Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 205 Culinary Mastery

"Haha, I was just kidding."

Noticing Han Zhou's unusual expression, Zhang Xinyue laughed heartily, seemingly quite pleased with his expression, and winked, saying, "I know, you must be Sister Lianyu's boyfriend, right?"

"No."

Han Zhou shook his head in denial, saying that this guess was not as good as the joke he had just made.

"Oh?" Zhang Xinyue's expression hardened slightly as she stared at him with a scrutinizing look. "Did you spend the night here last night?"

"Yes, but..."

"Was it Sister Lianyu who brought you back?"

"Well, but..."

"Is she still not awake?"

"It should be, but..."

"Then aren't you two boyfriend and girlfriend?" Zhang Xinyue said in a tone as if she had solved a case.

What kind of novel judgment theory is this?

Han Zhou forced a smile: "We really are just teacher and student."

Hmm, why does this sound so familiar...?

"I know, but one thing is one thing, and no one says that teachers and students can't be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Zhang Xinyue had a bright smile, and Han Zhou felt, perhaps it was just his imagination, that he saw a familiar shadow in this woman.

Xiao Yuyan.

Even if this guy isn't the head of the CP (couple) movement, he's definitely a troublemaker who thrives on chaos.

He was about to explain when he suddenly remembered something, his expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly ran into the house.

"Hey? What's wrong with you? Am I that scary?"

Zhang Xinyue was stunned for a moment, then immediately grabbed the soy milk and ran after her. Seeing that the other person ran all the way to the kitchen and turned off the gas as quickly as possible, she realized what was going on and asked in surprise, "Are you making breakfast?"

"Ah."

Han Zhou glanced at the soup. Although it had been cooked for a little too long, there was no problem.

"A breakfast made with love?" Zhang Xinyue winked.

Han Zhou ignored her.

However, this was a very outgoing woman who quickly came over, twitched her nose, and then said with admiration, "Is this tomato and egg soup? That's amazing."

"What's so great about that?"

"Isn't that amazing?"

Confirming that the guy wasn't joking, Han Zhou took a deep breath, poured the soup into a bowl, and said, "This dish is probably only as simple as boiled cabbage."

"Boiling cabbage in water? Is that so simple?"

Han Zhou was taken aback, looking at the other person with a "Are you serious?" expression, and said with a look of horror, "You can't?"

Yes, it's horror.

"No way," Zhang Xinyue shook her head blankly. "I hardly ever go into the kitchen."

Could this woman be some pampered young lady who never lifts a finger?
Han Zhou sighed, looking a bit of a headache, and said, "First step, add water to the pot; second step, put the cabbage into the pot; third step... I don't need to teach you this step, right?"

"Yes, yes, what's the third step?" Zhang Xinyue asked with a curious expression.

“…Fire.”

Han Zhou no longer wanted to talk to this woman. He brought the soup into the living room, and Zhang Xinyue followed him out of the kitchen, glancing at Ouyang Lianyu's room.

Seeing that the other person's room door was closed, she knew what was going on and realized that the other person was indeed in the room. She couldn't hide her gossipy nature, but she held back from asking.

The tomato and egg soup on the table smelled better than any she had ever seen before. She shook the soy milk in her hand and suddenly forgot about the fried dough stick she had just dropped on the floor. She looked at Han Zhou pitifully and said, "This soup smells so good. Is there any for me for breakfast today?"

“Yes, you can.” This was a friend of Teacher Ouyang, and Han Zhou’s attitude was quite friendly. He nodded and said, “But you’ll have to find the bowl yourself.”

He had just searched the kitchen for ages and only found a bowl and a plate in the cupboard. He couldn't have been more conflicted.

"no problem!"

Overjoyed, Zhang Xinyue excitedly pushed open the unlocked door of the room, quickly took out two sets of bowls and chopsticks, washed them quickly in the kitchen, and then returned to the living room to prepare dinner. Her actions were quite swift.

Han Zhou looked bewildered and hesitated before asking, "If I'm not mistaken... you took this set of bowls and chopsticks from the room?"

“Yes.” Zhang Xinyue nodded.

Why aren't they in the kitchen?

Why in the kitchen?

Shouldn't the bowls and chopsticks be kept in the kitchen?

"Oh...you didn't know?"

Zhang Xinyue then realized what was going on and explained, "Because Sister Lianyu has difficulty moving around, it's easy for her to knock over bowls and plates in the kitchen while sitting in a wheelchair. Since Xiaomei and I moved away, we couldn't take care of her anymore, so we put the extra bowls in her room and only left her one set of tableware."

