Chapter 31 Chapter 31 ...Eggshell? ...

...eggshell?

Loren's expression froze, his brain didn't react for a moment, and he subconsciously began to wonder what an eggshell was?

Is it some industry jargon he doesn't understand?

During the moment of daze, Wen Qian, whose mind was jumping, had already changed the topic and put the birthday present out of his mind.

The friend list was no longer empty, with a lit avatar - a Q version of Zhou Zhu.

Right next to the avatar is her favorability bar for her.

【Name: Zhou Zhu

Intimacy: 70

Personal signature: Does she like beef noodles? Can we go out for noodles with her during the holidays?

Seeing that his favorability exceeded the passing line, Wen Qian immediately smiled. However, this excitement caused by the higher-than-expected favorability suddenly took a turn for the worse after he saw the signature of the person following closely behind.

Wen Qian immediately stopped talking and looked at Zhou Zhu seriously: "Actually, I don't like beef noodles."

Zhou Zhu was stunned, as if he didn't expect Wen Qian to suddenly bring up this matter.

"Don't you like beef noodles?" Loren glanced at Wen Qian, his eyes moving to the empty bowl of noodles on the table in front of her.

Zhou Zhu was led to look at the bowl of noodles as well.

"Although I was eating beef noodles the whole time we met, that doesn't mean I really like it," Wen Qian said solemnly. "In fact, the fact that I eat beef noodles so often is precisely why I don't like it that much."

She actually doesn't hate beef noodles, but no matter what kind of food it is, if you can only eat the same kind every day, anyone who comes here will inevitably feel a little bored.

"Is that so? I see." Loren looked at Wen Qian with a smile. "Can you tell me what you really like to eat?"

Zhou Zhu, confused by Wen Qian's words and still unable to wrap his mind around what was going on, looked at Loren in surprise.

She hadn't even figured it out yet, and he understood it?

Feeling Zhou Zhu's gaze, Loren nodded politely at her, then continued to look at Wen Qian, seeming to be very interested in this matter.

As for whether he really understood, Loren looked away as if nothing had happened. He felt that it was not very important.

[Special Mission - NPC's Curiosity

The NPC expressed disbelief that you don't like beef noodles and was curious about what your real favorite dish is.

You then realize that you've been eating the same dish all along and immediately decide to add a new addition to your meager menu.

Tip: Please find a chef and activate the [Cooking] skill

Reward: Experience +50, 1 Recipe of your choice

If you answer [Beef Noodles], you will be deemed to have given up this task.

What do you mean by "I only just realized I've been eating the same dish"? It's obviously your damn game that doesn't offer new dishes!

The urge to curse the game disappeared instantly after seeing the reward.

Wen Qian's eyes lit up, and he excitedly held Loren's wrist that was resting on the table: "Thank you, thank you!"

"Wait a moment, I'll tell you what I like to eat." Facing Loren's surprised and confused look, Wen Qian stood up suddenly and walked towards the kitchen with a clear goal.

Finally, she was finally going to break free from the beef noodle hell!

Loren stared at the palm of his hand in a daze. The area connected to his wrist felt a little unnaturally itchy due to psychological effects, and the feeling of the touch just now seemed to still linger in his palm.

He didn't blink for a long time, until his eyes felt slightly dry, then he slowly withdrew his hand.

"What does she mean?" He looked at Zhou Zhu in confusion as he stood up and was about to follow Wen Qian.

Zhou Zhu was silent for two seconds: "...You ask me?"

She was a step behind him and was still stuck on the tongue twister part about Wen Qian not liking beef noodles because she often ate beef noodles.

After a long time of trying to get out, when he looked up, Wen Qian was already holding the young master's hand and saying thank you.

Zhou Zhu suddenly felt confused, as if he had bent down to pick up a ruler in class, and when he looked up he could no longer understand what the math teacher was saying.

Not only did he not keep up, but he also asked her questions when she didn't understand.

Who can answer this?

With just one action, she made two people focus their attention on her. This is Xiao Wen's strength.

Wen Qian, who had already found his target as soon as he saw the word "chef", found the noodle shop owner who was doing nothing.

"Welcome." The noodle shop owner looked at her with a smile, "What do you want to eat? Beef noodles are on sale today!"

