Chapter 978: Ambition of Pei Weiyi

November 22.

Silver flakes of snow covered the earth, turning everything white.

At the Fan Family’s Orchid Garden, today Gu Lan had rare free time, taking a break from her busy farming business to come and sit. Fan Wubing set up a warm house at the edge of the Orchid Garden, preparing various delicacies sourced from all over Celestial South, such as Shadow Light Fish from Qixia Lake, Golden Ball Mushroom from Baiyun Mountain, Thorny-toothed Porpoise from the Changyang Frozen Sea… all personally selected by him at the best times.

Planning to have a hotpot meal. When it snows, one must eat something hot; otherwise, even if the body isn’t cold, the heart would get cold.

Gu Lan walked into the warm house, and while Luo Qingyao helped her remove the snowy cloak, leaned in close to her ear and quietly shared some good news about her senior brother. Luo Qingyao could come up with such a good idea, thanks largely to Gu Lan helping her regain confidence.

After hearing it, Gu Lan laughed, “That’s quite bold.”

Luo Qingyao’s face slightly reddened, “It’s just a one-time exception for senior brother… I definitely won’t do it again in the future.”

Gu Lan covered her mouth, chuckling silently. She could see from Luo Qingyao’s expression that it was not just for senior brother, she was also enjoying herself, full of happiness. Nonetheless, she considered that a positive thing. People must learn to appreciate themselves; otherwise, they’d inevitably get caught up in all sorts of comparisons.

Inside the warm house, the hotpot was bubbling, the fragrance of spices and various ingredients wafting around.

At this moment, Fan Wubing came over holding a large tray from the nearby small stove,

“Make way, make way!”

The tray was filled with today’s hotpot ingredients, an array of more than twenty types at a glance.

Today they encountered Fan the chef’s specialty skills, he himself particularly enthusiastic, wearing a chef’s hat with an apron tied around his waist that appeared unusually lively.

Upon seeing his attire, Gu Lan jokingly said, “You, a dignified Human Emperor, true monarch, still afraid of oil stains on your clothes?”

Fan Wubing clicked his tongue and said, “This you don’t understand! Cooking, to me, is a hobby, and what’s important in hobbies is a sense of ceremony. The apron must be there, and the chef hat must be there too. Just like when you tend the fields, despite any dust, you still must wear farmer’s attire, right? A robe doesn’t go into the field, just as a long shirt doesn’t go near the stove.”

Gu Lan smiled gently, “Your talent for speaking isn’t lacking either.”

Fan Wubing chuckled, “You sure don’t know whether my talk is good or not?”

Gu Lan first froze, then blushed awkwardly, “What are you saying!”

Luo Qingyao showed a playful smile,

“If you ask me, your skills with your hands aren’t far behind either.”

Gu Lan was a reserved and subtle person, these words in her ears felt like a burning coal, her head nearly started smoking,

“Qingyao, what are you saying!”

When the two were misled, Fan Wubing, the instigator, began feigning innocence, speaking earnestly and confidently,

“Of course, in all the world, there’re few whose cooking skills match mine.”

Luo Qingyao and Gu Lan stared at him.

Fan Wubing sat by the hotpot, blinked innocently, “What’s the matter? Aren’t we talking about cooking skills?” Then, suddenly enlightened, raised his pinky finger disdainfully and said, “Junior sister, you’re too shameless! Don’t spoil Senior Sister Gu Lan.”

Luo Qingyao furiously pounced, fiercely biting his shoulder, loudly grumbling,

“You fool!”

Fan Wubing yelled, “Are you a dog!”

Gu Lan chuckled, “Alright, enough messing around, the pot is boiling, let’s start cooking.”

After all the commotion, the winter chill vanished without a trace.

Gu Lan curiously looked around and asked,

“Where’s Man’Er?”

Hearing this question, Fan Wubing tilted his head, the light in his eyes dimming somewhat,

“Don’t mention her.”

“What’s wrong? Did you two have an argument?” Gu Lan was a bit surprised; she thought Man’Er and Wubing were the least likely to quarrel.

Fan Wubing replied listlessly, “Qingyao, you explain.”

Luo Qingyao laughed cheerfully and said, “Actually, it’s nothing serious, purely because senior brother is too clingy, Man’Er finds it unbearable, so she’s just hiding away for a while.”

“I told you to explain, not to speak nonsense!” Fan Wubing grew anxious.

Luo Qingyao, feeling triumphant, smugly raised her eyebrows at Fan Wubing.

Then, she seriously explained,

“Recently, Man’Er got fascinated by Earth’s various technological products, particularly high-tech electronic products, from household computer processors, graphics cards to supercomputers, from digital cameras to large space telescopes, she’s practically obsessed, spending all day locked in a small room researching. Whenever you talk to her, within three to five sentences, she’ll definitely steer the conversation to various tech products. Coincidentally, this period senior brother is quite clingy… Senior sister, you get it.”

Gu Lan smiled slightly, expressing agreement. Nevertheless, she personally enjoyed it; were it not for the farming busy with extending influence at the Eternal Sea, with so many affairs, she would be glad to have Fan Wubing cling to her every day.

Fan Wubing vigorously defended himself, “I’m not clingy! That’s just normal emotional enhancement!”

Luo Qingyao didn’t argue, continued saying, “Then Man’Er ran away.”

“Where’d she go?” Gu Lan asked.

“To the Qi Yuan Star Domain to find Xiaohong. Xiaohong also likes studying these things, so they share the same interests.”

Gu Lan said, “I never noticed before, that Man’Er would have such hobbies.”

Luo Qingyao laughed and said, “But it’s tough for my senior brother; ever since coming back from the Void Realm, he’s not even kissed Man’Er once. Senior brother keeps suspecting whether his appeal to Man’Er is less than a computer graphics card.”

Fan Wubing flushed red, “I never said that!”