Chapter Seven: I Have Come for You

The mini-program still hadn't seen much growth in orders, but the somewhat eccentric Ms. Zhao was willing to maintain a long-term partnership with them. At the very least, this kept their previously zeroed-out workload from looking quite so dismal.

"We owe so much to you, Wen Zhi!" Zhang Zheng said.

Wen Zhi touched her head, feeling embarrassed.

[It is the result of everyone's hard work,] she demurred.

"Do you know why he says he owes it all to you?" Yu Hang leaned in toward Wen Zhi and asked.

[Why?]

"Because you are the only online chef Xinglan has." Yu Hang rolled his eyes.

"So, thank you!" Zhang Zheng used sign language to gesture "thank you," then looked at Wen Zhi with a sheepish expression. "Did I get that right?"

[Yes, you did,] Wen Zhi shook her head.

"Zhang Zheng, my friend is mute, not deaf."

Zhang Zheng: ...

"Getting down to business, have you seen that news? About the college student cooking competition?" Yu Hang asked.

[I saw it.] She naturally paid attention to anything related to cooking competitions first thing.

"Then why haven't you started preparing?"

[I didn't sign up.] Her expression remained calm.

Zhang Zheng, relying on his fragmented sign language, tried to brainstorm on the side.

"Why?" The Wen Zhi that Yu Hang knew, while appearing frail, was someone who could never sit still, especially when it came to cooking.

[I'm afraid of delaying Xinglan's business.]

"No way! Our mini-program is just a small workshop anyway; we don't need you to prioritize us that much."

Zhang Zheng was confused, knowing only about the cooking competition. "What are you two talking about? What small workshop?"

"She wants to give up the cooking competition for the sake of Xinglan's business."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zheng became anxious. "That won't do! If you enter, you're guaranteed to win a prize. Who knows, you might even be able to advertise for Xinglan!"

"Alright, alright, Zhang Zheng, you kid, your brain is filled with nothing but that mini-program, isn't it?" Yu Hang retorted. "Wen Zhi's health is average at best, and she’s already juggling two jobs. Do you think she’s made of iron?"

Zhang Zheng suddenly realized his mistake; he had never been sensitive to the subtle, unspoken thoughts of others. "My fault, my fault, I said the wrong thing. Don't worry about preparing for the competition; Xinglan can pause for a while. And if you need to prepare, I can contact a teacher and get you a training kitchen!"

He blurted it all out at once.

[Actually, I haven't created any new dishes in a long time. I don't even know if I can do it.]

"What did she say?" Seeing Wen Zhi's expression, Zhang Zheng knew it wasn't anything positive and grew anxious.

"She lacks confidence."

"What! You, Wen Zhi! The only and most talented chef we have at Xinglan—if you aren't confident in your own cooking, I don't believe anyone else would dare to sign up."

"Besides, if you sign up, it might actually help with our mini-program's publicity."

Only when she heard about promoting the mini-program did Wen Zhi show any emotion.

[Alright... then I will go.]

Seeing Wen Zhi nod, Zhang Zheng was so happy he felt like he was floating in the clouds.

"Zhizhi, if it's truly inconvenient for you to participate, it doesn't matter. That's just Zhang Zheng's mini-program; it has nothing to do with you." Yu Hang worried. "Don't always think of others and let yourself be led around like a pushover!"

Always being led by others? Should she consider herself more?

[It's fine. I was just hesitant because I haven't made any innovative dishes in a long time. With Senior Zhang Zheng's encouragement, maybe I'll get a good result in the competition,] Wen Zhi said with a smile.

—

Registration and preparation went smoothly. The competition was scheduled for next week, and she asked Ms. Zhao for time off via her phone. The other party had yet to reply.

First came the school-level competition, where they had to select and form a team of three to compete in the main event. The school competition followed the official standards of the main tournament: one traditional Chinese dish and one Western dish.

She didn't have any innovations. To be precise, Wen Zhi's confusion about cooking was stuck right at the point of innovation. This was a problem that had only recently emerged, and she suddenly realized she hadn't read a book in a long time. Back in that small, barren county town, all her knowledge and innovation regarding cooking had come from books.

During the live preparation, she made Kung Pao Chicken and a fruit mousse. Many professionals were watching and scoring her technique. She was calm and unhurried, having been through other competitions before. Her dishes always looked good, emphasizing color, aroma, and taste. Perhaps that was why she felt she was a perfectionist in certain aspects—specifically, in cooking. Her dishes had to be refined, excellent, and as fragrant as possible.

The results were released that night. As Yu Hang had expected, Wen Zhi topped the list with a score of 97 out of 100.

The next day, the four students selected for the school team met at the designated location to begin preparations. As it happened, there were two boys and two girls. Wen Zhi arrived a little late.

"You scared me! I thought I was the only girl," one of the classmates said, moving toward her.

Wen Zhi smiled. [Hello, my name is Wen Zhi.]

"Your voice?" Chi Minmin asked sadly.

[It's natural.]

Chi Minmin's eyes were filled with sympathy. "Hello, I'm Chi Minmin. It doesn't matter that you can't speak. I'm not a chatty person, so as long as you don't find me annoying, we'll be fine, sister~"

Wen Zhi felt healed by this cheerful girl. After they chatted for a bit, she was surprised to find that this sweet-looking girl was actually a law student. During introductions, seeing everyone's surprise, Chi Minmin playfully stuck out her tongue. "I'm going to be a legal beauty in the future~"

The other two members were named Jiang Yihang and Wan Fei.

For the first three days, they primarily focused on trying to innovate their menu. They settled on Dongpo Pork for the Chinese dish, but the Western dish remained undecided.

After class, everyone else left, but Wen Zhi stayed in the classroom. She kept experimenting—partly for the competition, and partly to find her flow again.

Zhang Zheng was reliable and helped her secure plenty of time. He even told her not to waste the food she made and to bring it all back for him to eat. Wen Zhi replied with a happy emoji and continued working.

It was unclear how much time had passed when a bead of sweat rolled down her skin. She reached up to wipe it, but a handkerchief touched her skin before her hand could.

Wen Zhi then noticed a small child standing beside her. She assumed it was the child of a staff member and typed on her phone, [Are you lost?]

The beautiful child blinked her large eyes and signed back, [Can you not speak, either?]

"Either?"

Such a small child was also mute, just like her back then... But the girl didn't look destitute; on the contrary, she looked noble, wearing a princess dress from some unknown luxury brand, and even her shoes were studded with diamonds.

[Yes.] Her gaze softened even further. [I can take you to find your mom and dad.]

The girl shook her head and pointed at her. [No, I came here to find you.] She then added, [You are very pretty.]

The girl's gaze was calm, yet she couldn't hide a sense of surprise. She possessed a maturity and observational skill that didn't belong to someone her age.