Chapter 19

Ying Quhe flipped the page with one hand, confirmed her signature and date were correct, and tossed the contract onto the back seat.

By the time they returned to the residence, Xi Mi had lost even the strength to keep her eyes open. She collapsed onto the bed and plunged straight into dreamland.

At five o’clock the next morning, she woke up early to prepare breakfast for Ying Quhe, only to find a note left on the table: “Breakfast is canceled for now. Vegetables are in the kitchen. Please have lunch ready before 11:00 AM. Make proper use of the ingredients and do not waste them. – Ying Quhe”

The villa’s kitchen wasn’t designed in the popular modern open style, but was a traditional semi-enclosed layout instead.

Sliding open the frosted glass door, Xi Mi was instantly greeted by a spacious, bright kitchen. The stovetop, cookware, and tableware were pristine. A large window flooded the room with light, its sill lined with a row of potted green plants free of even a single speck of grease. Either the master of the house rarely cooked, or his obsession with cleanliness bordered on pathological.

As a chef of Chinese cuisine, Xi Mi found such a kitchen a pure delight for both body and mind.

The refrigerator was fully stocked with fresh vegetables, fruits, and all kinds of meat. According to the labels, they had been sealed at four in the morning, meaning these ingredients had been delivered fresh just an hour ago.

Xi Mi absolutely adored this kitchen and loved the food inside the refrigerator even more. She wrapped her arms around the fridge in a tight hug and gave it a few kisses before feeling satisfied.

For lunch, Xi Mi prepared four dishes and a soup.

Crystal shrimp cakes, curry swimming crab, stir-fried pork kidneys, crispy sweet and sour pork, and seaweed egg drop soup. When mealtime arrived, Ying Quhe was nowhere to be seen, but Ying Shengnan and Tian Jian showed up instead.

The pair wasn’t surprised in the least to see her when they walked in. Tian Jian entered the dining room, leaned down to inhale the delicious aromas rising from the feast, and rubbed her hands together. “Mimi, it smells amazing! Lao Qu called us, so Old Ying and I rushed straight over to support you. Today’s spread is so lavish!”

Ying Shengnan sneakily retrieved a bottle of Le Pin wine from the cellar, but by the time he went to wash his hands, Tian Jian had already popped it open. Tian Jian took several gulps straight from the bottle before handing it to Xi Mi. “Here, Mimi, take a sip! It tastes great.”

Xi Mi glanced at the bottle’s label and swallowed hard.

Although she wasn’t particularly interested in wine, she vaguely remembered the wine tasting lessons her First Senior Brother had taught her. A single bottle of Le Pin cost no less than six figures; this one bottle alone was enough for a down payment on a house back in her small home county of Jialing.

Ying Shengnan poured a glass for Xi Mi, but she didn’t dare touch it. She timidly pushed it back. “I’m allergic to alcohol, I don’t drink.” She was terrified that if she drank such an extravagant wine, Ying Quhe would kick her out the door.

Tian Jian downed nearly half the bottle in one go. The wine had a powerful delayed kick; before they were even halfway through the meal, she was already tipsy and slurring nonsense.

Ying Shengnan placed some food into Tian Jian’s bowl, then looked up at Xi Mi. “Quhe asked Jianjian and me to come over to use our palates to test your cooking. He actually cares quite a bit about your progress. It’s just… are you a bit unpracticed when it comes to seafood?”

In her intoxicated state, Tian Jian was even less inclined to beat around the bush. “Mimi, your seafood dishes taste terrible! I don’t even want to eat them!”

“…”

That brutal honesty stung!

An ordinary person might not have noticed any flaws, but Tian Jian and Ying Shengnan possessed one-in-a-million palates with a sensitivity to food far exceeding normal people.

Xi Mi couldn’t deny it. Seafood was her weak spot, something she usually tried to avoid when cooking.

But with the competition looming, there was no telling what tricky ingredients the show’s producers might toss at her on the spot. To face her flaws head-on, she had forced herself to prepare two seafood dishes.

Before making them, she had already mentally prepared herself to be chewed out by Ying Quhe like a foolish puppy.

Unlike Ying Quhe, Ying Shengnan was mild-mannered in both temper and speech. “Little Xi Mi, do you know how lucky you are? Our Quhe is a master of seafood. At the State Banquet hosted by the Prime Minister for the Queen of England two years ago, four hot dishes were served, and two were seafood, both prepared by Quhe. Tonight, put on a short skirt showing off your legs and wait for Quhe to come home.”

“Why would I wear a short skirt?” Xi Mi held her chopsticks up crosswise in a defensive posture.

“Seduction, of course,” Ying Shengnan joked with a straight face. “Our Quhe has extremely high standards for an apprentice’s aptitude and won’t accept just anyone. If you want him to teach you seafood dishes, seduction is your only option.”

“Mmm, sorry to burst your bubble, but this Mi possesses both beauty and talent, not to mention a natural culinary genius. I just became his disciple last night.” Xi Mi set down her chopsticks, and after her bout of self-absorption, rested her face in her hands with a sigh of wonder. “A State Banquet… Was it really a State Banquet and not just a private dinner? Chef Ying is actually that incredible?”

Ying Shengnan teased, “You’re the little God of Cookery of Jialing Ancient Town, and he’s a State Banquet master chef. A match made in heaven!”

Match made, my foot!!

At best, she was a frog at the bottom of a well. The Xi Family Restaurant’s nationwide fame relied merely on its intangible cultural heritage^[1] cooking techniques. Comparing the two, he was the vast ocean, while she was just a puddle of stagnant water at the bottom of that well.

To her, a State Banquet had always been an unattainable fantasy.

