BTMDY Chapter 126

Lin Shen stared at Lu Chengxuan like he’d just seen a ghost, eyes fixed on him for a long while. Then he shoved away the hand gripping his neck, rubbed his lips hard with the back of his hand, and turned his head aside.

 

“You’re nuts.”

 

The corner of Lu Chengxuan’s mouth twitched, but he dropped his gaze back to the bowl in front of him, sprinkling pepper salt over the beef.

 

“Just steak and salad?”

 

Lin Shen stood off to the side watching, already starting to nitpick like it was second nature.

 

“Suihe’s here for the first time, and you’re only serving this? Kinda half-assed, don’t you think?”

 

“I don’t cook much. Didn’t have many ingredients at home. I had someone buy a few more things, they’ll be here soon. I’ll make a cream of mushroom soup too.”

 

“Anything else?”

 

“Bake some egg tarts.”

 

The second Lin Shen heard ‘cream of mushroom soup’ and ‘egg tarts,’ his face twisted with disgust. “That’s way too greasy and sweet.”

 

Lu Chengxuan was used to this picky behavior. Patient as ever, he asked, “So what do you want to eat?”

 

Lin Shen thought for a moment, then said, “Mao Xuewang.”

 

“…”

 

Seeing Lu Chengxuan’s hands pause mid-movement, Lin Shen’s lips curled into a triumphant grin. He rolled up his sleeves and added, “Hurry it up, I’m starving. Anything I can help with?”

 

Lu Chengxuan tilted his head toward the sink. “Wash the veggies and fruit.”

 

Growing up, Lin Shen had basically never stepped foot in a kitchen. Anything remotely tricky was out of the question for him.

 

But washing veggies and fruit—yeah, that he could handle.

 

He walked over, pushed up his sleeves, and looked down at the pile of colorful produce in the sink. Fishing out a bunch of grapes, he asked, “What, I gotta wash these one by one?”

 

Lu Chengxuan glanced over. “Pluck them off, toss them in water, sprinkle some flour.”

 

For someone as terminally lazy as Lin Shen, fruit was the kind of thing he’d only eat if someone else cleaned and plated it for him. He wouldn’t even bother rinsing an apple. At most, he might grab a banana ‘cause it was easy to peel.

 

So yeah, this was new territory for him.

 

Hearing that, Lin Shen frowned. “Flour? What, you planning to dip them in egg and breadcrumbs and fry ‘em?”

 

Patient as ever, Lu Chengxuan explained, “Flour cleans really well. It helps wash off the dirt on the grapes without scrubbing them one by one.”

 

“Oh, that’s it.”

 

Light dawning on his face, Lin Shen followed instructions: filled a bowl with water, plucked the grapes one by one, and dropped them in. Just as he was about to look for the flour, he spotted a box of strawberries on the counter and asked,

 

“So strawberries work the same way?”

 

“Yeah. Or rice-wash water works too.”

 

Lu Chengxuan nodded while handing him a small bowl of rice-wash water. Then he bent down, opened the cupboard, and showed him the jar of flour. His thoughts drifted back to what Lin Shen had muttered earlier about ‘reaction,’ so he added, “You’re pretty smart. Any fruit with thin skin that’s hard to scrub clean, this method works.”

 

“Ha.”

 

As someone who could brag for days just because he’d teamed up with four pro players in a five-stack and stomped random opponents, Lin Shen ate that kind of praise right up.

 

And coming from Lu Chengxuan? The effect was doubled.

 

Lin Shen was practically wagging his tail in delight. At that moment, he felt like even if someone dumped a whole truckload of grapes in front of him, he could wash them all without breaking a sweat. After being praised, he chose to stay silent, pretending to be cool.

 

But the smug little smile on his face gave everything away.

 

Fruit salad should’ve been the easiest dish of the night, yet Lin Shen treated it like he was preparing an imperial feast. He pulled out a mess of bowls and pots, filling them with water to soak different fruits, until the countertop was completely covered.

 

Meanwhile, the one actually making the main dishes—Lu Chengxuan—was pushed off to the corner.

 

When Lin Shen tossed a whole dragon fruit, peel and all, straight into the flour water, Lu Chengxuan hesitated, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and decided to just let him be.

 

After making a big show of washing fruit, Lin Shen clapped his hands, put his hands on his hips with great confidence, and announced,

 

“What’s next!”

 

Turning his head, Lu Chengxuan saw the look on his face—like he was ready to carve history into stone with the words: ‘Even if the sky falls tonight, I’ll personally create the greatest fruit salad ever.’ He freed up one hand, set out a cutting board and a glass plate for the salad.

