Chapter 400: Kitchen Killer

He stood up and paced around the room a few times, then suddenly stopped in front of the wardrobe.

The wardrobe doors were shut tight, but the corner of a black piece of clothing was sticking out from the gap at the bottom.

Curious, Chen Erbao opened the wardrobe door.

Inside, all the clothes were hanging neatly on the rack, except for a pile of black fabric that had fallen to the bottom.

He bent down to pick it up, and just as he was about to put it away, he paused.

'This piece of clothing…'

'It's so strange.'

Chen Erbao spread the garment out and studied it for a moment.

The fabric was very thin, like pantyhose, and it was clearly an undergarment. But the style was bizarre. The top was like a tank top, but the bottom formed an inverted triangle with a strap, and there was a zipper in the middle...

Chen Erbao stared at it for a long time but still couldn't figure out how it was supposed to be worn.

He tried holding it up this way and that but couldn't find the right way to put it on. He did, however, catch a faint, pleasant scent on the clothing.

It was different from the perfume scent on Zhao Ruoying and her bed; this was a lighter, more delicate fragrance...

Subconsciously, Chen Erbao brought the inverted triangle part up to his nose and sniffed. Suddenly, the sound of the door opening came from behind him.

"Er Bao, you..."

Chen Erbao turned his head and froze when he saw Zhao Ruoying, who had just burst in.

Zhao Ruoying's eyes widened as she saw Chen Erbao holding the black bodysuit—and pressing it to his nose. Her face instantly turned scarlet.

"What... what are you doing!"

Chen Erbao hurriedly explained,

"I... Your clothes fell. I was just picking them up for you!"

Zhao Ruoying rushed in front of Chen Erbao, snatched the strange little garment away, and stuffed it under the quilt. She turned back and glared at him.

"You're such a pervert!"

Chen Erbao felt like he was being unjustly accused.

"I'm really not a pervert... I mean, I just saw your clothes had fallen and picked them up. I happened to smell a scent, and since the company is getting into the perfume business lately, it was a reflex. I just took a sniff..."

Zhao Ruoying didn't believe a word he said. She pushed Chen Erbao out and slammed the door shut.

"Don't wander off! Come help me chop vegetables!"

"Oh, okay."

Chen Erbao was completely baffled. 'It's just a piece of clothing, not underwear...'

'Besides, is there any part of you I haven't smelled? Is there really a need to be so shy?'

He walked into the kitchen, washed his hands, and picked up a kitchen knife to start chopping vegetables.

"Ruoying, how do you wear that piece of clothing from before? I studied it for ages and still couldn't figure it out..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Ruoying pinched the soft flesh of his waist, her face bright red.

"You're not allowed to ask!"

"..."

'Why are you blushing so hard?'

Chen Erbao was thoroughly confused.

Once the vegetables were chopped, Zhao Ruoying began to cook.

I have to admit, Zhao Ruoying did seem to have some cooking skills. At the very least, the stir-fry she made looked quite appealing. As for the taste...

"Er Bao, come taste it and tell me how it is."

Zhao Ruoying handed a pair of chopsticks to Chen Erbao.

"Huh? Me?"

Chen Erbao hesitated.

'She cooked it but won't taste it herself? She's making me taste it. Something's definitely fishy.'

"You try it. I've had a cold the last couple of days, so my sense of taste is off."

Seeing Chen Erbao shrink back, Zhao Ruoying's elegant brows furrowed slightly.

"Are you saying you think my cooking is bad?"

"Of course not..."

"Then why won't you taste it?"

"Didn't I just say? I've recently..."

"Heh, you're a Cultivator. You can catch a cold?"

Zhao Ruoying watched Chen Erbao's clumsy performance with a cold smile.

Seeing this, Chen Erbao sighed helplessly.

"Fine, fine, I'll taste it!"

Seeing him pick up the chopsticks and lift a piece of meat to his lips, Zhao Ruoying said expectantly,

"This is my first time cooking. Go on, try it..."

