My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 11 Chen Xiaomiao Cooks

Lu Yuan was so shocked by Zhao Qiang's mind-blowing thought process that he was speechless for a long time.

"Did the tow truck haul your brain away with it?"

"How to talk!"

Zhao Qiang rubbed his hands excitedly: "Dude, marrying her is a prerequisite for inheriting your estate, right? In your wealthy family's terms, this is called a 'marriage alliance'! Right?"

Lu Yuan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt that saying even one more word to this guy would be a waste of his life.

"Zhao Qiang, let me give you some advice."

"What?"

"Uninstall this novel first!"

"I'm asking you seriously, why did you bring her back?"
Why deliberately avoid high-speed rail and airplanes, and instead drive a beat-up car for thousands of kilometers on the highway? Isn't it all to create some alone time and nurture the relationship?

Lu Yuan was impressed by Zhao Qiang's imagination, completely gave up on communication, pushed open the door, got out of the car, and left.

Chen Xiaomiao followed Lu Yuan into the community gate and leaned forward to ask curiously, "Lu Yuan, what were you and your friend whispering about in the car just now?"

Lu Yuan said succinctly, "He asked if you are my wife."

"It won't work!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaomiao shook her head vigorously, declaring, "I'm not going to be your wife!"

"..."

Lu Yuan paused, feeling a strange tightness in his chest.

"I never intended for you to be my wife!!!"

"That's good!"

Chen Xiaomiao patted her chest, breathed a long sigh of relief, and her face showed genuine joy.

Lu Yuan felt even more choked up...

As they passed by the community's property management office, Lu Yuan gestured for Chen Xiaomiao to stop and then signaled to the young woman at the front desk.

"Hello, I am Lu Yuan, the owner of the 10th floor of Building 2. My sister is coming to stay here for a long time, could you please record her face?"

Chen Xiaomiao was pushed in front of the camera by Lu Yuan, and she froze like a wooden stake, not daring to move.

"Miss, please lift your head a little higher, yes, don't move... Okay, recorded, Mr. Lu."

After leaving the front desk, Chen Xiaomiao belatedly asked, "Lu Yuan, were you taking a picture of me just now?"

"more or less."

Why take pictures?

"For your convenience when you come and go in the future."

Lu Yuan came up with an analogy she could understand: "Just think of this community as a big village, and the security guards at the village entrance and this machine are like the gatekeepers."

From now on, your face will be your travel guide; only when the machine recognizes you will you be allowed into the village.

"Oh……"

Chen Xiaomiao nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Arriving at the apartment building, Lu Yuan pointed to the security camera on the door: "Go try it, stand closer and look at it."

Chen Xiaomiao followed the instructions and approached the camera. With a soft "beep," the unit door clicked open automatically, accompanied by a sweet electronic female voice.

"Welcome home!"

"Wow!"

Chen Xiaomiao jumped back in surprise: "Lu Yuan, it really knows me, and it can even talk!"

After the door closed automatically, she leaned her face closer.

"Beep! Welcome home!"

The door opened.

Close it.

Get closer.

"Beep! Welcome home!"

Close it again.

……

"Have you had enough fun?"

Only after Lu Yuan spoke did Chen Xiaomiao sheepishly turn her head back and obediently follow him into the elevator.

After entering the house, Lu Yuan helped Chen Xiaomiao change into slippers, threw his bag on the sofa, and glanced at his phone; it was almost ten o'clock.

"Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"

Lu Yuan started swiping through the food delivery app.

Exhausted from his long journey, he was both tired and hungry. He planned to eat something, take a shower, and then get some sleep.

Chen Xiaomiao was still curiously looking around the house when she heard this and subconsciously asked, "Whatever I want to eat, you can have it?"

"As long as it's not dragon liver and phoenix gall."

"Steamed buns, I want to eat steamed buns!" Chen Xiaomiao blurted out, "preferably hot ones!" "..."

Lu Yuan paused, found a well-reviewed steamed bun shop, and ordered two bowls of soup porridge and several steamed buns.

While waiting for the takeout, Lu Yuan began to show Chen Xiaomiao around the house.

"You'll stay in this room from now on. I'll go with you to buy the bedding and sheets you need later."

