茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Inside the kitchen, Xiang Kun was processing the ingredients skillfully. He softly said to Tang Baona, who wanted to help but did not know where to start from:

“By the way, I made a small woodcarving as a Christmas gift for you. Because I was short of time, I only made one. It’s in the bag over there where we keep the sauce. Wait until we leave before you open it. Otherwise, if Old Yang sees that I haven’t prepared hers, she’ll nag me all night and force me to agree on some unfair deal to break free. Next time we meet, I’ll make her a wood carving as a Christmas gift.”

Tang Baona couldn’t help but laugh: “‘Old Yang’… I’d like to see her face when you call her that. Haha…” She then became interested in his gift and asked further, “What did you carve? An original image or an anime character?”

“You’ll find out when you look at it,” Xiang Kun said.

“Ah!! Just tell me later, tell me now, I really want to go and see it…”

“Nana, what are you looking at?” Suddenly, Yang Zhen Er’s puzzled voice came from the kitchen door, startling Tang Baona.

“Ah? Not looking at anything, just watching how to make the dinner!”

Yang Zhen Er did not notice anything strange. Nana’s startled reactions in the kitchen were normal. She then asked, “Can I take Xiao Ping to your room to see your collectibles?”

Tang Baona had collected quite a few anime and game merchandise, many of which were extremely rare versions. One of Yang Zhen Er’s classmates, Qin Ping, who had been invited over that day, was also interested in them.

“Of course,” Tang Baona responded, not specifying anything else. She knew that with Yang Zhen Er watching, there would likely be no issues, and no one would damage her collection.

After receiving permission, Yang Zhen Er fist-pumped towards Xiang Kun, who was next to Tang Baona: “Keep it up, Brother chef Xiang! My stomach is ready and waiting!”

After Yang Zhen Er left with her classmate, Xiang Kun smiled at Tang Baona: “You should go and talk to your friends too.”

“I can’t bear to see you cooking in my house all by yourself!”

“Just go, you cannot help anyway. Your presence here is only slowing me down.” Xiang Kun joked.

“What?” Tang Baona glared at him: “How dare you complain about me?”

“Go away,” Xiang Kun waved her off. He knew she was just pretending.

Preparing dinner for ten people was quite a challenge even for Xiang Kun. He had already calculated the entire cooking process, making precise steps. Having Tang Baona in the kitchen was a huge variable that would indeed affect his plan and process. Of course, he was sure that Tang Baona wouldn’t mind his words. If it were someone else, he would have spoken more tactfully.

“Okay, okay. You’re the one kicking me out, not me shirking from helping out!”

Tang Baona left the kitchen, only to find out that the people who had been chatting in the living room and on the balcony were all gone.

Following the sounds, she found a big crowd in her room. Some people couldn’t even get in and had to stand by the door.

Although her room was quite spacious, it was packed with so many people.

As soon as Tang Baona went over, she heard the voice of Linlin’s husband, Xie Peng, the art director of a game company known for his ponytail: “Are both this great sword and dull hair directly carved out? This is very time-consuming and requires a lot of patience and skill! When I was at the academy, I also dabbled in wood carving with some seniors, so I know how difficult it is! The creator of this must be a master!”

Then came Yang Zhen Er’s voice: “Hey, Peng bro, could you take a look at this one and tell me what you think?”

From behind the crowd, Tang Baona, leaning on Wang Han and her sister’s shoulders and tiptoeing to look between them, saw Yang Zhen Er pointing to the flawed, half-finished wood carving saber that Xiang Kun initially didn’t finish and asked Xie Peng.

“What’s going on?” Tang Baona asked in a low voice, puzzled.

Tang Baoting, suppressing her laughter, whispered in return: “Zhen’er took her classmate to see your collectibles. They were drawn by your saber wood carving and began discussing it. Xie Peng and his wife came over to look as well, and as Xie Peng had a bit of wood carving experience, they started critiquing it.”

