"You!—You belong to me too!" The words landed like a thunderclap.
"What did you just say?" Xiang Ri, skeptical, rubbed his ears and reached out to check An Xin's forehead. "An Xin, are you sure you didn't take the wrong medicine last night?"
"Medicine, my foot!" An Xin batted away his hand with an annoyed slap. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you very much! Why would I need medicine? And don't get any ideas—my heart belongs solely to my dear Qing Qing. As for you, of course, you're my… teacher! Seeing how skilled you are in the kitchen, I'll reluctantly take you as my master and learn a thing or two from you."
"Phew." Xiang Ri let out a long sigh of relief, patting his chest. "I swear, An Xin, could you please finish your sentences properly next time? This dramatic pause nearly gave me a heart attack!"
As An Xin formally declared him her teacher, Xiang Ri was struck by a sense of déjà vu. He remembered that Qing Qing had done the same in the past. But compared to An Xin, Qing Qing had been far more polite—none of this arrogant talk of "reluctantly" becoming a disciple, as if she were doing him a favor.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in taking you on," Xiang Ri retorted, unimpressed by her haughty attitude.
"What did you just say?!" An Xin's eyes went wide with disbelief. "You won't accept me as your disciple? Let me remind you that I hold some leverage over you. Last night, you took a call from a woman and left the house—what if I told Chu Chu about that? Oh, and yesterday morning, that blonde foreign girl kissed you. If I let that slip… hmm, would you still dare reject me?"
Xiang Ri was left speechless. She had hit a nerve, and he had no choice but to relent. "Fine, I'll take you as my disciple. But surely, you should offer me a proper gift as your master, right?"
"A gift?" An Xin blinked, then suddenly scowled, her face darkening with realization. "Forget it! Don't think I've forgotten about the thing you took from me. I haven't even settled that score yet, and now you want a gift? Consider what you took as the offering!"
"..." Xiang Ri's attempt to tease her had backfired spectacularly. He now fully understood the meaning of "hoisted by one's own petard." He should have known An Xin wasn't capable of fully evolving into a refined woman. Alas, he had been duped by a few feminine gestures and tones. If only he hadn't tasted her cooking! Regrets came too late now.
By noon, when Chu Chu and Shi Qing returned from school, they were utterly stunned. They stared in disbelief at An Xin bustling about in the kitchen, then turned to the man lounging on the sofa watching television. The same thought crossed their minds: The world has truly gone mad.
"Teacher, why is An Xin in there..." Shi Qing began hesitantly, while Chu Chu was more blunt: "Are we going to get poisoned?"
"We won't," Xiang Ri replied with a hint of resignation. "At least not from the fried eggs."
"Why not?" Chu Chu asked.
"I spent the entire morning teaching her how to fry eggs and make omelets. She's finally passed that hurdle. So, when it's time to eat, stick to the eggs. Whatever you do, don't touch anything else she's made. Otherwise, even if you don't get poisoned, you'll definitely die of salt overload!" Xiang Ri warned, having learned his lesson the hard way.
"What's gotten into An An today?" Shi Qing immediately pinpointed the crux of the matter. She knew her friend better than anyone—someone who usually wouldn't even serve herself a meal was now brimming with enthusiasm as she busied herself in the kitchen.
And with such fervor? Something was definitely amiss.
"You'll have to ask her yourself, but if you ask me, the most likely explanation is that she's taken the wrong medication," Xiang Ri remarked with barely concealed mischief, simultaneously pulling Chu Chu and Shi Qing to sit beside him.
Chu Chu and Shi Qing exchanged a glance, a subtle blush tinting their faces. While they felt at ease with each other when alone, being together in Xiang Ri's presence brought an awkwardness neither could shake.
Especially Shi Qing—what used to feel harmless, like the occasional teasing from her audacious teacher, now carried an undeniable weight ever since *that incident*. With the matter laid bare, the beastly teacher could now openly take liberties under the guise of righteousness.
Surrounded by two beauties, Xiang Ri's thoughts wandered shamelessly. After stealing a kiss from each of them, he revealed his true nature: "Chu Chu, Shi Qing, how about the three of us share a bed tonight?"
"Ah!" The two women gasped softly, their already radiant faces deepening in color. They hadn't expected him to be so brazen. Without hesitation, they each pinched the soft flesh of his waist.
"If you don't object, I'll take that as agreement," he added, only to find their pinches growing sharper.
Xi Ri was at a loss—was that a yes or a no? Just as he was about to act further, An Xin's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Lunch is ready! Come and eat!"
He froze mid-motion, and the two women quickly broke free from his embrace, dashing toward the kitchen. Xiang Ri glared in frustration toward the source of the interruption. *An Xin, you're ruthless!*
As expected, lunch was centered around eggs.
The sight of fried eggs occupying most of the table immediately dampened Xiang Ri's appetite. Testing her cooking earlier was one thing, but now facing a meal with eggs as the main course? Just looking at it made his stomach churn.
Compared to the eggs, he found himself yearning for the burnt, charred dishes. At least those didn't provoke nausea. Despite their saltiness, with enough rice, they were somewhat edible.
Chu Chu and Shi Qing, on the other hand, were pleasantly surprised. It was their first time tasting An Xin's cooking, and they marveled at her ability to produce such delicious fried eggs. Having heeded Xiang Ri's warning, they didn't touch anything else on the table.
Not that they dared to even if they wanted to. Aside from the eggs, every other dish was either charred black or crudely prepared—visually unappealing and unappetizing.
What puzzled them, however, was that Xiang Ri didn't touch the eggs he had claimed to be safe earlier. Instead, he focused on the unappealing dishes. His unusual behavior piqued their curiosity, leading them to wonder if he'd developed a newfound preference for such eccentric cuisine.
Watching him eat bite after bite, shoveling down his rice in large mouthfuls, they reconsidered—maybe the dishes, though unattractive, held some hidden charm?
Tentatively, they extended their chopsticks, each taking a bite. The moment the food hit their tongues, they spat it out in unison, exclaiming, "*Ptooey! Ptooey!*" Indeed, the dishes had a hidden quality—one that could only be described as "deadly poisonous."
"Xiang Kui, how can you stomach this? It's so salty!" Chu Chu exclaimed, her face scrunched in dismay.
"Don't even mention it. Just the sight of eggs makes me want to vomit… ugh—" Mid-sentence, Xiang Ri noticed An Xin mischievously placing a fried egg on his plate. He gagged dramatically, dropped his chopsticks, and fled the table.
No, he couldn't take another bite. If he continued, he'd surely perish.
Behind him, An Xin's triumphant laughter echoed, mingling with Chu Chu's concern. "Xiang Kui, where are you going?"
"To get some fresh air."
"Don't forget to head to school later! The homeroom teacher was asking this morning why you skipped class!"