The Hidden Desire

Wen Nan crouched before Lin Xuemei. As his fingertips kneaded the soft flesh of her calf, he clearly felt the muscles in her leg tense up, her toes curling in response.

It was a posture of obvious nervous wariness.

Wen Nan called out to the system in his mind: [9527, check the mission progress.]

9527: [Main Mission 2, current completion rate: 62%.]

The completion rate had risen by 2%.

It seemed this probing step of Wen Nan's had been the right move.

Lin Xuemei's tense posture right now wasn't due to disgust or resistance, but merely shyness.

Wen Nan released her foot, stood up, and chuckled at her, "Shall I go peel the garlic?"

"Oh... okay."

Lin Xuemei's long, slender eyelashes drooped, shielding the flustered emotions in her eyes.

She shoved the bowl containing the garlic cloves into Wen Nan's arms and turned toward the stove, avoiding his gaze.

Watching Lin Xuemei busy herself again, Wen Nan smiled. He didn't approach her further, but instead turned to the sink, washed his hands, and began to peel the garlic with focus.

After a while, a "click" sounded from behind as the gas stove was turned off.

"The chicken soup is ready," Lin Xuemei said. She scooped a spoonful, walked over to Wen Nan, and held it out to him. "Xiao Jiu, have a taste. How is it?"

As Lin Xuemei spoke, a gentle smile hung on her face, her eyes filled with confidence.

However, when Wen Nan lowered his eyes to look, he was slightly stunned.

The spoonful of chicken soup she offered was a deep, scarlet red, thick in texture, and emitted a pungent, fishy stench, as if it had just been ladled out of a slaughterhouse.

Looking at the blood-red soup, combined with Lin Xuemei's smile, Wen Nan suspected she might add in the next second: "Brother, time to take your medicine."

Seeing that Wen Nan didn't move, Lin Xuemei used a pair of serving chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat from the spoon and held it to his lips. "Try this chicken foot. Is it stewed until tender?"

[(╬Д)]

[Oh my god, I'm going to throw up.]

[Forget it, I can't do it.]

[Me neither.]

Yet, Wen Nan only froze for a brief moment before quickly regaining his composure and opening his mouth.

"The flavor is just right, the heat was perfect, it's delicious and full of gelatin."

Wen Nan praised her with a sincere expression, as if he had truly tasted some exquisite stewed chicken. "Aunt, your cooking is getting better and better."

Aunt Mei laughed, two patches of red flushing on her cheeks. "Xiao Jiu, you're getting better and better at sweet-talking people."

The scarlet chicken soup, the fluorescent green braised fish, the charcoal-black cured meat stir-fried with indigo bamboo shoots, and finally, the pièce de résistance—a bowl of brownish-yellow boiled beef, surrounded by a cloud of flies, looking as if it had just been freshly fished out of an outhouse.

[The streamer is really... he can actually eat this? And he can actually praise it?]

[I salute you as a real man!]

[The streamer deserves to clear this level.]

The meal was soon served on the table—

Scarlet chicken soup, fluorescent green braised fish, charcoal-black cured meat stir-fried with indigo-colored dried bamboo shoots, and finally, the pièce de résistance: a bowl of brownish-yellow boiled beef, surrounded by flies, looking as if it had just been freshly fished out of an outhouse.

Qiqi followed the scent to the dining table, bent down excitedly, took a deep breath, and licked the corner of her mouth. "So fragrant! It's killing me! I can't wait, I'm going to start eating!"

As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks and reached for the largest chunk in the bowl of boiled beef.

However, just as the tips of her chopsticks were about to touch the brownish-yellow lump, Wen Nan intercepted it halfway.

With a nimble flick of his chopsticks, Wen Nan slurped the largest piece into his mouth.

"Why are you stealing my piece!" Qiqi stomped her feet in anger.

"Yours? If you call it, will it answer?" Wen Nan said, his cheeks bulging as he chewed vigorously. "Whoever gets it into their mouth first gets to keep it."

"Hmph!" Qiqi rolled her eyes at Wen Nan and fished an eyeball out of the chicken soup bowl, popping it into her mouth to chew.

Aunt Mei sat on the other side, smiling as she said, "There's plenty more in the pot, don't worry, there's enough for everyone."

Truly, birds of a feather flock together.

As long as you two are happy.

I'm going to go back to the side and retch for a while.

Ugh.

At the dining table, the three of them ate with great satisfaction.

Qiqi piled a large portion into Lin Xuemei's bowl and said with a grin, "Auntie, your cooking is getting better and better. It's even catching up to the chefs at five-star hotels."

Lin Xuemei chuckled, "Are you just trying to make me happy?"

Wen Nan chimed in, "It's really delicious. Even a five-star chef couldn't compare to home-cooked meals. Home-cooked food... has Aunt Mei's flavor."

Lin Xuemei was slightly taken aback as she looked at Wen Nan, "My... flavor?"

"Yeah," Wen Nan said with a straight face, speaking nonsense, "Your scent is very fragrant."

A blush appeared on Lin Xuemei's cheeks once again. She used her chopsticks to place a piece of green fish into Wen Nan's bowl, "Then... you should eat a bit more."

Qiqi hugged her bowl, looking back and forth between her aunt and Wen Nan, her eyes narrowing into slits as a suspicious expression appeared on her face—she couldn't help but feel that there was something strange going on between these two.

This strange feeling persisted until they finished their meal.

Lin Xuemei went to clean up the kitchen, Qiqi volunteered to mop the floor, and Wen Nan took on the heavy responsibility of washing the dishes.

After Wen Nan broke a ceramic bowl and dropped two soup spoons in succession, Lin Xuemei walked over to the sink, feeling somewhat helpless. She gently tapped Wen Nan's forehead with her finger, "You, is your schoolwork so heavy that you've been worked silly? Alright, leave it to me. Go out and play."

Wen Nan didn't leave; he only shifted a small step to the side to make room for Lin Xuemei.

Seeing that he had no intention of leaving, Lin Xuemei took the dish sponge and said, "Then just watch me wash them and learn."

The kitchen was cramped, and with two adults standing side by side at the sink, it felt very crowded.

Lin Xuemei had to stand in the middle of the sink to wash the dishes. Wen Nan had pressed himself as close to the wall as possible, but with his broad shoulders and long legs, even as he tried to shrink his body, his arm was still forced to press against Lin Xuemei's body.

That soft mass swayed with the motion of washing the dishes, as if scratching at Wen Nan's heart, making him feel somewhat feverish.

He wanted to lock his gaze onto Lin Xuemei's slender fingers as she washed, yet his peripheral vision uncontrollably drifted to the other side.

Lin Xuemei had taken off her apron and was wearing a loose T-shirt. The wide neckline had slipped off one shoulder, revealing a beautifully curved neck, a snow-white shoulder, and further down...

Wen Nan felt his blood rush to his head.

Aunt Mei really didn't treat him like an outsider...

He had come over for dinner, and she had been completely braless the entire time?!

Realizing that his thoughts were beginning to wander, Wen Nan hurriedly reined in his mind. Just as he was about to pull his gaze away, a system notification sounded in his head.

9527: [Main Quest 2, current completion: 65%]

It actually... increased by another 3%?

So, Aunt Mei had sensed Wen Nan's gaze, indulged his peeking, and because of that... felt satisfied?!