Chapter 170 : Favorability -1
"I've had enough; your chess skills are just terrible. Xiao Xu, I'm not trying to be mean, but didn't you take a chess training class? How could you play this poorly?"
Zhou Jingshan shook his head in exasperation. He had played a few rounds of chess with Qian Xu, winning each one easily. Qian Xu looked every bit like a complete beginner, committing mistake after elementary mistake. Honestly, Zhou Jingshan found playing with his daughter's boyfriend far more enjoyable, even a bit... exciting.
Watching his former father-in-law leave, Qian Xu was left stunned. He had specifically learned Ling Ning's style, so how was he losing this badly? Maybe he was being too careful, playing too defensively. Qian Xu could almost see imaginary ‘Favorability -1’ signs popping above Zhou Jingshan's head.
Seeing Zhou Jingshan sitting on the couch watching TV, Qian Xu realized there was no way he could gain any more favor with him today. He quickly switched targets and headed into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Ling Ning was busy preparing lunch with Zhou Xiaoxiao's mother, Jiang Yuan. They occasionally chatted about cooking techniques while Zhou Xiaoxiao watched them with an affectionate smile. The whole scene had a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
To Jiang Yuan, Ling Ning was a perfect fit. After all, it was rare for young men these days to cook at all, let alone cook well. Ever since Zhou Xiaoxiao had gotten together with her boyfriend, she, who previously wouldn't touch anything in the kitchen, had started coming in every day to learn a few recipes. This change made Jiang Yuan incredibly happy.
"Auntie, I came to see if there's anything I can help with in the kitchen." Qian Xu said with a bright smile. He had joined a cooking class next to his chess training class to try and win favor with his former mother-in-law. After a period of systematic learning, Qian Xu was confident in his cooking skills!
After all, the cooking class teacher had called him a "genius culinary boy."
"No need, Ling Ling's already done all the prep work. Now we just need to cook everything. It'll be quick! You can go wait outside." Jiang Yuan replied without even turning her head.
"But... I..."
Qian Xu tried to say something else but was cut off by Zhou Xiaoxiao.
"No buts! Just leave already; you're just in the way here."
Qian Xu was pushed out of the kitchen by Zhou Xiaoxiao, but he still felt unsatisfied. He decided to return, watching the two figures skillfully moving around the kitchen. It was clear there wasn't anything he could help with, but he was unwilling to just leave. He had spent so much time learning to impress them, so why wouldn’t they let him show it off?
Ling Ning and Jiang Yuan were both adept in the kitchen, and dishes were soon being prepared one after another.
If Qian Xu couldn’t contribute by cooking, he figured he could at least be helpful by serving the food.
"Let me help carry the dishes!" Qian Xu said, attempting to grab a dish that had just been prepared.
"Hey! Wait a second! That dish isn't done yet! You claim you know how to cook, yet you can't even tell if a dish is finished or not?" Jiang Yuan scolded, shaking her head.
"Uh..." Qian Xu could practically see more imaginary ‘Favorability -1’ popping up above his former mother-in-law's head. He cursed himself internally. In his haste, he hadn’t paid attention, and now he had made another blunder.
After waiting for a while longer, ensuring that a dish was indeed ready, Qian Xu finally grabbed it and carried it out. He had thought about sabotaging the dish to ruin Ling Ning's reputation, but he couldn’t tell which dishes Jiang Yuan had cooked and which Ling Ning had made, so he had to abandon that plan.
"What do I do now?" Qian Xu sighed internally. He had come in brimming with confidence, but things had not gone as planned. It was hard for him to accept.
Most people, when deep in thought, don't pay much attention to their surroundings.
Qian Xu, balancing the dish while lost in his thoughts, didn’t notice what was underfoot, and he ended up tripping over a chair, falling forward.
However, his physical fitness wasn’t bad. Although it looked like he was about to lose his balance and fall, he managed to stabilize himself without actually hitting the ground.
Qian Xu nodded in satisfaction—at least he hadn’t embarrassed himself completely. He looked at the dish in his hand, a cold kelp salad, only to discover that the kelp was completely gone.
Instinctively, he looked around and saw his former father-in-law staring at him with an expressionless face, a pile of kelp now sitting atop his head.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Qian Xu sat quietly at the dining table, eating in silence. Although the food was delicious, it tasted like sawdust in his mouth.
Zhou Jingshan had already taken a shower and changed into fresh clothes, but his expression remained sour. After all, who could maintain a good mood after being smacked in the face with kelp while watching TV? And worse still, he could still smell the lingering scent of the dish on his head.
Zhou Xiaoxiao sat with an expression that looked like she was fighting the urge to laugh. She had no idea how the kelp had managed to fly all the way to her father's head. The dining room and the living room were quite far apart—just how much strength did someone need to have to throw it that far? It seemed absurd but also incredibly funny.
"Xiaoxiao, go get that bottle of red wine from the back of the wine cabinet."
Zhou Xiaoxiao paused for a moment at her father's request, remembering the bottle she had taken for Ling Ning's birthday. She suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Is it the one with the creepy tentacle label on it?" she asked.
"Yes, that's the one."
"Ahaha... Dad, I need to tell you something. I took that bottle for my friend's birthday party, and we drank it." Zhou Xiaoxiao glanced sideways, her voice dropping to a whisper.
Hearing this, Ling Ning remembered the bottle of red wine from her birthday party and went quiet.
Zhou Jingshan nearly lost his temper at his daughter’s words. His cherished bottle of wine that he had saved for years—gone, all for a birthday celebration!
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Jingshan said, "Well, if it’s already been drunk, then there's no helping it. Just grab the one from the third wine cabinet, all the way in the back."
Although he spoke as if it didn't matter, his heart was aching. It was about time to put some locks on the wine cabinet; otherwise, with more of his daughter's friends celebrating birthdays, he might lose all his precious collection.
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
Author's Note:
Sigh, I haven’t written much at all today. The year-end chaos is really just too much.