Zhao Xiaowen raised her head to look at Lin Chen and then shook her head, "Lin Chen, I know you're capable and you've earned quite a bit of money, but I don't want to live off others. I've decided to go out and work to earn money. My parents are getting on in years, and I don't want them to have to toil day and night because of me."

"But you're so good at studying, it'd be such a waste to give up school." Lin Chen shook his head, determined in his heart that he couldn't let Zhao Xiaowen drop out under any circumstances.

"Don't worry, now there are many girls from the village working outside. Neighbor Hua Jie can earn over a hundred thousand in a year," Zhao Xiaowen said with a forced smile.

"Hua Jie, you know what she does for a living, I simply can't agree with you going out to work," Lin Chen stubbornly objected.

"I don't want to rely on anyone else, thank you though, Lin Chen." Zhao Xiaowen was equally stubborn.

"I'm not 'anyone else,' I'm your boyfriend," Lin Chen blurted out.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, both Lin Chen and Zhao Xiaowen blushed.

Zhao Xiaowen looked at Lin Chen's embarrassed face and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Idiot!" Zhao Xiaowen's heart warmed at Lin Chen's words.

For many years, her parents had been running a restaurant in the city and seldom did anyone truly care for her, except for Lin Chen who had always been silently helping her.

She remembered when she was little, other kids in the village would bully her, but Lin Chen would always stand up for her, even though he ended up covered in bruises while stubbornly protecting her.

She also remembered in junior high, when it was pouring outside, Lin Chen gave his umbrella to her and ran off into the rain, ending up with a fever and not coming to school the next day.

She remembered in high school, when her parents forgot to give her lunch money, Lin Chen brought over his own lunch for her, saying he wasn't very hungry because he had a big breakfast. However, he then went to the corner to nibble on his own steamed bread.

Thinking of all this, Zhao Xiaowen's eyes moistened again.

"Xiaowen, why are you crying again?" Lin Chen grew anxious upon seeing Zhao Xiaowen's eyes brimming with tears, when her face had just been wearing a smile.

Zhao Xiaowen wiped the tears from her face, "It's nothing. Just got some sand in my eyes. Lin Chen, can I lean on your shoulder for a bit?"

"Sure!" Lin Chen nodded.

Zhao Xiaowen's head gently rested on Lin Chen's shoulder, feeling as if a small boat caught in a storm had found shelter in a safe harbor, warm and cozy.

Lin Chen felt the faint fragrance coming from Zhao Xiaowen's hair and couldn't help but be swayed.

After a while, Zhao Xiaowen got up from Lin Chen's shoulder and wiped away her tears, "Alright, I'm fully revived. Thank you, Lin Chen."

"Yeah! You're never allowed to cry, you've got me!" Seeing the confident smile returning to Zhao Xiaowen's face, Lin Chen felt relieved.

"Lin Chen, I've decided not to give up my studies. I'll work and study at the same time," Zhao Xiaowen thought aloud.

Lin Chen shook his head, "That won't do either, it will affect your studies. It's your final year of high school now, a critical time. But I do have an idea."

"What idea?" Zhao Xiaowen looked at Lin Chen curiously.

"Did you not just say that little store is up for lease? I'll rent it, and we'll run it together. I think we can make enough money during the holidays to cover our tuition fees," Lin Chen said confidently.

Hearing Lin Chen's words, Zhao Xiaowen looked at him as if he were a monster.

She reached out her hand and touched Lin Chen's forehead, "Lin Chen, are you not feverish? My mom's cooking is so delicious, yet nobody comes to eat. If we open a restaurant, wouldn't we just be waiting to lose money?"

"Hey, have a little faith in me!" Lin Chen replied somewhat discontentedly.

Zhao Xiaowen snorted, "I can't muster any confidence in you. Between the two of us, can you cook or can I? Are we going to hire another chef? The chef at the small eatery across from my family's place came from a five-star hotel; how can we compete with that?"

Lin Chen smiled, "Hiring a chef is such a hassle. I'm enough to be the chef."

Zhao Xiaowen gave Lin Chen a once-over: "Lin Chen, that joke of yours isn't the slightest bit funny."

"I'm not joking, I'm serious. If you don't believe me, I'll go cook a couple of dishes for you." Saying so, Lin Chen pulled Zhao Xiaowen by the hand toward the kitchen.

With no choice, Zhao Xiaowen followed Lin Chen into the kitchen, though she didn't believe Lin Chen could cook anything.

"System, I want to exchange for a cooking skill?"

"Ding-dong, the system recommends the Master Chef skill for you, requiring 100 popularity points."

"That's so expensive! System, are you raising the price because you see profit?"

"Hasn't the host heard that if you want to conquer a woman's heart, you must first conquer her stomach? This is an essential Divine Artifact for a guy to woo a girl, so of course, it's a bit pricier."

"You're ruthless. Exchange it."

"Ding-dong, congratulations to the host 'Lin Chen' for acquiring the Master Chef skill. 100 popularity points deducted, balance remaining 330 points."

Lin Chen felt a surge in his mind, and countless cooking knowledge merged into his thoughts.

"Can you do it?" Zhao Xiaowen asked, somewhat concerned.

"You'll just have to try not to worship me too much later. By the way, what ingredients do you have at home?" Lin Chen looked around.

Zhao Xiaowen took out two potatoes, a tomato, and two eggs and said, "That's all there is!"

Lin Chen pushed Zhao Xiaowen out of the kitchen: "You just wait in the room. I guarantee after this meal, you'll be looking forward to the next one."

Zhao Xiaowen couldn't sit still; she was really worried Lin Chen might set the kitchen on fire.

Sneaking up to the kitchen doorway, Zhao Xiaowen saw Lin Chen tossing potatoes in the air.

"I knew this guy would mess around." Just as Zhao Xiaowen was about to step forward and stop him, she witnessed an astonishing scene.

Lin Chen's knife flashed through the air, and the potatoes he had tossed up were not only perfectly peeled but also accurately cut into four equally sized pieces that landed in Lin Chen's hands, while the potato skins without exception fell into the trash can below.

The movements were simply too fast; Zhao Xiaowen only saw a blur of knife movements. She stood there with her mouth wide open, shocked at how he did it.

Lin Chen placed the potatoes on the chopping board, and his knife moved swiftly. In less than a minute, the four potato pieces had been cut into fine strips.

Each strip was almost identical in thickness, length, and size, as if they were cut by a machine.

Zhao Xiaowen was utterly dumbfounded. Lin Chen's moves were too cool; this wasn't cooking, it was more like a performance.

Lin Chen then cut the tomato into even pieces in almost the same way, and then he took out the eggs.

Cracking the eggs into a bowl, Lin Chen began to beat them with chopsticks. Zhao Xiaowen's eyes widened with disbelief at Lin Chen's method of beating the eggs.

The speed at which Lin Chen stirred the eggs got faster and faster, and eventually, the yolks in the bowl twirled up like a small tornado, spinning in the air for dozens of seconds before accurately landing back in the bowl.

It took Lin Chen less than three minutes to prepare the ingredients, but those three minutes had Zhao Xiaowen mesmerized.

Next, Lin Chen turned on the flame and started to cook.

With the oil ready, Lin Chen put the cut potato strips into the pan. His movements were fluid and meticulous, each one so flawlessly executed it bordered on perfection.

After finishing the potato strips, Lin Chen also made tomato and egg stir-fry. Although these were both common home-cooked dishes, the rich aroma made Xiaowen's mouth water uncontrollably.