Chapter 193: Just Making Do?
Li Mu had never thought about getting married.
She felt very lost about her future. She had no goals. Right now, she was only focused on trying to get into a good school. As for what job she wanted later, or what kind of life she wanted. She had no idea.
She knew she had a bit of a liking for Yu Fan, but it was only enough that she didn’t mind physical contact with him. Holding hands and stuff was okay. But going further… actually dating, getting married, having kids with him…
To be honest, just thinking about being pressed down by him made her feel uncomfortable.
Yu Fan, feeling a bit down, quietly walked into the kitchen to start making a big meal for her. Li Mu noticed his mood had changed and frowned slightly.
“Sister, Brother Yu Fan is upset,” said Xiao Jing.
“I don’t need you to tell me.”
“Go cheer him up!”
Li Mu gave Xiao Jing a sideways look.
“Go play on the computer. Stop bothering me.”
“Tch~”
Xiao Jing ran into the study and turned on Yu Fan’s dad’s computer, looking for a variety show to watch.
“Don’t mess with other people’s stuff!”
“I know!”
Now that the living room was quiet, Li Mu curled up on the sofa, looked out the window, and started thinking about her future.
If it was with Yu Fan… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad…
If it was that kind of “platonic love”, she might be okay being with a guy.
But men were all perverts, they couldn’t really stick to just innocent love, could they?
She used to be a guy, and she knew, when a man’s desire kicked in, there was no way he’d hold back from making a move on his pretty wife.
Sitting in the living room doing nothing while Yu Fan was busy cooking made her feel a bit awkward.
After thinking it over, she decided to go into the kitchen and help out.
“Need any help?”
“No need! I’m amazing at cooking! Like a real chef!”
Yu Fan said proudly, but the way he was handling the crab, super careful and jumpy, looked nothing like a real chef. He was afraid of getting pinched and kept flinching.
No matter how you looked at it, he did not look like someone who knew what he was doing.
Li Mu sighed and walked over. She grabbed the crab that had fallen to the floor and picked it up by the sides.
“Knife.”
“Here.”
She quickly flipped the crab over and stabbed it straight in the center of its chest, gave the knife a twist, and just like that, the crab stopped moving in seconds, lying on its back without life.
She did it fast and clean, without even blinking. Yu Fan was both shocked and a little scared watching her.
“The other one.”
Yu Fan respectfully handed over the bowl with the second crab.
“You can’t even kill a crab, and you call yourself a chef?” Li Mu glanced at the bowl of pork strips.
“These are so thick they’re almost finger-sized. Couldn’t you have asked the butcher to slice them for you?”
“The butcher was too busy…”
“Some chef you are.”
Yu Fan awkwardly explained, “I’m not good at prep stuff. But I’m great at seasoning and stir-frying! I can even toss the wok, okay?!”
“Show me then.”
“Better not… I don’t want to scare you.”
Truth was, he was afraid of accidentally splashing oil on her.
Yu Fan usually didn’t brag like this. But since it was the first time he was cooking for Li Mu, he couldn’t help but want to impress her.
He ended up just embarrassing himself instead.
He took a deep breath and decided to win with flavor. Then he turned on the stove, poured in some oil, and got ready to cook.
“Heat the pan, add oil, stir-fry the chili, then add the sliced meat...”
Oil drops were flying and popping everywhere. He held back the pain and tried to stand tall without dodging, but his upper body still leaned back a little without him realizing it.
Li Mu stood nearby, watching him with an amused look.
Usually, when watching cooking videos, it all seemed easy. But when he actually tried it, just dealing with the flying oil made him feel totally overwhelmed.
“Let me do it instead.”
“No! I’ve got this! You go sit in the living room and don’t distract the chef!”
Yu Fan looked really nervous, but his voice was super confident. “I wouldn’t be this flustered if you weren’t bothering me! Go out!”
“Alright, alright,” Li Mu finally laughed. “Don't forget to turn on the ventilation fan.”
“I know! You don’t have to tell me!”
She had finally found something Yu Fan wasn’t good at.
She had always thought Yu Fan was good at everything, like some kind of perfect all-rounder. But now, cooking, something she found easy, was actually hard for him.
She had to admit, Yu Fan’s panicked face was kind of cute. It was different from his usual warm smile. This version of him felt more real and fun.
“If you need help, just say so.”
“No need! Go have fun. I’ve got Steam on my computer, lots of games. See if there’s one you like.”
“Oh, and don’t look through my files or chat logs,” he quickly added.
But Li Mu teased him, “Now that you said that, I do feel curious.”
“Don’t look!”
“I’m totally going to look now.”
Yu Fan got hit by more splashing oil, but the food was still cooking so he couldn’t leave. He just watched helplessly as Li Mu walked away.
As soon as she left, Xiao Jing came running in, peeked into the kitchen, and said, “Brother Yu Fan, you really don’t know how to cook, do you?”
“What are you talking about?! I’ve watched cooking videos several times. Of course I know how!”
Xiao Jing looked into the pan and asked, “Is that chili stir-fried pork?”
“It’s green pepper pork strips!”
“The pepper pieces are too big, fail! The pork strips are more like pork chunks, fail! The color doesn’t look tasty at all, fail! Hey! What’s that? It looks like poop, there’s a lump of—”
Yu Fan quickly kicked at Xiao Jing to stop the teasing.
“Stop messing around! Get out! That’s gross!”
Xiao Jing laughed and ran out.
By the time it was past 11 a.m., Yu Fan had barely managed to finish three dishes. But just as he put them all on the table, he realized he forgot to cook the rice.
He had already washed the rice and put it in the rice cooker, but forgot to press the start button.
The whole stove area was a mess, oil splashes, chili, noodles, all kinds of ingredients were everywhere. A bottle of soy sauce had even been knocked over.
The kitchen looked like a disaster zone, completely wrecked.
Yu Fan no longer looked like his usual handsome and cheerful self. He sat there tired and slouched, head hanging low.
“Try it. I ordered some fried rice delivery, it’ll be here in half an hour.”
Ordering fried rice was his backup plan. If the food he made was too bad to eat, at least the fried rice could save the day. But eating plain white rice with bad food? That would just be cruel.
Li Mu’s eyes curved like a crescent moon as she smiled and picked up a piece of meat to taste.
“Not bad for a first try. Looks like real food.”
“Right? I think I have talent. Once we live together, I’ll do all the cooking!”
“......”
Li Mu just smiled and didn’t reply.
Seeing the happy smile on her face, Yu Fan figured she must be in a good mood and carefully considered what to say for a long time.
“Um… So... you know… I-I don't have a girlfriend, and you don't have a boyfriend. How about we just… give it a try and be together?”
He couldn't shake the feeling he'd made a fool of himself today, but on the bright side, Li Mu seemed to find his awkwardness rather entertaining.
So maybe… he had a chance?