When Zhao Bai woke up, dawn had just begun to break, the bright moon and sun hanging in the sky together.
Though he had only slept for five hours, Zhao Bai mixed himself a drink with mint juice and salted lemon and downed it. He instantly felt refreshed, without a trace of fatigue.
The Chiyou Cannon spat out transparent ice cubes. Zhao Bai casually took two and pressed them to his forehead. Taking a deep breath, he peeked over and saw Theresa's door slightly ajar. She was sprawled on her bed, sound asleep.
Her clean, neat nun's uniform hung beside her bed without a single crease. Whenever a subordinate passed by, Theresa would put it on at supersonic speed, transforming from a shut-in into a solemn nun who observed proper etiquette. There was no transition needed.
Like a turtle pulling in its head, it was some sort of stress response, entirely instinctive.
Not daring to wake the sleeping Theresa, Zhao Bai moved lightly and quietly shut the door.
Zhao Bai muttered to himself, "Even though I already knew, it's still hard to believe that such a frail little body can be the principal of St. Freya Academy."
And her age was completely at odds with her body.
He could not bring himself to say the last half aloud. Theresa had the perception of a Honkai Beast; even if someone said one bad thing about her half a li away, she would certainly know. Retribution would follow—perhaps Theresa would drag him into gaming without sleep or rest.
Lack of sleep was devastating to a chef's sense of taste. If it had not been for saving someone, he would never have stayed up late.
The motorcycle roamed through the academy. Zhao Bai deliberately chose a secluded route, leaped over fountains and flowerbeds, and landed atop the cafeteria's curved dome facing the rising sun.
This was Zhao Bai's kingdom.
The cafeteria was enormous, and his restaurant occupied an inconspicuous corner within it. St. Freya's kitchen had originally been filled with retired Russian field chefs, whose cooking carried the heaviness of the polar regions—they dumped milk and butter into the pot as though they cost nothing.
Apparently, only Russian mercenaries enjoyed that sort of food. Once Zhao Bai's Asian-style restaurant, with its somewhat lighter flavors, opened for business, the cafeteria's trade immediately took a severe hit.
"Zhao Family Restaurant."
Zhao Bai's restaurant name was simple and plain. Beneath it was a line of engraved black lettering, wildly arrogant: "There is nothing you can think of that Old Zhao cannot make."
The restaurant was built largely from solid wood. A faint scent of pine lingered in the air, infused with the warmth of cooking smoke and pleasantly fragrant. Several wooden tables were arranged in an orderly fashion, giving the place an elegant layout.
But the kitchen had a massive alloy iron door, utterly out of place with the restaurant's refined atmosphere, as though it concealed some unspeakable secret.
Recently, an urban legend had been spreading around St. Freya Academy, claiming there were three unknowable places in the academy: Principal Theresa's office, history teacher Walter Yang's dormitory, and Mr. Zhao's back kitchen.
Those baseless rumors had nothing whatsoever to do with Zhao Bai. He simply did not want people seeing how he cooked.
Zhao Bai was only considering his customers' feelings.
After all, not everyone could accept that the fried chicken nuggets they ate had been made with high-energy laser beams.
Zhao Bai straightened the sign, put on his apron, donned his chef's hat, and prepared himself. At last, he entered work mode.
The first customer arrived.
Ding-ding-ding. A pleasant wind chime rang as a familiar figure pushed open the door: the bespectacled girl with a light gray ponytail, Squad Leader Fu Hua, who was on fairly good terms with Zhao Bai.
Zhao Bai's restaurant was the only place where Fu Hua had never worked part-time. The reason was simple: the kitchen's secrets could not be exposed, and Zhao Bai did not want to pay another person's wages.
Fu Hua looked ready for action, as though she had just finished a shift at a casino, yet there was no fatigue in her eyes. She raised a finger and specifically requested a breakfast that would refresh and awaken her.
"Have a cup of mint tea."
Zhao Bai held the menu in his hands. "Oversaturated fats and carbohydrates make people sleepy. You'd better have some fruit salad too."
"Then please bring me some fruit salad."
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