Chapter 157

Mother and son exchanged a brief glance, but Shen Aoshuang was unaware. Respectfully, he greeted Shen Cui as “Auntie” and said, “I apologize for the intrusion and disturbance.”

Because he hadn’t informed his own mother, Mu Erpang continued, “Brother Shen is too polite. It was I who invited you to guide me in poetry.”

Shen Cui went along with it, telling him not to be so polite.

As they exchanged pleasantries, the daily tasks arrived.

Today, the daily task was for the head to cook personally again.

Shen Cui, unfazed, said, “You guys start your homework. I’ll help in the kitchen, and dinner will be ready soon.”

Mu Erpang didn’t stop her, just giving her a look—after all, he finally “persuaded” Shen Aoshuang to come. Shouldn’t they leave a good impression?

Shen Cui gave him a sideways glance, signaling him to mind his own business.

Could she not understand her chubby son’s intentions? But the system task was not something she could decide on.

Because the starting point was so low, in comparison, Shen Cui felt that her current cooking skills were actually quite “good.” Moreover, considering Shen Aoshuang’s impaired sense of taste, he probably wouldn’t find it too unpleasant to eat, maybe just half as unappetizing?

With this in mind, Shen Cui upgraded the academy as she went to the kitchen and added Shen Aoshuang to the academy system.

In the kitchen, Yao’s work was nearing completion, and the aroma of the food filled the air.

Shen Cui didn’t necessarily stick to specific dishes when cooking now; she depended on what Yao bought that day—after all, it wasn’t the pre-exam stage now, so there was no need to make dishes that improved short-term memory.

The ingredients she used for cooking were pulled out of thin air from the system, but they had to correspond to the existing ingredients in the academy, so she didn’t always have to make up excuses about buying things from outside.

Today, because they found out last minute that Shen Aoshuang was coming, Yao bought some extra ingredients on the spot.

However, there weren’t many vendors in the afternoon market, and many vegetables were not fresh.

So, aside from the original ingredients, Yao only bought a few pieces of tofu and some pork bones, and rehydrated some dried shiitake mushrooms that were already in the academy.

Shen Cui found a recipe for “Sour and Spicy Tofu Soup” in the system’s recommended menu and thought it was suitable for today.

Matching the ingredients was one aspect, and on the other hand, Shen Cui herself was craving something spicy.

In the future, the most common chili peppers were surprisingly considered a luxury seasoning.

There was still a jar of dried chili powder from the New Year’s gifts Cui Wuniang gave last year, and Yao still hadn’t used it.

In early autumn, eating something sour and spicy was appetizing and could make you sweat, which was just perfect.

Having decided what to cook, she skillfully got busy.

In the classroom, Wei Shu, Mei Ruochu, and others came in succession.

The others were all classmates from the academy, so there was no need for introductions.

Mu Erpang only introduced Shen Aoshuang to Luo Buyu.

Shen Aoshuang respectfully addressed him as “Teacher” and performed the rites of a scholar.

Luo Buyu’s memory was not worse than those of the young men, and he recognized him at a glance as the young man who had helped the fainting person that day.

Despite not responding to Mu Erpang later on, Shen Aoshuang found him to be a warm-hearted person, so he treated him kindly.

During this time before dinner, everyone had time to do their homework.

So, after exchanging a few words, the classroom quieted down.

Although Mu Erpang was sweating a bit, he felt obligated to accompany Shen Aoshuang, who wasn’t familiar with the others.

He endured the discomfort and let Shen Aoshuang share his desk.

Everyone settled into their seats, and Shen Aoshuang opened his book bag, took out a book, and flipped it open on the desk. Like the others, he maintained a certain distance from the book.

Under this distance, he couldn’t see the words at all, let alone dip his brush in ink to write.

He was just pretending to be normal.

The only one who knew the truth was Mu Erpang, and Shen Aoshuang knew he wouldn’t expose him.

Indeed, Mu Erpang didn’t expose him.

He just felt that Shen Aoshuang was really struggling and thought that if Shen Aoshuang was willing to stay longer, he would go and plead with his mother to try to arrange a separate classroom for him.

As he thought about this, he turned back to continue his homework.

But he heard Shen Aoshuang make a strange sound of surprise.

Mu Erpang lowered his voice and asked what was wrong.

Shen Aoshuang immediately said, “It’s nothing. Mu Brother, don’t mind me. Homework is important.”

His face remained calm, but inside, he felt like a storm was raging—he usually pretended to read like this outside, absolutely unable to see a single word.

But now, those characters were gradually becoming clearer, still blurry, but much clearer than before.

He could even recognize some characters by their general shape!

Shen Aoshuang’s mind was in turmoil, and he seemed to faintly smell a faint scent of sweat again.

This scent might be coming from him, or it might be coming from Mu Erpang.

But instead of finding it unpleasant, he was astonished that he could smell it, even though it wasn’t strong?

Unconsciously, Shen Aoshuang’s hand trembled slightly as he reached out to touch the book, then the desk—faintly hearing the voices of Wei Shu and Mei Ruochu discussing something.

He even secretly pinched himself, feeling the pain much stronger than usual, confirming that he wasn’t dreaming!

Just as Shen Aoshuang was in a state of turmoil, unable to believe what was happening, Shen Cui and Ah Yao came out of the kitchen with the dishes and informed them that dinner was ready.

