“!”
As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And it seems that Wen Jueli loves Yang Qing so much that he(WJ) has such confidence in his(YQ) cooking.
Originally, Yan Qing felt a bit apprehensive, but upon hearing Wen Jueli’s trust in him, he immediately rolled up his sleeves and started working. He couldn’t let this trust down!
Although he hadn’t seriously cooked a few times before, wasn’t Wen Jueli’s cooking elegant and simple? It shouldn’t be too difficult, right?
The barrage in the live broadcast room was buzzing with excitement.
[So Mr. Wen can also say sweet words! My goodness!]
[While he’s saying sweet words, I can’t help but feel he’s doing it on purpose.]
Because Wen Jueli in his usual casual wear always had the appearance of an unapproachable and exquisite flower, who would have thought he would say sweet words to Yan Qing?
Wen Jueli took out the trash bag and said, “I’ll go downstairs to sort out the trash.”
Yan Qing replied, “Sure! Don’t worry, I can handle this myself.”
After Wen Jueli left, Yan Qing turned his eyes to the staff in the corner.
He put his phone in his pocket and explained without any panic, “I’ll go to the bathroom first.”
Once inside the bathroom, Yan Qing closed the door and began searching the internet for tutorials on simple cooking. He thought that whether it was because of Wen Jueli’s expectations or his own boasting, he couldn’t mess up this meal.
After deciding on what they would have for lunch, Yan Qing quickly read through the tutorial. Once he had memorized the steps, he confidently returned to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out the ingredients needed for the recipe.
Even though the kitchen counter was still messy with ingredients piled up haphazardly, Yan Qing proceeded methodically. He ground the knife with confidence, and after a deep breath, he carefully began cutting the potato lying on the cutting board.
[Can any divine viewers guess what Yan Qing is going to make?]
[Fried potatoes, perhaps? Without even peeling the skin.]
[But which fried potatoes are so…crooked and twisted?]
[Although I don’t know what Yan Qing wants to make, he looks quite handsome while cutting vegetables!]
Not only the viewers, but Yan Qing also felt that there was something off about the way he was cutting the potato. He had been very careful, so why couldn’t he cut it as finely as in the video, and why were the pieces uneven?
But that’s okay, this is a home-cooked dish. There’s no need to be too picky!
After convincing himself, Yan Qing continued to work on other ingredients.
In the barrage, viewers had various guesses about what he was making. It was unclear until someone asked,
[Could it be vinegar-stirred potato shreds?]
[???]
[Have you seen any vinegar-stirred potato shreds thicker than my fingers? And there are a few pieces that are cubical!]
[Hahaha.]
Then, just as the barrage had finished mocking him, Yan Qing rolled up his sleeves, revealing his fair forearms, and poured oil into a hot pan before directly adding what he called “potato shreds.”
Sizzling—the hot steam rushed upwards immediately. Yan Qing turned on the exhaust fan while muttering, “Vinegar, sugar, water… How much was it? A suitable amount?”
Wait… What’s a suitable amount?
As Yan Qing pondered, he heard the hot oil and potato shreds in the pan making a noise like a chemical mixture about to explode, crackling and sizzling. Panicked, he hurriedly stirred with a spatula, only to find that the potato had stuck firmly to the pan.
In a stage play, which typically lasted at least an hour, actors had to maintain strict physical fitness. Therefore, five years later, Yan Qing easily lifted the crispy, burnt potato from the pan with a flick of his wrist. The potato wasn’t excessively burnt, so he thought it was edible and left it in, continuing to stir-fry.
He really didn’t understand what “a suitable amount” meant, so he decided to add seasonings based on his instincts while cooking. When the spatula could easily crush the potato shreds, Yan Qing happily turned off the induction cooker and flipped the shiny, yellow-black potato shreds onto a plate.
Yan Qing said, “There you go, vinegar-stirred potato shreds are done! Now, let’s make tomato scrambled eggs.”
[…?]
[Is it really vinegar-stirred potato shreds???]
[Help! Can the production team call an ambulance for Mr. Wen now? I’m afraid he’ll get food poisoning!]
[I think I just saw Yan Qing using a sprouting potato.]
[Now Yan Qing is starting to fry eggs. Wait a minute, the pan and oil aren’t hot yet, and he’s pouring the egg mixture in directly???]
