The competition in the manga continued.
With Shirin imprisoned for using forbidden ingredients, Xiaodan eliminated for lack of creativity, it came down to Xiaohan with his beef noodles, Ah Fei with his potato noodles, and Cooking Master Boy with his squid-enhanced catfish noodles.
Readers were on the edge of their seats.
Who among these three would ultimately win?
Xiaohan from Dongjiang Pavilion wasn't much of a concern. No one wanted the main character, Cooking Master Boy, to lose, but what about Ah Fei? Handsome, skilled, practically a mentor to Cooking Master Boy, and someone who had helped him numerous times—who wanted to see him lose?
Yet, something strange happened in the manga.
When the scores for the special chef test were announced, readers were shocked to find that the highest score didn't belong to Cooking Master Boy or Ah Fei, but to the bald guy, Xiaohan from Dongjiang Pavilion.
Incredible! Even in the manga, Cooking Master Boy and Ah Fei were stunned.
The score difference was massive.
In the manga, the evaluation method was mutual scoring. Cooking Master Boy and Ah Fei both gave Xiaohan five points, while Xiaohan gave them each one point!
Could this be allowed? Would the judges accept this?
Of course not.
"You'll have to try again in four years!"
With that, Xiaohan was disqualified from the competition, much to the readers' satisfaction.
But the manga was just building up to the climax!
Next was the showdown between Cooking Master Boy and Ah Fei!
"Why do my hands tremble as I turn the page? I'm so excited."
Some readers couldn't help but mutter to themselves.
They were too excited.
After ten chapters and several weeks of buildup, finally, in this chapter, the author, the Porter, was delivering what they had been waiting for.
After the incident with Xiaohan, Cooking Master Boy and Ah Fei decided to score themselves!
"Perhaps as a chef, my knowledge and skills are limited, but I've done my best and made what I believe is my finest work. As a chef, I must give myself full marks!"
With these words from Cooking Master Boy, the readers cheered.
It made perfect sense.
If a chef doesn't have confidence in their own work, how can their customers have confidence in it?
As long as a chef gives their best, that dish is their perfect score!
Ah Fei also gave himself full marks!
After the judges' final deliberation, because their skills were equal, both were awarded the special chef qualification!
Seeing the two wearing their special chef uniforms, readers let out a sigh of relief.
Ah, that was satisfying. The Porter, this tricky author, finally delivered.
For once, the Porter didn't leave them hanging.
This chapter not only completed the special chef test but also left readers in suspense as Cooking Master Boy embarked on a journey of learning.
With the release of this chapter, Ren's followers on Twitter surged again.
Ratings for Cooking Master Boy on the Web also continued to rise.
In fact, after Cooking Master Boy became a hit, many copycat works emerged, trying to create passionate food-themed manga.
However, with Cooking Master Boy setting such a high bar, readers found other similar manga to be lackluster.
...
Weekend
At Ren's home, Ren was holding a pen with his left hand, continuously drawing lines.
"Ahhh!"
Suddenly, a scream broke the silence, making everyone look towards the source. Claire was holding her phone, a look of surprise on her face.
"What happened, Claire?" Jaz asked.
"Look... look at the star ratings!" Claire said, her neck stiffly turning towards everyone. "Teacher... Teacher has been promoted to a fourth-tier star!"
"No way?"
"Really?"
Hearing Claire's words, the assistants were shocked and quickly took out their phones to check the star rating website.
Unlike the astonished Claire and the assistants, Ren remained calm.
It wasn't that he wasn't excited; it's just that he already knew. His future wife had already informed him via phone.
In this world, celebrities are rated by an authoritative organization.
This rating is not only officially recognized but also respected by celebrities themselves, showing their standing.
Moreover, the rating includes all professions in the cultural and sports fields.
For example, athletes, directors, singers, actors, manga artists, writers, and so on.
They are divided into six levels.
Super-first-tier, first-tier, second-tier, third-tier, fourth-tier, and fifth-tier.
Don't think being a fourth-tier star is low.
How many people are there in the cultural and sports fields?
How many can become star-tier?
Moreover, this rating isn't based on a single aspect but a comprehensive evaluation.
Fame.
Influence.
Fan cohesion.
Quality of work.
It also considers whether the celebrity consistently produces good work and if they are still relevant.
In short, regardless of the industry, the rating looks at overall strength.
Ren's work is very popular now.
But that's mainly in terms of quality. In terms of fame and influence, he still lagged behind other celebrities.
However, getting on this star rating means he is now considered a pillar in the manga industry.
Previously, many people called Ren a pillar, the backbone of Bika Comics, but that was a pseudo-title.
A true pillar-level manga artist is one who appears on the star rating list. Even a fifth-tier star is considered a pillar.
For instance, Warren, who was a third-tier star, had produced many manga. In comparison, Ren had created far fewer.
This highlighted Ren's potential.
Ren was just starting his career and had a long way to go. Given more time, he might surpass the fourth-tier.
"Congratulations, Teacher!"
"Teacher, you're amazing!"
Ren's assistants showered him with praise.
"Calm down, calm down," Ren said calmly. "But tonight, after we finish today's work, I'll treat you all to a big meal."
"Yay!"
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For 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/angelictranslating