But now, she suddenly felt that this fantasy could be upgraded to a dream. Before lunch, she had felt that submitting to cook three meals a day for Ying Quhe and calling him master meant he was getting the better end of the deal. But after lunch, she was utterly convinced of his master status; she had scored a massive bargain for free!

Ying Shengnan raised an amused eyebrow. “It’s rare for our Quhe to take on an apprentice, which means he truly appreciates your potential. Little girl, I have high hopes for you. Once you master his essence, winning the competition, joining the State Banquet, and meeting the Prime Minister will be just around the corner.”

Slumped over the dining table, the intoxicated Tian Jian let out an alcohol-laced hiccup. “Mimi, Second Brother is trying to hit on you!”

Ying Shengnan scolded Tian Jian sternly, “Tch, what nonsense are you talking about? Does Second Brother look like that kind of person?” He absolutely does! His younger brother was currently a brazenly flirtatious beast, leaving a trail of seductive charm lingering in the air wherever he walked.

Xi Mi knit her brows and nodded, saying earnestly, “Mm, I don’t think Master is that kind of person either.”

The gap between her and Ying Quhe was far too wide. A single bottle of his wine was worth a down payment on an apartment back in Jialing County.

With such a massive divide, if she didn’t possess a bit of culinary skill, they couldn’t even be friends.

In a way, Ying Quhe was her benefactor, the discerning eye that recognized her talent.

A benefactor willing to lend her a hand when she was down on her luck.

*

After lunch, Xi Mi curled up on the sofa to watch past seasons of China’s Supreme Taste. The judge in previous years had been Ying Shengnan. When it came to judging, neither brother pulled any punches.

One hid a dagger behind his smile, while the other was cold and merciless.

In previous years, all the participating chefs were bald middle-aged men, so did that make her and Nan Qing the two major beauties this year? _(:з)∠)_

A WeChat chime sounded with a “ding-ding.” Xi Mi thought it was Culinary Dao, but when she opened it, she saw it was from Ji Donglin.

– Ji Donglin: “My Empress, why aren’t you at home? I brought you beer, crawfish, fruit, and a little bit of veggies.”

– Xi Mi: “There was an earthquake last night, and the wall cracked. I feel like my life and safety are under threat, so can I get my three hundred Yuan refunded?”

– Ji Donglin: “It was just a minor earthquake, no big deal! Refunding the money is a small issue. The real question is, Empress Dada, where are you living now? You didn’t spend the whole night sleeping on the street, did you? You can temporarily stay at my place, you know. I’ll rent you a private room for three hundred Yuan. What do you think?”

– Xi Mi: “No need. I rented a place at a friend’s house and already moved in.”

– Ji Donglin: “Empress Dada is so fast. _(:з)∠)_”

…

With only a few days left before the competition, Xi Mi curled up on the sofa, trying to figure out how to phrase her request for Ying Quhe to teach her how to cook seafood dishes.

In the afternoon, Ying Quhe came home to find Xi Mi curled up on the sofa while commercials were playing on the TV.

He walked into the living room, stopped behind the sofa, and flicked her on the head. “Come to the kitchen with me. I’ll teach you how to prep seafood.”

Caught off guard by the flick and bombarded by that subwoofer voice of his, Xi Mi’s health bar was instantly wiped out.

The opening lines she had spent all afternoon pondering were now completely useless!

Ying Quhe took an apron out of the storage cabinet, slipped it around his neck, turned around, and spread his long arms with his back to Xi Mi. “Help me tie it.”

Xi Mi gave an “mm,” reached forward with both arms in a hugging gesture, grabbed the two apron strings, brought them around behind his back, and gently tied two neat bows.

She put on Ying Quhe’s men’s apron as well. It reached almost down to her ankles, and the strings had to be wrapped around her waist twice before they barely cleared the floor.

The difference in their heights was immediately apparent from the aprons. O(╯□╰)o As Xi Mi was washing a mantis shrimp, Ying Quhe poked the back of her hand with his finger and pointed out, “Wrong.” He picked up another one to show her the proper way to clean it.

The pad of Ying Quhe’s finger pressing against the skin of her hand felt like a gentle touch upon thin ice, a soft warmth spreading outward from that single point.

Xi Mi nodded flusteredly, her ears inexplicably burning, though her short hair hid her bright red ears and her private flurry of emotions.

She kept her head down, not daring to look up, her bangs almost covering her eyes as she concentrated on washing a mantis shrimp. Suddenly, a jade-white finger appeared before her eyes, brushing aside the bangs blocking her view.

As that slender, well-defined finger tucked her bangs away, it grazed the skin of her forehead. The cool touch instantly ignited her blood, her heart pounding so fast it nearly burst through her eardrums.

Xi Mi’s thoughts were completely out of her control, and her hands no longer felt like her own, trembling without end.

She really wanted to chop these hands off…

“Wrong.” Ying Quhe seemed to be running out of patience.

She took a few deep breaths.

Calm down.

Calm down…

The man’s warm chest suddenly pressed gently against her back, his clear, warm breath unexpectedly brushing the back of her ear. His hands reached around from behind and took hold of hers.

“Still shaking? Mantis shrimp aren’t actually that scary. If you think of them as delicious, they’ll naturally become cute.” Ying Quhe guided her right hand, aligning the scissors with the tail of the mantis shrimp. “Start cutting from here. There’s meat in the tail too, so keep it for later.”

That subwoofer voice of his launched a close-range bombardment right against her ear.

The man’s breath flushed half of her face red.

This posture of being embraced from behind was something she had only ever seen on television.

The kitchen suddenly felt a little… intimate.