Reality Programming Association

Chapter 115: Chapter 47: Beacon Fires and Kitchen Smoke

Yu Xian withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace.

...

After passing through the West Gate, the apartment building was just across the road.

Yu Xian stood at the apartment entrance, folded his still-dripping umbrella, and gave Senior Sister Yiyi a call.

The phone had barely rung once before the call was ended. Immediately after, a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded from inside the apartment.

The deadbolted, code-locked security door opened a crack. Before he could even step inside, a rich aroma of stir-fried scallions and ginger, mixed with a braising sauce, wafted out through the gap and hit him in the face.

Yu Xian froze for a moment.

The door swung fully open, and Yang Yiyi stood in the entryway.

His senior sister was wearing a loungewear set he had found for her, its sleeves rolled up high and a few loose strands of hair framing her ears.

What stood out most was the light-blue apron tied around her waist. It wasn’t long, only covering her upper body.

It was one Yu Xian had bought, and it had been hanging in the kitchen for a long time.

”Come on in.”

Yang Yiyi stepped aside. A pair of slippers was set by the door for him.

As Yu Xian stepped inside, his gaze traveled past the entryway and landed on the nearby dining table.

Under the warm, yellow light, three or four dishes sat on the table, steaming and vibrant.

The sweet-and-sour pork ribs glistened with a tempting, date-red glaze. The stir-fried bok choy hearts were a luscious, dewy green. There was also a plate of shrimp with scrambled eggs, fresh from the wok, the tender yellow curds still trembling slightly.

Yu Xian stood rooted to the spot, as if frozen in time.

His expression went blank for a moment. A memory from deep within him had, without warning, superimposed itself onto the scene before him.

In this very room, under this very light, there had once been a short-haired girl wearing this same apron, bustling in and out of the tiny kitchen.

He would push the door open, and the girl would raise her spatula, eyes crinkling into a smile as she called out, ”Wash your hands! Time to eat!”

The memory of that familiar, warm scene—one that had now vanished completely from the world—sent a wave of dizziness over him, making his heart ache.

”Yu Xian?” Yang Yiyi’s voice pulled him back to reality.

Looking a little flustered, his senior sister retied her high ponytail and said hesitantly,

”Um... is this a bit too sudden? I’ve been staying at your place for days, and you took care of me when I had a fever. I felt bad imposing on you.”

She gestured to the dining table.

”I saw the delivery apps were running again, so I bought some groceries. I figured with the storm these past few days, no one’s probably been eating well, so I took the liberty of making dinner. I wanted to treat you to a proper meal to say thank you...”

Yu Xian snapped out of it. Looking at the dishes laid out on the table, a wave of guilt washed over him.

Even setting aside the trigram that read ’Danger to those who draw near,’ his senior sister’s current predicament was largely his fault. Yet here she was, cooking a meal to thank him.

”Not at all. I was just a little surprised.” He slipped on the slippers and smiled.

”Well then, thank you for this, Senior Sister.”

He thought back to the past few days at his cousin’s house. Although his cousin had tried his best, his cooking was still only at the level of ’cooked through’ and ’not lethal.’ ’Those burnt pancakes and the noodles with their... complex seasoning... he really did try his best.’

’Compared to that, this meal is practically a Michelin-star feast.’

”You go ahead and eat while it’s hot. There’s one more soup, it’ll be ready soon.”

With that, she turned and slipped back into the kitchen.

Yu Xian had planned to ask about her ”major discovery” right away, but watching her busy figure, he felt that interrupting her now to discuss such a heavy topic would be a real mood killer.

The words caught in his throat, seemingly blocked by the fragrant steam. He walked over to the dining table and sat down.

The food was fresh from the wok, its steam warming his face.

’Tasting the food right when it’s served is the greatest sign of respect for the chef.’

He picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork; it was so tender it fell off the bone, the flavor perfectly balanced between sweet and tangy. He then tried a spoonful of the shrimp and eggs; they were savory, delicate, and smooth.

’It’s really good,’ he thought. ’It has a real home-cooked taste.’

From the kitchen came the HUM of the range hood and the sound of running water washing vegetables.

Yu Xian put down his chopsticks, suddenly feeling restless.

