The skewers smelled fragrant, the meat was juicy and delicious, and the atmosphere on the table was a little subtle.
Everyone wisely stopped talking about the stock issue and just praised the oysters and eggplant.
After the meal, Qin Fanglu and Qi Chang tacitly walked into the kitchen to take the responsibility of washing the dishes, while the rest of the people prepared for the afternoon activities.
The Chinese New Year should be celebrated in a proper way. Bai Qiangwei originally suggested making dumplings together, but Xu Feifei thought that was not difficult enough and there were not many tricks, so they changed to making buns.
At that time, Xu Feifei sent various creative pictures of small animal buns, shell buns, and flower buns to the group, saying they were so cute and beautiful, so let’s make this!
Qi Chang said quietly, "You don't really think that a few of us with poor cooking skills can learn it, do you?" Bai Qiangwei slapped her thigh and said, "That's it! Let's see if the man named Qin is clever and skillful!"
Outside the kitchen, Ruan Cunyun and Bai Qiangwei prepared all the raw materials needed to make buns and filled half of the table with them.
After watching the tutorial for a while, Xu Feifei rolled up his sleeves confidently: "I have learned how to use my eyes! I will succeed in one try."
Strictly following the instructions on the recipe, Xu Feifei weighed the flour, baking powder, yeast and the like, and took the kettle to pour water into it.
The final product was still completely different.
They found that Qin Fanglu was indeed good, had a strong learning ability, and could quickly realize where the problem lay even if he failed. He was the kind of person that people in a small team could not help but trust.
Ruan Cunyun and Xu Feifei shrank their necks: "We almost fell over in the first step."
Xu Feifei was stunned: "What a good technique."
Following the recipe and completing each step correctly is like completing a game, which gives people a great sense of accomplishment.
Seeing that Qin Fanglu didn't move, Ruan Cunyun frowned and urged again: "Why are you hesitating? Can I be eaten by dough if you make a phone call? I don't need you to watch me all the time."
The two men stopped involuntarily and looked at Qin Fanglu eagerly.
The little white rabbit was put aside, and Qin Fanglu slowed down the movements and carefully told them how to knead and pinch it.
Ruan Cunyun angrily complained about the injustice of heaven: "Why should the dough listen to you so much?"
"I just have a small wound on the back of my left hand. It won't affect kneading dough with my right hand!" Ruan Cunyun was almost angry.
Ruan Cunyun never hesitated to praise Qin Fanglu: "Too strong."
After finally kneading the dough and preparing the various sweet and salty fillings, making dumplings is a technical job.
Xu Feifei tried it, but the filling either came out or the pig's nose looked like a pig's butt. Ruan Cunyun was not much better, kneading a piece of bright yellow dough, but in the end it was unclear what he was trying to make.
I really don’t know what Qin Fanglu’s hands are like. It seems that the information input from his eyes can be transmitted to his hands immediately without any frame loss.
"That's almost done. Now we need to let the noodles rest for a while." Qin Fanglu clapped his hands.
"And it's best not to pour the yeast directly into the flour. You can mix it with warm water first."
White Rose held the bun in her arms and said narcissistically: "Wow, my baby, you are so perfect!"
"I haven't tried it, so I don't know if it will work." Qin Fanglu changed the bottle of warm water and said, "I just read the precautions for novices to roll over."
The hands with distinct joints were washed very clean. The palms of the hands pressed down on the dough. The slender five fingers grasped the dough and gently lifted it up, then pressed down and kneaded it. The wrists turned from time to time, and the dough rolled half a circle along the basin.
Qin Fanglu looked at them for five seconds and resigned himself to putting down the bean paste in his hand.
When I looked down, it was Cheng Kai again.
During the trial and error process, everyone took turns trying.
Qin Fanglu thought about it and slid his thumb across the screen, trying to pick up the phone.
"Sorry." Qin Fanglu quickly admitted his mistake, "Then watch me rub it."
The finished dough expands to almost twice its size, becomes fluffy and soft, round, white and plump.
