Dumplings
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In the evening, after Lin Nan slathered on some ointment, she returned to her rental apartment.
The sting from the scraped skin was bearable. After all, she had experienced the intense pain of her period a few times before, which had significantly boosted her tolerance for pain.
Plopping down on the couch, Lin Nan intended to play on her phone, but upon looking up and catching a glimpse of Chen Yao’s concerned expression, she let out a low groan.
With puppy eyes, she looked at Chen Yao and whined, “It hurts…”
Chen Yao was taken aback. They hadn’t seen Lin Nan in such a pitiful state when they were out. Still, he rushed to reassure her, “It’s okay, okay! Should I go buy you some medicine?”
“I want dumplings.”
“Alright!”
“Only if you make them yourself.”
“But the nearest market is like a ten-minute bus ride…” Chen Yao hesitated, not out of laziness, but because he worried it wouldn’t be good for Lin Nan to be alone at home while injured.
However, Lin Nan blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “But you promised to make me dumplings at noon! I’m hurt and want a good meal.”
Chen Yao panicked, hurriedly grabbing a tissue, and frantically wiped away her tear.
“I’ll go buy you some meat filling right now, and you’ll have to make them!”
He quickly dropped everything, instructing, “You just stay put and don’t run around. I’ll be back in about half an hour.”
“Okay, I want pork and shrimp filling.”
Hearing her affirmation, Chen Yao dashed out the door, rushing off to buy meat filling for Lin Nan.
Once he left, Lin Nan’s tears dried up immediately. She happily rubbed her red eyes, but when her gaze fell on her scraped knee, she fell silent again.
Time to conjure up a magic spell to boost my physical condition.
It wasn’t even about losing face during fitness tests.
Having poor physical fitness really did bring her a lot of inconveniences.
Back when she was delivering takeout, Lin Nan had thought about this kind of magic. Now, a little reflection led her to pinpoint the next magic spell to unlock.
But who knows if Lilith will hate me more after this misunderstanding.
Lin Nan felt a sudden urge to write her will.
A direct spell to boost physical fitness was quite advanced, and the unlocking method would definitely test her limits.
But since she couldn’t directly enhance her body, an endurance-boosting magic should be a roundabout approach.
Magic Conversion: Convert magic power into stamina… This was a toggled type of magic; once activated, it would continuously consume magic power. If her magic was sufficient, it could effectively become a passive spell.
After all, she had gathered her magic from the ground!
Determined, Lin Nan stood up and headed to the bathroom to shower. With an impassive face, she changed into her thick, fluffy cat pajamas and came out of the bedroom, ready to blow-dry her hair when Chen Yao returned, bags in hand.
As soon as he stepped inside, he grumbled, “Pork is so d*mn expensive now! Thirty bucks a pound!”
While looking at Lin Nan, who was blowing her hair in front of the mirror, he asked, “It’s so hot; aren’t you afraid of getting heat rash in those pajamas?”
“I’m fine, I’ll just use the air conditioning,” Lin Nan replied, glancing at the mountain of items on the coffee table, and asked in surprise, “Why did you buy so much stuff?”
Though she had a spell that let her ignore temperature, she still needed to put on a show when it came to Chen Yao.
“You’re not living like a millionaire, are you? Aren’t you craving dumplings? So I had to buy some seasoning—scallions, ginger, garlic and whatnot. I even brought the induction stove and utensils from the dorm.”
Well, that makes sense.
Lin Nan looked at her reflection in the mirror, feeling a bit off. She instinctively rubbed her thighs together, furrowing her brow, her complexion growing a bit flushed.
Pulling at her pajamas, she noted that while it felt fluffy and comfy, the inner lining seemed a bit rough, making her skin itch.
Though her hair wasn’t particularly long, after blowing it for a few minutes, it was still only half dry. Losing her patience, Lin Nan tossed the hairdryer aside and glanced at Chen Yao, who was busy preparing the filling and starting to make the dumplings.
“Hey, you can’t even cook, so let me handle the seasoning.”
“Didn’t I say that after you left my place, I went to learn how to cook at a restaurant?” Chen Yao rolled the dumpling with a practiced hand, making Lin Nan almost believe him.
But really, could someone who messed up frying an egg be trusted to season the dumpling filling?
Lin Nan worried she’d end up with a stomachache tonight. “Wait, let’s pack some dumplings later. Let’s boil these first and taste the seasoning.”
“You just don’t trust me! Look how good I’m wrapping these!” Chen Yao confidently showcased a neatly wrapped dumpling, puffing his chest out. “Thin skin, big filling, I guarantee it’ll be delicious!”
Seeing his confidence, Lin Nan decided not to argue further, fearing it might crush his ego.
She picked up the pot, ready to give it a good wash, only to find there were no tools. With a sigh of resignation, she groaned, “Are you a big idiot? You brought the pot, but what about the dish soap and sponge?”
“Leave them! Your hand is scraped; don’t wash the pot! I’ll finish wrapping, then you can clean up.” Chen Yao raised his head, a bit more assertively, “If you’re free, just go play some games. You’ll have food in about an hour, so don’t mess things up.”
So Lin Nan plopped down onto the sofa, muttering, “I’m trying to help… Besides, your cooking skills are terrifying. What if it’s inedible?”
“Didn’t you tell me to buy the meat filling and wrap them myself?”
“Sure, you can wrap them, but the seasoning is another story…”
Lin Nan was still thinking about testing the seasoning with some dumplings first.
If she didn’t have something to distract her, she wouldn’t feel at ease.
Sitting beside Chen Yao, she uncomfortably glanced down at her legs, her face involuntarily flushing red.
Why am I reacting like this? If I had known this would happen, I would have unlocked a different magic spell!
“What’s wrong?” Chen Yao noticed her odd behavior, teasingly asking, “Are you getting a little flustered?”
Lin Nan shot him a glare, “You’re crazy!”
“Turn on the computer and find any drama. I’ll wrap dumplings while watching.”
“Do it yourself!” She suddenly stood up and stomped into the bedroom, slamming the door shut.
Chen Yao, who was still in the living room making dumplings, froze. Looking at the locked bedroom door, he furrowed his brow, pondering what he might’ve said to upset Lin Nan.
Was she not happy about him making the dumplings? Just earlier, she was cheerful about the idea of them. Now that he was actually making them, she was suddenly angry?
Was it because he didn’t let her handle the seasoning?
Surely a joking comment couldn’t have thrown her off this much?
Chen Yao looked down at the substantial amount of meat filling, unable to shake off the headache, and shouted, “Are you still going to eat the dumplings or what?!”
“Of course!”
Women’s moods really are unfathomable.
Lin Nan’s emotions changed way too fast, didn’t they? She was in tears while craving dumplings, and now that the meat was bought, she was flipping out?
