Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 139: Males Should Get More Practice in the Kitchen
Jiang Xia secretly let out a sigh of relief. He walked beside Shi Lan, looking around at his surroundings with great interest.
For Jiang Xia, who had been pampered since childhood, Yaoxing was truly a rundown little mountain village. Not a single Hovercar could be seen here, and there were no patrol robots or security systems outside the houses.
To him, these houses seemed far too fragile.
Take Shi Lan’s house, for example. With his Spiritual Power Level, he could easily break down her door and stroll right in as if he owned the place.
He asked, confused, "Lanlan, are there no thieves here?"
Before Shi Lan could reply, Chen San scoffed, "Thieves? What’s there to steal? Everyone’s living situation here is more or less the same. It’s not like the big planets where the wealth gap is so huge."
Jiang Xia didn’t argue this time. He knew his experience in this area was limited. Besides, Chen San was part of Shi Lan’s adoptive family, and he was grateful they had taken care of her when she was young.
Along the way, Jiang Xia was curious about everything. frёewebnoѵēl.com
The vegetables grown in the gardens, the food hanging on front doors, and even the large rats that occasionally scurried by—he had to ask what they were.
Shi Lan understood. He was like a city kid visiting the countryside for the first time, seeing so many new things.
As Chen San listened on, he began to realize Jiang Xia’s family was anything but ordinary.
A male with a high Spiritual Power Level could discern the Level of those weaker than him. Chen San couldn’t make out any information about Jiang Xia’s Level, which meant he had to be at least A-Level.
’Perhaps this is a friend she met on the Capital Star,’ he thought.
Chen San was much quieter after that. He accompanied them to buy clothes, then went home to catch up on sleep.
At noon, when Aunt Gao heard Shi Lan had a friend visiting, she made a point of inviting them over for a meal.
’It’s so rare for Xiao Lan to have a friend willing to come all this way to Yaoxing. I have to help her give them a proper welcome.’
Besides, she was dying to know if the visitor was male or female.
When Aunt Gao went to call for Shi Lan, she found her in the living room, trimming the flowers she’d just bought.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xia was in the kitchen washing dishes.
He was feeling a bit peckish, so he’d snooped around Shi Lan’s kitchen, found the leftover porridge from breakfast, and polished it all off.
If Shi Lan hadn’t found him and heated it up for him, he would have eaten it cold.
’Since he just ate and I’m not hungry either, I’ll start cooking in about half an hour,’ Shi Lan had thought.
Aunt Gao glanced around in confusion. "Xiao Lan, where’s your friend?"
Shi Lan placed the flowers in her hand into a vase and looked at her. "Aunt Gao, what brings you here?"
Then, she called out, "Jiang Xia."
"Huh? Lanlan?"
Jiang Xia peeked out from the kitchen, his nose splattered with a few drops of water. His wide, round eyes gave him an innocent, docile air, so much so that Aunt Gao’s first impression was of an earnest and handsome young man. She even wondered if Shi Lan had somehow tricked him into coming here.
Shi Lan told him to stop and let the housekeeping robot finish the dishes.
Jiang Xia nodded, washed his hands clean, and walked out.
Shi Lan introduced him. "Jiang Xia, this is Aunt Gao."
She then introduced Jiang Xia to Aunt Gao.
Jiang Xia, effortlessly friendly, followed Shi Lan’s lead and said, "Hello, Aunt Gao. I’m Lanlan’s friend, Jiang Xia. Oh, and in the future, I might just be her Beast Husband."
He looked at Aunt Gao’s face, remembered the group photo from Shi Lan’s social media feed, and immediately guessed who she was, not forgetting to make his own intentions clear.
You could say Jiang Xia wasn’t stupid at all. Most of the time, he was just too lazy to think. There was always someone else to solve his problems, so he rarely had to exert himself mentally.
Shi Lan shot him a reproachful glare, her face flushing.
’How could he just say that...?’
