Chapter 219 - Mu Sheng Looked Adorable When She Ate
Mu Sheng's vibe was so cool that the film crew did not realize right away that Mu Sheng was asking if she could eat the kumquat.
According to the rules, guests on the show were not allowed to eat the fruit growing in the compound.
Could anyone say no to a gorgeous woman? Absolutely not.
The film crew nodded. "You can try just a little."
"Thanks." After getting the film crew's permission, Mu Sheng turned to pick a fruit from the tree and proceeded to place it in her mouth.
Li Hanchen promptly appeared in front of her and took the kumquat out of her hand as he said firmly, "You didn't even wash it. You can't eat it yet."
Mu Sheng forgot they had to pretend not to know each other while they were on the show. She simply felt Li Hanchen was being mean again and looked a little indignant.
"I didn't know," said Mu Sheng softly.
She had neither seen nor eaten such food in her past life. After all, the only thing she had eaten was nutrition fluid.
Mu Sheng seemed clearly disappointed thinking about this.
Since she was a stunning beauty, the audience could not help feeling sorry for Mu Sheng.
[Omigod! She is upset. Stop being so fierce to her, Li Hanchen! How could you be so mean? Just look at how sad she is!]
[For some reason, I think Mu Sheng is adorable. Is my mind playing tricks on me? I really feel like touching her head!]
[Tsk. This is disgusting. Why is Mu Sheng pretending to be pitiful?]
Li Hanchen felt stunned. He thought Mu Sheng was upset because he sounded mean, so he promptly softened his tone. "You can eat it after it is washed, okay? I will wash it for you. See all this dirt?"
Li Hanchen held the kumquat in front of Mu Sheng. She glanced at it and noticed all the dirt on it.
Mu Sheng nodded this time. "Okay."
Li Hanchen walked to the side and used a mechanical winch to draw some well water and washed the kumquat for Mu Sheng.
Mu Sheng did not take the kumquat from Li Hanchen right away. Instead, she walked up to him and asked, "Where did the water come from?"
Li Hanchen pointed at the well beside them. "The water comes from the well. This is called a mechanical winch. It is used for drawing well water. Why don't you give it a try?"
Li Hanchen walked to the side and made space for Mu Sheng. Mu Sheng gave it a try and cool refreshing water promptly flowed from the pipe.
Mu Sheng touched the water with her hand. "It's very cool."
Mu Sheng knew well water was cool, but she had only read about it in books and had never seen it in her life.
"Uh huh. It's cool." Li Hanchen nodded. He gave her the kumquat. "It's clean now. You can't eat the…"
Before Li Hanchen could finish his sentence, Mu Sheng placed the entire fruit into her mouth.
Since the kumquat was tiny, it was as big as a piece of candy. Mu Sheng thought she could pop the whole thing in her mouth once it was washed.
The kumquat tasted sweet on the outside with sour flesh inside. The moment Mu Sheng ate it, the sour taste burst from the fruit and left her frowning hard.
"Spit it out." Li Hanchen walked over and gave her a cup of water.
Mu Sheng spat the kumquat and rinsed her mouth and felt better.
Li Hanchen could not help laughing when he saw her frowning. His eyes lit up brightly as he smiled slightly. "Are you an idiot? You can only eat its skin."
Mu Sheng looked at him quizzically.
Li Hanchen took a kumquat and peeled off some of its skin and handed it to Mu Sheng. "Eat this."
Mu Sheng placed the kumquat skin into her mouth half believingly before her eyes looked smiley and her long curly eyelashes fluttered in the sun. "It's very sweet."
Li Hanchen's smile broadened. "Was it good?"
"Uh huh." Mu Sheng nodded. "I will help myself. Thanks."
Mu Sheng was so engrossed in eating kumquat she forgot she was supposed to act like Li Hanchen was a stranger to her. It was wrong to eat food from a stranger.
Mu Sheng walked up to the tree and took more kumquats and washed them on her own before slowly eating them.
Li Hanchen did not continue talking to her. Instead, he put the half-eaten kumquat into his mouth and ate it before he turned to take the things they bought today.
Even though the compound was quiet, the audience was in a commotion.
