Dinner with Ma Xiaotao, and Yan Shaozhe Showed Up Too!

"Okay!"

Lin Fan nodded happily and said,

If Wang Dong saw this, she'd be green with envy.

Ma Xiaotao soon went to the kitchen to cook, while Lin Fan rested in a chair at the dining table.

An hour later,

Ma Xiaotao finished cooking. The food smelled even better than last time, and she had grown skilled at both seasoning and controlling the heat.

There were sweet-and-sour ribs, braised pork, and lotus root and pork rib soup.

Though there were only a few dishes, the portions were generous—enough for several people.

Lin Fan was pleasantly surprised. Watching each dish arrive at the table made his appetite soar.

The food tasted wonderful too, even better than the snack stalls outside the academy gates, with an enticing aroma.

"How is it? Do you like my cooking?"

Ma Xiaotao watched Lin Fan eat, a smile at the corners of her mouth, and asked softly.

She had put a great deal of care into it this time.

"It's good. Really good!"

Lin Fan looked up from his meal and said with a smile,

"It's better than last time. It's every bit as good as the food outside the academy gates."

"That's a relief. I was afraid you'd say you didn't like my cooking, little brother Lin Fan."

Ma Xiaotao beamed. Reaching out with her slender, jade-like hand, she placed a piece of braised pork in Lin Fan's bowl and said,

"Here! Let me give you a piece of braised pork."

Little brother Lin Fan is sure to like this piece, with its perfect mix of fat and meat.

Lin Fan picked it up, chewed, swallowed, and said,

"Mmm, delicious! Your cooking is every bit as good as the snack stalls outside the academy gates, Sister Xiaotao."

At Lin Fan's praise,

Ma Xiaotao's face lit up. "Mm, thank you for the compliment, little brother Lin Fan. You've got some food on your mouth. Let me wipe it off."

She picked up a tissue, stood, and walked over to Lin Fan, wiping the food from his mouth.

As Ma Xiaotao came closer, barely a bottle cap's width separated them while she wiped away the crumbs.

Lin Fan blushed. An enticing scent wafted from Ma Xiaotao, and he swallowed.

Ma Xiaotao bent down and carefully wiped the last crumbs from his mouth, then smiled.

"There. Take your time eating, little brother Lin Fan."

"Okay!"

Lin Fan watched the skirt of Ma Xiaotao's long red dress drift down.

His hand brushed it by accident, and he nodded shyly.

It smells so good. Ma Xiaotao's dress is so soft, and it carries such a lovely scent.

"Xiaotao, look what your master brought you!"

A voice rang out without warning.

The front door opened. Yan Shaozhe had barely stepped inside when he saw how close the two were, almost like lovers, and froze.

Caught off guard by Yan Shaozhe's sudden entrance, they were both terribly embarrassed.

Ma Xiaotao's cheeks flushed. Startled to see Yan Shaozhe, she thought,

Why did Master come now? He could have called ahead.

She remembered he had said he was busy and would not come. What was she supposed to do now? He was going to misunderstand.

Lin Fan looked alarmed when he saw Yan Shaozhe. Bewildered, he thought,

Why is Yan Shaozhe here? Now that he's seen us, will he string me up and beat me?

He possessed the rare Ultimate Ice, which could suppress Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire. Thinking it over, he figured Yan Shaozhe probably would not.

Yan Shaozhe smiled.

"Oh, you're having dinner! Sorry, I'll head back. Didn't mean to interrupt. Bye!"

It seemed he had come at the wrong time. He would return another day.

The moment he finished speaking, he swiftly shut the door and turned to leave.

Ma Xiaotao hurried after him. She opened the door, saw Yan Shaozhe, and called out,

"Master, what brings you here?"

Yan Shaozhe turned to her and held up a bag of snacks.

"I came to bring you something to eat. Since you've invited Lin Fan over, I'll give them to you another day."

Ma Xiaotao looked at the snacks in his hand and said,

"Oh! Master, why don't you have lunch with us before you go? The food's still hot."

Yan Shaozhe hesitated, then agreed.

"All right. I can have lunch with you two before I leave."

Yan Shaozhe sighed, then broke into a mischievous grin and asked,

"By the way, why did you invite Lin Fan over? Have you taken a bit of a liking to him?"

Ma Xiaotao's heart jolted. She gave a dry laugh.

"Not at all, Master. I just bought a lot of food, and I wanted to thank Lin Fan for suppressing my Evil Fire."

"I see!" Yan Shaozhe said. "And here I thought you'd started to like Lin Fan!"

Ma Xiaotao grew a little annoyed.

"Master, would you stop getting the wrong idea?"

"All right, all right. Hahaha..."

Yan Shaozhe narrowed his eyes and smiled.

Soon, the two returned to the dining table and sat down.

Yan Shaozhe looked over the fine spread in surprise, then turned to Ma Xiaotao.

"Xiaotao, your cooking has improved! These dishes look delicious."

Ma Xiaotao laughed awkwardly and glanced at Lin Fan.

"That's thanks to Lin Fan's advice."

"Oh, so Lin Fan gave you some pointers!"

Yan Shaozhe understood. He picked up a piece of meat, took a bite, swallowed, and said happily,

"Not bad, Xiaotao. Your cooking is delicious!"

Ma Xiaotao picked up a piece of braised pork too and smiled.

"Yes. Without Lin Fan, I probably couldn't have made food this good."

Yan Shaozhe then turned his gaze to Lin Fan. His eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled and asked,

"Lin Fan, are you settling in at Shrek Academy?"

Lin Fan answered with an easy smile,

"More or less."

"Good. I thought you might still be getting used to it, since you only joined Shrek Academy recently."

Yan Shaozhe nodded. Then his expression changed, and he said with a wicked grin,

"You know, Ma Xiaotao cried all the time when she was little. She was such a crybaby."

Lin Fan looked surprised.

"Really?"

Yan Shaozhe put on a serious expression.

"Yes! Once, someone hit her, and she came crying to me. I asked her why she hadn't told a teacher. Haha."

Ma Xiaotao's face turned bright red. She hurriedly protested,

"That's enough, Master! Stop telling stories about me! That never happened."

Master just keeps making things up. If he goes on, Lin Fan might actually believe him.

"All right, all right, I won't talk about you anymore!"

Yan Shaozhe burst out laughing.

The three of them continued eating.

Half an hour later,

"All right, I'm full. You two take your time. I have something to do, so I'll be going."

Yan Shaozhe stood and gave a satisfied burp.

"Okay."

Ma Xiaotao looked at Yan Shaozhe and nodded.

"Mm..."

Yan Shaozhe gave Ma Xiaotao one last look, reassurance and relief mingling in his eyes.

With that, he left the snacks for the two of them and strode away.

Ma Xiaotao watched until Yan Shaozhe disappeared from view.

Then she turned to Lin Fan.

"Little brother Lin Fan, don't believe what my master said. He was making it all up."

Lin Fan nodded.

"Don't worry, Sister Xiaotao. I know."

He did not believe everything he heard.

"Mm-hmm..."

Ma Xiaotao's spirits lifted.

I knew little brother Lin Fan wouldn't believe him.

Soon, Lin Fan and Ma Xiaotao finished eating and drinking, then began clearing the bowls and plates from the table.

A little over ten minutes later,

Lin Fan was resting on the sofa when Ma Xiaotao came out of the kitchen after washing the dishes. She looked a little tired, as though the housework had worn her out.