Chen Erbao had just been about to put the meat in his mouth. Hearing this, he immediately pulled the chopsticks away and stared at her, stunned.

"Didn't you say you were a good cook?"

Zhao Ruoying tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded.

"I am."

"It's your first time cooking, and you're a good cook?"

Chen Erbao was dumbfounded.

"Well, I used to cook in online mini-games. I was really good at it, I could even get a score of ninety-five."

"..."

Chen Erbao was frozen on the spot.

'That counts?'

Seeing that Chen Erbao still seemed unwilling to eat, Zhao Ruoying's expression turned cold again.

"You don't believe in my abilities?"

"It's not that I don't believe you..."

"Then eat."

Facing Zhao Ruoying's menacing glare, Chen Erbao sighed, closed his eyes, and popped the piece of meat into his mouth.

"Mmm... hmm? Hey, this isn't bad!"

Chen Erbao chewed a couple of times. His knitted brows gradually relaxed, and his eyes even lit up slightly as he chewed with relish.

Zhao Ruoying's eyes widened at the sight, and she beamed with delight.

"How does it taste?"

"It's great, but it would be perfect with a little more salt next time. You try it!"

Chen Erbao casually picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and held it to Zhao Ruoying's lips.

Zhao Ruoying happily opened her mouth and bit down on the meat. She had barely chewed twice before her beautiful face scrunched up.

A bitter, salty taste exploded in her mouth, nearly overwhelming her taste buds and bringing tears to her eyes.

She couldn't hold it in any longer and spat it out into the trash can.

"BLECH... You..."

Zhao Ruoying looked up and glared at Chen Erbao, only to see him spitting out the meat with a contorted expression as well.

"It's not good at all! You lied to me!"

Zhao Ruoying had to rinse her mouth several times to get rid of the strange taste.

Chen Erbao chuckled.

"Ruoying, don't force yourself next time. Doesn't the village government have a cafeteria? The food is even free. Don't mess around with cooking yourself. It'd be embarrassing if you ended up in the hospital one day!"

Furious, Zhao Ruoying raised her fists and hit Chen Erbao's chest twice, but the blows were light and weak.

"You're the one who'll end up in the hospital! This was definitely an accident. I'll try again..."

"Don't. Let me do it. My cooking might not be great, but at least it's edible. If you try again, it'll be dark by the time we eat!"

Zhao Ruoying thought about it and agreed. She took off her apron and helped Chen Erbao put it on.

Chen Erbao's cooking philosophy was one of "brute force." Whatever was quick and easy to make, he'd eat.

There was rice cooking in the rice cooker. Chen Erbao looked in the fridge and found some garlic scapes and a small piece of meat, so he took them both out.

He simply chopped the garlic scapes into sections, washed them twice, then diced the meat. After preparing some green onion, ginger, and garlic, he started heating oil in the wok.

"SIZZLE..."

As the ginger and garlic hit the wok, a fragrant aroma began to fill the air. After tossing in the meat, Chen Erbao turned the heat to high, added some seasonings, and began to stir-fry.

Finally, he added the garlic scapes, a little water, and put the lid on!

"That's it?"

Zhao Ruoying had been watching the whole time. 'It hasn't even been ten minutes, and he's already done?'

Chen Erbao said confidently,

"Don't worry. It might not taste like it's from a fancy restaurant, but it definitely won't be bad."

Zhao Ruoying rolled her eyes at him.

"Who's that supposed to be a jab at?"

"No one..."

The two of them returned to the living room to wait for the food to be ready.

"If you don't know how to cook, why did you buy meat and vegetables and put them in the fridge?" Chen Erbao asked, puzzled.

"Xiang'Er knows how. She was cooking for me at home a couple of days ago."

"Oh? She can cook?"

Chen Erbao hadn't expected that sensitive little girl to know how to cook.

'I'll have to get a taste of hers sometime!'