Having learned from the vinegar-stirred potato shreds incident, Yan Qing was more cautious this time. He began frying the vegetables without waiting for the pan to get hot, thinking this would result in less smoke.
However, as he stirred the pale yellow egg mixture, he still felt that something was off. Why was his scrambled eggs so sticky, difficult to separate, and sticking to the pan within moments?
After struggling for a while, Yan Qing thought there wasn’t enough oil in the pan and poured some more. Then, he directly added the tomatoes with water droplets still on their surface.
A sizzling sound echoed.
A large cloud of white smoke instantly rose from the pan, accompanied by the splattering of hot oil droplets. Yan Qing was startled and found that he had accidentally been splashed by hot oil on his arm, causing a burning sensation on his skin.
Yan Qing didn’t pay much attention to it. He looked at the pan with eggs and tomatoes, which was far from the expected tomato scrambled eggs. Not knowing where he went wrong, he looked helplessly at the cameraman and asked, “Big bro, do you know how to do this?”
The trembling staff member beside him said, “…I don’t, my wife cooks for me at home.”
[…?]
[Have you seen Big Bro Cameraman taking a half-step back seriously? Hahaha.]
[They were splashed by oil, why isn’t Yan Qing treating his injury yet? He should rinse it with cold water.]
[Mr. Wen, please hurry back home and save the day! If you don’t come back soon, your little husband will burn down the house!]
Okay.
Yan Qing could only rely on himself. Even though he didn’t know what went wrong with this dish, he continued with a determined spirit. However, before doing so, he pulled his sleeves down and used a glass pot lid as a shield. Then, he proceeded to stir-fry, sometimes using a more direct approach.
As soon as Wen Jueli returned home, he smelled the overwhelming smell of cooking oil and smoke coming from the kitchen.
After finishing the tomato scrambled eggs, Yan Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He looked over and said, “You’re back.”
Wen Jueli felt that something was off and asked in a deep voice, “Do you need any help?”
Yan Qing shook his head, “No need, I just have the last dish, seaweed egg drop soup, to make!”
Luckily, Yan Qing didn’t burn down the house before Wen Jueli came home. In this short hour, he managed to complete three dishes and a soup. He thought about how relieved his parents would be if they knew he could finally make a meal by himself.
Yan Qing looked at Wen Jueli with bright eyes, filled with anticipation, “Thank you for your hard work. Come! Let’s have lunch.”
Wen Jueli washed his hands and sat down. He looked at the not-so-appetizing dishes in front of him, then at Yan Qing, who had come close to him. After a long pause, he asked concisely, “Is there rice?”
…
Yan Qing’s gaze shifted past Wen Jueli’s shoulder to the staff members in the corner, and they exchanged glances.
Right, rice. He seemed to have forgotten to ask Baidu how to make it.
Yan Qing subconsciously touched the skin where he had been splashed with oil. It hurt a bit. At first, when he got splashed by the oil, it didn’t hurt much. He thought it would be like being scalded with hot water, and it would get better after a while. However, as time passed, it started to hurt more.
Wen Jueli noticed something was off with Yan Qing and gave him a stern look, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Yan Qing lowered his head to inspect his arm and said, “I accidentally got splashed by oil while frying… it stings a bit.”
Wen Jueli observed that there were three new brown burn marks on Yan Qing’s arm, creating a sharp contrast with his fair skin.
He gently inquired, “Did you rinse it with cold water?”
Yan Qing hesitated for a moment, then looked at him innocently, “No, isn’t it something that can heal on its own?”
Wen Jueli,”…” finding it hard to believe what he was hearing.
[I don’t even know what to say anymore. But when I think that Yan Qing used to be such a pampered little prince who wouldn’t even let his fingers touch cold water, everything makes sense.]
[Can’t believe he wouldn’t even wash his burns with cold water?]
[What a life idiot! He looks like he doesn’t even know how to survive without Wen Jueli.]
Wen Jueli didn’t say a word. Instead, he got up and gestured for Yan Qing to follow him to the bathroom.
Wen Jueli turned on the tap.
He tilted his head slightly, and Yan Qing finally realized. He quickly placed his injured arm under the tap, allowing the cold water to flow continuously over his hand. The icy water trickled down his slender, even hand bones, seeping through the gaps between his fingers.
