan.

When Li Xuan heard the sound of the wild boar just now, the golden light in his body flowed to his eyes and ears, and he instantly discovered the wild boar that was about to rush down. When it was about to hit Erina, it burst out with amazing speed and instantly came to Erina’s side. He reached out and hugged the golden-haired girl who closed her eyes in fear, and dodged the wild boar’s impact by turning sideways.

Then he raised his foot and kicked the wild boar on the head. The wild boar flew out at a speed faster than it rushed down and hit the trunk of a thick tree next to it, making a “boom” sound and a few “crack” sounds from the wild boar’s head.

Holding the girl in his arms, who was still in shock and trembling slightly, Li Xuan pressed the girl’s head against his chest with his left hand, and gently patted the girl’s back with his right hand, whispering to her comfortingly, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, Erina, I’ve chased the wild boar away, don’t take pictures.”

Erina opened her eyes and saw Li Xuan, who had saved her life and avoided the attack of a wild boar. She comforted herself gently. All of a sudden, the panic and fear she had just felt surged into her heart. She hugged Li Xuan tightly, and her watery eyes suddenly surged like a waterfall.

“Wow~ Wow~ Wow, Xuanjun, that’s scary, wow, suck~ suck~” After just a few seconds, Li Xuan felt the clothes on his chest were soaked, but Li Xuan also knew how scary the situation just now was for the girl, so he didn’t care, but continued to comfort her gently.

“That’s great, Erina, you’re okay, woo~” Asuna opened her eyes and saw Li Xuan holding Erina, and the wild boar had disappeared. She knew that Li Xuan had saved Erina, so she ran over with tears in her eyes.

On the other side, Hisako Arato, who had just run over, also breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart, which had been in her throat, finally relaxed. She asked with concern, “Ms. Erina, are you okay?”

However, Erina had not yet recovered from the shock and just kept sobbing in Li Xuan’s arms.

Asuna and Hisako also knew that Erina might find it difficult to calm down right now, so they stood by Li Xuan and reached out to comfort Erina.

After a long while, Erina’s sobbing frequency slowed down. Erina, who had calmed down, realized that she was in Li Xuan’s arms with Asuna beside her. Suddenly, the scene of the wife being arrested on the spot appeared in her mind. Moreover, the wife was her best friend. At this time, Asuna was still comforting her, and she was still thinking about her boyfriend just now. Suddenly, a feeling of shame surged in her heart.

But the next moment, Erina took a deep breath of Li Xuan’s breath. As for giving up? Just kidding, at most I can call her sister more often in the future.