Pushing the cart into the kitchen.
Chef Li Zeguang began preparing the ingredients. Before he got started, he estimated how much they had cost.
A king crab weighing over three kilograms would cost at least 2,000 yuan. Five hundred grams of A5 Wagyu came to about 1,000 yuan, 200 grams of Iberian Ham cost around 890 yuan, and 100 grams of Sturgeon Caviar was about 1,200 yuan.
Those were the most expensive main ingredients. Add in the various extras—Matsutake Mushrooms, Black Truffle, saffron, Edible Gold Leaf, and so on—and this hamburger feast was worth six or seven thousand yuan.
Oh, right. That didn't include the bottle of Kobe Natural Mineral Water, which was worth around 1,500 yuan.
Nearly ten thousand yuan for a hamburger!
Chef Li Zeguang glanced at Li Xian, who was playing on his phone, his expression complicated. Rich people really are hard to understand. With so many top-quality ingredients, he could've made something far more delicious, but he just had to... Ah, forget it. Why think so much? I'll just do my job and make sure he's satisfied.
Li Xian had no idea the chef was having such a dramatic inner monologue. He'd just taken photos of the ingredients and was about to post them on Moments.
But after thinking it over, he decided not to post them. Instead, he found Dong Linlin's VX.
The mission! The mission was what mattered most!
Li Xian narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a sly grin. He lightly tapped his phone screen and sent a few messages.
"Busy right now?"
"Have you had dinner?"
"Even if you're busy, don't forget to eat dinner."
He waited a while, but she didn't reply. Li Xian pursed his lips, sent her the photos he'd just taken, and added a line.
"For dinner tonight, I'm having a simple hamburger."
This isn't too much, is it?
It shouldn't be!
I haven't even used the words 'plain and simple.' Those would really do some damage.
Li Xian put away his phone as if nothing had happened and glanced toward the worktable. The chef had already started preparing the ingredients.
He deftly removed the crab legs, then used scissors to cut through the hard shells and pick out the meat inside.
Chef Li was very meticulous as he picked out the crab meat. It took him nearly ten minutes to finish processing the whole king crab, and the meat filled an entire plate.
He turned on the stove and heated a pan. Once the pan was hot enough, he dropped in a pat of butter.
The butter melted quickly with a sizzling sound. He put the crab meat into the pan to fry, and soon the air was filled with a rich aroma.
As the crab meat sizzled in the pan, his hands kept busy with the beef. He cut the whole piece of Wagyu into strips, following the grain.
Once the crab meat had turned golden, he casually sprinkled it with salt and black pepper, then immediately got ready to cook the beef.
The whole process flowed smoothly, without a single wasted motion. It was clear he had real skill.
Li Xian had thought the chef might need an assistant and had been planning to help. But once he saw how efficiently the man worked when he got into the groove, he obediently stayed to one side and watched. Better not to get in the way.
As Mr. Lu Xun said, professional work should be left to the professionals.
A little while later, after all the ingredients had been stacked between two burger buns and the burger had been finished with a sheet of Edible Gold Leaf, Li Xian came over and asked, "Can I eat it now?"
He couldn't wait any longer. His mouth was already watering uncontrollably.
Li Zeguang turned his head and smiled at him. "Please be patient. There's just one last step."
As he spoke, he placed the burger in the middle of an empty plate, then took a few lettuce leaves, some tomato, and sliced Black Truffle and arranged them around it.
Next, he put a small spoonful of Sturgeon Caviar on a lettuce leaf, then sprinkled on some black pepper as a finishing touch. The beautiful presentation was complete.
Li Xian couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth. It's just a hamburger. How did it turn into a whole ceremony?
Li Zeguang was clearly pleased with his creation. He nodded to himself, then turned to Li Xian and said softly, "Mr. Li, please try it."
"Mm..." Li Xian answered, but didn't reach for it right away. Instead, he took out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures from different angles.
A burger covered in Edible Gold Leaf was already incredibly luxurious. The beautiful presentation took it to a whole new level.
It would've been a shame not to take a couple of pictures after all the chef's hard work.
And it would've been a shame not to post such a plain and simple dinner on Moments.
First he sent the pictures to Dong Linlin, then he posted them on Moments with the caption: "Hamburger for dinner tonight."
Li Xian eagerly picked up the burger and took a bite. As he chewed, he let out a series of satisfied sounds: "Mmm... Mmmmmm..."
He couldn't help closing his eyes a little as he savored the deliciousness. The king crab, Iberian Ham, Matsutake Mushroom, Black Truffle, and Sturgeon Caviar in his mouth blended together perfectly. The taste was beyond imagination.
