The reason for his wide-eyed astonishment was that after Hu Xiaobei turned his head, he discovered that standing in front of him was not the still-sleeping Gu Xinxin, but Lin Ling'er.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed at this moment, which made Hu Xiaobei's eyes light up involuntarily.

Seeing Hu Xiaobei staring at her, Lin Ling'er squinted shyly and said in a low voice, "What? Don't you recognize me?"

Hearing such a slightly coy remark, Hu Xiaobei laughed and said, "No, I recognize you, of course I do. I just think you look so beautiful today!"

Feeling a bit pleased inside, Lin Ling'er rolled her eyes at Hu Xiaobei, "Hmph, did you drink honey tea first thing this morning?"

"Not at all! I'm just telling the truth."

With a chuckle, Hu Xiaobei looked at her and asked with great concern, "Your... your leg, what's wrong? Why do you look a bit awkward standing?"

Hearing Hu Xiaobei's inquiry, Lin Ling'er thought of last night's events, and in an instant, a touch of undeniable coyness flashed in her eyes.

Quickly, Lin Ling'er shyly looked at Hu Xiaobei and said, "It's nothing, I just accidentally bumped my leg earlier, so it still hurts a bit now."

Realizing Lin Ling'er was lying, Hu Xiaobei deliberately said, "I see, let me take a look. I'm quite good at checking injuries."

"No need. It'll be better soon!"

As she quickly finished saying that, Lin Ling'er, worried that Hu Xiaobei would continue to dwell on the matter, directly changed the subject, "By the way, is Xinxin still not up?"

"Not yet, I..."

Before Hu Xiaobei could finish, a slightly reproachful voice sounded by his ear.

"Who said I'm not up, I'm up!"

It turns out Gu Xinxin heard Hu Xiaobei and Lin Ling'er talking just now...

After hearing them, Gu Xinxin glanced at the time and realized it was already quite late.

So although still feeling slightly unwell, she quickly got up.

...

Lin Ling'er glanced at Gu Xinxin and quickly greeted her, "Sister, good morning!"

"Uh-huh!" She said as she bashfully walked over.

Seeing that both of them had somewhat awkward ways of walking, a slight smile rose on the corners of Hu Xiaobei's mouth.

They happened to look toward Hu Xiaobei and immediately saw the smug smile on his lips.

They were slightly taken aback and angrily whispered, "What are you looking at!"

Hearing such shy questions, Hu Xiaobei quickly waved his hand and said, "Nothing, by the way, you all must be hungry by now, how about we have breakfast together!"

"Not much of an appetite!"

"Neither do I."

Upon hearing Hu Xiaobei mention food, they gently shook their heads...

Having anticipated their reaction, Hu Xiaobei chuckled softly and said, "I know you're not in the mood for food, but I'll make sure you are!"

Hu Xiaobei spoke with immense confidence, and the reason for this was that he knew he possessed Nine Wood True Qi in his body, so by simply ripening some vegetables and fruits himself, he could indeed make them appetized...

...

Upon hearing Hu Xiaobei's absolutely confident words, they gently shook their heads...

Don't believe it!

They truly didn't believe what Hu Xiaobei was saying at that moment!

But soon enough, they started to get a bit excited.

Because at that moment, a rich and fresh aroma swiftly filled their nostrils.

"What is this smell?"

"Exactly!"

They caught an absolutely fresh scent, yet they couldn't determine what exactly it was because they'd never smelled something like this before...

Exchanging a glance, they helped each other stand up...

After standing up, they looked into the distance and discovered that Hu Xiaobei was busy under a locust tree not far away...

Upon a closer look, they noticed that Hu Xiaobei had placed a table under the lush locust tree.

Because they were a bit far away, they couldn't tell what was exactly on that table, but they felt that the fascinating fresh fragrance they'd caught earlier was spreading from that very table...

"We've got to check it out!"

The moment this thought quickly emerged, they directly walked forward.

The closer they got, the stronger the overwhelmingly fresh aroma became.

Five minutes later, they rubbed their eyes in astonishment...

Because at that moment, what they saw were two plates of refreshing side dishes and a large pot of congee.

Plain congee and side dishes!

Indeed, just the most ordinary congee and side dishes!

"How... how is this possible!"

Rubbing their eyes once more to confirm that what they were seeing was indeed plain congee and side dishes, they murmured in greater astonishment.

"What's the matter?"

Pouring the congee carefully, Hu Xiaobei looked at them and asked with a gentle smile.

Actually, Hu Xiaobei knew why they were so surprised but chose not to reveal it.

Hearing Hu Xiaobei's curious inquiry, they exchanged a glance, then quickly said in unison, "What's going on? These are clearly just the most ordinary congee and side dishes, so why do they smell so incredible!"

Hearing such bewildered questions, Hu Xiaobei smiled mysteriously, "Why? Asking like that really stumps me. Try tasting it, and you'll know!"

Hu Xiaobei knew explaining it to them would be rather troublesome, so he didn't intend to explain and instead encouraged them to taste it themselves...

On hearing Hu Xiaobei's words, they quickly picked up their chopsticks.

Actually, even if Hu Xiaobei hadn't suggested it, they really wanted to taste it because the aroma was truly exceptional...

They were nearly drooling...

Seeing them quickly pick up their chopsticks, Hu Xiaobei sat to the side, grinning.

At the moment, Hu Xiaobei wasn't surprised by their performance, as all of this was really within his expectations.

Prior to this, upon hearing them mention having no appetite, Hu Xiaobei had specifically used the Nine Wood True Qi to ripen some vegetables and fruits, and once successful, he fetched some tools to prepare them.

Honestly speaking, their presentation was really not good at the moment, but their flavors were absolutely outstanding, a fact that Hu Xiaobei could guarantee.

While Hu Xiaobei confidently judged their quality, the two of them kept their eyes fixed on the two plates of side dishes on the table.

Ordinary!

Seeing them, they indeed felt very ordinary.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the exceptional aroma, they really wouldn't have any thoughts of tasting it.

Exchanging another glanced, they simultaneously extended their chopsticks to pick up a piece of cucumber.

As soon as they picked it up, they frowned slightly again...

They couldn't help it; the cucumbers were uneven in size.

Seeing them frown slightly, Hu Xiaobei knew their thoughts, and at that moment, Hu Xiaobei's expression grew slightly awkward...

In the past, Hu Xiaobei hadn't cooked much, so tasks like cutting vegetables, which were simple for chefs, were truly not easy for Hu Xiaobei...

As a result, the cucumbers on the plate were unevenly cut by Hu Xiaobei, and not only the cucumbers but the tomatoes on the other plate were the same way.

Therefore, from a presentation standpoint, they didn't seem appealing to anyone...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.