Cooking (Daily Life)

Before he even sensed Xia Libing, Xiang Kun had already noticed several familiar faces in the supermarket. Some were people he had met a few times before, friends of friends, some were neighbors from the same neighborhood who would nod to each other when they met, and two were former high school classmates.

However, Xiang Kun didn't intend to greet them first. Firstly, since they hadn't met, there was no need to go out of his way to make his presence known. Secondly, he had changed so much that even if they met, the other person might not recognize him, and he'd have to waste time explaining and exchanging pleasantries, thus wasting everyone's time. Thirdly, unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want to engage in too much social activity during his trip home. He wanted to spend more time with his parents, and the remaining time could be used to explore his "Hyper-Sensory State," deduce the abilities derived from various connected objects, and... cook five meals for Lao Xia.

The two high school classmates had already paid and left the supermarket, while Xiang Kun and Xia Libing were still shopping. Under normal circumstances, they would not have run into each other.

However, Xiang Kun did not intend to greet those he knew. While his multiple senses were "subconsciously" collecting various information, he would still pay special attention to the location and condition of these people.

The two high school classmates, who were now a couple, started arguing as they checked out of the supermarket. They didn't notice that their son, who was being led by the hand, was carrying a small ball and walking to the side of the road. Unbeknownst to them, he had already reached the side of the road and was showing signs of walking further into the center of the road.

Xiang Kun didn't see this scene directly. When the child walked towards the road, he and Lao Xia were pushing the shopping cart to line up to pay. From their position, they couldn't see what was happening outside through the supermarket door.

However, through various sensory information from the surrounding area, especially sound, he was still able to basically determine the situation.

Xiang Kun hesitated for a moment. Because he had limited visual information about the area outside the supermarket and on the road, he couldn't accurately predict the traffic situation to assess the danger of the child walking on the road, or whether the child's parents or someone nearby would notice in time and pull the child away.

Xiang Kun didn't see himself as a superhero, nor did he consider helping others his responsibility or obligation. But just like when he saw the thug wielding a knife and injuring a young couple downstairs, just like when he saw the wanted criminal who robbed and killed someone on the street, just like when he discovered human traffickers in the car in front of him after an accidental rear-end collision, he would do whatever he could, as long as it didn't harm him.

Otherwise, if something were to happen to the child, although others or the child himself might not necessarily blame himself, the thought of "what if" would inevitably pop up from time to time.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xiang Kun felt that the only possible consequence of taking action now would be that Lao Xia, who was with him, would notice something was amiss.

This impact was within his acceptable range— Lao Xia had noticed enough anomalies, one more wouldn't make a difference.

So after handing the shopping cart to Lao Xia, Xiang Kun quickly walked out of the supermarket. He seemed to have weighed and calculated many factors, but in reality, it took him less than half a second. After walking out the door, he saw the two old classmates arguing. Their location was blocked by a car parked on the side of the road, so he didn't see their son standing in the middle of the road holding a ball. On the other side of the road, there was a grassy area, and further away was a small park where many children were playing ball with their parents.

Xiang Kun rushed over, picked up the child, and walked back.

Before he rushed into the road, a van had already stopped a few meters in front of the child, and the driver was about to open the door and get out.

Further away, a father holding his child saw this scene, raised his hand to signal the car behind him to stop, and headed towards where his child was.

According to Xiang Kun's calculations, even if he didn't come out, the child would be safe and sound with the help of others.

Xiang Kun nodded to the van driver and the father holding the child, then carried the child back to the roadside to his parents, who had just stopped arguing and realized their child wasn't with them.

"If you're going to argue, at least take care of the child first. The child is almost in the middle of the road, and you're still just arguing," Xiang Kun said casually as he handed the child to his mother.

The child's father was also very frightened and repeatedly blamed himself. "Yes, yes, it was my fault, I blame myself, I shouldn't have lost my temper."

The mother, holding her child tightly, whispered, "I should have held my son's hand, it was my fault..." She then thanked Xiang Kun, saying, "Thank you so much."

Xiang Kun laughed and said, "Xiao Jie, Wei Zhuo, you didn't recognize me, did you? Xiang Kun."

It's normal that they don't recognize Xiang Kun now, after all, he has changed so much that even his mother didn't recognize him when they first met. But it's impossible that Xiang Kun wouldn't recognize them, because they had just seen each other last Spring Festival, and they haven't changed much at all.

Moreover, they will definitely meet again in a few days.

