Oh no! I've only been a freshman and I've already been targeted by a mean upperclassman.

"Follow the cooking order. First, make the scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Then, make the shrimp and tofu. The scrambled eggs with tomatoes cook quickly, so making them first helps keep them warm. The shrimp and tofu needs to be thickened with cornstarch, so making them last will result in the best texture when served."

Li Chen looked at the row of ingredients.

"How many tomatoes did you buy?"

"Three."

"Two and a half is enough."

"Most of it is excess. When you cut a tomato, the first cut always removes the excess around the stem. The wastage rate is about eight percent. The net weight of three tomatoes is exactly the amount you usually use."

He picked up the tomato and twirled it in his hand.

"Have you calculated the wastage rate when I cut tomatoes?"

"You made scrambled eggs with tomatoes twice in Beijing. The first time you used two and a half eggs, and the second time you used two and a half eggs."

"The waste from the stems is 32 grams and 29 grams respectively, averaging a little over 30 grams. The total weight of the three tomatoes is about 560 grams, with a loss of 30 grams, resulting in a net weight of 530 grams. The amount of tomatoes you use for scrambled eggs is between 500 and 550 grams."

Li Chen placed the tomato on the cutting board.

"Weighing things the whole time you were in the kitchen?"

"I estimate by sight." Yan Xi picked up an egg and cracked it against the rim of the bowl. "Teach me how to crack an egg. Last time I cracked one, two pieces of shell broke off."

He walked to her right and stood slightly behind her.

"Relax your wrist. Don't smash it. The thinnest part of the rim should be at the three o'clock position."

Yan Xi held up the egg.

"Strength?"

"Your problem last time wasn't about the strength."

"It's the angle."

"You rotated your wrist inward five degrees when you cracked the egg. The crack in the eggshell went astray along the grain."

Yan Xi adjusted her wrist.

Kneel down.

The eggshell cracked. The egg white and yolk fell intact into the bowl. There were no broken shell pieces.

"And this time?"

"Full marks."

Yan Xi's lips twitched slightly. She kowtowed four times in a row, all cleanly and neatly.

"You learn things too fast."

"You taught me well." Yan Xi picked up her chopsticks and stirred the egg mixture. She stirred it clockwise, just like him. "You stir eggs clockwise. Your mother stirs them counter-clockwise. You learned it from your mother, but you're right-handed, so clockwise is more comfortable for you, and that's why you changed."

Li Chen lit the fire. Left stove. The oil temperature began to rise.

"You go first." He took a step back.

Yan Xi carried the egg mixture to the stove.

What should the oil temperature be?

"Reach your hand about ten centimeters above the pot. If you can feel the heat and moisture, it's ready. If you can feel the dry heat, it's ready."

Yan Xi reached out and tried it.

"Dry and hot. But the temperature is a bit low."

"Wait five more seconds."

Five seconds later, she poured the egg mixture into the pan. With a sizzle, the egg mixture rapidly expanded at the bottom of the pan.

"Turn over." Li Chen stood behind her. He didn't touch her.

Yan Xi picked up the spatula and flipped the egg. She wasn't quick enough; a small piece of the egg skin burned along the edge.

"The translation is too slow."

"I know," Yan Xi said, her eyes fixed on the pot. "I'll be faster next time."

She chopped up the scrambled eggs and placed them on a plate.

Then look at the charred edge.

"You can have this one."

Why?

"It doesn't look good when it's burnt. I can't give it to anyone else. Here, take it."

Li Chen smiled.

"Okay. I'll eat the burnt bits."

Yan Xi turned to chop the tomatoes. With the first cut, the stem was precisely removed. Waste fell to the corner of the cutting board.

She made three cuts. Then she stopped.

"You're watching my swordsmanship."

"You're more secure now than you were in the capital."

"Your mom taught me how to cut along the grain of the food. I practiced." Yan Xi didn't turn around. "You don't need to stand behind me the whole time. I won't cut myself."

"I know you won't."

"Then why are you still standing?"

"Looking at you."

Yan Xi paused for a second.

Then I continued cutting. A little faster than before.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

He didn't take it out.

Group 302. He knew. It was probably Wang Qiang asking if he was there again.

He didn't want to watch.

The tomatoes were put into the pan on the stove. Yan Xi's grip on the spatula and stirring was much more natural than last time. The angle of her wrist was correct, and the pressure was even.

She glanced back at him.

"score."

"Eighty-five."

"Where should it be clipped?"

"When you're stir-frying, your left hand is too far forward on the edge of the pan. You're likely to get burned. Move it back two centimeters."

Yan Xi adjusted the position of her left hand.

"And now?"

"ninety."

"What about the remaining ten points?"

Li Chen walked to her side and swept her ponytail from her shoulder to behind her shoulder.

"Your hair is practically falling into the pot. Minus 10 points."

Yan Xi looked down. Her hair was indeed hanging down in front of her.

"You help me tie it up."

This is not a request.

Li Chen took a rubber band out of his pocket. It was black. He had been carrying it with him since last semester.

He stood behind her, gathering the stray strands of hair. His fingers ran through her hair, wrapping it twice, and then tightening it.

Her nape was just below his fingertips.

Is it tight?

"just."

Yan Xi turned back to cooking. She stirred the food in the pan a couple of times with the spatula.

"Do you always carry a hair tie in your pocket?"

"From the day your hair first came down."

Yan Xi's spatula paused in the pot for a second.

My phone vibrated again.

This time it's not group 302.

[Shen Ruolan: Do you like the apron? Take a picture and show it to Mom.]

Li Chen glanced at Yan Xi's back.

A light-colored apron. A high ponytail. The firelight from the stove illuminated her profile.

He raised his phone and took a picture.

Not sent.

Saved.

[Li Chen: Cooking. I'll send this later.]

[Shen Ruolan: Who's in charge of cooking?]

[Li Chen: Her.]

[Shen Ruolan: Then what are you doing?]

He watched as Yan Xi ladled the scrambled eggs with tomatoes onto a plate. The way she arranged the dish was exactly the same as his—eggs on the bottom, tomatoes on top.

[Li Chen: Look at her.]

Shen Ruolan did not reply.

But ten seconds later, Li Mohan sent a message.

[Li Mohan: Your mom cried after seeing your message. Ignore her. Call your grandpa after dinner. He stewed pork ribs yesterday, but no one ate them; he drank half a bottle of rice wine by himself.]

Li Chen locked the screen.

Yan Xi served the last dish, shrimp and tofu.

The two sat at the small table in kitchen 208.

Scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Shrimp and tofu. A bowl of white rice.

Yan Xi picked up the burnt egg crepe and put it into Li Chen's bowl.

"your."

Li Chen ate it.

Not burnt.

It is crispy.

She had calculated the timing.

"Is it good?" Yan Xi asked, looking at him.

"tasty."

"Is it really delicious, or are you just trying to fool me?"

Li Chen picked up a piece of shrimp and put it into her bowl.

"Try what you made yourself."

Yan Xi ate the shrimp. She chewed it twice.

"There's 0.5 grams too much salt."

"Can you taste the difference?"

"Your grandfather said the tongue is more accurate than a scale." Yan Xi put down her chopsticks. "Next time, reduce it by half a gram."

She touched his little finger under the table with her hand.

No hook. I just touched it briefly, then pulled it back.

[Yan Xi: I'll come again next Saturday. I want to learn how to make braised pork.]

She sent the message while sitting across from him. His phone vibrated. He glanced down at it. Then he looked up.

She was smiling.

It wasn't the kind of slight upturn of the lips. It was the slight curve of the eyes.

Very quickly. Less than a second.

But he saw it.