She knew the origin of these wood carvings, so she was certain that Yang Zhen Er was up to mischief again.

In Tang Baona’s room, the most conspicuous items were two wood carvings, one a finished saber and the other a flawed half-finished saber, both placed in transparent display boxes on the shelf, seemingly given equal regard.

“This…’Evil God Saber’, ‘Venus Saber’?” Xie Peng looked at the half-finished wood carving and shook his head: “This is clearly a beginner’s work. These two works are not on the same level.”

“What if the creators’ skill is of the same level?” Yang Zhen Er said.

“You mean, did he deliberately carve it like this?” Xie Peng observed it again and shook his head affirmatively: “Impossible, from the works themselves, this could not possibly be of the same skill level. If not from the works, then how to judge the creators’ skill?”

“What if I can prove it? If I can prove that the two creators are of the same skill level, you have to call me ‘Third Sister’ from now on.”

Standing behind Tang Baoting, Tang Baona immediately understood Yang Zhen Er’s purpose. Xie Peng must have jokingly called her “Yang Lao San” again today.

“Alright! As long as you can prove that the two creators are definitely of the same skill level, with so many witnesses around, you can’t cheat! I don’t believe you…” Xie Peng had absolute confidence in his own judgment.

But before he could finish speaking, Yang Zhen Er calmly and quietly said: “The creators of the two works are the same person.”

Xie Peng was surprised for a moment, then looked at the two carvings, exclaiming, “The same person? How is that possible?!”

“Indeed the same person.” Tang Baona walked over, smiling, “And you know him.”

“I know him too?” Xie Peng frowned and recalled: “Our classmates, your relatives, the ones I’ve seen and known, none of them can make wood carvings of this level…” He suddenly paused, looking at Yang Zhen Er: “It couldn’t be ‘Brother chef Xiang’, could it?”

He still remembered that on Tang Baona’s birthday, a group of friends were celebrating in a private room. When Yang Zhen Er introduced Xiang Kun to them, they joked about his job. In the end, none of them guessed his profession right, and everyone was punished with several drinks.

Could it be that in addition to cooking, archery, martial arts, and his main job as a programmer, he also knew how to woodcarve? Oh right, this guy was also a terrific singer, quite charismatic.

Yang Zhen Er laughed loudly: “BINGO! That’s right! Both pieces were made by Brother chef Xiang! They’re by the same person, so they’re naturally at the same level! Old Xie, aren’t you going to call me ‘sister’ now?”

“No, even if it’s the same person, the skill level can still differ at different times…” Xie Peng tried to argue.

“So what defines the same period? Within how long?”

“It should take at least one year… or within half a year!”

“These two woodcarvings were created within a month! Quick, call me sis!”

Xie Peng’s eyes widened in disbelief, looking to Tang Baona for confirmation. Tang Baona could only shrug helplessly, indicating that what Yang Zhen Er said was indeed true.

Defeated, Xie Peng sighed: “I can’t believe I fell for your trick last time when you deceived me into thinking you worked for a top chef, and now I’ve fallen again … Oh dear! Sis! Third sister! Are you satisfied now…?”

“Oh, Peng, you’re such a good sport.” Yang Zhen Er giggled.

Xie Peng wasn’t upset. Their group of friends constantly teased each other, and his wife Linlin was laughing so hard that she couldn’t even stand up straight.

Watching the commotion from the door, Wang Han turned to Chang Bin and asked: “Does Xiang Kun also do wood carving?” She found it strange. Usually, if someone is talented like this, Chang Bin should have mentioned it when he introduced Tang Baona to Xiang Kun. After all, while it may not be as impressive as playing piano or violin, it’s considered an artistic talent and definitely a bonus point.

But Chang Bin shook his head: “This is the first time I’ve known that he can do wood carving. He definitely didn’t know how in college. He must have learned it after he started working.”

Although Xiang Kun was focused on cooking, he was well aware of what was happening in Tang Baona’s room. He didn’t care too much about people knowing about his woodcarving skills; at most, they would comment that he learned quickly and had a talent for it.

