Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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Despite the many changes in this life compared to the previous one, there were still many things that could be prepared for and plans set in motion.

Li Jia met Ye Chengxing's gaze. From her breathing pattern or her expression, it was impossible to tell that the Omega had just returned from the downpour outside, almost right before Ye Chengxing.

Ye Chengxing noticed the pen in Li Jia's hand. "Were you writing something?"

Li Jia curved her eyes in a gentle smile and softly replied, "The morning tutoring session ended, and my teacher left me some worksheets."

Ye Chengxing listened attentively as she spoke. After Li Jia finished, she paused for a second before asking, "How do you feel about it?"

"It's alright; I can keep up. The teacher is very responsible and explains things well," Li Jia's face held a constant smile. After saying this, she blinked, and the corners of her lips suddenly formed an even sweeter curve. "I really... am grateful to you, Sister." If not for the high level of authority she had been given, doing what she wanted and making certain moves would not have been as convenient, easy, and swift.

Ye Chengxing clearly did not think Li Jia was referring to another matter. From her perspective, she assumed Li Jia meant the current tutoring and school situation.

"There's no need to mention it..."

As she spoke, Ye Chengxing seemed to notice something and suddenly said, "Wait a moment."

She leaned closer and gently touched the ends of Li Jia's long hair, seemingly confirming, "Did you just take a shower? Don't forget to dry your hair."

Li Jia's pupils constricted for a split second as Ye Chengxing suddenly drew near. However, upon hearing Ye Chengxing's words, she restrained herself and remained still.

Ye Chengxing withdrew her hand and, upon finding only the tips of Li Jia's hair slightly damp, assumed Li Jia must have already dried her hair. She felt relieved.

She was now quite worried about Li Jia getting sick or catching a chill and having a fever again. During the check-up, she saw that due to the continuous years of unbroken suppressants, Li Jia's health was far from good. On the surface, it seemed fine, but internally, Li Jia's condition was as fragile as paper, unable to withstand any more unexpected events.

Li Jia's eyes subtly narrowed at the sight.

It seemed Ye Chengxing hadn't noticed anything.

She tightened her grip on the pen in her hand, showing no change in expression. She smoothly changed the subject, "I just finished drying my hair... Have you eaten, Sister?"

Although Ye Chengxing returned around afternoon time, she actually hadn't had lunch. Meals in this world could be quickly resolved with nutritious liquids, which were very convenient to consume. However, Ye Chengxing clearly didn't want to drink them anymore. She also didn't want to spend so much money on what she considered subpar "cuisine."

However, Li Jia's question reminded her. The groceries and cooking utensils bought during the outing had yet to be brought inside. She had instructed the bodyguards behind her to bring them back in batches. They were likely stored in the smart warehouse by now. After confirming with Xiao Bai, she asked him to transfer the ingredients and cooking utensils into the kitchen, including some larger items.

It couldn't be denied that while this world lacked culinary delights, the corresponding high technology was indeed very convenient.

While instructing Xiao Bai, Ye Chengxing answered Li Jia, "Not yet."

"I haven't eaten either," Li Jia smiled brightly. "I was waiting for you to come back so we could eat together."

Upon hearing Omega's words, Ye Chengxing stood in place for two seconds before lightly coughing and responding, "Alright... let's eat together."

At these words, the smile on Li Jia's lips became even more pronounced. "Then, Sister, wait for me to put away my pen and tidy up the table. I'll be down soon."

However, the instant she turned around, the smile vanished from Li Jia's face, replaced by a cold expression.

Ye Chengxing watched the Omega's back, unaware of the change in Li Jia's expression. She subconsciously raised her fingertips to touch her hair, recalling the pen in Li Jia's hand that hadn't been capped yet. It seemed Li Jia had come down in quite a hurry. Regardless, it felt nice to come home and find someone waiting to eat with her. She felt a bit embarrassed and decided to tell Li Jia later that she didn't have to wait for her. Eating properly and on time was most important.

At this moment, Xiao Bai had nearly finished setting up the kitchen. The original body rarely ate at home, preferring to dine out with friends. Therefore, there was no chef at home, only some high-grade nutritious liquids. Overall, the kitchen was quite empty.

With the items Ye Chengxing bought now arranged inside, the empty kitchen instantly transformed.

Ye Chengxing thought about Li Jia's words about waiting for her to return to eat together and decided to cook three meals a day from now on. She really couldn't stand the nutritious liquids, especially when she imagined sitting across from each other drinking them as their meal. In her mind, eating was a different experience.

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but recall the meals her family made before she died and crossed over. The whole family would sit around the table, lively and cheerful. There were no rules like not speaking during meals. The atmosphere was always relaxed and pleasant. Whenever she felt exhausted, a simple meal at home would immediately restore her energy.

...She missed home.

She wondered what her physical state was like in the other world. Based on the system's previous indications, her body in her own world probably wouldn't perish. After all, she could revive and return once she completed her mission. So, perhaps she was in a vegetative state?

Ye Chengxing sighed.

She suppressed her sentimental emotions, rolled up her sleeves, and entered the kitchen. Since Li Jia hadn't come down yet, she decided to start cooking.

Perhaps because gourmet food was difficult and expensive to prepare, the prices of ingredients and cooking utensils in this world had skyrocketed.

These common vegetables and meats that she saw as ordinary were priced at tens of thousands. Moreover, the quantities were small, likely enough for just a few meals before needing to buy new ones. Some seasonings and pots and pans had reached exorbitant prices, and functional kitchen equipment was even more expensive.

