“He came so early?” Mag heard the doorbell and checked his watch instinctively. It was just 9.30am. He had just made a pot of tea, and was about to take a 30-minute rest.

  “I’ll answer the door.” Yabemiya quickly strode to the door. Because there was a duel this morning, the ice cream shop wasn’t open for business today, and everyone was waiting in the restaurant.

  “Nice to meet you. I am Chapman, and this is my master, Harris. We’ve come early to discuss the specifics of the duel with Mr. Mag,” Chapman said to Yabemiya.

  Yabemiya turned around, and said, “Boss……”


  Mag got up and walked to the door. He glanced at Chapman before his gaze looked over him, and landed on a balding man with very small eyes standing at the door.

  Mag almost called him “Professor Jin” when he saw him. He looked just like Dr. Jin without spectacles and after losing all his hair. He was staring at Mag’s restaurant’s signboard with a smile[1].

  Of course, it wasn’t accurate to say that he had lost all his hair. There was still a little patch of soft, short hair on the top of his head, just like a tiny oasis surviving with hardship in the Gobi Desert.

  All the crowd’s gazes focused on Mag. Both the main characters had appeared now, so naturally everyone was most curious about how this culinary duel would be conducted.

  After hearing the door open, Harris’s gaze moved onto Mag too. His gaze stopped on his thick and luscious hair for some time with envy before he laughingly said to Mag, “I didn’t expect my friend to be so famous at such a young age. Please don’t take offense by my coming here to bother you today.”


  His looks coupled with his talk-show-like tone of voice made Mag like this mister immediately. Hence, he also smilingly said, “Master Harris has never challenged an unknown person during your travels. It’s my honor that you seek me out, so why would I be taking any offense?”


  “I am embarrassed by your kind words, but it’s my colleagues in the trade who have given me the honor. I’m simply an ordinary chef who likes to find some colleagues to polish my skills so I could improve knowledge. I didn’t expect to cause so much distress to my colleagues in the trade.” Harris sighed with a resigned expression. “If only I could lose one or two challenges, I most probably wouldn’t have this trouble anymore.”


  Mag raised his eyebrow as he heard some rather familiar stuff. He nodded in agreement. “Yes, indeed. This is really a very confusing and distressing matter.”


  Surprised, Harris looked at Mag searchingly. He didn’t expect this fellow to be as good at flexing as he was.

  “This is indeed an experts’ interaction. Their realm is really unfathomable.”


  “Yes. It would be flexing if an ordinary person said that, but it actually sounds so reasonable coming from them.”


  “Judging from their respective presence, they are on par right now.”


  “Please don’t make fun of a TV host who is no longer popular.”


  The audience were softly talking among themselves as they watched this scene.

  Mag smiled at Harris. “Master Harris has set the time, while I have set the venue. Since Master Harris has come in advance, should we decide on the judges and the specific details of the duel before we start the duel formally?”


  “I wrote a few letters to some of my friends in Chaos City who are famous for being fair, and invited them to be our judges today. My friends could see if they meet your requirements when they arrive later,” Harris smilingly replied.

  “Stop……!”


  A shout sounded beyond the crowd.

  Everyone turned around, and exclaimed when they saw the person on the horseback. “It’s the city lord!”


  Then, a horse-drawn carriage came over and stopped next to Michael’s horse. A maiden in a red dress emerged from the carriage, and flicked a glance at the crowd in front of the restaurant before she turned and nodded at Michael as a greeting.

  “It’s Miss Scheer from the Buffett Family!” Someone recognized that maiden.

  Very soon after that, another horse-drawn carriage stopped at the side, and Robert came out of the carriage. He looked at the crowd at the restaurant’s entrance and smiled. “I think I’m not late, right?”


  “It’s the President of the Food Association, Mr. Robert!” Someone recognized him.

  A quaint black horse-drawn carriage slowly drove over. Manard opened the carriage door, and then respectfully stood to the side. An elder with salt-and-pepper hair came out of the carriage.

  “It’s President Jeffree of the Chamber of Commerce!” An exclamation sounded among the crowd.

  “Even the city lord is here, so I, as the school principal, shouldn’t be considered as playing truant when I come out to be a judge during the school hours, right?” A gray horse-drawn carriage stopped, and a tall and lanky man emerged with a smile.

  “It’s Principal Novan!” The crowd instantly broke into a commotion when they saw Novan emerge from the carriage.

  “Oh my heavens! What kind of judging panel is this?! This is unbelievable!”


  “The city lord, the mistress of the Buffett Family, the president of the Food Association, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Principal of Chaos School. Is this really just a culinary duel?”


  “I feel that this trip is worth it even when my boss is going to dock two days of my pay.”


  The crowd went into an uproar as soon they saw the judging panel. These people represented the very top level of Chaos City’s power, and yet they had gathered for a culinary duel today.

  Then, everyone began to look at Harris with a different gaze. This bald mister in a patched-up cotton jacket had an amazing social circle.

  “Impressive.” Mag was also tempted to give him a thumbs-up when he saw those big bosses who came one after another.

  Even he didn’t have the confidence that he could get them to come. He just had to take that stern-looking Jeffree as an example. God knew how Harris got him here.

  “Harris, you haven’t been to Chaos City in five years.” The crowd parted, and Michael led the way in first as he smiled at Harris.

  “I thought I would only be back 20 years later when I left previously. You should thank this young friend here. He made me interested in Chaos City again,” Harris replied honestly.

  Michael wasn’t angry at all, and he continued smiling. “Yes. Boss Mag is our city’s treasure now. Your invincible record might just end right here.”


  “That will be fantastic. I’ve been waiting for this day for the past 20 over years.” Harris flicked a glance at Mag with anticipation.

  “Master Harris, my grandfather is not feeling well, so I’ve come on his behalf. He invites you to our manor,” Scheer said to Harris respectfully.

  “No worries. You have become even prettier after you grew up. I will invite you instead of him in the future.” Harris waved his hand nonchalantly. After a brief moment of ponderment, he continued, “Tonight then, I will go fishing with him.”


  “Alright.” Scheer nodded slightly.

  “Master Harris, we’ve met again.” Robert smiled at Harris.

  Harris gravely said to Robert, “Yes, we have. I still have the wok ready for you. If you want to follow me, we could just carry the woks on our backs, and we are good to go. Why are you still clinging to this materialistic world?”


  [1] Jin Zhengkun (Chinese: 金正昆; born 1959) is a Chinese academic specializing in diplomacy, etiquette, and public relations. He is the head of the Diplomacy Department of the Renmin University of China and Director of the Center for the Study of Etiquette and Public Relations. Nicknamed “China’s No. 1 professor of etiquette”, he created the “Jin Zhengkun on Modern Etiquette” show, which has appeared on China Central Television and more than 10 regional broadcasters in China.