When Tang Ning woke up the next day, unsurprisingly, there was no one beside her.

After slowly getting up, she finally realized the wonder of the original owner's Frosty Jade Body. Not only was she immune to all poisons, but her blood could also detoxify. Even though it was her first time, Ye Xiao, that little wolf dog, had worked hard all night. At this moment, she not only did not feel any discomfort in her body, but she also felt very refreshed. Isn't this kind of physique a must-have for female protagonists in adult novels?

Tsk tsk.

Sitting in front of the dressing mirror, looking at the blooming pink peonies outside the window, Tang Ning couldn't help but smile.

Aside from Ye Xiao's absolutely terrible skills, Tang Ning still highly praised his physical strength and physique.

It's about his favorability rating.

Yesterday, she clearly saw that Ye Xiao's name was bright red above his head.

System rating: 92, but current favorability is 0, which is completely neutral.

That's interesting.

It's no wonder, though, that person was probably indifferent to everything except sweets, murder, and Yan Xingzhi.

Oh no, she's wrong. Yan Xingzhi is no good.

Tang Ning quickly dressed and got ready, then left her room, asked a few dim-witted servants for directions, and headed straight for the kitchen.

After all, no matter how awful Yan Xingzhi is, he's still her target, and she's very dedicated to this kind of task.

As for the servants of Yangyue Manor, they all seemed to be mute, some even deaf, which explained their dull appearance. It was mostly Yan Xingzhi who personally carried out these acts, but he was honest and fair, finding only beggars from the streets and alleys who willingly allowed him to poison them into deafness and muteness before bringing them back to his Yangyue Manor to maintain its livelihood.

You ask why those beggars would agree to such a thing? Ha, with eunuchs in power in the court, all the good officials have died tragically, and the martial arts world is full of fighting and killing every day. Not only are they starving, but they are also in constant danger of losing their lives. If they go with Yan Xingzhi, even though they will be deaf and mute, at least they will live a good life, have enough to eat and wear, and be safe and comfortable. Who wouldn't want that?

Their owner simply prefers this deathly silence.

Meanwhile, in the study, upon learning that Ye Xiao had been up all night and had only recently returned to his room, Yan Xingzhi's hand holding the brush trembled slightly, and a tiny ink dot appeared on the white paper in front of him. Well, this painting was basically ruined.

After withdrawing his hand and washing it, Yan Xingzhi slowly walked out.

If he remembered correctly, because he was worried that Ye Xiao wouldn't understand anything, he had given him the fire-avoidance diagram not long ago, and then immediately forgot about it. He had also sent him to the brothel below the manor to learn a thing or two, but as soon as he entered, he was attracted by the aroma from the back kitchen. By the time he went to find him, Ye Xiao had already stolen and eaten countless plates of sweets, his mouth stuffed full. As for the fact that he had asked him to come to the brothel to observe, he had completely forgotten about it.

Why did Ye Xiao, who was like this, spend the whole night with Tang Ning? Yan Xingzhi found this very strange!

Or perhaps the Frosty Jade Body held a special attraction for Ye Xiao, who was afflicted with a rare poison.

As Yan Xingzhi was pondering these matters, he suddenly smelled a pungent smoky odor wafting from somewhere into his Yangyue Manor, which always exuded a faint sandalwood fragrance.

Yan Xingzhi frowned suddenly, and then without hesitation used his lightness skill to rush straight towards the direction from which the smoke was coming from.

Unexpectedly, his final destination was the kitchen in the manor, a kitchen that had never been used since he met Huo Qingqing and learned of the existence of the Food God Manor, a kitchen that seemed to exist only as decoration.

He had barely set foot there when a violent cough reached his ears. He also noticed several servants standing helplessly in front of the kitchen, unable to even cough.

Then, Tang Ning, whose face was covered in soot like a little kitten, and who was constantly fanning her nose with her hand, rushed out from the billowing white smoke.

Even after she broke free, her coughing continued.

It was only after Yan Xingzhi quickly stepped forward and used his inner strength to help her regulate her breathing that she finally stopped coughing and looked at the man in front of her with teary eyes.

What are you doing?

Yan Xingzhi frowned as he looked at her.

Did she discover something last night? Otherwise, why would she suddenly set fire to his Yangyue Manor? I just don't understand why she started burning it from the kitchen.

"I..." She blinked lightly, and the tears that had just been choked out left two white streaks on Tang Ning's painted face.

“I just wanted to cook you a meal. In ordinary families, the bride cooks a meal for her husband on the second day after the wedding, and of course I can’t be an exception. We already had our wedding ceremony yesterday, didn’t we? But I really didn’t expect that as soon as I finished stir-frying a plate of vegetables, the smoke in the kitchen would get thicker and thicker, and it ended up like this…”

Tang Ning looked at Yan Xingzhi in front of her with a wronged expression.

No, she had already thought of that.

What could she do? She had never had any talent for cooking, and she always just threw in whatever seasonings she wanted. After all, she wasn't eating the food herself, was she? In her original world, she could just cook a dish however she wanted, and no matter how it tasted, plenty of people would fight over it. If she just showed a little bit of the cut on her finger, nine out of ten people would feel sorry for her. That would be the end of her business. As for the taste of the food, could she possibly cook better than a Michelin-starred chef?

Besides, Huo Qingqing's superb culinary skills in this world have already been established, so no matter how hard she tries, she can only be copying others' work. Of course, she has to find a different way.