Han Zhou suddenly realized that Ouyang Lianyu's two roommates seemed to take good care of her, even considering things to this extent.

But can't we just put the bowls in the cupboard?
"That's it, I know."

He nodded, glancing at Ouyang Lianyu's room door. "That..."

"My name is Zhang Xinyue, you can call me Sister Xinyue, hehehe."

Why can you laugh so lewdly...?

Han Zhou suppressed the urge to complain and asked with a straight face, "Sister Xinyue... do you know how long Teacher Ouyang usually takes to get up?"

"You don't know?" Zhang Xinyue's eyes widened.

"I don't know." Han Zhou sighed. "Let me emphasize again, Professor Ouyang and I really are just teacher and student. I stayed here for the night for some reason."

"Oh, that's how it is……"

Zhang Xinyue deliberately dragged out the last syllable, clearly not believing it, but still answered Han Zhou's question, "Sister Lianyu gets up very punctually, usually no later than eight o'clock. You see, the time you prepare breakfast is just right, so you can have breakfast as soon as you get up, hehehe."

It's 7:58 now, and there are still two minutes until 8:00.

As if to confirm her words, the two people in the living room heard the door open at the same time the next second.

Ouyang Lianyu pushed her wheelchair out of the room. Her long hair was loose and she was not wearing makeup. Even without makeup, it was hard to find any flaws on her face. She just looked less mature and more youthful.

"Han Zhou, are you watching TV?"

She seemed a little sleepy, and as she spoke, she put on her glasses. Then she saw Zhang Xinyue in the living room.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Upon seeing her long-lost roommate, Ouyang Lianyu's first reaction was, of course, surprise and delight, given their good relationship. However, when she saw the strange smile on his face and Han Zhou standing helplessly to the side, she felt as if struck by lightning, instantly losing all sleepiness.

A feeling of tension and guilt arose spontaneously.

Although she had a clear conscience, it would be a lie to say she wasn't bothered at all that her friend knew she had spent the night with a student, especially since this friend herself wasn't exactly a respectable person.

Ouyang Lianyu forced herself to remain calm, a gentle smile appearing on her face: "Xinyue, what brings you here?"

"Are you free today? I've come over to move all the things I didn't finish moving before." Zhang Xinyue's smile remained unchanged.

"That's it."

Ignoring the other person's winking expression, Ouyang Lianyu continued to ask, "Didn't Xiaomei come with you?"

"Don't even mention that woman who forgot her friends for the sake of a pretty boy. She went off to enjoy some alone time with her boyfriend, and she was showing off in front of me for quite a while before she left."

Zhang Xinyue looked sour and sighed, "You all betrayed me. Now, out of the three of you, I'm the only one who's single."

She pretended to wipe the corner of her eye.

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Lianyu knew that the other party had indeed misunderstood, and quickly explained, "It's not what you think, Han Zhou and I are just..."

"It's just a normal teacher-student relationship, right? I understand, I understand."

Zhang Xinyue wore a knowing look on her face; she could obviously tell that the two weren't a couple and were just joking around.

Lianyu looked adorable, completely at a loss.

As expected, Ouyang Lianyu's face quickly turned red. It wasn't because she was shy, but anyone would probably feel embarrassed if they were mistaken for having an affair with a student.

"Alright, alright, Sister Lianyu, I was just teasing you. I never thought you'd find a partner before me. Look at your expression."

Zhang Xinyue was very satisfied with Ouyang Lianyu's expression and burst into laughter. She then turned to look at Han Zhou beside her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"I remember Sister Lianyu is a teacher at Linda University, right? Are you a student at Linda University?" "Yes."

Han Zhou's tone was perfunctory; he felt this woman was too noisy.

"Tsk, she's both beautiful and talented."

Zhang Xinyue patted his shoulder with an air of maturity, "Sister Lianyu is not a casual person. Since she is willing to bring you home to spend the night, it means she values ​​you. You must not let her down in the future, understand?"

"Xin Yue!" Ouyang Lianyu raised her voice, anxiously saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by betraying or not betraying?"

"Oh, I just wanted this kid to repay you by studying hard, that's all," Zhang Xinyue said with a smile.

Ouyang Lianyu had no choice but to look apologetically at Han Zhou: "I'm sorry, Xinyue is a very carefree person, and sometimes she's not very serious..."

"It's alright." Han Zhou shook his head and said, "I'm glad you don't mind, teacher. I've already made breakfast, come and eat."

"Thank you."

Ouyang Lianyu smiled and thanked her, then pushed her wheelchair to the table.

