That was the proud and arrogant Erina. How could she possibly serve a bad-tasting dish?
Alice racked her brain but couldn't guess the reason.
Erina looked at her with a pitiful gaze, then said, "Since you can make a pork belly that's indistinguishable from the real thing, do you think I wouldn't be able to simulate the taste of fish?"
Alice was immediately stunned.
Then she understood. This was a double simulation.
First, create an ingredient with a texture similar to fish, then create a dish with a taste similar to crab meat.
But how did Erina do it?
One must know that this wasn't a simple one-way simulation. The difficulty increased exponentially. Every step could potentially cause a chemical reaction, changing the flavor.
"The taste definitely won't be good." Alice secretly prayed in her heart.
"Interesting." Liu Ming looked at Erina with surprise, not expecting her to choose to make a famous Chinese Cuisine dish - 'Crab Mimic'.
Seemingly sensing the unusual look in Liu Ming's eyes, Erina's heart fluttered. She quickly spoke up to argue, "It's not because of you that I specifically chose to make Chinese Cuisine."
Liu Ming blinked. He wondered if Erina's way of saying it made it even more suspicious.
Erina's cheeks flushed under Liu Ming's gaze, and she anxiously explained, "Who do you think you are? Who would specifically go and learn about Chinese Cuisine because of you?"
"It's merely because this Chinese Cuisine dish happens to fit the current exam question that I chose to make it, so don't misunderstand."
The few people present immediately looked strangely at the constantly explaining Erina. They felt that Erina now seemed to be trying to cover something up.
Liu Ming was even more speechless. He hadn't even said anything yet. Was Erina overthinking it?
And what was with that shy expression? If Liu Ming remembered correctly, their few meetings hadn't been very pleasant, had they?
Did Erina have an M personality, enjoying being bullied?
Erina felt uncomfortable under Alice's gaze. She shrank her neck and said with dissatisfaction, "Alice, what are you looking at?"
"Erina, you don't like this guy, do you?" Alice's words were startling, scaring everyone present.
Hisako couldn't help but recall Erina's unusual changes these past few days. As she thought about it, she couldn't help but get the wrong idea, starting to somewhat agree with Alice's words.
Erina first froze, then when she reacted, she completely bristled.
Furious, she didn't care where they were and roared at Alice.
"What are you talking about? Me, like this hateful guy? Do you know how awful he is? He's a man, yet he's so petty, completely without any gentlemanly manners, always bullying me. I wish I could bite him to death."
Seeing Erina's furious expression, Alice found it very amusing.
Was this still the Erina she knew? She didn't even maintain her usual aloofness, completely showing her true feelings.
Just like a real young girl, capable of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
"Ahem." Liu Ming had to interrupt them, seeing the two getting more and more outlandish.
If they were arguing about something else, he would have been happy to watch the show, but since the topic of their discussion concerned him, Liu Ming had to intervene.
"Heh heh, he actually spoke up to defend you. We really are having an affair," Alice said, batting her beautiful big eyes and looking at Erina teasingly.
"Alice, stop talking! I'm really getting angry now!" Erina's entire face was already beet red, wishing she could find a place to hide.
Liu Ming wouldn't let Alice act so recklessly and directly gave her a chop to the head.
"Ah~ It hurts!" Alice cried out in pain, clutching her head and squatting down.
"Haha, serves you right!" Erina immediately turned her anger into joy when she saw Alice's pathetic state, letting out a happy laugh.
Having experienced the taste of a hand chop herself, she knew how unpleasant it was.
Alice and the others were not Miyu and her friends, after all. Liu Ming's hand chop wouldn't be gentle with them; the force was even increased a bit.
"Damn it, you two definitely have something going on. You must be retaliating against me!" Tears welled up in Alice's eyes from the pain, but she still refused to admit defeat.
"Alice!" Erina glared fiercely at Alice. If they really had a relationship, she wouldn't have tasted that hand chop several times.
After teaching Alice, this lively character, a lesson, Liu Ming no longer paid attention to her and began to seriously taste the dish Erina had made.
He picked up the dish, sniffed it lightly, and a fresh, fragrant aroma of crab roe wafted into his nose.
There were no other mixed smells.
One must know that it wasn't real crab, but simulated with other ingredients, yet it only emitted the fresh fragrance of crab roe.
As expected of the God Tongue, to be able to so skillfully combine ingredients to produce a qualitative change.
Liu Ming took a small bite.
The texture was incredibly smooth and tender, with the deliciousness of seafood.
Moreover, she didn't use just a single type of egg, but also duck eggs. That dense, mixed texture was simply like swallowing a large mouthful of crab paste, providing a very rich and heavy sense of satisfaction.
It wasn't crab, but it surpassed crab.
It had to be said that Erina's dish had deeply grasped the essence of 'mock crab'.
At this moment, Alice no longer bothered teasing Erina; she watched Liu Ming nervously.
"Honestly, Erina, you've somewhat surprised me," Liu Ming said, looking at Erina seriously.
Although Erina didn't say anything, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve upwards.
Ever since she tasted those few dishes at Liu Ming's restaurant last time, she had begun to seriously study Chinese Cuisine.
With a well-connected grandfather like Senzaemon, some treasured recipes were handed over to Erina.
With the help of Erina's cheat-like God Tongue, her cooking skills had truly improved greatly.
And today's 'mock crab' was the result of her many days of hard work.
Now, hearing such praise from Liu Ming, Erina's heart was quite pleased.
Alice's heart sank immediately.
However, she didn't intend to give up until the very last moment.
She looked at Liu Ming and asked nervously, "Who won between us?"
Liu Ming glanced at her, said nothing, but handed the dish to her.
Alice was stunned for a moment, then took a small bite.
The delicious taste instantly exploded in her mind, and she couldn't help but let out a gasp of enjoyment.
Lost again!
Although she was very unwilling, after tasting Erina's dish, Alice knew she had lost.
Why? She had worked so hard, why couldn't she win?
Even just once.
Was winning once that difficult?
It was a very delicious dish, but tears of unwillingness flowed from Alice's eyes.
Erina looked at Alice with a complicated expression, not knowing what to say to comfort her.