No one understands rebirth better than me

Chapter 261 Helping My Sister Inspect the Goods
One life two, two beget three, three beget all things.

Just like teaching Gu Wancheng to cook.

If there is a first day, there will be a second day.

If there is a second day, there will be a third day.

By the time the third day had passed, Gu Wancheng no longer needed to say things like "Let's continue tomorrow," as Guan Ren had tacitly started going to the Gu family's house every day on his own initiative.

……

"Guan Ren..."

"what?"

"Thank you for your help this time, I'm sorry to have taken up your summer vacation time..."

"It's alright, it's alright. I was bored a few days ago, so I initially asked Luo Xiaobei out, and I was also planning to ask You Liye out later..."

"..."

"Uh! This... Mapo tofu, it's best to thicken it three times with cornstarch!"

……

Learn to cook.

We can't be too rigid.

It can't be learned like math, where you learn addition and subtraction one by one, then multiplication and division.

In Guan Ren's words, learning to cook should be done "by the grain," like how old Beijingers drink fried liver.

To put it simply, you have to be exposed to everything during the learning process; the more you see, the more you learn.

For example, on the fourth day, Guan Ren came knocking on the door very early in the morning.

dong dong dong-

"Who?"

"Teacher Gu, it's me again."

Gu Wancheng was surprised that Guan Ren had arrived so early. Still half-asleep, she opened the door.

squeak-

The door, about half a palm's width wide, was pried open.

"Teacher Gu... Teacher..."

"?"

Guan Ren was halfway through his enthusiastic greeting when Gu Wancheng noticed that his expression suddenly turned a little strange. After frowning, she suddenly realized that she had just gotten up and hadn't changed her clothes yet, so she quickly looked down.

Thankfully, I did wear my pajama bottoms properly.

Last night, unlike usual, I didn't take off my clothes halfway through my sleep.

The problem is that her tank top, which she wears to bed, is very thin and close-fitting.

Since it was morning, two mysterious little bumps were clearly visible...

boom--!
The door was slammed shut.

"Teacher Gu!"

Guan Ren immediately offered a sophistry:

"I didn't see anything!"

Silence followed behind the door.

Only a series of hurried footsteps receding into the distance remained.

Guan Ren belatedly stroked his chin, lost in thought.

Ok…

It seems that my previous attempt at sophistry was worse than not making any at all...

But to be honest, that moment of stunning beauty did indeed shake Guan Ren's heart quite a bit, and it was something he could never forget.

----------

This is because it is in the teachers' community.

The neighbors above, below, left, and right are very likely all teachers from one of the classes at Jiangzhou No. 2 Middle School.

Therefore, Guan Ren was also very mindful of his image. After Gu Wancheng left without saying a word, he didn't knock on the door again and just waited silently outside.

squeak-

Five minutes later, the sound of the door opening rang out again.

Guan Ren, who was idly picking at the "Locksmith King" advertisement on the wall, turned his head and saw that it wasn't Gu Jia who opened the door.

It's the house opposite the Gu family's.

Like Guan Renjia's old neighborhood, the teachers' residential area has two households facing each other on each floor.

"Depend on……"

Guan Ren's heart skipped a beat.

Even though he had been here for several days in a row, he hadn't actually run into any other familiar teachers in the neighborhood.

What if the person living across from Gu Wancheng is a teacher she knows? Then wouldn't that mean... that means...

Hey, that's not right.

It seems... it's nothing, right?

Guan Ren thought about it again. As a student visiting Teacher Gu's house, it wouldn't be strange if he didn't teach the teacher how to cook, but at least asked some questions.

Why is he panicking?
It's like you're doing something sneaky... Pshaw!

Guan Ren's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, immediately settled down.

Immediately afterwards, an old lady came out of the door across the street.

Guan Ren didn't know him.

At the same time, Gu Wancheng opened her door and paused for a moment when she saw the old lady across the hall. She recognized her as a retired teacher from Jiangzhou No. 2 Middle School.

"Tsk, aren't you going in yet?"

Gu Wancheng quietly urged Guan Ren to come in, and then politely greeted the old lady after Guan Ren entered.

Good morning, Teacher Zhou.

"Hey."

Teacher Zhou smiled kindly.
"Has Xiao Gu finally found a boyfriend?"

"Eh…"

Gu Wancheng was taken aback, then opened her red lips to explain:

"Teacher Zhou, you've misunderstood. He...he's my student, I..."

"Hahaha."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Zhou burst into laughter:
"I understand, I understand, these young people nowadays..."

As Teacher Zhou spoke, she leaned close to Gu Wancheng's ear mysteriously:

"Back when my husband was still alive, I did the same thing. After finishing my job as a teacher at school, I'd occasionally tutor him at home too~ Hahaha..."

"..."

"That's great, that's great. Sweetness is better than anything else."

Teacher Zhou waved her hand and went downstairs to buy groceries with a cheerful smile.

"Teacher Gu? Aren't you going to close the door yet?"

"Well, here we come."

"Huh? Teacher Gu, what's wrong with your face..."

"Nonsense, isn't it because you suddenly woke me up that my blood rushed to my head and my face turned red? Is there a problem?"

Gu Wancheng wiped her cheek and glanced at Guan Ren indifferently:

"Why are you here so early today?"