 

“Strawberries and grapes, cut them in half. Peel the banana, slice it. Core the apple, cut into chunks. Peel the dragon fruit, dice the flesh. Then put it all on the plate and pour yogurt over the top.”

 

After giving those short and simple instructions, he bent back down to continue cutting beef.

 

One second, two, three… nearly ten seconds passed, and the guy next to him still hadn’t moved, like he’d been frozen. Feeling something was off, Lu Chengxuan lifted his head.

 

“Say that again,” Lin Shen demanded, still standing there with hands on his hips.

 

Lu Chengxuan drew in a long breath, pointed at the bowl holding strawberries and grapes, and repeated, “Strawberries, grapes, cut them in half.”

 

With the memory span of about seven seconds, Lin Shen instantly got it. He picked up the fruit knife and started slicing strawberries. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the glass plate, sparkling in the light, and remembered those fancy fruit platters waiters served at restaurants. Inspiration struck.

 

“So I can arrange it however I want, right?”

 

Lu Chengxuan nodded. “Yeah. Do whatever you like.”

 

“Leave it to me.”

 

Grinning with pride, Lin Shen flashed an ‘OK’ sign. “Today, I’ll show you my unmatched knife skills and flawless taste.”

 

With that, he lowered his head with deadly seriousness and began showing off his ‘purely cut-in-half’ knife skills that didn’t actually exist.

 

Meanwhile, Lu Chengxuan stayed quiet, cutting the beef into two large and one small piece, dicing onions, and slicing mushrooms into perfectly even thin slices. He moved smoothly, multitasking like it was nothing, not a bit of mess anywhere.

 

On the other side, though, Lin Shen’s grapes kept rolling all over the cutting board. In less than three minutes, he was already losing his temper.

 

Wanting the pieces to look uniform, Lin Shen would immediately eat any badly cut bits he messed up. After a while, worried that he might fill up on fruit and not have room for dinner, he suddenly shouted,

 

“Suihe!”

 

“I’m coming!”

 

Xu Suihe, who had been watching cartoons in the living room, kicked off the oversized adult slippers she was wearing and ran over. She stood next to Lin Shen, big sparkling eyes looking up at him.

 

Lin Shen held a crookedly cut grape to her mouth. “Here, have a grape.”

 

Obediently, Xu Suihe opened her mouth and ate it, eyes squinting with a smile.

 

“A little sour, but yummy.”

 

“The purple-skinned ones are a bit tart. If you like sweet grapes, next time I’ll get green ones,” Lin Shen said, picking up a strawberry and offering it to her. “Here, have a strawberry too.”

 

In just a few bites, the little girl had finished off all the edges Lin Shen had ruined.

 

With the ‘evidence’ gone, Lin Shen waved at her, grinning.

 

“All done. Go watch TV.”

 

“Okay,” Xu Suihe nodded, then raised her wrist. “Big Brother Lin, my watch ran out of battery. Where can I charge it?”

 

“I think there’s a socket by the sofa,” Lin Shen replied.

 

“Got it.”

 

Just as she was about to go, Lu Chengxuan took off his gloves, wiped his hands, and held them out. “Power is dangerous. Give it to me.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Xu Suihe obediently handed over the watch and went off to watch TV again without worry.

 

After more than an hour of busy work, dinner was finally ready.

 

Three steaks sat on white plates, garnished with cherry tomatoes and broccoli, looking no different from a restaurant meal. The mushroom soup gave off a mouthwatering aroma.

 

On the other side, the fruit salad had been meticulously arranged by Lin Shen according to color and size.

 

With yogurt drizzled in gentle waves, it looked like an exquisite floral wreath.

 

Since he had personally helped, Lin Shen surprisingly didn’t find anything to complain about in tonight’s dinner. He snapped a photo of the whole table and posted it to his social feed with the caption:

 

*

 

[Just casually made dinner]

 

[photo][photo][photo]

 

Zhao, Li, Wang, Fu Xuexue, Jiang Bowen, Shi Shi, Wang Xiaoshuai, the model son Lin Wangye, and flower thief Xu Suinian all liked it.

 

Li: Looks great (thumbs-up)

 

Zhao: Not bad (applause)

 

Fu Xuexue: Awesome!

 

Jiang Bowen: Whoa, for real, dude? Long time no see, and you’ve leveled up so hard!

 

Wang Xiaoshuai: As expected from my Boss Lin! Incredible! I bow down!