[Oh god! Is it just me? I don't know why I am smiling, but I feel there is definitely some chemistry between them.]
[Didn't you notice Li Hanchen's smile? Oh god! He was so hot that I nearly passed out. He is the epitome of the male lead in online novels with the most gorgeous smile on earth!]
[Well, he certainly is smiling. From the looks of it, he was tickled by Mu Sheng. Then again, I am starting to think Mu Sheng isn't as distant as she seems! I am starting to think she is quite cute. Was I mistaken?]
Mu Sheng was a little puzzled when she saw the things Li Hanchen bought while they were at the market. In hindsight, Li Hanchen had a lot of foresight and had indeed purchased all the necessities.
Li Hanchen had spent $100 on rice, flour, condiments, and other essentials. He had also spent $50 buying ingredients. Now, they were left with $50.
Mu Sheng touched the bag of ingredients. "Did we get too much?"
He had bought a lot of fish and meat today. How were they going to survive for seven days?
Although Mu Sheng had very little concept of money, she could not help feeling worried.
Li Hanchen took a small bench and placed it nearby and pointed at it. "Sit here and wait until dinner is ready."
"Okay." The moment she finished her sentence, Mu Sheng recalled she should not act chummy with Li Hanchen, so she stood up and said, "Do you need my help?"
"Can you cook?" asked Li Hanchen rhetorically.
"… I can always learn."
"Okay. In that case, you can watch me do it," said Li Hanchen as he started the fire.
Since they were in a village, the stove could not be turned on at the flip of a switch.
The stove was primitive and required firewood. Li Hanchen used some grass as a fire starter. "Help me add more firewood, I will go wash the ingredients."
"Sure."
Li Hanchen added half a pot of water on the stove before taking the ingredients outside to watch.
He had taken off his coat so that he could work easily. He was dressed in just a white shirt with his sleeves undone and rolled up halfway to reveal his well-toned arms.
Since he had well-chiseled features, he looked gorgeous even though he was doing chores.
[Oh my! He is the CEO straight out of fairy tales! I am sure I will dream of him tonight!]
[He is so manly that I think I am going to die… He's simply gorgeous! I wish I could do naughty things to him.]
[Stop dreaming! Men like him don't exist in reality. However, I have to admit I am shocked at how good he is at cooking. This is quite unexpected.]
Moments later, Li Hanchen went back to the kitchen after washing the ingredients.
"The water is already boiling." Mu Sheng turned her head.
Li Hanchen glanced at Mu Sheng before placing the food on the stove and walking out.
He quickly came back with a damp towel and handed it to Mu Sheng. "Wipe your right cheek."
Mu Sheng took the damp towel and realized some dirt had unknowingly gotten onto her face.
Li Hanchen scooped the hot water out and started to cook.
The moment he put bean paste sauce into the hot oil, Mu Sheng choked from the fumes.
Li Hanchen glanced around. He took a large sheet of newspaper and made a hole in it before covering Mu Sheng's head with it.
Mu Sheng wanted to pull it off, but Li Hanchen stopped her. "Don't take it off. There is a lot of smoke in the kitchen. If you want to stay here, then keep it on. Otherwise, you should go out."
Mu Sheng stopped trying to take it off. She sat in the kitchen obediently with the hat over her head.
Since Mu Sheng was mostly covered by the newspaper, she looked comical as she sat in front of the stove. Li Hanchen could not help smiling as he looked at her before he continued to cook.
Mu Sheng's head was covered, so she did not know what Li Hanchen was making, but she could smell a fragrant scent in the air.
Mu Sheng instinctively swallowed saliva. "It smells great. What are you making?"
Li Hanchen removed the food from the frying pan before removing the newspaper covering Mu Sheng's head. "Let's go. All done. We can eat."
"Sure." Mu Sheng stood up and followed behind Li Hanchen into the living room.
"I only cooked some simple dishes, so you will have to make do," said Li Hanchen as he scooped some rice for Mu Sheng.
He did not know how to make anything fancy, so he kept things simple.
Before he established Golden Group, he had lived on his own in America in a basement for some time. Back in the day, he did all the cooking.
There was braised fish, braised pork belly, and stir-fried vegetables, and all of them were simple dishes.
