Walking into the residential complex, she looked at her surroundings and couldn’t help but get lost in her memories.
When she was seventeen, her sister told her she’d found a wonderful brother-in-law. He had bought a big house for her in Shanghai, and the neighborhood was lovely. Her sister felt she had married the right man.
But now...
Her sister had become a phoenix, but in doing so, she seemed to have forgotten the branch that had struggled so hard to grow, just to give her a place to stand.
The girl shook her head and entered the building with light steps.
Back home, she slipped off her white sneakers and put on a pair of pink strawberry-patterned slippers.
Her brother-in-law had taken her to buy them on her first day here. She loved them.
The kitchen got good light, making it bright and airy. It was fitted with uniform black marble countertops that looked clean and tidy.
The girl first took the cutting board from the windowsill, then rinsed the meat she had bought. Only then did she place it on the board, pick up a knife, and begin to carefully slice it.
Anyone who has ever prepared meat knows that fresh cuts have a soft, greasy feel.
Trying to cut it into thin slices is no easy task, especially for someone who has never cooked before. It’s practically a high-difficulty maneuver!
Yan Xici had beautiful hands. Her skin was fair, her fingers long and slender, and her nails had a healthy, lustrous sheen.
As she applied pressure, the straight lines of her knuckles became visible.
Being inexperienced, the girl had to pick up each slice to check its thickness, which ended up getting both of her hands greasy.
The unpleasant sensation made the girl grimace in disgust. "Ugh~"
’It’s bad enough that it’s so soft, but it’s also this greasy...’
’Her brother-in-law had cooked countless meals over the years. Did he have to put up with this every time?’
After a moment of reflection, she pushed through the discomfort and once again picked up the knife to continue slicing carefully.
Perhaps because her hand was too greasy, the moment she applied force, she sliced her own finger.
Sigh. Misfortune really does pick on the kind-hearted.
A cut instantly appeared on her fair finger, and crimson blood began to well up. The girl gasped in pain, hurried back to her bedroom, and grabbed a bandage to quickly wrap it up.
Then she returned to continue slicing the meat. Giving up was not an option!
After all, this little injury was just the tip of the iceberg compared to what her brother-in-law was going through.
She finished slicing the meat, washed it again, and got ready to stir-fry!
Yan Xici was the naturally gifted type. Even though she had never cooked, she followed a video tutorial and didn’t miss a single ingredient—scallions, ginger, and garlic were all there.
Her stir-frying even looked quite professional.
Xiao Ran, still engrossed in a real estate app, suddenly caught a whiff of a fragrant aroma. He put down his laptop and came out of the room, curious.
Seeing the young woman cooking so earnestly in the kitchen, Xiao Ran was startled.
’It’s all my fault! I got so caught up that I completely forgot it was time to cook!!!’
He rushed over and reached for the spatula in her hand. "That’s enough, let me take over."
In the years since she had moved in, Xiao Ran had naturally taken on the role of an older brother. He always did these chores himself; he was worried she would get burned by the hot oil.
Yan Xici shook her head. "It’s fine, I can do it. You should get some rest, Brother-in-law."
As she spoke, she snatched her hand back as if afraid he would grab it, hiding the spatula behind her back and flashing him a brilliant smile.
She looked so incredibly thoughtful.
How could Xiao Ran bear to let her do the work? He quickly reached out to take the spatula, and as he did, he saw the bandage on the knuckle of her middle finger.
Xiao Ran instinctively asked, his voice tight with concern, "How did you do that?"
The girl explained with a cheerful smile, her tone casual, "I just accidentally cut myself a moment ago. It’s nothing. You just noticed it early, otherwise it would’ve already healed."
She didn’t want her brother-in-law to worry.
Besides, she wasn’t a child. A small cut like this was really no big deal.
Xiao Ran’s heart ached for her. ’Healed? Who is she trying to fool!’
