Chapter 23: Just Stick to Yourself

At the operating table, ingredients were laid out all over.

Shrimp, pork tenderloin, vegetables, tofu, eggs, flour… there was even a whole sea bass.

Jiang Cheng stared at the ingredients covering the table, lost in thought.

In her previous life, she only knew how to cook instant noodles and fry eggs.

In this life… it seemed she still only knew how to cook instant noodles and fry eggs.

“What are you in charge of?”

Lin Shuangxue tied on an apron, tucking her short hair neatly behind her ears.

“I…” Jiang Cheng swallowed.

“I’m in charge of… assisting?”

Lin Shuangxue glanced at her and didn’t call her out.

“Then wash the vegetables.”

“Got it!”

Jiang Cheng felt like she had been granted amnesty. She grabbed a bunch of greens and ran to the sink.

However, she quickly discovered that washing vegetables wasn’t as simple as she imagined.

“Big sister, those leaves have to be peeled apart one by one to wash them.”

Jiang Xiaotang reminded her softly.

“Oh, oh…”

“Big sister, that root has to be cut off.”

“Okay, okay…”

“Big sister, you have to pick out the bugs in the vegetables, or eating them will upset your stomach.”

“Bug, bug, bug… Where’s the bug?!”

Jiang Cheng screamed and threw the vegetables in her hand, splashing a circle of water in the sink.

The air went silent for a second.

Lin Luoying burst out laughing.

“Auntie, this big sister can’t even wash vegetables!”

Jiang Cheng’s face instantly turned crimson.

“I… I was just scared by the bug! That’s totally normal, okay!”

“Then you cut the meat.”

Lin Shuangxue glanced at her and casually ordered.

“You’re not afraid of meat too, are you?”

Jiang Cheng picked up the cleaver from the cutting board and took a deep breath.

It’s just cutting meat. How hard can it be!

She stared at the pork tenderloin on the board and carefully brought the knife down—

First cut: crooked.

Second cut: as thick as a steak.

Third cut: directly sliced her own finger.

“Hiss—”

“Big sister!”

Jiang Xiaotang grabbed her hand and brought it close to her eyes to examine carefully.

“Are you hurt?”

“No… it’s nothing, just a scratch.”

Lin Shuangxue walked over, glanced at the pitiful meat pieces on the board, and mourned their tragic deaths for two seconds.

“You don’t usually cook at home?”

“I do… I do…”

Jiang Cheng’s voice lacked confidence.

“Does instant noodles count?”

Lin Shuangxue didn’t say anything, but from her expression, the answer was clearly no.

“Let me do it.”

Jiang Xiaotang said carefully.

“Little Tang knows how to cook.”

“You?”

Jiang Cheng hesitated.

“But you’re still little…”

“It’s okay.”

Little Tang took the cleaver from her hand.

“Before, when big sister wasn’t home, Little Tang always cooked for herself.”

She said it very lightly, but Jiang Cheng’s heart felt like something was squeezing it hard.

Yeah, during the months when the original owner had neglected Little Tang, how did this girl, less than five feet tall, survive?

By secretly cooking instant noodles, by not daring to eat too much, by only coming out of her room when she was dizzy with hunger…

“Then let Little Tang handle it.”

Jiang Cheng rubbed her head, her voice a little hoarse.

“Big sister will assist you on the side.”

“Mm!”

For the next period of time, the operating table became a stage for the two of them.

Although Jiang Xiaotang was small, her knife skills were surprisingly skilled. She cut the pork tenderloin into even thin slices, washed the vegetables thoroughly, and neatly arranged the tofu on a plate.

Lin Shuangxue was in charge of the cooking. Her movements were clean and sharp. She tossed salt, oil, soy sauce, and vinegar with a casual flick, the amounts just right. As the spatula flew, dish after dish came out of the pot.

Sweet and sour pork, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, mapo tofu, egg drop soup…

The aroma spread, drawing frequent glances from nearby parent-child groups.

Throughout the whole process, Jiang Cheng only did one thing—pass the seasonings.

“Salt.”

“Here!”

