“Sister Lin, maybe you shouldn’t help?” I said with a forced smile as I looked at her.
Someone who could turn white rice into black rice—there was no way I could trust her to help Wang Ziyan cook.
Sister Lin glared at me. “What? You don’t believe in my cooking skills?”
“Only a fool would believe in your cooking skills!” I retorted, exasperated.
Hearing this, Sister Lin got worked up. She pointed at me and said, “Hey! Are you asking for a beating again?”
“Heh!” I chuckled at her words, then struck a cool pose and challenged her, “Come on, let’s see who beats who!”
“You—!” Sister Lin stomped her foot in anger, speechless.
Unable to win against me in words, she turned to Wang Ziyan and said, “Ziyan, let’s go cook. Once we’re done, we won’t let this brat eat any of it!”
Wang Ziyan glanced at me, then smiled and walked into the kitchen with Sister Qian.
As soon as they left, I wrapped my arms around Mei’er.
Mei’er’s face instantly turned red. In a small voice, she said, “Xia Tian, Sister Mengxin and the others are right here… What are you doing?”
I quickly let go of her and asked in confusion, “How did you recover so fast? Your Qi is balanced, and your body isn’t feverish anymore. Did you completely expel the True Qi inside you?”
Mei’er twirled a strand of hair around her finger and replied, “I don’t know either. After you left, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I was completely fine! Also…” She hesitated.
My heart tightened, thinking something was wrong. I quickly asked, “Also what?”
“Also, I actually unlocked the seal on my fourth tail!” Mei’er said excitedly.
What the hell?! This is insane! She suffered such severe injuries, slept it off, and not only recovered but even leveled up?! Is this some kind of bug?!
I went through so much trouble to unblock my meridians, thinking that once Mei’er was better, we could… you know. I had been excited for so long, and now, she just took a nap and jumped straight to the fourth tail. Damn it! What kind of messed-up logic is this?! How am I supposed to play this role anymore?!
Seeing my strange expression, Mei’er asked, “Xia Tian, are you feeling unwell?”
“No! I’m just so happy that you unlocked your fourth tail’s seal!” I forced a smile that looked more painful than crying.
“But… why are you crying?” Mei’er continued.
Wiping away my tears, I smiled at her and said, “These are tears of joy. I’m truly happy for you!”
Damn it! At this rate, when the hell will I ever get to dual cultivate with Mei’er?! This completely goes against the theme of this novel! What kind of ridiculous development is this?!
“Xia Tian…” Mei’er gazed at me with deep affection. “You’re so good to me.”
I pulled her into my arms. “That’s because you’re good to me too. Mei’er, you’ve saved me twice—I have to treat you well!”
Actually, to be precise, Mei’er had helped me three times: stopping my bleeding, guiding my True Qi, and another time I hadn’t given much thought to before—helping me build my foundation…
From what I learned in ‘Nine Revolutions of Heaven and Earth’, establishing a cultivation foundation was as difficult as breaking through major realms.
The hardest part of cultivation was always the beginning. Only after establishing a foundation could one truly qualify as a cultivator.
Helping someone else build their foundation required immense sacrifice. That was why Mei’er fell into deep sleep after helping me with mine.
“Hey! You’re not the only one living here. Can you not flaunt your love so openly?” Tang Shuyao’s voice suddenly interrupted. I quickly let go of Mei’er.
Qin Mengdie scrutinized Mei’er carefully, then muttered, “I don’t get it. How did such a great girl end up with you?”
“Hey, Miss Qin, I’m not ‘that’ bad, am I?” I looked at her helplessly. This young lady barely spoke, but whenever she did, her words were never pleasant.
Tang Shuyao chuckled from the side. “You? You look okay, but you lack presence. You need to work on that.”
“Presence is something money can buy. I’m broke—how can I have that kind of thing?” I said bitterly.
“Nowadays, girls like men who are mature, responsible, and ambitious,” Tang Shuyao told me.
Hearing this, I paused and asked, “So being rich is even better?”
“Of course!” she answered without hesitation, smiling.
I smacked my forehead dramatically and lamented, “I can’t believe young girls today have such heavy tastes. What you’re describing is basically those fifty-year-old bald guys who love keeping mistresses. Damn… feels like I can’t love anymore…”
Hearing my words, Tang Shuyao quickly clarified, “I don’t like those old men! And what I said was about what other girls like! I personally prefer tall, handsome guys.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, isn’t that basically me?”
“Narcissist!” Tang Shuyao made a funny face at me.
I chuckled. I quite liked her personality—playful, open to jokes, and not the kind of rich young lady who threw tantrums all the time.
Suddenly, Tang Shuyao clutched her stomach and said, “Narcissist, I’m hungry. You’re the only guy among us girls, so shouldn’t you go cook?”
“What kind of logic is that? Isn’t cooking and doing laundry supposed to be a woman’s job?” I pretended to protest, but in reality, I had lived alone for two years, so my cooking skills were decent. I was just joking around with her.
Looking back at history, most of the famous chefs in China were men. You rarely heard stories of legendary female cooks.
I actually found a saying quite fitting: ‘Men cook for the world, while women cook for one person.’
But something felt off about that… ‘If a woman only cooks for one person, then what about her children?’ That thought was kind of scary…
“Wang Ziyan and Sister Lin are already cooking. We should be able to eat soon,” I told them. But the moment I said that, I froze.
Wait… damn it! Sister Lin is cooking too! Can that food even be eaten?! No, I have to go check!
“Hey, where are you going?” Tang Shuyao asked, puzzled.
Without turning back, I replied, “To save our dinner!”
I leaned against the kitchen door, ready to inspect their progress and intervene if necessary.
“Mengxin, do you know how to chop vegetables?” Wang Ziyan’s voice came from inside.
Sister Lin responded, “Yeah, but my knife skills aren’t great…”
Oh come on! That’s an understatement. She cuts cucumbers like they’re carrots. Besides a few desperate girls, I doubt anyone would appreciate her knife skills.
“Then how’s your stir-frying?” Wang Ziyan asked again.
Sister Lin let out an awkward chuckle. “It… probably won’t poison anyone?”
“…Uh, Mengxin, I actually don’t know how to cook either. Maybe we should just make instant noodles?” Wang Ziyan suggested.
I nearly choked. ‘You bought all those ingredients, made such a big deal about cooking, and now you want to make instant noodles?!’
Listening to their conversation, I suddenly felt like my life was in danger…
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Check out my other projects: Roughly an Isekai Hypnosis Story (er0-novel 😉
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