Culinary "Prodigy"

Bibi Dong looked at the two siblings before her, whose relationship was seriously inappropriate.

She rubbed her forehead and sighed.

Still, she did not particularly care how Su Xuan viewed romance. As far as she was concerned, as long as her son could live happily and find happiness now, she was satisfied.

Bibi Dong watched the siblings embracing.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... She waited for around ten minutes.

Three dark lines appeared on Bibi Dong's forehead. Were these two brats ever going to stop?

"Cough, cough."

Bibi Dong raised a fist to her mouth and coughed softly twice, hoping the siblings would know what was good for them.

Su Xuan quickly realized he had gone a little too far. But his little sister's body was really soft, and holding her felt far too comfortable. He could not help becoming addicted to it, especially when she was so light and leaned her entire body against him. The feeling was simply indescribable.

Gu Yuena's little face reddened, but she was still somewhat unwilling to let go. It was already embarrassing enough, so it was better to use her brother as a shield for now.

Gu Yuena was very petty. Not only did she not want to let go herself, but in her heart, if her brother dared to let go of her first at a time like this, she would kill him.

Su Xuan felt the chilly killing intent coming from the little head beneath his chin.

At that moment, Su Xuan felt that this little sister of his was probably broken. Cold sweat ran down his back as he forced himself to stay calm. If I'm going to die, I might as well take a little more advantage first. Gritting his teeth, Su Xuan began tugging on Gu Yuena's silky silver hair, pulling hard. He would not stop until he ripped out her scalp.

"Are you two done yet?"

Bibi Dong could not endure it any longer and forcibly pulled the "inseparable" pair apart.

Su Xuan was somewhat embarrassed.

Gu Yuena, on the other hand, shot her mother a dissatisfied look and muttered under her breath, "Damn old woman, you have no sense of romance at all."

Bibi Dong ignored Gu Yuena's resentment and told the two of them to figure out how to cook the fish they had casually caught for lunch.

At that moment, the conflict between Gu Yuena and Su Xuan erupted once again, and it clearly escalated.

Su Xuan earnestly tried to persuade her. "Girls just need to wait nicely for us boys to serve them."

Su Xuan spoke with a sincere tone and earnest eyes, filled with the desperate desire to survive of his stomach and intestines.

Gu Yuena ignored him completely and replied expressionlessly, "No!"

"It's fine, Brother can—"

"No!"

"Na'er..."

"How many times do I have to say it? No means no."

Bibi Dong could not stand these two any longer.

With a helpless expression, she said, "Why don't you two make it together?"

Gu Yuena and Su Xuan exchanged a glance. It seemed like a pretty good idea.

Gu Yuena secretly rejoiced. Hmph, stinky Brother. This time, I'll show you just how amazing your cutest, invincible little sister's culinary talent really is. Witness my new dish—spicy, numbing, sour-vinegar poached fish~~

Su Xuan, meanwhile, thought, Hehe, pitiful little sister. You simply cannot understand how profound the five-thousand-year legacy of the Xia Kingdom's foodie empire is. This time, I'll let you properly experience the power of us Chinese foodies—steamed fish, braised fish, sweet-and-sour fish, pickled mustard greens fish...

Both of them had their own schemes, their faces full of confidence.

Su Xuan took out kitchen utensils from his Soul Tool. First, he made some beautiful decorative cuts, then chopped the three sacred ingredients—scallions, ginger, and garlic—into small pieces, fully displaying his excellent knife skills.

Su Xuan cast Gu Yuena a provocative glance. Gu Yuena paid him no attention, her expression disdainful as she muttered, "When it comes to cooking, knife skills are merely flashy embellishments. What truly matters is the proportioning of seasonings and control of the heat."

As she spoke, Gu Yuena gutted her own fish, removed the scales and innards, added water and brought it to a boil, then added spices to remove the fishy odor.

Seeing that simple knife skills would not be enough to conquer his little sister, Su Xuan prepared to show off some real technique.

