In the living room, Su Liumeng listened to the clattering coming from the kitchen and started to feel inexplicably uneasy. What on earth was Xi Xinyan doing in there, making such a racket? Who cooks like they’re fighting a war?
She silently took off her bracelet and released her divine sense. The scene she saw almost made her black out.
A beautiful young girl with bright eyes and perfect teeth was holding up a large kitchen knife, clearly intending to slice a big fish on the cutting board in half. But just then, the fish leaped up, and while falling from mid-air, it took the opportunity to slap her face hard with its tail.
That slap landed squarely on her face—Su Liumeng winced just watching it. The knife she’d been swinging came down hard, crashing against the cutting board with a loud thud.
Although called a young woman, she honestly didn’t look that old. Her cute little face was slowly freezing over, as if she hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
Her red lips parted slightly, and she muttered a low curse. Su Liumeng couldn’t make out exactly what she said from the lip movements.
Then the girl raised her snow-white wrist and furiously wiped off a fish scale stuck to her face. Her expression clearly showed defiance. She bent down and grabbed the four- or five-jin fish again.
This time, Su Liumeng could read her lips: “If you dare slap my face again, don’t blame me for slapping back.”
Clearly, she was still bitter over getting smacked by a fish. And really, who could tolerate such humiliation?
The girl once again picked up the knife and took a deep breath, learning from last time’s mistake.
She used all her strength to pin down the wriggling fish, her other hand gripping the knife tightly and slashing down toward its neck.
This girl…!
Su Liumeng’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest. She was terrified the girl might accidentally cut herself.
No beginner should be wielding a knife like that—without control, a swing that strong could chop off her own fingers.
Bang!
Another loud crash came from the kitchen.
Cooking fish was the most troublesome task—how to gut it, how to descale it. How to remove the organs, how to slice the meat—each step was a skill in itself.
Even once it was in the pan, how to remove the fishy smell, how to cook it—every method led to completely different flavors.
A quarter of an hour later, the girl had finally finished cutting the fish. She stood in front of a large iron wok, her small hands resting at her sides. She looked completely lost on how to use such a big pot.
She tried to lift it—could barely raise one side with one hand, and had to use both hands to finally hoist up the empty wok.
“Damn it.”
Her large, beautiful eyes sparkled. Then she stared at her own fair little hands, seemingly in disbelief over her strength.
“Whatever.”
She opened the oil canister next to her and started pouring it straight into the wok with a glug-glug.
Then, she suddenly slapped the cutting board.
“Wait… Wasn’t the first step to heat the pan?”
Her soft voice carried through the kitchen, just loud enough to reach the living room.
Su Liumeng watched as the girl painstakingly tried to scoop the oil back out.
By the time she finished, the little girl was already drenched in sweat, panting heavily.
Just the first step had worn her out like this. She stared at the freshly cut fish on the cutting board, her pretty face slowly filling with despair.
“So cooking is actually this hard…?”
For a beginner, it was definitely challenging. But Su Liumeng hadn’t stopped smiling since the beginning.
Xinxin. You’re just too cute.
The scene in the kitchen continued.
The little girl with high twin ponytails was about to turn on the stove. Thankfully, it was a gas stove, so it only had a simple valve.
She had already looked up some guides and knew to turn on the main gas valve first. This step didn’t stump her at all.
Two minutes later—
The iron wok was already glowing red-hot.
Who knows where she found her “guide,” but she actually tossed several sheets of paper into the wok.
Since there was no open flame—only heat—the paper didn’t ignite immediately. Instead, the kitchen quickly filled with a terrifying cloud of black smoke that hadn’t fully burned. The little girl frowned and wrinkled her small nose, waving her hand to try and disperse the smoke in front of her.
About ten seconds passed, and then flames erupted, engulfing the entire wok in bright fire.
She instantly turned on the exhaust fan.
Su Liumeng was dumbfounded. She really wanted to rush over and ask, face to face, What kind of cooking technique is this?
Is this actually a thing in Eastern cooking? Where did you even learn this from?
Inside the kitchen, the little girl turned off the stove and carried over a basin of water, dumping it into the wok with great force.
Sizzle—!
A massive plume of white steam burst out.
Now the kitchen had it all—black smoke, white steam… it looked like a scene straight from hell.
Su Liumeng clicked her tongue and started wondering if she should intervene before this girl’s imagination ran any wilder.
She might just be witnessing the birth of true dark cuisine.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her. Some deranged nerve in her brain synced with the girl’s chaotic thoughts.