He said reproachfully, "You don’t even know how to cook. What are you doing this for?"
Her brother-in-law’s concerned gaze made the girl feel a pang of guilt. She had wanted to ease his worries, but she had ended up making him worry even more.
She just wanted to cook a meal for him.
’It’s all that slab of meat’s fault!!!’
"I just saw you were in a bad mood and wanted to cook for you. But I feel like I’m about to succeed, so please step aside and don’t be a stumbling block on my path to success," the girl said, putting on a serious face as if she were angry.
Looking at her stubborn expression, Xiao Ran felt both sorry for her and amused.
"Who said I was in a bad mood? From now on, I’ll handle the cooking. You just have to be in charge of eating."
With that, he reached for the spatula in her hand.
But she wasn’t having it. She immediately reached out with her slender, fair arms, pushed on his shoulders, and guided him out of the kitchen.
Xiao Ran was 184 cm tall, while Yan Xici was only 165 cm. Perhaps due to the height difference, the sight of her pushing him from behind was actually quite cute.
The girl said matter-of-factly, "Go on, get out. Starting today, Chef Yan is officially online~"
’This is only the first day. From now on, she would take on the duty of caring for her brother-in-law!’
Xiao Ran was out of options, so he could only remind her, "Alright, but be careful. Call me if you don’t know something."
He went back into the room, but still felt uneasy. He ended up bringing his laptop out to the dining table, browsing real estate listings while keeping an eye on Yan Xici as she cooked.
Yan Xici had a great figure: a straight, youthful back, a waist you could wrap your hands around, and a pair of long, shapely manga legs. Right now, she was holding the spatula and stir-frying earnestly, her movements clumsy but focused.
The sunlight shone on her, and everything seemed so bright and pure.
It was the first time Xiao Ran had ever seen her cook. He couldn’t help but feel emotional. ’His little girl was finally growing up.’
She actually had many good qualities. She got good grades, was beautiful, and had an easygoing personality, but she was also very sensible. At school, many of her teachers had told him that Yan Xici was sure to have a very bright future.
The cooking girl suddenly turned around, her smile bright and radiant as she looked at him. "Bro, there are two jars here. Which one is salt and which one is sugar?"
She thought it was probably the first one, but she wasn’t entirely sure.
Xiao Ran snapped back to his senses. "The one on the left."
He then went back to browsing real estate listings.
And what do you know, in less than ten minutes, he actually found a promising one.
It was 120 square meters, with three bedrooms, two living areas, and one bathroom. It was also on the first floor and came with a small yard where you could plant flowers.
The only problem was the price. It was a bit steep; the down payment alone was 3.2 million.
And this wasn’t even in a high-end complex. Its main selling point was the location, near a university, plus the fact that housing prices had been rising rapidly these past two years.
He could sell his current apartment, but the worst thing you can do when selling a property is to be in a rush. The more desperate you seem, the worse the price you’ll get.
If he sold it slowly, that would still leave a gap of several hundred thousand, which was a problem.
Over the years, Yan Li had supposedly earned a lot of money, but she had never actually given him any. He, in turn, never asked. He paid for all the household expenses himself: utilities, gas, property management fees, and the like. Though each bill was small, they added up over time, leaving him with almost no savings.
Xiao Ran wasn’t a reincarnator or a transmigrator, and he certainly didn’t have a system.
There was only one way to solve this problem: borrow money!
What a headache.
Xiao Ran shook his head. ’Forget it. It’s not too late to borrow money after I get my copyright fees.’
While he was still mulling it over, the girl had already finished cooking.
She neatly arranged the slightly blackened stir-fried pork, a plate of green vegetables, and two bowls of steaming hot rice on the dining table, then said with a grin, "Time to eat. Come and taste the work of Chef Yan."
After speaking, the girl pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.
Xiao Ran looked at the dishes on the table, a little surprised.
Not because it looked bad, but because it looked surprisingly good!