I Fed The Affectionate And Paranoid God - Chapter 23
Xia Chenxi comforted himself; perhaps it was because he hadn’t mastered the tricks of controlling the game yet; that was why he only got one star.
Of course, a small part of the reason was also related to his cooking skills not meeting the minimum requirements of the game.
But it was okay.
He had other ways.
Xia Chenxi decided to temporarily run the game in the background and search for tutorial videos on making tomato scrambled eggs.
He observed attentively for a long time.
But after watching several videos, he felt even more that this seemingly ordinary tomato scrambled egg dish was really difficult to make.
Some video bloggers explained the process in great detail, and Xia Chenxi repeatedly watched it several times until he remembered the entire process.
After feeling that he had learned enough, Xia Chenxi returned to the virtual kitchen and prepared to try cooking for the second time.
As for the finished dishes made for the first time, Xia Chenxi didn’t want to throw them away and instead stored them in the cabinet.
Although the game rated this dish as only one star, it didn’t say that it couldn’t be given to the little character to eat.
However…
This dish was meant for the little character to eat, and it was also the first step he was taking to express goodwill to it.
Anyway, he had to strive to do his best.
He heated the oil in the pot.
When the oil temperature began to emit slight heat, Xia Chenxi quickly poured in the premixed egg mixture.
The crackling and sizzling sound came from the earphones until the egg mixture was slightly solidified and presented perfectly, then he immediately scooped it out for later use.
Then he used the remaining oil in the pot to stir-fry the tomatoes that had been cut and had a decent appearance.
He waited until the tomatoes became soft and juicy before adding the eggs and stir-frying it with seasonings.
Xia Chenxi felt that the dish he had carefully crafted was much better in appearance than the one he had made for the first time.
Not only was it not burnt, but it also looked fresh and delicious; it would be very tasty when eaten with rice.
Even looking at it made Xia Chenxi hungry.
After about a few tens of seconds, Xia Chenxi manipulated the pot to pour out the dishes and put them on a plate, holding his breath and waiting intently for the game score.
It was a bit like waiting for his fate to be decided.
In less than a second, the game system popped up a text box: [After evaluation, the dish [tomato scrambled eggs] has a rating of 2 stars and has not yet reached the minimum requirement.]
Two stars?
Xia Chenxi was momentarily stunned.
This dish was already much better than the first time he made it; how could it still not have reached three stars?
Xia Chenxi didn’t know how the system judged the food; although he was a bit disappointed, he quickly adjusted his emotions and decided to study hard again and start over.
After all, he currently had no love value.
He had to have at least 90% confidence before he could start the third attempt. If he failed to reach three stars in the last attempt, his task was likely to fail.
This was something that Xia Chenxi absolutely wouldn’t allow.
He had never failed in playing games.
Xia Chenxi turned off the virtual kitchen and glanced at the little character again.
The other party seemed to have fallen asleep, lying on its side with a slightly pale face.
And all of this was caused by that strange and dark cuisine.
Xia Chenxi suddenly had an idea.
He didn’t know if the little character knew if the red-eyed octopus was poisonous, but when recalling the other’s expression when eating the dark cuisine, he found it a bit pitiful.
It was sick all night and didn’t eat when it woke up in the morning.
It must be very hungry now.
But due to health reasons, it couldn’t go out and could only lie there alone and endure.
Xia Chenxi’s expression was dazed.
He suddenly remembered that when he was very young, he actually longed to be sick the most.
Only in that way would Grandpa specially buy canned peaches for him and gently touch his head; he would smile and say, “Our little Chenxi is the most obedient.”
At that time, although his body was very uncomfortable, he felt incredibly happy.
Even greedily wanting that moment to stop forever.
Suddenly, the sound of the little character coughing was heard in the headphones, and it sounded very hoarse.
Xia Chenxi came back to his senses, and his gaze fell on the lonely little character lying there; it was almost as if it overlapped with his childhood self.
Xia Chenxi pursed his lips and adjusted the game to run in the background. He continued to watch the food tutorials seriously, especially the video teaching tomato and egg stir fry; he watched it many times.
He wanted to surprise the little character by making tomato scrambled eggs with a three-star rating before it woke up.
At noon, Xia Chenxi even took out a small notebook used to write and draw, jotting down all the valuable videos he watched.
The nurse who walked in glanced at the notebook and said somewhat kindly, “Do you enjoy cooking?”
Xia Chenxi paused the video and said somewhat awkwardly, “I really like it, but my cooking skills are not very good.”
The nurse thought for a moment and said, “There is a patient in the adjacent ward whose ancestors are imperial chefs. If you are interested, you can talk to that old man and learn from him.”
Xia Chenxi’s spirits lifted, and he quickly thanked the little nurse.