“Sugar.”

“Here!”

“Vinegar.”

“HASAKI!”

Jiang Cheng felt like an emotionless seasoning conveyor belt.

She pinched a bottle of salt.

‘Here comes the flying salt~’

‘What kind of finding joy in misery is this?!’

Lin Luoying wasn’t idle either. Although she said, “I’m not going to help,” she obediently peeled garlic and passed plates on the side.

“Big sister is amazing.”

Jiang Xiaotang looked at Lin Shuangxue’s cooking figure and whispered.

“She really is amazing…”

Jiang Cheng subconsciously agreed, then suddenly realized.

“Wait, I’m your big sister!”

“Mmm… Little Tang didn’t mean that…”

the girl hurriedly explained.

“Little Tang meant that other big sister is really good at cooking, not that she’s better than you…”

“Okay, okay, I was joking.”

Jiang Cheng pinched her nose.

“Our Little Tang is amazing too. She’ll definitely become a great chef someday.”

“Really?”

“Of course it’s true!”

Lin Shuangxue watched this scene from the side, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, but quickly returned to her usual coldness.

When the activity ended, the sky was completely dark.

The cafeteria was brightly lit, filled with parents and students cleaning up dishes and washing the operating tables.

Lin Shuangxue packed the last dish into an insulated container and untied her apron.

“You don’t need to come to my house this weekend.”

Jiang Cheng was stunned and instinctively asked,

“Why?”

“Something came up at home.”

Lin Shuangxue’s tone was very flat, as if talking about something trivial.

Seeing the deep gloom in her eyes, Jiang Cheng suddenly remembered—

In the original novel, a nouveau riche would come this weekend to propose marriage. That guy had made a fortune through the counterfeit currency business, had taken a liking to Lin Shuangxue’s looks, and forcibly tried to marry her using his power.

Lin Shuangxue, for the sake of her family, chose to endure.

But that very night, the nouveau riche was arrested by the police for producing counterfeit currency. The Lin family got dragged into it and was investigated for several months.

In the end, though Lin Shuangxue wasn’t violated, she was exhausted by the relentless searches.

“Is it that annoying person coming?”

Jiang Cheng blurted out.

Lin Shuangxue’s expression changed.

“How do you know?”

“I…”

Jiang Cheng paused, realizing she’d let something slip.

“I just guessed. If it’s something that bothers you, it can’t be good.”

Lin Shuangxue stared at her for a few seconds but didn’t press further.

Jiang Cheng took Little Tang’s hand and prepared to leave. After taking two steps, she thought about it, stopped, and turned back to look at the tall figure.

“Don’t overthink it. Just stick to your own thoughts.”

Her voice was low, but her tone was unusually serious.

“There are some things that someone else will handle for you. You don’t need to worry about them yet.”

With that, she took Little Tang’s hand and disappeared into the night.

The streetlights cast their shadows very long, one big and one small, pressed tightly together.

Lin Shuangxue stood still, watching that figure vanish at the corner of the campus.

Stick to your own thoughts…

How did she know?

No, more accurately—what made her so confident?

“Auntie?”

Lin Luoying’s voice pulled her back to reality.

“Hm?”

“What are you spacing out for? I called you several times.”

“Nothing.”

Lin Shuangxue withdrew her gaze, her tone returning to its usual coldness.

“Let’s go home.”

“Oh.”

Lin Luoying obediently followed, then after a few steps couldn’t help asking,

“Auntie, does that big sister like you?”

“Nonsense.”

“I’m not talking nonsense! The way she looked at you was off…”

“Say that again and next week’s allowance gets halved.”

“I’ll shut up!”

Lin Shuangxue didn’t say anything more, but unconsciously glanced back again.

The night was deep, the streetlights dim.

That white-haired girl was already nowhere to be seen.

Only the words she left behind echoed in her mind over and over.

Just stick to your own thoughts…

Easy for her to say.

Lin Shuangxue lowered her eyes, a weariness barely noticeable in them.

“Auntie, you’re spacing out again!”

“Allowance halved.”

“Wuu…”