Shen Jingyan couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Grandma Xu laughed as she tried to get up, clutching her back: "Oh dear, what kind of meal can two grown men cook? By the time they finish, I'll be starving!"

Shen Jingyan quickly pressed down on Grandma Xu: "Grandma, you can't move now, you need to rest. I'll go help with the cooking."

As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw Zhou Zhengqing squatting next to the stove, covered in soot and coughing repeatedly from the soot.

His glasses were covered with a thick layer of dust, making him look quite disheveled.

Seeing Shen Jingyan enter, he quickly took off his glasses, wiped them on his clothes, put them back on, and said with a smile:

"Jingya, there's a lot of smoke in here, be careful not to choke!"

Shen Jingyan ignored him and took the knife from Old Xu's hand, saying, "Grandpa, I'll cook dinner!"

Old Xu knew that Shen Jingyan was a quick and efficient girl, so he didn't stand on ceremony with her.

He doesn't usually cook; Grandma Xu does it all. He just helps out at most.

"Alright, you go ahead, I'll go chop the wood!"

Shen Jingyan picked up the kitchen knife and skillfully chopped potatoes and radishes.

Seeing that there was no meat in the kitchen, she took a chicken from her own kitchen and prepared to make a stew of chicken and potatoes.

Make another cold radish salad, and eat it with cornbread and millet porridge.

Shen Jingyan finished chopping the vegetables and chicken pieces, but Zhou Zhengqing still couldn't light the stove.

He was secretly anxious and vowed to get the fire going.

Jingya cooks while he tends the fire; it's just like a young couple living together in the countryside. It sounds wonderful!

Just as he was happily dreaming, Gu Zhiyun walked in.

"Get out of the way, I'll start the fire."

Zhou Zhengqing raised his dark face, coughing as he said, "I know how to start a fire! Look, it's lit right away!"

Gu Zhiyun gave a mocking smirk: "I'm afraid you'll burn the house down."

Zhou Zhengqing: "...!"

Chen Jingyan chuckled to herself.

How come she never realized before that Gu Zhiyun was such a sharp-tongued man?

Just as Gu Zhiyun and Zhou Zhengqing were arguing, Old Xu appeared at the door and shouted in his usual loud voice:

"Xiao Zhou, come help me chop wood!"

Zhou Zhengqing, not wanting to lose the chance to be alone with Shen Jingyan, said angrily, "I don't know how to use an axe!"

Old Xu was even more annoyed: "A grown man like you can't even use an axe, then what can you do? All you do is eat? What's the difference between you and a glutton?"

Zhou Zhengqing still refused to budge: "Let Old Gu go!"

Old Xu clicked his tongue impatiently, stepped forward, and grabbed Zhou Zhengqing.

"Xiao Gu has difficulty walking and can only sit and tend the fire. Hurry up and come with me to chop wood!"

Regardless of whether Zhou Zhengqing was willing or not, they grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

Only Gu Zhiyun and Shen Jingyan remained in the kitchen.

Gu Zhiyun sat hunched over on a small stool, and Shen Jingyan, worried that he might have difficulty moving around, even helped him up.

He skillfully picked up the firewood and lit it.

Heat oil in a wok, add star anise, spices, dried chili peppers, scallions, and ginger, stir-fry until fragrant, then add chicken pieces and stir-fry.

The aroma of chicken slowly filled the entire kitchen.

While tending the fire, Gu Zhiyun secretly tilted his head to steal glances at Shen Jingyan's beautiful profile.

The little girl was cooking with such seriousness, as if she were facing the final, most challenging question on a math exam.

Her nimble hands moved up and down, and the heat from her breath brought out two lovely blushes on her fair face.

Gu Zhiyun had never thought that a girl could look so beautiful while cooking.

He was so engrossed in watching that he forgot to put firewood into the stove.

"Hiss—" Shen Jingyan was stir-frying potato and chicken pieces when she suddenly heard Gu Zhiyun cry out in pain and clutch her right index finger.

"What's wrong?" she asked hurriedly.

Gu Zhiyun looked embarrassed, his handsome face flushed slightly.

"No... I accidentally burned my finger."

Shen Jingyan put down the spatula, grabbed Gu Zhiyun's fingers, and carefully examined the injury.

Her first thought was, "It's such a shame that such beautiful fingers are burned."

Gu Zhiyun's hands are comparable to those of an artist; they are meant for holding a pen.

After examination, only the fingertip was a little red, and there was nothing seriously wrong.

She teased, "Comrade Gu, why are you daydreaming while tending the fire?"

Gu Zhiyun hurriedly withdrew his hand and remained silent.

He would never admit that he burned his finger because he was so engrossed in watching the girl cook!

Shen Jingyan guessed, "Are you worried about Comrade Yang's injuries?"

Gu Zhiyun, taking the opportunity, gave a slightly guilty "hmm".

In this situation, how could he possibly be thinking about that guy Yang Zinuo?

"You don't need to worry too much. He's not seriously injured. He'll be fine after a few days of bed rest."

"He's got a pretty hard head," Shen Jingyan said. "One brick hit him and he only suffered minor injuries."

At this moment, Yang Zinuo, whose head was usually quite hard, was experiencing a buzzing pain in his head.

My stomach was growling, and I was so hungry that my stomach felt like it was sticking to my back.

He lay in his dormitory, smelling the aroma of stewed chicken with potatoes, and his mouth watered uncontrollably.

Shen Jingyan prepared dinner and served Yang Zinuo a separate portion.

Gu Zhiyun reached out to take it, but Chen Jingyan said with a smile, "Gu Zhiqing, go eat. I'll take it to Yang Zhiqing so you don't have to make the trip back and forth."

Gu Zhiyun's foot was still red and swollen, and he had run back and forth several times this afternoon. The wound was indeed a bit painful.

But when she thought about how Yang Zinuo was the only one in the dormitory, and Shen Jingyan went to deliver food to him, wouldn't that mean a lone man and woman sharing a room?

He has a strange feeling now; he doesn't want Shen Jingyan to be alone with any man other than himself.

In the brief moment he hesitated, Shen Jingyan had already swiftly served the food and left the kitchen.

Gu Zhiyun thought for a moment, then served himself his meal and carried it towards the dormitory.

When Shen Jingyan entered the room, Yang Zinuo was half-lying on the bed, looking somewhat dazed.

Shen Jingyan was very familiar with this expression; during the apocalypse, zombies would also show this expression when they were extremely hungry.

Smelling the aroma of food, Yang Zinuo said impatiently, "You've finally arrived! I'm so hungry I could eat a whole pig!"

But when he saw that the person delivering the food was Shen Jingyan, he swallowed awkwardly.

"It's you." His tone was much colder.

Shen Jingyan moved the small kang table to his bed, set out the food, and handed him chopsticks.

Because of his head injury, he couldn't easily climb into bed, so Gu Zhiyun gave him the lower bunk and moved to the upper bunk himself.

Seeing how thoughtful and considerate Shen Jingyan was, Yang Zinuo couldn't bring himself to say the unpleasant words that were almost on the tip of his tongue.

He silently picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a large piece of chicken.

"Thud—"

His hand trembled uncontrollably, and the chicken fell onto the table before he could even put it in his mouth.

Yang Zinuo tried to grab it again, but it fell onto the table again.

He was terrified: "Oh no, oh no, will I suffer any lasting effects?"