More than two weeks ago, Xiang Kun received a call from a classmate he was close to in high school, inviting him to a wedding during the Spring Festival.

That classmate and he had been deskmates for two semesters and had a good relationship. They would see each other every year when they came back for vacation. He was in Citong when the wedding was held, so even if he didn't want to participate in social activities, he couldn't possibly not go.

Wei Zhuo and Xiao Jie will definitely be there then, and they will naturally see him.

"Which Xiang Kun..." Wei Zhuo said subconsciously, then matched Xiang Kun's features with those of his old classmate in his memory, and exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap! Xiang Kun!"

The three of them had only been chatting for a few minutes at the supermarket entrance when the couple suddenly noticed a tall, beautiful girl pushing a shopping cart and watching them from a distance, which they found rather odd.

Xiang Kun noticed that his two classmates had noticed Lao Xia, so he beckoned Lao Xia over and introduced him, "This is my friend, we were just shopping together at the supermarket."

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, the two sides said their goodbyes and parted ways.

Wei Zhuo and his wife took their child to the parking lot to get their car. Xiang Kun Kunze and Xia Libing returned the stroller, each carrying a few bags, and went to the roadside to hail a taxi.

"Sorry, I left you to pay the bill alone. How much is it? I'll transfer it to you." Xiang Kun turned to Lao Xia, who was standing next to him on the roadside, and said.

"No need, consider it as treating you to two meals," Xia Libing said simply.

"I see... Okay. But two meals aren't enough. With so much food, let's make it three meals."

"Just two meals," Xia Libing said firmly.

"Okay, two meals, that means there are still three meals left." Xiang Kun immediately realized that although in name Lao Xia owed him five meals and had to "treat" him to five meals, according to the agreement between Lao Xia and him, the actual operation was that he was "cooking" five meals for Lao Xia.

This is really... you treat, I cook.

On Lunar New Year's Eve, there were still many people like Xiang Kun and Xia Libing out shopping, so it was difficult to hail a taxi. Cars on the app were also hard to find. On the other hand, buses didn't seem to be very crowded, so Xiang Kun and Xia Libing simply moved a few steps and boarded a bus.

When they boarded the bus, there happened to be an empty seat, Xiang Kun let Lao Xia sit there, then piled the plastic bags around her feet and held onto the handrail to protect the bags.

Xia Libing also helped by carefully gathering the plastic bags with her feet, since they contained ingredients for lunch, dinner, and some future meals...

After the bus started moving, Xiang Kun felt a little dazed. This scene seemed familiar...

Then he immediately remembered that the last time he went back to Citong, when he took Lao Xia to buy groceries, the two of them also took the bus together.

Lao Xia's phone vibrated in his pocket. Xiang Kun subconsciously looked over and saw Yang Zhen'er's profile picture on the screen of the phone Lao Xia had picked up.

At this moment, Yang Zhen'er sent a video request, Xia Libing naturally guessed what her cousin's purpose was—she must be eating something delicious and deliberately trying to tempt her.

Most of the time, Xia Libing cruelly rejected her cousin's boasting and refused to answer video calls.

But this time, Xia Libing accepted.

Sure enough, after Yang Zhen'er's face appeared on the screen, the next moment it transformed into a table full of steaming dishes, and then Yang Zhen'er's clear voice rang out from off-screen:

"My dearest sister! Look at this table full of dishes, how delicious and tasty they are! Look at this braised pork trotters, so much collagen, mmm~~ it smells so good! Just looking at it makes my mouth water! This was made by Nana's mother herself, with thirty years of culinary experience, I reckon it's not much worse than Chef Xiang's crispy pork trotters! My dearest sister, why didn't you come home to be with me for the Spring Festival? Now you regret it, don't you?"

The video shows Yang Zhen'er at the table, along with Tang Baona who is covering her mouth and laughing), Tang Baona's sister Bao Ting, her fiancé Gao Yao, and Nana's father. Clearly, the foodie Zhen'er went to Tang Baona's house for lunch on New Year's Eve.

Xia Libing didn't reply. Instead, she turned her phone around, pointing the camera at the plastic bags at her feet. Then, pointing to the bags, she introduced them, "Pig's trotters, pork ribs, pig's ears, mantis shrimp, chicken legs, beef..."

After checking the ingredients, Xia Libing moved the camera up to Xiang Kun, who was standing to the side holding onto the handrail, and said, "Chef."

Xiang Kun readily gave him a bright smile, waved, and greeted him.

