Outside, the patter of rain gradually became softer and finally went silent. It seemed that it had stopped raining.
They heard sounds from the living room. Mother Qin was probably back. The two of them fidgeted while locked in an embrace on the bed. He Fang glanced at the time, pulled away from Qin Guanglin’s embrace, and sat up.
“I’ll help with the cooking.”
Qin Guanglin pulled her back down and continued to lie on the bed. “Don’t cook. Your stomach will hurt again if you touch cold water.”
He was still aware of such general knowledge that girls were physically weak, especially during this period. They could not come into contact with many things.
“No way.” He Fang hesitated briefly before pulling herself away. “I’ll just be a bit more careful.”
“Don’t move. I’ll go.” Qin Guanglin held her and lay her down. He then tidied his crumpled clothing and left the room.
Mother Qin was carrying a basket of vegetables and fiddling around in the kitchen. When she saw Qin Guanglin approach, she casually asked, “Where’s He Fang?”
“Resting in my room.” Qin Guanglin crouched down and helped her to pluck out cabbage leaves.
“Then, why are you here?” Mother Qin waved her hand, gesturing for him to leave. “Go, go, go. Don’t leave her alone there.”
This lad was so strange. Why was he here instead of keeping his girlfriend company?
“She’s not feeling too well,” Qin Guanglin vaguely explained why He Fang did not come out of the room.
“Why are you here to create trouble instead of keeping her company?” Mother Qin frowned. “Is it serious? If she can’t stand the pain, take her to the clinic for a checkup.”
Qin Guanglin thought about it. “She hasn’t been feeling well for the past few days. She’ll be fine after lying down for a bit.”
“No. I’m asking if there’s something wrong with you.” Mother Qin snatched the cabbage in his hand. “If she’s feeling unwell, why are you here with me? Keep her company!”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Did you two quarrel?”
“No!” Qin Guanglin did not know where her thoughts had wandered off. “I’m helping you cook here.”
“I think you’re the one who’s feeling unwell. Do you need a spanking?” Mother Qin found it more and more strange. What was wrong with this lad?
He would usually wash the dishes at most. He did not even know how to cut vegetables. Yet he was talking about helping her cook?
Qin Guanglin plucked another leaf of cabbage and mumbled, “He Fang can’t help you, so I came to help.”
Mother Qin froze. “I don’t need her help. You two just wait for the food.” After pausing briefly, she smiled out of anger. “Are you helping me? You’re clearly helping your girlfriend.”
She wondered why this lad had become hardworking. As expected, he had come here because of He Fang. Perhaps He Fang was the one who had told him to go here.
“They’re both the same thing. Same thing.” Qin Guanglin felt a little guilty. He helped his mother cook only because of his girlfriend, which made him sound like a jerk.
“Get lost! Look at how you’ve destroyed the vegetables.” Mother Qin snatched the vegetables from his hands. “Don’t let He Fang be alone. Keep her company.”
“Just let me help you.” Qin Guanglin was persistent. He picked up the green peppers and rinsed them under the tap. “There’s a first time for everything. I’ll learn after doing it a few more times.”
“What are you up to?” Mother Qin did not know what he was thinking this time. There was a first time for everything? What exactly was this brat up to?
“I just wanted to help you cook.” Qin Guanglin placed the washed green peppers on the cutting board. “Not just today. From now on, I’ll help you often too. How should I cut this?”
“Shred them.” Mother Qin gave up on plucking the cabbage. She turned and stared at Qin Guanglin. She felt that something was wrong with this lad.
Qin Guanglin clumsily cut the green pepper in two. He used the knife a few times before cutting along the edge. “Like this?”
“Gouge out the center and throw it away.”
Mother Qin instructed him. Then, a thought sprouted in her mind. She slapped her thigh hard. “You want to learn how to cook?!”
“No. I’m just trying it,” Qin Guanglin denied. “What’s there to learn? I can learn from just watching.”