However, when they came out of Tang Baona’s room, the topic of their conversation unsurprisingly centered around Xiang Kun.

Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er raved about how good Xiang Kun’s cooking was. Tang Baoting agreed, making everyone who hadn’t tried Xiang Kun’s cooking eager to taste it.

Xie Peng and Linlin relished in describing how, during Tang Baona’s birthday, Xiang Kun sang “People Like Me” at the KTV. They exaggerated how emotionally stirring his singing was and how it moved some to tears. Consequently, everyone decided that after dinner, they would find an opportunity to ask Xiang Kun to sing again.

Then Yang Zhen Er showed them a video she’d recorded on her phone of Xiang Kun stepping in to help out during a conflict, to those who hadn’t seen it– QIn Ping, the couple Chang Bin, and Tang Baoting and her husband. They repeatedly talked up Xiang Kun’s martial prowess.

If it weren’t for Chang Bin occasionally sharing some embarrassing stories from their college days, the incessant praises would have made even someone as psychologically resilient as Xiang Kun uncomfortable.

At 6:11 pm, eleven minutes later than planned, Xiang Kun started to ask Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er to help serve the food.

Thanks to the previous praises of the Tang sisters and Yang Zhen Er, everyone was eagerly anticipating Xiang Kun’s dishes.

Seeing the first few dishes served certainly whetted everyone’s appetite. Everyone gathered around the table, ready to get started.

Xiang Kun served the last dish, judging by the seating arrangement of those already in their seats, the next ones to sit should be at specific locations. As he set down the dish, he seemingly adjusted the positions of the other dishes on the table to make them more comfortable. Yet, in doing so, he subtly rearranged the plates making dishes, tailored towards specific tastes, closer to their respective “diners”.

Originally, when Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er knew that there would be a total of ten people dining tonight, they were a bit worried. They thought that Xiang Kun wouldn’t be able to handle everything by himself and wanted to order dishes from a restaurant outside, requiring Xiang Kun to only cook one or two dishes at most.

However, after calculating it, Xiang Kun felt that he could manage a whole table of dishes by himself.

With his new understanding of cognition, while cooking now, Xiang Kun could directly build a cognitive model for every dish. How to arrange the cooking process between multiple dishes and how to adjust particular cooking details according to different people’s tastes could all be adjusted more conveniently and efficiently. His movements in the kitchen were more skillful and lucid.

Regarding the tastes of tonight’s guests, excluding his own taste, Tang Baona and Yang Zhen Er’s tastes were the most familiar to him. Four dishes were made specifically for their taste; he had eaten several meals with Tang Baoting and her fiancé Gao Yao, so the dishes tailored to their likes were over 50% of the taste attack. There were two dishes adjusted according to their tastes. Chang Bin was his college roommate and close friend; although he had never tasted his personally cooked food after graduation, he had a basic judgment of his taste. Two dishes were made recalling his taste. As for Xie Peng, Linlin, Xiao Ping, Wang Han, Xiang Kun didn’t know about their tastes, so the remaining four dishes were arranged according to the taste of most locals and were relatively lighter.

Of course, it’s not to say that dishes made to cater specifically to Tang Baona and Yang Zhen’er’s tastes couldn’t be enjoyed by others. Xiang Kun believed that others would still find these dishes enjoyable; if happen they have similar tastes to the two women, the feedback would be even better. He had calculated beforehand and thought that this particular taste combination would maximize everyone’s satisfaction.

Just as they were about to sit down and start eating, Yang Zhen’er suddenly intervened, “Hold on a sec, I want to video chat with Old Xia first!”

However, her video call request was directly rejected.

So, Yang Zhen’er switched to filming a short video to send to Old Xia. She specially zoomed in on Old Xia’s favorite Crispy Pig’s Elbow, and while capturing its glory, she spoke, “Hmm hmm, do you see this, Old Xia? Your most favorite crispy pig’s feet, made by Chef Xiang. Hmm… smells so good! It definitely tastes just as amazing! Oh, my mouth is watering! Don’t worry, Old Xia, your big sister will deal with it all for you.”

