Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Given Tang Man was a "patient," Sheng Yao had no choice but to dutifully help her move things into the villa.

Tang Teng found a guest room and went to wash up, oblivious to the commotion downstairs. Since they still had more goods to pick up, the items from the car were casually piled in the villa’s living room.

"Do you have any other cars? Your sports car is too small. If we use it for transport, we might not get any sleep tonight."

His beloved car criticized, Sheng Yao instantly added another flaw to his impression of Tang Teng’s sister: no taste!

But she wasn’t wrong. Eager to finish the "porter" job early and hit the clubs, Sheng Yao scoured the villa and found a few car keys. He then took her to the underground garage via the elevator.

Tang Man immediately spotted a seven-seater black SUV.

"Let’s take this one! It’s spacious."

"My family owns something this ugly?!" Sheng Yao was genuinely appalled.

Tang Man: "..."

After getting in, Sheng Yao started the car and confirmed everything was working before preparing to leave—only to be stopped by Tang Man.

"Wait a second!"

"What’s wrong, sis?" Sheng Yao asked patiently.

Without answering, Tang Man climbed into the backseat and swiftly removed all the seats, stacking them outside the car. Her movements were practiced, as if she’d done this countless times before.

Sheng Yao: ???

Sheng Yao: !!!

Tang Man dusted off her hands and sat back down. "Relax, I’ll put them back once we’ve hauled all my stuff."

"Sis, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you do for work before?" Sheng Yao asked after a moment of silence.

"Just a regular office worker. By the way, Xiao Teng told me you’re really kind and have helped him a lot. Thank you so much..."

"No, no, it’s usually Tang Teng who helps me more. I’m just helping out today..." Sheng Yao felt a little embarrassed by her praise.

"Don’t be modest. Xiao Teng wouldn’t lie. If it weren’t for you and your mom, we’d be homeless tonight! Tell your mom to come here tomorrow morning—I’ll cook breakfast to thank you both."

A mental alarm bell went off in Sheng Yao’s mind.

"No—"

"Call your mom first and ask if she’s free." Tang Man cut him off, handing him his shattered phone. She locked eyes with him, clearly not backing down unless he made the call.

Since she was his good friend’s sister and seemed genuinely grateful, Sheng Yao bit back his annoyance and reluctantly took the phone to call his mom.

"Hey, son, why’re you calling so late?" Tang Man could faintly hear his mother’s gentle voice.

"Mom, do you... have classes tomorrow morning? Um... Tang Teng’s sister wants to thank us for letting her stay here. She’d like to cook breakfast for us..." Sheng Yao mumbled under her watchful eye.

"Sure! I don’t have classes tomorrow. I’ll come over, and I’ll make lunch too—let your friend try my cooking."

"Auntie, could you come earlier? I’m worried about traffic during rush hour," Tang Man cut in.

There was a brief pause on the other end before his mother replied, "Okay."

After hanging up, Sheng Yao mentally pegged Tang Man as "eccentric."

It took them three or four more trips to move everything. Instead of storing the items in the villa, they piled them in the underground garage, which had direct elevator access and was conveniently located next to the garden.

By the time they finished, it was almost 3 a.m.

"Since we’re having breakfast here tomorrow, why don’t you stay the night instead of going to your uncle’s? Save the hassle," Tang Man said with a smile.

Caught off guard, Sheng Yao nodded awkwardly.

Tang Teng had been waiting in the villa’s lobby with Zhongqiu and had fallen asleep.

Zhongqiu woke up at the sound of footsteps, immediately jumping out of Tang Teng’s arms and running to Tang Man, nuzzling her insistently and purring softly.

Tang Teng stirred awake, blearily checking his phone. "Sis, why are you back so late? And what’s with all this stuff in the living room...?"

"It’s late. Go to bed first—I’ll explain everything tomorrow."

With that, Tang Man headed straight to the kitchen to soak glutinous rice, leaving Tang Teng to bottle up his questions.

After washing up, Tang Man fidgeted restlessly in bed, running through a mental checklist of supplies she still needed but had no time to gather.

After lying awake for a while, she checked her phone and noticed a yellow app icon. A lightbulb went off.

