Crash—clang!
“Waaa~~~ Fire, fire～～～”
“Meow meow meow~~~”
Maybe it was An Xiaoling’s gentle soothing, or perhaps it was escaping from Wen Yin’s overbearing control and finally relaxing a bit.
This nap was especially sweet for Su Qi, and for once, no nightmares disturbed his rest.
Normally, Su Qi could have slept even longer. But amid the sudden, panicked loli voice shouting and the clatter of pots and pans tumbling to the floor, his sleep was abruptly interrupted and he slowly woke up.
Upon waking, Su Qi found himself lying on a soft pink bed with princess curtains hanging down.
Looking at this bed, Su Qi felt an odd sense of familiarity.
Stretching out his adorable pale hand and rubbing his eyes, as his mind grew clearer, Su Qi realized this must be An Xiaoling’s bedroom—the one he’d visited once before.
Su Qi wasn’t surprised to find himself in An Xiaoling’s bedroom.
After all, before he fell asleep in the taxi, he vaguely remembered hearing An Xiaoling mention going to Lin Hidden Mansion.
What puzzled Su Qi, though, was… Why was this devious little loli An Xiaoling not in the bedroom now? What exactly was she doing outside?
Again came the sound of clanging and the exclamation of “fire, fire!”, sometimes joined by the startled cries of a few kittens.
The commotion sounded truly urgent.
Although Su Qi hadn’t had enough sleep, he sat up in bed to check out the situation.
As he sat up, Su Qi paused for a moment.
Emmmmmmmm—was it just his imagination, or did his skirt feel… a little wet?
Could it be… he’d wet the bed?
Impossible. While girls’ bodies didn’t have as much control as boys’, if he’d really wet the bed, how would it end up on the hem of his skirt?
“Ah~!”
Just as Su Qi was staring at the damp spot, trying to puzzle it out, An Xiaoling’s shout sounded from outside the room again, and there was even a faint sound of something exploding.
No longer dwelling on the wet spot, Su Qi immediately got up to head out and see what was happening.
But as soon as his little feet touched the ground, his pair of cute pink knees instinctively pressed together, girlish and adorable.
There was no helping it—his body still hadn’t fully recovered, and his thighs had little strength!
Clutching his knees and bracing against the wall, Su Qi slowly left the bedroom, following the noise to the kitchen.
With one look, Su Qi immediately saw the source of the chaos.
At that moment, the range hood in the kitchen was working overtime, furiously sucking away the steam rising from a pot of oil on the stove.
Standing beside the pot was An Xiaoling, wearing a blue-and-white maid outfit, her long black hair braided into perfect twin-tails, and her feet covered with adorable white over-knee socks.
An Xiaoling’s appearance as a maid was certainly cute, giving off a perfect little homemaker vibe.
But the current scene in the kitchen completely clashed with the ideal image of a neat and efficient maid.
“Stop!”
Seeing the little maid An Xiaoling about to throw something into the pot of boiling oil, Su Qi hurriedly called out and rushed over to the stove, turning off the fire beneath the hot oil. He asked, slightly confused,
“An classmate, what are you doing?”
An Xiaoling didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she spun around in a little circle, then answered in her mischievous, quirky way,
“Hee hee~ Of course I’m cooking for you, Su Su Sister! I saw you were weak today, so I decided to be your little maid for a day. But… there’s a bit of a problem now.”
As she spoke, An Xiaoling, not a single drop of oil staining her maid outfit, handed Su Qi a phone playing a cooking video.
The video was playing: “For deep-fried snacks, you need a high oil temperature! Fry it with gusto! Only then will it be crispy and delicious.”
Watching the blogger on the phone spouting these exaggerated, misleading tips about deep-frying, and then glancing at the utterly believing An Xiaoling in her maid outfit, Su Qi was at a loss whether to complain about the blogger’s antics or about An Xiaoling’s insistence on dressing as a maid just to take care of someone.
Still, as chaotic as the kitchen was and as much as there was to complain about, Su Qi couldn’t help but feel warmed at heart when she remembered An Xiaoling had rescued her today—and had even gone to such lengths to cook for her, leading to this mess.
Remembering that intention, Su Qi’s heart felt soft and warm.
But for safety’s sake, she couldn’t help but remind her,
“An classmate, for beginners it’s better to cook on low heat. And you really shouldn’t try deep-frying yet—it’s too dangerous.”
As Su Qi offered her advice, she also started gently wiping down the messy stovetop with a cloth. Looking at the half-pot of oil An Xiaoling had poured in, Su Qi, the model homemaker, fell into contemplation.
Emmmmmm, what should she do with all this oil?
Dumping it out would be such a waste.
But if she poured the used oil back into the oil bottle, it would start to smell and spoil easily.
Lost in thought, Su Qi didn’t notice the sly curve that formed on An Xiaoling’s rosy lips as she stood beside her in the maid outfit.
The next moment, An Xiaoling quietly put away her phone, glanced at the wall clock, and said,
“Su Su Sister, that blogger was teaching nonsense. Since I’m your little maid today, why don’t you teach me how to cook instead? Oh right—today is Sunday. Su Su Sister, how about going to the Night Market tonight to sell bentos?”
Hearing An Xiaoling’s cute loli voice, Su Qi blinked in surprise, only then realizing today was the weekend.
Since joining the Cangyou Wildcat Team, Su Qi had been earning much more than when she used to sell bentos. Lately, money hadn’t been much of an issue, so not selling Susu Bento at the market was fine.
But every time she had nothing to do, her mind would inevitably wander back to memories of Wen Yin. And then she thought of the many customers waiting for her at the Night Market, plus all this unused oil—it’d be such a waste not to cook.
Seeing the ingredients that An Xiaoling had already arranged on the kitchen table, Su Qi finally nodded in agreement to An Xiaoling’s suggestion.
Seeing Su Qi’s nod, the maid-clad An Xiaoling immediately gripped Su Qi’s soft, white little hand tightly.
“You have to hold my hand and guide me well, Su Su Teacher.”
As she watched An Xiaoling take her hand so naturally and call her ‘teacher,’ Su Qi couldn’t shake the feeling she was being set up.
But as she began explaining and preparing the dishes, somehow the busy feeling made her heart full.
Maybe it was the satisfaction of having something to do.
Or maybe it was the healing sounds and smells as the food hit the pan.
At first, Su Qi was worried that the black-hearted little loli An Xiaoling would mess around or pull some prank.
But as time passed and she saw An Xiaoling’s earnest learning attitude, Su Qi gradually let down her guard.
And as she focused on preparing dinner and bentos, Su Qi didn’t even realize… At some point, the distance between her and An Xiaoling had vanished with each cooking question asked, until they were side by side.
Before she knew it, the slightly shorter An Xiaoling was snuggled in her arms, and their soft white hands held the same spatula together.
Eight o’clock on a weekend night.
The bustling Night Market, crowded with people~
In a corner, under the “Su Ji Bento” sign,
A long line of customers had already formed of their own accord.
Amidst everyone’s anticipation, box after box of fragrant bentos—imbued with the warmth of a gentle homemaker—were handed over by a pair of snowy-white hands, starting the evening’s sales.
But tonight, Su Boss wasn’t working alone. At Su Boss’s side was a cute little maid assistant.
“Hee hee~~ Would you like a Su Ji Bento, dear customer?”
m
Guess he happiest when cooking.