“Pretend. Keep pretending,” Mother Qin sniggered. “You think I can’t tell what you’re thinking?”
“Sure. I’ll learn a bit.” Qin Guanglin felt a bit scared holding the knife. If he cut his hands, he could not draw again.
How annoying. Why were his mother and He Fang so annoying? He could not hide his thoughts from them at all.
“Hmph.” Mother Qin turned around proudly and continued fiddling with the vegetables. “Are you serious?”
“I’m not. I’ll just randomly try it. So I won’t go hungry when I’m outside in the future.”
Tch… Only an idiot would believe that! Mother Qin did not expose him either. “Learn properly then. Cut these vegetables too.”
“Cut the vegetables in sections, right?”
Qin Guanglin put the sliced green peppers at the side. He then took the vegetables Mother Qin had plucked and started washing them.
“Yes. It’s not like you’ve never eaten them.” Mother Qin pursed her lips. With that standard, he wanted to learn how to cook?
The door to Qin Guanglin’s room closed with a bang. Qin Guanglin, who had been cutting vegetables, put down his knife and ran to the kitchen entrance. “Why did you come out?”
“I came to see if you need any help.” He Fang’s voice was much weaker than usual. It was soft and gentle, but her face had regained most of its usual color.
“We will finish prepping the food soon. He Fang, rest first.” Mother Qin had roughly guessed why He Fang was unwell.
Studying alone away from home, with no one to rely on, was pretty difficult too.
“Lie down for a while more,” Qin Guanglin added.
“Hm. I’m fine.” He Fang did not know what Qin Guanglin had told Mother Qin. She did not enter the kitchen and simply stood at the entrance while talking to them.
When she saw Qin Guanglin run to the chopping board to cut vegetables, she asked curiously, “Is Guanglin cooking today?”
“He wants to learn.” Mother Qin’s gaze shifted between the two of them. “Oh, by the way, you can give him pointers.”
“I’m just learning a bit.” Qin Guanglin genuinely regretted his earlier decision. He could learn anytime he wanted to. Why was he so eager to learn now?
“It’s easy to learn. You’ll know how to cook after doing it more.” While speaking, He Fang walked in and stood beside Qin Guanglin. “It has to be longer. It won’t be easy to pick up if it’s so short.”
“This long?” Qin Guanglin gestured. What he usually ate did seem longer than this.
“Hm.”Curl
He Fang watched him cut two times before stopping him again. “Wait a moment.”
“Why?” Qin Guanglin was confused.
“Curl your fingers inwards. You’ll easily cut your fingers like this.” He Fang took the knife from him and demonstrated. “The knife will be near your joints. Then you won’t cut your fingers.”
“I see!”
Qin Guanglin tried two times and realized it was true. This method was much safer.
“Don’t use brute force to press downwards. Exert force from back to front. You’ll save more energy if you allow the blade to cut across,” Teacher He continued instructing him.
She would train him well in every aspect.
“Amazing.” Qin Guanglin sighed in admiration. As expected, a famous teacher trains a fine student. If he trained under Mother Qin, who told him to “shred it” and “cut into sections,” who knew when he could learn these things?
“How long must I learn in order to cut them quickly and properly like you?” Qin Guanglin was fantasizing about becoming a great chef after just learning to hold a knife.
“That depends on how long you cook for.”
Qin Guanglin was very pretentious with this matter. He simply refused to admit that he wanted to learn. “I’m just playing around. I won’t do it for long.”
“Okay—” He Fang dragged out the word. “In that case, why do you want to cut so quickly? Just cut casually.”
“That’s true.”
“Put the vegetables in the colander over there. Put it in the bowl so the water won’t leak out.” He Fang patiently taught him. Since it was his first time cooking, Qin Guanglin was like an idiot. He had no common sense at all.
Mother Qin looked at the two of them silently. She felt that they were really quite compatible, and it would be good if they actually got married. But the two of them were too young. There were too many variables before they got married.
This lad had to work harder to make it happen…