Chapter 23: Primary Nutritionist Examination-No início, rompimento do noivado? Ela desbloqueia um sistema de culinária e é disputada pelos homens(Brancas flores de pereira sob a chuva outonal ao entardecer.)

Qiao Xin was going to take the nutritionist certification exam. Hua Qinmo insisted on tagging along, which meant Lei Wuxie had to go as well. With those two involved, Lin Yifeng refused to be left behind.

Qiao Xin couldn't be bothered with them, so she rode in the shuttle with her parents. After all, Hua Qinmo did not need to be by her side every single moment now.

Upon arriving at the exam venue, the Qiao family headed straight to the registration terminal, having already signed up via the Starnet.

"Number 1025, please take your ticket."

The machine dispensed a numbered card, which would serve as her credential for the subsequent tests. The theory exam was scheduled for 9:00 AM, so she needed to locate her testing hall.

"Xin, it's in Exam Hall Eleven," Lin Yifeng found it for her immediately.

The halls were divided by groups of one hundred, and Qiao Xin’s number placed her directly in Hall Eleven. Lin Yifeng was more familiar with the facility than the others.

"Xiangxiang, good luck!" Hua Qinmo tried to hug Qiao Xin, but Lei Wuxie held him back.

The trio had already drawn plenty of attention upon entering, and seeing them all crowding around one girl naturally focused every eye on Qiao Xin. She offered a brief word of thanks and headed straight toward the designated area.

Xiao Linshuang and her husband found a place to sit and wait, pointedly pretending not to know the three men. Being stared at like that was truly unpleasant.

With the help of "Little i" to cheat, Qiao Xin breezed through the questions. The only things that slowed her down were the analytical questions that required written responses. Even so, she finished and turned in her paper within an hour.

The examiners graded on the spot, so she just had to wait outside for the notification on her optical computer to see if she had passed.

As soon as she walked out, before her parents could step forward, Lin Yifeng shouted, "Xin, how did it go?"

Hua Qinmo and Lei Wuxie were not as excitable as he was; shouting in a public place was not exactly appropriate.

"It went fine. Just waiting for the notification," Qiao Xin signaled for him to lower his voice before walking over to sit beside her mother.

"The theory for a junior nutritionist is simple. The real test is the practical portion."

Xiao Linshuang had done her homework and nodded with a smile, "With your practical skills, you'll have no problem."

She was already capable of making intermediate-level nutritional meals; a mere junior exam couldn't possibly stump her.

"Don't worry, Xin. The practical exam for a junior nutritionist is also simple. They won't ask you to make anything difficult," said Lin Yifeng. As a nutrient solution researcher, he knew the exam requirements inside and out.

"I'm not worried," Qiao Xin shook her head. She checked the schedule for the intermediate nutritionist exam on her optical computer, wondering if she could sign up for it as soon as she received her junior certification.

She could try for intermediate, but she wouldn't hold out hope for advanced. It wouldn't do to be too flashy.

Her eldest uncle's intention was to get her training up to speed before the special military academy recruitment. She only had two years. If she couldn't reach the minimum requirements for special recruitment, she wouldn't be able to enter the military academy, even if she were an advanced nutritionist.

Although she had a reserved spot as a reservist, entering active military training was completely different from life at the academy. For someone without supernatural abilities, life in the military was much tougher.

Qiao Xin didn't have particularly lofty ambitions, but if she could enter the military academy with her head held high, she would certainly give it her all. Besides, she would be more than happy to do anything that slapped the faces of the main Qiao family.

"Candidate 1025, Qiao Xin, passed the theory exam. Please proceed to Practical Training Room One for the practical assessment."

The notification pinged on her optical computer, and the announcement echoed through the hall. As Qiao Xin stood up, she was once again the subject of many gazes.

While there were many junior nutritionists, who knew if she would continue to advance? People were mostly watching her because the presence of the three men beside her was simply too overwhelming.

Although Lei Wuxie had changed into casual clothes, his aura was impossible to mask. Hua Qinmo’s ethereal, otherworldly face was even more impossible to ignore. As for Lin Yifeng, his reputation was well-known, and many were eager to cozy up to him.

"I'm off to the assessment," Qiao Xin said to the group, then hurried away. If she didn't arrive within thirty minutes, it would count as a forfeit!

Inside the first training room, she realized she wasn't the only one being tested.

"You may choose any ingredient from level one to level three. The exam topic is grilled meat. Candidates, you may begin."

There were nine others in the room. They rushed to choose their ingredients as soon as the announcement ended, but Qiao Xin paused to look at the available seasonings first.

Whether grilled meat tastes good depends not just on the heat, but primarily on the seasoning.

Finding both "Fragrant Honey" and "Flame Pepper," she immediately selected the ingredients for a honey glaze and a spicy rub. There was no rule stating she couldn't make two flavors. However, not every type of meat was suited for both.

She waited for the others to finish choosing before looking at the ingredients: level one was "Baa-Baa Lamb Leg," level two was "Ball-Ball Pork," and level three was "Goo-Goo Chicken."

Without hesitation, she chose the level two Ball-Ball Pork. While honey-glazed chicken wings and legs were delicious, Goo-Goo Chicken meat could get stringy when grilled; it was better suited for stewing.

She cut the pork into chunks. The honey-glazed ones were skewered directly, while for the spicy ones, she alternated the meat with thick slices of star-pepper.

There were five examiners, so she prepared ten skewers in total, two of each flavor for each examiner.

The honey-glazed ones didn't need marinating, so she set the five spicy skewers to marinate first. By now, others had already started grilling. Qiao Xin didn't mind; Ball-Ball Pork was rich in fat and had a delicate texture, so it didn't need long to cook. She had plenty of time.

Half an hour later, five people had already finished grilling before she even started.

The meat sizzled, but no one paid much attention. Level two Ball-Ball Pork would sizzle like that no matter how you grilled it. Because they were all using simple open-flame grills, it was easy to end up with meat that was burnt on the outside and raw on the inside if the heat wasn't managed well.

Qiao Xin's meat chunks were noticeably thicker than the others', causing the five examiners to shake their heads subconsciously.

However, just as the five examiners finished critiquing the first five candidates and the others were waiting for their turn, a sweet, mouth-watering aroma wafted through the air. The scent was faint, so the crowd only glanced over briefly before continuing with the evaluations.

But the very next second, a powerful, pungent, spicy aroma aggressively swept through the room. Qiao Xin had finished the honey-glazed skewers and was now grilling the spicy ones.

"Achoo!"

As the first person was tickled into a sneeze, a chorus of sneezes broke out one after another. In an instant, the entire room could feel nothing but the intoxicating aroma radiating from her station.

Qiao Xin finished grilling both sets of meat and stood at the back of the line. Those who had already been evaluated couldn't help but swallow hard. The five examiners sped up their critiques, finishing with the rest of the candidates in under ten minutes.

Qiao Xin stepped forward and placed two skewers in front of each of the five examiners.

"Distinguished examiners, I personally suggest trying the spicy one first. Of course, you can also try one bite of each flavor."

The honey-glazed meat might not be particularly striking on its own, but it was the perfect salvation from the heat of the spicy ones! There were very few spicy dishes in the Star Alliance, with only a handful of systems using spice in their cuisine. The grilled meat from the candidates before her had all been plain, original flavor.