Chapter Three: Skills

When Yan Xue walked out of Song Chen’s rented apartment, she knew she had successfully infuriated her cousin today. In fact, that was exactly what she wanted—to drive those troublesome relatives to the brink, hoping they would sever ties with her and her parents. The feeling was akin to brushing off a few leeches from her leg.

On the way back, Yan Xue felt a surge of satisfaction. She glanced at the time, noting that she’d returned earlier than expected. Having escaped her share of chores for the day, she felt a twinge of guilt, and so, on her way home, she bought some milk tea to share.

When she arrived at Kang Ge’s house, lugging a heavy bag of drinks, lunch was still not ready. Clearly, with so many hands, efficiency had suffered. Kang Ge opened the door for her and took the drinks from her hands.

“Looks like your first battle was a great success!” he remarked, noticing Yan Xue’s untroubled demeanor. She no longer had the furrowed brow she wore when she left, and she’d even bought milk tea for everyone—a clear sign her mood was good.

“It’s close enough, but not exactly a victory. I just minimized the losses. Aside from the gas money for picking up Song Chen, I lost an extra thirty yuan.” Yan Xue sighed with a hint of regret and waved her hand dismissively. “Oh well, let’s call it sacrificing a sesame seed to save the watermelon. Is lunch still unfinished? Come, let me show off my skills!”

After washing her hands, Yan Xue went to help in the kitchen. The others had nearly finished, leaving the “battlefield” to Xia Qing and Ren Yaya. Seeing Yan Xue return, they called her over.

“I heard from Kang Ge you went to pick up your cousin—Song Chen, right?” Xia Qing had met Yan Xue’s cousin once and was not impressed. “What trouble did she stir up this time? How did you get rid of her?”

“She plans to stay in W City for a while—found a job here,” Yan Xue replied, helping with the vegetables as she recounted the events to her two close friends. “That’s the gist of it. I hope she’s angry enough not to want to contact me again!”

“I don’t think that’s likely,” Ren Yaya shook her head. “Don’t harbor unrealistic hopes—it’s easy to be disappointed.”

“Your cousin is really something. I’d believe she actually lost her phone, wallet, and cards when pigs fly! If she was waiting near the station exit, the police station is only fifty meters away, and there’s always extra patrol at the entrance and exit!” Xia Qing recalled how Song Chen had previously swindled Yan Xue’s living expenses, forcing her to scrape by for half a semester to avoid burdening her parents.

“Of course I didn’t believe her. I checked her bag while helping with her luggage—the zipper was tight, no sign of it being cut, and her coat didn’t even have pockets. When I found her at the station, she practically had her bag strapped to her chest for safety, not at all careless.

Besides, she was up to her old tricks—chatting up strangers, trying to get little freebies. She hardly looked like someone who’d just lost all her important belongings and didn’t know how to manage her life.” Yan Xue shook water off the vegetable leaves at the sink, as though those droplets were her annoying relatives.

“So she’s staying in W City now. Won’t that mean she’ll bother you more often?” Ren Yaya asked worriedly.

Yan Xue waved her hand. “Let’s not worry about that yet. Song Chen’s greatest weakness is her lack of perseverance—she’s a master of quitting halfway. She’s two or three years older than me, but since graduating, she’s changed jobs more times than she’s been out of school! So we don’t need to fret about future problems—no need to waste our emotions. She might not even make it past the probation period before she gets bored and wants to run home to her parents for cuddles!”

Xia Qing and Ren Yaya laughed along with Yan Xue’s teasing. They had known her for years, sharing a dormitory and living together for four years. They knew Yan Xue’s true nature better than anyone—she appeared optimistic and strong, but often shouldered everything alone, unwilling to let her negative emotions affect those around her.

None of the three were particularly skilled cooks, so they decided to make a quick dish they often prepared together on weekends: spicy hotpot. After all, the key to this dish’s success wasn’t their cooking prowess, but the sauce packet.

The three busied themselves, and soon a large bowl of spicy hotpot, fragrant and appetizing, was ready as the centerpiece. Everyone else had already taken their seats.

Though it was a day off, everyone tactfully chose not to drink alcohol. Their profession meant that even during breaks, a sudden phone call could turn a day off into overtime. If they showed up smelling of alcohol, it wouldn’t just be a question of mishap—it would violate protocol.

