"But what?"

Du Xixi gently said to the eagerly questioning He Yuan, "But it seems like the chefs at the Military Department’s cafeteria are at a loss with the Insect Clan bodies. I chop them up like they’re vegetables, but when they start cutting, it’s usually the Insect Clan that’s fine, while the knives get ruined on the spot."

The four of them: ...

"Xixi, are you really not bragging?" Chen Si smiled wryly. He had also heard about the cafeteria established by the Military Department, with its chefs coming from the Cultural Relics Bureau, weren’t they their former colleagues?

The former colleagues were also at a loss with the Insect Clan bodies, probably the same outcome even if a few of them tried.

"Of course not!" Du Xixi blinked. She was just stating facts, but the accusatory glances from He Yuan and the others were too obvious for her to handle. She had to wave her hands in compromise, "Alright, let’s skip this topic! Tell me about how things have been in the Food Department over the past half year?"

With the start of the next semester, Du Xixi would have to return to classes, so understanding the current progress and study situation in the Food Department was beneficial for her.

After moving on from the topic of Insect Clan meat, everyone began to tell Du Xixi about their respective course situations. Just listening wasn’t enough for Du Xixi, and she found that she indeed missed a lot in the past six months regarding the lectures. Her notes on listening were too sparse, so she decided to open her Light Computer and record while noting down. In just one morning, she recorded tens of thousands of words on the course content!

"You guys really go hard in class!" Du Xixi clicked her tongue in admiration and smiled at everyone. "If it weren’t for the Light Computer that can connect spiritual power to enter the contents into my brain, I probably wouldn’t be able to finish noting it all with just my two hands in such a short time."

"With your ability, in two months’ time, you can definitely catch up quickly." Du Xixi’s ability was evident to everyone. It’s not just that she missed a semester; even if she missed an entire academic year, she’d still be able to keep up with the Food Department’s course content.

The disparity between Du Xixi’s ability and that of everyone else was too great. What they were teaching and learning was still very basic knowledge to Du Xixi, who’d be at the pinnacle of culinary skills in All-Star for decades.

"Stop praising, stop praising!" Du Xixi laughed adorably, though her words were in a teasing tone, her slightly flushed face showed she was genuinely a bit embarrassed. "If you praise me any more, I’ll get conceited."

"Hahaha..."

"Didn’t know Xixi could get embarrassed... Happily accept it!"

"Pride, pride, be as proud as you want! If one dose of pride isn’t enough, we’ll lend you another one!"

"..."

Everyone laughed and joked together. It was a harmonious atmosphere that everyone enjoyed, and Du Xixi was happy to be part of it. After having lunch with everyone, she spent the afternoon discussing plans for the summer and the next semester, then reluctantly got on a hovercar to return home.

"Miss seems to be in a very good mood today," said Jia Yi, sitting in the passenger seat to protect Du Xixi from nearby. Mecha soldiers couldn’t understand human emotions, but the human-like simulations allowed it to make timely comments.

Du Xixi hugged a soft pillow with a cute and ugly design. Having gotten used to it, she found it comfortable to hold, so there were always a few around her home and car. "Yeah, I’m in particularly high spirits today, probably because I’ve been stuck at home for too long."

Recently, Du Xixi rarely went out. Over the past month, she had only been out two or three times, including today. If she wasn’t helping Ke Xing take care of the kids, she was in the kitchen, delving into various new and old dishes.

Sometimes, in this world, Du Xixi still felt a bit lonely. Not in terms of everyday companionship, but in cooking, she often had a sense of being the lone flower admiring itself.

Whatever you do, occasional inspiration from a spark is necessary. When she was on Blue Star, Du Xixi would participate in banquets among top chefs — where they wouldn’t just eat, drink, and chat, but rather bring their favorite knives and showcase their skills in the kitchen, tasting and critiquing each other.

Those were Du Xixi’s happiest times. Especially when she first started out and made a name for herself in the chef community. Despite her astonishing talent, she lacked experience, so no matter how perfect her dishes were, other chefs with decades of experience could still find fault with them.

Other young people might not like hearing criticism, but Du Xixi was different. She had been refining her skills under the guidance of several gourmet grandpas since childhood, so she gladly accepted others’ opinions on her work.