"That's great! I also want to find a boyfriend who can cook and cook for me every day."

Zhang Xinyue spoke with envy, then consciously sat down with her bowl in hand.

"Xin Yue, you..."

Looking at her irresponsible former roommate, Ouyang Lianyu smiled wryly, "You should learn how to cook. You said it yourself, Xiaomei has a boyfriend now. If she moves out one day, there will be no one to cook for you."

“I want to learn too, but Sister Lianyu, you know me. It’s not that I don’t want to learn, it’s just that I really don’t have the talent. Cooking is harder for me than taking the postgraduate entrance exam,” Zhang Xinyue said, distressed.

Han Zhou nodded secretly. The moment he heard the woman praise his tomato and egg soup, he could roughly guess the level of her cooking skills.

Zhang Xinyue chuckled and continued, "But don't worry about me. I will definitely find a boyfriend who can cook before Xiaomei moves out. And unless he is approved by me, I will not easily allow Xiaomei to live with another man."

She clenched her fists, revealing a resolute expression that suggested she would defend her best friend's happiness to the death, and then lowered her head to take a sip of soup.

Ouyang Lianyu smiled bitterly. She had heard Xinyue and Xiaomei talk about it before. The two were best friends since childhood and had been inseparable since they started school. They had made a promise that they could date in the future, but if they wanted to live together, the man's character had to be approved by both of them.

I wonder if these two will ever get married...

While she was thinking, Zhang Xinyue's eyes lit up, and she suddenly slammed her hand on the table and said in an exceptionally excited tone, "This is it, this is it! I'll use this as the standard when I look for a boyfriend from now on!"

Ouyang Lianyu was startled by her reaction. It took her a couple of seconds to understand what she meant by "standard". She looked curiously at the bowl of soup on the other person's table and asked, "Is it delicious?"

"It's more than just delicious!" Zhang Xinyue said before continuing to drink her soup.

Ouyang Lianyu felt that her roommate's performance was too exaggerated. She turned to look at Han Zhou, who, although also somewhat puzzled, straightened his back and showed an arrogant expression, as if a culinary god had been reincarnated.

She couldn't help but chuckle, and took a small sip. But she froze the moment the soup entered her mouth.

"It's really delicious..."

Ouyang Lianyu opened her mouth slightly and couldn't help but exclaim in praise, then held the bowl and took small sips of the drink.

She has a good understanding of her own cooking skills, which is that her food is not bad, so she doesn't keep too many seasonings in the kitchen.

She was quite certain that the kitchen only contained the most common seasonings such as salt, MSG, and soy sauce, yet Han Zhou had managed to create such a unique flavor using the same ingredients.

No wonder this guy was so confident...

At the same time, Ouyang Lianyu couldn't help but have a similar thought to Zhang Xinyue's—

This is indeed the standard to follow when looking for a boyfriend.

But that thought quickly turned into a bitter smile.

If we really follow this standard, then I'm afraid I'll have to stay single for life.
These two people's reactions are way too exaggerated...

Seeing that Ouyang Lianyu and the other woman both looked full of praise, Han Zhou was a little puzzled. Although he was confident in his cooking skills, he also knew very well that what he made was not a dish that would make people look so amazed.

It's just a bowl of tomato and egg soup, after all...

He picked up the bowl and tasted it, and soon showed a surprised expression.

The flavor was indeed unexpectedly unique; if I had to describe it, it was incredibly fresh, yet it didn't contain any special seasonings...

As if suddenly realizing something, Han Zhou immediately looked at the status bar and found that the "Culinary Proficiency" skill had disappeared at some point, replaced by a skill called "Culinary Mastery".

[Culinary Mastery: Your extensive study of food has honed your culinary skills to a new level. Your Culinary Proficiency has now been upgraded to Culinary Mastery—any food you create possesses a certain level of deliciousness (taste bud activation rate increased by 20%). In a focused state, you have a 30% chance of creating a fine dish (taste bud activation rate increased by 50%) and a very low chance of creating a superb dish (taste bud activation rate increased by 200%). These probabilities will fluctuate depending on the properties of the ingredients. Note that superb dishes are mildly addictive; frequent consumption is not recommended. It is best to wait at least one month between servings. If addiction develops, it is recommended to take a powerful remedy to eliminate the negative effects.]

After quickly reviewing the skill descriptions, Han Zhou was completely stunned.

He never thought he would be able to upgrade his skills through his own efforts. But the problem is that he hasn't been studying cooking lately. He only made a bowl of tomato and egg soup. Could it be because his proficiency level is already maxed out?
What a surprise.