The temperature was bone-chilling.
After a while, Yan Qing felt something strange. He asked, “Is it done?”
Wen Jueli placed both of his hands in front of him, looking down at his hands, and said, “Give it thirty more seconds.”
After thirty seconds, Wen Jueli turned off the tap and tossed a towel, something Yan Qing had never seen in the bathroom before, in his direction. He told him to dry off the water himself.
Wen Jueli asked, “Does it still hurt now?”
Yan Qing did feel a slight pain, but he replied, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Wen Jueli nodded and said calmly, “Then let’s apply ointment.”
“Is ointment really necessary for such a minor injury?” Yan Qing asked, sounding unconvinced.
When Yan Qing snapped back to reality, he saw that Wen Jueli had already taken out burn ointment from the medicine cabinet in the living room and placed it in front of him.
Wen Jueli maintained his composed demeanor and said, “If such a minor injury didn’t require ointment, the pharmaceutical company wouldn’t have invested in researching it.”
Yan Qing: “…”
Wen Jueli’s reasoning made perfect sense!
Seeing Wen Jueli standing there, supervising him, Yan Qing blushed slightly. He looked at Wen Jueli timidly and asked in a soft voice, “Are you going to help me apply it?”
Unfortunately, before Yan Qing could utter the words, Wen Jueli had already turned back to the dining table, his usual aloofness back in place. He said, “It’s nothing complicated, just apply a thin layer. I’ll go ahead and eat.”
Yan Qing received Wen Jueli’s concern with gratitude, even if he thought it might be excessive. He obediently sat across from Wen Jueli and applied the ointment himself. The ointment was cold and non-greasy, instantly relieving the lingering pain in his wound.
With adoration in his eyes, Yan Qing said, “Done! I put the ointment back in the box.”
Wen Jueli responded with a simple, “Good.”
Yan Qing hurried back and said, “Now, you should taste it! I haven’t tried any of them yet, but they look really delicious. Give it a try.”
Wen Jueli,”…”
Witnessed by the viewers in the livestream room, Wen Jueli hesitated for a moment, then used his chopsticks to pick up a somewhat normal-looking dish, roasted eggplant. After pausing for a moment, as if contemplating something, he finally took a bite.
Yan Qing praised himself, “Roasted eggplant! You have a discerning palate! I used to love the roasted eggplant and stuffed eggplant dishes that our family chef made.”
He went on talking a lot, and under Yan Qing’s enthusiastic encouragement, Wen Jueli eventually tasted the dishes.
Yan Qing eagerly asked, “How is it? How is it?”
After chewing slowly for ten seconds, Wen Jueli finally said, “Hmm, it’s quite flavorful.”
Very oily, actually.
Yan Qing responded, “That’s great. I was a bit uncertain because something strange happened when I was making the roasted eggplant. I added oil, but it dried up quickly.”
“Then you should try these!”
Yan Qing was overly enthusiastic.
Wen Jueli didn’t refuse and tasted each of the dishes—one with excessively salty vinegar-stirred potato shreds, another with a burnt taste due to forgetting salt in tomato scrambled eggs, and a seaweed and egg drop soup that was as bland as water.
“How is it?”
“…Not bad.”
“Then have more!”
Wen Jueli was straightforward. At first, he had wanted to be frank with Yan Qing, but when he saw that Yan Qing had been splashed with oil, he thought better of it. After all, it was Yan Qing’s first time cooking, and he had been a pampered young master until he turned eighteen. What he had accomplished was already commendable. There were some points worth appreciating.
[Is Mr. Wen… pretending to be naive?]
[What Yan Qing cooked looks terrifying, even through the screen!]
[Is this the power of love?]
Satisfied with the answers he received, Yan Qing was overjoyed. “So, should I be the one cooking from now on?”
Wen Jueli replied, “How about you try simpler dishes, especially for breakfast? These are too complex and time-consuming. Occasionally, you can experiment.”
Yan Qing thought it made sense and nodded, saying, “Okay!”
[Indulge him!!!]
Then Yan Qing remembered something and enthusiastically invited, “Director Jiang, would you like to try some?”
Staff,”…”
The staff members trembled in fear.