Seeing Yang Zhen’er exulting after sending the video, Tang Baoting couldn’t help but laugh, “Now I understand why your cousin didn’t accept your video call.”

This Evening, apart from Xiang Kun and Gao Yao, who only drink plain boiled water and cola respectively, the two men, Chang Bin, and Xie Peng, can both drink alcohol and do so quite well.

But the leading roles this evening were definitely the girls. They were a tight-knit group, as close as childhood friends or sisters, former classmates. So, whether it was Wang Han or Linlin, they too were all prepared to drink.

Chang Bin and Xie Peng, simply chose to accompany Gao Yao and drink cola. They would act as drivers later in the evening and were focusing on savoring the dishes for now.

Looking at the dishes Xiang Kun had prepared for the gathering, they seemed very ordinary and homey, without any spectacular aspect.

At a glance, except for the fish soup, there were no other seafood dishes. Lobster, crab, shrimp were all absent. Other than a few rabbit meat dishes, there were only crispy pig’s elbow, red-braised ribs and stir-fried diced chicken dishes. The vegetables included only cabbage and eggplant, and the eggplant dish even had minced meat in it.

However, these “diners” at the table, people like Tang Baona who had eaten Xiang Kun’s cooking before knew how delicious his dishes were. The others had been so hyped up by them that they were bursting with expectation, so they were not disappointed at all despite the ingredients not being “high-end”.

When they started eating, the combined stimulation of aroma and taste even exceeded their expectations.

Chang Bin, while chewing on a piece of dry pot rabbit meat, couldn’t help but look at Xiang Kun and ask, “Your cooking skills are really this good? If I hadn’t seen you cooking, I would have thought you bought these from a restaurant! I can’t believe it! You…you were talking about going back to your hometown to start a farm? I think you should just find a location in this city and start a restaurant! I can help you if you need anything!”

Xiang Kun laughed, “Maybe I will open a restaurant in the future.” Then he pointed to another dish, “You should try this. You like heavier flavors and can handle spice, so you can try this one.”

Very soon, the table was filled with praises and everyone was busy trying out different dishes. Surprisingly, those who had tasted Xiang Kun’s food before, such as Tang Baona, Yang Zhen’er, and Tang Baoting, ate relatively slowly. They also took the time to introduce the tastes of the dishes to others, behaving as if they were happily sharing their favorite things with their friends.

“Chef Xiang, I really admire you.” Xie Peng, with his little ponytail, raised his glass of cola to Xiang Kun, “The first time I met you, if Yang…okay, okay, stop glaring, stop glaring, Sister San, Sister San, okay?” Xie Peng chuckled in response to Yang Zhen’er’s threatening glare, then continued, “Sister San always calls you ‘Chef Xiang,’ I thought it was just a joke, but now I finally understand the label truly does fit! Oh, by the way, your woodcarving is also amazing. I admire that!”

Following Xie Peng, others at the table took turns toasting Xiang Kun, expressing their gratitude for the sumptuous meal he had prepared. However, it was slightly out of the ordinary as the three men toasted with cola, and the six women with red wine. As for Xiang Kun, of course, he drank a few more cups of boiled water.

Xiang Kun updated their flavor preference data accordingly based on their feedback, then casually recommended dishes that might suit them better.

The dinner table was not solely about dining, of course. After they had eaten and drank enough, they started chatting frequently.

With his augmented sensory abilities and his speed of information analysis training, Xiang Kun’s conversational skills had significantly improved. He was able to observe, analyze, and respond deftly during conversations.

Especially after learning a bit of psychology and micro-expression related skills, he was able to communicate more freely and effortlessly.

However, after acquiring and mastering a new cognitive mode, Xiang Kun noticed a further improvement in his interpersonal communication skills, reaching an all-new level.