Chapter 236: Chapter 154: Heart-pounding Poison (Part 2)
"Get away from me, you creep."
Shen Yuan gloated for a moment before grabbing two large bottles of soda.
One bottle was Coca-Cola, and the other was also Coca-Cola.
Li Zhi looked at the two huge bottles of Coca-Cola, a bit exasperated, and said, "Hey, we’re not at school. You don’t have to be so loyal to your Holy Grail War faction, do you?"
Hearing this, Shen Yuan scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So... should I change one?"
Li Zhi pressed her lips together, thought for a moment, and finally shook her head. "Forget it, this is fine."
Seeing this, Shen Yuan let out a sly chuckle.
After buying snacks on the second floor, the two went down to the first floor to pick out ingredients for their meal.
After getting the ingredients, they also grabbed a large bottle of yogurt.
Shen Yuan stuffed all the bags of snacks, big and small, into his backpack. He carried the drinks and other ingredients in his hands.
Shen Yuan walked out of the supermarket with his bulging backpack, its deep blue canvas stretched taut by potato chips and spicy strips.
The October evening breeze ruffled the bangs on his forehead, and the setting sun painted the asphalt road a honey-gold color.
The backpack straps kept slipping off his shoulder as he walked, but thankfully, it was just full of chips and didn’t weigh much.
The plastic handles of the bags dug deep red marks into his palm. Shen Yuan turned his head to Li Zhi and grinned. "Look at these biceps. I could go work construction."
Li Zhi walked beside him, hands empty, and let out a soft snort of a laugh. "Then you should go work construction to earn your tuition after the college entrance exams. You might even go viral."
Shen Yuan shook his head. "No way. I don’t want to end up in the hospital after two days of hauling bricks."
This was a story Shen Yuan had heard from Brother Haojie.
A student from another school went to work at his uncle’s construction site during summer break, intending to get some exercise, but he landed in the hospital after just two days of hauling bricks.
Things really didn’t go as planned.
"It’s fine. If you end up in the hospital, I’ll come visit you."
"In that case, I’ll go right now."
Li Zhi rolled her eyes at him. "Are they heavy?"
"It’s fine. This little bit of stuff is nothing to me."
"Then you can keep carrying them."
The five-minute walk passed quickly.
Shen Yuan had already told his family after school that he wouldn’t be home for dinner.
Ms. Zhang Yuyan had been about to ask more, but when she heard Shen Yuan was with Li Zhi, she immediately sent him a 200-yuan red envelope.
There was no way she would have sent that money if Shen Yuan had been eating by himself.
So pragmatic.
Shen Yuan was nowhere near as popular as Li Zhi.
Arriving at Li Zhi’s house again, Shen Yuan familiarly placed the items in the kitchen and tossed his backpack into the study.
After doing all that, Shen Yuan eagerly trotted over to the kitchen.
As Shen Yuan tiptoed into the kitchen, his gaze landed right on Li Zhi, who was lowering her head to tie her apron strings.
The ties of the light blue plaid apron wound around her slender waist like a delicate ribbon, forming a bow.
The moment she raised a hand to tuck her long hair behind her ear, Shen Yuan couldn’t help but stare, mesmerized.
"Looking very professional, Li Bao."
Shen Yuan smiled at Li Zhi. "I suggest you wear it for me all the time."
The moment he finished speaking, Li Zhi feinted at him with a kitchen knife.
"Keep spouting nonsense and I’ll chop you up and stir-fry you!"
"Is there anything I can help with?" Shen Yuan asked, his face a mask of flattery.
Li Zhi shook her head. "Go play on your own. It’s just one dish of Xishi Tofu. I don’t need help for that."
Shen Yuan didn’t give up. "I can be your assistant. I can stir the minced meat and stuff. I can do the prep work, too."
Seeing how eager he was, Li Zhi sighed in resignation. "Fine, you can wash the vegetables."
"Leave it to me!"
Watching Shen Yuan, full of energy and raring to go, Li Zhi couldn’t help but mutter under her breath, "If you’re going to be this proactive, you might as well just make the whole dish yourself."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan immediately shook his head like a drum-shaped rattle. "No way. It’s my turn to cook only after you’ve beaten me."
Li Zhi shot him an exasperated glance and chided, "You... all you think about all day is making bets."
At that, Shen Yuan immediately cried foul. "Hey, hey, hey! I wasn’t the one who wanted to bet that 650 in the first place!"
Before he could finish, Li Zhi flicked a handful of water in his face. "Why are you talking so much! Get to work!" she snapped.
Shen Yuan lowered his head without a word and focused on the prep work.
Peeling bamboo shoots, soaking wood ear and shiitake mushrooms, dicing vegetables, mincing meat, chopping scallions, cubing tofu, and mixing the starch slurry.