She understood why everyone was accustomed to drinking nutritious liquids. The cost of cooking was truly too high, not to mention that no one knew how to cook, and there were no cookbooks available. If they failed, it would be a waste of real money. Nutritious liquids were indeed a better option.

Ye Chengxing's cooking skills were honed during her studies abroad. At that time, she disliked the food in that country and found it unpalatable, so she started cooking herself. Her culinary skills improved rapidly through practice.

She took out some ingredients and recalled Li Jia's taste preferences from the original text.

In the original plot, there was a mention of Li Jia's taste preferences, but it was in the late stages, when Li Jia was almost completely darkened. At that time, Li Jia particularly favored sweet dishes.

However, those were the taste preferences of the late-stage Li Jia. It was uncertain if the early-stage Li Jia would enjoy them.

Ye Chengxing started steaming rice and decided to make sweet and sour spareribs, along with two stir-fried vegetable dishes.

Speaking of which, the kitchen equipment and utensils in this world were somewhat different from those in her previous world. Although the shapes looked unfamiliar to her, the overall functions were similar, and the efficiency was higher.

After mentally reviewing the method for sweet and sour spareribs, Ye Chengxing focused entirely on cooking. She cut the spareribs and blanched them. After removing the blanched spareribs, she prepared to mix a sweet and sour sauce. While mixing, she realized she was missing a seasoning bottle and turned to retrieve it.

Upon turning around, she discovered Li Jia standing behind her at some point. The distance between the Omega and her was a bit close. Seeing Ye Chengxing look over, Li Jia slowly and lightly smiled.

Though she smiled, Ye Chengxing felt a chill run down her spine. Being unexpectedly approached by someone behind her had genuinely startled her. However, the feeling dissipated considerably upon seeing it was Li Jia. She couldn't help but laugh and tease, "You walk so quietly, Li Jia. You don't make any sound."

Li Jia softly hummed in acknowledgment. Taking advantage of Ye Chengxing turning to get the seasoning, she slightly shifted her body and inconspicuously stowed away the folding knife in her hand. "I was curious about what you were doing, but I didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't make much noise."

At this point, her eyelashes fluttered. "Sister, did I... scare you? I'll let you know next time. Please don't dislike me."

Ye Chengxing hurriedly shook her head. "Of course not."

Hearing Li Jia say this, she felt her heart melt.

Afraid of disturbing her, I hardly made a sound; how could that be annoying? She was clearly like a little angel.

After fetching the seasoning, she returned and saw Li Jia with her hands behind her back. The Omega still seemed apologetic and guilty for startling her, so Ye Chengxing's tone softened even more as she said, "This is your home, you can come in whenever you want, there's no need to feel any qualms."

She opened the bottle of seasoning and answered, "I'm making sweet and sour pork ribs now, later I'll fry up a couple more dishes, I just don't know if they'll suit your taste..."

Ye Chengxing paused, then when she spoke again, her tone carried a hint of nervousness, but more evident was her genuine concern: "Li Jia, what do you like to eat?"

Ye Chengxing asked so naturally that Li Jia was momentarily taken aback.

What did she like to eat?

Her gaze swept over the bottles of seasoning and the ingredients laid out on the side, and Li Jia suddenly felt like she understood what Ye Chengxing was doing.

Initially, she thought Ye Chengxing might tamper with the food, but looking at it now... she was preparing to win her heart.

There was no way Ye Chengxing actually knew how to cook; she must have been putting on a show.

The Omega curved her crimson lips into a smile, her long lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. "I'm not picky, I can eat anything." She wanted to see what Ye Chengxing would produce after all this preparation.

Cooking herself, even years later in the future from this point in time, there were still no recipes available.

Where did Ye Chengxing, an uneducated second-generation heir, learn this from? This psychopath really dared to make things up, did she think Li Jia had no common sense?

Despite her cold sneer inside, Li Jia's expression remained unchanged. "But I've never seen the whole cooking process before, Sister, I want to stand here and watch."

Ye Chengxing was still pondering over Li Jia's words, "I'm not picky, I can eat anything," worried that the Omega was being polite and didn't want to express her preferences, so she decided to observe more in the future.

Hearing Li Jia say she wanted to watch her cook in the kitchen, she hummed in acknowledgment.

The smile on Li Jia's lips grew more pronounced.

She believed she had seen through Ye Chengxing's act: first, she made a big show of buying these expensive ingredients and cooking utensils, then asked about her preferences. Most likely, the finished dishes had already been ordered and were waiting to be delivered. She didn't believe Ye Chengxing could actually cook; it was all a ploy.

Now that she wanted to stay and watch, Ye Chengxing must be hesitating. After all, with her watching, Ye Chengxing's plan to merely put on a show would likely fall apart.

She was genuinely curious to see how Ye Chengxing would handle this lie.

Ye Chengxing did have some reservations.

While cooking efficiency had improved due to advanced equipment in this world, it still required some time. For someone accustomed to nutritional fluids, cooking this way might seem too slow.

Pausing, Ye Chengxing said, "It might take a while, why don't you sit on a chair?"

After saying that, she instructed Xiao Bai to bring a chair in.

Looking at the placed chair and then at Li Jia, whose expression had become somewhat rigid, she took two seconds to react. Could it be that Li Jia felt awkward?

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Ye Chengxing understood, so her tone became even more considerate. "It's fine, come, sit down."