Chapter 14

It has been over a month since the two started living together, and Qin Yu has been responsible for Wen Xiaodao's three meals a day for almost half a month. However, Wen Xiaodao hasn't eaten a single hot meal right out of the pot. Qin Yu had even considered forcing Wen Xiaodao to have a normal meal one day, but then he thought that he and Wen Xiaodao weren't really that familiar, so he could only shrug and regretfully put the idea aside.

Today, he finally saw Wen Xiaodao in person. Qin Yu nodded at Wen Xiaodao, who was busy washing his used bowl at the sink. When he saw Qin Yu come out, Wen Xiaodao blushed a little.

"I just remembered I didn't wash the bowl."

Qin Yu smiled, thinking to himself that it had been half a month since Wen Xiaodao had remembered to wash the bowl after eating. It seemed that the girl had been through something today, with her red eyes and the fact that she was still willing to do chores. This surprised Qin Yu.

"I can wash it. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing..."

Wen Xiaodao rinsed the bowl clean, dried his hands, and was about to go back to his room when Qin Yu suddenly remembered something and said quietly,

"Try to get up earlier tomorrow. Eating breakfast on time is good for your gallbladder."

"Ah... okay."

Wen Xiaodao nodded, which was quite unexpected for Qin Yu. He had only decided to try to use breakfast as an excuse to persuade Wen Xiaodao to get back into a normal routine, but he didn't expect Wen Xiaodao to agree so quickly. This made Qin Yu more curious about what had happened to Wen Xiaodao, but he still told himself not to be too nosy. They weren't that familiar yet, so he smiled and nodded.

"I'll wake you up tomorrow. Good night."

"Okay, good night."

This rare exchange ended, but at least they had a "breakfast pact." They each returned to their rooms. As for comforting the girl who had just cried... that would be too much. Qin Yu hadn't been so carried away by the阶段性胜利 (阶段性胜利 means "阶段性 victory" or "阶段性 success," but in this context, it's better to use "阶段性 success") that he thought a few meals and a few words would make her open up to him. That would be ridiculous.

Qin Yu finished his evening routine and returned to his room. He sat on the bed, thought about the menu for tomorrow morning, leaned back on the pillow, and fell asleep.

—Damn, he really could sleep...

......

......

"Zi..."

The beaten egg mixture quickly solidified into golden egg flowers in the hot oil, and the aroma immediately filled the entire kitchen.

Qin Yu methodically picked up the cold rice that had been prepared earlier, poured it into the pan, and immediately started stirring to mix the rice and scrambled eggs evenly. He used the back of the spatula to crush the larger clumps of rice.

Fried rice is a dish that is simple in concept but difficult to master.

In concept, it's simple: just cook the eggs until they're half-done, then mix in the rice and heat it up. But to make it taste good, it's really difficult.

You must use cold rice, and crushing the rice is a skill. If you don't crush it enough, the rice will be in large clumps and tasteless, and the saltiness will be uneven, which naturally won't be good.

Clearly, Qin Yu's fried rice skills were quite good. The rice and scrambled eggs were mixed very evenly, with each grain of rice a golden yellow, and the finely chopped green onions added a touch of color, making it very appetizing.

While the fried rice was still hot, Qin Yu scooped it out of the pan and then threw the sliced cucumbers and long beans into the boiling water pot.

Blanched cucumber soup is a dish that looks simple but has many nuances.

The key to this soup is to wash and eat the cucumbers and long beans fresh. Qin Yu used fresh vegetables bought from the morning market, washed, sliced, and blanched in boiling water to make a pot of green, tender vegetable broth. A little salt was added, and the soup was already incredibly fresh without the need for monosodium glutamate.

Picking up a piece of the tender green cucumber and dipping it in soy sauce with green pepper, it was so delicious that it could make you want to eat your tongue.

Wen Xiaodao drank two large sips of the soup as soon as he came in, and without waiting for Qin Yu to prompt him, he dipped the cucumber in the soy sauce with green pepper and ate several pieces, followed by a small bowl of fried rice. Qin Yu watched in amazement, as it seemed that the bad mood from the previous night hadn't affected Wen Xiaodao's appetite at all.

"A bit hungry."

Seeing Qin Yu holding the bowl and chopsticks in mid-air, Wen Xiaodao felt a bit embarrassed.

"Are you from Kunming?"

"How did you know?"

Hearing Qin Yu accurately say his hometown, Wen Xiaodao was very surprised.

"Only people from Kunming know how to eat this kind of blanched vegetable soup. Unfortunately, there are no fresh bitter greens sold in Bingcheng—otherwise, I could make you some cold rice noodles and bitter green soup."

Cold rice noodles and bitter green soup are foods that Kunming people miss no matter where they go, and are essential dishes at Kunming banquets.

—Cold rice noodles are sour and spicy, and a bowl before a meal can stimulate the appetite. Bitter green soup is light and fresh, and after eating it, it helps digest and remove grease, making it the perfect dish to end a meal.