And so, Shen Yuan bustled around the kitchen for over ten minutes, finally getting all the ingredients prepped, plated, and neatly arranged. Li Zhi stood to the side, watching. Seeing how skillfully he completed these tasks, she couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.
’At my house, Old Li is the main cook, but sometimes Mom handles the prep work.’
’One person is in charge of prep, while the other handles the cooking and dishwashing.’
’After all, prepping the ingredients often takes the most time when you’re cooking.’
’The way we are now is actually a lot like how my parents do it, just with the roles reversed.’
The thought suddenly startled Li Zhi.
’What... what in the world am I thinking?!’
’No, no, no!’
"All done, Chef Li. Your turn."
Shen Yuan’s voice broke through Li Zhi’s wandering thoughts.
The beautiful girl looked up at Shen Yuan, ready to shoo him away.
"You can go out now."
"What’s wrong? Is the Li family’s Xishi Tofu some kind of secret recipe?"
Li Zhi nodded. "I can’t let you see the poisoning process."
Shen Yuan shrugged. "Well then, let’s see what you’ve got."
With that, Shen Yuan left the kitchen and sat leaning against the dining table, his gaze fixed on Li Zhi through the glass door.
Watching the beautiful girl in the kitchen light the stove and add oil, Shen Yuan started to get a sense of things.
’Li Zhi has probably cooked more than once or twice. Her technique is quite skillful, and she looks pretty calm.’
Shen Yuan still remembered what he was like facing a wok of hot oil as a beginner.
As he watched Li Zhi add the ingredients to the wok one by one, the corners of Shen Yuan’s mouth curled up unconsciously. The corners of his eyes crinkled with a smile, like honey dissolving in warm light.
When he saw Li Zhi stir-frying the ingredients, Shen Yuan’s fingers, propping up his cheek, tapped and gently rubbed his face. His eyes danced with the tiny, fragmented light reflected from the stove’s flame.
In the end, all his emotions melted into the fine lines spreading from the corners of his eyes. Even the shadows cast by his lowered eyelashes seemed unbelievably gentle.
Cooking didn’t require her full concentration, especially a soupy dish like this. Li Zhi had plenty of time to let her attention drift elsewhere.
As Li Zhi stirred the pot with a wooden spatula in even circles, she suddenly felt the gaze from beyond the glass door become a little too intense.
Using the motion of adjusting the heat as an excuse, Li Zhi turned slightly to the side. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the boy leaning on the dining table, his chin propped on one hand.
A searing heat instantly spread from the tips of her ears to her collarbone, and the force of her wrist stirring the soup unconsciously grew heavier.
"What are you looking at!"
Li Zhi turned and glared at Shen Yuan.
"Watching you poison it."
Shen Yuan nodded affirmatively. "I feel like your poisoning technique is pretty amazing. I already feel like I’m being poisoned."
Li Zhi rolled her eyes at him, brandished her wooden spatula, then turned her attention back to the pot.
After adjusting the seasoning, Li Zhi poured in the starch slurry, just enough to thicken the soup to a consistency where it would lightly coat a spoon.
She sprinkled in a handful of chopped scallions, and just like that, a bowl of Xishi Tofu was done.
Li Zhi turned to Shen Yuan. "Come get it yourself."
Shen Yuan pushed open the glass door with light steps, and a wave of steam carrying the delicate fragrance of tofu rushed out to greet him.
"This looks so appetizing, Bao."
"Get to it."
Li Zhi leaned against the counter with her arms crossed, the apron ties rising and falling gently with her breath.
After ladling out the tofu soup, Shen Yuan carried it to the dining table.
Li Zhi quickly brought over small bowls and spoons.
"Go on, try it. The Xishi Tofu you’ve been longing for."
Shen Yuan eagerly picked up the large ladle and began to serve the tofu soup into his bowl.
"You’re wrong, Li Bao. I wasn’t longing for Xishi Tofu, I was longing for the Xishi Tofu *you* made."
Shen Yuan scooped up a heaping spoonful of the translucent soup, the spoon clinking crisply against the porcelain. He took an exaggerated sniff of the aroma.
Shen Yuan blew on it gently before taking a bite.
The flavor was bound to be good; just by looking at the consistency of the Xishi Tofu, Shen Yuan knew it wouldn’t be bad.
Li Zhi watched Shen Yuan take a bite of the tofu soup. Just as she was about to ask how it tasted, she saw him suddenly clutch his chest.
His left hand trembled as it gripped the table, while his right hand pointed a shaky finger at the soup in the bowl.
"Th-this soup... it’s... poisoned..."
Seeing this, Li Zhi crossed her arms and watched Shen Yuan’s performance. As he spoke, he suddenly closed his eyes and leaned back.
"I know! This must be the poison of love."
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