If it can't be extremely delicious, then of course it can only be extremely terrible.

Anything that can be remembered is considered good food to her.

But when she entered the kitchen, she realized that it hadn't been used for a long time. She told the servants to quickly wash and clean everything, and just as she was about to get to work, she discovered that even the firewood in the kitchen was damp.

What a coincidence! She just didn't want to cook too much for Gou Yan, so she timed it perfectly. As soon as she finished cooking a stir-fried vegetable dish, thick smoke billowed up.

Thinking this to herself, Tang Ning still looked pitifully into Yan Xingzhi's eyes.

Such an incomprehensible reason, coupled with her pitiful appearance, caused Yan Xingzhi to pause for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. The louder he laughed, the more his chest vibrated.

Seeing that he didn't comfort her at all, but instead laughed at her, Tang Ning was so angry that she wanted to jump up and down.

Unexpectedly, the next second she was laughing so hard her eyes reddened, and Yan Xingzhi, who seemed to come alive, grabbed her shoulder, then took out a clean white handkerchief from his pocket. Muttering "Don't move," Yan Xingzhi gently lifted her chin and, with a smile on his lips, began to carefully wipe the dirt off her face.

The wind was gentle, but Yan Xingzhi's movements were even gentler, so gentle that Tang Ning couldn't even feel him wiping the grime off her face. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and for a moment, she even felt that the person standing in front of her was not the treacherous bastard Yan Xingzhi, but Ye Yu, the boy from thirteen years ago who wore a bright yellow sword-training uniform and whose eyes and brows were filled with the bright sunshine.

Even in that moment of distraction, Tang Ning's gaze towards Yan Xingzhi softened unconsciously.

Meanwhile, Yan Xingzhi felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if this scene had happened somewhere before.

After wiping all the dirt off Tang Ning's face, Yan Xingzhi quickly put away his handkerchief and looked at Tang Ning with a faint smile, "All done."

It's probably just an illusion; he's had more than one illusion over the years.

Yan Xingzhi quickly put aside the unnecessary illusions he had, sat down at the table, and looked at the plate of half-burnt and half-raw vegetables that Tang Ning had placed in front of him with a slightly twitching mouth.

"This is?"

"I... I made this dish, but the kitchen is almost completely destroyed by me now, so I can't make any other dishes. All that's left is this plate of greens. If you don't mind, you can try it."

Tang Ning carefully pushed the greens towards Yan Xingzhi.

Seeing this, even Yan Xingzhi, who never changed his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, was slightly overwhelmed.

But who is Yan Xingzhi? He is a rare wolf-killer in this world. He quickly adjusted his expression, picked up his chopsticks, and put a piece of green vegetable into his mouth under Tang Ning's expectant but actually amused gaze.

What kind of feeling is that?

Rather than eat this plate of vegetables, he would rather endure the monthly onset of the poison that caused him to be bitten by ten ants. He had never eaten anything so unpalatable in his life, especially after tasting all kinds of delicacies at the God of Food Manor. He even suspected that the seasonings in his kitchen were no longer edible, which was why they tasted so sour, bitter, sweet, salty, and spicy.

Yan Xingzhi, who had immediately sealed his sense of taste by applying pressure to his acupoints, finally swallowed the vegetable. However, he was surprised to hear a series of spitting sounds in his ear the next second.

Looking up, he noticed that when he wasn't looking, Tang Bao had also picked up a piece of her greens with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Then she started spitting it out, and even seemed to want to vomit. After drinking several glasses of water, her expression finally calmed down. Then she looked up at him and saw that he had not only swallowed the previous bite of greens, but had also picked up another piece with his chopsticks.

The other person reached out and knocked the vegetables off his chopsticks. "How could you eat such awful food, Xingzhi-gege? It's all my fault. My pastries were actually quite good. I didn't expect this... Please stop eating. What if you get diarrhea later?"

Tang Ning looked worried.

Yan Xingzhi gently pressed her hand down and smiled slightly, "No, it's not bad at all. I think it's delicious. I think everything you make is delicious."

The man's expression looked so serious and focused... his acting was superb!

That dog is so inhuman, always trying to act out a scene with her.

Tang Ning, who always had a strong competitive spirit, would not easily admit defeat. She stared at Yan Xingzhi for a while, and when she saw him about to pick up more vegetables, Tang Ning involuntarily stood up, raised her chin, closed her eyes, and kissed the corner of Yan Xingzhi's mouth.

Caught off guard, Yan Xingzhi's pupils dilated slightly.

Unlike his previous provocations towards Fang Yunyang, when Tang Ning was unconscious and he wouldn't have cared about anything he did, this time she was the one taking the initiative. They were so close that he could see the fine hairs on her cheeks, smell the faint fragrance emanating from her, and feel the distinct texture of her lips.

He struggled to suppress the urge to back away, and the other person finally opened their eyes.

"Brother Xingzhi..."

"……Um?"

He heard a sound coming from his own throat.

I like you so much!

Tang Ning's eyes were so bright they seemed to be shining, and she only had Yan Xingzhi in her eyes. She looked so sincere and passionate, as if she had laid her heart bare before you.

thump!

For the first time in his life, Yan Xingzhi's heart skipped a beat.

Yan Xingzhi's current favorability rating: 5.

I won this round.