Hearing this, everyone left the classroom to wash their hands before heading to the main hall for the meal.

Mu Erpang invited Shen Aoshuang to sit next to him.

Previously, Shen Aoshuang didn’t care much about what he ate, but now, upon catching a hint of the aroma of the food, he suddenly felt a bit more eager for this meal.

At the dining table, everyone’s attention was drawn to the sour and spicy tofu soup made by Shen Cui—white, tender tofu and plump mushrooms cut into small pieces floated on the surface of the soup, which had a dark, ink-like color.

While everyone in the academy was accustomed to such dishes, Shen Aoshuang couldn’t see clearly and didn’t know what kind of dish it was, so he didn’t react dramatically.

Shen Cui felt a bit guilty because she hadn’t made this dish before and didn’t know that adding vinegar from the system’s ingredients would turn the soup black like ink.

Nevertheless, since the dish was already made, they had to eat it.

Shen Cui cleared her throat, prompting everyone to start eating, and she asked Mu Erpang to take care of Shen Aoshuang a bit more, considering he was a newcomer.

This was also a way to save Shen Aoshuang from feeling uncomfortable by receiving special treatment at the dining table.

Mu Erpang agreed, but he couldn’t bear it in his heart.

He thought it would be better to let Shen Aoshuang, who had just arrived, eat something else first to leave a good impression, and then drink his mother’s “ink soup.”

The other dishes on the table were all made by Ah Yao—braised grass carp, chestnut stewed chicken, stewed bone broth, and stir-fried vegetables, each dish perfect in color, aroma, and taste.

Shen Aoshuang could clearly feel that his sense of smell and taste had become slightly sharper than before.

Although the change was not significant, it was enough for him to enjoy the meal.

However, he was used to eating sparingly, so he only ate half a bowl of rice with the dishes before putting down his chopsticks.

“Try the soup,” Shen Cui reached out to help him scoop some soup and handed it to Mu Erpang, who then placed it in front of Shen Aoshuang.

Shen Cui’s tone was a bit guilty as she said this.

But since she had already added Shen Aoshuang to the academy’s system, he would probably have noticed the changes in himself by now.

It wouldn’t be right to exclude him again—that kind of uncertainty would be too cruel for someone with a disability.

While Shen Aoshuang remained oblivious to the hesitant expressions of the others, he thanked them and raised the soup bowl to his lips.

But as soon as he took a sip, his expression changed drastically!

He, who had always been calm and composed, now looked as if he had been struck by lightning, immediately attracting the attention of everyone present.

“Is it really that bad?” Shen Cui asked as she distributed bowls to everyone, quickly tasting her own soup in the process.

Hmm, it wasn’t that bad at all, just a little sour, similar to drinking vinegar.

The others also tasted their soup, and their reactions were similar to Shen Cui’s—just ordinary unpleasantness.

Unaware of Shen Aoshuang’s situation, Wei Shu and the others assumed that since they were all experienced, their tolerance had been trained, while Shen Aoshuang, who hadn’t been through similar experiences, might have a particularly low tolerance for sourness.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to force yourself to finish it,” Wei Shu said.

“Brother Shen, if it doesn’t suit your taste, just leave it. I’ll go pour you a glass of water to rinse your mouth.”

Mu Erpang also nodded in agreement. “Yeah, if it doesn’t suit your taste, you can leave it. I’ll go get you some water to rinse your mouth.”

Shen Aoshuang had already lowered his head, but after a while, he raised his eyes, which were unexpectedly slightly red.

He first denied it, but then said earnestly, “This soup… it’s so delicious! I’ve never tasted such delicious soup before!”

Shen Cui blushed deeply at his heartfelt praise.

After all, the young men in the academy were all very well-behaved and understanding, but they had never praised her cooking so sincerely before.

She asked the system what was going on.

The system replied: 【The host is using system ingredients, which are not bound by the rules. Coupled with the academy’s shielding of certain rules for his ‘settings,’ it can be understood as a synergistic effect, where one plus one is greater than two… So the 6th cultivation subject can taste all the flavors just like a normal person.】

Being able to taste all the flavors just like a normal person was like the ultimate delicacy for someone with a taste disorder, wasn’t it?

After finishing her conversation with the system, Shen Aoshuang had already finished the small bowl of soup in one breath and asked somewhat embarrassedly, “Can I have another bowl?”

Since each person had been served a small bowl and there was still half a pot of soup left, Shen Cui, who was prepared to have the last serving herself, naturally agreed.

So Shen Aoshuang finished the remaining half pot of “ink” soup, savoring it with an expression of enjoyment on his face.

Until dinner ended and everyone returned to the classroom,

Shen Aoshuang was still savoring the extreme sourness on his taste buds.

At this point, everyone except Shen Aoshuang had almost finished their homework, so they moved on to discussing and inviting Luo Buyu for guidance, which lightened the atmosphere in the classroom considerably compared to before.

Shen Aoshuang collected his thoughts and turned to Mu Erpang, asking, “Brother Hanshan, your family’s academy is different from others, isn’t it?”

At the mention of this, Wei Shu and Cui Fei, as the ambassadors of Cuiwei’s Feng Shui propaganda, couldn’t help but feel excited!