After Tang Keni finished scrubbing the wok, everyone else was still busy.
He was the only one with nothing to do.
He wandered around the kitchen.
But he couldn't find anywhere he could help.
So he could only ask Xie Huan:
"Bro, how about giving me something else to do? I've got nothing to do right now."
At that, Xie Huan swept his gaze around the kitchen.
Then it landed on the basket holding the scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Xie Huan said, "Then peel a head of garlic."
Tang Keni readily agreed, then asked, "Peel garlic... okay, sliced or minced?"
Xie Huan froze at first, then looked utterly astonished.
"Well, damn! My apologies, didn't realize you'd trained in Iron Palm!"
Tang Keni didn't catch on right away. "Huh?"
In the end, Yao Xuan, who got it instantly, reminded him in a voice that sounded like he was about to split his sides laughing:
"How are you supposed to peel garlic into slices or mince? Are your hands knives?"
Tang Keni: "..."
His hands weren't knives, but he could do the Knife Horse dance.
Forget it...
He'd better just be a mute groom quietly shipping his CP.
Otherwise, this was way too embarrassing!
Having assigned Tang Keni his task, Xie Huan turned his attention back to Pei Tingyun.
Then.
He watched as Pei Tingyun, who had taken off his leather gloves and put on rubber ones, spent five whole minutes washing a single chili pepper-and still wasn't done.
By the sixth minute, Xie Huan finally couldn't hold back:
"Well, damn, you're still washing it? You're about to drown that pepper!"
Pei Tingyun spared him a glance amid his busy work.
"So many people are eating this. We have to wash it properly! What if someone gets an upset stomach?"
Seeing this, Yao Xuan reassured him:
"Don't worry. With our explosive cooking skills, even if we do get upset stomachs, it definitely won't be because of your part."
Just moments earlier, they had shared their respective cooking experiences.
Aside from Gu Lin, a rich young master who had grown up pampered and had never set foot in a kitchen.
Everyone else's cooking experiences had been disastrous in their own ways.
Yao Xuan specialized in charcoal-grade food.
His greatest achievement was failing to turn off the heat after burning a stew, successfully burning a hole through a pot.
And obtaining a plate of pot ashes.
Tang Keni was the exact opposite of Yao Xuan.
Tang Keni specialized in raw food.
In translation:
His rice was half-raw, and his dishes were undercooked.
He had landed himself in the hospital a full ten times.
From then on.
After reflecting bitterly on his painful experiences, Tang Keni.
Decided to focus exclusively on instant noodles, which couldn't possibly stay raw no matter how he cooked them.
At last, he'd made it out safely!
As for Pei Tingyun...
His experience had actually been a little more disastrous.
But to maintain his perfect image as a top star.
He certainly wouldn't admit that the one time he'd cooked, he'd caused a small explosion in the kitchen with a rice cooker.
Pots, bowls, and utensils had crashed all over the floor, while the rice and starchy water hadn't even spared the ceiling.
It had practically looked like the scene of a disaster movie.
His manager had nearly had a heart attack upon seeing it.
From then on.
Pei Tingyun had been stripped of even the right to enter the kitchen.
For fear that he might attempt some suicide cooking one day.
And so, the secret that the aloof top star had blown up a kitchen remained buried between Pei Tingyun and his manager.
Everyone thought Pei Tingyun was like Gu Lin, someone who never lifted a finger for housework and had people waiting on him hand and foot.
In conclusion.
Pei Tingyun thought Yao Xuan had a very good point!
But as an excessively fastidious germaphobe.
Pei Tingyun still couldn't accept spending too little time washing vegetables.
So he only paused briefly before deciding to keep washing.
Now Xie Huan truly couldn't stand watching any longer.
He reached out to snatch away Pei Tingyun's basin of vegetables.
Just then.
The director reminded him at precisely the right moment, "Xie Huan isn't allowed to use his hands!"
Xie Huan's movements froze.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Then.
Under the director's smug gaze, he countered the move.
Xie Huan withdrew his hands, bent down, and lowered his head.
Then.
Under everyone's shocked gazes.
He actually picked up the basin with his teeth and headed straight for Yao Xuan, who was in charge of chopping vegetables.
The livestream chat flooded with: [What strong teeth!]
Reaching Yao Xuan's side, Xie Huan bent down and plunked the basin beside the cutting board.
Pointing at the potatoes in the basin, he told Yao Xuan, "Bēn these taters for me!"
His authentic Northeastern dialect left Yao Xuan utterly bewildered, holding the knife without knowing where to start.
"Um... bro, what's 'bēn'?"
And so.
Xie Huan found himself stuck wanting to demonstrate with his hands but not being allowed to use them.
He could only mime the motion of "bēn" in midair with both hands.
Xie Huan said, "Doing it like this is called bēn. Get it?"
After watching, Yao Xuan shook his head blankly and answered honestly, "No."
Xie Huan deflated. "Well, damn! How am I supposed to explain this to you?"
Just as Xie Huan was at his wits' end.
Pei Tingyun suddenly raised his hand. "Oh! I get it!"
As he spoke, he moved to take the knife from Yao Xuan and demonstrate properly.
Seeing this, Xie Huan's eyes went wide with fright.
He immediately rushed forward and grabbed Pei Tingyun's right hand, which had just picked up the knife.
He held both the hand and the knife firmly in his palm.
Pei Tingyun turned his head in surprise, looking at Xie Huan in confusion.
As though coaxing a child, Xie Huan patiently urged him:
"Well, damn! Knives are dangerous. Let's not touch that, okay? Be good!"
The moment he said that.
The CP fans in the livestream started celebrating again:
[Oh my god! He's so doting! Does anyone understand how much that "be good" is worth?]
[Ohoho! Who knew our bro was the daddy type! That's hot!]
[Don't get their positions backward, person above! Xie Huan is the bottom. This is called being a male mom!]
Hearing that, Pei Tingyun was even more confused.
He didn't understand why Xie Huan had suddenly stopped him.
Nor did he understand how a knife was dangerous to someone like him, who had acted in wuxia dramas.
So Pei Tingyun immediately retorted:
"How am I supposed to show him what bēn means without holding a knife? Your mime performance was a complete flop! As if anyone else could understand it!"
The livestream chat:
[Key words: anyone else!]
[Yao Xuan: Thanks, I feel called out!]
Yao Xuan didn't even need to look at the chat to feel called out.
He glanced sideways at Tang Keni, who stood a short distance away holding back laughter as he enjoyed the sweet shipping moment.
His eyes said it all: So this is what being a third wheel feels like?
Seemingly understanding his look.
Tang Keni returned a sympathetic expression and nodded.
Meanwhile, the little couple still arguing on the other side (not yet, cross that out for now).
Xie Huan felt he couldn't win an argument against Pei Tingyun.
He could only helplessly shift a small step behind him.
It was that very step.
That brought Xie Huan's entire body almost flush against Pei Tingyun's back.
Pei Tingyun's right hand, holding the knife, was still firmly enveloped in Xie Huan's right hand.
Meanwhile, Xie Huan's free left hand took the opportunity to clasp Pei Tingyun's left.
Their fingers loosely interlaced, enclosing it in his palm.
Warmth pressed against the backs of his hands.
Guiding his hand, Xie Huan picked up a potato from the basin and held it steady.
Pei Tingyun's breath caught slightly.
Beneath his excellent control of his expression hid a heart that was inexplicably racing.
As well as.
Even greater astonishment...