At the time when Gu Bai failed the Five-Star Chef test, Fang Weixuan made a video call.
"Bai, are you alright?" Fang Weixuan asked worriedly.
Others didn't know who "the Genius Boy" was, but he had the answer.
"It's okay," Gu Bai said with a smile. The test failure didn't defeat him. He knew what he was capable of and his position in the field, so he wouldn't make haste.
Fang Weixuan was relieved to know that he wasn't depressed, so he changed the topic. "Xiaobai, how's your restaurant remodeling work? I didn't join you yesterday, so I haven't seen the restaurant yet."
"It's done, and the style is similar to the one on M95 Planet. But I don't think I can open it for the time being."
Thinking of the restaurant, Gu Bai was disappointed.
Fang Weixuan was astonished. "Why can't you open it?"
He had been looking forward to the branch for a long time, so he couldn't accept the answer.
"The law states that every restaurant has to have at least one Three-Star chef before opening. I didn't pass the Five-Star Chef test, so they withdrew all my previous certificates. So, I don't have enough to open it," Gu Bai explained as he shrugged.
It could be a good thing, though. Gu Bai wanted to open the restaurant because he had half a month before school started. But if he went to school in half a month, he wasn't sure if he still had time to cook in the restaurant.
Right now, without the Three-Star Chef Certificate, he only had several days before school, so he decided to focus on his studies first and left the restaurant behind for the time being.
"You scared me. If that's the case, that's so easy to solve." Fang Weixuan breathed a sigh of relief, blinking his eyes at Gu Bai while indicating him.
Gu Bai didn't get him.
"Don't you feel well?" Gu Bai asked with concern.
Fang Weixuan was defeated.
"If you don't mind, hire me as the chef of the No. 1 branch on the Central Star. I want no salary but three meals a day, made by you, of course. Also, allow me to learn from you when you got time," Fang Weixuan proposed, feeling nervous.
It wasn't too much that he asked for three meals a day, but it was way too much that he wanted to learn Gu Bai's cooking skills.
If he was talking to anyone else, the person would definitely slap him away from the Central Star.
"You don't have to teach me specially. I'll be satisfied as long as you allow me to watch you cook," Fang Weixuan hurried to add. On second thought, he still believed he had asked too much, so he tried to save the situation, "Forget it, I..."
"Sure. Why not?" Gu Bai agreed quickly.
He had never intended to keep the tricks to himself. As long as he wasn't disturbed when cooking, he wouldn't mind if anyone wanted to watch.
What's more, it was Fang Weixuan who proposed. He was Gu Bai's best friend apart from Mu Mu and Grandpa Gu and the one who showed Gu Bai kindness all the time. With his help, Gu Bai had one more big issue solved. Therefore, Gu Bai was willing to teach him personally, not to mention letting him watch.
"Really? You agree?" Fang Weixuan couldn't believe his ears.
Although Gu Bai had never tried to keep him away when cooking and taught the fans some simple dishes, it was totally different if someone wanted to learn from him by his side.
"Of course, it's no big deal. I have to pay you, of course. Let's set the price the same as the Three-Star chefs get on the Central Star. If the restaurant is profitable enough, you will have a bonus as well," Gu Bai said smilingly, having no intention of taking advantage of his best friend.
But Fang Weixuan didn't want the salary. "It's great that you're willing to let me learn from you. In the empire, we have to pay the tuition and formally acknowledge the ones we admire as our masters. I haven't offered you the tuition yet. How could I ask for a salary from you?"
Fang Weixuan was right. The chefs only became chefs in the empire either because they were a chef family or because they learned from other chefs. If they were the latter kind, they had to start from dealing with the dumb chores. They had to officially acknowledge the person as their master, pay the tuition, and buy him gifts during the festivals.
In the beginning, the disciples could only wash and cut vegetables or match them, and the chefs would teach them some tricks when they were in a good mood. But if they felt the opposite, the disciples might learn nothing useful even if they worked in restaurants for several years.
In addition, Gu Bai was as capable as a Five-Satr chef. However, other Five-Star chefs hadn't accepted any disciples for many years even if many people racked their minds to learn from them.
Fang Weixuan also failed once before.
Therefore, he felt blessed when he had the chance to learn from Gu Bai.
"Xiaobai, am I your first disciple now? If so, I shouldn't call you Xiaobai but master from this moment on," Fang Weixuan said with a big smile as if he had won a lottery.