"Isn't there a special price on the beef noodles here every day?" Wen Qian couldn't help but ask.

She's not interested whether it's a special offer or not!

"Well..." The noodle shop owner paused and changed the subject very abruptly, "Customer, you look like you need help. Are you having any trouble?"

[Learn [Cooking] skills from the noodle shop owner - Yes/No]

A system prompt box appeared in front of Wen Qian, and she chose yes without much thought. After all, in this academy, she couldn't find other familiar chefs to activate her cooking skills.

"I already know what's bothering you," the noodle shop owner said with a serious expression. "Over the years, I've been approached by countless people seeking to become my apprentice, and I've never accepted a single one. Do you think you'll be the exception?"

Wen Qian sneered, "Boss, you don't want to encounter difficulties when expanding the back hall in the future, do you?"

The noodle shop owner said: "I can tell at first glance that you are a genius who can inherit my legacy. Okay, now I will teach you my cooking skills."

[Congratulations to the player for obtaining the skill book - [Cooking]]

[Skill Unlocked: Use the cooking skill twenty times and distribute the finished product to the NPC as a master's work (0/20)]

Wen Qian ran to find the noodle shop owner so quickly that when Zhou Zhu caught up, Wen Qian had already changed into a chef's uniform and was standing in front of the stove, thinking seriously.

"Wen Qian, what are you doing?" Zhou Zhu asked tentatively.

Turning her eyes, she saw the noodle shop owner, who had replaced the chef but still stayed at his post, standing beside her and asking her if she wanted a bowl of special beef noodles.

Zhou Zhu: "...Thank you, but no thanks."

"Ah, Xiaozhu, you're here just in time!" Wen Qian felt like he had found a savior when he heard Zhou Zhu's voice. He quickly turned sideways to look at her, "Can you cook?"

"Come and help me see which of these ingredients can be made into a dish?"

There were so many prepared ingredients on the table that Wen Qian was almost dazzled.

She is not very good at cooking, but fortunately cooking in the game is not that troublesome.

Just throw the corresponding ingredients into the pot, and the dish will be automatically cooked after the countdown.

The problem is that she has no idea what ingredients to use to make a dish.

"Cooking?" Zhou Zhu, distracted by Wen Qian's eager tone, forgot to ask why she suddenly wanted to cook. "I only know how to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes. If you need my help... wait a minute—"

Zhou Zhu widened his eyes and watched Wen Qian quickly pick up an egg and a tomato from the table and throw them into the pot after hearing the words "scrambled eggs with tomatoes".

After throwing the ingredients in, Wen Qian looked at Zhou Zhu while waiting for the countdown on the pot.

"What's wrong?" Wen Qian, who didn't think there was anything wrong with his cooking method, looked at Zhou Zhu calmly.

Zhou Zhu said with difficulty: "Don't you want to crack the eggshell?"

Wen Qian thought about it for a moment and thought that this was a reminder to her that eggshells could be recycled and to let her collect eggshell props.

"It's okay. I have a lot of this stuff. No need to collect it specially."

The player who was very confident about the stock of the eggshell item waved his hand and said generously that there was no need to worry about the eggshell.

Zhou Zhu: But... never mind...

As the ingredients were put into the pot, a progress bar that kept decreasing suddenly floated above the stove. Wen Qian quickly picked up the spatula as prompted by the system.

Every time the spatula pokes, the progress bar will rise a bit. All she has to do is ensure that after the countdown ends, the progress bar that has been declining can stay within the safety line.

[Congratulations to the player for developing a new dish - Crispy Tomato and Egg Crumble

Reward: Experience +10

Hey, can I still gain experience from this?

The player who was planning to repeat a dish twenty times suddenly changed her mind. She couldn't let go of such a good opportunity.

"Maybe any combination can be made into a dish..." Wen Qian's expression changed as he looked at the ingredients on the table.

Let her try!

Unlike Zhou Zhu, who was in shock, Loren was watching with great interest: "So you can cook? Do you want to try adding this to it?"

He pointed to the lobster next to Wen Qian's hand.

Wen Qian, who had just thrown a salted fish into the pot, was thinking about what ingredients to pair with the salted fish. When he heard Loren's words, he picked up the lobster and threw it in.