Maybe… this isn’t completely random? Is this—
Tempering the wok?
Su Liumeng suddenly inhaled sharply. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
But then, her expression grew even more complicated.
The problem was… that wok had already been used before. And it was very clean. There was no need to temper it again.
But still—Su Liumeng comforted herself. After all, Xinxin didn’t know that. I should still praise her.
After a mental tug-of-war that felt like a battlefield, Su Liumeng forcefully soothed her own emotions.
In the kitchen, the little girl was about to add oil again—but suddenly froze.
Fish needs to be de-fished, right? Maybe… I should boil it first?
So she filled the wok with clean water again, dumped all the fish in, then poured in half a bottle of cooking wine, and finally added a generous handful of Sichuan peppercorns—enough to cover the entire surface of the water.
Seeing this, Su Liumeng suddenly didn’t want to keep watching anymore.
Because—
She was afraid that if she knew too much, she wouldn’t dare eat it later.
Sometimes, knowing too much really isn’t a good thing.
So, once she confirmed there wouldn’t be an explosion or any other fatal danger, she withdrew her divine sense and pretended she hadn’t seen anything. Calmly, she slipped the bracelet back on.
*****
An hour later—
I walked out of the kitchen carrying a large dish full of fish.
“Careful, it’s hot,” Su Liumeng immediately stood up and took the heavy dish from me.
She couldn’t help her curiosity and instinctively peeked inside. A thick layer of red beef tallow floated on the surface of the broth. She had no idea what was actually in the bowl.
Su Liumeng asked with delighted surprise, “Did you make this just for me?”
“Yup.”
My face was an abstract mess of colors—white on one side, black on the other.
Su Liumeng couldn’t help laughing. She reached out and gently tapped my nose. “Do you want to take a look in the mirror?”
I paused for a moment, pulled out my phone for a glance, and then silently walked toward the bathroom.
No big deal.
A person destined for greatness doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
I saw this as a necessary setback on my path to success and didn’t mind at all. In fact, I was quite pleased with myself.
My first time cooking had produced such a rich, flavorful, and aromatic feast.
What did that mean?
It meant I was actually very talented.
I also had my little plans—using Su Liumeng as practice. Once Zhizhi is born, I’ll cook for her too.
The farther along I got in the pregnancy, the more overwhelming my maternal instincts became.
Out in the living room, someone had no idea she was being used as a test subject.
I dried my hands and slowly walked out of the bathroom, only to see Su Liumeng at the table, staring seriously at the food before her—a level of focus I had never seen on her face.
“Go on, eat! Why aren’t you eating?”
My voice was bright and cheerful, with a subtle hint of eagerness. I even took the initiative to bring over bowls and chopsticks.
“I misunderstood you last time, right? So I wanted to do something to show my sincerity.”
Fluttering my eyelashes, I looked at Su Liumeng with wide, sparkling eyes.
Even though I said I was just practicing, I took every step seriously—so seriously that I had been researching for half a month.
As an apology, this was flawless. Not a single thing could be nitpicked.
Su Liumeng swallowed nervously, her gaze gradually shifting into one of anticipation. She happily picked up her chopsticks.
“This is so delicious, of course I’m going to dig in.”
“By the way, why aren’t you eating?”
I couldn’t quite read the expression in her eyes, but I still answered cheerfully, “I’m pregnant, remember? I can’t eat things this heavily seasoned.”
Su Liumeng’s mood instantly sank.
“So I’m the only one who gets to eat this? How wonderful.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned, immediately unhappy, and reached out to snatch the bowl away.
“If you don’t want to eat it, then don’t.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Su Liumeng backed down in a second.
“I’m really happy you thought of me.” And she meant it. She was happy—but she also didn’t want to get poisoned.
How was she supposed to explain that she’d watched half the cooking process and knew exactly how this dish came to be?
I pursed my lips, suddenly a little upset. It felt like she was accusing me of trying to poison her or something.
The frustration bubbling up inside me was about to spill over. I pulled over a stool and sat beside her, watching her eat like I was trying to prove I’d just been overthinking things.
Seeing me like that, Su Liumeng immediately realized what I was thinking. She cursed herself for speaking without thinking, but also—she had to admit—my sulking expression was unreasonably cute.
Su Liumeng’s emotions were now a tangled mess of guilt and affection.
Faced with my unblinking, increasingly pitiful gaze, Su Liumeng felt a strong sense of mission for the first time. It was like she needed the courage to go against the whole world—no matter what dangers lay ahead, she had to grit her teeth and take a bite.
