Chapter 9 Line Cook

• This is it. I’m finished. Hayden’s expression was grim as he heard Luna’s response. Immediately, he knew things were about to go downhill.
• How?
• How did things turn out this way?
• Again and again, Hayden continued to question himself.
• How could this be?!
• Right. It’s all because of Tina! As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he turned to look at Tina at once. His expression was filled with hatred and resentment.
• If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't try to provoke Christopher in the first place, and if I didn't provoke him, today’s situation would not unfold. And if this didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be forced to leave The Serenade—this was all because of her!
• The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. In the next second, he raised his hand and slapped Tina’s face hard.
• Slap! It was loud. The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the room and everyone heard it.
• Taken aback, Tina froze. The last thing she would have expected was for Hayden to slap her in front of everyone. After being caught in a daze, she finally came back to her senses.
• “How dare you hit me!”
• “How dare you!” She kept repeating. Tina was so used to being spoiled by everyone around her—when had she ever received such poor treatment?
• As such, like a mentally deranged person, she stretched out her hand and grabbed Hayden's face with her sharp nails, and deliberately tried to claw his face.
• Slash.
• Seconds later, a bloodstain appeared on Hayden’s bloated face.
• “Ah!” Hayden cried out in pain and even tried to fight back!
• However, unfortunately for him, even for a man of his size, he was no match for Tina who was in a frenzy. Despite his feeble attempts at fighting back, more and more blood marks slowly appeared on his face.
• Hayden’s face was full of blood now—he looked extremely miserable.
• “Enough!” Luna couldn’t stand it anymore and halted the both of them softly but sternly, “If you want to fight, fight outside! The Serenade is not a place for you to mess around like this!”
• This was obviously her telling them to get out of her sight.
• Hayden knew he no longer had the face to stay anymore. Hence, he covered his face and ran out right away.
• As for Tina, she continued to follow behind him and yell loudly, refusing to let him get away.
• “Ding. Congratulations host. With your incredible knife skill, you are rewarded a thousand thumbs-up!” Before Christopher could indulge in the fact that he had finally got to embarrass the two, he immediately heard the robotic voice again in his head. At once, he took out his mobile phone and took a look. Sure enough, the total number of his ‘thumbs-ups’ at the upper right corner increased from 121 to 1121!
• I can get thumbs-ups just like this?
• The corners of his mouth rose slightly into an involuntary smirk. He only wanted to embarrass the two but he didn't expect to have gained anything from doing that.
• Thumbs-ups are useful—the more the merrier.
• Just when Christopher was overjoyed for getting a thousand thumbs-ups, Luna walked over to him.
• When she finally reached Christopher’s side, she smiled and looked at him intently—as if she was going to see through him anytime.
• Later on, in the managing director’s office.
• With her slender fingers, Luna opened the curtains and took a look at the busy first floor of The Serenade, while Christopher only quietly looked at this woman who had called him here immediately after the competition was over.
• There was indeed a kind of woman in the world who seemed to be favored by God. He not only bestowed them with looks, a great body figure, class, and elegance but also wisdom—Luna was one of these lucky women. Looking at her refined and charming back, he couldn't help but think about how lucky her ex-husband who passed away was. Beauty is a sin, indeed. Such a beautiful woman. It would be a pleasure to just be able to look at her like this, even from a distance.
• “Sit!” Withdrawing her gaze from the restaurant lobby on the first floor, Luna turned to Christopher and said, “No need to be so tense.”
• “Yes, Ms. Sears!” With a slight smile, he followed what she said and sat down on the black leather sofa in front of him.
• In fact, Luna’s office could be said to be like her boudoir in the restaurant. Except for some female employees, even Hayden, who was the former head chef, had never come into this room before. Previously, whenever they had matters to discuss, they would meet up at the meeting room no matter what; just like when they were interviewing Tina, the so-called former captain of a five-star hotel. Christopher seemed to be the first man ever to have entered this private room.
• The hour hand of the clock neared twelve. Thus, diners had begun to come into the restaurant one after another. Although Hayden had left, everything in The Serenade still seemed to be running as per usual. The previous experience that the chefs had gathered allowed the restaurant to run smoothly without being affected by anyone’s departure. In terms of the types and patterns of the dishes, the skillful chefs in the restaurant were fully capable of making them.
• “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to know ‘Dual Wielding’!” Without mincing her words, Luna said straightforwardly, “You surprised me.”
• It was indeed a pleasant surprise to her. How could I have not known that there was such a master in knife skills in our kitchen? Sigh, this was a major oversight on my part that needs to be reviewed, Luna thought to herself.
• After taking a sip of the coffee on the table, Luna continued, “With your culinary skills, well, maybe not as a head chef, but you are more than capable of becoming a senior chef. Why would you be willing to be merely a helper? And for three years at that.”
• In fact, this was the part that Luna couldn't seem to figure out. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find a reasonable excuse to convince herself about this.
• And here comes the questions, Christopher thought.
• As soon as he heard Luna’s question, he immediately pursed his lips nervously. He knew that with the wisdom of this woman, she would definitely see through him after all.
• Naturally, he knew he could not afford to expose the ‘thumbs-up system’. In any case, that had to remain a secret. Therefore, after thinking about it for a while, he said, “Frankly, I am not as good as you think, Ms. Sears. I’m only better with knife skills. I don’t think I am even capable as a senior chef, let alone the Sous-chef.”
• “Is that so?” Hearing Christopher’s reply, Luna raised her eyebrows, obviously finding his response hard to believe. That being so, she didn’t ask him any further questions. After all, sometimes it was not necessarily good to get to the bottom of everything.
• After pondering for a while, she said, “Since you have won the competition with Hayden and he has left, the decision to fire you will naturally no longer be considered. And since you have just said that you can’t be a senior chef, would you consider becoming a line cook?”
• Regardless of whether what Christopher said was true—that he was only good at knife skills—a chef who knew Dual Wielding had to stay in The Serenade!
• “If you’re worried about the benefits you’ll be getting, you don’t have to. If you agree to stay, the restaurant will not only help you pay for your insurance and mortgage, but we will also double your current salary. What do you think?” Luna said with a smile.
• Line cook? Insurance and mortgage? Double my current salary?
• Christopher was obviously moved.
• He knew of his own capabilities. Rather than doing the actual cooking, the head chef exercised more administrative power. Without important guests, he generally did not personally cook.
• Sous-chefs and senior chefs were the real soul of the entire restaurant. It could be said that all dishes that were being served on the customer’s table were from the hands of the sous-chef and the senior chefs. Should he become the sous-chef, he would be exposed immediately.
• However, he could definitely consider being a line cook. The benefits were top-notch, and his salary would be doubled. Wait, does that mean that I will have six to seven thousand in income every month?
• Goodness. This time around, I don’t have to worry about rent anymore!