Chapter 20.3

Feeling a throbbing pain in his temples, Shen Yuanting sighed, “Come out first, don’t get smoked.”

Yan Zhao grunted and walked out of the kitchen, his eyes already reddened, with tears at the corners.

He clearly following the recipe, why did he turn it into a scene of a fire disaster…

Shen Yuanting opened all the windows on the first floor, waited for the smoke to disperse, and then went to the kitchen to see what Yan Zhao had done.

The countertop was a mess, with wilted vegetable leaves scattered around, egg liquid splattered, and a bowl filled with Cthulhu-style meat pieces. Shen Yuanting immediately knew it couldn’t be cooked.

Thinking about the ingredients, Shen Yuanting asked, “Are you trying to make boiled pork slices?”

“Yes. It’s a requirement from the program crew,” Yan Zhao said. He had called the director to ask if he could make instant noodles, and, of course, got a merciless rejection.

The kitchen had always been used only by Shen Yuanting, and the countertop, usually shinny and tidy, but now it’s a mess.

Yan Zhao felt somewhat embarrassed and went up to put the seasoning bottles back in their place.

Seeing the kitchen in such a mess gave Shen Yuanting a headache. Looking at his figure, he couldn’t bring himself to get angry.

A long time ago, he had witnessed a similar scene. Back then, Yu Wei still lived at home, still a gentle mother. When the housekeeper took a day off, she would personally cook. Tying up her hair, wearing a pink apron, she followed the recipe, cutting ingredients step by step. In the end, she was scared behind the pot lid when the oil splattered, not daring to turn off the flame.

The burnt ingredients were, of course, discarded in the trash, but this piece of pork loin…

Yan Zhao held the bowl and asked Shen Yuanting, “Can it still be salvaged?”

Looking at the piece of meat that seemed suitable for mosaic, Shen Yuanting said, “It can be salvaged with some effort. Wash the knife.”

Yan Zhao followed the instructions, rinsed the knife under running water, and handed it to Shen Yuanting.

Boss, it’s your turn.

However, Shen Yuanting didn’t take it. “Aren’t you trying to make boiled meat slices? I’ll watch you do it.”

Yan Zhao doubted, “Are you sure? If I do it, I might not have dinner until nine in the evening.”

“Do you want to learn it today?” Shen Yuanting rolled up his sleeves, revealing well-defined arms. “When will you record the show?”

Yan Zhao: “This Friday afternoon.”

“There is enough time.”

Yan Zhao poured the meat back onto the cutting board, gripped the knife, and began slicing. The meat was smooth and slippery, soft with a hint of resilience. Yan Zhao cut slowly, but the meat always slipped away from the knife.

—I really want to chop this thing into mush!

Yan Zhao tugged at the corner of his mouth, his knife movement becoming unstable. The sharp blade descended from above, almost cut his hand.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Shen Yuanting held onto his wrist. “With me here, can you still go hungry?”

The man’s breath invaded, causing Yan Zhao’s body to stiffen. Shen Yuanting covered his hand, guiding him to arrange the slippery meat into a row. With a single stroke of the knife, they transformed into evenly thick slices.

Shen Yuanting demonstrated, “Cut like this, and you won’t cut your hand.”

Yan Zhao lowered his eyes and didn’t respond.

Why… does it feel a bit strange? It’s like a fish, exhaling a bubble in calm water. The bubble slowly floated up, reaching the surface, then burst.

Shen Yuanting: “Yan Zhao?”

Yan Zhao snapped out of it, “Ah… Is this how you cut it?”

Seeing that he got it right, Shen Yuanting released his hand but still stood behind him.

While handling the ingredients, Yan Zhao sighed, “I always thought cooking was difficult, but now that I’m actually doing it, I find it even harder than I imagined.”

Shen Yuanting said, “You’re just not skilled yet. Just practice more, and you’ll get better.”

“Really? How long did you practice to reach your current level?”

“Look at the knife, not me. Over ten years.”

Yan Zhao calculated backward based on Shen Yuanting’s age, “So you started in high school.”

“Yeah. I started renting a house around that time.”

“You’re really amazing…” Yan Zhao sensed that Shen Yuanting didn’t want to say more and didn’t press further.

Under Shen Juju’s supervision, Yan Zhao finally completed a pot of boiled meat slices. When he poured the hot oil over it, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

Yan Zhao washed his hands and wiped the small wound on his hand that had been splashed with oil after taking the medicine. Taking a look at the time, it was already seven o’clock, and Shen Yuanting was still making other dishes.

Yan Zhao moved over with guilt and said, “Let’s just stir-fry this cabbage and skip making the others.”

Shen Yuanting, cutting vegetables swiftly, replied, “It won’t take long. Go ahead and scoop out the rice.”

Yan Zhao nodded and served two bowls of rice. He then went to assist Shen Yuanting, but with his limited skills, he could only pass the salt and soy sauce to the master chef.

He used to think Shen Yuanting was impressive, but now, after cooking once himself, Shen Yuanting seemed like a shining Super Saiyan in his eyes.

Yan Zhao stared at Shen Yuanting cutting vegetables. As he watched, his gaze moved from the snowy white blade to the hand holding the knife and then to Shen Yuanting’s slender yet sturdy forearm. Shen Yuanting’s skin was pale from lack of sunlight, and faint blue veins could be seen, giving him a somewhat indescribable and mysterious allure.

Yan Zhao: “…”

Wait a minute, what is he thinking? Alluring? Is he so starved for companionship that he’s finding men attractive now?!!

A crisp “slap” sound echoed.

Shen Yuanting turned his head, and furrowed his eyebrows. “Why did you hit yourself?”

Yan Zhao, covering his cheeks, mumbled, “I was feeling dizzy from hunger, just needed to wake up.”

Shen Yuanting: “…?”

Shen Yuanting’s cooking skills were top-notch. While it took Yan Zhao an hour to whip up a dish of boiled meat slices, Shen Yuanting effortlessly prepared vinegar-glazed cabbage, braised eggplant, and Kung Pao chicken in just half an hour.

Yan Zhao tasted his own creation first, and the verdict was a resounding “bleh.”

Then he tasted what Shen Yuanting made, and oh, it was so delicious that it brought tears to his eyes.

Yan Zhao almost wanted to erect a monument for the pork tenderloin; it had already met its demise, and now it was being trampled upon, its dignity as meat thoroughly violated.

Seeing Shen Yuanting picking up a piece of boiled meat, Yan Zhao hastily intervened, “It’s not good, don’t try it.” Even Wang Zai refused to approach the table to smelled the meat, which shows how disgusted it was of Yan Zhao’s boiled meat slices!

Shen Yuanting ignored him and put the meat in his mouth. After pausing for the first chew, he swallowed it without changing his expression.

Shen Yuanting took a sip of iced water. “The meat is tough, and there’s too much chili.”

Damn, Shen Juju is quite straightforward!

“I’ll improve it next time…” Yan Zhao apologized with clasped hands. Seeing Shen Yuanting going for another bite, he swiftly lifted the bowl. “Alright, don’t eat it!”

Shen Yuanting stared at him for a moment and retracted his chopsticks.