Chapter 194 192. Either Way, It’s Not a Loss
An Han had originally thought that when Su Peng said “shredded tofu,” the “shreds” were like shredded potatoes. Only after watching the video did she realize that they meant hair-thin strands. And the tofu used was silken tofu—so tender that one careless touch could poke a hole in it. Even a housewife who cooked every day would probably struggle to achieve that level of knife skill.
Almost the entire night, An Han spent listening to Su Peng’s snoring while watching videos on how to make Wensi tofu. Tofu and various ingredients sliced into hair-thin strands, then simmered in a rich stock made from chicken, duck, and pork bones… Describing the method took only a single sentence, but in the tutorial videos, it practically took several days to complete.
Early the next morning, An Han, dark circles under her eyes, rushed excitedly to the market, buying all kinds of ingredients for porridge as well as everything needed for Wensi tofu. When she returned to the rental apartment, she found Su Peng already standing in the corridor waiting for her.
“Went grocery shopping?”
“Yeah.” An Han carried two big bags over to him. “How did you know I was back?”
“I saw you enter the apartment from the window.”
She looked up at Su Peng and let out a heavy sigh. “You totally set me up.”
Su Peng laughed brightly. “It’s only fun if it goes both ways.”
“True.”
An Han didn’t really get angry. She teased others so often that it was only natural to get tricked sometimes. She quickly perked up, set the bags down, and pulled out a knife from one of them. The blade gleamed under the hallway light, making Su Peng retreat several steps in alarm.
“No need—there’s really no need!”
Holding back her laughter, An Han raised the knife and explained, “After I cook you breakfast, I’m going to practice my knife skills!”
“Uh…” Su Peng swallowed the words he wanted to say. After all, she was holding a cleaver.
After putting the knife back into the bag, An Han curiously looked Su Peng up and down. “Is your cold better? You look more energetic than yesterday.”
“My throat feels a lot better, my nose isn’t as stuffed, and the fever seems mostly gone.”
“That’s basically cured~”
An Han nodded, carried her things past Su Peng, and opened her own door. “What kind of porridge do you want for breakfast?”
“Century egg and lean pork.”
“Then wait a bit—I’ll check a tutorial first.”
Entering the room, she sorted the groceries, took off her coat, then pulled out her phone and followed a tutorial to make the century egg and pork porridge Su Peng wanted. She had only ever boiled instant noodles or fried eggs before, and had zero interest in cooking, yet today she stood there obediently, carefully following the instructions to make breakfast.
Su Peng leaned sideways against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching An Han inside the room. Girls really did look better when they were quiet.
As he watched her add most of the ingredients to the pot according to the tutorial, Su Peng gradually relaxed. It didn’t look like she was planning to add any strange “extra ingredients.”
“Oh right, I don’t eat cilantro. And go easy on the scallions and ginger.”
“Got it~” An Han lowered her head and carefully sliced two ginger strips about as thick as French fries, then held them up. “Like this?”
“Aren’t they a bit thick?”
Unhappily, she set the ginger down, muttering, “You don’t help at all, yet you’re so picky. Isn’t your illness basically cured already?”
Su Peng didn’t mind her complaint. Instead, he imagined the disastrous scene that would happen when she tried to make Wensi tofu.
After covering the pot, An Han took out a block of supermarket tofu, pulled out the cleaver, and prepared to test her skills.
“Isn’t it a bit late to start practicing now?” Su Peng laughed, enjoying the show from outside. “Be careful—don’t cut your hand.”
“I’m not stupid.”
An Han tried to follow the video, slicing the tofu into sheets first and then into shreds. She bent down so low that her face was almost pressed to the cutting board, one hand carefully steadying the tofu, the other lifting the cleaver gently.
But the cleaver in her hand refused to cooperate. Even the simple motion of lifting and lowering it with one hand caused a slight tremble, and each cut failed to land where she wanted. In the end, a perfectly good block of tofu was chopped into a mess.
An Han sighed softly and turned to ask, “You don’t mind if I add some tofu to the porridge, right?”
Su Peng nodded with a smile. “Go ahead. I like tofu too.”
“Then you don’t mind if I add another block?”
“If you could master it in one day, that’d be a miracle.” He couldn’t help teasing her. “People train their knife skills for years to make that dish.” “And you need to prepare a proper stock too. I didn’t see you buy chicken, duck, or ribs…”
“How about giving up and just going on a date with me instead?”
An Han selectively ignored a certain word and looked at him like he was an idiot. “Who makes stock the old-fashioned way these days?” She reached over to some odds and ends and pulled out a small box. “There’s concentrated soup base~ Just add a bit to water and it becomes stock, right?”
“……”
Seeing Su Peng’s stunned expression made her feel immensely satisfied. The look of disdain on her face instantly turned into a bright smile.
“My delivery’s here. I’ll run downstairs for a moment. Watch the porridge—when it’s about to overflow, lift the lid.”
An Han put on her coat and skipped out of the room with light, lively steps.
Su Peng, meanwhile, stared at the floor, rubbing his chin in confusion as he muttered to himself, “Yesterday I said going out to have fun together for a day… but she didn’t seem to object to the word ‘date’?”
His eyes gradually lit up, and an uncontrollable smile spread across his face. In the past, whenever sensitive words like “date” came up, An Han would immediately snap back and emphasize that it was just friends going out. But this time, she seemed to have tacitly accepted it.
“What does An Han like to do? Amusement parks? Script-killing games? Or just shopping and eating?” He had already started planning their outing, only to quickly rule out all those options. Then his smile froze. “It won’t be an internet café, will it…”
Based on his understanding of An Han over the past two years, internet cafés clearly held far greater appeal for her.
“Pff pff pff pff~”
The sudden sound startled Su Peng. He hurriedly looked down and saw the pot filled with white foam, bubbling furiously and spilling out through the gap in the lid. Instinctively, he lifted the lid, and the pot finally calmed down.
But after only a brief hesitation, the table was already flooded, and the wet induction cooker began beeping before shutting itself off. He hurried to find a rag, trying to restore everything before An Han returned.
“I only went to grab a package…”
But An Han was already standing at the door with the delivery in her arms, looking helplessly at the flustered Su Peng. “How can something go wrong just from watching a pot~”
“I got distracted…” Su Peng laughed awkwardly. “It’s fine, just wipe it up.”
“I’ll do it. Don’t flip my pot over.”
An Han set down the package and hurried into the room, squeezing Su Peng aside. As she cleaned up the mess, she didn’t continue to mock him. Instead, she lifted her chin confidently and declared, “Your Wensi tofu will be ready in half an hour!”
Seeing how confident she looked, Su Peng actually started to hesitate. Could An Han really pull it off?
Even if she did, it wouldn’t matter. Treating her to a meal would still count as a date. Either way, it wasn’t a loss.
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