[1]: So Skills Are This Awesome? / [2]: The Third Strategy-Take Advantage of the Situation ...

As the thought crossed her mind, Xiangyi's expression unconsciously turned serious. But when she entered the kitchen and saw Muning cooking with such focus and care, her expression relaxed again.

Muning was chopping vegetables with practiced ease. It was clear she often cooked, and every step was orderly. Xiangyi, on the other hand, might have had a different persona before, but the current Xiangyi was a menace in the kitchen. Put simply, there was no way she could help Muning much without revealing her clumsiness.

But doing nothing would make her a waste of space in the kitchen. Xiangyi looked around, trying to figure out what she could do to help Muning. Her gaze soon fell on the apron over there. Muning was dressed in white today, and no matter how good she was at cooking, she could still get grease on those spotless clothes.

"Muning, let me help you put on your apron." It was a way to help, and also a chance to interact more with Muning.

Muning froze for a moment. She still seemed a little unaccustomed to having Xiangyi in the kitchen. She forced a smile and started to reach for the apron herself, but then noticed that her hands were wet. She said softly to Xiangyi, "Sorry for the trouble."

Xiangyi smiled. She stepped behind Muning and carefully tied the apron around her. Muning seemed to be trying hard to act natural, but the more she tried, the more uneasy her body language became. Xiangyi could feel the warmth radiating from her. Her breath gently stirred Muning's hair and brushed against her slender neck.

Muning started to sweat, though it was already nighttime and not nearly as hot as one might imagine. Another reaction told Xiangyi that Muning was extremely nervous.

They were clearly friends, yet somehow they did not seem all that close. Xiangyi didn't think there was any contradiction in that. Many friends kept a suitable distance; some people didn't like hugging or holding hands, and Muning might have been one of them.

Having found an explanation, Xiangyi felt more at ease. She was only tying an apron, after all, but the whole thing seemed to take a long time. When she was done, she noticed Muning's hair was still loose and asked, "Want me to tie your hair up, too?"

Muning looked surprised. She stared at Xiangyi for a few seconds, as if she had noticed another change in her. Xiangyi couldn't be bothered to think about it. She could probably just say she'd changed during that month at Baichi Sanatorium, and Muning would be satisfied with that explanation.

"Okay, sorry for the trouble." So the curious Muning agreed, her voice still a little quiet. Xiangyi wasn't sure if she was worried Grandma Zhou might hear, or simply embarrassed to trouble her.

Xiangyi replied with a hum, then took the hair tie from her pocket and neatly tied Muning's hair up.

"There, you can get back to work." Xiangyi was clearly much more practiced at tying hair than tying an apron. Muning still looked puzzled, unable to understand how Xiangyi had suddenly become so good at it.

"There was a kid at the sanatorium who was always dirty. Sometimes I couldn't stand it, so I'd tie her hair for her. After a while, she came to me every day to get it done. By the time I left, she still thought my name was 'Hair-Tying.'" Xiangyi smiled as she explained, though that really had been one of the few warm moments at Baichi Sanatorium.

"I see. So you were doing all right at the sanatorium?" Muning asked cautiously. As a local of Ocean City, how could she not know the name Baichi Sanatorium? All sorts of rumors about it were regularly reported in the news, so when Muning saw how Xiangyi had changed, she hadn't found it especially strange.

"It was pretty good," Xiangyi replied, but she was lying.

Every day at Baichi Sanatorium, all kinds of patients with mental illnesses fought one another. Some broke down and killed themselves or harmed themselves; others even killed people. If Xiangyi's attention hadn't been focused on using the Flower God Ring to improve her constitution, she would probably have become a genuine mental patient in that environment.

But she couldn't tell Muning how hard things had been for her. Besides, there was no need to play the victim and win Muning's sympathy now.

"What do you mean by 'pretty good'?" Muning continued asking, relaxing a little as she grew curious about Xiangyi's stories from the place.

Xiangyi had already prepared a story. She began by telling Muning about two old friends who lived far apart, and Muning was so captivated that tears came to her eyes. She almost couldn't keep cooking.

Xiangyi was helpless. She had no choice but to take over Muning's work and said, "Go wipe your face first. You look like a little cat, and I'm worried you'll cut your hand because you can't see properly."