Yan Xue sat down and noticed the table was laden with dishes, though the quality varied wildly. A plate of fried ribbonfish was clearly overcooked, its edges charred—not affecting its edibility, but certainly its appeal. Next to it was a plate of chili potato strips, not burnt at all, but its name hardly matched reality—it should have been called “chili fries.”

“These fries are pretty good—nice and crispy!” Yan Xue took a bite, only to find the dish had gone to the opposite extreme of the ribbonfish—not cooked through at all.

“I really did my best—please spare me! I’ll punish myself with three drinks!” Luo Wei laughed sheepishly, clasping his hands in mock surrender. “I was going to make tomato scrambled eggs, but Qi Tianhua beat me to it. Aside from that, I can only make potato stir-fry, but my knife skills are terrible—it’s just not my specialty!”

“I didn’t mean to steal Luo Wei’s signature dish,” Qi Tianhua chimed in, “I just ruined the ribbonfish, so I thought I’d make up for it. I didn’t do well, so I’ll punish myself with three drinks too!”

“Come on, if you both take three drinks, the rest of us won’t have any cola left!” Yan Xue joked, glancing at the other dishes. “This minced pork tofu pot and the mushroom broccoli are pretty decent. If Luo Wei’s dishes are a 60, these are at least an 85!”

Ji Yuan smiled beside her, raised his cup to Yan Xue, and the others seized the moment to tease Xia Qing.

“Say,” as the others joked about Xia Qing and Ji Yuan, Kang Ge leaned closer to Yan Xue, “what about the rest of the dishes? The teriyaki chicken, fish-flavored eggplant, lion’s head meatballs, and pan-fried ribs? Why haven’t you commented on those?”

“I’d rather not!” Yan Xue shook her head solemnly, but quickly broke into a smile. “Too many wolves and too little meat—if I start praising those dishes for their color, aroma, and flavor, all that’ll be left is dipping bread in the bottom of the plate!”

“Well, you don’t need to worry. I set aside a portion just for you—don’t forget to take it when you leave. That way, when you’re resting at home tomorrow, you won’t skip meals or settle for something random,” Kang Ge’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “Don’t say you don’t need it. If the person who cooked spicy hotpot from a sauce pack claims to love kitchen work, I won’t believe it!”

Yan Xue paused, surprised. She had guessed those restaurant-quality dishes were Kang Ge’s handiwork, but hadn’t expected him to reserve a portion for her.

“Ahem! You two! What are you whispering about? Anything you can’t say out loud for the rest of us to hear?” Before Yan Xue could reply, Luo Wei noticed Kang Ge and her talking quietly and immediately teased them loudly.

Suddenly, all eyes at the table were fixed on the two of them.

“You want to know what we were talking about…” Kang Ge looked a bit awkward and glanced at Yan Xue. “Should I tell them?”

Yan Xue saw his expression and knew he wasn’t going to say anything truthful, so she nodded, “Go ahead—tell them.”

“We were discussing whether, after eating the ribbonfish and ‘fries,’ if anyone gets food poisoning, who should pay the medical bills,” Kang Ge shrugged. “We were going to talk about it in private, but you insisted I say it aloud! Xiao Weiwei, you’re the most ruthless self-sabotager I’ve ever met!”

“It’s just a couple bottles of berberine—don’t worry, I’ve got it covered! But honestly, Kang, you really impressed me! I thought someone like you would be lucky just to manage basic meals, but your skills are high! Watching you cook with such smooth movements, I wondered if you’d been borrowed by the cyber unit for years, or maybe by our cafeteria!” Luo Wei joked.

“My mom was always busy, my sister was young, so I had to cook for her. That’s how I stumbled on this talent,” Kang Ge replied.

Luo Wei clicked his tongue in admiration. “Well, I’m grateful my parents didn’t give me a younger sibling to look after. Otherwise, with my cooking, every meal would have been a brutal case of child abuse!”

Everyone laughed, teasing each other about their culinary prowess. The conversation shifted from food to amusing stories from daily life, occasionally drifting toward work, but always quickly steered back.

After lunch, they spent the afternoon playing motion-sensing games at Kang Ge’s house—a rare and well-deserved relaxation for a group who were usually busy with work.