Zhou Zhu felt complicated when he heard the first half of Loren's words.

Can Wen Qian be considered a good cook? How did this young master express such emotion?

After hearing the second half of his suggestion to put lobsters in the salted fish, Zhou Zhu fell completely silent.

She seemed to know why he thought Wen Qian was a good cook.

[Congratulations to the player for developing a new dish - Fish and Shrimp Stew

Reward: Experience +10

"You have a lot of insights into cooking!" Wen Qian looked at Loren in surprise.

Loren seemed to be thinking about it. "Really? But I was just making a suggestion. You're the one with the talent."

Zhou Zhu, the only one who had actually entered the kitchen, was hesitant to speak.

These two counterfeit goods are still praising each other.

She just felt tired and looked helplessly at the noodle shop owner next to her, who might be the only one who could understand her, and signaled him with her eyes to come forward and stop this farce.

The noodle shop owner smiled slightly and said, "Would you like a bowl of special beef noodles?"

Zhou Zhu: "...No, thank you."

Today, the noodle shop owner has gained an apprentice who can ruin his reputation in the education field, but make him shine in the dark cuisine world.

and the apprentice's assistant.

If we say that Wen Qian is limited by her common sense when it comes to developing new dishes.

Then Loren is obviously a major accomplice in helping her deviate from common sense.

When you can’t think of a new dish combination, just ask him and he can provide a dish combination that ordinary people would never be able to think of in their entire lives.

Wen Qian took the word "trust" to the extreme, never questioning and always doing everything as instructed.

Even when the dish that was finally served emitted strange purple smoke, she simply sighed that the system's special effects were really bizarre.

Look, the smoke from each dish has a different color. The game is very thoughtful.

"Alright." After finishing twenty dishes, Wen Qian took off his apron and looked at the two people in front of him expectantly, "Who of you wants to try first?"

Zhou Zhu took a step back silently.

Facing Wen Qian's expectant eyes, Loren curled up the corners of his mouth and naturally took the chopsticks she handed to him.

He was caught off guard and tasted something "delicious" that was beyond his imagination.

The dishes generated by the system are all delicious and beautiful, and each dish will present its best appearance, which is extremely deceptive.

Loren's expression froze. He put down his chopsticks as if nothing had happened, but his mind was actually blank.

He could taste the egg and tomato, but what was that crunchy thing?

"How is it?" Wen Qian asked curiously.

"Hmm...it tastes very strange?" Loren pondered for a long time and reluctantly made a comment.

"Do you want to try my cooking?" He smiled and pushed the plate in front of him towards Wen Qian.

"No thanks." Wen Qian waved his hand, "I don't eat eggshells."

Zhou Zhu choked when he heard Wen Qian's words. So you knew it!

"Xiaozhu, is there any dish you want to try?"

Zhou Zhu froze. After seeing Wen Qian's expression, he was silent for a long time. Then he said with difficulty, "I'll try that fish."

At least there are no eggshells, so I can just close my eyes and it will be over.

Bitter.

Zhou Zhu, whose taste buds were so salty that they lost their ability to taste it, put down his chopsticks and said, "Actually, it's not bad."

If her expression wasn't so fearless, it might have been more convincing.

Two people were obviously not enough to taste the food. Wen Qian looked at the plate in front of him, his brain working rapidly.

I wonder if trying different dishes by the same person can be counted as food tasting progress?

She silently looked up at Loren, pushed a dish he had never tasted in front of him, pursed her lips, and winked at him.

The meaning is self-evident.

This was what Loren saw when he came to his senses, still reeling from the impact of the eggshell.

The words of rejection went around in my mouth several times, but in the end I couldn't say them out loud.

"It's too limited for just a few of us to try the food." He shifted the blame, "Why don't we let others try it too?"

"That's what I thought." Wen Qian sighed, "But I can't find anyone else to help taste the food..."

etc!

A light bulb suddenly lit up in Wen Qian's mind. She couldn't find anyone, but that didn't mean she couldn't ask other people to take the initiative to try the food!

"Boss, is there a buffet in the restaurant?" Wen Qian excitedly pulled the noodle shop owner over.

Noodle shop owner: “Yes.”

