Liu Ming stood there quietly, looking at the noisy crowd with a gentle expression.
He didn't mind at all. After all, it wasn't his time being wasted. He even wondered how long it would take them to quiet down.
He waited for 20 minutes, almost half an hour, before someone finally reacted.
That person anxiously ran up to Liu Ming and asked, "Mr. Liu, may we start cooking now?"
Liu Ming looked at him in surprise and asked, word for word, "Cooking what? I haven't even explained the content of this assessment yet. What dish do you plan to make for me to taste?"
"Didn't you just say 'Noodle'?" The student was dumbfounded. Had all their discussions just now been in vain?
"I did say 'Noodle', but I didn't finish, did I?" Liu Ming revealed a mischievous smile, and without waiting for the other party to ask, he continued.
He chuckled, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, although the assessment time here will last until 6 PM, you've already wasted twenty minutes, oh, almost thirty minutes."
"If you haven't finished discussing, you'd better hurry, or I'm afraid you won't have enough time to cook. If you get expelled because of it, don't blame me, alright?"
Everyone was speechless, secretly thinking that this examiner was a bit devious, not reminding them at all.
"Megumi, is Mr. Liu always like this?" Yukihira Soma looked strangely at Tadokoro Megumi beside him.
"Uh~" Tadokoro Megumi awkwardly scratched her head. How was she supposed to answer? She couldn't possibly slander her Master, could she?
In the end, she could only remain silent.
"Hmm, it seems you've finished discussing. Now, listen to me carefully." Liu Ming resumed speaking after everyone had quieted down.
"The assessment content we're going to cover next has two aspects. The first, as I just said, is the theme 'Noodle'." Liu Ming paused here, and seeing that no one dared to speak, he continued.
"The second is the restrictive requirement, two words: 'Non-Noodle'."
"Also, whatever ingredients you need, go to the woodland outside the building and catch them yourselves. As long as you don't go beyond the fence, it's not a violation. Considering that catching ingredients will waste a lot of time, you can form groups of two."
"Within the designated area, catch ingredients, and make a 'Noodle-Non-Noodle' dish that earns my approval to pass. That's all."
That's right, the assessment topic Liu Ming decided on was one of the special exams from Little Cooking God.
For Liu Ming, since there was an existing topic, why bother coming up with his own? How troublesome!
The culinary industry has developed to the point where there are many types of noodles. However, being able to create one in such a short time would be quite difficult.
It just depended on whether they had the ability.
"Oh my god, who said this topic was simple? Step forward, I promise not to beat you to death. I don't even understand the question right now."
Many students wore bewildered expressions. If they didn't even understand the question, how could they cook?
"It's a noodle, but it's not a noodle. How do you make that? It's a contradiction."
Some of the students vigorously scratched their heads.
Too difficult, it was truly too difficult.
It was simply enough to make one break down.
"Mr. Liu, could you please explain in more detail? We don't understand at all!" The student from earlier looked expectantly at Liu Ming.
Following his words, the other students also looked at Liu Ming.
Facing so many expectant gazes, Liu Ming remained unmoved.
He calmly said, "That's your problem. I've already given the topic. Now it's up to your abilities. Don't disappoint me, alright?"
"From now until 6 PM, if you fail to make a 'Noodle-but-not-Noodle' that satisfies me, then I apologize, but you'll have to pack your bags and go home."
Takumi covered his forehead, starting to ponder what a 'Noodle-but-not-Noodle' was.
Yukihira Soma was also deep in thought. He didn't believe Mr. Liu would casually throw out a topic to fool everyone.
Since he posed this question, it proved he had his reasons.
"As expected of Mr. Liu, even his topics are so profound," Yukihira Soma couldn't help but praise him as he thought.
"Don't just praise him, why don't you think about what this topic actually means?" Takumi couldn't help but retort.
"It should just be the literal meaning, right? Make a noodle dish?" Yukihira Soma said with uncertainty in his voice.
Takumi rolled his eyes at him. "Then what do those two words after mean? It's 'not-Noodle,' meaning it's not noodles, and you still dare to say make a noodle dish."
"Are you done or not? If it's not noodles, then what is it?" Yukihira Soma couldn't argue back.
Megumi's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she immediately blurted out, "I know!"
Yukihira Soma and Takumi instantly looked at her.
Megumi didn't hide it. She softly said, "Noodle-but-not-Noodle has two interpretations. One is to make a dish that isn't noodles using noodle-making ingredients. The second is to make a dish that resembles noodles using non-noodle ingredients."
Yukihira Soma's eyes brightened, but then he thought of a problem. He asked, "Mr. Liu probably wouldn't give us two choices, meaning only one of them is correct."
Takumi nodded in agreement.
The three then began to recall what Liu Ming had just said.
Before long, their eyes all lit up simultaneously, and they said in unison, "It's the second one."
"That's right, it must be the second one, because Mr. Liu emphasized earlier that 'not-Noodle' is a limiting condition, while 'Noodle' is the main theme."
Liu Ming did not stop their discussion. Anyway, only two people needed to participate in the final cooking.
Megumi and the other two were famous figures in the academy, and their conversation had long been noticed by others.
Now, upon hearing their answer, many students also understood what the assessment content was.