Chapter 322: A Bouquet of Gratitude
Creak~
"Heehee…"
Hearing the occasional soft giggles and the creaking of the bed frame from the bed beside her, Fu Ya, who had just closed her eyes moments ago, suddenly opened them wide. With a swift movement, she jumped off her bed and pounced onto Ying Shuang's, yanking the covers off her in one sweeping motion.
"Hmm? Fu Ya? Eh—hey! What are you doing?!"
Smack smack smack!
…
After a brief tussle, both girls were left slightly sweaty, finally collapsing side by side in exhaustion.
"So, Ye Lingqing's not going back anytime soon?" Fu Ya turned her head to glance at Ying Shuang, her face full of helplessness.
Ever since Ying Shuang had a brief chat with Ye Lingqing, her mood had suddenly brightened up. On the way back, she kept breaking into silly little smiles. No matter how Fu Ya asked, she refused to say what they talked about.
Even lying in bed at night, she couldn't stay still.
It wasn't until Fu Ya's patience wore out — and her palms landed a few well-placed smacks — that Ying Shuang finally confessed.
"Yup! He'll be staying in Shrek City for a while!" Ying Shuang grinned again, but then winced with a little "Ow!" Her face scrunched up. "Fu Ya, you hit way too hard! My butt still hurts!"
"Serves you right!" Fu Ya couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Hmph… It definitely wasn't because it felt too satisfying to slap, no way.
"Ugh." Fu Ya raised a hand and lightly tapped Ying Shuang's forehead. "Ying Shuang, I'm afraid you're falling too deep. If this keeps up, you'll be the one who gets hurt."
"No I won't," Ying Shuang replied, utterly carefree. "He doesn't have spirit power, so he can't beat me."
Fu Ya: "…"
"Is that what I meant by 'getting hurt'?!" Fu Ya rolled her eyes again, and at that moment, she actually began to feel a bit worried for that boy, Ye Lingqing.
Shaking her head gently, Fu Ya shifted slightly, trying to get up and return to her own bed.
A while passed…
"Ying Shuang, move your leg. I'm going back to sleep in my bed."
"Nope nope! We haven't slept together in forever! Now that you're here, you're not going anywhere~ Heehee!"
"…"
…
The night passed without further incident.
. . . . . . . . . .
Early the next morning, Qi Han was awakened from his dreams by Ru Yi's personalized wake-up service. As soon as he got his bearings, he remembered something and immediately opened the quest interface.
[Side Quest 6: Conquer the Food Festival (Completed)]
Reward: Random Recipe x2 (Claimable), Spirit Power Levels +2 (Claimable)
Seeing the words "Completed" finally displayed on Side Quest 6, Qi Han couldn't help but smile.
"Ru Yi, the results are out?"
"Yes. The Culinary Association announced the rankings first thing this morning. Your side quest was automatically updated and completed," Ru Yi replied softly.
Qi Han nodded and immediately claimed the spirit power reward without hesitation.
A warm current began to flow through his meridians and into his dantian, strengthening his spirit power. His spirit level rose from 35 to 37.
Next up: the random recipe draws.
Sitting up from bed, Qi Han disturbed the sleeping Pururu beside him.
"Meow~"
Good morning, food provider!
"Morning, Pururu." Qi Han gave the cat a gentle scratch on the head, then hurried to the bathroom to wash his hands.
"Meow!!"
Pururu instantly puffed up in outrage.
You dare wash your hands after petting me?! Do you think I'm dirty?!
Qi Han, having finished washing, was about to enter the system space for his double recipe draw when he saw Pururu's resentful gaze. He scratched his head awkwardly before realizing what was wrong and quickly explained with a smile, "Sorry Pururu, I wasn't avoiding you, I just wanted clean hands before drawing my prizes."
Drawing?
Pururu tilted its head in confusion.
What's that? Is it something tasty like cat food?
After explaining himself, Qi Han could no longer contain his excitement and instantly entered the system space.
Soon, the system space was filled with the frantic shouting of two gambling addicts.
"5 Star! 5 Star! 5 Star!"
However, reality proved that sometimes, simply washing your hands isn't enough to change your bad luck.
2 Star Recipe: Mapo Tofu
2 Star Recipe: Fried Pork in Scoop
Although both dishes were personal favorites of Qi Han, it didn't change the fact that he had only drawn the lowest 2 Star recipes from the random recipe pool.
Well… looking on the bright side, 2 Star recipes are cheaper and more popular with regular customers, right?
Comforting himself with this thought, Qi Han reached out and gave Ru Yi's chubby cheeks a little pinch, eliciting a disgruntled pout from the little girl.
Currently, his training space was still occupied with practicing "Dinghu Shangsu." The two newly acquired 2 Star recipes would have to wait.
The food festival had used up much of his previously hoarded recipes, and now Qi Han's inventory was nearly depleted.
Besides the ongoing practice of Dinghu Shangsu and the two new 2 Star recipes, the only remaining one was a 4 Star recipe — Peony Fish Fillets — which required reaching the 5 Ring level to unlock.
That one… wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Better to focus on what was in front of him.
Now that the food festival was over, he could finally settle down and put his full attention into mastering Dinghu Shangsu.
Having made up his mind, Qi Han exited the system space and entered the training space once again, picking up where he had left off days ago with the dish.
Thankfully, his skills hadn't rusted.
…
While Qi Han trained day and night in the system, time in the outside world moved on quietly. Before long, it was already noon — business hours.
Ye Lingqing stood at the end of the long queue, rising on tiptoes to peer at the line of people ahead of him, unable to suppress a sigh of admiration.
Boss Qi's business is even more booming than before the food festival.
The restaurant hadn't even opened yet, and already there were over 200 people in line.
Today, Ye Lingqing wasn't planning on selling any Mo Wu Tuan.
After three days of hard work, he needed a day to get his affairs in order — and more importantly, he wanted to personally thank Boss Qi.
After all, the people who ended up helping him later were all from Han Shi, which meant none of it would've happened without Qi Han's initial support. Without him, Ye Lingqing's stall might still have been deserted even after the full three days of the festival.
Gratitude couldn't come empty-handed. In his hand was a bouquet of flowers.
He had picked these flowers himself early in the morning from a patch just outside the city. Each one was fresh and delicate.
In Zhilán Village, gifting a bouquet of hand-picked Zhilán Flowers was the most heartfelt way to express gratitude.
Although Shrek City didn't have the same abundance of Zhilán Flowers, a carefully selected bouquet of the most beautiful blooms could carry the same meaning.
And since he was already at Han Shi, it would be a shame not to try its legendary food. Over the past few days, Ye Lingqing had heard countless mouthwatering descriptions of the dishes served here — he was dying to try them.
He didn't have much money on him, barely enough for a small serving of fried rice costing five gold coins — but that was enough. He just wanted to experience the cooking of the man who had helped him so much.
Aside from these two goals, Ye Lingqing harbored one more, much smaller wish. A wish that, perhaps, was a little foolish, maybe even arrogant…
But after three days of inner struggle, he had finally decided — no matter the outcome, he would ask.
This thought had taken root after Qi Han's casual guidance dramatically improved the flavor of his Mo Wu Tuan.
He wanted… to become Qi Han's apprentice.
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