Ruan Cunyun and Xu Feifei are unable to make traditional styles, so they decide to directly challenge themselves to make innovative buns. The screen is filled with pig buns, hedgehog buns, and duck buns, which are so cute that people want to eat them in one bite.
Ruan Cunyun is definitely not a man who will be easily defeated: "I just don't believe it! I must make one today!"
Knead the dough, let it rest, and occasionally look at the minefield guide to avoid some minor problems. After a few rounds, I really did it well.
The originally loose and flocculent dough soon became smooth and soft under Qin Fanglu's hands.
Ruan Cunyun spread his hands and lay back in the chair: "How do I knead the dough? I really don't know how. I can't even make a ball."
"Answer the phone quickly." Ruan Cunyun stared at the dough in his hand intently and glanced at Qin Fanglu in a hurry.
Qin Fanglu's hands seemed to be more skillful than theirs. In his palms, the dough was kneaded into a smooth ball in just a few seconds, and then turned into a lifelike little white rabbit.
"How cute." Ruan Cunyun poked the dough and watched it slowly bounce back. He said happily, "It's so elastic."
"Hey, don't pour the boiling water!" Qin Fanglu shouted, saving a large ball of flour from the boiling water that was about to pour down. "Boiling water will kill the yeast."
Qin Fanglu was not very good at this kind of thing that relied purely on manual dexterity, but Bai Qiangwei emerged as a rising star and quickly pinched out some pretty good bun folds.
"The backs of your hands are already blistered, but you're still using force?" Qin Fanglu pulled him by the collar and pulled the dough bowl in front of him.
"Well, let me try." Qin Fanglu said.
Originally, a group of otakus didn't have much expectation for making dumplings, an old-fashioned handicraft, but once they really tried it, they found it was actually quite fun.
Ruan Cunyun exclaimed, "Ah!" "You can also make buns?"
Qin Fanglu looked at her with a little surprise, and Bai Qiangwei immediately returned to her dignified appearance, as if what just happened was just an illusion.
"Take your time." Qin Fanglu said with a smile. As soon as he finished speaking, the cell phone on the table started to ring like a death knell.
However, the flour on his hand fell onto the screen, not only answering the call, but also turning on the speaker mode.
Cheng Kai let out a powerful howl: "Fuck! Qin Fanglu, you must take a look at this beauty, he—"
Ruan Cunyun was stunned for a moment, then looked at Qin Fanglu hesitantly and shocked.
Qin Fanglu's hands moved faster than his brain, and he subconsciously wanted to hang up the phone, but then he thought, Ruan Cunyun was right beside him, what would it mean if he hung up the phone? Guilty, covering up, trying to cover up something.
Besides, he didn't know what Cheng Kai wanted to say. Anyway, it was definitely not something shameful. He, Qin Fanglu, was upright and fearless.
The finger that was reaching for the hang-up button turned in the other direction and pressed the button to cancel the speaker.
Qin Fanglu put the phone to his ear and said coldly, "Speak properly, what's the matter?"
Cheng Kai's voice crackled as if he had just been fished out of a frying pan, and the word order was a bit confusing: "I saw someone else's repost on the homepage, a photo of four people in Hanfu, one of the girls is so pretty, she looks like your boyfriend! I've seen him a few times but I can't remember his facial features clearly, how about I send you a photo-"
"No." Qin Fanglu said coldly.
Ruan Cunyun lowered his head not far away, with no expression on his face, but his heart was pierced by Qin Fanglu's heart.
Cheng Kai continued: "I know you are not interested in C Circle, but you really need to take a look at this one—"
"You know I have no interest in this circle, but you still let me watch it?"
This sentence was really emotional. Cheng Kai knew Qin Fanglu and could tell that he was not very happy.
Cheng Kai was silent for a few seconds, and finally tried: "But he is really good-looking! He looks like your boyfriend!"
Qin Fanglu's eyes were calm, and his voice was even and steady as he stated the facts: "No one is as good-looking as my boyfriend."