 

Sister: If you made this dinner, I’d eat all the utility poles on Huanghe Road

 

Model Son Lin Wangye: Who made this floral wreath?

 

Flower Thief Xu Suinian: Who made this floral wreath?

 

*

 

Lin Shen ignored any negative comments. After posting to his feed, he tossed his phone aside and started eating.

 

Seeing that Xu Suihe wasn’t used to a knife and fork, Lu Chengxuan brought her plate over and quickly cut everything into small pieces before handing it back to her.

 

The egg tarts, meant as dessert, weren’t baked yet.

 

Looking at the small piece of steak in front of him and the mushroom soup at hand, Lin Shen hesitated. “The kid should be full, but will the two of us be okay with just this?”

 

“Eat first,” Lu Chengxuan said casually.

 

Lin Shen wasn’t happy with such a nonchalant answer, scowling. “If I get hungry later, you figure it out.”

 

Xu Suihe, used to seeing Shi Yuan and Lin Wangye interact so comfortably, blinked at them and noticed Lin Shen seemed upset. She piped up, “Don’t be mad, Big Brother got you a cake.”

 

After Lu Chengxuan came back, he’d put the cake straight in the fridge, so Lin Shen had never seen it. Puzzled, he asked, “What cake?”

 

“Brother Lu bought it from the bakery near my school. Little cakes that Brother Xiao Lin loves,” Xu Suihe explained.

 

Lin Shen’s mood shifted slightly, and he glanced at Lu Chengxuan.

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.” Lu Chengxuan nodded. “In the fridge. You can have it if you get hungry tonight.”

 

Lin Shen’s mischievous streak kicked in. “And what if I don’t want cake? Mushroom soup is already sticky enough, and now you want me to eat cake too? Trying to make me sick of it?”

 

Before Lu Chengxuan could respond, the doorbell rang.

 

He stood, went to open the door, and returned carrying a brown paper bag. Placing it on the table, he opened it right in front of Lin Shen. The instant the lid lifted, the familiar aroma of a Sichuan restaurant hit them.

 

A bowl of Mao Xuewang, floating in enticing red oil and smelling spicy, numbing, and fresh, sat boldly in the center of the table.

 

Lin Shen and Xu Suihe both widened their eyes at the same time, turning in unison to look at Lu Chengxuan.

 

Lu Chengxuan sat back in his chair, calm and composed.

 

“Should be enough to eat, right?”

 

Lin Shen loved this kind of food more than anything. But in his daily life, Lin Wangye rarely let him eat anything so oily or spicy—he could only have it occasionally.

 

He stuffed the steak on his fork into his mouth, then, without hesitation, speared his own piece of steak onto Lu Chengxuan’s plate. He grabbed a piece of luncheon meat from the bowl, blew on it hard, and shoved it into his mouth, nearly moved to tears from satisfaction.

 

“Missed it… really missed it. Being watched by that little brat Lin Wangye every day, I’d almost forgotten what stir-fried glutinous rice cakes with chili and dried Sichuan pepper even taste like! He’s stricter than my dad ever was—so annoying!”

 

“Don’t eat too much,” Lu Chengxuan reminded at the right moment. “He does it for your own good. If your stomach’s fine even though you never hold back when eating, that’s thanks to him.”

 

“I know, I know.”

 

Lin Shen wasn’t very tolerant of spicy food, but he loved this dish. Just a few bites in, and tears and runny nose started to form. Sniffling, he muttered,

 

“If only there was a bowl of rice…”

 

No sooner had he said that than Lu Chengxuan got up and went to the kitchen. Not long after, he returned with a steaming bowl of fragrant rice and placed it in front of Lin Shen.

 

Lin Shen stared, dumbfounded, eyes wide as he looked at him.

 

“When did you steam the rice?”

 

“Before I got the beef,” Lu Chengxuan replied. “You think the rice-wash water we used to wash the strawberries came from nowhere?”

 

*

 

The Mao Xuewang¹Mao Xuewang (毛血旺) is a spicy and flavorful traditional dish from Chongqing in Southwestern China, known for its signature ingredient, blood curd, along with a variety of meats and vegetables simmered in a chili and Sichuan peppercorn-infused broth. had already been arranged before Lin Shen even mentioned it.

 

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  Mao Xuewang (毛血旺) is a spicy and flavorful traditional dish from Chongqing in Southwestern China, known for its signature ingredient, blood curd, along with a variety of meats and vegetables simmered in a chili and Sichuan peppercorn-infused broth.