So skills are this amazing? She wasn’t sure if it was the knife or if it was just too sharp, but the moment she brought it down, the fish changed into exactly the shape Qin Xiangyi wanted with a single stroke.
Right now, Qin Xiangyi was copying Shaoyao’s SR-level assassination skill.
If even an SR-level assassination skill could make her knife work this precise, she could only imagine how incredible it would be to get a skill that specialized in knife work.
That would be next-level.
Qin Xiangyi was getting addicted to it, starting to debone the fish, but found the action a bit tough.
Still, she managed.
She was so absorbed in what she was doing that by the time she realized it, she’d already finished removing all the bones.
She’d definitely gotten her fill, but if Zhou Muning came back and saw the fish she’d planned to cook had ended up like this, who knew what kind of face she’d make.
Qin Xiangyi figured she’d have to come up with some excuse to get away with it.
But when she turned around, she saw Zhou Muning, who’d just washed her face, already walking into the kitchen.
Qin Xiangyi instinctively tried to hide the fish and gave Zhou Muning a smile.
“Sorry, Xiangyi, that story you told about growing old together was just so touching.” Zhou Muning’s face flushed again.
“And you’re really good at telling stories.
It’s so moving.”
She tried to use Qin Xiangyi as an excuse to explain why she’d been crying.
But really, the story was about two close friends separated by distance, reconnecting years later, and it made Zhou Muning think about her own future with Qin Xiangyi.
Otherwise, how could an ordinary story hit her so hard?
“Heh, maybe it’s because their feelings for each other are so real… just like us.” Qin Xiangyi had told that story on purpose—it was part of her plan, trying to get Zhou Muning to empathize.
Everything was about creating a chance for that three-minute kiss, everything was about surviving in the crazy world Qin Xiangyi had built for herself.
Even though she felt a little embarrassed about the character she was playing, Qin Xiangyi still chose to go all in.
“Seriously, you suddenly got so sentimental, what if I start crying again?” But Zhou Muning didn’t notice Qin Xiangyi’s ulterior motives at all.
As soon as Qin Xiangyi started talking again, her eyes got watery.
She lowered her head, trying to distract herself, but then noticed something odd about the fish she hadn’t finished prepping.
The fish on the table had already been sliced open and the bones had been perfectly removed.
Zhou Muning looked at Qin Xiangyi in confusion.
Qin Xiangyi’s eyes darted around, then she forced a smile and said, “Ahem, just now Grandma was worried you couldn’t handle the fish, so she came over to help.”
Zhou Muning just said “oh,” and Qin Xiangyi thought she’d gotten away with it.
But then Zhou Muning added, “But, Xiangyi, that joke isn’t funny at all.
My grandma has Parkinson’s.”
Parkinson’s, of course, is a common neurodegenerative disease in older adults.
Muscles get stiff, walking looks awkward, and there’s a resting tremor—like hands that keep shaking.
Movements get slow, and even simple actions can be hard to do.
In this world, the symptoms are pretty much the same as in reality.
There are also a lot of weird symptoms related to Chosen Ones, but that wasn’t the point right now.
The point was, Qin Xiangyi’s attempt at humor had totally missed the mark, and Zhou Muning’s mood dropped.
“Sorry, I just got a little carried away with the fish.” Qin Xiangyi quickly apologized, glossing over the fact that she had no idea Grandma Zhou had Parkinson’s.
Zhou Muning pretended to be mad and said, “Hmph, always making trouble for me.
I’m going to punish you.”
Qin Xiangyi looked helpless—she’d brought this on herself, so she said, “Go ahead, but can you go easy on me? I’m still just a kid.”
Zhou Muning couldn’t keep a straight face and burst out laughing.
“Why do you sound like one of those uncles selling vegetables after a stint in the nursing home? What I mean is, you’re in charge of all the chopping and washing from now on.
Looks like your knife skills are pretty impressive.”
Qin Xiangyi breathed a sigh of relief.
After her first try at knife work, she was feeling a bit more confident.
After all, killing and chopping vegetables weren’t that different—just a lot of chopping.
Except, with vegetables, you had to be more subtle, cut a little at a time.
“But honestly, my knife skills are actually pretty bad.” Zhou Muning kept busy, but still added that in.
Her cooking was edible, but it never looked good, mostly because her knife work was so poor.
She’d been wondering how to tell Qin Xiangyi about it, but Qin Xiangyi had already taken care of everything.
“So that’s how it is.” Qin Xiangyi suddenly understood, making a mental note of this little flaw of Zhou Muning’s.
If she didn’t manage to win her over this time, this would be the perfect way to get close to Zhou Muning again in the future.
“Yeah, but how are you so good with a knife? Did the nursing home teach you how to cook?” Zhou Muning asked curiously.
Qin Xiangyi just grinned and started making things up.
“You actually guessed right.
The food at the nursing home was inedible.” Qin Xiangyi started spinning a story about why she’d lost weight at the nursing home—it was because the food was so bad, she couldn’t stand it and ended up messing around with a few others.
In reality, Qin Xiangyi really hadn’t eaten any of the nursing home food.
It looked nutritious, but it was all laced with medicine.
Even if you weren’t crazy when you went in, after eating that stuff for a while, you’d start to change.
Every time Qin Xiangyi ate or took medicine, she just pretended and then threw it all in the trash later.
She was only saying this now to distract Zhou Muning.
Sure enough, the naive Zhou Muning quickly imagined a terrible world and didn’t question Qin Xiangyi’s knife skills at all.
After that, the two of them kept chatting, and dinner was ready in no time.
But it was way earlier than Zhou Muning had expected.
She looked at the clock—it was only six—and said awkwardly, “What do we do? We finished too early.
My brother isn’t back yet.”
“It’s fine, I’m not hungry right now.” Qin Xiangyi looked at the steaming dishes, the delicious smell wafting over.
There was no way she wasn’t tempted.
“How about we sneak a few bites first?” Zhou Muning saw Qin Xiangyi eyeing the food and felt a sudden sense of pride and satisfaction.
She actually encouraged Qin Xiangyi to sneak some.
If Ye Fan came back later, even if they reheated the food, it wouldn’t taste as good as it did now.
Qin Xiangyi hesitated, and just then, Shaoyao, drawn by the smell, came wandering into the kitchen.
Qin Xiangyi shot Shaoyao a look of disdain and didn’t go near the table, but Zhou Muning had already picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, and held it out to Qin Xiangyi.
