Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Fu Han's hair was tousled by Lanxiu. He slowly lifted his head, a red ring of teeth marks under his eye, his eyes wide as saucers, utterly petrified.

Lanxiu couldn't help but laugh.

"Even if you don't see me as a grandfather, I can absolutely treat you like my own grandson. Everything in the house, the property under my name, including the research lab—if you have the ability to earn everyone's respect, I can even hand over the 16th Military Region to you. Just keep me company, huh? Take pity on this lonely old man, how about it?"

Fu Han, who had been too scared to speak a moment ago, instantly seemed to snap out of it. His entire face visibly fell as he stared at Lanxiu, the killing intent in his eyes rivaling that of the Gorgon Medusa.

"Scram!"

Lanxiu watched as the kid stormed toward him, then stomped one foot squarely onto his gleaming military boots. The leather uppers were thick, but grinding down with that much force still hurt. And Fu Han was using all his strength.

Lanxiu winced in pain, and only then did Fu Han snort and let him off the hook.

Watching Fu Han's retreating figure, Lanxiu wondered if the kid had misunderstood something. He quickly explained, "I wasn't trying to take advantage of you just now. I genuinely like you a lot!"

Fu Han didn't even turn his head: "And I genuinely find you annoying as hell! Scram!"

Lanxiu, having been inexplicably chewed out, awkwardly rubbed his nose. Could it be that he had phrased something wrong? Or maybe his attitude wasn't sincere enough?

Raising a kid these days was just way too hard...

A few days later, Dr. Gray personally came to Fu Han's doorstep to apologize, carrying a bulging package stuffed full of farm produce.

Looking at Dr. Gray bowing repeatedly to him, Fu Han felt a bit at a loss. He really hadn't been that mad. Even if he had gotten upset at the time, it was all directed at Lanxiu.

Dr. Gray bowed to him again. "Mr. Fu, what happened yesterday was truly unintentional! You know how men are—when their wives aren't around, they tend to brag and talk big. But deep down, Lanxiu actually respects you a lot. I've been friends with him for over a decade, so I can tell!"

Fu Han had already said he didn't mind, but Dr. Gray kept apologizing as if he couldn't understand his words.

Lanxiu unceremoniously grabbed a few citrus fruits from the bag Gray had brought and tossed them to Fu Han. "Try these. The soil in his orchard has a higher salt-alkali content, so the fruit comes out especially sweet."

Then he fished out an apple for himself, didn't even wash it, just wiped it on his sleeve a couple of times and took a big, crunching bite.

Watching Lanxiu bite off nearly half the fist-sized apple in one go, Fu Han frowned at the sight of that supposedly small mouth of his.

Was this some kind of hybrid between a gaping maw and a cherry mouth?

Noticing Fu Han frowning at him, Lanxiu assumed he didn't like the citrus, so he found some mangoes and pears and tossed them over. "Don't be shy. Dr. Gray usually doesn't give these away to just anyone. It's only because of you that I get to eat his fruit even once a year."

After eating fruit for a while in the living room, at Lanxiu's insistence, Dr. Gray gave Fu Han a full check-up. He was worried the aphrodisiac spray from yesterday might have left some aftereffects.

Actually, Fu Han hadn't been keen on it at first, thinking it was overkill. But then Lanxiu suggested they do his enlistment physical at the same time, so he agreed to cooperate.

Dr. Gray worked with practiced efficiency, finishing the check-up in under half an hour.

"How is he?" Lanxiu asked eagerly.

Gray handed him the report. Lanxiu looked it over—the kid's basic physical condition was even better than he'd expected.

"Looks like he'll have no problem joining the training camp next week."

Lanxiu was delighted, but Fu Han's expression remained neutral, revealing neither willingness nor reluctance.

Around meal time, Lanxiu invited Gray to stay for lunch. Initially, Dr. Gray was quite happy to accept, but when he learned that the household service robot had been sent in for repairs, his expression changed instantly, and he practically bolted for the door.

Fu Han watched in bewilderment.

By the time Gray reached the door, it was too late; Lanxiu had already engaged the automatic lock.

Lanxiu stood behind him, patting his shoulder with a smile. "You agreed just now to stay for lunch. Why the sudden change of heart, old buddy? Not giving me face like this—I'm going to get upset."

Gray turned to face Lanxiu's treacherous smile and wanted to cry but had no tears. "I just remembered I have an appointment. Can I..."

"Of course not! Whatever work you have can wait until you've had a full meal."

With that, he grabbed Gray by the collar and dragged him to the kitchen to work.

Fu Han didn't understand the bizarre interaction between the two, but curiosity got the better of him, and he followed.

Lanxiu's house only had a kitchen on the first floor, usually run by Eliza. Fu Han had never been inside before. He looked at the various utensils on the cabinets—a rice cooker, a toaster oven, a kettle, and a heating stove—all topped with measuring cups for water and oil precise to four decimal places.