After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Ruan Cunyun heard every word Qin Fanglu said and could easily guess what was going on.
The other party said, "I'll show you a beautiful woman." Qin Fanglu said, "No, I'm not interested in this circle." It's too obvious. Isn't this just recommending a celebrity from the entertainment industry to a boss? There are often such plots in novels.
Ruan Cunyun watched Qin Fanglu hang up the phone and walk towards him, and deliberately did not say anything.
As a result, Qin Fanglu started with a serious self-statement: "Ruan Cunyun, I, Qin Fanglu, have never done anything to let you down since I was born. Just now, someone wanted to send me someone else's photo and I refused. This is the first time I have encountered such a thing. I promise that it has never happened before and it will never happen again."
Ruan Cunyun didn't expect such a long list, and he just laughed out loud: "Why don't you collect the photos? I really want to see how good-looking the little stars are now."
Qin Fanglu was stunned: "Little star?"
"Well, isn't the circle you are talking about the entertainment industry?" Ruan Cunyun asked.
Qin Fanglu's expression was indescribable: "No..."
Ruan Cunyun looked up and thought for a moment: "Oh, the modeling industry, right?"
Qin Fanglu seemed to be about to speak, but was interrupted by Ruan Cunyun: "Anyway, no matter what kind of messed up circle it is, Qin Fanglu, you—"
At this point, Ruan Cunyun pulled Qin Fanglu's collar down with his flour-covered hands and threatened him in his ear: "No one is allowed to touch me."
Ruan Cunyun's youthful voice was very clear, and at this moment there was a hint of arrogance in his words, like a spoiled cat, which was particularly irritating.
Qin Fanglu was extremely excited and responded with a hoarse voice: "Okay."
What he thought in his mind was that not only would he not touch it, he wouldn't even look at it.
Ruan Cunyun was obviously jealous, and Qin Fanglu acknowledged it openly. This incident did not have any negative impact on them, but instead made them closer.
There is no need to say more, both parties felt that the matter was handled well.
Ruan Cunyun brought out the freshly made buns, which were bright yellow all over, with a flat orange mouth and black eyes.
Qin Fanglu smiled and narrowed his eyes: "Little yellow duck."
"I succeeded!" Ruan Cunyun felt relieved and ruthlessly threw the little yellow duck into the steamer.
I steamed several steamed buns, the quality was uneven. Some of the animals had flat noses and eyes, but some were cute and pretty.
Several people gathered around the steamer to comment on it, laughing, and then finished all the buns for dinner.
The villa is located in the suburbs, and they chose this place on purpose because it is not only secluded, but also can set off fireworks.
Bai Qiangwei pulled out a camera from her bag and prepared to take some pictures. Qin Fanglu saw it and quietly went back to his room to change his clothes.
Ruan Cunyun smiled as soon as he saw it: "It fits me well."
Qin Fanglu changed into the coat that Ruan Cunyun gave him. It had a slim fit and a uniform feel. It was not as low-key as Qin Fanglu's other clothes and was very cool.
"Do you like me wearing this?" Qin Fanglu asked.
Ruan Cunyun was right. In fact, when he bought it, he was attracted by its uniform feel.
He nodded, and Qin Fanglu smiled and said, "Then I will buy more of this style in the future."
A few people in their twenties were having a lot of fun setting off small fireworks in an open space. The faint sound of firecrackers came from the distant countryside, and the festive atmosphere of the New Year instantly became stronger.
It was already very late when they finished playing with the fireworks, and a few people returned to the house with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
"Take a shower! You're covered in fireworks!" Xu Feifei patted her clothes.
The villa has one bedroom and one bathroom on the first floor and two bedrooms and one bathroom on the second floor.
Qi Chang and his friends arrived the earliest in the morning and occupied the bedroom downstairs. Xu Feifei arrived the latest, leaving only the bedroom next to Ruan Cunyun and Qin Fanglu.