At this moment, in the Tang family's dining room, Yang Zhen'er, having finished her video call with Xia Libing, looked at her phone, then at Tang Baona beside her, and said with a wry smile, "I thought I was the only one who would shamelessly go to someone else's house for a meal on New Year's Eve. I never expected Lao Xia would actually go to the Chef Xiang's house for a meal? Sigh? The chicken soup in my bowl suddenly doesn't smell so good..."

Mother Tang, who was coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of vegetables, wondered, "Zhen'er, doesn't the chicken soup taste good? Did I add too little salt and it's too bland? Oh, our Nana's taste is too light, I'm used to it..."

Yang Zhen'er quickly waved her hand and said, "No, no! Auntie, your chicken soup is so delicious! I mean... Nana's perfume is too strong, but it can't overpower the aroma of your chicken soup!"

"Pfft... cough cough!" Gao Yao was drinking soup with her head down, choked when she heard this, and soup flowed out of her nose.

Bao Ting, standing next to her, helplessly pulled out a tissue and handed it over.

Mr. Tang chuckled and looked at his daughter, who was bickering with Yang Zhen'er, and said, "I heard Bao Ting say that you have a friend who cooks exceptionally well. Is that the 'Chef Xiang' that Zhen'er just mentioned?"

"Yes, it's Chef Xiang. He's really good at cooking..." Yang Zhen'er said, then smiled at Tang's mother, "Of course, he's still a tiny bit worse than Auntie! Auntie's chicken soup is so delicious!"

Tang's mother smiled and shook her head, "My cooking skills are just for everyday meals; they can't compare to those of a professional chef."

Tang Baona laughed and said, "Zhen'er, you're such a little flatterer!"

Gao Yao, who had just wiped her nose with a tissue, nodded and said, "Xiang Kun's cooking is indeed delicious, especially his rabbit meat. He's particularly skilled at it. His handling of ingredients, his control of the heat, and his seasoning are all superb. It's no worse than what the head chefs at those high-end restaurants make."

Tang's parents both knew that their prospective son-in-law was an "honest man," so their serious evaluation of Xiang Kun's cooking proved that it was indeed quite delicious.

Mr. Tang squinted and smiled, "Now that you mention it, I'm curious too. I'd love to try some of Chef Xiang's cooking sometime!"

Tang Baona laughed and said, "Sure, after the Spring Festival, Xiang Kun comes back, I'll invite him over and have him cook a few dishes to show off his skills. By the way, Dad, do you remember that Canary Wooden Carving I gave you that you saw at Canary Wooden Carving's place? It was also made by Xiang Kun."

Tang's mother exclaimed in surprise, "I thought that 'Chef Xiang' was a restaurant owner, I never expected him to be an artist too?"

Yang Zhen'er chuckled and said, "Uncle, Auntie, why don't you guess what Chef Xiang's main job is? If you guess wrong, you have to drink a glass of wine. Anyway, it's fruit wine, so it's low in alcohol, hehe."

Citong City.

When Xiang Kun brought Lao Xia home, as expected, his parents couldn't hide their surprised expressions.

Moreover, judging from Lao Xia's appearance, it's easy to connect him to the "friend's sister" that my cousin's wife mentioned last night and that we discussed at the dinner table this morning.

"Mom, this is the sister of my friend, Dr. Xia Libing, whom I've told you about," Xiang Kun said to his mother.

"Welcome, welcome, Dr. Xia, come in quickly. No need to change your shoes, no need to change your shoes. Oh dear, I didn't mop the floor either. Old Xiang! Come out quickly, we have a guest!" Mom Xiang's eyes were glued to Xia Libing, staring at her intently, her smile never fading.

"Hello Auntie, hello Uncle, sorry to bother you, you can call me Xia or Xiao Bing." Xia Libing greeted her Mom Xiang and Dad Xiang, who came in from the balcony with a newspaper, after changing into her slippers.

Xiang Kun nearby, was somewhat surprised. Lao Xia's expression was different from before. His usually slightly upturned lips were more pronounced, his eyes seemed more smiling, and his voice was slightly raised, giving him a more gentle and... well-behaved air.

However, Xiang Kun could still sense a hint of unnaturalness and awkwardness in her performance, which was clearly not as natural as she usually was.

"Dad, Mom, I ran into Dr. Xia at the supermarket, so I invited her to have lunch at our house. I'll go cook now, you guys chat with her for a bit, okay?" Xiang Kun said, carrying a bag of ingredients into the kitchen. He put most of them in the refrigerator and started preparing the rest for lunch.