Chapter 24

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Ring, ring, ring

The shrilling ring tone of Higarashi Saeko's phone shattered the silence she enjoyed while relaxing in one nice hot bath after two sleepless nights. With the two genius being paired a lot for their hotel's project, customer's started to flood in great waves that even a surfer might have a trouble dominating it. She snatched her phone from the edge of the tub and was about to reject the call when the name caught her attention.

"Yes, hello, Ken. How are you?"

Yanagawa Ken, 26 years of age and is working for the Takeshima Hotel in New York as the General Manager for the American chain. He usually reports to Saeko's husband but for some other reason, he called the aforementioned this time. "Hello, Saeko-san. I'm doing fine and I really want to talk to you for a long time but time is pressing me." He returned her greeting in one breath.

Unconsciously, Saeko braced herself for his next words after she hummed shortly for affirmation. Her heart was racing so hard to the point that she could practically feel it hammering wildly against her chest.

"Nakiri-san's son-in-law is planning to dominate the Food Industry and eradicate any restaurants below his level. He'll start by claiming the Totsuki Academy first."

Saeko seem forgot to breathe upon hearing Ken's report. For a minute, Ken kept on calling her name worriedly until she coughed and took a deep breath. "If that's true then the director is in trouble and so are some of the restaurants and the diners affiliated with us." The woman deduced to which the General Manager confirmed.

"We'll handle the rest. Ken, please be very careful. You don't want to be in the bad side of that cunning man."

The two exchanged farewells for another two minutes before hanging up. Right after that, Saeko dialed another number from her phonebook then pressed the device in her ear. She listened to it ring for a couple of times. Time ticked yet she found herself glaring hard at the white marbled walls of her bathroom. A static came to life and there's only one thing it could actually mean.

"Hon, what's the matter? It should be midnight around there." A worried Mr. Takeshima answered the call.

Saeko hummed, brought her hand to her temple and adjusted herself on the tub to a most comfortable position for her. "Ken just called in... and I'd like to warn you to be extra cautious of your actions for the sake of our daughter." Tired, she paused for a minute before continuing her statement. "When meeting with Azami, please do not mention my surname or even my name."

"Why?"

"It may only bring bitter memories to him as we are not really in good terms. Besides, I do not want you to be in trouble or even our daughter."

"Understood but, hon, tell me exactly what is happening." Her husband pleaded.

Saeko shook her head to keep herself awake then after another minute of constructing her theory, she informed him. "He is planning to oust the Director."

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"And the winner is Yukihira Soma! Wah--"

To Rumi, the emcee's voice started to fade in the background as she channelled all her concentration to the vision of her dish.

"Good luck and I know you can win this round." Said Tsukasa before leaving the room to finish his mountain of paperwork. He had high hopes for her but she knows he was not pushing his ideals on her. Both of them were different like the sun and moon--both heavenly bodies but with different strengths.

If Tsukasa brings out the best of his ingredients through excluding his identity as a chef in his dish, Rumi finds herself painting a whole new concise picture through incorporating her identity with her dish. However, the two agreed that only the best of the best has a place in this harsh industry they have.

"Now that I have won my match, you have to win yours." Yukihira's voice brought her back to Earth. Rumi stood up, scoffed and placed her left hand on her waist.

"Just who do you think I am, Yukihira Soma?" Her voice embodied her confidence as well as her action.

The male tilted his head. He didn't actually get her rhetorical question nor even think that she didn't need an asnwer to it. "Hm? Aren't you just Takeshima Rumi?" He said as bluntly as when he is with Erina.

Rumi gawked at him, quite dumbfounded instead of admiring his words. Nonetheless, she gathered her composure once again and walked towards him with a coy smile.

With every step she makes towards him, the boy noticed how the echo last long and for some reason, he felt fear as he got entangled with her dominating presence outside the kitchen. 'A demon.' He thought. A cold sweat trickled down his cheek and in a blink of an eye, Rumi was already by his side giving a tap on his shoulder.

"That's right and as a Takeshima, I cannot afford to lose the reputation of my family." Rumi stepped out of the room and headed straight to the stage after she felt satisfied with her words.

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"And now for the final match of the day, we have Kurokiba Ryou who specializes in seafood and actually changes attitude in the kitchen vs. a new rising star who garnered a perfect score from the preliminaries, Takeshima Rumi!"

While the emcee was busy introducing the theme for this match, the two contenders have already stationed themselves in front of Doujima Gin--who already have explained that they are the ones who'll prepare the noodles for them. Rumi raised one of her brows when she noticed that her uncle was acting high and mighty once again. 'He is acting like a 'Don' once again.' Her inner self noted but she shrugged it off.

"Looks like we are finally facing each other." Ryou stated the most obvious thing one could ever say.

"...could see that." She mumbled. "Just so you'll know, I do not have any plans in giving away this match."

Meanwhile, at the side of the audience, students were already picking their favourite. Majority were in the side of the hot-tempered chef while the rest were on Rumi including Erina, who is still glued to her VIP seat in the private lounge. Her arms and legs were crossed; her stare could easily pierce a weakling's soul.

"You have to win because I need to get my revenge on you, Higarashi Rumi."

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Author's Note: Uwah! I'm very sorry, it took me a long time to update this book! I got stuck so I had to rewrite and rewrite the whole chapter until I am satisfied with the outcome. Actually, this whole scenario is an improvised version of my plot for the chapter. So I hope you guys liked it.

And for those who were waiting to read the edited chapters, I have to apologize once again. I saved the whole document in my laptop and sadly, this little hyper dog of my brother chewed the adapter and viola! The wire came off and I cannot attach it with electrical tape as I hoped. Huu.

And before I'll end this note, I'd like to thank everyone who just read this fanfic and voted, added this to their reading lists, and/or commented in several chapters! I really do appreciate the thought and sorry I could not reply to some of the comments as of now since I am only on data. But, hopefully, I can reply to all of you as soon as possible.

Thank you and advance Merry Christmas to one and all~ 🎅🎄❄⛄

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