"Rong Dai... Do you think you could teach me? I'm not very familiar with these things, and I haven't cooked in a long time, so I'm a bit out of practice."
Rong Dai felt nervous inside, and that familiar sense of crisis appeared again. Cold sweat broke out on her back.
No matter how noble her identity was in her previous life, this world was still unfamiliar to her now.
Everything she saw and heard was something she had never come into contact with before, everything was unknown to her.
She had been optimistic before, so that sense of crisis had only appeared for a fleeting moment, and she was confident she could handle it.
But when she entered the kitchen today, she realized how little she knew about this world, and that panic instantly surrounded her like a net.
She looked at the man in front of her with serious, somewhat panicked eyes.
No matter what her relationship with Huo Shao Ting would be like after this year, at least for now this man was sheltering her, so she also had to learn, accept and change.
It wasn't scary to lose face now, what was scary was that if she continued to be recklessly optimistic, things could get even worse.
Huo Shao Ting looked at her, always feeling that her mood was a bit strange today, but he couldn't confirm what was strange about it.
Looking into her uneasy eyes, he inexplicably felt a little depressed in his heart.
"You can just guide me on the side with how to use it, I... I only knew how to use the kind that cooks over a fire before, and then my mother always did the cooking, I've never been in the kitchen."
Seeing that he didn't speak, Rong Dai hurriedly made up a vague, hardly convincing excuse.
Although Huo Shao Ting felt it was strange, he didn't question her after all. This woman had not been normal for more than a day or two now.
"Alright." He gave a muted grunt in response, and Rong Dai finally relaxed.
Rather than believing others, she was more willing to believe Huo Shao Ting.
Perhaps it was because of his marital relationship with the original owner, and she was still his nominal wife now, so there was a little bit of instinct involved in this trust.
Rong Dai was a little panicked. Although she was willing to trust Huo Shao Ting, she didn't want to appear too abnormal, so as not to arouse his suspicions.
Little did she know that all these deliberate concealments had already fallen into Huo Shao Ting's eyes. He was nearly six foot three, and even in the spacious kitchen, his presence was still very eye-catching.
"Is this right?"
Rong Dai carefully followed his instructions, while also having to carefully process the ingredients. From time to time, she also had to analyze in her heart what every subtle expression on Huo Shao Ting's face meant.
After finally making a bowl of noodles, she felt like she had just fought a battle, not only physically exhausted, but also mentally.
These metal bumps were very convenient, but she was not skilled at using them. Fortunately, Huo Shao Ting was very patient, even when she made mistakes, he didn't reprimand her at all.
"Try it and see if the taste is okay? I haven't cooked in a long time, if it's not good, please bear with me."
Putting the piping hot egg and meat noodle soup on the table, Rong Dai also brought out two dishes of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, speaking in an ingratiating yet polite tone.
Huo Shao Ting looked at the simple noodles on the table. Although it wasn't any delicacy, for a moment he felt a ripple arise in his heart. This feeling was as gentle as a spring breeze.
Using online terminology, this could be called time passes serenely, right?
However, when he caught the caution in Rong Dai's eyes, his face unconsciously tensed up again.
Rong Dai would rarely reveal her thoughts in front of anyone under normal circumstances, but her experience in the kitchen today made her feel uneasy.
And this wasn't the imperial harem where they had to be vigilant against each other, so she was very relaxed.
With this relaxation, her thoughts were revealed.
Huo Shao Ting didn't say anything, but sat down to eat the noodles.
Rong Dai had made this herself, with very rich soup stock and flavors.
This first mouthful surprised Huo Shao Ting. He didn't expect that what she said was true.
If he hadn't seen with his own eyes how helpless she was in the kitchen, he wouldn't have believed that she could cook.
"Very good. Next time if you don't fumble around so much, it will be even better."
He didn't stint on critique either. Rong Dai kept looking at him nervously the whole time. Hearing these words from him, the breath caught in her throat immediately loosened.
"Thank you for tonight, I will learn well." A look of relief appeared on Rong Dai's face, and the unease in her eyes also dissipated.
Huo Shao Ting gave a muted grunt in response, but wondered in his heart what exactly she was so worried about? It was just making a meal, so how could she be so uneasy?
Although he didn't point it out, the tension and unease that Rong Dai had inadvertently revealed while cooking in the kitchen, he saw very clearly.
"I don't want my wife to be so courteous and keep me at arm's length all the time. While mutual respect is good, I don't need your courtesy. You're my wife, all your demands of me are reasonable. I hope you remember this well."
Maybe her unease was because of him, so by saying this, she should be able to understand, right?
Rong Dai didn't expect him to say these things. For a moment her mind couldn't keep up, and she couldn't deeply comprehend the meaning behind his words, she could only stare blankly and nod.
"I'll go tidy up the kitchen." Thinking of the smoky chaos she had made of the kitchen, since he was satisfied, she didn't need to sit here watching him finish eating either.
Huo Shao Ting had originally wanted her to rest for a bit. They had hired servants at home, she didn't need to do these things herself at all.
But Rong Dai's long legs walked quickly, disappearing from sight in just a few steps.
In the kitchen, Rong Dai carefully washed and tidied up, vaguely making plans in her mind. She needed to come to this kitchen frequently, she had to figure out all these novel things clearly.
"Big brother, when did you come back?"
Huo Mei Shu came in from outside, and when she passed the dining room she saw Huo Shao Ting there, subconsciously asking.
"Is it strange that I came back?" Huo Shao Ting glanced up at her, puzzled in his heart.
How come it was strange when he came back, but not when they did?
Huo Mei Shu laughed and poured herself a glass of water to drink a sip. "Isn't it strange? You usually come back once every ten days or half a month. This is already the third time this month."
As she spoke, her eyes fell on the noodles Huo Shao Ting was eating, and her expression instantly changed. Hearing movements in the kitchen, thinking it was Mrs. Wang, she immediately yelled, "Mrs. Wang?! How can you make noodles for big brother?!"
In the kitchen busying about, Rong Dai was shocked by this yell, and her hand trembled, nearly dropping the porcelain bowl in her grasp.
"Big brother, don't you know you're intolerant to noodles? Are you trying to make yourself sick? Stop eating!"
As Huo Mei Shu spoke, she was about to take away the bowl in front of Huo Shao Ting.
Rong Dai came out, beads of sweat on her forehead, looking at the siblings in confusion, "Did something happen? Mrs. Wang went out..."