"Mastering Culinary Skills" is a very practical and powerful skill. After all, everyone has a appetite, and no one can resist delicious food. Han Zhou himself is no exception. Just being able to make himself eat better is already a good skill.

More importantly, this is a skill that can be applied to others. After all, food is food, and there is no such thing as only the person who eats it being able to enjoy its delicious effects.

This has already been proven in the cases of Ouyang Lianyu and the other person.

Judging from the skill description alone, even the food he makes casually will be 20% more delicious than that of an average person. And when he is focused, there is a chance that he can create even more delicious gourmet food or even addictive gourmet food.

Food that can be addictive... it's terrifying to even think about.

The reason why this bowl of tomato and egg soup on the table is so delicious is obviously because it has been enhanced by the effect of "culinary mastery," which has amplified its so-called deliciousness.

However, what Han Zhou cares about most is the phrase "any food produced by your hands" mentioned in the skill description. The exact scope of "produced by your hands" is something that needs further research.

Imagine if this skill could be applied to some food production line. He wouldn't have to worry about making money anymore; delicious products would sell out easily. It's just that taking a stroll along the assembly line every day would seem a bit too much trouble...

"Hey! Hey! Han Zhou? Little Han Zhou! Little brother Han Zhou!"

Where did this guy get so many random nicknames...?

The noisy sounds around him pulled Han Zhou back to reality. He looked at Zhang Xinyue, who was holding an empty bowl across the table, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm asking if you'd be interested in being my chef!" Zhang Xinyue said excitedly.

Private chef? I've heard this job pays quite well, but the money comes in very slowly and it's very time-consuming...

Han Zhou's thoughts wandered, and he casually replied, "That depends on how much salary they can offer."

Zhang Xinyue raised her right hand with a mysterious expression.

"Five hundred?" Han Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly.

Zhang Xinyue was taken aback and quickly shook her head.

"Fifty?"

A clear smile appeared on Zhang Xinyue's face, and she nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Han Zhou looked thoughtful: "Five hundred thousand? That's something I can consider..."

Zhang Xinyue coughed twice and quickly corrected herself, "Fifty is correct, but there's no 'ten thousand' at the end."

Fifty? Not ten thousand... then it's a dollar? Look at my lips...

Han Zhou silently recalled a line from a movie in his past life, and firmly refused, saying, "I'm sorry, although this salary is very tempting, my priority right now is to study hard to repay Teacher Ouyang for his guidance."

He never intended to agree to the offer. The appearance of "proficient in cooking" broadened his ideas for making money, but being a private chef was definitely not a suitable job.

Ouyang Lianyu glanced at him helplessly, then shook her head with a light laugh.

If she could hire this guy as her private chef for fifty dollars, she might be tempted.

"Studying? No problem!"

Zhang Xinyue patted her not-so-ample chest and promised confidently, "Don't look at me like this, but I graduated with a master's degree. If it weren't for the trouble, I could easily have done a doctorate. Guiding you in your studies is child's play."

Han Zhou said tactfully, "I prefer to be alone when I'm studying, and I'm not used to having people around me."

“That’s not a problem. I can teach you via video, online teaching. That way you’ll be alone. Actually, the kitchen is quite quiet. I used to love studying there.”

Han Zhou was startled. Who taught you this way of being alone? He pretended to be embarrassed: "I'm a bit socially awkward, I'm afraid of contact with strangers..."

"Really? I didn't realize that... But it's okay, I'm She Niu. You can be my personal chef, and I can teach you how to get along with people. Besides, we're not exactly strangers. Is there anything else you need to ask?" Zhang Xinyue said expectantly.

Han Zhou was silent for a moment: "I don't like shameless people."

"Me too... Wait, what do you mean?"

"The literal meaning." Han Zhou said without changing his expression.

"you……"

Looking at the two people in front of her, who were talking back and forth, Ouyang Lianyu had a headache on her face. She got up and silently served herself a bowl of soup.

I don't quite understand what you mean by saying that you can tell the chapter content is just filler just by looking at the title. Would you only be happy with clickbait titles? I've never denied that my updates are bad, but I've never filled in filler chapters. If I were going to fill in filler chapters, I wouldn't have stopped updating.

After finishing a chapter with care, the review I received was that it was just filler. I don't know what to say. Maybe it's just a waste of passion? In my understanding, slice-of-life stories are about the fun things that happen in everyday life. If you think that not focusing on the romance between the male and female leads every day is filler, then I have nothing to say.

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(End of this chapter)