"All right. I'll be right back."

Blushing, Muning hurried off, leaving Xiangyi holding the knife. Xiangyi looked at the knife, then at the fish in front of her, and suddenly remembered the assassination skill she had copied from Shaoyao.

"Killing someone should be just like killing a fish... right?" Xiangyi couldn't help muttering to herself. Then she brought the knife down, tentatively treating the assassination skill as if it were a fish-cleaning technique.

However...

Chapter 35: So This Is Why Skills Are So Awesome?

Perhaps the knife was simply too sharp. The moment Xiangyi brought it down, the fish had already been transformed into the shape she wanted.

Xiangyi had copied Shaoyao's SR-class assassination skill. If an SR-class assassination skill gave someone such delicate knife skills, then how amazing would a dedicated knife-work skill be?

Xiangyi was having so much fun that she started deboning the fish. She found the motion a little strenuous, but it was still manageable. She got so absorbed in it that by the time she realized what she was doing, she had completely removed all the bones.

She'd gotten her fill of handling the knife, but if Muning came back and saw that the fish she'd planned to cook had been turned into this, who knew how she'd react?

Xiangyi decided she needed an excuse. But when she turned around, she saw that Muning had already washed her face and returned to the kitchen. Xiangyi instinctively tried to hide the fish, then smiled at Muning.

"I'm sorry, Xiangyi. That story about the two of them staying together for the rest of their lives was so moving." Muning's face flushed again. "And you're such a compelling storyteller."

She was trying to use Xiangyi as an excuse for why she'd cried. But the story about two close friends living far apart and reconnecting years later had made Muning think about her own future with Xiangyi. Otherwise, how could an ordinary story have made her feel so deeply?

"Heh, maybe it's because their feelings for each other were so genuine... just like ours." Xiangyi had told the story on purpose. It was part of her plan, an attempt to make Muning empathize with it.

Everything was meant to create an opportunity for a three-minute kiss, all to help Xiangyi survive in the crazy world she'd created for herself. She felt terrible about manipulating the character she'd invented, but she still chose to be ruthless.

"Honestly, why are you suddenly being so sentimental? What if I start crying again?" But Muning had no idea Xiangyi had ulterior motives. As soon as Xiangyi started talking again, her eyes grew wet. She lowered her head, trying to distract herself, then suddenly noticed that the fish she still had to prepare looked strange.

The fish on the table had been sliced open lengthwise, and its bones had been removed perfectly. Muning looked at Xiangyi in confusion. Xiangyi's eyes darted about before she forced a smile and said, "Ahem, Grandma came over to help because she was afraid you wouldn't be able to handle the fish."

Muning gave a little nod. Xiangyi thought she'd really gotten away with it, but then Muning added, "But that joke wasn't funny at all, Xiangyi. Grandma has Parkinson's."

Parkinson's was a common degenerative disease of the nervous system that affected middle-aged and elderly people. It caused muscle stiffness, making people's legs seem especially unsteady when they walked. It could also cause a resting tremor, making their hands shake constantly. And it slowed movement, sometimes making even simple actions difficult.

In this world, illnesses were much the same as in reality. But there were also many strange symptoms related to Chosen Ones. That wasn't the point right now, though. The point was that Xiangyi's joke had clearly missed the mark, and Muning's mood had sunk.

"Sorry. I just couldn't resist when I saw the fish." Xiangyi hurried to apologize, vaguely covering up the fact that she hadn't even known Grandma Zhou had Parkinson's.

Muning pretended to be angry and said, "Hmph. You're always making trouble for me. I'm going to punish you."

Xiangyi looked helpless. She'd brought it on herself, so she said, "Go ahead, but can you make it a light punishment? I'm still a kid."

Muning's stern expression broke, and she couldn't help laughing. "Why do you seem so irreverent now, like a vegetable seller, after your time at the sanatorium? What I mean is, you can do all the chopping and washing from now on. It looks like your knife skills are pretty good, anyway."

Xiangyi breathed a sigh of relief. After testing her knife skills for the first time, she'd gained a little confidence. After all, killing and chopping had a lot in common: chop, chop, chop.

She just had to be more restrained when chopping vegetables and cut them a little at a time.

"To be honest, I'm actually terrible at chopping," Muning added as she continued working.

