Surprised at his sudden arrival, Peng Mingzhu tripped on her own foot. Just when she thought she would have a taste of dirt, his arm suddenly held her, protecting her from the hard earthy ground.
"Did I surprise you?" Wei Kangnuan teased with a smile.
"You always do," she told him with a flat stare. "One day, I'm going to have a heart attack because of you."
Hearing her rhetoric, he laughed cheerfully, "You definitely will have a heart attack, an attack from the sweetness of love."
"You're incredibly embarrassing, Your Highness," Peng Mingzhu stated as she roughly removed herself from his strong hold.
Her strength shocked him, but only for a short moment. Immediately after, he got used to the fact that she was different from the other weak females he knew and was familiar with. After all, she even lied about having lost her memories just to ensure her safety against the cautious Mo Yuanjun.
"Don't call me Your Highness," Wei Kangnuan ordered her as he closed the distance that she tried so hard to constantly increase.
"I'm calling you Your Highness out of respect. Don't tell me you don't want my respect anymore?" Peng Mingzhu questioned while crossing her arm with a frown of frustration.
"I do want your respect...but I think it'd be more respectful if you called me by my name," he stated as he grabbed her crossed arms in order to embrace her again.
"No thanks," she curtly rejected as she twisted her body in such a way that she could avoid his sticky reaches.
"Are you familiar with martial arts?" Wei Kangnuan asked as he saw her skillfully dodge his actions.
"More than enough for self-defense," Peng Mingzhu humbly answered although she was more than good enough to beat the world champion of martial arts.
Of course, she still wanted to improve her martial arts though. Xiao Qiqiang was much better than her and in every spar they fought, he was always winning against her. Just once, she wanted to beat her childhood friend.
"In order to be able to avoid my grasp, you have to be more than skilled enough for just self-defense. I think you are being too humble of your own skills," he told her as he stopped his motions to reach out for her.
In fact, just holding her body for a short moment made him hold his breath. She smelled incredibly good and comforting, and the addition of her soft body with her perfect curves made him want to continue to embrace her figure. Her reaction of distancing herself from him was unexpected, but this told him that she was at least a cautious person that did not welcome herself to just any skin contact.
Even though he wished that she would allow them to touch each other, he still satisfied himself with the thought that no other men could touch her like him. At least he got the chance to embrace her, even if it was for just a short few seconds.
"Your Highness, I wish to cook for myself," Peng Mingzhu requested since she did not know where the kitchen was located.
"Is the food here not good?" Wei Kangnuan asked with a frown.
"Your Highness, I don't even know where the dining area is located, so how can I tell whether it is good or not?" she sighed as she shook her head.
"Oh…" he dumbly hummed out at her ironic question. "I'll take you to the dining area."
"No need," she immediately rejected, knowing that she would not like their food even if a gourmet chef made them. "I'm a picky eater and I don't eat food that is not cooked by myself."
"The food here may not be as good as the capital, but it's edible. Besides, with me by your side, you'll be getting the best out of all the soldiers here," Wei Kangnuan tried to persuade her.
"Your Highness, I have a trauma from childhood of being poisoned by my biological mother. Please sympathize with me and allow me to cook for myself," Peng Mingzhu requested as she looked at him seriously, not caring at all about the heavy words she had just spoken.
It was as though the sentence she just said was not about her, but a stranger from another town. However, it was probably this calm and peaceful voice that she used to narrate her painful past that made him unconsciously want to spoil her even if he had to give up his own life.
"There are not many ingredients you can use to cook…" Wei Kangnuan slowly voiced out his warning.
"Mm. No worries," Peng Mingzhu assured him.
She did not need to use their ingredients. Since she was aware that she would be cooking for herself no matter where she went, she made sure to stock up on a huge amount of raw ingredients and spices. Even if she cooked three meals a day for three hundred sixty five days for an entire year, her stock of ingredients would still be able to last her a decade.
"All right… Then, follow me," Wei Kangnuan guided her to the kitchen.
When they reached the kitchen, Peng Mingzhu looked around in appreciation at the old technology that ancient people used to use for cooking. Huge woks, large circular and thick wooden chopping boards made from logs, and wooden spatulas instead of metallic ones. There was also a remaining scent of smoke and porridge that hinted her to what the chefs previously cooked.
"Is this a temporary camp?" Peng Mingzhu asked as she continued to appreciate the sizable kitchen.
"No, it's a permanent camp," Wei Kangnuan answered as he informed her of the camp. "A few years ago, there was a bandit group rampantly running about, ruining the lives of the people living between Jiangging and Shizuishi by robbing, killing, raping, and much more. In order to get rid of them, I ordered my men to build this camp, a way of protection to the people living in this territory."
"Huh… So this is your territory, but there is a high likelihood of strangers appearing near the camp?" she questioned as she recalled what Mo Yuanjun first scolded her with.
