CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: SHE’S NOT YE MANMAN?

To avoid awkwardness, thinking that she didn’t really need to go find him to sleep together every day, Ye Manman decided not to look for He Chen.

Without incident, the next day came, and when she woke up, He Chen had already bought sugar back and was making sweet and spicy sauce.

"Done with the town’s business? Why are you back so early today?"

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Ye Manman applied some snow cream as she leaned forward to watch him work.

He Chen just hummed, his hands moved swiftly, chopping the bright red chilies into fine pieces.

"We’re recently selecting store locations. I thought I’d take you to see them today. Do you have time?"

Ye Manman was a bit stunned.

"So soon? Can we already start doing business?"

"I’ve inquired, and it should be soon. I want to prepare ahead, bring you to live in the town first, so when the store opens, it would be quite busy, and I might not have time to come back to cook for you."

"Besides, moving takes some time too. I want to move while we’re not too busy."

He had thought of many things, especially regarding store and residence location. He had finally found a place with a great location and housing just above the store; naturally, he wanted to take her to see it soon.

"Okay, when should we go?"

"Why not go after making the sweet and spicy sauce and fried chicken? It’s too early now; have breakfast first."

He Chen washed his hands and brought her the chicken and mushroom porridge, which was already prepared and kept warm in the pot, then continued to make the sweet and spicy sauce.

A mouthful of warm porridge went down, and her stomach felt cozy, Ye Manman squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

He Chen cooked the tomato sauce, minced chili, minced garlic with water and sugar, tasted it several times until the flavor seemed right and had Ye Manman taste it too before finally adding the cornstarch water.

With it mixed evenly, the sweet and spicy sauce was considered done. It was He Chen’s first time tasting such a flavor, and he found it quite magical.

Sometimes he really wanted to ask Ye Manman how she knew about so many foods; the world seemed to have such a variety of flavors.

"He Chen, you’re amazing. I feel like we’ll soon be able to eat delicious fried chicken!"

If the sweet and spicy sauce is ready, can fried chicken be far behind?

Ye Manman couldn’t help but circle around He Chen, eagerly awaiting the upcoming deliciousness.

Seeing her happily spinning around like a child, He Chen felt very pleased, and his chicken processing speed increased.

Soon, he followed the steps on the notebook, coating the chicken and putting it into the hot oil pot, the sizzling sound from the oil was quite pleasant, He Chen had never used oil so liberally in his life.

Oil was very expensive, so much so that when cooking, Li Hongmei often came over to remind him to use less oil, sometimes even having him only smear a towel with oil before wiping the pan.

But without oil, how could dishes be tasty? Li Hongmei often complained about his unenthusiastic cooking.

The undesirable memories blurred amid the fantastic fragrance rising from the pot, suddenly He Chen felt someone poke his arm.

Looking over, he saw Ye Manman smiling brightly at him.

"Smells so good, did you smell it!"

"I can’t wait to eat it; how much longer does it need to fry?"

She was so impatient that if not near the oil pot, He Chen suspected she might have started jumping.

Thinking of this, he worried that she might get splashed with oil, quickly telling her to leave the kitchen.

"It’ll take a while longer, don’t forget we have to fry it again; wait outside, don’t accidentally get splashed, it hurts and takes ages to heal, it even leaves scars."

Hearing him say that, Ye Manman naturally had no reason not to leave, cheerfully running outside, yet greedily watching from the doorway.

"If I really get scarred and become hideous, would you still want me?"

She was anxious, eyes fixed on the pot, but couldn’t resist teasing him.

Without thinking, He Chen answered, "Yes."

Ye Manman didn’t catch it at first, then she heard He Chen seriously repeat to her.

"No matter what you become, I still want you."

Of course, He Chen felt that as long as he was alive and could protect her, such scars wouldn’t happen.

He Chen said nothing more, brought out the fried chicken to cool, then fried it again, but didn’t notice the blush creeping onto Ye Manman’s face.

Gosh!

This guy is always direct.

It’s really embarrassing.

Ye Manman mentally complained a bit, then pretended to be bored, wandering around the courtyard to calm her emotions.

By this time, He Chen had already brought out the fried chicken.

Golden color, enticing aroma, crispy skin, biting into it bursts with juice!

Ye Manman only took one bite and exclaimed, "It’s perfect!"

Immediately, she dipped some sweet and spicy sauce and took a bite, the tangy sweet heat combined with crispiness nearly made her soar with joy.

"Is it good?"

He Chen was a bit nervous, particularly worried the taste wasn’t good.

"So good! Super delicious! He Chen, you are a genius chef! Or rather, a god of cooking!"

Ye Manman quickly finished one piece of fried chicken, saw him just watching from the side, promptly picked up another piece and stuffed it into his mouth.

"You have to try it, it’s super delicious!"

She hastily grabbed the chicken and offered it so quickly that when He Chen bit into the fried chicken, he felt his tongue brush against something.

Soft, slender, with a touch of the sweet and spicy sauce flavor.

Ye Manman had already swiftly withdrawn her hand, noticed her fingers were stained with sweet and spicy sauce, instinctively stuck out her soft tongue to lick her fingers.

He Chen saw this scene, and his chewing paused for a few seconds.

Her finger!

Realizing that he had accidentally licked her finger, recalling the sensation and the image, He Chen suddenly felt his face heat up and his heart race.

Besides, she had just licked her fingers, where he also...

Feeling a strange response from his body, He Chen quickly picked up the tea and gulped it, choking as he drank too fast.

Ye Manman was happily enjoying the feast, seeing him choking, looked at him blankly.

"Are you afraid of spice? This sauce isn’t even spicy."

"Why drink so much water? You’re not competing with me."

She leisurely picked up another piece of fried chicken, dipped it in sauce, and ate it, the red sweet and spicy sauce staining her lips, further highlighting their softness.

He Chen absent-mindedly finished the delicious fried chicken, lost in thought, riding the bike while carrying Ye Manman to the town. On the way, Ye Manman, happy and satisfied, couldn’t help but embrace his back and give him a few affectionate rubs.

"He Chen, you are so wonderful, I simply love you to death!"

Whatever she wanted, he could buy for her; whatever she wanted to eat, he could make it. Simply amazing!

Could he have become a wealthy man in the story by starting with culinary arts?

Ye Manman tried recalling the plot, but there was little description of He Chen, and the later parts about him making money were briefly touched.

Unable to figure it out, she stopped trying, happily humming a song.

He Chen felt the touch and warmth on his back, listened to the unfamiliar yet beautiful song, and suddenly his doubts arose.

He had never cared much about Ye Manman’s uniqueness. She knew about foods that had never appeared before, had abilities everyone would envy, could read English books without a teacher...

So many things he usually didn’t consciously pay attention to suddenly bubbled up when he heard her hum an unfamiliar tune.

Could she possibly not be Ye Manman, but a foreign spirit possessing her at some point?

Thinking this, He Chen broke into a cold sweat.