Her cooking was edible, but the food didn't look very good. A big reason was that her knife skills were poor. She'd been wondering how to tell Xiangyi, but Xiangyi had already taken care of everything.

"So that's how it is." Xiangyi suddenly understood. She filed this weakness of Muning's away in her mind. If she didn't succeed in winning her over this time, it would be a perfect way to grow close to her again in the future.

"Yeah. But how are your knife skills so good? Did the sanatorium teach you how to cook?" Muning asked curiously. Xiangyi chuckled and started making things up.

"You guessed it. The food at the sanatorium wasn't fit for human consumption." Xiangyi began inventing a reason she'd lost weight there: the food had been so bad that she couldn't stand eating it, so she'd teamed up with a few others to make trouble.

In reality, Xiangyi hadn't eaten the sanatorium's food at all. It looked nourishing, but it was actually medicated. Even people who weren't crazy before going in would start to change after taking the medication for a while.

Whenever Xiangyi ate or took her medicine, she only pretended to. Afterward, she tossed it into the trash.

She was only saying this now to distract Muning. Sure enough, the innocent Muning quickly imagined a terrifying world and didn't suspect a thing about Xiangyi's knife skills.

After that, the two of them continued interacting, and dinner was soon ready.

But it had taken longer than Muning expected. She saw that it was only six o'clock and said awkwardly, "What should we do? We made dinner too early, and my brother's still not back."

"It's okay. I'm not hungry right now." Xiangyi looked at the steaming dishes, their fragrance wafting toward her. It was impossible to say she wasn't tempted.

"How about we sneak a few bites first?" Seeing Xiangyi staring at the food, Muning felt a quiet swell of pride and satisfaction. She actually encouraged Xiangyi to sneak a bite.

If they waited until Ye Fan got home, even reheated food wouldn't taste as good as it did now. Xiangyi was torn, when she saw Shaoyao catch the scent and wander into the kitchen.

Xiangyi gave Shaoyao a disdainful glance but didn't go near the table. Muning had already picked up her chopsticks, lifted a piece of meat, and held it out in front of Xiangyi.

Chapter 36: The Third Step in Winning Her Over—Taking Advantage of the Moment

"Come on, don't be shy. Ah, open wide."

Xiangyi reluctantly opened her mouth, feeling a little like a child. Even worse, with her beauty, Muning seemed to radiate a hint of maternal warmth, beautiful as an angel from heaven.

The scene dazzled Xiangyi. Muning seemed to love feeding her, a satisfied smile on her face.

"Xiangyi, you really are like a kid."

"I'm not that old." The twenty-eight-year-old Xiangyi started talking nonsense again, but she was still enjoying this lovely first.

Muning smiled without denying it and asked, "Is it good?"

"Huh?"

Only then did Xiangyi realize she'd been so focused on Muning that she had no idea what the food in her mouth tasted like.

"Guess it's not good," Muning said, looking a little disappointed.

"No, I was just busy looking at you, so..." Xiangyi answered awkwardly. Muning froze, never expecting Xiangyi to say that. She thought about it, then picked up another piece of meat and reminded her rather seriously, "This time, don't look at me. Taste it."

Though she said that, Muning blushed first, apparently remembering what had happened at the hotel.

"Mm... all right. I won't look at you." Xiangyi replied and bit into the meat. This time, she tried hard to savor it, but when she noticed Muning's expression, she lost track of what she was doing again. In the end, she could only offer a perfunctory compliment about how good Muning's cooking was.

"Also, don't say things like that so carelessly. You're making me embarrassed." Muning set down her chopsticks and fanned herself with her hand, trying to cool her now bright-red face.

Her innocent charm blended perfectly with her beauty. Combined with her current girl-next-door outfit, she looked even more striking. It was the kind of sight you'd expect to see only in a TV show or movie. In real life, Xiangyi had truly learned what it meant to feast your eyes.

Xiangyi protested softly, "I mean it."

Muning covered the food with its warming lid. Hearing Xiangyi say that, she almost set it down too hard. She glared at Xiangyi, feeling more and more embarrassed.

"Sorry, sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize. You just startled me." Muning sounded a little helpless, as if she couldn't understand why Xiangyi had suddenly become so good at flattering people. She'd heard compliments before, but hearing such a direct one from Xiangyi made her feel strange.

