Yun Wei and Isaac successfully returned to their dormitory in the evening. As they opened the door, the knight turned to his master and joked, "Thank goodness we made it back to the cave. We're safe now."
Yun Wei was stunned for a moment before realizing that the other person was referring to the story he had casually mentioned earlier.
He laughed, his bright eyes filled with anticipation. "So, what 'surprise' is there tonight? After all, it's been a fruitful trip."
He was indeed quite hungry, and on the way, Isaac seemed to have discovered many rare and fresh ingredients when he passed by a specialty shop, so he went in and did some shopping.
Therefore, Yun Wei was quite looking forward to dinner today.
He even secretly quickened his pace back to the academy, unable to wait any longer.
“Of course.” Isaac smiled as well. He opened the oak door, leaned against it with a confident air, and said, “I guarantee you will be satisfied.”
"Then I'll wait and see." Yun Wei entered the room and sat down in his usual spot at the table.
He took out ink, a quill pen, and rough paper from his spatial storage and began experimenting. He wanted to first see which font would be the most appropriate and aesthetically pleasing for dictation.
Isaac saw Yun Wei roll up his wide sleeves at the table, revealing his forearms. The delicate jade-like color, like solidified cream, darkened his eyes, making him unable to look away.
Perhaps because it was his first time using a quill pen, Yun Wei didn't quite get the hang of dipping the brush in ink. A drop of rich ink dripped from the tip of the brush, landing on his wrist and sliding down his smooth skin, leaving a distinct line of ink.
In an instant, her once clean wrists were stained.
Yun Wei exclaimed in surprise and quickly picked up a towel to wipe himself clean. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Isaac's gaze and looked up with a somewhat embarrassed smile, saying, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Isaac. I'm not very skilled."
Isaac stared intently at Yun Wei's wrist, where only a faint ink stain remained, the color of the initial drop of ink spreading out. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a hoarse voice, "I can teach you." The kind that teaches you step by step.
He didn't dare say the last sentence.
He stared at the faint ink mark, finding it somewhat glaring. The splattered edges not only accentuated Yun Wei's delicate, jade-like skin but also made him feel quite uneasy.
It feels like a kitten is scratching you, it's so itchy.
“It’s alright.” Yun Wei lowered his head and began writing on the rough paper. “I’m fine, Isaac.”
He bent over his desk, pen in hand, his expression focused, his left hand slowly pressing against the crook of his right elbow, gently pressing down on the cuff of his robe.
Even though it was against the setting sun outside the window, Isaac could still see Yun Wei's slender neck, which, like the other's exposed wrist, had an extremely high quality in color and texture, like a rare and fragile work of art.
He gazed at the young man sitting at the table with an almost greedy look, while an unknown emotion surged and raged within his chest. The distant sound of evening bells jolted him awake.
Isaac silently turned around, a flash of inspiration striking him, and he modified the menu in his mind.
...
In an extremely serious family atmosphere, calligraphy was one of the few hobbies that Yunwei was allowed to pursue by his parents.
He practiced calligraphy from a very young age, learning it from his retired grandfather.
In the small courtyard of his grandmother's house in the countryside, using a bowl made from a cut-open green soda bottle, he would dip a brush in water, squat by the cement stepping stone, and practice calligraphy with his wrist suspended, spending the whole morning doing so.
He knows many fonts, but he loves cursive script the most.
This was quite unexpected and surprised many people. Because in other people's minds, Yun Wei was silent, quiet and well-behaved, which was more compatible with the restrained and steady clerical script or the regular and smooth regular script.
Who would have thought that beneath his respectful and unassuming exterior lay a hidden, fiery and wild side, with a deep love for the unrestrained and free-flowing cursive script?
When he made the pact with Isaac in the cave in the southern forest, he signed his name in cursive script.
But it was clear that this rough paper, made from the stems of some unknown plant, was completely incomparable to the Xuan paper of his previous life. The quill pen in his hand was utterly inadequate for his writing skills; even the slightest pressure from his fingertips would result in a split on the spot.
Yun Wei patiently tried many different fonts before finally settling on the Slender Gold style. Calligraphy emphasizes structure and form; without these, it becomes nothing more than a "pig of ink."
The quill pen glides lightly across rough paper, perfectly complementing the slender and vigorous strokes of the handwriting, while also making it easy for others to read the text and sentences without overshadowing the main subject.
Perhaps it was because he was doing what he loved most that Yun Wei himself was unaware of how captivating the light in his eyes was at that moment. It was the overflowing spiritual energy that came from the gathering of the heavens and earth's divine talents upon this person.
When Isaac turned around, this was the scene he saw. Yun Wei was filled with joy at that moment, and even though this joy was so simple and plain, it healed Isaac who witnessed it.
He silently turned around. At this very moment, he was clearly doing what he loved most.
...
Although Isaac possessed exceptional magical talent, he ultimately didn't dedicate much effort to it. In a moment of distraction, a sweet, savory aroma of food escaped and wafted into the nostrils of the person before him.
Yun Wei's hand, which was writing furiously, suddenly stopped.
