Chapter 32: Cooking
While calculating his expenses in his head, Li Nuo quickly arrived at the nearby market.
The market was well organized. Meat, vegetables, cooked food, and other items were all divided into different sections. As long as you followed the signs, it was easy to find whatever you wanted to buy.
Although there were signs outside saying that street vending was not allowed, there were still some vendors selling fruits and vegetables they had grown themselves. Most of them were elderly people.
After walking around the market with his school bag on his back, he finally finished buying everything on his shopping list.
During that time, many of the elderly vendors praised him as a hardworking and frugal young man, or a good young lady, probably because he had bought things from them.
When they called him a good young man, he simply agreed.
When they called him a good young lady, he lowered his head and quickly walked away.
After all, they were complete strangers, and he did not feel like explaining that he was actually a boy.
When he returned to the apartment, he was breathing heavily from exhaustion.
The distance from the market to the apartment was short, but carrying several large bags was still tiring.
Putting down the bags, he rang the doorbell. Since he had only moved in yesterday, he still had not made a copy of the apartment key.
When An Ran'er opened the door and saw all the bags he was carrying, she looked surprised.
"Why did you buy so much stuff?"
"These are all things needed for cooking. This is already the minimum. Hurry and help me carry them inside."
The two of them then carried everything into the kitchen.
After putting away all the ingredients, it was finally time to start cooking.
Li Nuo had originally wanted An Ran'er to help with simple tasks like peeling the radish, but she refused, saying that her hands were meant for playing the guitar, not cooking.
Li Nuo was already familiar with her spoiled young-lady attitude and did not force her. There were only three dishes anyway. He could handle them himself, although it would take a little longer.
The white radish soup was very simple.
After the water boiled, he added fried eggs that had been prepared earlier. Once the soup turned white, he added shredded white radish and cooked it for another two minutes before sprinkling chopped green onions on top.
The garlic stir-fried water spinach was simple as well.
He stir-fried the washed vegetables over high heat and served them. Besides garlic and salt, no other seasonings were needed.
The shredded pork with green peppers was also easy. A quick stir-fry and it was done.
The taste definitely could not compare to restaurant food, but it was how he usually cooked.
By the time the three dishes were finished, the rice was also ready.
After everything was placed on the table, An Ran'er stared at the meal and was speechless.
"You're seriously expecting me to eat this?"
"What else do you want? Lobster and abalone?"
Li Nuo placed a bowl of rice in front of her and replied unhappily.
"That's not what I mean. It's just that this meal looks way too plain."
She stared at the dishes and asked,
"Why is everything vegetable-based? Where's the meat?"
"Isn't this meat?"
Li Nuo pointed at the pork in the green pepper pork dish.
Calling it shredded pork was actually being generous.
Pork was expensive, so he had only bought seven yuan worth. If he cut it into strips, there would be too little, so he chopped it into small pieces instead.
"Uh..."
Looking at the dishes on the table, An Ran'er did not know where to start.
Li Nuo did not care. He was already starving.
Picking up his bowl and chopsticks, he immediately started eating with great enthusiasm.
Seeing how deliciously he was eating, An Ran'er swallowed and finally could not resist trying some herself.
She picked up some shredded radish and put it into her mouth.
The fresh, slightly sweet taste immediately brightened her eyes.
"It's delicious!"
She had never imagined such an ordinary ingredient could taste so good.
After trying the other two dishes, she was equally surprised.
"I never expected it. Besides your voice, you actually have another talent, you idiot."
An Ran'er commented while eating.
"Hmph. There are lots of things you don't know."
After receiving praise, Li Nuo proudly raised his chin.
Seeing his smug expression, An Ran'er calmly said,
"What a pity. If you were a girl, that would be even better. A lot of people would probably like you."
"Yeah, if I were a girl..."
Li Nuo unconsciously followed her words before suddenly realizing what he had said.
He immediately choked and began coughing.
"Cough! Cough! What are you talking about? What do you mean people would like me if I were a girl? D-Don't say weird things like that."
"I'm not saying weird things. I'm just telling the truth."
Seeing his flustered expression, An Ran'er found it amusing. She continued, "I was thinking, if you were a girl, maybe I'd really fall for you."
"I... I'm a boy! I'll never become a girl!"
Li Nuo's face turned bright red as he protested.
"Well, it's not impossible these days. Technology is so advanced now, right?"
An Ran'er said with a sly smile.
Hearing that, Li Nuo suddenly felt a chill below his waist.
He immediately lowered his head and focused on eating, not daring to continue the conversation.
Seeing that he was no longer responding, An Ran'er simply smiled and continued eating quietly.
The two finished dinner in silence.
After dinner, Li Nuo washed the dishes while An Ran'er sat in the living room playing her guitar.
Once he finished cleaning up, she dragged him over to practice guitar.
They practiced from eight o'clock until almost ten before she finally let him go.
At last, he was able to return to his warm bed and prepare to sleep.
Before falling asleep, however, he kept thinking about what An Ran'er had said at the dinner table.
"Would she really like me if I were a girl?" he wondered.
Then he shook his head.
"Becoming a girl? That's impossible. Besides, wouldn't it be more challenging to make her like me as a man?"
Feeling that his reasoning was completely correct, he peacefully drifted off to sleep.
…………………………
Late Night
Outside the window, strong winds howled as though a storm was about to arrive.
Li Nuo tossed and turned in bed.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and from time to time he let out quiet groans, as if he were having a nightmare.
In the dream, Li Nuo was told that he was actually a girl.
He then continued living as a girl and eventually married a faceless man.
After that, the scene suddenly changed.
The man's face transformed into An Ran'er's face.
She was holding a huge pair of scissors and slowly walked toward him while repeating,
"Become a girl... become a girl..."
Terrified, he ran as fast as he could.
She chased after him with the scissors.
He ran.
She chased.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not escape.
Then, with a loud clap of thunder, Li Nuo suddenly woke up.
"I don't want to become a girl... I don't want to become a girl..."
Still shaken by the nightmare, he felt a strange warmth below his waist.
After checking and thinking for a moment, he realized he had experienced a nocturnal emission.
His face immediately turned red.
He glanced at the clock.
It was already two in the morning.
Quietly opening his bedroom door, he made sure nobody was outside before quickly running to the bathroom and locking the door behind him.
He changed into a clean pair of underwear.
He then washed the dirty pair with water and placed it in the bucket he had brought with him, planning to hang it up to dry the next day.
After returning to bed, the strange dream appeared in his mind once again. The thought made him uneasy.
He shook his head repeatedly, trying not to think about it anymore. Only after a long time did he finally fall asleep once again.