Xu Feifei didn't care about these things. He was used to acting with Ruan Cunyun. This was the first time that he couldn't sleep in the same room with Ruan Cunyun.
In keeping with the principle of being the host, Xu Feifei raised her arm and waved towards the bathroom: "Boss Qin, go take a shower first!"
Ruan Cunyun also pushed Qin Fanglu's arm and said, "Go ahead."
There was nothing to argue about, so Qin Fanglu took his bath towel and pajamas and went in. As soon as Qin Fanglu entered the bathroom, Xu Feifei grabbed Ruan Cunyun's arm and ran downstairs, grabbing Qi Chang who was about to take a shower.
In Qi Chang and Bai Qiangwei's bedroom, Xu Feifei asked the three confused people to sit down in a row and cleared his throat: "Comrades, I have an important announcement!"
Ruan Cunyun: "Are you in love?"
White Rose: "Are you finally ready to come out?"
Qi Chang: "You say."
Xu Feifei rolled her eyes, displayed the mobile chat interface, and grinned: "Thank you, the great social butterfly Feifei! - A big boss in the industry came to me and asked if the four of us could be guests at a large comic exhibition that will be held soon!"
Ruan Cunyun exclaimed "Wow", Bai Qiangwei asked "How much does it cost", and Qi Chang asked "What do you do as a guest?"
"You don't have to worry about the appearance fee." Xu Feifei patted her chest and promised. "It's going to be a grand event this time. I'll show it to you."
Because the four of them are all part-time Csers and entered the circle relatively late. Although they have a lot of fans online, due to the low frequency of their productions, they have only received a few invitations to small comic exhibitions before, or they went to play on their own. This is the first time they have received such a grand invitation.
"Go, go, go!" Ruan Cunyun raised his hand with a fist, "I haven't been to a comic convention for a long time. I'm craving it."
Xu Feifei seemed to be waiting for him to say this, and smiled sinisterly: "The organizer hopes that we can send two people to dance the house dance."
Ruan Cunyun's face changed as soon as he finished speaking. Bai Qiangwei laughed unceremoniously and patted Ruan Cunyun's shoulder vigorously: "Sister Ya, do you have any other candidates? No more!"
They knew when Bai Qiangwei participated in the show that although house dance looks simple, it is actually very difficult to learn.
Only Bai Qiangwei and the gifted Ruan Cunyun are capable of doing the job.
Ruan Cunyun looked at Qi Chang for help: "Teacher Qi, are you really not going to give it a try? You can dance a couple dance with Qiangwei on stage! What a great opportunity!"
Qi Chang looked at him helplessly: "If I go and dance, half of the audience will cancel their tickets on the spot."
Ruan Cunyun collapsed to the ground: "Forget it, then you three can go, I'll just forget it."
"I knew you were going to back out!" Xu Feifei said, "But after hearing what I'm going to say next, you'll definitely beg me to go." Ruan Cunyun was heartbroken: "Tell me about it."
Xu Feifei said word by word: "According to reliable information, Mr. BALLS will also go."
Ruan Cunyun sat up in shock from his dying illness, his eyes wide open: "Fuck!"
The three of them laughed and said, "I knew you would have this reaction!"
"Is your information reliable?" Ruan Cunyun almost pounced on Xu Feifei.
Xu Feifei was so proud of herself: "When have I ever been unreliable?"
"And Mr. Dan might hold a book signing. He'll be there in person~"
Ruan Cunyun immediately slammed the table and stood up: "Forget about the home dance, I can also dance the striptease dance!"
Qi Chang stopped him: "Brother Ya, there's no need."
"By the way, Comrade Qi." Ruan Cunyun held Qi Chang's hands tightly, "Can my Teacher Dan's succubus skirt be made before the comic convention? I want to wear it for Teacher Dan to see."
Qi Chang was infected by the emotion and held Ruan Cunyun's hand: "Comrade Ruan, I will!"