She sat up, opened the delivery app, and hired a task rabbit to buy various crop and vine seeds—any kind, the more the better.

On top of the delivery fee, she added a four-figure tip, with the condition that everything had to arrive by 8 a.m.

Zhongqiu, roused by her shuffling, wriggled out from under the covers and curled up on her lap before drifting back to sleep.

Tang Man scratched its chin, kissed its forehead, and tucked it back in.

Less than two hours later, her phone rang—the courier had arrived but was stopped by security.

Tang Man grabbed whatever clothes she could and dashed to the gate to let him in.

The courier had honestly managed to get three full woven bags of seeds.

"Here are the receipts. Want to check them?" He handed her a wad. "You were in such a hurry—most shops weren’t even open. I had to knock on doors to get these..."

"No need." Tang Man paid him. It wasn’t even 7 a.m. yet.

She grabbed some chocolates from the house and handed them to him. "Go home and lay low today. Don’t go out unless you have to."

The courier thought she was odd but kept his thoughts to himself, given her generous tip.

After seeing him off, Tang Man went upstairs to clean up and change before heading to the kitchen.

The glutinous rice was ready. The kitchen was loaded with utensils and seasonings. She cleaned a steamer, laid down some cheesecloth, and poured in the rice, venting it with holes with chopsticks.

When the flame ignited on the stove, she instinctively flinched back, her hands trembling slightly, as if seeing the fire from her past life—flames crawling up wisteria vines, engulfing her body. The ghost pain of burning skin made her heart hammer against her ribs, her breath coming in gasps.

Leaning against the counter, she took deep breaths until she calmed down.

The side-by-side fridge was stuffed with fresh ingredients, obviously kept well-stocked.

Tang Man pulled out a box of pumpkin, chopped it up, gave the millet she’d bought yesterday a quick rinse, and dumped it all in a blender. After adding water, she fired it up and covered it with the blender's soundproof cover.

She fetched hot water from the dispenser to knead the dough and roll out wrappers, planning to make their hometown specialty—beef shaomai (steamed dumplings). Only hot-water dough could produce the translucent wrappers.

Then she chopped shiitake mushrooms and minced beef, marinating the beef with salt, black pepper, soy sauce, and other seasonings before sautéing it until aromatic.

Though mentally prepared, being so close to the flames still made her forehead bead with sweat.

Once the filling was ready, the glutinous rice was also steamed. Tang Man transferred the rice to a mixing bowl, adding salt, soy sauce, sugar, lard, and the stir-fried mushroom and beef mixture, mixing thoroughly while hot to ensure every grain was coated in sauce.

Then she began folding the dumplings. Her fingers moved with practiced ease, her movements graceful and fluid, forming a shaomai in less than three seconds, each one resembling a blooming chrysanthemum.

The large bowl of glutinous rice was soon wrapped up, the finished shaomai piled high on the counter.

She arranged them in the steamer and continued steaming.

It was exactly 7:30 a.m., and the two upstairs were still asleep. After a moment’s hesitation, she went up and knocked on their doors.

Tang Teng opened his door quickly, but Sheng Yao’s took a full five minutes of knocking before he answered.

"Who is it? What’s with the racket so early in the morning? Stop banging!" Sheng Yao swung the door open, scowling.

He wore nothing but black briefs, his hair a disheveled mess, eyes bleary with sleep, and sleep crust at the corner of his eyes—clearly still half-asleep.

Tang Man: "..."

Sheng Yao: !!!

The moment he saw who was outside, Sheng Yao snapped awake and slammed the door so hard it rattled.

Tang Man hesitated, then decided to check her steamer in the kitchen first.

Just as she finished laying out breakfast and tableware, a middle-aged woman in a black dress, topped with a white fur stole and wearing seven-centimeter heels, strode into the villa through the front door.

Her long hair cascaded loosely over her shoulders, gleaming softly under the light, sleek as a shampoo ad model’s. One hand held a pearl clutch, while the other carried a shopping bag filled with ingredients.

Spotting Tang Man, she set down the bag and approached gracefully, her face lit with a gentle smile. "Oh, you must be Tang Teng’s sister! Did you prepare all this? Young people these days rarely cook. You’re quite the talented cook..."