This was a ridiculous level of precision. Did it make the food taste better?

Only a robot like Eliza could achieve such accuracy. If he tried to use these machines by hand, he'd probably never get a meal cooked in this lifetime.

But Lanxiu didn't use the automatic cooking machines. Instead, he walked straight to a sliding door. Behind it, the wall resembled a disassembled Rubik's Cube, covered in colorful cabinets.

He casually opened a sea-blue cabinet, and a pungent, foul smell rushed out, making both Fu Han and Gray pinch their noses.

Fu Han walked over and looked at the jar inside. "What's this?"

"Have you ever had tofu?"

Fu Han nodded. "Yes, but never this stinky kind."

Lanxiu lifted the jar out and set it on the floor. "Exactly. This is stinky tofu. It smells awful but tastes amazing."

Fu Han watched as he opened the lid, took out a lump of black, seemingly long-fermented tofu, placed it on a plate, and set it on the table with relish. Fu Han looked away in disgust, clearly not buying it.

Next, Lanxiu opened the yellow cabinet above his head. Inside was another blue-gray jar, but this one didn't stink. When he opened the lid, it was full of green-shelled duck eggs. After cracking and peeling one, the inside was a deep yellow, semi-translucent.

Fu Han's eyes lit up this time because he had seen this food in The Illustrated Guide to Ancient Blue Star Foods.

"This is century egg, right?"

Lanxiu, who had been brandishing a kitchen knife with enthusiasm, slowed down and nodded at Fu Han's words.

Fu Han grew even more curious. He walked over and watched the round, golden century egg split in two under the blade, revealing the luscious yolk inside. It looked exactly like the cross-section in the guide.

But how strange—Lanxiu was a native of Baiyao Star. How did he know how to make ancient Blue Star food?

Fu Han stared blankly at the century egg on the cutting board. Lanxiu thought he was craving it, so he picked up a piece from under the knife and fed it to him.

Feeling the other man's fingers pull away from his lips, Fu Han realized something had been stuffed into his mouth. It was his first time eating century egg, so he didn't dare bite down immediately. He swirled his tongue and felt a sticky, yogurt-like texture in his mouth. Not particularly pleasant, to be honest.

Then he saw Lanxiu pick up a piece himself, chew a few times, and swallow. Only then did Fu Han try chewing. The taste wasn't bad—a bit astringent, but the more he chewed, the more flavorful it became, especially the yolk. After swallowing, he grabbed another piece and popped it into his mouth.

Lanxiu smiled. "Not bad, huh?"

Fu Han nodded. "It's pretty good."

Hearing that, Lanxiu's grin widened. "Glad you like it. I'll cut some more."

Dr. Gray, who was peeling garlic on the side, watched with a sour expression. Every time he came to Lanxiu's place for a meal when Lanxiu was cooking, he was guaranteed to encounter these weird and wonderful things.

Stinky tofu, century eggs, fermented bean paste, and even sour cabbage.

Dr. Gray was puzzled—why would anyone deliberately let perfectly good ingredients turn sour and stinky instead of eating them fresh? Wasn't that just crazy?

So he never understood Lanxiu's way of eating, which he thought was a terrible waste. And to be honest, those foods weren't even tasty; at most they just had a stronger flavor than ordinary food.

But Fu Han had accepted them so easily—could it be that he was the one who was different from normal people?

Before long, the whole table of dishes was ready. Gray was in charge of washing the ingredients, Lanxiu was responsible for cutting and cooking, and Fu Han's only job was carrying the dishes to the table.

Even though many of the dishes were unfamiliar to Fu Han, he knew they were all from the ancient Blue Star cuisine, just like the century eggs, and tasted similar to the dishes from Noah City.

After eating for a while, Fu Han couldn't help asking, "Did you learn all this by yourself, or did someone teach you?"

During the days he had been here, Eliza had always been the one cooking at home. He had never seen Lanxiu cook in person, and judging by his usual carefree attitude, he couldn't picture him as the domestic type. Unexpectedly, Lanxiu not only could cook but also knew quite a variety of dishes—way better than Fu Han.

When that question came up, both Gray and Lanxiu stopped eating and looked at Fu Han, catching him off guard. He realized too late that he might have asked a forbidden question.

Lanxiu looked down, his expression turning somewhat strange. He smiled and said, "A friend taught me. If you want to learn, I can teach you another day."

Fu Han raised an eyebrow. "Is your friend also from Bluestars?"

Lanxiu hummed in agreement. "Sort of."

"‘Sort of’? Aren't you friends? Didn't he even tell you which star he's from?" Fu Han thought his vague answer was weird.

But before he could get an answer from Lanxiu, there was a crisp crack, and the rice bowl shattered, spilling rice and food everywhere.

Fu Han was stunned, and Dr. Gray was too.

Lanxiu stood up, placing his chopsticks on the table. "Sorry, you two go ahead. I'm full."