He recalled that Xia Li had never let him in the kitchen.

Every time he had tried to help, Xia Li would ruthlessly push him out, saying things that sounded like tongue twisters, like, ”The best way you can help is by not helping at all.”

Over time, he had gotten used to simply enjoying the fruits of her labor.

’But now,’ he thought, ’letting Senior Sister Yiyi, who just got over a fever, slave away in the kitchen while I just sit here and wait to be served... it just doesn’t feel right.’

After a moment’s hesitation, Yu Xian stood up, walked to the kitchen doorway, and feigned as if he were about to enter.

’Just be polite,’ he told himself. ’Make a token offer to help, and then I can go back to waiting with a clear conscience.’

He felt a little devious.

”Senior Sister.”

Yu Xian leaned against the doorframe, watching Yang Yiyi stir the soup pot.

”Do you need any help?”

Hearing this, Yang Yiyi turned her head. Yu Xian braced himself for the inevitable ”No, it’s fine.”

However, Yang Yiyi’s eyes lit up.

”Oh, perfect.” She beckoned to Yu Xian with a casual flick of her hand, as if calling over a stray puppy.

”Come on in, I could use an extra pair of hands. Chop these scallions for me; they’re for the soup.”

Yang Yiyi pointed at the scallions on the cutting board, then added,

”Be careful not to cut your fingers, okay?”

’This... this isn’t how the script is supposed to go, is it?’

Yu Xian was dumbfounded. ’Why isn’t she playing by the script?’

’But I already offered,’ he thought. ’I can’t very well say ”I was just being polite,” can I?’

”Oh... okay.”

Yu Xian could only brace himself and step into the somewhat unfamiliar territory of the kitchen.

The small kitchen immediately felt crowded with a second person in it.

Steam swirled between them. Yang Yiyi was at the stove tasting the soup for seasoning, while Yu Xian stood at the cutting board, clumsily chopping scallions.

”Done chopping?” Yang Yiyi glanced over. She couldn’t help but smile at Yu Xian’s clumsy knife skills.

”I take it you don’t usually cook for yourself, huh?”

”Someone else used to cook. I was mainly in charge of eating and washing the dishes...” Yu Xian said quietly, pushing the chopped scallions toward her.

Yang Yiyi took the scallions, sprinkled them into the soup, turned off the heat, and ladled it into a bowl.

”Well, you can learn to cook from now on. It’s a lot of fun.”

She picked up the soup bowl, looked at Yu Xian, and said earnestly,

”If you want to learn, I can teach you. I’m sure you’d pick it up quickly.”

Before he could respond, Yang Yiyi had already carried the soup bowl out of the kitchen.

A steaming bowl of tomato and egg drop soup was placed in the center of the table. Bright red pieces of tomato and delicate white egg ribbons floated in the broth, sprinkled with the scallions Yu Xian had chopped with his own hands.

They sat facing each other. Yu Xian lowered his head and brought a spoonful of soup to his lips. The tomatoes were sweet and tangy, the egg was savory... and the scallions were even perfectly chopped. He was just about to praise his senior sister’s culinary skills.

Just then, a white light flashed before his eyes.

CLICK—

The sound of a camera shutter rang out in the quiet living room.

Yu Xian froze, the spoon hovering by his mouth. He looked up to see Senior Sister Yiyi pointing her phone at him.

”Senior Sister, what are you...” He hadn’t fully processed what was happening.

”This one’s not bad.” Yang Yiyi looked at her phone screen, pinching to zoom in as if admiring her handiwork.

”The lighting is perfect, but your expression is a little dorky.”

Yu Xian put down his spoon. Only then did he remember: when she had seen his parents’ photo album, his senior sister had said that she and the others would help him take new pictures to fill the empty second half.

He lowered his head.

”I thought you were just saying that...”

He kept his head down, drinking the soup in large gulps.

”Slow down, you’ll burn yourself.”

”Thanks.” Yu Xian didn’t dare look up. ’I must look like a total mess right now,’ he thought.

The rest of the meal passed in silence. It wasn’t until they both put down their chopsticks that Yu Xian finally collected his thoughts and remembered why he had come.

”Senior Sister, there wasn’t actually a ’major discovery,’ was there?”