Aunt Gao’s reaction was the complete opposite. Hearing this, she guessed he must have feelings for Xiao Lan, and her smile grew even wider. "Good boy, come have dinner at our house. I had your Uncle Gao cook up a storm today."
She said, turning to Shi Lan.
Remembering Jiang Xia’s appetite, Shi Lan hesitated. "Aunt Gao, I’ve already bought groceries. I can just cook here."
"Oh, don’t worry about it. This kind of kitchen work can be left to robots and males. There’s no need for you to lift a finger."
"Right?"
She said, glancing at Jiang Xia.
For some reason, Jiang Xia found himself holding his breath. It felt just like meeting the parents. He straightened his spine and nodded, feeling a pang of guilt.
’I can’t cook at all...’
In the end, Shi Lan couldn’t refuse Aunt Gao’s enthusiastic invitation and went to her house for dinner. In Aunt Gao’s kitchen, Uncle Gao was indeed in the middle of a flurry of cooking, with a robot assisting him.
"You’re here?"
Hearing their voices, Uncle Gao brought a dish to the table and greeted them warmly.
Shi Lan said sheepishly, "Sorry to trouble you again, Uncle Gao."
"Not at all, not at all. The more the merrier. It’s so boring with just the two of us eating every day."
Uncle Gao grinned as he looked over at Jiang Xia, so Shi Lan introduced him.
Jiang Xia said loudly, "Hello, Uncle Gao."
"Good, good, good."
He beamed, then went back to the kitchen to get on with his cooking.
Jiang Xia’s eyes darted around, and eager to make a good impression, he volunteered, "Uncle Gao, I’ll help!"
Shi Lan shot him a doubtful look, but Jiang Xia quickly slipped into the kitchen.
She started to go see what was happening, but Aunt Gao quickly stopped her. "Hey, it’s not every day Xiaxia shows an interest in learning. Let him get some practice. It’s something he’ll have to do eventually anyway."
"But, but..."
Shi Lan still looked worried, but Aunt Gao patted her hand reassuringly. "There, there, Xiao Lan. Males need the practice. Don’t fuss over them so much."
With that, she pulled her over to the sofa to have some fruit.
In the kitchen, Jiang Xia looked at Uncle Gao, at a complete loss, and stammered, "Un-Uncle Gao, what... can I do?"
Uncle Gao pointed at a winter melon to the side. "How about you help me wash this? Then hand it over to the robot for the next step."
"Winter melon?"
Jiang Xia glanced in that direction. ’There are several vegetables here, but which one is the winter melon?’
Jiang Xia had never seen a raw winter melon before; he had only ever eaten it cooked.
After a moment’s struggle, he did a quick scan with his chip to identify the winter melon.
Jiang Xia let out a sigh of relief, picked up the winter melon, and started washing it.
But then he worried that the inside wouldn’t get clean, so he broke the long, oval winter melon in half with his bare hands and rinsed the inside too, washing the seeds in the middle into a complete mess.
When Uncle Gao saw what he’d done, he was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said encouragingly, "Good job. Why don’t you go on out now."
"Oh, okay!"
Thrilled by the praise, Jiang Xia put down the winter melon and headed out.
After he came out, Shi Lan asked him how it went. He raised his head proudly. "Uncle Gao praised me. He said I did a good job." ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Oh? What did you do?"
Shi Lan stared at him curiously, her bright, almond-shaped eyes blinking.
Jiang Xia proudly shared, "I helped him wash the winter melon."
Hearing this, Shi Lan and Aunt Gao both fell into a subtle silence for a moment before chiming in with praise, "Mhm, that’s really great."
’Uncle Gao was so thoughtful,’ Shi Lan mused. ’He picked the easiest and least destructive task for him.’
’Best not to crush the young man’s confidence,’ Aunt Gao thought.
The two of them shared a silent understanding and didn’t bring it up again. During the meal, Jiang Xia made a point of taking a group photo with everyone, then posted it on his feed: Yay, the winter melon I washed is in here, and so is the person I like~