In Mu Sheng's perspective, they were delectable.
The plump white fish was slightly brown from the sauce. Fatty and lean meat alternated throughout the braised pork belly as it dripped with juice and was cooked until it had a buttery texture. The cabbage was briefly stir-fried and looked bright and green.
Mu Sheng swallowed her saliva. She took some pork belly and took a small bite. The taste swiftly spread throughout her tongue making her eyes smiley. She looked at Li Hanchen happily. "It's good."
Li Hanchen acknowledged, "Thanks."
Since Mu Sheng had never seen such food in her past life, she was always incredibly curious and looked forward to eating them.
She honestly liked the food and the audience could not help feeling puzzled.
She did not resemble a female celebrity at all. They were typically very careful about eating and ate in small mouthfuls so as not to ruin their makeup.
Mu Sheng took some juicy pork belly and placed it on the fluffy white rice before she held up the bowl and ate a large spoonful and chewed with great satisfaction.
After finishing the meat, Mu Sheng took some vegetables and ate it with rice as well.
Mu Sheng's eyelashes moved slightly as she chewed with her cheeks bulging slightly. She seemed to be utterly focused on the food.
[Is it that good? It's making me hungry already. I just went to make myself some instant noodles.]
[Omigod! I am drooling. She makes it look so appetizing. I feel as though I can smell the braised pork belly!]
[If Mu Sheng started a mukbang live telecast, it is bound to be a hit. The way she eats is making me hungry. More importantly, why does she look so cute when she is eating?]
Mu Sheng kept eating the pork belly and stir-fried vegetables, but she had her eyes on the braised fish.
The plump white flesh and sauce looked delicious.
However, Mu Sheng was deeply traumatized after getting some fishbone stuck in her throat previously, so she did not dare to touch the fish.
Li Hanchen sat quietly as he ate and acted as though he did not notice the look on Mu Sheng's face.
Mu Sheng kept looking at the fish.
She kicked Li Hanchen gently under the table when she finally could not bear the temptation.
Li Hanchen was taking some vegetables when he detected someone kicking his leg. His hands instantly froze.
He lowered his eyes and suppressed the smile on his face.
Mu Sheng kicked him again, so he finally said, "Why aren't you eating the fish? Was it not cooked to your taste?"
Mu Sheng shook her head. "I don't like fish."
Li Hanchen suppressed the smile on his face and reached his chopsticks out and took some meat from the fish belly where there were fewer bones. "Do me a favor and try some, okay?"
Mu Sheng looked at the fish before she forcibly ate some. Her eyes went smiley when she ate the fish.
Li Hanchen placed more fish in Mu Sheng's bowl. "Not bad, right? Have more. There's still a lot of fish left."
Mu Sheng looked at the fish before she forcibly ate some. Her eyes went smiley when she ate the fish.
She stood up and automatically took a second bowl of rice.
Li Hanchen glanced at Mu Sheng's rice and felt tickled. Since it was already nighttime, he could not let Mu Sheng overeat.
It was late at night and people in the countryside slept early. She was bound to get indigestion if she overate.
Li Hanchen stood up. "Why don't you eat half a bowl more of rice? We are running out of rice. We should save some for breakfast."
Mu Sheng went quiet. She glanced at the food in the bowl before she nodded. "I will put some back."
Mu Sheng poured half a bowl of rice back reluctantly.
By the time Mu Sheng went back to the table, Li Hanchen had already used a pair of clean chopsticks to debone half the fish.
Mu Sheng glanced at Li Hanchen. Was he being too obvious?
Li Hanchen knew what Mu Sheng was thinking. He cleared his throat and said, "I need the fishbone to make fish stock in the morning. Can you help me eat the fish?"
[Hahaha! Just look at her expression. This is so funny. She wants to eat more, but he said no and now she looks like she wants to cry.]
[Mu Sheng is super cute, I tell you! Even though she looks cold and distant, she is a foodie. Just look at how demoralized she looked when he told her to watch her rice intake.]
[Omigod! Li Hanchen, what are you doing? I demand that you cook Mu Sheng more rice this instant! Why can't you let her eat? She looks so pitiful!]