"Thank goodness you only pinched it." Hanhan breathed a sigh of relief, but then realized he had jumped to conclusions too soon. A small spark fell onto the mouth of another test tube, hissing and emitting flames. A Lei panicked when he saw this and went forward to pick up the test tube to try to extinguish the fire, but he was burned so badly that he had to let go.
The test tube fell to the ground and shattered, sending flames flying everywhere.
Hanhan got anxious too, took off her coat, and beat it up until the room was finally calmed down.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the stairs, and A Lei's father came up from the basement with a tray in his hand containing a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"There are only two cups, you can drink them." He placed the tray on the table, then noticed the strangeness in the room and looked at Hanhan in surprise.
"It has nothing to do with him, I did it." Qin Xiaoyu decided to turn herself in.
"Let's go, so as not to interfere with his work," Miranda said, quickly making an excuse for them.
“I’m not working, so it won’t affect anything.” As always, A Lei’s father lacked tact, making Miranda feel awkward.
"Could you find me another cup?" Are asked, his mouth dry with embarrassment, clearly indicating that he didn't intend to leave immediately.
A Lei's father looked at him helplessly, sighed, and went back to find the cup.
While they were there, A Lei and Han Han tidied up the house a bit, making it look less scary.
"I hope what I broke isn't important," Qin Xiaoyu said guiltily.
"It should be alright, it only takes a little over a thousand hours to extract a single drop." Hanhan gave her a sympathetic look.
Qin Xiaoyu's legs went weak and she almost sat down.
"Don't touch anything, I'll clean up." Hanhan stopped Alei and carefully tidied up the scene. Watching him skillfully put the various utensils back in their places and wipe them clean, he seemed to know everything perfectly. Qin Xiaoyu was starting to admire him.
"Hanhan is great."
“Indeed, I have no interest in these things. It seems that sending Hanhan out was the right thing to do.” A Lei nodded in agreement.
The sound of things being broken kept coming from the kitchen, startling everyone. A Lei's father hadn't appeared yet, and it seemed the cup would be hard to find.
After a while, he finally came out, carrying two cups, but they weren't goblets; they were measuring cups.
"This cup hasn't contained any highly toxic substances, has it?" Qin Xiaoyu was just joking, but A Lei's father's evasive gaze immediately made her feel insecure.
A Lei's dad also lost confidence and muttered as he took the cup back.
"Miranda, I understand you a little now." Qin Xiaoyu looked at Miranda with sympathy, already understanding why she had gotten a divorce.
There's no way to live with someone like that; he's a defective product, lacking any life skills.
It was clear that A Lei wanted to stay a little longer, and Qin Xiaoyu was very cooperative.
She considered herself to have excellent social skills, but this old man, A Lei, was immune to all kinds of charm and they couldn't connect on the same wavelength no matter how they talked, so she had to give up.
"Let's go back, it's getting dark." Qin Xiaoyu decided to rescue everyone.
"No, wait a little longer!" A Lei suddenly panicked and stopped her.
"What's wrong?" Qin Xiaoyu didn't quite understand why these people, who were staring at each other, would stay any longer.
"There will be traffic jams on the road now, but it will be fine in a little while," A Lei muttered, seemingly without much persuasiveness.
Qin Xiaoyu wanted to ask what was so congested about this neighborhood, but seeing that he didn't seem willing to elaborate, she had no choice but to keep quiet.
"Let's wait a bit longer, we're not hungry anyway." Miranda was trying to help Are, but her stomach wasn't cooperating; a rumbling sound from her intestines proved she was lying.
"I'll bake a cake." Xiao Jin spotted an oven in the corner of the table—a major discovery.
"This hasn't been used in a long time, are you sure?" A Lei's father asked her in surprise.
"Let me check if it's broken." Xiao Jin walked over, skillfully opened it to check, and plugged in the power. It seemed there was no problem.
But then the next problem arose: the kitchen was completely empty, there was nothing there.
"Don't you eat?" Qin Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.
“They’re all pre-ordered meals,” A Lei’s father said regretfully.
"Okay, you guys chat, I'll go prepare dinner." Qin Xiaoyu didn't understand why Xiao Jin was so keen on cooking. In short, this girl seemed to have a cheat code after going abroad. Judging from the photos Miranda showed, her cooking skills were getting better and better.
Actually, staying to chat with Lei's dad was harder than cooking. Qin Xiaoyu regretted not volunteering to go to the supermarket with Xiao Jin. Miranda was much more sensible.
Hanhan is getting restless now; she's still a child. Qin Xiaoyu got into trouble earlier because she was being mischievous. Now Hanhan is asking all sorts of questions out of curiosity.
"Is this for weight loss?" Hanhan asked, pointing to a machine on the table that looked like it was in perpetual motion.
“Yes, look, this is the mechanism.” A Lei’s father and A Lei were speechless and feeling frustrated, so they took over Han Han’s words and went to the counter to discuss physics and astronomy.
A Lei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Xiaoyu reached out and shook his hand, squeezing it briefly as a gesture of comfort.
After Xiaojin and Miranda returned, they rushed into the kitchen. Although Alei's father peeked at them a few times with unease, he was quickly bombarded with questions from Hanhan and couldn't spare a moment to spare.
A Lei and Qin Xiaoyu were abandoned, so they sat together by the window, staring blankly at the passersby outside.
There are few pedestrians on this street, and cars are the main mode of transportation. The neighborhood looks old, but the people who live here are all extraordinary.
Qin Xiaoyu suddenly realized that watching the sunset in such a quiet evening was also very comfortable. She and A Lei got closer and closer until they were sticking together.
And so, of the six people in the room, one couple was busy in the kitchen, one couple was whispering sweet nothings by the window, and one couple was discussing the universe and the stars.
When Xiao Jin opened the kitchen door and called for dinner, the aroma filled the air, and they all came to life.
The meal was so lavish it was astonishing.
"I say Xiao Jin is like a little fairy; she can conjure up a whole table of delicious food." Miranda smiled and kissed Xiao Jin's hair, her face full of kindness, her eyes looking at her like those of an old mother.
A Lei's father was terrified by Miranda's appearance and almost fell to the ground. It was only thanks to Hanhan's support that he was able to sit up steadily.
Because A Lei's dad didn't have much to offer in his kitchen, the dishes were all served on disposable plates. Xiao Jin roasted a chicken, tore it open, and prepared dipping sauce. The paper-wrapped chicken with shrimp tasted very authentic.
The potato pancakes were topped with a thick layer of cheese, and they smelled delicious. Making a cake would be a bit too much work, so she simply baked a few small shortbread cookies filled with sweet apple sauce, enough for one person each.
The soup was egg drop soup, with a few pieces of seaweed floating on top and some dried shrimp.
Qin Xiaoyu was really hungry. At home, she was the pickiest eater, and she would never eat roast chicken like this. But now it's different; she took one bite and praised it highly.
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