Gu Yuebai initially did not want to agree, but unfortunately, he really did not know how to cook. It was too late to call for a housekeeper, so he could only accept Yan Mingyue’s enthusiastic invitation and go to his place for dinner.
The apartments here were designed with one unit per floor and stood twenty stories tall. Gu Yuebai loved the view from the top floor, so he had bought the penthouse. Surprisingly, Yan Mingyue lived right below him.
“Gu Yuebai, wait a moment. Today, I must let you properly taste my skills!” Yan Mingyue poked half his head out from the kitchen, finished speaking to Gu Yuebai, and then ducked back in.
Seeing Yan Mingyue’s confident demeanor, Jin Xi swallowed nervously. He whispered to Gu Yuebai, who was sitting beside him, “Brother, do you think the food he makes is actually edible?”
Gu Yuebai shook his head, indicating that he did not know either.
Jin Xi watched Yan Mingyue’s cheerful back, which looked as if he had just won the lottery. Just as he was about to grind his teeth in worry, he suddenly remembered that he had several bowls of instant noodles stored in his own apartment. He lightly poked Gu Yuebai’s waist and lowered his voice. “Brother, I still have some instant noodles at my place. I will go grab them, just in case he fails and we starve to death.”
For the first time, Gu Yuebai felt that Jin Xi was actually useful. He glanced at Yan Mingyue, who was still cooking, and turned to Jin Xi. “Go and come back quickly.”
It was not exactly that he distrusted Yan Mingyue’s skills, but he simply did not trust Yan Mingyue’s skills. Even if he had never eaten pork, had he not seen a pig run? What kind of normal person cooked the way Yan Mingyue did?
Of course, Yan Mingyue had no idea what Gu Yuebai was thinking. Otherwise, he would have slammed the plate of mushrooms in his hand right into Jin Xi’s face. Do not ask why he would hit Jin Xi and not Gu Yuebai; the answer was simply that he did not dare to hit Gu Yuebai.
“Gu Yuebai, come and taste this dish first! This is my newly improved recipe!” Yan Mingyue walked to the table carrying a beautifully plated dish and placed it mysteriously in front of Gu Yuebai.
Gu Yuebai looked down at the dish and pointed at it uncertainly. “If I am not mistaken, this looks like Jianshouqing mushrooms. And they appear to be raw, do they not?”
He had seen these before. Jianshouqing were toxic. Cold-dressed and raw? Was he sure? Would they not die?
Gu Yuebai suddenly recalled certain “yandere” novels Jin Xi had told him about. If you cannot have them, destroy them! The thought was terrifying.
If Yan Mingyue could hear Gu Yuebai’s thoughts, he would not care whether this man was the CEO’s “White Moonlight” or not. He would definitely pry open Gu Yuebai’s head to see what he was thinking about all day.
Yan Mingyue gave Gu Yuebai a puzzled look, then glanced at the mushrooms on the plate. “Yes! It is cold-dressed Jianshouqing! It is my improved version!”
Gu Yuebai regretted letting Jin Xi leave. He could not handle this dish alone. He asked Yan Mingyue uncertainly, “Are you trying to poison me? Murder is illegal. Be good, let us not eat this.”
Yan Mingyue replied, “Trust me. This dish only looks raw. In reality, it is just not very well-cooked.”
Seeming to fear that Gu Yuebai would not believe him, Yan Mingyue pulled a pair of clean chopsticks from his pocket, took a bite of the mushrooms, chewed, and swallowed. After eating, he gave himself a thumbs-up to show that the dish was excellent.
After waiting a moment, Gu Yuebai saw that Yan Mingyue was still conscious and sane. He finally, hesitantly, picked up a thin slice of mushroom and put it in his mouth. The texture was something he thought he might never forget for the rest of his life.
Seeing that Gu Yuebai had eaten, Yan Mingyue propped his head up and watched him excitedly. “How is it? How is it? The taste is not bad, right?”
Just as Gu Yuebai was about to answer, he heard the voice of a third person in the room. He raised a hand to stop Yan Mingyue from speaking, looked around, and asked, “Did you hear another voice?”
“Another voice?” Yan Mingyue was startled. He immediately held his breath and looked around cautiously.
“Hey, buddy, what do I taste like? Why don’t the three of us play a game?”
Yan Mingyue and Gu Yuebai looked down at the same time and saw the bowl of mushrooms winking at them. They then looked up at each other, their eyes filled with shock.
“Are we poisoned?”
“No, I think this might be the true side of the world,” Yan Mingyue said to Gu Yuebai, poking at a small elf floating in the air.
Gu Yuebai’s mind was also becoming clouded from the poisoning. He nodded in support of Yan Mingyue’s view. He looked at the swaying Yan Mingyue and asked, “Do you really like me that much?”
It took Yan Mingyue three seconds to process the question. He replied, “I like,” but he was thinking that he liked the money.
Before he could finish his sentence, he dove into Gu Yuebai’s arms and lost consciousness again.
“I knew it!” Gu Yuebai let out a light laugh and fainted as well.