…

Even after returning to her classroom, Zhou Zhu still couldn't recover from what had just happened. Her experience today was like riding a roller coaster, going up and down.

But it is undeniable that she is really happy to be with Wen Qian. She has never felt so relaxed since she entered this academy.

As for tasting the food…it always costs something to have fun, not to mention that she is not the only one trying the food.

In addition to that young master, there are many other classmates who will receive the same treatment.

Thinking of the dishes that were finally placed in the buffet restaurant, Zhou Zhu slowly closed his eyes.

I hope my classmates are safe.

Xiao Wen, who had managed to sneak his new dish into the buffet restaurant through the help of the noodle shop owner, looked at the system panel excitedly.

The experience points provided by the 20 new dishes successfully upgraded her level from lv7 to lv8.

When you reach level 10, you can open the home system and expand the size of your house.

I can finally get rid of that small house that can’t even fit a table. Today’s happy events are one after another!

Wen Qian looked at his balance and decided to earn more gold coins during this period of time so that he would not be short of money when expanding the house.

Her eyes moved to the task progress bar. The progress bar of diners tasting dishes gradually climbed up, and finally got stuck at (19/20) and did not move.

Wen Qian frowned. What's going on? Is no one eating?

It seems that the only way is to take the initiative. Xiao Wen looked at the dishes packed in his backpack and thought about it.

Who should I ask to taste the food?

——

"Made it for me?" Chu Lingyu pursed his lips as he looked at Wen Qian who came to him with a lunch box.

Looking at the girl waiting for his response, Chu Lingyu lazily glanced at the dishes in the lunch box - it looked good, and must have been made with great care.

"Please, just consider it a favor." Wen Qian handed over the chopsticks, "Even a bite is fine."

There is only one person missing, and we must make him eat this dish.

"If you don't want to eat..." She paused here.

Then she would have to use some less polite means.

"Why are you frowning? I'm not going to refuse you." Chu Lingyu took the chopsticks.

"My birthday is the day after tomorrow." The young man who picked up the food with chopsticks paused and mentioned it casually.

"I know." Wen Qian boasted, "I've asked someone to find out."

A hint of doubt flashed in Chu Lingyu's eyes. She asked someone, who was it?

Several names popped up in his mind, but before he could think clearly, he froze in place after eating imported food without any preparation.

What's this? ?

Wen Qian, who had successfully filled the progress bar, felt much better. She looked at Chu Lingyu and casually asked, "How is it?"

"...Not bad." Chu Lingyu looked at the smiling face of the person in front of him and swallowed the food in his mouth.

"Really?" Wen Qian asked in surprise. She glanced at the dish in the lunch box. She vaguely remembered that Loren had tried this dish when she last left the kitchen.

Although it was at her insistence that she try it, letting Loren try the second dish was just to see if he could exploit a loophole in the system, but unfortunately he couldn't.

"Then why does he have that expression? Is it because of different tastes?" Wen Qian muttered softly.

Loren, who just happened to eat the unmelted salt, said: ...

"Him?" Chu Lingyu frowned and subconsciously said, "Didn't you make this especially for me?"

Is this important?

Xiao Wen paused, then displayed his high emotional intelligence: "Now it is."

High emotional intelligence judgment failed.

Chu Lingyu was obviously not as happy as before. Wen Qian thought about it and finally came to the conclusion... He couldn't come to a conclusion, so he skipped it.

"Are you ready for your birthday the day after tomorrow?" Wen Qian skillfully changed the subject. "You really need to prepare well for such a big day!"

That’s right, prepare gifts for players carefully.

"It's okay with this kind of thing." Chu Lingyu pursed his lips and said indifferently.

"How can we be so careless about such things?" Wen Qian disagreed, "I've been looking forward to your birthday for a long time!"

Listening to the girl's serious words, the corners of Chu Lingyu's lips rose slightly, but his face still had that indifferent expression.

Wen Qian was about to speak when the system prompt interrupted her.

The reward has arrived.

I successfully activated the [Cooking] skill and also received the custom recipe as a system reward.

Yay! Players are finally going to unlock a second dish besides beef noodles!

【Notice: Reputation value -10

Current: -60

Wen Qian was excited: ???

What did she do?