C17 Studio

[Ding! Specialty in cooking the same dish, Cooking ability: +1…]

To his own surprise, Rollins's culinary skills had suddenly increased a bit more.

Giving himself a moment of thought, he added a new seasoning in his pot of beef soup.

Gently scooping a bit of the soup up, he tasted it and smiled in satisfaction.

Not long after, several bowls of beef noodles were served to the customers.

The group of men had been dragged out by Mr. Cox to indulge in a dish that he praised highly. However, Rollins had deliberately left them waiting for a long time, causing their empty stomachs to growl in agony.

As soon as they saw the bowl of beef noodles, they succumbed to their gluttony and began devouring the dish like a pack of starving wolves — ignoring the possibility of getting burnt in their mouths.

With a slurp of the noodles, all of them froze in shock. The smooth texture of the noodles slipped into the deepest part of their mouths like a stream flowing down the earth as the slices of beef melted within — complimented by the umami of the broth as its foundation. Each of the main ingredients played a huge role within the recipe.

"Thi-this taste..."

"I remember having noodles in the most famous noodle shop in the entire county. Surely, it didn't taste better than this, right?"

"I don't really know how to describe it, but I do know that it tastes delicious!"

"Perhaps this is the cooking skill of the chef!"

"Looks like we misunderstood that brat."

"How old is he? Just this young, yet his culinary skills are already so outstanding!"

Secretly observing them from the side, Eugene and Aurora heaved a sigh of relief when they heard the endless praises of Rollins's beef noodles.

Expecting such results, Rollins washed his hands and was just about to carry his bag back upstairs when Mr. Cox waved at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Little brother, come over here and have a chat."

Thinking about it for a while, he carried his schoolbag over to the table without saying a single word.

Donald — after burping in satisfaction of his meal — took out a gold-edged business card from his pocket and handed it to Rollins with both hands.

"My name is Donald, but everyone calls me Mr. Cox. If Little Brother doesn't mind, you can also call me that in the future."

"This is my name card. How shall I refer to you as, Little Brother?"​

Rollins took the business card and saw the words 'Donald' printed in large golden letters on it.

The bottom of the business also contained some descriptions: "Mr. Cox Studio – CEO."

Having originally thought that these men were just a bunch of hooligans, Rollins was surprised to see that they actually had legitimate and proper jobs to work on.

Flipping to the back of the name card, a few words were printed — Junior Junior Martinrtinin Business: Fund Recycling…

At that moment, Rollins was elated to learn of the fact that these men were not the usual group of criminals responsible for collecting debts or beating people up.

"My name is Rollins."

"Then, I'll call you Ah Hong!" Donald gave Rollins a thumbs up and complimented, "Ah Hong, today's beef noodles were even more delicious than yesterday's. How did you do that?"

Rollins let a smile but did not reply to his question.

"I know my brain has yet to fully develop, but I do know that such things are usually kept as a secret, so how could you casually ask me that question?"

Donald patted his bald head and hesitated for a moment. Then, he said, "To tell you the truth, Ah Hong, our studio belongs to a big group in the city."

"Beneath the group exists several hotels."

"I believe that with your abilities as a chef, Ah Hong, you can definitely be the head chef of one of those hotels!"

"When the time comes, the amount of money you could earn would be hundreds to thousands of times greater than the amount in your store!"

"How about it? Take some time to consider it. If necessary, I can even recommend you to them."

Though his heart wavered slightly, Rollins already made up his mind to not walk that path.

Of course, he wanted to make money, but he did not want to be too involved with people like Mr. Cox.

Therefore, he tactfully declined: "Mr. Cox, I would like to focus more of my current time in my studies, so..."

"What a pity!" Mr. Cox sighed as a hint of disappointment flashed across his eyes.

This small episode did not ruin the relationship between the two. Instead, the group enjoyed themselves to their heart's content and even cracked open several bottles of beer along the way — creating a lively atmosphere within the restaurant. Only when things started to die down around ten o'clock at night did they leave reluctantly.