Hearing these words, Chen Shuo finally let out a long sigh of relief.
If only he could move, he would have loved to gently pinch Su Xiyan's cute little cheeks.
Recently, Su Xiyan had been less aloof and had become quite playful.
"So, you be a good boy and rest quietly. As soon as you're better, we'll go right away."
After bandaging Chen Shuo's reopened wound, Su Xiyan briefly washed the blood off her hands and turned to ask, "You must be hungry, right? I'll go make you some century egg and lean pork porridge right now. Let you taste my cooking skills."
Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo was somewhat alarmed.
She wasn't joking, was she? She's going to cook porridge? Recalling Su Xiyan's previously demonstrated culinary skills, Chen Shuo couldn't help but feel a bit scared.
Let's not mention anything else, just the taste alone...
Chen Shuo wanted to stop her, but it was too late.
Su Xiyan was already humming a little tune as she bounced away.
Watching her disappearing figure, Chen Shuo felt a mix of emotions. After what seemed like an eternity, Su Xiyan returned carrying a steaming bowl of something.
Seeing her careful approach, Chen Shuo was somewhat concerned for her safety.
"Be careful!"
"Don't worry, I can handle vampires, so a mere bowl of porridge is nothing. You lie back, I'll feed you the porridge."
Su Xiyan said as she busied herself finding a place to sit.
Then she gently scooped up some porridge with a spoon and blew on it softly.
Su Xiyan's movements were quite skillful, and Chen Shuo was quite satisfied with that.
At least from then until now, Chen Shuo hadn't smelled any burnt odor, which proved that while the porridge might not taste good, at least it wasn't burnt and should be edible, right?
But just as Chen Shuo was about to feel relieved, he noticed something.
"Wait, Xiyan, the color of this porridge doesn't look quite right. Did you make black rice porridge?"
Chen Shuo couldn't help but be surprised at the blackish porridge.
Su Xiyan frowned slightly and explained, "What are you talking about? I made century egg and lean pork porridge. I just didn't know how many century eggs to add, so I might have put in a bit too many, which probably affected the color."
Hearing this, Chen Shuo felt a chill down his spine, already having a bad premonition: "So how many century eggs did you use?"
Su Xiyan pondered, touching her chin: "I can't remember exactly. I saw there were two packs of century eggs, and since we've had them for a while, I thought I'd use them all up at once to avoid them going bad in the heat."
Two... two packs of century eggs?!
Chen Shuo was left gaping at Su Xiyan's words. Was she joking? Two packs of century eggs? One pack contains twelve eggs, so two packs would be twenty-four...
This truly was century egg and lean pork porridge, with the century egg content probably exceeding the rice. No wonder the porridge had this color.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
Noticing Chen Shuo's change in expression, Su Xiyan couldn't help but feel puzzled.
What could Chen Shuo say? Things had already come to this point. To avoid dampening Su Xiyan's enthusiasm, Chen Shuo could only force a smile: "No, it's just that this is my first time eating porridge with so many century eggs. I'm kind of looking forward to it!"
"Hehe, don't worry, I'll make it for you often when I have time. I want my baby to experience how good his girlfriend is."
Su Xiyan said as she brought the cooled porridge to Chen Shuo's lips.
Faced with the blackish porridge, Chen Shuo hesitated, but seeing Su Xiyan's expectant gaze, he had no choice.
He closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and swallowed in one gulp.
He had thought that if he swallowed quickly enough, the unpleasant taste wouldn't linger in his mouth.
But Chen Shuo was wrong. Unpleasant taste isn't something that can be avoided by bypassing the taste buds.
The unpleasantness came from the porridge being as thick as paste, with the excessive amount of century eggs overpowering the original taste of the porridge.
Apart from being sticky, the porridge had a strong, fishy taste. The two flavors intermingled, lingering in Chen Shuo's throat, refusing to dissipate.
For a moment, Chen Shuo almost spat it out. But at the crucial moment, he managed to force it down with sheer willpower.
"Phew, I can do this, I'm fine..."
Chen Shuo kept encouraging himself internally, not knowing how he managed to persevere.
However, the destructive power of this concoction was indeed great. Just one mouthful had turned Chen Shuo's face red, with tears welling up in his eyes.
Su Xiyan observed all of this, and now she looked like a contestant waiting for her score, eagerly anticipating Chen Shuo's reaction: "How is it? Delicious?"
"It's... it's delicious..." Chen Shuo practically squeezed these words out through gritted teeth.
"Really? But why do you look so uncomfortable? And there are tears in your eyes. Is it not good?" Su Xiyan could sense that Chen Shuo was different from usual.
Chen Shuo shook his head slightly, just a small shake, as even that hurt terribly.
But to make Su Xiyan happy, he endured the pain: "I'm telling the truth, it's really delicious. That's why I have tears in my eyes. It reminds me of my mother's cooking..."
Chen Shuo didn't know where he found the courage to say those last few words, but clearly, after hearing Chen Shuo say this, Su Xiyan was quite happy.
"Hehe, I told you I have a talent for cooking, didn't I? Don't worry, I'll cook for you often in the future."
Su Xiyan was content and continued to feed Chen Shuo.
Chen Shuo, however, was already at his limit, especially after hearing that she would cook for him often in the future. An invisible pressure suddenly appeared.
He wanted to slap himself twice. How could he have said such insincere words?
Now he was facing the consequences. Lying comes with a price.
She'd cook for him often in the future... This...
A phrase suddenly echoed in Chen Shuo's mind: "You asked for it."
But what could he do? He had to pamper his own girlfriend. No matter how bad it tasted, he had to persevere.
Chen Shuo tried to eat two more spoonfuls. He managed to endure the first one, and somehow got through the second one too.
But when the third spoonful came, Chen Shuo finally couldn't take it anymore.
For the first time, he felt something enter his stomach and cause a tumultuous feeling, as if his insides were about to explode. This sensation forced him to stop.
If he continued, he would really throw up, and if that happened, wouldn't all his previous efforts be in vain?
To forcefully maintain his composure, Chen Shuo, despite his rumbling stomach, could only wave his hands repeatedly at that moment: "I'm full, I can't eat anymore..."
"But you've barely eaten anything! I made quite a lot. You're in recovery now, you need to eat more."
Before Chen Shuo could refuse, Su Xiyan had already stuffed another spoonful into his mouth.
Chen Shuo was miserable inside, but he had brought this upon himself, so he had to bear it.
Ah, well, let this be punishment for his white lie. After all, she was his girlfriend. If he didn't pamper her, was he waiting for someone else to do it?