Wanderer of the Zerg

Chapter 40: Cooking

When he’s with the male lord, Ellis never worries about having nothing to talk about. Whatever ups and downs he’s feeling, or whatever the people he just met remind him of, these are all topics the male zerg loves to discuss.

“Ellis, have you noticed how loud people speak here?” Xi Tian leaned in close, maintaining the habit of speaking softly like he did in the Siming supermarket. However, in the bustling supermarket of Boulder Town, his voice was almost drowned out by the surrounding chatter.

“Boulder is just like that. I wasn’t used to it when I first arrived, either,” Ellis said, raising his voice. He was somewhat concerned about whether the male would be able to adapt. After all, yesterday’s trip was straightforward: find the needed items and leave. Today, they were here to buy fresh produce and fruit, without a clear shopping list, just going with the flow.

Xi Tian didn’t show any signs of discomfort. On the contrary, his eyes sparkled with delight as he watched the passing crowds with great interest.

“I really like it here. There are a lot of people, and everyone chats casually and comfortably.”

“Really?” Recalling the days in Siming where they hardly left the house, Ellis couldn’t help but doubt the male’s words.

“It’s true!” Xi Tian clearly noticed the disbelief on Ellis’s face.

“But at home, you can go days without stepping outside. I always thought you didn’t like crowds.”

“Is that why you suggested that isolated rental house at the foot of the mountain?” Xi Tian shook his head with a smile. “Do you remember what I said when I declined your suggestion to go to the prairie ranch before we left?”

Ellis nodded, his memory for people’s words was always good.

“You said, ‘I can’t live without people.’ At the time, I thought you meant you couldn’t live without delivery services.”

Ellis spoke earnestly, with a hint of confusion in his tone, and Xi Tian wasn’t sure if he saw a trace of innocence on his face.

“I enjoy environments where people come and go, and I like talking to them. It’s just like you enjoy watching movies. Watching others is like observing different lives. I wonder what kinds of environments and events have shaped all these diverse people. It’s really fascinating.

It’s not about missing deliveries or courier services as you imagined.

Sometimes, I don’t understand you. I’m really curious about the image you have of me in your mind.”

Xi Tian found the varied image of himself in his partner’s mind quite amusing. Not wanting to laugh too openly in a crowded place, he turned around, grabbed something from the shelf as a distraction.

Ellis looked bewildered, not quite understanding why the male could laugh so easily and anywhere.

As the subject of the laughter, Ellis carefully pondered their conversation.

What image did he have of Xi Tian?

Xi Tian was all-knowing, capable of anything, spontaneous yet always laughing, gentle and humble. In his mind, whatever Xi Tian chose was always the right decision. The male didn’t have to explain his choices to him, but he always did so patiently.

Xi Tian’s image, to Ellis, was more like a dream than a person.

A dream that anyone who has would never want to wake up from.

“What are you thinking about? Let’s go~”

Xi Tian saw him dazing off and reminded him, pulling him forward.

The supermarket had two floors. The basement offered household items, while the ground floor was for food and condiments. They picked up pots, pans, and detergents in the basement. Just now, Xi Tian had casually tossed a bottle of fruit and vegetable detergent into their cart.

“Ilo! Look, look! I want to eat these noodles! My subwdad won’t make them for me!”

The little child they had seen before was standing by the book rack, holding an open recipe book and showing it to his female father.

“I’ve told you, little one, be polite to your sub-dad. He’s tired from taking care of you all day. You need to understand him.” The female father squatted down and gently tapped the little one’s cheek.

“What does ‘understand’ mean?” The little one scratched his head in confusion. “I just want you to make these noodles for me. I didn’t break any house rules, but you’re scolding me!”

As the little child spoke, tears were about to fall from his eyes.

“Hey!” Realizing he had misunderstood the little one’s meaning, the frmale father quickly apologized, “It’s my fault. I misunderstood you. I’m sorry. I’ll ask your sub-dad to punish me according to the house rules. Will you forgive me?”

The little one’s mood brightened, and he threw himself into his father’s arms. “I forgive you!”

The female father picked him up and put the recipe book into the shopping cart.

Turning around, the female father saw Xi Tian and Ellis and greeted them warmly. “Hi, you must be Rutherford’s new tenants. Mr. Xi, Mr. Ellis, hello. I’m Korawa Mode, and this is my young one, Louis Mode.”

The two greeted them back and asked, “How do you know us?”

“I know everyone in town. You look like newcomers,” Korawa smiled. “And Rutherford is my brother. He told me about his new tenants last night.”

“Oh, I see. Korawa, hmm, Korawa,” Xi Tian tapped his head. “No wonder it sounds familiar. The afternoon gathering is at your place, right?”

