CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER 21: THE FEELING OF HOME

Still asking for votes, I have to endure two or three more days before I can set up the internet... Poor me!

"Military Doctor, are you a doctor at Yan University’s campus hospital?" The innocent little rebel sent a surprised emoji.

But by then, Xiao Lin had already logged out of QQ and couldn’t see the message from the innocent little rebel. If he could see it, he would probably be quite surprised; with that tone, even if the innocent little rebel wasn’t from Yan University, they must be from Yanjing.

Following the little rebel’s message, there were two or three more inquiries about whether Xiao Lin was indeed in Yanjing. Among them were messages from Solitude and Moon, who had just played with Xiao Lin, so in the group chat, Solitude, Moon, and the innocent little rebel started chatting.

Xiao Lin went to the bathroom to wash his face. When he exited to the living room, he carefully listened to Xia Xue’s room and found no sound. Xiao Lin patted his head, realizing he didn’t know when Xia Xue had gone out, having been completely absorbed in the game.

Just as Xiao Lin was about to go out for dinner, he heard the sound of keys unlocking the door. Then, the door opened, and he saw six bags of varying sizes placed at the entrance. Xiao Lin was left dumbfounded and asked Xia Xue, "Are you trying to bring the supermarket and the grocery market home?" The bags contained not clothes or cosmetics, but vegetables, meat, fruit, and cooked food—all items from the supermarket food section. Xiao Lin hadn’t expected Xia Xue, such a stunning beauty, would go grocery shopping in a supermarket.

Xia Xue gave Xiao Lin a sideways glance and said, "Instead of making snarky comments, why not come over to help?" Then without caring, she swayed her petite waist and entered the living room, showing no intention of carrying those bags.

Xiao Lin was only momentarily stunned before he bitterly smiled and went to the entrance to get the bags. To those unaware, they might think it was a couple living their daily life. Who would have guessed it was only their second meeting today.

"What’s the situation?" Xiao Lin asked as he carried the bags into the living room, heading towards the kitchen.

Xia Xue poured herself a glass of water and, comfortably lying down on the sofa for a rest, feeling exhausted from the two-hour shopping trip, wondered why she had such a crazy impulse to buy groceries. Hearing Xiao Lin’s question, she glared at him and said, "Nothing, all will be sealed!"

Xiao Lin was truly confused about the situation. After carrying the bags to the kitchen, he came out and saw Xia Xue comfortably lying on the sofa, her collar slightly open, exposing a small part of her creamy skin. Her seductive collarbone slightly trembled with her breathing, temptingly.

Seeing Xiao Lin come out, Xia Xue said, "I don’t know what kind of madness overtook me today. I wanted to cook for myself; I was tired of eating out every day. Fortunately, everything is ready here at Teacher Qi’s, with well-maintained kitchenware and gas. Based on the conditions I mentioned earlier, I need to add another rule: if the house runs out of groceries or fruits, you are responsible for buying them, while I handle the cooking!"

Xia Xue’s condition was quite reasonable, and Xiao Lin agreed, but hesitated a bit, saying: "Well... you won’t cook anything deadly, right?"

Xia Xue knew Xiao Lin was joking, but she still gave him a sideways glance and said, "You forgot I’m not you. If you think my cooking is not tasty, you can cook yourself, but still, you have to buy the groceries. Also, you know, girls have those days every month when they don’t feel well. When I don’t want to cook, you must do it. So, to ensure you can survive when I’m not cooking, you have to help in the kitchen when I cook!"

"... I knew nothing good would come my way!" Xiao Lin sighed helplessly, seeing Xia Xue glaring at him again. He quickly said: "If I don’t agree, I can move out now!" Xiao Lin mimicked Xia Xue’s tone.

Xia Xue gave a wry smile and said: "Smart choice!"

In fact, Xiao Lin didn’t oppose Xia Xue’s suggestion; nobody wants to eat out every day. He then looked pitifully at Xia Xue and said: "Sister Xia, I’ve only had breakfast today, and I’m starving from all this running around. Can we cook now?"

Seeing Xiao Lin’s pathetic look, Xia Xue somehow felt very pleased. After finishing the last sip of water and feeling rested enough, she got up with a smile and said: "Alright, you help!"

Xiao Lin is adept with a scalpel, but with a kitchen knife...

"Brother, I’m calling you Brother now, I’m begging you, please wait outside for the meal, okay?" Xia Xue’s voice came from the kitchen, sounding very helpless.

"No, I refuse to believe that I can handle the precision work with a scalpel, yet the kitchen knife doesn’t cooperate!" Xiao Lin said passionately, not feeling the slightest bit ashamed.

"Suit yourself!" Xia Xue said weakly.

Soon, there came the sound of dishes and utensils falling in the kitchen.

"Sir, I call you sir now, okay? You’re supposed to be killing the fish, but why did you break the dishes and utensils?" Xia Xue was startled by the sound of breaking, seeing Xiao Lin frantically fumbling over the chopping board with the lively carp. A wave of helplessness surged in Xia Xue’s heart.

Xiao Lin felt wronged; first, he was bullied by the kitchen knife, and now by the carp on the chopping board. Hearing Xia Xue’s complaint, Xiao Lin looked embarrassedly at her, gave a couple of awkward laughs, and said: "Accident, accident!" But in his heart, he was quite annoyed; the difference between a kitchen knife and a scalpel was not minor.

"Forget it, you handle the vegetables!" Xia Xue stood up, snatched the kitchen knife from Xiao Lin, and said helplessly.

Seeing Xia Xue skillfully handling the carp, Xiao Lin felt even more embarrassed. Looking at the neatly arranged vegetables, he said to Xia Xue: "I think I’ll just wait outside!" Xiao Lin finally faced the truth; he was absolutely clueless about kitchen tasks. He’d better wait outside and avoid causing chaos for Xia Xue.

"I told you to wait outside earlier, but you insisted on staying stubbornly, not giving up until you reach the Yellow River!" Xia Xue said in exasperation. This was just about chopping vegetables, who knows what chaos Xiao Lin would create if he started cooking. However, Xia Xue had made up her mind not to give Xiao Lin any chance for that.

Retreating from the kitchen, Xiao Lin lounged comfortably on the sofa, watching the busy figure in the kitchen. Deep down, Xiao Lin even felt a sense of home.

Then Xiao Lin shook his head, thinking how could that be possible, as he had only known Xia Xue for less than twenty-four hours. Why was there this strange feeling? Xiao Lin chuckled boredly, and turned on the TV to watch the news for a while. One news segment caught Xiao Lin’s slight attention: Recently, an unknown contagious virus has appeared in Jingliang Province of North China, suspected to be a mutated version of the epidemic virus HTC4 from a few years ago. Citizens are advised to pay attention to hygiene at home.