When he finally bit into the Wagyu, the sensation in his mouth reached a whole new level.
"Mmmmmm... Mmm..." Li Xian opened his eyes and gave Li Zeguang a thumbs-up. "Delicious! Really delicious. Chef, your skills are incredible!"
"Heh, thank you for the compliment." Li Zeguang smiled modestly. "Mr. Li, you can just call me Kevin."
"Okay, Kevin." Li Xian urged him on. "Go ahead, keep going. Do you need me to help?"
"No, no. Just wait, Mr. Li," Li Zeguang politely declined.
The ingredients were already cooked, and all that remained was arranging them on the plate. There was no need for help.
Li Xian had just praised his cooking, which left him feeling a little awkward. Such a simple preparation didn't really show off his skills. As for how it tasted, well, with ingredients like these, of course it would be amazing.
Li Xian ate his hamburger while looking at his phone. Dong Linlin still hadn't replied, but Moments had already blown up.
In just a short while, he'd received more than twenty likes and over ten comments. Almost everyone asked where the hamburger was from and how much it cost.
There was no other reason. The burger simply looked too good.
Li Xian stared at his phone screen, feeling rather helpless, and typed a line: "I can only tell you that this hamburger is called the King Crab Beef Burger. As for where it's from, you'll have to figure that out yourselves."
A little after eight that evening, at Haichuang Apartment.
Dong Linlin dragged her exhausted body through the front door, casually hung her bag on the coat rack, and began unbuttoning her top.
She took off her outerwear in a few quick motions and immediately felt much more comfortable.
She couldn't be bothered to change into loungewear, so she curled up on the comfortable sofa with her phone.
After resting for a while, she'd recovered a little energy and took out her phone to check it.
First, she checked her missed calls and unread messages, then opened VX.
At the top was a work group. The conversation was about work, and she couldn't be bothered to look, so she kept scrolling.
There were the company management group, her classmates' group, her best friends' group, her family group, and so on—more than a whole page of them.
Only after scrolling further did she reach messages from friends. She'd been too busy at work to reply that afternoon, so now she went through them all at once, responding to the important ones and ignoring the rest.
Over the past two years, her busy work schedule had turned this into a habit. Unless it was work-related, she rarely chatted with people on VX anymore. She had neither the inclination nor the time.
Of course, sometimes she chatted about topics women were interested in with her best friends. After all, she wasn't a work machine; she needed to unwind sometimes.
"This Brother Xian—is he that Mr. Li?" Dong Linlin thought the profile picture looked familiar, but she wasn't sure. She tapped into the profile and checked when they'd added each other and his personal information before confirming it was Li Xian.
"Have you had dinner?"
"Even if you're busy, don't forget to eat dinner."
"For dinner tonight, a simple hamburger."
As Dong Linlin read the messages, her expression gradually stiffened. When she saw the pictures and the burger at the end, her stomach began to churn and growl.
Dong Linlin swallowed hard, feeling both annoyed and amused. "What's with this Mr. Li?"
She'd only grabbed a quick bite that afternoon, and maybe she hadn't felt hungry because she'd been too busy. Now, for some inexplicable reason, those pictures had awakened her appetite.
Dong Linlin rubbed her smooth stomach in frustration and hurriedly closed VX with her other hand.
"I only turned you down for one meal. You didn't have to go this far." Dong Linlin was speechless at Li Xian's antics and even thought he was childish, but she had to admit he'd definitely caught her attention.
After waiting a while, the unpleasant feeling in her stomach eased. She opened VX again and politely replied to Li Xian.
"I've eaten, thanks!"
After replying, she tossed her phone onto the sofa, got up, and went to the bathroom. Half an hour later, she'd finished showering and changed into a short set of loungewear before heading to the kitchen.
After puttering around in the kitchen for about ten minutes, Dong Linlin returned to the living room with a steaming bowl of Shin Ramyun.
Sitting on the sofa, she slurped some hot broth, then picked up the fried egg and took a bite. After chewing a few times and swallowing it, she immediately felt wonderfully warm all over.
"Noodles I make myself really do taste better." Dong Linlin smiled with satisfaction, then took another sip of broth and popped the rest of the fried egg into her mouth.
Just then, her phone suddenly vibrated.
She instinctively picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Li Xian.
"Having a late-night snack?"
"Even if you're busy, don't forget to have a late-night snack."
"For my late-night snack tonight, I'm having a simple serving of Grilled Cold Noodles."
Dong Linlin's mouth fell open, and the fried egg she hadn't swallowed dropped into the bowl.
Her brows knitted as she looked at the pictures attached to the message. Through gritted teeth, she managed to say, "That's too much!"...
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