Nickname: Huhu

"When I was little, my respiratory tract wasn't very good, so I often breathed through my mouth. It made this faint huhu sound, so my family gave me the nickname Huhu," Xiao Ming explained.

"Huhu? That's a very cute name." Qu An had not expected there to be such a backstory. He turned the nickname over in his mind and felt that it suited Xiao Ming better than "Classmate Xiao Ming."

But nicknames were still too intimate. Qu An only said it once and did not continue.

Xiao Le had gotten up as well. Seeing them eating, he came over, and the two of them did not keep discussing the nickname.

What Xiao Ming did not tell Qu An was that "Huhu" was a name only his family had used when he was little, before he started school. Once he grew older, his parents usually just called him "Xiao Ming," though his maternal grandparents still called him that whenever he visited them during the New Year.

Unlike his paternal grandparents, Xiao Ming's maternal grandparents were ordinary rural elders. They had supported their daughter through college on their own. Xiao Ming's mother had once wanted to bring them into the city, but the two elders refused. They felt the countryside was better, since they knew people there.

So Xiao Ming only heard his maternal grandparents call him "Huhu" when he returned to the countryside. The elderly couple did not really use things like WeChat, and they knew Xiao Ming was always busy with school, so they rarely called him.

The typhoon raged outside, and there was not a trace of human activity to be found.

With nothing to do today, Xiao Ming spent another entire day in the screening room and finished all of Qu An's films that were unavailable online.

They were all films that had not been edited and released domestically because the domestic film market had been too tightly controlled before.

And Xiao Ming unexpectedly discovered that only one of them was a romance. After watching it, he kept feeling that something was off. It was not that Qu An lacked acting skills—he had them—but in that film, Xiao Ming could not feel "love."

Actually, he did not understand what "love" was either, but it definitely was not what Qu An had acted out. It was like a heartless person pretending to be affectionate.

Still, Xiao Ming did not say any of that to Qu An. They were only friends now. Besides, he did not even have something like acting skills himself, so how could he criticize someone else?

Xiao Le cooked noodles for lunch, and Xiao Ming ate some. Then the three of them went back to doing their own things.

As for Qu An, he was studying a script. Xiao Ming accidentally caught sight of what Qu An was reading—a script—and remembered Xiao Le casually mentioning at the table that Qu An was going to audition. He then knew Qu An was preparing for a new role.

Qu An stayed in the study all day and, as usual, did not come out except to eat.

Near evening, Xiao Ming came out of the screening room. No one was outside, and Xiao Le was probably in his room too.

After thinking for only a short while, Xiao Ming headed for the kitchen. He stood there for quite some time without moving. "Classmate Xiao Ming, what are you standing in the kitchen for?" Only when he heard Qu An's voice did Xiao Ming turn around.

He remembered Qu An and the others saying yesterday that they would teach him to cook, but he was too embarrassed to say it aloud. He could only look at Qu An expectantly.

He said nothing, but looked at Qu An for a moment, then at the vegetables in the corner. His meaning was obvious.

If someone did not know Xiao Ming or understand him, they would not have been able to guess what he meant from that series of expressionless movements. They would only be thoroughly confused.

But Qu An had known Xiao Ming for nearly two weeks, and they had spent several days together from morning to night. Besides, as long as one was willing to get to know him, Xiao Ming was easy to understand. So Qu An immediately got it.

"Alright. Then dinner is up to you. I'll assist."

Xiao Ming looked like he wanted to say something but stopped. Then he met the encouragement in Qu An's eyes and quietly let out a breath, trying to steady himself.

"What dish do you want to learn first?"

Xiao Ming knew he could not become fat with one bite. Remembering the beginner recipes he had looked up before and considering the tastes of all three people, he weighed it over before naming several dishes.

"Tomato scrambled eggs, cola chicken wings, stir-fried Shanghai greens, stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork slices, and corn pork rib soup."

"Is that going to be so bland? Don't you and Xiao Le like spicy food?"

"The bamboo shoots and pork can be made spicy. Xiao Le is getting a bit overheated too." Xiao Ming remembered that Qu An had not eaten much at dinner last night, and he had more or less figured out Qu An's tastes. He preferred lighter food, could accept bitter and somewhat sweet flavors, but was not very good with sour or spicy food.

And Qu An's stomach was not in great condition. Because he had spent long periods on set with irregular meals and a reversed day-night schedule, he had developed chronic gastritis.

"Xiao Le's just overheated because he eats too many snacks."

Xiao Ming did not argue. He simply went over and took out all the ingredients they needed. Aside from the bamboo shoots with pork and the cola chicken wings, which might take longer, the rest were manageable.

Although he had never cooked before, Xiao Ming was decent at helping out. He looked fairly competent washing vegetables and the like.

Since Xiao Ming said he wanted to try first, Qu An stood beside him and watched, only helping when Xiao Ming needed guidance.

Washing the vegetables went smoothly, but problems started once he began chopping and preparing the ingredients. The bamboo shoots were fine. Although Xiao Ming looked extremely unskilled with a knife, making people fear that he would cut himself at any moment, he finished them without incident. They were just ugly.

