Shen Guoguo poured the liquefied chicken fat into a basin and scooped out the leftover bits.
“We didn’t buy enough bowls and plates. Let’s make do for now—once I earn more money, we’ll go buy some more.”
“Mm.” Huo Tao gave a soft reply, already calculating in his head when he could go back and buy everything Shen Guoguo had been eyeing earlier.
“Here, taste this. It might not look good, but it should taste fine.”She sprinkled a little salt over the crispy chicken oil bits, picked up a piece, and held it to Huo Tao’s mouth.
He looked at her slender, pale fingers and slowly opened his mouth, taking the piece between his lips.
His slightly dry lips brushed against her fingertips.
That small touch—so fleeting, so strange—sent a faint jolt through him.
Shen Guoguo stared at her fingers for a couple of seconds, then turned back to cooking.
With her back to him, Huo Tao lightly licked his lips.
“It’s good.”
“I’m glad you like it. I’ll make you something even better later.”
Only Huo Tao himself knew—he wasn’t talking about the food.
With few seasonings available, Shen Guoguo decided to fry everything.
Fried chicken intestines, fried hearts, livers, gizzards, kidneys…
Things that were walnut-sized in her previous world were the size of honeydew melons here.Honestly, she’d once wished for this: “If only all the delicious food in the world could grow bigger!”
And somehow, that dream had come true.
Shen Guoguo couldn’t help but drool.
When the food was done, she sprinkled some salt and fried it again quickly for extra crispiness.
The final result looked perfect on their new plates.
As she finished cooking, dusk fell, and the dim lights in the small house flickered on.
She set two large plates of food on the table, thought for a moment, then placed two nutrient injections in front of them.
“Here—today’s our first day as a married couple. Congratulations.”
Shen Guoguo raised her nutrient injection bottle.
Not understanding what she was doing, Huo Tao mimicked her, raising his bottle too.
“Cheers!”
Their bottles clinked together with a crisp metallic ding.
She tilted her head back and downed the injection in one go.
The pale blue liquid was almost flavorless—cool and gelatinous, like half-melted jelly.
The texture was… surprisingly unique.
Shen Guoguo smacked her lips thoughtfully.
Huo Tao, understanding her meaning, followed suit and finished his injection. “Congratulations.”
He actually liked this kind of celebration.
“Here, try my cooking.” Shen Guoguo handed him a pair of chopsticks.
Back when he was still a high-level warrior, Huo Tao had eaten mutant beast meat before—usually boiled and flavorless. But this—this was different.
He picked up a piece of something, not sure what part it was, and placed it in his mouth.
Crispy at first, then melting as he chewed.
“It’s delicious.”
He grabbed another piece—round and ring-shaped—with a chewy texture and a strangely addictive flavor.
“This one’s great too.”
“That’s chicken intestine,” Shen Guoguo said casually.
“Chicken?”
“Oh—right, they call it a phoenix here. They caught one today…”
Love could wait; meat had to be eaten while hot.
She had to admit—it really did taste better than regular chicken: tender, springy, crispy on the outside and juicy inside.
If only she had some chili peppers, it would’ve been perfect.
As they ate, Shen Guoguo told the story of what had happened at the slaughterhouse in her usual light tone.
“Why aren’t you eating?” she asked, cheeks puffed full, noticing Huo Tao had set his chopsticks down.
“So… you’re actually a chef?”
Huo Tao looked puzzled.
Technically, chefs held a much higher social status than warriors, yet earlier at the plaza, that Shen Yazhi girl had clearly been treated better than her within the Shen family.
Shen Guoguo popped another chicken gizzard into her mouth, mumbling through it, “You could say that.”
“Come on, eat up. It won’t taste good when it’s cold. I left some aside for tomorrow too.”
Before he could refuse, she dropped the last few pieces of fried intestine into his bowl.
Seeing she didn’t want to talk about it, Huo Tao didn’t press further.
His little wife clearly had her own stories.
For the first time in twenty-five years, he actually ate until he was full.
After dinner, Shen Guoguo quickly cleared the table.
Without dish soap, she used a bit of food-grade alkali to wash the grease off the dishes.
Huo Tao watched curiously—he’d never seen anyone do that before.
“How do you know all this?”
Shen Guoguo’s delicate face scrunched up for a moment. She hadn’t planned to hide her skills—it wasn’t like she could, anyway.
But explaining them would be even harder, so she just said lazily, “Take a guess.”
Uh…
When everything was cleaned up, Shen Guoguo wiped her hands. “Want to go for a walk?”
“A… walk?” Huo Tao looked confused.
“Come on—‘a walk after dinner keeps you healthy till ninety-nine!’” she said cheerfully as she pushed his wheelchair.
“You… don’t have to curse me like that. The doctor said my injuries are serious; I won’t live past a hundred.”
Only then did Shen Guoguo remember—In this world, the average lifespan was around two hundred years.Wishing someone to “live to ninety-nine” was like cursing them to die young.
“That’s not what I meant! Don’t slander me,” she teased, rolling her eyes at him playfully.
“Come on, let’s go for a stroll.”
They had only spent half a day together, yet Huo Tao already felt like they’d known each other for years.
He let her push him along the outer city wall.
They chatted idly as they walked, taking in the sights of the base.
Fengtu City was square-shaped, its inner walls made of ancient blue bricks that had clearly stood for centuries.
Even at night, the sky glowed a hazy yellow-gray—like a piece of glass that could never be wiped clean.
No moon. No stars.
At the center of the base hung a giant night-lamp, its cold light reflecting off the metallic walls, making the entire city bright as day.
“The inner walls are said to be a thousand years old,” Huo Tao explained. “During the Great Cataclysm three hundred years ago, they protected humanity’s last survivors.”
“The outer walls were built later.”
Shen Guoguo nodded. “So, like the inner and outer city rings.”
“Have you ever seen blue skies and white clouds?” she asked curiously.
“Blue skies? Isn’t the sky always yellow-brown? A blue sky would look weird,” Huo Tao said, trying to imagine it but failing.
Fair enough.
After a while, both of them grew sleepy.
They didn’t walk far—just to the outer gate—before Shen Guoguo turned the wheelchair around.
She was half-drowsy already, and when her eyes drifted to Huo Tao’s dark hair and the tips of his red ears, she suddenly froze.
She’d forgotten something very important.
Tonight… she and Huo Tao had to sleep together.
Neither of them said a word.
Back at the house, Huo Tao brushed his teeth, washed his face, and even used the washbasin she’d prepared to clean his feet.
The tall, broad-shouldered man bent over awkwardly, almost unable to reach his long legs.
Shen Guoguo cursed silently in her heart.
Damn it…
She wasn’t a saint, and she wasn’t shy about men—but somehow, this Huo Tao made her… soft.
“Here, let me.”
She pulled over a chair, reached into the basin, and lifted one of his legs.
Her small, warm hand touched his cold skin.
Even though his legs had lost sensation, he still felt a faint chill—a tingling that shot up from his tailbone.
“I can do it myself,” he murmured.