Xu Feifei hugged Ruan Cunyun even more excitedly: "And you know what? My teacher Yingying Dao will also be there! It is said that their game studio has a very large booth."
Ruan Cunyun let out a monkey cry: "Great, woohoo!"
White Rose watched the three of them hug each other excitedly, smiled and shook her head: "It's great to be young."
-
This villa was really well booked. The bathroom was clean and spacious, with an extremely luxurious bathtub. Even Qin Fanglu, who usually took a quick bath, soaked in it for a while longer.
He turned off the water and wiped his body. The misty bathroom suddenly became quiet.
Only then did Qin Fanglu realize the biggest flaw of this house - it was not soundproof.
He heard a jungle monkey-like roar and irregular clanging sounds coming from downstairs, as if ten huskies were destroying the house at the same time.
Qin Fanglu had been playing games too much and thought the house was being besieged by zombies, so he quickly put on a complete set of clothes, put on his coat, and prepared to go downstairs to take a look.
Halfway through the walk, Qin Fanglu heard Ruan Cunyun's voice. Although it was vague, he could tell that he was very excited.
"Qi Chang, when the time comes I'll wear the clothes you made to meet him, it will definitely be stunning!"
Qin Fanglu raised his eyebrows slightly.
Although he didn't know whether the "TA" Ruan Cunyun was referring to was a male he or a female she, Qin Fanglu automatically assumed it was a male he.
After walking a few steps forward, they saw Ruan Cunyun and Xu Feifei hugging each other like koalas. The two of them formed a ball, singing, and rolling around in the room, like the strange behavior of a primitive tribe.
Qin Fanglu had no interest in peeking, so he walked down the stairs openly and said, "I'm done, who's going next?"
There was a dangerous light in his eyes.
There was silence immediately. Ruan Cunyun and Xu Feifei quickly separated by two meters. Xu Feifei ran into Bai Qiangwei's room to escape. Ruan Cunyun gritted his teeth and laughed, "I'll go, I'll go."
Ruan Cunyun looked calm and walked steadily. He went to the bedroom, got his clothes, went to the bathroom and closed the door.
Every step was normal, but Qin Fanglu could easily see that Ruan Cunyun was in a very good mood, very good, not just ordinary good, like he was in a carnival mood.
Through the non-soundproof bathroom door, Qin Fanglu heard Ruan Cunyun humming a song inside, in a light and playful voice.
Ruan Cunyun was putting himself in the bathtub when he heard two knocks on the door. Then Qin Fanglu's voice came through the door: "Your burned hands cannot be touched by water. Is it convenient for you to take a bath by yourself?"
Ruan Cunyun stopped singing and realized that the bandage on his left hand had not been removed and was hanging outside the bathtub, which was indeed a bit inconvenient.
He was now in a state of excitement, and couldn't help but shout out his inner voice: "It's inconvenient!"
Qin Fanglu, who was outside the door, paused for a moment and asked slowly, "Do you want me to help you?"
Ruan Cunyun was soaked in the hot water, which made him feel relaxed. He stared at his left hand, his mind wandering, and he said unconsciously, "Okay."
The next second, the bathroom door handle was turned, and neatly dressed Qin Fanglu walked in with a breath of cold air.
His clothes were neat and his eyes were dark.
Ruan Cunyun finally came to his senses this time. He shrank under the water and stared at him blankly.
He realized it later—oh my God, he was now lying in a bathtub with clean water!
Ruan Cunyun swallowed his saliva: "Actually, I can wash it myself, okay?"
Qin Fanglu said nothing, his face calm, and locked the bathroom door with a click.
Ruan Cunyun leaned nervously to the edge of the bathtub.
"You don't lock the door when you take a shower?" Qin Fanglu stopped not far away and asked lightly.
Ruan Cunyun explained in a low voice: "Xu Feifei is fine... We were roommates in high school."
Qin Fanglu narrowed his eyes, and a hint of displeasure clearly flashed in his eyes.
"Did you often hug your roommate like this in high school?"
