Reborn in Japan as a Chef God

"Where's the boss?"

The young man in the couple was dressed flamboyantly, with hair in a riot of colors, full of Shibuya Style.

He had his hands in his trouser pockets, looking around with an unfriendly gaze, as if carrying a hint of disdain.

His girlfriend tugged at his sleeve and glared at him. He clicked his tongue, pulled his hands out of his pockets, and somewhat toned down his edgy demeanor.

"...Are you here to dine?" Mu Xiaoyue hesitantly stood up, speaking in English.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing her face clearly, the young woman covered her mouth, filled with surprise, "Are you Sister Yueyue?"

"Yes."

Mu Xiaoyue also reacted, answering instinctively upon hearing Chinese, and her expression became peculiar.

"Great! Let's take a photo first!" The young woman immediately ditched her boyfriend, squeezed next to Mu Xiaoyue, and took out her smartphone. After adjusting the angle, she snapped several shots in quick succession, then nodded in satisfaction and stepped back.

"You didn't specifically come here because you read my food article, did you?" Mu Xiaoyue asked curiously.

In her food travelogue, Mu Xiaoyue had intentionally detailed the address of Xia's Chinese Restaurant, making it easy for readers to find if they'd paid attention to the article.

The young woman nodded and asked, "Sister Yueyue, is the Chinese cuisine here really that authentic and delicious?"

"You'll know when you taste it. I can't describe it with words; I've run out of them." Mu Xiaoyue spread her hands.

"Is that so?"

The young woman's eyes lit up. She turned around and pulled her Shibuya Style boyfriend to a clean table.

Mu Xiaoyue glanced over.

The young woman was still very young, probably a student studying in Japan, and her boyfriend was clearly Japanese. They conversed in Japanese, with the woman pleading slightly, seemingly wanting to dine at the Chinese Restaurant, while her boyfriend frowned, unwilling.

"Xiao Ya, watch the store. I'm going to find that brat," Mu Xiaoyue said, passing the task of minding the store to her friend, and headed to the back courtyard of Xia's Restaurant.

"Yu?"

Following the narrow staircase to the second floor, Mu Xiaoyue appraised the clean and tidy living space, nodding subtly. She found the bedroom, one of which was empty, while the other had its door closed, obviously occupied. Standing outside, she called out a few times, and a shadow grew larger behind the sliding door.

"Sister Yue?"

The door opened, and Xia Yu appeared, looking surprised.

He looked like he'd stayed up too late, with heavy under-eye bags that made Mu Xiaoyue frown and show confusion.

It had only been a little over three hours since afternoon when the vibrant youth suddenly appeared so weary. Mu Xiaoyue felt suspicious and let her gaze wander over his bedroom, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Her gaze lingered on the trash can in the bedroom before she withdrew her eyes guiltily, her cheeks tinged with red.

"How come your nap turned into evening?"

Without giving him a chance to respond, Mu Xiaoyue grabbed Xia Yu's arm, explaining while dragging him down the stairs, "There's a guest at the store, one of my fans. She saw my food travelogue last night and came specifically. You'd better treat her well; otherwise, it'll ruin both our reputations!"

Xia Yu's muddled mind became clearer with each step down the stairs.

Suddenly, he remembered why Mu Xiaoyue was at the store.

About three days ago, it had rained heavily in Tokyo, and he had asked An Ya and Mu Xiaoyue to help watch the store while he practiced in the kitchen...

But no!

Thinking about it, Xia Yu realized with a tangled feeling that the timeline was all messed up, and the problem lay with the Chef God Space!

"System, how long was I actually in the Chef God Space?"

"You entered the Chef God Space at Tokyo Time 2:33 PM, and it is now 5:48 PM on the same day, totaling 3 hours and 15 minutes," the system dutifully answered.

"What?!"

Xia Yu was stunned.

In reality, only three hours had passed, but the problem was he felt like he'd been in the Chef God Space for at least three days, practicing cooking skills repetitively until he was mentally numb.

Swallowing, Xia Yu realized there was a major misunderstanding about the exchange time!

Ten Fame Points could exchange for one hour of training time in the Chef God Space.

Note, this time referred to real-world time!

"Could it be that one real-world hour equals a day in the Chef God Space?" Xia Yu found this thought terrifying.

Dragged by Mu Xiaoyue to the storefront.

"Do you want to dine?"

Xia Yu temporarily put aside unnecessary distractions and appraised the young couple before him.

"..."

Seeing the person asking was a fresh-faced young man, the woman glanced at Mu Xiaoyue, then slightly opened her mouth, "Are you the owner of this shop?"

"I'm not just the owner; I'm also the head chef." Xia Yu smiled slightly.

The woman spoke in Japanese, so he naturally replied in Japanese.

"Huh?" The Shibuya Style young man's expression was fascinating, transitioning from surprise to doubt, then with a hint of humility asked, "Are you a Far Moon student?"

"No," Xia Yu shook his head.

The Shibuya Style young man's face abruptly changed, leaving a trace of unconcealed disdain in his eyes. He said dismissively, "I see, you're not a Far Moon student. Then why do you dare to run a restaurant at your age? Who gave you the courage?"

"You should know, customers can't be satisfied with a few half-baked dishes," he questioned.

His girlfriend glared at him, but this time the Shibuya Style young man defiantly glared back.

"The Chinese food you speak of is made by this guy? It'd be better to eat at a Japanese restaurant started by a Far Moon graduate. I braved bad weather to take the train here. Who knew the head chef would be so unreliable? Really disappointing."

Seeing this, his girlfriend could only stand up and bow to apologize.

"Sorry, he has some misunderstandings about Chinese cuisine, so..."

Xia Yu waved his hand, showing he didn't mind.

He'd also picked up on it; this Shibuya Style young man seemed to genuinely look down on Chinese cuisine, almost wearing a "I've been fooled by Chinese food" expression on his annoying face.

With that in mind, Xia Yu felt it necessary to update this lost lamb's understanding of what real Chinese cuisine was!

He had been training day and night in the Chef God Space for three days, just in time to test his skills.

Without saying much, he turned toward the kitchen. Xia Yu hung the prepared menu board on the wall.

An Ya and Mu Xiaoyue huddled over, crowding beside him with a fragrant breeze.

"Sichuan cuisine includes Fish Fragrant Shredded Pork, Mapo Tofu, and Sour and Spicy Potato Strips."

"Cantonese cuisine includes Satay Beef, Pineapple Gulu Meat, and Nam Yu Vegetable Pot."

Ah.

Mu Xiaoyue looked disappointed. "Why only six dishes today?"

"Today, I'll treat you to three of them for free. Isn't that enough?" Xia Yu said with amusement. Before heading back to the kitchen, he abruptly stopped and asked, "By the way, were there any ingredients delivered in the afternoon?"

"Yes, some are in the fridge, while others that couldn't fit are outside. By the way, where did you order the ingredients from? The delivery person was really professional..." Mu Xiaoyue wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth.