[Starting from today, there will be two updates every day without accidents. If nothing unexpected happens, the first update will be at noon and the second at six in the evening. Also, it's Monday, so please recommend, favorite, and tip! Thank you all! Additionally, thanks to Brother Liang for the tip, and thanks for the continuous support!]
Unbeknownst to her, the kitchen was filled with the clanging sounds of a spatula striking a ladle, clearly someone was cooking. In the entire two-story villa, only Zhou Ruoran and Ding Fan lived there. Could it be Ding Fan who was cooking in the kitchen now?
Zhou Ruoran found it unbelievable. Ding Fan, of all people, had always had everything handed to him since birth; how could he possibly be cooking?
Soon, the fragrance of cooked rice drifted over, causing Zhou Ruoran's stomach to grumble embarrassingly.
Zhou Ruoran was a part-time worker at Phoenix Building, normally provided with a meal during her shift. Recently, to save money to buy nutritional supplements for Ding Fan, she would skip lunch and save her appetite for dinner. However, due to today's events, other than a few buns she had eaten in the morning, she hadn't eaten anything else.
Perhaps it was because she was hungry, but the aroma of food floating over was very tempting. Still, even so, Zhou Ruoran did not plan to go out to eat.
Zhou Ruoran really didn't want to sit at the same table with someone who survived by deceiving others through his looks.
The cooking noises ceased, and Zhou Ruoran expected Ding Fan would come to call her for dinner soon. She pondered how to refuse. However, after waiting for half an hour, she only heard the sound of Ding Fan's footsteps as he returned to his room, and the sound of the door closing.
A bitter smile crossed Zhou Ruoran's lips. What was she thinking, expecting Ding Fan to actually come and invite her to eat? Ding Fan was possibly the most selfish person in the world, and if it weren't for his selfishness, the Ding Family wouldn't have fallen into ruin.
Zhou Ruoran intended to just go to sleep and eat at the school cafeteria the next morning, but after lying down for a while, her stomach started protesting loudly, and she even threw up some acid water because she was so hungry.
With no other choice, Zhou Ruoran forced herself to get up, opened her room door, and went straight to the kitchen to see if she could find something to eat.
In her mind, if Ding Fan had been cooking, the kitchen would surely be a mess. But, when she turned on the kitchen lights, she was surprised to find that there wasn't a trace of smoke or chaos. Instead, the kitchen knife, ladle, and cutting board were all neatly arranged, and even the floor had been mopped.
Zhou Ruoran walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge in the corner, and found it completely empty. She was quite disappointed and thought it seemed she would have to endure until morning.
Just as Zhou Ruoran was about to head back to her room, she noticed a plate covered with a large bowl on the countertop.
Zhou Ruoran paused, baffled. Could this be the meal Ding Fan left for her?
Zhou Ruoran walked over, lifted the bowl, and although she had entertained the possibility that Ding Fan might have left some food for her, she was still stunned when she actually saw the plate of fried rice.
The erstwhile pampered son had left food for her, something Zhou Ruoran would never have believed, not even in her dreams.
In the plate was a very ordinary-looking dish of egg fried rice. Zhou Ruoran knew some cooking, and she could see that the rice was golden and each grain was distinct; the egg had been fried apart so that each small piece of egg encased three grains of rice. The cooking skills on display could rival those of a head chef at Phoenix Building.
The entire plate of fried rice was golden and looked very appetizing just by its appearance.
Zhou Ruoran, feeling quite uncomfortable from hunger, couldn't care less at that moment. She picked up the chopsticks, grabbed the plate, and took a bite.
Hmm? Zhou Ruoran's eyes suddenly widened.
As she chewed, the grains of rice wrapped in egg released an aroma that seemed to intensify. The more she chewed, the sweeter and more fragrant it became, and even after swallowing that bite, the taste lingered wonderfully.
This... This was made by Ding Fan?!
At that moment, Zhou Ruoran no longer had the time to think. Even though it was just one bite, it had already triggered her appetite. She simply put down the chopsticks, grabbed the spoon placed beside the plate, and began to devour the rice hungrily.
Zhou Ruoran, who usually did not have a good appetite, ended up devouring an entire plate of rice in one go. Normally, even if she skipped lunch, she could only eat a small bowl of rice in the evening. That plate of fried rice was enough to fill her for an entire day.
Even now, Zhou Ruoran still felt slightly unsatisfied. She had not expected that Ding Fan was not completely useless; he actually had some talent in cooking.
After eating, Zhou Ruoran felt somewhat reenergized. She looked up at Ding Fan's room on the second floor; the light was already off, indicating that Ding Fan had gone to sleep.
Zhou Ruoran was no longer sleepy because the final interview date for her postgraduate studies was approaching, so she went straight to the study, hoping to make the most of this time to learn more.
When she turned on the lights in the study, she was surprised to find three books on the desk. One on humanities and geography, one on "Zizhi Tongjian," and a "Compendium of Materia Medica."
Zhou Ruoran was certain that these books weren't placed by her, and she normally wouldn't read them either. In this house, it was only her and Ding Fan, so if it wasn't her, it must have been Ding Fan who read them. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝘯𝘦𝘵
However, Zhou Ruoran found it hard to understand how a person who usually pursued pleasures like eating, drinking, and playing started reading books.
Zhou Ruoran picked up one of the books and pondered. After the Ding Family's decline, Ding Fan seemed to have really changed.
Given the tough conditions, he never complained about the simple and crude food, and he would take care of things he could manage by himself. Moreover, Zhou Ruoran was sure that the dinner tonight was specially made for her by Ding Fan, as he had already eaten at the Phoenix Building.
Thinking about this, Zhou Ruoran felt that she might have misunderstood Ding Fan. His look at that time held a hint of tenderness and anger...
Impossible! Without lingering on the thought, Zhou Ruoran shook her head.
Although Ding Fan seemed to be changing, why would that female celebrity invite Ding Fan to dine and call him 'Brother Fan' so affectionately, and even stand up for him? This was simply inexplicable.
It could be said that Zhou Ruoran and Ding Fan grew up together. What ability could Ding Fan possibly have that would make a female celebrity sincerely invite him to dinner? In the end, no matter how far a dog travels, it remains the same, and so it was with Ding Fan's inherent nature.
Zhou Ruoran didn't feel like thinking further. She stood up, took two professional books from the bookshelf, and started to read...
After dropping Zhou Ruoran back, Ding Fan went to make dinner for her.
After preparing dinner, Ding Fan waited downstairs. Today, he withdrew thirty thousand yuan from the bank, originally planning to give twenty thousand to Zhou Ruoran. With the Ding Family's downfall, and given his own future hospital expenses, he knew the financial burden would definitely weigh heavily on Zhou Ruoran.
But, after waiting downstairs for half an hour with no sign of Zhou Ruoran coming down, Ding Fan had no choice but to cover the cooked rice with a big bowl and then went upstairs. As for giving her the money, there was no urgent need; after all, they still lived together, so there would be plenty of opportunities to see each other.
After returning to his room, Ding Fan didn't go to sleep immediately. Accustomed to cultivation, he sat cross-legged and began to refine his body using the True Qi condensed inside him, cleansing his meridians. After circulating the Xiao Zhoutian, his True Qi began to falter. Unable to continue, he lay down.
With the current scarcity of Spiritual Energy, Ding Fan, rich in cultivation experience, found himself quite frustrated. If Spiritual Energy were abundant, he was confident that he could advance to the Second Level of Qi Training in a short time, and even reaching the third level wouldn't be a problem.
Since there was no Spiritual Energy available for cultivation, he had no choice but to use some basic methods. Fortunately, his current level was the First Level of Qi Cultivation, mainly focused on consolidating his shinbones—essentially, strengthening his body.
Ding Fan thought about finding a secluded place the next day to furiously practice body cultivation, using intense physical activities to strengthen his muscles and bones.
Of course, it was a regrettable necessity. If there were sufficient Spiritual Energy, absorbing it into True Qi and then using the True Qi to cleanse his muscles and bones would be many times faster than physical training.
Besides intense physical training, Ding Fan thought he would go to the pharmacy and grab some herbal medicines to aid in the strengthening of his muscles and bones. Although the effect of ordinary medicines couldn't compare to that of Spirit Grass, it was the only available option.
The Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass would be ready to seed in a few days; all he could do now was hope that it could be planted soon...
As Ding Fan thought, his eyelids grew heavy. At that moment, the door to Zhou Ruoran's room opened, followed by footsteps, and then there was noise from the kitchen.
Ding Fan knew without looking that it must be Zhou Ruoran going to eat.
Thinking of Zhou Ruoran, he felt that her complexion had been poor lately. When preparing medicines, he thought he should gather more to help regulate her body.