It was sweet, yet it made her sad, too.

She treasured her friendship with Xiangyi, but somehow...

Muning turned away to hide her sadness, then continued, "Come on, let's go sit outside for a while. My brother should be back soon."

Xiangyi hummed in reply. Muning said apologetically, "Sorry. You're our guest, so we should put you first, but our family has a rule: we can't eat until everyone's here."

That was also why Xiangyi had often visited Muning's home but was only now eating there for the first time.

"That's a good rule," Xiangyi said with a smile. Muning smiled back, grateful that she was willing to make allowances for their family's odd rule.

The two of them left the kitchen and sat beside Grandma Zhou.

"Grandma, we're here to watch TV with you."

Grandma Zhou turned and smiled, then returned her attention to the news about Heaven City, watching intently without saying another word. Xiangyi noticed that it wasn't the channel she'd switched to earlier. Grandma Zhou had probably changed it herself because she wanted to know what kind of place they'd be living in.

But even when Muning brought it up, Grandma Zhou didn't discuss their future move to Heaven City. She only watched TV. Muning also seemed a little tired. She leaned against Xiangyi and passed the time watching the news.

About ten minutes later, Ye Fan came home, looking windblown and weary. He was carrying some extra braised food, as if he'd gone out of his way to buy something special because he knew they had a guest.

"Sorry, sorry. I got held up on the way." Ye Fan gave them an awkward smile. Grandma Zhou and Muning were both kind-tempered. Muning took the food and went to the kitchen to get things ready, while Grandma Zhou asked Ye Fan whether he'd had a tiring day at work.

"It was all right. Xiangyi, welcome." Ye Fan smiled in reply, then looked at Xiangyi with a friendly expression.

"Hello." Xiangyi didn't know what she used to call Ye Fan, so she smiled at him. But the two of them had no further interaction.

"Okay, dinner's ready." Muning finished preparing the braised food and came out with a plate, smiling.

"I'll help, too." Xiangyi immediately stood up to help Muning, but Ye Fan stopped her.

"How could we let our guest help?" As he spoke, Ye Fan quickly went into the kitchen and brought out the dishes. Xiangyi felt a little superfluous and awkward, unsure what to do. Grandma Zhou, sitting beside her, smiled and said, "Xiangyi, could you help me up?"

As if she understood Xiangyi's awkwardness, Grandma Zhou naturally gave her a chance to fit in. And since everyone there was fairly talkative, Xiangyi soon felt more at ease.

After dinner, Ye Fan volunteered to do the dishes. Muning was afraid Xiangyi would get bored watching TV, so she took her for a walk around the neighborhood...

"Muning, you seem really happy." Xiangyi had noticed that Muning had been smiling ever since they came out, but she couldn't tell why.

"No, I just think it's surprising that I really got to have dinner with you." Xiangyi turned to her in confusion. Muning was already used to that expression of hers, so she continued, "I remember you once told me you didn't like eating with other people because it made you uncomfortable. I never thought that one day we'd really have a meal together, and with my family, too." Muning seemed excited. Hearing that, Xiangyi had a more complete picture of the old Xiangyi.

She didn't like eating with elders, either, but she wasn't so averse to it. What was more remarkable was how attentive Muning was. She remembered everything about Xiangyi. She'd carefully tended to their friendship, and Xiangyi's changes made her very happy.

But the more that was true, the more Muning dreaded the impending separation. She was afraid of how she would tell Xiangyi that she was about to leave Ocean City.

Conflicting emotions welled up in her, and tears misted her eyes. She felt that if she didn't tilt her head back soon, she would start crying.

But this emotional turmoil gave Xiangyi an opening. She moved closer to Muning, trying to take advantage of her while her emotions were in disarray.

The moment turned into a cruel joke. As Xiangyi moved closer, she accidentally bumped into Muning. Muning cried out, and both of them clutched their foreheads in pain. The atmosphere turned awkward. Even Xiangyi hadn't expected that to happen.

She had meant to go along with the sorrowful mood and do something, but she hadn't considered that it wouldn't be so easy in this situation. Xiangyi had gained some experience, but there was still a difference between flowers and flower fairies, and she was a little nervous, too.

After all that, things had turned out this way.