"Don't do that. Just call me by my name." Gu Bai didn't think he could accept the title. Besides, he had no plan to have any disciple yet. What he would do best was to teach Fang Weixuan some tricks from time to time, so he didn't think it was necessary.
"That won't do. As long as you teach me to cook, you are my master! I'll treat you as a real master based on the existing etiquette and manners. Don't feel bothered. I won't let you feel that way, Master." Fang Weixuan called him that way in an attempt to settle their relationship.
Gu Bai's objection was invalid, but he didn't feel unsatisfied about it, either.
He had a plan to make more people know about ancient earth dishes. The best he wished was that people in the interstellar era could learn it. Now that Fang Weixuan volunteered to learn from him, he would take him as the first seed.
And he would help do it better.
"Alright, I'm willing to take you as my first disciple. Just call me Xiaobai. I'm not accustomed to being called a master. Besides, now that you've decided to be my disciple, I'll require you strictly, especially about cooking," said Gu Bai seriously.
He had thought that he could teach Fang Weixuan some skills while cooking. Now that they had settled down the master-disciple relationship, he had to treat it seriously when teaching the latter.
"Alright, Master Xiaobai, I will definitely study hard." Fang Weixuan smiled contently, having no problem with Xiaobai being his master at such a young age.
It could be seen that Fang Weixuan really liked cooking and he was serious about being a better chef.
With all the above things settled, Gu Bai only needed to apply for various licenses and open the restaurant on an auspicious day.
Soon, Gu Bai found out that it was worth accepting Fang Weixuan as his disciple.
With Fang Weixuan's help, he applied for the licenses smoothly and settled the date to open the restaurant. It was the first weekend after Gu Bai's school started. Before that, Fang Weixuan almost took care of all the necessary businesses before the opening ceremony of the branch.
As for Gu Bai, he had all the time to prepare for his enrollment.
Imperial University implemented the campus housing system, so the freshmen were required to live in their university instead of living outside even if they were local students.
Therefore, once Gu Bai entered university, he would have less time and energy for the restaurant.
He had thought too little before renting the restaurant. Without Fang Weixuan, it was impossible for him to open it.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was time for Imperial University to start.
"Master Xiaobai, do you really not need me to send you to school?" Fang Weixuan asked again.
"No, I can go there alone. Please take good care of Mu Qiu." Mu Qiu refused to depart from Xiaobai, so he stayed in Xiaobai's arms. Xiaobai had to give him to Fang Weixuan instead.
Pets were not allowed to appear in the university. Therefore, for fear of any unnecessary troubles, Gu Bai decided to let Fang Weixuan take care of him for a period. Once the school allowed him to take the pet, he would take Mu Qiu with him.
"Bai, I don't want to leave you."
"Be a good boy, Mu Qiu. Stay here with Xuan for some time. I'll take you with me as long as I settle down at school, okay?" Gu Bai stroked his fur to comfort him.
"Make it quick, then."
Since Gu Bai had been staying in the hotel recently, Mu Qiu didn't return to the manor for a long time. Now that he was going to school, Mu Qiu could spend some time with Jun Molin in the manor.
However, Mu Qiu still didn't have the heart to separate from Xiaobai for such a long time.
He wished Jun Molin could live with Xiaobai, and then he could stay with both of them.
The more Mu Qiu thought about it, the more he believed it was a good idea. The only problem was that Jun Molin might be too unapproachable to get along with, and he wasn't sure whether Xiaobai could bear him. Mu Qiu really wished Xiaobai wouldn't hate Jun Molin for his sake.
If Jun Molin knew what Mu Qiu was thinking at this moment, he might feel betrayed and abandon him immediately.
Previously, Mu Qiu had already abandoned him for food, and now, he did it again for another man. What a disloyal companion animal.
"Be a good boy and listen to Xuan. I'll be back to see you soon." Gu Bai consoled Mu Qiu, held his simple packing, and took a taxi to Imperial University with Mu Mu on his wrist as a bracelet.
Seeing Gu Bai disappear from his eyesight, Mu Qiu jumped out of Fang Weixuan's arms all of a sudden. Looking Fang Weixuan up and down, Mu Qiu disdained him.
"I'm going to find my master. And you should not report to Xiaobai about this."
Fang Weixuan had no clue of what Mu Qiu was saying.
Mu Qiu disdained him more when he realized Fang Weixuan couldn't even understand him.
Alas… It looked like Jun Molin and Gu Bai were the best in the world.