"Oh, today, I'd like to take you grocery shopping."

"Buying groceries?"

"Yes, there's a lot to know about buying groceries. I'd like to see what you usually pay attention to when buying groceries. Let's go."

So, Guan Ren and Gu Wancheng went grocery shopping together.

Along the way, Gu Wancheng really learned a lot of tricks she didn't know before, and her understanding of Guan Ren, a student who was already somewhat special, was further enriched.

When I got back from grocery shopping, it was almost 10:30.

Guan Ren then helped her prepare the dishes.

"hiss…"

"Did you cut your hand? Are you alright, Teacher Gu?"

"...?!..."

"I'm...sorry! Well, when I saw my injured finger, I...I just instinctively put it in my mouth..."

"..."

"Teacher Gu, you can rest today, I'll take care of it."

"It's okay, continue."

……

Gu Wancheng put on a band-aid and continued to practice on her own.

She has always been this strict with herself since she started learning to cook.

And it is making progress slowly.

However, perhaps due to limited talent, Gu Wancheng's progress was indeed relatively slow.

……

"...Teacher Gu, it's ready, time to add the scallions and ginger..."

"...Hey! Put less rice wine in, Teacher Gu!..."

"...Teacher Gu, be careful not to get burned!"

In the end, despite Guan Ren's strict oversight, the plate of stir-fried pork with chives at noon was still turned into blackened jerky by Gu Wancheng.

"..."

Gu Wancheng scooped the black jerky out of the pot.

She stared at the plate without saying a word for a long time.

Guan Ren could still sense that even the stubborn Gu Wancheng was somewhat frustrated at this moment.

"Guan Ren."

"Hey, Teacher Gu."

Gu Wancheng kept staring at the plate, then paused:

Am I actually quite stupid?

"no!"

Guan Ren was decisive and exceptionally serious:
"Teacher Gu, it's not that you're stupid, it's that the pot is stupid. It's all the pot's fault."

"..."

Gu Wancheng turned her face away, so Guan Ren couldn't see her expression, but he seemed to see her shoulders twitch twice.

"Teacher Gu, you...you smiled?"

Gu Wancheng stopped shrugging her shoulders, paused for a moment, and then turned her indifferent, pretty face:
"What are you laughing at? Is it funny? When have you ever seen me laugh?"

"what……"

Guan Ren blinked blankly, wondering if he was hallucinating again...

"Luckily, I left half...you can cook it."

"Uh-huh."

Guan Ren's performance was worth two men's.

Soon, a beautifully prepared meal of three dishes and a soup was served.

Just like a few days ago, Guan Ren rinsed the pots and pans briefly and soaked them in water.

When she returned to the table, she found that her bowl had been filled to the brim with food.

He looked at Gu Wancheng with some surprise.

Gu Wancheng just kept her head down and ate her own food.

“Gu…”

"Eat quickly, you'll have energy for the night."

"You have strength?"

Something about that sounds weird...

"If you have the energy, continue teaching me how to make shredded pork with chives. Is there a problem?"

"No, no, no... but Teacher Gu, we might have other plans for our class tonight."

Other arrangements?

Gu Wancheng didn't think much about it at the moment.

But around 5 p.m., Guan Ren took her out again.

"where to?"

"Let's go out to eat!"

"Eating out?"

"Yes! You could also call it restaurant exploration! Teacher Gu, trust me, even with home-style dishes, going to a restaurant to experience the food can help improve your cooking skills."

Since Guan Ren had said so, Gu Wancheng naturally agreed.

----------

"Teacher Gu, would you like some candied hawthorns?"

"You're already a high school student..."

"What does this have to do with age? Besides, snacks are also part of cooking skills, and they're worth learning, Teacher Gu... Boss, two, please."

"..."

On the way to the restaurant, Guan Ren cracked jokes and occasionally grabbed some snacks.

Gu Wancheng wasn't very interested at first.

But this person is shameless and makes up all sorts of excuses.

Besides, they were away on holiday, and their teacher-student relationship seemed distant. Gu Wancheng didn't want to say anything to him, so she reluctantly participated in many things with him.

Snacks are only part of it.

Gu Wancheng even played ring toss and balloon popping a few times at his urging.

Finally, we arrived at the restaurant and enjoyed a delicious and comfortable dinner.

"Guan Ren, how is this soup made?"

"do not know."

"..."

"Hey, Teacher Gu, don't ask anymore. Just relax and enjoy the food!"

"hehe."

Gu Wancheng sneered.

Is this what he meant by coming to a restaurant to experience culinary skills?
However, considering that it was summer vacation and she had already taken up the students' summer vacation time, Gu Wancheng ultimately didn't say anything.

not to mention…

From morning until now, Gu Wancheng's whole day has actually been... quite satisfactory.

However, what Gu Wancheng didn't know was...

This place was originally the restaurant that Guan Ren planned to visit on his date with Gu Youli tonight.

Unfortunately, Gu Youli has been away these past few days.

So Guan Ren thought, since he had nothing better to do, he might as well give it a try with Gu Wancheng.

It's a new restaurant after all.

Gu Wancheng is a kind older sister who always thinks of her younger sister, so tonight, let's just say the older sister is helping her younger sister check out the goods~
(End of this chapter)