Chen Xiaomiao peeked inside, touched the soft mattress, and asked again to confirm, "Lu Yuan, is this your house?"

"It's my home."

"So I'll be living here from now on?"

"Hmm... If you want to stay, then stay."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Chen Xiaomiao couldn't help but grin sheepishly. Then, as if remembering something important, she hurriedly asked.

"Lu Yuan, where is your kitchen?"

Are you going to cook?

"I'm not going to eat and stay for free."

Chen Xiaomiao said seriously, "Although you said you can deliver whatever you want to eat, I reckon it will definitely cost money, which is not cost-effective."

Since I'm living in your house, it's my duty to serve you. As for whether you treat me like a maid or... whatever, that's your business.

Lu Yuan didn't say much. There was really no way to deal with Chen Xiaomiao's "I'll be your slave to repay you" mentality for the time being.

He led Chen Xiaomiao to the kitchen, where a variety of Chinese and Western kitchen utensils were readily available on the U-shaped worktable.

Although my father used to cook at home, my mother always liked to buy a lot of kitchen utensils that she didn't use or rarely used, calling it "managing the household." Over time, the kitchen inevitably became cluttered.

Lu Yuan began to act as a temporary instructor: "This is a refrigerator, which is like a cellar back then, used to store and keep food fresh. Feel it."

Chen Xiaomiao leaned closer and felt a blast of cold air hit her face. She exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, no wonder it's called a refrigerator. But why is there nothing inside..."

Looking at the empty refrigerator, Chen Xiaomiao was full of questions.

Although Lu Yuan repeatedly emphasized that he was not a rich young master, he should still have enough to eat and drink, so why was there not even a little bit of leftover food in the "cellar"?

Lu Yuan ignored Chen Xiaomiao and continued to introduce them one by one.

"This is a gas stove, the switch is here..."

"The faucet, just like the showerhead, has cold water on the left and hot water on the right..."

"This thing is called a range hood..."

Chen Xiaomiao found everything fascinating and kept exclaiming "Oh oh!" But her ability to learn far exceeded Lu Yuan's expectations; she memorized most of it after just one reading.

"How about I try cooking a dish?"

She opened the refrigerator, took out the few eggs and a bunch of wilted greens that were left, and volunteered to show off her skills.

"Row."

After confirming that the seasonings, oil, and salt were not expired, Lu Yuan nodded in agreement and leaned against the door, quietly watching to make sure Chen Xiaomiao wouldn't blow up the kitchen.

Following Lu Yuan's instructions, Chen Xiaomiao turned on the gas stove, then heated the pan, poured in oil, and cracked eggs...

His movements were fluid and graceful, showing that he was quite skilled.

Soon, a delicate fragrance filled the kitchen.

Since his parents passed away, Lu Yuan has been alone in the house most of the time. The last time he cooked in the kitchen was when Zhao Qiang brought his girlfriend over for a visit and made two dishes.

Suddenly hearing the sizzling sound of the wok, smelling the oily smoke mixed with the aroma of food, and seeing that slender figure busy in front of the stove, Lu Yuan felt a strange sense of sentimentality.

He lowered his head and rubbed his nose, not knowing what to do, so he took out his phone and kept refreshing the delivery progress.

The food was ready when the takeout arrived.

"Lu Yuan, hurry up and try it, how's my cooking?"

Chen Xiaomiao looked at Lu Yuan with anticipation.

Lu Yuan picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Ideals are lofty, but reality is cruel.

Chen Xiaomiao lived in an era of scarcity and had not received professional chef training. Although she cooked a lot, her skills were only passable.

The eggs were a bit overcooked, the vegetables were overcooked, and the flavor was rather bland.

Lu Yuan nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"Great, delicious!"

"hey-hey!"

Chen Xiaomiao was beaming with pride after being praised by Lu Yuan. She picked up a steamed bun from a takeout delivery and took a big bite.

The next second, her smile froze, her brows furrowed, and her expression turned strange.

Lu Yuan noticed something was wrong with her and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Chen Xiaomiao swallowed the food in her mouth, looked at the steamed bun in her hand with a puzzled expression, and then looked at Lu Yuan.

"Lu Yuan, why is this steamed bun sweet?"

(End of this chapter)