The Door of My Bathroom Leads to the Comic World!

Chef Hojō's usually stern face softened when he saw his daughter with a shy, almost girlish expression as she slightly parted her lips, allowing Sui to feed her a piece of the steamed bun. As she bit into the elastic skin of the shūmai, the hot, savory juice burst onto her tongue, igniting her taste buds with an explosion of flavor.

She felt as if she were enveloped by the soft, steaming bun, unable to escape its warm embrace, as if she were the one being cooked in a steamer. Overcome by the sensation, her cheeks flushed a deep red, her eyes fluttering closed as an expression of both delight and struggle appeared on her face, as though she was trying to endure something overwhelming.

Everyone watched her with confusion.

"Miyoko? Are you okay?" Chef Hojō asked, concerned.

Miyoko blinked back to reality. Realizing that all eyes were on her, her face grew even redder, and she stumbled over her words, too embarrassed to respond clearly.

"Miyoko, how does it taste? Tell us!" Chef Hojō asked again, curiosity brimming in his voice.

The onlookers shared the same curiosity. Everyone wanted to know just how good the dish was.

With the attention on her once more, Miyoko finally gathered herself and exclaimed, "It's absolutely delicious!" Her excitement was clear, but inwardly, her thoughts drifted back to the intimate moment of Sui feeding her. The memory made her feel both shy and sweet. She couldn't help but steal a glance at Sui, her eyes softening with affection.

However, no one seemed to notice her blush or her tender gaze toward Sui. The crowd had already moved forward eagerly, gathering around the steamer to taste the dish themselves, following the steps Sui had demonstrated.

"This is amazing! The shūmai skin is soft yet springy, and the filling is incredibly flavorful. The method of eating it is so unique!"

"Yeah, I never expected shūmai to taste this good!"

As they sampled the dish, everyone was completely won over by the novel creation, savoring every bite.

"Wait a minute—why does the meat on each side taste different?" someone suddenly asked.

"You're right! It seems like the filling comes from different parts of the pig."

The crowd murmured in realization, and Sui smiled as he explained, "That's correct. The meat filling in this shūmai is made from different cuts of pork, which gives each section a distinct flavor."

This revelation left everyone even more impressed. Though it was Sui's first time preparing this particular dish, he had been nervous about how it would turn out. Judging by everyone's reactions, though, the result was clearly a success.

"Incredible! I never imagined a simple steamed bun could have so many layers of flavor," exclaimed oldman Yu-Cheng, the guest chef. He marveled at Sui's creativity and skill. "This dish is first-class in both taste and innovation. I never expected to find such a talented young chef here in Totsuki."

Chih-Hao, who had been quietly observing, was equally astonished. The dish had far exceeded his expectations.

Soon, tourists couldn't resist any longer and began swarming Sui's counter, eager to taste the shūmai.

"This is delicious!" exclaimed one visitor.

"I've never tasted anything like this!" added another.

A wave of amazement swept through the crowd as they marveled at the dish.

As more and more people gathered around Sui's station, it became so crowded that Miyoko had to organize the Hojō-ro staff to manage the growing lines. Before long, Sui's massive "Big Bang Shūmai" was completely devoured.

Even so, many people who hadn't gotten a chance to try it began clamoring for more, eager to experience the flavors themselves. Faced with the demand, Sui had no choice but to start making another batch.

Watching the lively scene unfold, Chih-Hao felt a twinge of disappointment. When the competition began, he had underestimated the chefs here, assuming that winning first place would be easy. He'd hoped to use this event to showcase authentic cuisine to the Japanese public and the town visitors.

But he hadn't anticipated encountering someone like Sui. In both knife skills and cooking technique, he had been completely outmatched. Yet, despite his defeat, Chih-Hao felt no resentment—only respect.

The most disheartened person, however, was Tomita Jōji. He had hoped to perform well this year, but he hadn't even stood a chance.

By evening, the food segment of the event finally came to an end, and without question, the most memorable dish of the day had been Sui's "Big Bang Shūmai." 

Sui had been so overwhelmed by the popularity of his dish that he had to prepare five batches just to keep up with the demand, and even then, some tourists left unsatisfied, asking where they could find more in the future.

After a full day of hard work, the food festival concluded.

"This year's event was a huge success. We had 20 to 30 percent more visitors than last year," Chef Hojō remarked with satisfaction as he watched the bustling crowds still milling about in the festive town.

"Indeed," Hiroshi Tomita agreed with a smile. Though Tomita-ro's performance hadn't been outstanding this time, the overall success of the event made him happy. With the town's growing popularity, his restaurant's business would undoubtedly benefit as well.

"By the way, have the results of the food segment voting been announced yet?" Chef Hojō suddenly asked.

"They should be out soon, but I think everyone already knows the outcome," Tomita Hiroshi replied.

Everyone nodded. The most popular dish among the tourists was undoubtedly Sui's creation from Hojō-ro.

As expected, the final results confirmed that Sui's "Big Bang Shūmai" had received more than twice the number of votes as the second-place dish. Even Chef Hojō and his team had never seen such a dramatic victory in previous years.

"Hojō, I must admit, I'm a little envious of you for having such an incredible son-in-law," Tomita Hiroshi said with a friendly pat on Chef Hojō's shoulder, sighing in admiration.