He looked up in disbelief. The fragrance was so intoxicating that he thought he was dreaming.
He opened his mouth, took a deep, difficult breath, and then closed it again. His eyes inadvertently became sore again, so he could only open them wide to prevent the tears welling up in his eyes from falling.
That familiar scent... is it the fragrance of rice?
He had forgotten how many years it had been since he had smelled that haunting scent.
After the apocalypse began, freshwater became polluted, and agricultural production suffered severe losses.
The same piece of arable land could feed two to three times the population if wheat were grown. Survival has become so difficult that no one would bother cultivating the luxurious rice.
Later, as the bases fell one after another, the food rations were downgraded from durable flatbreads to suffocating compressed biscuits. It was around that time that Yun Wei began to lose his appetite.
Yun Wei silently lowered his eyes and tidied up the things on the table. He was afraid of being disappointed, so he could only keep his head down.
"Dinner's ready." Isaac served the carefully prepared food on plates, covered them with a tin can, and brought it to the table. After carefully placing the plates in front of Yun Wei, he looked at Yun Wei and said, "Do you want to close your eyes? After all, this really is a 'surprise,' I promise."
Yun Wei seemed unusually obedient today. He quietly closed his eyes, his slightly upturned eyelashes drooping like natural eyeliner, outlining his delicate and handsome features. With his back to the golden-red setting sun, he lowered his head, resembling a compassionate deity.
Isaac dared not look any longer. He slowly removed the cover, walked to the opposite side of the master, and said softly, "That's enough."
Yun Wei slowly opened his eyes.
Once again.
Bells and drums resounded in unison, and a hundred flowers bloomed in competition.
Unlike before, when I put the food in my mouth, it didn't conjure up images of volcanic eruptions from anime. The food in front of me now looked like an SSR card radiating golden light.
Overall, it looks like a uniquely shaped braised rice dish.
Each plump, steaming grain of rice, now glistening like it was coated with a layer of dark gold leaf, shimmered in the setting sun. The distinct grains of rice and the thin rings of squid embraced each other seamlessly, the bounty of the soil and the kindness of the sea merging together at this moment. The essence of the grain and the freshness of the seafood intertwined harmoniously, brewing a sweet and savory aroma that became increasingly complex and rich.
Embedded on the carefully piled rice were a ring of bright red, appealing prawns, their bodies slightly curled in one direction. The translucent prawn meat, glistening through their shells, was neither too lean nor too dry, cooked to perfection. Yun Wei could even see the condensed juices from the steam glistening with oil droplets, slowly sliding down the thin red prawn shells and soaking into the plump grains of rice below.
Hidden among the crisp, red shrimp were also a few emerald green peas. Under the smudged ink, the emerald green peas became a mixture of dark and dark green, like pearls carved from black jade, hidden among the fragrant grains, reminding him of the precious Huizhou ink sprinkled with gold on paper in his previous life.
The most exquisite part is the top of the rice, where half a lime is skillfully cut into the shape of a dewy eagle flower bud. The fragrant aroma is fully released by the heat of the food, which weakens the fishy and salty taste of the seafood and instead makes the diners' saliva secretion accelerate, making them eager to start eating immediately.
The unique aroma of ink is irresistible, a feast for both the eyes and the palate. What dish could possibly soothe a rumbling stomach after a day of writing?
Yun Wei stared in astonishment at the exquisite food before him, his mind momentarily frozen. He took the silver spoon Isaac offered, swallowed hard, and couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"
"Ink-squid seafood paella is best paired with sweet wine." Isaac took out a wine glass, poured half a glass of white wine that had been decanted and placed aside for Yun Wei, and bowed to push it to Yun Wei's left, like the most professional waiter.
However, he was a personal attendant, serving only Yun Wei.
Yun Wei glanced at the clear wine glass, the pure liquid clinging to the sides and sliding down, creating a string of tiny bubbles, like foam rising from the depths of the sea.
It looks like it would be perfect for summer.
Perhaps it's worth a try; people always need to try new things.
Yun Wei silently stretched out his spoon and swallowed the fact that he hadn't been drinking alcohol, which he had been about to blurt out.
It's so delicious!
The seafood rice is slightly salty, but because it is cooked just right, the sweet and fragrant juice of rice overflows between your lips and tongue with just a gentle chew.
This is a rice variety cultivated in Bili City. The best-growing rice seedlings are carefully selected and cultivated for sale. The rice grains are neither hard nor sticky, and have an excellent texture, as if the sunshine and rain of all four seasons have melted into this fragrant rice.
Yun Wei squinted his eyes in enjoyment.
He couldn't help but think of the bowl of oatmeal Isaac had made for him, and his eyes had welled up with tears then, just like this time. Perhaps the steam from food always easily brings him the simplest kind of emotion.
He chewed and swallowed carefully, deeply etching the feeling of this moment into his heart. Then Yun Wei opened his eyes and solemnly thanked the attendant sitting before him:
"I really like this 'surprise,' Isaac."
This is different from the first compliment.
This time, his eyes shimmered with the infinite beauty of the sunset, expressing the true feelings in his heart.
He liked it very much, Isaac.
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