Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Alina was about to say something when Tina's eyes landed on the cake in her hands.

This flavor was one Tina hadn't tried before. Although it probably wasn't as good as strawberry cake, being picky at this moment was the height of immaturity. Alina immediately hid the cake behind her back.

She thought, How could she still be thinking about food when her mouth's already full?

Ruud was still stuck in the kitchen, so Alina gave Jared a look, assigning him an important task: stand guard.

While they were enjoying their food, Ruud emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray. His excited voice rang out from afar.

"Alina, my daughter, breakfast is ready! I made beef noodle soup today-"

Alina nearly choked.

Tina, on the other hand, decisively finished her last bite.

"Father." Jared calmly stepped forward to greet Ruud, simultaneously blocking his view.

"Who let you in here?" Ruud frowned, clearly unhappy. "And stop calling me that! My daughter hasn't married you yet, so don't take liberties."

Ruud stepped forward, intending to walk past Jared toward Alina and Tina.

Jared tried to stop him again, but Alina had already hurried over. She came a little too quickly, though, with crumbs still lingering at the corner of her mouth. Ruud noticed immediately and leaned closer, frowning. "Alina, what did you eat?"

Alina froze, pressing her lips together nonchalantly. "...I was too hungry and had a cookie earlier."

Ruud's heart ached. He blamed himself for being too slow, letting his wife go hungry.

"Alina, breakfast is ready. Come, let's eat."

With a sudden clatter, the cake box Alina had been hiding fell from behind the chair, rolling directly to Ruud's feet.

Tina: I didn't mean to!

Ruud froze, staring at Alina with an expression of betrayal and hurt. "Alina, you..."

Alina shot Tina a sharp glare before turning to soothe Ruud. "Let me explain! You have to believe in yourself. You're really talented at cooking. I just..." Before she could finish, Jared stepped in to take the blame. "This isn't Master's fault. I accidentally made too much and wanted him to taste it for me." Ruud immediately shifted his anger toward Jared.

"My wife can tell me what she wants to eat, and I'll make it for her. You, go cool off somewhere else. Alina, let's go inside."

Jared calmly countered, "With all due respect, the dishes you've made might not actually suit Master and Tina's tastes."

Ruud stopped in his tracks, turning back with a frosty expression. "What do you mean?"

Jared answered honestly, "They don't taste good."

Ruud's face darkened. "Are you saying you're better than me?"

Jared only smiled, not denying it.

Ruud knew he was being baited, but he couldn't let it slide-not in front of his wife and daughter.

"Then let's have a competition!"

Alina quickly tried to intervene. She knew better than anyone how her husband's cooking was. She was the only one who could say good things about it. "Let's not, honey. Jared is my apprentice. If word gets out, people will say you're bullying the younger generation."

Ruud patted Alina's hand reassuringly. He wasn't practicing all these days for nothing.

Alina thought to herself, That's exactly why I don't dare tell you the truth.

Jared raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to compete? What if you lose..."

Ruud, provoked, retorted sharply, "Save the talk. Let's have the competition first."

"If it's a competition, let's set the rules beforehand," Jared said, clearly revealing his intentions. "If I win, I hope you'll agree to let Tina and me hold our wedding as planned a month from now." Ruud sneered. "Funny. I was thinking the same thing. If you lose, the wedding gets pushed to next year."

Tina: "..."

No way am I waiting another year.

At the kitchen door, Ruud and Jared stood face to face.

"What's the competition?" Ruud asked.

Jared glanced over at Tina, who looked confident in him, and a small smile appeared on his lips. "Since Tina likes noodles, let's make her favorite kind of noodles." Ruud snorted.

If nothing else, he had spent time learning this noodle recipe from Hugo personally. This was a competition he was sure to win.

The two entered the kitchen, leaving Alina and Tina outside to act as judges.

Alina rubbed her forehead, already knowing what the outcome would be.

Tina, unfazed, opened her book again. "Mom, instead of worrying, you might want to think about how to console someone later."

Alina glared at her. "Don't bring people here to bully my husband again."

Tina's lips curled up slightly. "It was your husband who started it by bullying mine. This is just karma."

Half an hour later, the two contestants returned, each carrying a bowl of noodles.

Both bowls were covered, leaving their contents a mystery.

Alina's eyes first landed on the bowls Ruud brought. She swallowed nervously, already deciding that no matter what, she wouldn't criticize her husband's cooking. Carefully, she picked up a bowl and took a bite.noveldrama

She froze.

Ruud grew anxious. "Alina, what's wrong?"

Alina, wide-eyed, pointed at the noodles. "Honey, did you really make this? How did you do it? It's even better than the noodles at restaurants..." Ruud was elated by her praise, even if he wasn't entirely sure he had made it. Hearing his wife's compliments made his smile unstoppable. Tina: "..."

If she hadn't been eating Ruud's cooking for the past few days, she might have believed this performance.

But when she took a bite herself, her brow furrowed immediately.

The taste was identical to Jennie's cooking-right down to the simple broth with just a hint of pepper, exactly as written in Ruud's notebook. Tina instinctively glanced at Jared, thinking he had stepped in.

But Jared simply shook his head, indicating he hadn't.

Confused, Tina turned her gaze to Ruud, who was eagerly awaiting her feedback.

It just didn't add up. If Ruud could make something this good, then what on earth had they been eating for the past few days? Experiments?

Was he faking incompetence this whole time? Impossible. His disastrous cooking attempts were practically genetic.

Alina tilted her head at Tina, looking smug. "Who said my husband couldn't cook? He just hadn't shown his true skills yet."

Tina said nothing, silently picking up a bowl from Jared's tray.

Taking a big bite, her face immediately darkened.

The noodles weren't cooked. The broth was bitter.

Tina looked up at Jared, and everything became clear.

Cough, cough...