"Every person living between the two cities knows not to appear near the camp," he told her. "Normally, netizens would take detours instead. You're the only airhead that decided to come near the camp and pretend to have lost your memories."
"I didn't mean to come to the camp…" Peng Mingzhu silently mumbled in frustration.
Truly, the portal should have taken her somewhere else instead. Even a warring battlefield was a better place to spawn in than this goddamn camp where Wei Kangnuan existed.
Internally, she could only think, 'Wei Kangnuan is a madman.'
"Are you cursing me inside of that head of yours?" he asked interestedly, a glimmer in his eyes.
"Why? I can't curse you? You can curse me, but I can't?" she immediately lashed out her anger at him as she could already foresee the increase in her blood pressure.
Wei Kangnuan laughed loudly at her rampage of questions. Just when he was about to tease her again, she once again surprised him.
"Alright, I'm going to cook now," Peng Mingzhu announced before quickly pushing him out of the kitchen and slamming the door in front of his face.
"You-I'm the prince, don't you know? You're the only person to have slammed a door in front of my face...and you even kept me out of the kitchen. This is my kitchen, why can't I see you cook?" Wei Kangnuan immediately set about his campaign of bitter complaints.
Knowing that he would continue to annoy her, she decided to deafen her ear device.
"Deafen hearing."
DEAFENED.
"Search for dinner recipes."
SEARCHING FOR DINNER RECIPES…
1000 DINNER RECIPES FOUND.
Looking through the huge gallery of dinner recipes, Peng Mingzhu finally chose a spicy beef and pepper stir-fry.
SPICY BEEF & PEPPER STIR-FRY
TOTAL TIME
PREP: 20 MINUTES +
STANDING COOK: 10 MINUTES
MAKES
4 SERVINGS
INGREDIENTS
1 POUND BEEF TOP SIRLOIN STEAK, CUT INTO THIN STRIPS
1 TABLESPOON MINCED FRESH GINGER ROOT
3 GARLIC CLOVES, MINCED, DIVIDED
¼ TEASPOON PEPPER
¾ TEASPOON SALT, DIVIDED
1 CUP LIGHT COCONUT MILK
2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR
1 TABLESPOON SRIRACHA CHILI SAUCE
½ TEASPOON GRATED LIME ZEST
2 TABLESPOONS LIME JUICE
2 TABLESPOONS CANOLA OIL, DIVIDED
1 LARGE SWEET RED PEPPER, CUT INTO THIN STRIPS
½ MEDIUM RED ONION, THINLY SLICED
1 JALAPENO PEPPER, SEEDED AND THINLY SLICED
4 CUPS FRESH BABY SPINACH
2 GREEN ONIONS, THINLY SLICED
2 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED FRESH CILANTRO
DIRECTIONS
IN A LARGE BOWL, TOSS BEEF WITH GINGER, 2 GARLIC CLOVES, PEPPER AND ½ TEASPOON SALT; LET STAND 15 MINUTES. IN A SMALL BOWL, WHISK COCONUT MILK, SUGAR, CHILI SAUCE, LIME ZEST, LIME JUICE AND REMAINING SALT UNTIL BLENDED.
IN A LARGE SKILLET, HEAT 1 TABLESPOON OIL OVER MEDIUM-HIGH HEAT. ADD BEEF; STIR-FRY UNTIL NO LONGER PINK, 2-3 MINUTES. REMOVE FROM PAN.
STIR-FRY RED PEPPER, RED ONION, JALAPENO AND REMAINING GARLIC IN REMAINING OIL JUST UNTIL VEGETABLES ARE CRISP-TENDER, 2-3 MINUTES. STIR IN COCONUT MILK MIXTURE; HEAT THROUGH. ADD SPINACH AND BEEF; COOK UNTIL SPINACH IS WILTED AND BEEF IS HEATED THROUGH, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY. SPRINKLE WITH GREEN ONIONS AND CILANTRO.
NUTRITION FACTS
¾ CUP: 312 CALORIES, 16 GRAMS FAT (5 GRAMS SATURATED FAT), 46 MILLIGRAMS CHOLESTEROL, 641 MILLIGRAMS SODIUM, 15 GRAMS CARBOHYDRATE (10 GRAMS SUGARS, 2 GRAMS FIBERS), 26 GRAMS PROTEIN.
DIABETIC EXCHANGES: 3 LEAN MEAT, 2 FAT, 1 VEGETABLE, ½ STARCH
After thoroughly reading the recipe, Peng Mingzhu finally clicked on the button to start cooking. With this button, new options popped up that gave her the items in the bracelet storage in which she needed. Almost like a cooking game, the system gave her everything she needed, told her what she needed to do, and set the correct timers when she finished mixing the ingredients.
The only thing she needed to do was to execute the actions. Before she knew it, twenty minutes passed by, and she had a beautiful and tasty-looking dish in front of her.
However, just when she was about to eat the food she had cooked...someone got the first taste before she did.