The pork ribs in the south came pre-cut into chunks, so Xiao Ming did not need to do much with them. But the corn they had bought was still whole.

Xiao Ming put an ear of corn on the cutting board and chopped down toward the middle. Then... the knife got stuck inside. He struggled to pull it out, but his aim was not very accurate.

Qu An watched from the side with his heart in his throat. His emotions rarely fluctuated so sharply, but right now, he was genuinely afraid something would happen.

"Xiao Ming, blanch the ribs first, then boil another pot of water. I'll handle this." Afraid Xiao Ming would refuse, he immediately added, "This way, we'll be faster and can finish dinner earlier."

Xiao Ming also realized he was moving too slowly. If he were cooking alone, they might go hungry tonight, and there was absolutely no guarantee of his cooking skills.

Taking the knife from Xiao Ming's hand, Qu An felt like he had let out a breath of relief. It felt as though he had saved a life.

Qu An moved briskly. He clearly knew how to cook and had done it often. After all, only because of this unexpected typhoon were he and Xiao Le living together. Normally, Qu An lived alone.

The corn was soon chopped, and Xiao Ming had prepared the water on his side too.

Seeing the untouched tomatoes nearby, Qu An picked them up and sliced them as well. He did not forget to remind Xiao Ming, "You can put the ribs in to boil now. They need to cook longer."

Xiao Ming dropped the ribs in one piece at a time. When the water splashed up, he dodged to the side. He looked a little scared, every bit the novice. The funny thing was that his serious expression made it impossible to see his embarrassment.

The pork slices had also been pre-sliced at the supermarket, each piece looking neat and delicate. The bamboo shoots needed to be blanched first, then fished out and drained when they were nearly done. There were only two burners, but the kitchen also had an induction cooker.

A pot filled with water sat on the induction cooker, with the bamboo shoot slices already inside. The bamboo shoots would not be ready anytime soon, so Qu An estimated the timing of everything else and had Xiao Ming take out the chicken wings.

The chicken wings had already been washed, and Qu An had added ginger and blanched them too. Though Qu An had intended to teach, he did not dare let go completely. When Xiao Ming poured in the oil, Qu An watched beside him to control the amount, one hand resting on the bottle.

"Enough, enough. You don't need that much oil to pan-fry chicken wings."

There was still water on the chicken wings. The moment they went into the pan, there was a sizzle, and oil splattered everywhere. Xiao Ming immediately backed away several steps, still holding a pot lid like he was facing a great enemy.

When he put in another wing, he did not dodge in time. A few drops of oil splashed onto his hand, and red spots immediately appeared on the back of his fair hand.

Qu An could not help wanting to step in, but when he saw Xiao Ming's eager, hardworking expression, he stopped himself. By the time all the chicken wings were in the pan, a few beads of sweat had appeared at Xiao Ming's temples.

"Once they're nearly done, flip them over and fry the other side."

Qu An helped keep track of the time and had Xiao Ming turn them over. But Xiao Ming was a little slow, and some had already burnt after being flipped. Fortunately, only one was badly burnt; the others were only slightly charred.

Xiao Ming looked at Qu An apologetically, like a kitten that had done something wrong, cautious and timid.

Qu An had expected this to happen. Naturally, he could not really get angry at someone, so he soothed him, "It's fine. Just throw away the burnt one. The rest are all good."

Judging that the other side was nearly cooked too, Qu An had Xiao Ming add several slices of ginger, then cooking wine, light soy sauce, and a little salt in turn. After that, he poured in cola and cooked it over high heat.

"Once the cola boils, turn it down to low heat and keep cooking. It'll be ready when the sauce reduces."

Xiao Ming's hand trembled, and he accidentally added a little too much cooking wine. Thankfully, he had not poured in too much soy sauce, or the dish would have tasted quite strong. After the mishap with the cooking wine, Xiao Ming hurriedly grabbed a spoon and bowl to scoop some out, successfully salvaging it.

The cola chicken wings were ready soon, and Qu An fished out the bamboo shoots and set them aside to drain.

"You can put the corn in to boil now too. It needs to cook longer."

"Okay!" Xiao Ming sounded a little excited. Having successfully finished one dish, he was in a good mood.

Qu An was affected by it too. As he watched Xiao Ming plate the cola chicken wings, he took some sesame seeds over and sprinkled a little on top.

Xiao Le only came out of his room after catching the aroma. Following the smell to the kitchen, he saw the two busy figures standing close together. Remembering Fei's instructions, he took a photo of them and went back to his room.

Xiao Ming had already beaten the eggs for the tomato scrambled eggs, but there had been an accident while cracking them. Half an eggshell had fallen into the bowl with one egg.

He sheepishly picked out the eggshell, then turned and saw the smile Qu An had not managed to hide in time. Xiao Ming suddenly got annoyed. In a rush of heat, he snapped in a fierce tone, "What are you laughing at?"

Qu An clearly had not expected that reaction and could not respond immediately.