Ye Qi felt the warmth in his palms, as if all the coldness and hardness in his heart had melted away.

Ye Qi chuckled softly, "Qingwan, I can't possibly use all these crystal cores. Besides, you need them more than I do."

"Besides, look at the color of these crystal cores, none of them belong to my space and time abilities."

Jiang Qingwan carefully examined the crystal cores and, as expected, there were no time or space crystal cores.

After fighting the extraterrestrial demons, my brain was practically rusted.

Only if one doesn't choose the crystal core attribute, other ability users will need the corresponding crystal core, or a large number of colorless crystal cores without attributes.

For them, a high-level specific ability crystal core is just an energy stone, completely useless for cultivation.

"Then I'll accept them, I appreciate it. If I come across any space or time crystals in the future, you'll be the first one I use. Or if I see they're for sale on the market, I'll go and buy them for you." Jiang Qingwan waved her hand and put all the crystals into her space.

"No need. It's yours to keep. Don't bother trying to get it back for me. What would that make me? Someone who gets something for free?" Ye Qi said, somewhat annoyed.

"Tch. Who knows what you're thinking? Talk is cheap. Anyone can say nice things." Gu Ningyue muttered under her breath, her face downcast. Her voice was just loud enough for the two people present to hear.

"Gu Ningyue, go practice your metal forging ability! Stop trying to guess what others are thinking with your dirty thoughts." Ye Qi tugged at his pink apron and said irritably, his eyes full of threat.

Gu Ningyue was not afraid of Ye Qi at all. In front of her Sister Jiang, Ye Qi was nothing but a paper tiger.

Gu Ningyue stretched out her finger, pulled open her lower eyelid, stuck out her tongue, and made a face at Ye Qi, "You're getting impatient."

"You two are just like elementary school students, arguing all the time." Jiang Qingwan was used to it.

"Hahaha. You're such a primary school student. Sister Jiang, you're so out of touch! We're clearly like concubines in the imperial harem vying for the emperor's favor!" Gu Ningyue had long since seen through Ye Qi's ulterior motives.

The heavy responsibility of protecting Sister Jiang's innocence can only fall on the meager shoulders of this young woman!

"Oh. Ye Qi, Gu Ningyue is mistaking you for a woman." Jiang Qingwan added fuel to the fire.

To everyone's surprise, Ye Qi did not refute her, but instead looked at Jiang Qingwan meaningfully.

Jiang Qingwan felt a chill run down her spine.

Ye Qi's gaze was deep, his eyes holding a vast sea of ​​stars, each one a twinkling starlight for Jiang Qingwan. His tone sounded somewhat strange: "That's not important. What's important is the competition for favor. Qingwan."

Jiang Qingwan watched as Ye Qi's pale red lips opened and closed, and he spoke the words "competing for favor" with a clear and tender tone, like a spring breeze in February that swept across her heart and awakened countless spring flowers.

Jiang Qingwan seemed to smell the rich aroma of aged wine in the air. Her face flushed red, and the temperature of her blood flowed through her veins, making it feel warm and hot.

She didn't know how to respond and froze on the spot.

Gu Ningyue glared at Ye Qi, snatched the shovel from his hand, and smacked his arm hard, her words filled with undisguised disdain: "Shameless. Can't you tell I'm teasing you? Why are you taking advantage of the situation?"

Jiang Qingwan was startled awake by Gu Ningyue's voice. She had almost been teased by Ye Qi, whether intentionally or unintentionally, which made her feel uneasy.

Jiang Qingwan briefly went through Ye Qi's words in her mind, but after a quick thought, she still didn't understand. So she simply skipped the topic and said, "Let's skip this nonsense and just make some pre-cooked food to eat."

Jiang Qingwan then gently pointed at the two culinary masters, "You two, give up on the idea of ​​cooking. In the future, if there's a chance, let's recruit a teammate with good cooking skills!"

After saying that, he went to the kitchen to see the battlefield where they cooked.

Egg yolks and scum were splattered on the walls, vegetable leaves, cutting boards, and the floor—everywhere.

The bottom of the iron pot had changed color and turned black from being smoked by the flames.

The rice in the rice cooker was half-cooked, but half of it was burnt and looked like charcoal.

The kitchen looked like it had been hit by a sudden downpour; water was everywhere, and there was even a thin layer of puddles on the floor, with slightly lighter vegetable leaves floating on them like little boats.

Soy sauce was splattered everywhere, as if it were born to be used as a painting tool, covering the table and walls.

...

The scene before my eyes was one of utter chaos.

Jiang Qingwan never expected that these two people were both exceptionally skilled in cooking.

I'm a chef specializing in pre-made meals, and I could be considered a royal chef.

She silently left the kitchen, unwilling to watch any longer, and instead lectured her teammates who stood behind her like two quails, spouting profound truths.

"It's alright, it's alright. We can't cook, we just need to have mouths to eat. You two are lucky to have met me, I won't eat you out of house and home, don't worry."

"After you finish eating, quickly clean up this kitchen. Throw away any unusable kitchen utensils!"

Seeing that Jiang Qingwan had indeed not lost her temper, Gu Ningyue happily saluted: "Yes, Your Majesty, I receive the decree. Long live the Emperor!"

Jiang Qingwan was amused by Gu Ningyue's words and awkward salute. "Rise."

Ye Qi, meanwhile, gazed at Jiang Qingwan with tender eyes, sending her flirtatious glances.

Jiang Qingwan happened to be looking at Ye Qi.

Ye Qi seized the opportunity and smiled brightly at her, "Perhaps, I can learn to cook for you."

"Huff," Gu Ningyue heard it again, and exaggeratedly bent over to dry heave.

"Gu Ningyue, are you never going to stop? Can't you be a little more tactful?" Ye Qi's smile vanished, and he let out a cold snort.

"Teammates should get along peacefully. You two stop bickering in front of me. You're both so energetic, aren't you hungry?" Jiang Qingwan intervened in time to stop an impending bickering battle.

Gu Ningyue put her hand in front of her mouth and made a zipping motion to indicate that she was going to shut up.

Ye Qi continued to shed his cold and hard expression, a faint smile curving his lips, hiding his joy in his smile, and gazing tenderly at Jiang Qingwan.

"Master of face-changing." Gu Ningyue secretly glanced at Ye Qi and couldn't help but mutter a complaint under her breath when she saw his posture.

Ye Qi pretended not to hear, the curve of his lips remaining unchanged.

Gu Ningyue turned her head away, out of sight, out of mind.

Sister Jiang, she can't fall into the carefully woven cage of men so early.

Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere.

There is always a higher mountain than the one above.

We can only hope that Sister Jiang won't be misled.

Jiang Qingwan also twitched the corners of her mouth, and, infected by Ye Qi, revealed a warm and gentle smile.

Gu Ningyue looked at Ye Qi and then at Jiang Qingwan; the curves of their lips were exactly the same.

The other person's image was reflected in her eyes, radiating warmth, like cotton that had just been dried in the sun, glowing with sunlight that hadn't been seen for a long time.

She closed her eyes in despair.

I dared not open my eyes, hoping it was just my imagination.