She picked up her chopsticks, fished a large piece of fish out of the red chili oil filled with peppercorns, and inspected it.
The color looked normal. At least it was still white.
She let out a silent breath of relief—maybe even a touch of satisfaction.
At the very least, this girl remembered she liked spicy food.
That alone was enough. Why expect anything more?
Still remembering her preferences was more than enough.
Su Liumeng closed her eyes and put the piece of fish into her mouth. A burst of intense flavor exploded on her tongue.
Her eyes flew open.
This…
Actually tasted pretty good.
The process had been ridiculous, but the flavor was decent. At least it was edible.
For a first attempt at cooking—especially something as difficult as spicy poached fish—this was already impressive.
She took another bite, her eyes lighting up again, and sincerely praised, “Not bad at all, it’s actually really tasty.”
Only now did she fully understand why I’d looked so hurt earlier.
Anyone who put in that much effort and still got dismissed would feel wronged enough to cry.
Su Liumeng silently reflected on herself.
She had judged me by my appearance—and judged the food the same way.
She shouldn’t have. She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
As the person closest to me, she should be the one who trusted me the most. How could she doubt my abilities?
Even if pregnancy made people a bit airheaded, that didn’t mean their IQ would completely plummet.
Resting my cheek on one hand, I was no longer upset at all. I just smiled as I watched her eat, as if I’d accomplished the most rewarding task in the world.
And suddenly, I understood why Shangguan Xiyue and the others were so enthusiastic about feeding me all the time.
Faced with such an adorable creature…
Wanting to feed them constantly was probably just biology.
Su Liumeng really wasn’t very tall—only slightly taller than me—and still had a bit of baby fat on her cheeks.
Normally, her facial expressions were sharp and spirited, which downplayed her natural cuteness.
But right now, as she ate, her features unconsciously softened.
The more I looked, the more my eyes sparkled. I stared at her, completely entranced.
I’d never hidden how shallow I was.
I did like her face.
Just like one of those novels with “white moonlight stand-ins,” I suddenly started thinking about a serious question.
If Su Liumeng no longer had those “white moonlight” traits from the novel—like, say, that beauty mark beneath her eye—
In short, if she stopped being this cute…
Would I still like her the same way I do now?
“If only things could stay like this forever, how nice that would be.”
I puffed out my cheeks as I spoke. Su Liumeng didn’t quite catch what I said and muttered back, “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” I didn’t repeat myself. Instead, I just watched her profile more intently and called her name—it felt like an instinctive reaction. “Jiujou…”
To be honest, Su Liumeng’s personality really isn’t what you’d call cute. Whether it’s her arrogant, domineering side as a rich young lady, or her ruthlessness and decisiveness when entering secret realms—none of it fits the word “cute.”
But somehow, she just happens to have that kind of face.
A face that sits right on the center of my heart.
“Xinxin, why are you calling me?” Su Liumeng replied reflexively.
“I was just thinking… if one day, I stopped liking you, what would you do?” I blinked rapidly, asking the question half playfully, half seriously.
“Huh?” Su Liumeng’s heart skipped a beat for no reason. She couldn’t think of what she might’ve done wrong this time.
“Then I’d win you back, of course.”
“What if… you couldn’t win me back?” I tilted my head, sounding innocent—but I wasn’t feeling innocent at all.
“Heh. No way. Even if I have to destroy the world, even if I have to take you by force, I’ll get you back,” Su Liumeng said coldly, without a hint of hesitation.
I pouted, slowly stood up, walked behind her chair, and gently pinched her slightly chubby cheek. “Don’t say things like that. You sound like some kind of major villain. Who just casually throws around threats about destroying the world?”
Looking at her face, I said with absolute seriousness,
“It’s okay. I’m not going to stop liking you. Don’t say that kind of thing again.”
Su Liumeng grabbed my hand and held it tight, her possessiveness practically radiating from her grip. I let her do it—this clingy act born of insecurity—and instead leaned even closer, pressing my whole body against the back of her chair as I hugged her tightly from behind.
My smooth black hair fell down my cheek and draped over Su Liumeng’s shoulder.
She could feel the warmth at the nape of her neck, her nose filled with the faint fragrance of a girl.
Every tender movement spoke volumes, baring her heart and soul.
Su Liumeng’s restless heart finally calmed down completely.
“Mm.”
“I know.”
“You never would.”