Qin Yu had lived in Kunming for a few years and knew quite a bit about Yunnan cuisine.

"Okay, I haven't had it in a long time. Are you from Kunming too?"

"No, but I lived there for a few years."

In theory, Qin Yu should have explained why he lived in Kunming for a few years and then used the opportunity to find out more about Wen Xiaodao, but neither of them were the type to be very talkative, so Qin Yu didn't continue, and the first topic ended there.

Wen Xiaodao glanced at Qin Yu, buried his head in the bowl of fried rice, and Qin Yu quietly drank the soup.

The atmosphere returned to silence, but Qin Yu wasn't the type to be completely silent. He was just not very talkative, so finding another topic was easy:

"What game are you playing? 'Dungeons & Dragons'?"

"No, 'The Legend'..."

At this, Wen Xiaodao's eyes suddenly reddened, and he put down his spoon.

Clearly, the game was the reason for Wen Xiaodao's bad mood the previous night. Qin Yu had guessed it was about the game, and asking about it was a way to find out what had happened.

—After all, a man can't let a girl cry all the time.

"Games, don't take them too seriously. Just have fun. Actually..."

Qin Yu shrugged, about to continue comforting Wen Xiaodao, but he noticed that Wen Xiaodao's emotions were clearly off, and tears were welling up in his eyes like large pearls.

Before Qin Yu could say anything else, Wen Xiaodao suddenly leaned on the table and cried out in a voice that could break the hearts of many otakus:

"I was gang-raped!!"

......

......

......

The originally harmonious breakfast became strange because of Wen Xiaodao's sudden emotional outburst.

Wen Xiaodao, who was upset because of the game, couldn't hold back when he heard Qin Yu say "just have fun," and after saying "I was gang-raped," he started crying on the table.

Qin Yu's eyebrows furrowed. This was a bit unexpected. He knew Wen Xiaodao was upset because of the game, but he didn't expect the reaction to be so intense. Being upset in the game shouldn't make someone cry like this, and... After thinking for a while, Qin Yu decided to start with the basics.

At least he needed to clarify one concept:

—What is "gang-raped" in the game?

Having only played "Dungeons & Dragons" for a few days, Qin Yu clearly didn't understand the term "gang-raped."

After all, Qin Yu had been stuck in the "newbie village" of Elwynn Forest, occasionally sending corpses and lighting cigarettes, earning a few babysitter wages, and had no knowledge of the game's other elements, especially PvP.

PvP was impossible in the newbie village, as new players up to level 9 were protected by the Supreme Law, and even level 120 players with demigod status couldn't harm them, including effects like pain and knockdown.

Wen Xiaodao looked at Qin Yu as if he were a monster.

In today's society, a young man in his twenties not knowing what "gang-raped" means in online games is either a time traveler or has autism. Are there still young people who don't play online games? Especially after the advent of realistic online games, even middle-aged and elderly people have joined the ranks.

"Really don't know, never played the game."

Qin Yu shrugged and then suddenly grinned, pointing at Wen Xiaodao's face:

"Rice grains... one on each side, symmetrical."

"Ha..."

Wen Xiaodao laughed...

Laughter is better than crying. Once he laughed, he could speak. Wen Xiaodao also saw Qin Yu as someone to confide in and told him about his "gang-raped" experience in "The Legend."

"The Legend" is a fully realistic simulation game that came out before "Dungeons & Dragons" and was once a dominant online game.

However, with the release of "Dungeons & Dragons," "The Legend" and many other online games suffered a fatal blow. Three months after "Dungeons & Dragons" launched, "The Legend" naturally came to an end, with players switching to "Dungeons & Dragons," and the value of in-game items plummeted, leaving very few players in the game.

But Wen Xiaodao was one of the few who stayed in "The Legend."

It wasn't because Wen Xiaodao was nostalgic for this old fantasy-style online game. As a gold farmer who collected in-game currency to sell for real money, Wen Xiaodao had a stable customer who guaranteed his income in "The Legend," so he never left.

For professional players, game income is always more important than game enjoyment.

Strangely, this unknown customer seemed very nostalgic and had no intention of leaving "The Legend." Every month, he would buy 2000 RMB worth of gold at the same price, and Wen Xiaodao couldn't understand why he would still buy gold at this point.

What could gold be used for when no one was selling equipment anymore?

Even stranger, regardless of whether the in-game gold depreciated, this player named Cuncao never changed his price, always buying 200,000 gold for 2000 RMB every month.

But no matter what, making money was making money, and Wen Xiaodao didn't care about who Cuncao was. He continued to mail the gold every month and check his bank account. Although he was also looking forward to "Dungeons & Dragons," he stayed in "The Legend."

—After all, as a professional player, having a stable income is more important. The leisure of enjoying the game is never for professional players.

However, last night, everything changed completely...