"No!" Ruan Cunyun denied immediately, "We were just happy just now."
Qin Fanglu lowered his eyes and asked calmly, "Because you want to wear nice clothes to meet someone?"
His eyes suddenly widened, Ruan Cunyun leaned out of the water, put his arms on the edge of the bathtub, and defended himself: "No - no, it is. But she is just an ordinary friend, and I don't know her very well! The artist who can paint that I told you about before is a girl."
Qin Fanglu still had no expression on his face. He walked over slowly, half-knelt beside the bathtub, and gently held Ruan Cunyun's burned left hand.
There was a handrail next to the bathtub. Qin Fanglu took a thin towel, pulled Ruan Cunyun's left wrist up, and tied it up with unshakable force.
Qin Fanglu said slowly: "You can't touch the water."
From this moment on, Ruan Cunyun's whole body was frozen.
"Are you mentally prepared?" Qin Fanglu suddenly asked.
Ruan Cunyun opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
"Let's review what we taught you before."
Qin Fanglu was like a cold high school teacher, his slender hands moving inch by inch, turning over the pages of the book.
Teacher Qin asked: "When are you going to meet the artist?"
Ruan Cunyun bit his lip, his back pressed tightly against the cold tiles, yet he still felt warm.
"I don't know, I really don't know... Ugh!"
Qin Fanglu kissed Ruan Cunyun's lips without warning, swallowing all his unfinished words, and only let go after a while and moved slowly down.
Ruan Cunyun tilted his head back, closed his eyes and breathed, his left hand tightly grasping the handrail, his joints turning white.
Lack of oxygen.
He was a good student and had prepared himself mentally as the teacher required, but he found that the actual test was much more stimulating than the mock test.
Time was stretched out.
Qin Fanglu finally raised his head, his eyes were red and his lips were glowing.
He stared at Ruan Cunyun's wet face, leaned against his forehead and murmured, "I don't care who you go to see, but before that, I still have to give you a stamp. What do you think?"
Qin Fanglu was wearing a neat and straight coat. Without waiting for Ruan Cunyun's answer, he put his hand directly into the water.
"To be fair, your hands got burned, so I'm just using my hands this time."
Ruan Cunyun dodged backwards like crazy, but he could not move and could only tremble helplessly.
The only thing left in my mind was a cry of grief: How is this fair? How is this fair!
The bathroom door was suddenly slammed loudly, and Xu Feifei's slightly anxious voice seemed to explode in her ears.
"Xiao Yun? Yun Bao! Are you taking a shower in there? Did it take too long? Are you okay? I couldn't find Mr. Qin either. Did he go out?"
Qin Fanglu whispered into Ruan Cunyun's ear: "The soundproofing here is not good. If you don't want to be heard, bite my shoulder."
Ruan Cunyun turned his head with difficulty, opened his mouth and bit it.
-
The thin bathroom door was suddenly kicked open, and a large cloud of water mist rushed out.
Xu Feifei hurriedly ran out of the room, then suddenly stopped and took half a step back in amazement.
Qin Fanglu was wearing loose pajamas, holding a white fluffy bath towel tightly in his arms, his black-haired head resting on his neck, his two white jade legs dangling in the air, and crystal water droplets winding down his ankles.
There was a small tooth mark on the man's shoulder.
Qin Fanglu glanced at Xu Feifei with a flash of cold light.
After turning the corner, Qin Fanglu sighed in distress: "I can't walk at this stage. What should I do next?"
Ruan Cunyun punched Qin Fanglu's chest with his soft hand, gritted his teeth, and said in a gasp, "Why are you the only one who did it? I was obviously jealous today, too."
Qin Fanglu raised the corner of his mouth slightly and took his hand: "Don't worry, I'll let you come next time."
“Fair enough,” he added.
Ruan Cunyun was put into bed. Before falling asleep, he was still thinking about the logical relationship in this sentence. He always felt that something was wrong.
As the saying goes—
You may make a small profit, but capitalists never lose money.
(End of this chapter)