Chapter 14 Scarlett Sparks

• Looking at Samantha’s figure as she left, Christopher smiled to himself. He had a hunch that they were going to meet again.
• “Ding! Congratulations, owner! You helped someone who was in need, so you gained 500 thumbs-up!” When his gaze was fixed on her figure, a robotic sound rang in his mind.
• At once, his heart leapt and he instinctively looked down at his cell phone. He realized that his thumbs-up point that was initially two-digit became 521.
• It seemed that not only could he earn points from acting cool and showing off, but even lending someone a helping hand worked as well. Nodding to himself, Christopher thought that he was beginning to get a hang of how the Thumbs-Up System worked.
• ...
• The next day, the weather was lovely; it was windy and refreshing.
• Christopher arrived at The Serenade punctually.
• “Chris is here!” Just as he entered the front door, he heard someone greeting him. It was something that had never happened before. After the Knife Skills competition against Hayden yesterday, a lot of things seemed to have changed. As to the people who took the initiative to greet him, he greeted each and every one of them back. He did not become arrogant and he remained friendly and humble as always.
• After coming to the kitchen, he began chit-chatting with the chefs. Approximately half an hour later, Luna made her appearance. She said blandly, “Everyone, gather at the meeting room now.” Without much of an elaboration, she turned on her heel and left after leaving the simple instruction.
• “Why do we have a meeting today?” After she left, someone voiced out their puzzlement. “The monthly meeting is supposed to be in the middle of the month, isn’t it? The timing isn’t right!’
• “Why do you care? Just go when you’re asked to!”
• Despite being in a confusion as well, Christopher did not say anything and went to the meeting room with the others.
• Despite being a medium-sized restaurant, The Serenade had quite a number of employees. From the chefs and servers to the human resource staff, there were around 80 employees in total. When Christopher reached the meeting room, there were only a few empty seats left. Hence, he got a chair from the room next door and sat in a corner.
• It didn’t take long before Luna, who was elegant and cold as usual, pushed the door of the meeting room open and entered.
• She donned a tight-fitting short skirt that was sky blue in color with a white polyester blouse. On her feet were a pair of pink heels, and her long legs were covered with translucent stockings. In a nutshell, her outfit lived up to her image of a capable woman.
• When she walked through the door, Christopher could’ve sworn that he noticed several male colleagues’ breathing pace raced at once. However, he didn’t blame them as Luna was a woman who had the ability to make any man feel starstruck.
• “Two things!” As usual, her introductory sentence was as concise as it could get. After sweeping her gaze across the room, she continued, “Firstly, I believe that you guys already know that from today onward, Christopher will no longer be a helper at the kitchen. He’s officially getting promoted to be a line cook. Hence, I hope that you all will cooperate well at work.”
• It was not shocking news at all because it was within the audiences’ expectations. Just by his Dual Wielding skills, he could even be more than a line cook.
• “Secondly.” She paused before continuing, “It’s also the reason why I’ve decided to have this last-minute meeting.”
• “I’ve already found our new head chef, and he is right outside the door now.”
• “The new head chef is found?” Upon hearing that, the employees began to discuss among each other.
• It was just yesterday that Hayden left, but the new head chef already arrived today. That must be the epitome of efficiency.
• After all, the head chef was not an unimportant unspecialized post, so it must be selected carefully. Not only did the new head chef have to be very skillful, but the said person’s style must be in accordance with their restaurant as well.
• Based on The Serenade’s current condition, it wouldn’t be weird if they spent 2 to 3 months to pick a suitable candidate. It wouldn’t be odd if they had tried to hire someone from another restaurant with a more attractive offer.
• How did Luna select the new candidate so quickly?
• Inevitably, most of the employees were curious about the new head chef’s identity.
• “Come in, Scarlett!” Without much of an explanation, Luna called out toward the direction of the door.
• The door of the meeting room squeaked as it was being pushed open again. Under the eyes of everyone present in the room, an adorable girl wearing a pair of shorts with two ponytails underneath her baseball cap strutted in.
• Though the girl was a little chubby, one wouldn’t consider her fat. Aside from that, she had defined facial features and a youthful image. Hence, the others had a liking toward her.
• A feeling of liking was there...
• However, was this the new head chef of The Serenade?
• It just didn’t feel right!
• Firstly, she was a female, but it wasn’t a matter of gender discrimination. Being a chef meant living right beside hot oil and fire, so it was just not suitable for females. Moreover, the head chef and sous-chef would have to stand right next to the stove for 5 to 6 hours straight when business was good. Hence, it was also a test of one’s stamina. That was why there were less female chefs compared to male chefs who could stay in this post for a long time.
• With the lower numbers of female chefs, those who truly exceled must be ever more rare. Was the cute girl who looked like she came out of a two dimensional animation really one of them?
• No matter how the majority saw this, it felt odd.
• On top of that, age was an important factor among the chefs too since their way of life was dependent on their skills. Thus, experience and skills were both vital in this field. Taking a 20-year-old as an example, if they were to get started learning to cook then, they would be able to be a head chef of a small restaurant by the time they reached 40 years old, provided that they had the talent.
• However, the girl standing before was definitely 22 years old at most. How was it possible that such a young girl could become the superior of a bunch of older chefs?
• “Ms. Sears, this…” A chef who was in his fifties or sixties spoke up. He failed to understand why Luna, who was always smart and calculative, would make such a bad decision.
• Naturally, Luna knew what the others were thinking. With a smile, she reassured them, “I understand your doubts, but The Serenade is my blood, sweat and tears; I will not joke about the head chef candidate. Don’t you worry, Scarlett is definitely capable of this position.”
• Luna’s reputation at The Serenade was well-established. Hence, her words of reassurance held their weight, but silence didn’t mean that the others had understood. Among them, Christopher was also having doubts about this girl named Scarlett Sparks.
• No matter what sort of company or organization it was, cooperation and unity were of utmost importance. Despite not wanting to reveal Scarlett’s identity initially, she thought that it was now necessary. After a pause, she said with a smile, “Her name’s Scarlett Sparks. She’s 21 years old currently, and she is from Eryshire.” That was all she said as she deemed that it was enough information for them to figure the rest out.
• “Your surname is Sparks?”
• “You’re 21 years old?”
• “You’re from Eryshire?”
• The same experienced chef who asked Luna questions earlier seemed to have had a sudden realization. In a swift movement, he looked up at Scarlett in disbelief before asking, “Is this for real? Young lady, what’s your relationship with Lawrence Sparks, the Master Chef Sparks?”
• “Master Chef Sparks?” Scarlett attempted to stifle her laugh as she covered her mouth with her palm. “It’s been a while since I last heard someone call him that.”
• “That stubborn old man is my grandfather!”