Chapter 195: Encouraging Education

Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Encouraging Education

"Sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t do that on purpose!"

They broke apart the instant they touched!

A panicked look flashed across Jiang Fan’s face.

Seeing him like this, Li Muwan, who hadn’t been angry to begin with, found the situation rather amusing. She deliberately put on a stern expression.

"Were you doing that on purpose? I asked you to come over and teach me how to cook, not to take advantage of me."

"No, no, no, no, no! I really wasn’t!"

"I was just about to compliment you. I thought you were amazing for learning so quickly and finishing up."

"But I didn’t think..."

Jiang Fan explained frantically.

But Li Muwan just stared at him coldly.

"Alright, I was wrong."

Jiang Fan’s shoulders slumped. He had, in fact, taken advantage of her. If she slapped him across the face, he couldn’t even complain.

He even braced himself for it, but after keeping his head down for a long time, he realized Li Muwan wasn’t making a move.

He couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at her from the corner of his eye.

He saw that Li Muwan had turned to light the stove, but after a few tries, it still wouldn’t catch. The room was starting to fill with the smell of natural gas!

This time, Jiang Fan was truly terrified.

"What the hell?! Who taught you to do that?!"

Forgetting everything else, Jiang Fan rushed forward, grabbed her hand, and yanked her back.

Li Muwan slammed into Jiang Fan’s chest, letting out a muffled grunt.

"Get out of here with me, now!"

She wanted to throw a fit, but the grave tone in Jiang Fan’s voice made her swallow her anger.

Once in the living room, Jiang Fan spun around and bolted back into the kitchen, throwing open all the doors and windows.

He kept sniffing the air and only breathed a sigh of relief after the strange smell had completely vanished.

"What were you thinking? You scared me to death."

"If one burner won’t light, can’t you just use the other one? There are two of them, why did you have to use that specific one?"

"Who taught you to just hold the knob down, letting the gas out, and *then* try to light it?"

"You’re supposed to press and turn to light it immediately!"

"I’ll be more careful next time..."

Li Muwan said meekly.

"And you think there’s going to be a next time? A next time?!"

Jiang Fan whipped his head around to glare at her.

"There won’t be a next time."

"So... can we go in and cook now?"

"The rice is already cooked."

Li Muwan pointed at the rice cooker.

Jiang Fan walked into the kitchen and sniffed around. Only after confirming that the smell of gas was gone did he nod.

"Come here. I’ll teach you how to cook,"

Jiang Fan said irritably.

Li Muwan didn’t dare to argue this time and obediently walked right into Jiang Fan’s embrace.

He instantly froze.

’Wait... what...?’

Jiang Fan’s brain was tying itself in knots.

"Let’s start. I know the first step is to add oil, right?"

"And then stir-fry the meat before the peppers."

Her two sentences snapped Jiang Fan out of his reverie.

"Huh? Oh, right."

"But I’ll teach you a simple way to do it today."

"First, we’ve got the burner lit, right? Hot wok, cool oil. Pour in the oil, and after about thirty seconds, add the peppers and start stir-frying."

"It might get a little smoky, so remember to turn on the range hood."

After she turned on the range hood, he guided her hand as they stir-fried the peppers. "Fry them for about a minute," he said, "then we’ll add some salt to draw out the moisture and temper the heat."

Li Muwan held the wok handle with one hand and the spatula with the other, her expression one of utmost concentration.

"Then, take the peppers out but leave the oil. Add a little more fresh oil, and once the wok is hot again, stir-fry the meat."

"That way, the meat will absorb the peppers’ aroma. Once the meat is almost cooked through, toss the peppers back in, add your seasonings, and you’re done."

Jiang Fan demonstrated as he taught, and in no time, a steaming plate of Stir-fried Pork with Peppers was ready.

Looking at the dish she had made, a heartfelt smile spread across Li Muwan’s face.

Even though Jiang Fan had helped her, she was still filled with a sense of accomplishment.

"So, should we make the shredded potatoes next?"

Jiang Fan broke down the steps for her, teaching her bit by bit. By the time they got to the third dish, Hand-Torn Cabbage, he let go completely and had her cook it on her own.

He just gave verbal instructions from the side.

It had to be said that while Li Muwan wasn’t great at figuring things out on her own, she was a very fast learner when someone was there to teach her. The third dish, the hand-torn cabbage, tasted almost as good as his own, by Jiang Fan’s standards.

The final dish, egg drop soup, required even less technical skill.

Jiang Fan handled the main steps himself, letting Li Muwan perform the finishing touches.

Finally, with three dishes, one soup, and two bowls of steaming rice laid out, the two of them sat down at the dining table.

Looking at all the food, Jiang Fan’s mouth watered. It wasn’t because the dishes were exceptionally fragrant or delicious, but simply because he was genuinely hungry.

"Go on, try it. It should be edible now."

Li Muwan eagerly picked up a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth. An instant later, her eyes squinted shut in delight.

She felt like this was the best stir-fried pork with peppers she had ever had in her life.

"Not bad at all. Even with me guiding you, your own skills are pretty good."

"Next time, I’ll have to taste something you make all on your own."

Jiang Fan ate a piece as well, offering his affirmative praise and encouragement.

"Take a look at this."

Li Muwan turned, walked into another room, and came back with a bottle of red wine.

"No, no, no, no. I’m not drinking, not drinking."

At the sight of the wine, Jiang Fan frantically shook his head and waved his hands.

’I can drink with anyone, but not with her.’

’Last time was a special situation. This time, we’re at her place... What if I can’t control myself?’

A shiver ran down Jiang Fan’s spine.

’That would lead to absolute disaster.’

"Didn’t you say you liked drinking this?"

Li Muwan asked, puzzled.

"When did I ever say that?"

Jiang Fan was even more surprised than she was.

"You said it last time, when we were drinking..."

"Wait, weren’t we both drunk last time? How could you possibly remember?!"

Jiang Fan was so surprised his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"You’re not messing with me, are you?"

"Hmph!"

Li Muwan’s cheeks flushed. "I really was drunk, but I vaguely seem to remember you saying that."

"Enough with the nonsense. Are you drinking or not? This is a genuine, vintage ’82 Lafite."

"It’s not like the fakes you find on the market."

She plunked the bottle of red wine onto the table and sat down.

To be honest, Jiang Fan didn’t care for the harsh kick of baijiu, but he did quite enjoy the taste of red wine.

’This wine is just ridiculously expensive!’

"Alright, then... maybe just a little? You... you’ll keep it under control?"