Fish was a common ingredient, but some chefs could only make it filling, while master chefs could serve it at state banquets. It was an ingredient with both a high floor and a high ceiling.

The fish Bibi Dong had caught were naturally of exceptional quality, each one fresh, tender, and plump.

This time, Su Xuan planned to make steamed sea bass. Although he did not recognize the fish Bibi Dong had brought back, it would do well enough.

It was a traditional method from Great Guang D Province, and also Su Xuan's favorite method from his previous life.

Su Xuan closed his eyes and recalled the recipe. His Mechanical Memory Talent began extracting the memory: 1. Clean the fish scales, gut the fish, remove the innards, then stuff scallion segments and ginger slices into its belly. Marinate it briefly with salt, lemon juice, and cooking wine. 2. Mix steamed fish soy sauce and oyster sauce into a sauce, then steam it with the fish for ten minutes. 3. Heat oil and pour it over the surface of the steamed sea bass.

The method was simple, but the flavor was anything but.

Before long, Su Xuan had finished his steamed "unknown" fish. Shredded green pepper and cilantro were casually scattered over the fish, and the dish drizzled with steamed fish soy sauce looked irresistibly enticing at a glance.

At the same time, Gu Yuena's new dish was also finished: spicy, numbing, sour-vinegar poached fish, filled with all sorts of seasonings and brimming with dark energy.

Gu Yuena and Su Xuan both carried their dishes over to Bibi Dong, their faces full of confidence.

Bibi Dong favored her son more, so she tasted Su Xuan's creation first. The fish melted in her mouth, cooked to perfection. The fish's distinctive freshness had been completely sealed in, and its fragrance exploded across her mouth. It was the ultimate enjoyment for her taste buds. She glanced at her son. It seemed that blowing up the kitchen back then really had been an accident. Her son's cooking was unexpectedly good.

Bibi Dong then tasted Gu Yuena's creation. Sour, numbing, spicy, salty—every flavor gathered together, yet none was overwhelmed, each displaying its own brilliance. The only flaw was that they were too extreme, and the fish's freshness was slightly lacking...

Alright, Bibi Dong felt she could not keep making things up. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to die. Was this even food a human could make?

Her son was right.

Tears streamed down Bibi Dong's face.

Gu Yuena looked at Bibi Dong, her large eyes full of expectation.

Bibi Dong could not bear to hurt her daughter's feelings. Though her stomach was churning, she still forced a smile and said, "They're both very good, I think."

Gu Yuena was somewhat dissatisfied. She had absolute confidence in her cooking and said, "I spent a long time developing this. Every time we eat, there are all kinds of flavors in one dish, so I wondered whether I could gather every flavor into a single dish without letting them scatter. That's how this peerless dish came to be. There's no way it isn't better than Brother's flavorless steamed fish."

Bibi Dong could not hold on any longer. Do you really have to make me criticize you? She signaled Su Xuan with her eyes to deal with his own little sister.

Su Xuan looked at the "delicacy" before him. His stomach churned, his nerves frantically sounded warnings, and every cell in his body sent out signals of protest. Yet Su Xuan still braced himself and went for it.

His own little sister—he had to deal with her himself, even if he cried.

Su Xuan took a bite. It was the ultimate torture for his taste buds. Extreme numbness, extreme spiciness, extreme sourness, extreme saltiness—yet the flavors did not clash in the slightest, each shining in its own way. Could it only be said that Gu Yuena possessed incredible culinary talent but had used it in the wrong place?

Su Xuan cried. This was fucking awful. What kind of human suffering was this? Yet he sincerely said, "Na'er, I admit that I'm inferior to you when it comes to this dish."

It was so fake, but Gu Yuena seemed to have lost her mind and happily accepted her brother's surrender.

Her eyes curved into slits as she smiled. "Then if it's delicious, you have to finish all of it."

Tears filled Su Xuan's eyes, his heart heavy with the sorrow of his chrysanthemum.

He immediately began wolfing it down.

As long as I eat fast enough, my taste buds won't be able to catch up with me!!