"That settles it," Tang Fei said.
So, the two of them quickly packed up and stealthily drove back to the courtyard.
"Are you hungry? I’ll go make us something to eat," Tang Fei said.
Initially, it was supposed to be a simple test, but he hadn’t expected so many things to happen midway.
After a grueling fight with Shen Qingping and then lying in the hospital bed for so long, Tang Fei was famished.
"Hungry," Phoenix nodded and replied, "I’m so hungry my stomach’s sticking to my spine."
Tang Fei glanced at her chest and said, "It’s not that bad... not that bad..."
"Where are you looking, Tang Fei?"
"You said your front’s sticking to your back. I wanted to see if that’s true... How can you lie to people like that?"
Tang Fei wanted to cook, but Phoenix stopped him.
"Enough, enough. You’re too tired from today to be cooking," Phoenix said, opening the refrigerator. "I’ll cook."
"You know how to cook?" Tang Fei asked, surprised.
Wasn’t the Empire Princess from the Phoenix Empire supposed to live a life of luxury where everything was done for her?
"Of course, don’t underestimate me," Phoenix replied. "What would you like to eat?"
"Let’s have boiled live fish."
"Can’t do that either."
"Coca-Cola chicken wings?"
"Braised pork ribs? Soy-stewed pig’s trotters? Chicken stewed with herbs?"
"I can’t make any of those."
"Then what can you make?" Tang Fei was astonished.
He had almost listed all the ingredients in the fridge...
Could it be she only knew how to make imperial cuisine?
Phoenix held up an egg in her left hand and a tomato in her right, saying, "Can’t you order something simple like scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"
"Then... scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"
"No problem," Phoenix said cheerfully. "Your order will be ready shortly."
So, Phoenix went to the kitchen to get busy.
"What’s wrong? What’s wrong?" Tang Fei asked from the sofa.
"Nothing, nothing..."
"What’s wrong now?" Tang Fei asked again.
"It’s nothing, nothing. Just watch TV for a bit. The food will be ready soon."
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream came from the kitchen.
"What happened? What happened?" Tang Fei rushed over quickly.
He found a roaring fire in the pan, while Phoenix waved a towel trying to put it out...
Then the towel caught fire.
Tang Fei hurried over, took the burning towel from her hands, opened the faucet to soak it, and then dumped the oil from the pan into the sink.
A plume of black smoke surged up, choking both Tang Fei and Phoenix into a coughing fit.
Phoenix’s hair was disheveled, and her small face was smudged with soot, looking completely disheveled and far from the graceful image of the Empire Princess.
"Why did it catch fire?" Tang Fei asked.
Phoenix’s face was full of distress as she explained, "I did what the video said: I heated the oil until it was bubbling, and then poured the eggs into it. I accidentally dropped the shell in too, and then... the pan caught fire..."
"I tried to use the towel to smother the flames, but then the towel caught fire too..."
On the virtual kitchen screen was playing "Cooking with Love: Teacher Xia’ai’s Kitchen Tips."
It appeared the rookie in the kitchen, who couldn’t cook a single dish, was trying to learn on the fly from a cooking video.
The Princess’s character was fully established.
(ps: Thank you to the kid from the Blood-colored Sakura Festival for becoming our Galaxy Master. In the long, dark night, who says that splattered fate only leaves behind sorrow... Did not expect you, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, to be a poet too?)