Chapter 711
Chapter 711:
“Well, well, Ashton, looks like fate isn’t on your side. You’re up against our strongest team in the preliminaries. Elimination? Practically a done deal.”
He crossed his arms, leaning in slightly as if to hammer the point home. “You’ve been boasting about competing with the Crawford family, but here you are, likely to be knocked out in the first round of a little contest. If this is all you’ve got, how do you plan on challenging us?”
Ashton remained composed, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. He met Marc’s taunts with calm defiance. “The competition hasn’t even begun. Why don’t you save your celebrations until we see how it ends? You might be in for a surprise.”
Marc sneered, unimpressed by Ashton’s confidence. “Overestimating yourself, huh? Fine, enjoy your bravado while it lasts. Regret will hit soon enough when reality does.”
Without sparing another glance at Marc or Stephen, Ashton turned his attention to Malcom.
Malcom’s face was ashen, his anxiety evident in the way he struggled to keep his composure, occasionally retching as nerves got the better of him.
Seeing this, Ashton chuckled lightly, giving Malcom’s shoulder a reassuring pat. “Malcom, why so jittery? It’s just the preliminaries. There are two more rounds after this. If you’re this worked up now, how will we handle the real pressure later?”
Malcom tried to say something, his lips parting hesitantly, but Ashton cut him off with an easy grin. “Relax, it’s only the first round, and I’m not planning on showing my full hand just yet. For this one, you’ll take the lead as head chef. I’ll step in when you need me,” Ashton assured him, his tone brimming with confidence.
Ashton’s words, though spoken softly, struck Malcom like a thunderbolt, jolting him back to reality and leaving him visibly uneasy. It was clear that Ashton’s statement had thoroughly unnerved him.
Malcom glanced around nervously, eyeing the people nearby, before quickly pulling Ashton aside to a secluded corner. Lowering his voice, he whispered urgently, “Ashton, have you lost your mind? Didn’t you say you wanted to challenge the three influential families and use this competition to promote your company and unite those they’ve oppressed? Why are you acting so recklessly all of a sudden? This preliminary round is a knockout stage—only one out of five teams will qualify. Are you trying to throw the match away?”
𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⧴ℭ𝗈𝗺
Ashton, unfazed, put on an innocent expression and replied, “I’m just trying to conceal my true abilities. How does that mean I don’t want to win?”
Malcom, growing exasperated, stomped his foot and exclaimed, “You fool! Don’t you understand what I said earlier? Those three men combined are practically guaranteed to win the championship! If you’re serious about victory, you’ll need to step in and give it your all. That’s your only chance of pulling off an upset. Otherwise, with my terrible cooking skills, how could I possibly defeat chefs with over twenty years of experience?”
Seeing Malcom’s frantic expression, Ashton remained calm. In fact, he raised an eyebrow with a playful smile and said, “I believe in you, Malcom. That’s why I want you to take the lead as the head chef for the first round. If I can believe in you, why can’t you believe in yourself?”
Malcom sighed in resignation, muttering, “It’s not about belief, Ashton. It’s about reality. I’m just not capable of doing it. Blind faith only leads to failure.”
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