“Yes, my husband is preparing for the gathering at home. You must come. Everyone is looking forward to meeting you.”

The two of them agreed repeatedly.

After saying goodbye to Korawa, Xi Tian leaned weakly against Ellis. “Suddenly being expected is a lot of pressure.”

Ellis hugged him. “It’s no big deal. People in small towns are very welcoming.”

Xi Tian rubbed his forehead. “I’m a bit nervous. It’s not about whether they’re welcoming or not.”

He picked up a cookbook from a nearby shelf and flipped through it casually.

It’s strange that paper books had long fallen out of fashion on zerg Star, yet in farming areas, paper products and books were still quite common.

“Look at this. It says home-cooked dishes.” Xi Tian sounded uninterested.

Ellis took it, along with the six or seven cookbooks they had already picked out, and put them in the cart.

Suddenly, Xi Tian’s attention was drawn to a book in the corner titled “Basic Skills of Desserts – Teaching You to Make Delicious Desserts at Home.”

The colorful pictures captivated him.

He quickly grabbed a few more baking books and hurriedly pulled Ellis to the ground floor to pick out baking ingredients. Ellis had a bit of experience and was more familiar with the ingredients than the complete novice Xi Tian.

When Xi Tian was ready to check out, Ellis had to laughingly remind him that they hadn’t bought any vegetables yet.

Back home, Ellis chose two dishes he was good at. Just as he finished chopping the vegetables, Xi Tian took over.

Initially, as they gradually adjusted to living together, Xi Tian’s enthusiasm for cooking had waned.

After last night, Xi Tian insisted on participating in the cooking process together. Ellis was skeptical about this.

How had Xi Tian participated in cooking before? By watching.

Yes, Xi Tian was keen on watching, mixing in enthusiastic encouragement, curious questions, and reading out the recipe steps.

Ellis didn’t take Xi Tian’s solemn desire to participate very seriously.

As a female, he believed Xi Tian would eventually learn to cook. It’s something every female experiences. During the time he cooked lunch every day at their home on zerg Star, what kept him going, besides initial interest and female responsibility, was Xi Tian’s amazement and praise.

Xi Tian was always generous with compliments. He’d say things like: the seasoning was just right, it smelled wonderful, the caramelized color looked unique. When there was nothing special about the dish to praise, his remarks would shift to Ellis’s effort in the cooking process, noting the time he spent and asking him to share the recipe.

Cooking itself wasn’t new, but the sense of accomplishment it brought was addictive for Ellis.

Now, this sense of accomplishment was about to be taken by Xi Tian, but Ellis was very interested in seeing how Xi Tian would cook.

Xi Tian had read many tutorials and watched Ellis cook many times, confident that there wouldn’t be any major issues. After being reminded three times by Ellis, he forbade him from speaking any further.

It turned out there were indeed quite a few issues.

The oil got hot, but he didn’t get the vegetables into the pan in time. When the oil started smoking, he hurriedly turned off the heat and dumped the vegetables into the pan. There was a loud sizzle and a lot of steam, so Xi Tian quickly covered the pan.

Remembering there was a stir-frying step, he lifted the lid, turned on the heat, and gave the vegetables a few stirs with the spatula.

Then, recalling Ellis’s method, he added what he thought were the right seasonings.

Ellis stood by, wanting to say something but holding back, seemingly ready to take over at any moment.

Xi Tian shot him a warning look, and Ellis quickly raised his hands in innocence.

Soon, Xi Tian’s first dish was ready. He took the plate and looked at it twice.

If Ellis’s dishes before had been mediocre in taste, they at least looked like food.

Xi Tian’s dish looked like… well, he couldn’t find the right words to describe it.

If there were a cooking aesthetic disaster contest, I’d definitely award myself first place.

Xi Tian thought.

Ellis was still trying to find encouraging words, but they had the opposite effect: “For a first attempt, it’s not bad, just a bit too much heat. You don’t need cooking wine for vegetables, and not that much MSG. It should be added before taking it off the heat. Although you mistook sugar for salt, it can still be salvaged by re-cooking it…”

Xi Tian, expressionless, dumped the charred contents of the plate into the trash. When Ellis said nothing, Xi Tian could make light of it, but Ellis’s comments made the mistakes seem irreparable.

“I’ve given up on salvaging this dish. Honestly, your encouragement skills need work; that wasn’t very uplifting,” Xi Tian said, thoroughly losing patience with the cooking failure.

“You just didn’t get the details right. A few more tries and you’ll get it.”

“Alright, I know, but I really don’t feel like it right now,” Xi Tian replied, dejected.

“Shall I do the cooking then?”

Xi Tian didn’t respond. He looked disheartened, hugged Ellis tightly, took a deep breath, and then released him, saying, “Go ahead.”

The cooking failure had truly hit him hard.