"Don, it's your turn to choose the judge," Jake said to Don.
Don nodded and looked around the dining area, contemplating how to convey his thoughts to the waitstaff. As for whom to choose as the judge, it didn't matter much to him.
Just then, a waiter approached Don. "Manager, Dirk wants to have the squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish."
"Dirk?" Don was still thinking about the competition and momentarily forgot who Dirk was.
"Dirk," the waiter repeated.
"When did he arrive?" Don was surprised, and even Verna and Bill turned their attention to the waiter. It seemed that they also knew Dirk, as mentioned by the waiter.
"He just arrived. He has a friend dining here, so he didn't go to his own private room," the waiter explained.
"Alan, head to the kitchen and prepare the squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish," Don said without considering the competition. In his eyes, taking care of Dirk was more important than the competition with Jake.
"No need," Alan shook his head. "We already have it here." It was only then that everyone realized there were two freshly cooked plates of squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish right next to them. It was a fortunate coincidence.
"That's right, I almost forgot," Don smacked his own head and said, "Then, take this plate over."
"Wait!" Don suddenly stopped the waiter who was about to take the dish away. "Take the remaining plate over too!"
Originally, Don was thinking about how to convey his thoughts to the waiter, but Dirk's arrival changed his mind. Dirk was a regular and valued customer. Whenever he came, he would always order the squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish made by Alan. According to him, he had tried this dish in many restaurants, but only Alan's version suited his taste.
Even if Jake's dish was good, it wouldn't matter if it didn't suit Dirk's taste. If Dirk had to choose, he would undoubtedly choose Alan's dish. It was a sure win with Dirk's arrival at the perfect time!
"Don, is it appropriate to have Dirk as the judge?" Verna frowned.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it," Don said. "Dirk has had many great meals before, and he would make a great judge on a food show. It's just being a temporary judge, and he's more than capable."
"I agree with Don. Dirk is the perfect choice for the judge," Bill chimed in.
Dirk's preference for the squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish made by Alan, as well as Verna and Bill's familiarity with Dirk, wasn't a secret within their circle. So, Don choosing Dirk as the judge was clearly disadvantageous for Jake.
"Do you have any objections?" Don looked at Jake.
"No," Jake said. "It was your job to find a judge for this round. Anyone would do."
"Good," Don said.
"I haven't seen Dirk in a while either. Since we've coincidentally met today, it's a good opportunity to catch up," Bill said.
"I'll go too," Verna said. "Jake, you should come along as well."
"Him? Who is he? What's his status? Does Dirk meet with just anyone?" Bill looked at Jake with disdain.
"I'll take him there! I'll take responsibility if anything happens!" Verna exclaimed angrily.
Indeed, their circle was not one that anyone could enter. Without some status, it was clear that Jake wouldn't be able to enter their circle. As an ordinary physical education teacher, Jake obviously didn't have the qualifications to be part of their circle. In Bill's eyes, Jake wasn't even qualified for a regular introduction.
Jake initially didn't want to go. He wasn't particularly interested in the circle of rich second-generation individuals. However, it was hard for him to refuse Verna's earnest invitation.
In the end, Jake, Verna, Bill, Alan, and Don all went to the private room where Dirk was. As for Jason and the others, although they were envious and wanted to go, they didn't dare to follow. They wanted to be a part of that circle, but since Bill didn't invite them, they had no choice but to stay behind.
"Dirk, you're here for a meal, and you didn't even inform us in advance so we could prepare," Don greeted a young man sitting at the table after entering the private room. However, while greeting him, Don's eyelids twitched slightly as his gaze swept over the person next to him.
At the moment, Dirk was not seated in the main position. There was someone else occupying the main seat, also a young man whom Don didn't recognize. However, Don could tell that the person's status was definitely not ordinary. At the very least, his status was higher than Dirk's, or else he wouldn't be sitting in the main seat. Verna seemed to have also noticed the situation and felt a slight regret. She shouldn't have brought Jake here.
Originally, Verna wanted to introduce Jake to Dirk, thinking it wouldn't be a bad thing for Jake. She had Jake's best interests in mind. However, it was evident that Dirk wasn't the host of this private room today. Perhaps Dirk had important matters to discuss, and bringing a stranger along like this was inappropriate. On the other hand, Bill seemed to be unaware of the situation and warmly greeted Dirk.
"You prepared quite well, huh? I just ordered, and the dishes arrived. And you even sent two portions at once. Do you think I can eat it all? Afraid that one portion wouldn't be enough?" Dirk said with a smile, lacking the arrogance that Bill exuded.
"It's just a coincidence," Don replied. "Alan was competing with someone in the culinary arts, and he happened to make this dish. When we heard that Dirk was here, we brought it over."
"Oh? Someone is challenging Alan's culinary skills? In J City, is there a better chef than Alan?" Dirk seemed somewhat surprised. "No wonder Alan came personally today. Who is the person challenging Alan? The one next to Verna?"
"Dirk, his name is Jake. He's a physical education teacher at Princeton University," Verna introduced.
"A physical education teacher at Princeton University, your colleague?" Dirk said. "A physical education teacher who can't even teach physical education properly suddenly wants to challenge culinary skills." In his words, Dirk seemed to think that Jake was overestimating his abilities. After all, he had dined here multiple times and was well aware of Alan's skill level. Not to mention a physical education teacher, even those professional chefs from other restaurants would hardly claim to surpass Alan, especially when it came to making the squirrel-shaped Mandarin fish.