After the little nurse left, Xia Chenxi immediately got out of bed in a hurry and headed straight to the adjacent ward.
The police officer on duty saw the situation and helped Xia Chenxi over, but instead of entering the ward, he said to Xia Chenxi, “I’ll just sit in the hallway. Call me when you come out.”
Xia Chenxi quickly thanked him.
The ward door wasn’t closed, and the old man lying on the sickbed noticed Xia Chenxi and asked with a smile, “Young man, who are you looking for?”
Xia Chenxi expressed his intention and added, “I can give you money; I just hope you can teach me how to make stir-fried tomatoes and eggs.”
The old man laughed heartily and beckoned Xia Chenxi to sit over quickly. He was extremely friendly and enthusiastic. “What money do I want? I don’t need this little money. There aren’t many young people who like cooking now.”
Xia Chenxi insisted, “No, I can’t learn for nothing.”
The old man was very happy to hear this and waved his hand with a smile, “I have been in this business for a long time. Besides, it’s just a dish. If you really feel guilty, you can come over and chat with me often.”
Xia Chenxi couldn’t hold on anymore, so he agreed to visit and chat with the old man frequently in the future. Then, the old man began to teach Xia Chenxi the secret of how to make tomato and scrambled eggs well.
Xia Chenxi listened carefully, a look of realization flashing across his face from time to time.
Although the online tutorial was also very detailed, it wasn’t as straightforward as the old man’s explanation. He also told Xia Chenxi why the seasonings should be added at a certain time.
It was only then that Xia Chenxi realized that the game giving his cooking a two-star rating was a face-giving act.
After teaching, the old man also chatted with Xia Chenxi about daily life. When Xia Chenxi returned to the ward, the old man asked him to take away the fruits on his table.
“I’m so old, I can’t eat so much fruit. It’s a waste to keep it for too long. You can take it and eat it.”
Xia Chenxi insisted on not taking it and said goodbye to the old man and returned to his ward.
A middle-aged man walked into the ward and saw that his grandfather seemed to be in a good mood today. He curiously asked, “Dad, why are you in such a good mood?”
The old man said, “I met a young man who is quite interesting.”
He shook his head and sighed.
The old man had heard about the plight of the young man next door, who was said to have been targeted by a ruthless murderer.
At that time, more than half of the people on the entire floor died.
The situation sounded extremely tragic.
Therefore, the police station specially sent people to protect these survivors. It was said that the perpetrator hadn’t been arrested yet, and it was highly likely that they would kill these survivors to silence them.
The middle-aged man nodded as he sat there peeling an apple for the old man, then he finally spoke, “No wonder.”
One of the properties he was responsible for was purchased by the authorities a few days ago, and the relocated residents of the community moved in.
The reason was that there had been extremely tragic murder cases in the previous community, and the perpetrators hadn’t been arrested yet, resulting in all residents of the community having to move out to avoid being targeted.
Xia Chenxi lay in bed, writing down all the key points of knowledge he had just learned from the old man.
As he looked at the dense content written above about how to stir fry a delicious dish, he couldn’t help but smile.
Anyone who saw these contents wouldn’t guess that Xia Chenxi wrote the notes to complete a game task.
They’d only think that Xia Chenxi was a person who loved cooking to the point that even during an illness, he was still thinking about enriching himself and making a delicious dish.
Xia Chenxi repeatedly read the game content several times and finally began his third attempt at 2 pm in the afternoon.
Xia Chenxi took a deep breath and went through the production process and key points in his mind before solemnly opening the virtual kitchen.
Heat the oil in the pot.
Xia Chenxi cautiously stirred the egg mixture with his index finger in one direction to make the eggs more tender, delicious, and flavorful.
This was also a little knowledge learned from the old man.
The officer in charge of protecting Xia Chenxi outside the door had changed shifts again. He glanced at Xia Chenxi in the ward, who was holding his phone; he didn’t know what he was doing. He whispered to his officer colleague, who hadn’t left yet, “Is he playing a game?”
There was a hint of surprise in his voice.
The officer on duty nodded and said, “It should be; I saw him holding his phone all day without letting go.”
He was a complete gaming enthusiast.
The guard on duty sighed when he heard this: “I was on duty in other wards yesterday. All the survivors haven’t recovered from that incident yet. Some of them still need to be given sedatives from time to time.”
There was someone who even had nightmares every day, and their mind was so dazed that they had a strong stress response to the outside world.
In comparison, this young man named Xia Chenxi was addicted to games every day and couldn’t extricate himself. He must really like playing games.
Xia Chenxi was now nervously watching the screen, carefully manipulating the spoon to stir-fry back and forth.
Strictly following the old man’s instructions, he stir-fried it for about ten minutes, then he immediately added seasonings. He was confidently thinking that this time, he would definitely be able to successfully make dishes with at least three stars.
Absolutely.