CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 123: LET’S SEE HOW YOU PERFORM TODAY

He Chen didn’t leave the room the entire afternoon.

Eager to learn, he didn’t understand the first book, filled with textual descriptions, on his first read. It was only after finishing the other two books that he took it out for another look.

This time, he truly understood it.

It turned out that some of the styles described in the book could actually be done by real people, and it seemed particularly fitting for him and Ye Manman.

As the story was about a rural man, He Chen couldn’t help but substitute himself and Ye Manman for the man and his wife in the book as he read.

It was during those moments that He Chen truly understood why Ye Manman had previously been angry and called him stupid.

He had indeed been hopelessly foolish before.

Now that he grasped the essence of it, aware that his previous efforts were entirely clumsy, He Chen couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

He paced around the room for quite a while, just about to muster the courage to find Ye Manman, when her disgruntled voice came from outside the door.

"He Chen, how long are you going to stay in there? Aren’t you going to eat today? It’s late, hurry up and make dinner."

Ye Manman, having gotten bored from reading, had taken a nap and woken up later. Seeing that it was getting dark and He Chen was still cooped up in the room, she was immediately displeased.

"I’ll... I’ll make dinner right away!"

He Chen quickly opened the door but found himself rooted on the spot upon seeing Ye Manman at the door with her beautiful eyes wide and pouty, angry lips.

Though the heroine described in the book was pretty and shy, he believed Ye Manman was the epitome of grace and beauty, unmatched by anyone.

Suddenly, He Chen blushed, and catching her puzzled gaze, he bolted to the kitchen as if fleeing.

He initially planned to make fried fish chunks, but once they were done, he realized he forgot the salt and had to redo them.

However, upon redoing them, they didn’t look as nice, and many of the fish chunks crumbled.

He Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead, shaking his head as he tried to rid his mind of the whimsical fantasy images, but then he forgot to marinate the next dish, sweet and sour pork.

It wasn’t until he served it and tasted it, realizing that the fried meat had no flavor at all, that he realized his mistake.

There was no way to fix it by then, so he had to set it aside and move on to the next dish.

Since the two of them didn’t need much to eat, the next dish was simply sautéed greens, but even with such a simple dish, He Chen’s mind was filled with memories of exploring dark, mysterious realms from the past two days under candlelight as he was stirring it.

As if possessed, He Chen absentmindedly added some soy sauce and vinegar while stir-frying the greens.

The three dishes were each a disaster, more horrific than the last, and He Chen didn’t even dare to serve them.

He wanted to redo them, but there was not enough time; Ye Manman was already waiting in the main room, so he had to bring them to the table with reluctance.

Without even tasting, Ye Manman could tell something was wrong just by looking at the appearance of the three dishes.

"He Chen, what happened to you?"

"Did reading make you stupid?"

Ye Manman was a bit hungry, but she didn’t want to eat greens with vinegar or flavorless sweet and sour pork; she could only eat the crumbled braised fish chunks, which at least tasted normal.

He Chen was utterly embarrassed.

"I’m sorry, I spaced out... If it’s inedible, don’t eat it; I’ll cook noodles for you instead?"

Ye Manman found him incredibly strange, filled her stomach a little, drank some water, and decided not to eat anymore.

"I don’t want noodles, it’s you."

She walked up to He Chen, poking the firm chest muscle under his gray sweater.

"What’s wrong with you?"

"Did you understand those books?"

Thinking of the inexplicable blushing and shyness, Ye Manman could only think that might be it, though he used to blush and be shy before when he understood nothing, so she wasn’t entirely certain if he really understood.

Upon mentioning those books, He Chen blushed even harder.

Clenching his fists nervously, having initially mustered the courage to go to her, he now found himself cowardly backing away.

"Mm, I figured it out..."

He lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.

Ye Manman, though, raised an eyebrow, very skeptical.

"Really figured it out?"

He Chen nodded honestly.

"Mm, really figured it out."

"Alright then, show what you can do today～"

Judging by He Chen’s expression, it didn’t look like he was lying,

so thinking this way, the terrible dinner could be forgiven a bit.

Having solved a major issue, Ye Manman felt much better.

"Then please eat quickly, and boil some water later, I still want a bath～"

She popped a candy into her mouth, not the usual orange flavor, but a sweet peach flavor. As she sat by the table watching him eat, He Chen didn’t even know how he managed to shove the food into his mouth.

Whatever about the sweet and sour pork having no taste, or the strange-tasting greens, he couldn’t sense any of it; his taste buds seemed to malfunction, only vaguely detecting the enticing peach aroma.

He Chen’s mind was filled with fireworks, popping and popping, nearly making him dizzy with joy.

The joy came too suddenly, almost catching him off guard.

When she asked him to perform well, did she mean...?

After the bath, would they...?

With excitement, eagerness, joy, and nervousness all mixed together, He Chen felt he was about to die of happiness, and just at this moment, Ye Manman smiled and supported her chin on one hand, asking him.

"He Chen, do you want to take a bath together later?"

Boom.

His mind went blank, completely losing the ability to think.

He Chen’s face went momentarily blank, then after realizing, it turned beet red, making it hard to speak.

"I, I-"

He stammered, unable to say anything coherent, so flustered that he wished to slap himself.

Ye Manman looked at his awkward shy manner, chuckling gleefully. There was a laziness mixed with cuteness, her soft voice making He Chen’s blood boil wildly.

He drank a sip of cold water, trying to divert his attention and calm down, but looking at the adorable person in front of him, and smelling the sweet scent of peach around him, He Chen couldn’t help it anymore.

With a sudden long-arm swing, he gathered the source of his chaotic thoughts into his embrace with a slight effort.

"Yah!"

Ye Manman exclaimed, her feet touching the ground only slightly as she spun half a circle, falling into He Chen’s arms. She was startled, instinctively clutching his clothes.

He Chen’s chest was broad, and the heartbeat within was strong and powerful. Lying in his arms, Ye Manman could clearly hear his increasingly rapid heartbeat.

Yet before she could say anything, He Chen had already lowered his head, capturing her lips swiftly.

"!"

From that moment, his heartbeat intensified even more.

Like someone beating drums in her ears, it pounded, causing a blush on Ye Manman’s cheeks and quickening her own heartbeat.