NOVEL NEXT 11
Chapter 11: “The Cookies I Made Myself, Won’t You…”
Qi Yao explained his request to Dean.
After listening, Dean’s gaze fixated on Qi Yao’s smooth and slender fingers, his eyebrows gradually furrowing. “Mr. Qi, are you joking?”
Qi Yao replied seriously, “I’m not joking. I just want to go see Yi Er.”
Dean fell into thought.
Was Mr. Qi really this clingy to the Master Yi?
He had just joined the household yesterday, and already couldn’t wait to sleep with the Master Yi at night. Now he wanted to prepare lunch for him during his work hours.
In Dean’s understanding, the female zerg meant nothing to the male zerg, and male zergs never dabbled in domestic affairs. They never entered the kitchen, a place full of sharp knives and dangerous flames that could cut their beautiful fingers or burn their delicate skin. The education received since childhood forbade male zergs from such harm, and it was best if there was a strong female zerg to handle such dangerous places.
So when Qi Yao proposed to enter the kitchen to personally prepare lunch for Yi Er, Dean’s worldview was profoundly shaken.
What if… Mr. Qi accidentally hurt himself? Then he wouldn’t be able to explain it to the Master Yi.
Dean said, “Mr. Qi, you might hurt yourself. Let me handle whatever you need to do.”
Qi Yao didn’t want to delegate this task: “That won’t work. What you make and what I make are different.”
“How are they different?” Dean stood at the kitchen door, not letting Qi Yao enter.
Qi Yao had to say, “I want to personally make it for him to eat. Just imagine, if Yi Er knows that the lunchbox was made by me, won’t he be touched? And if it’s done by you, he’ll definitely recognize it instantly.”
Dean remained indifferent.
Lunchtime was approaching, and cooking was imminent. Qi Yao thought for a moment and compromised, “Alright, how about you watch me do it first, and if it doesn’t work out, you can take over.”
So no matter how much Dean insisted on not letting Qi Yao do it, Qi Yao still managed to find a way to squeeze into the kitchen.
Last night when he came to set up the fruit tray, Qi Yao noticed that Yi Er’s fridge was packed full. Dean, being a qualified butler, never left the fridge empty.
Qi Yao was determined to make Yi Er a lunchbox, and he had an idea in mind. He decided to make a simple home-cooked lunch, a vegetable stir-fry, and some cookies.
Back when Qi Yao was still a corporate worker on Blue Star, he had studied cooking to pass the time during his solitary days.
In these past few days, he hadn’t lost his touch. However, he was unsure about Yi Er’s taste preferences. Although Yi Er liked sweet treats, it wasn’t suitable for a main course.
Qi Yao asked Dean, “Does Yi Er have any dietary restrictions?”
Dean shook his head, “The Marshal isn’t picky. He eats whatever is made.”
Qi Yao thought to himself…
Almost forgot, these zergs have no pursuit of taste stimulation. As long as the food is cooked and safe to eat, they’ll consume it without changing their expression.
With time running out, Qi Yao rolled up his sleeves, took up the knife, and got to work.
Washing, cutting, and stir-frying, a series of actions were orderly and skillful. He even managed to find time to make cookies, not needing Dean’s help at all, leaving Dean staring in amazement.
After busy for over an hour, a plate of simple stir-fried vegetables was ready.
When it was done, Qi Yao personally tasted it. The flavor wasn’t strange at all—mild and tasty. The cookies turned out successful too, with a rich milky aroma and a lingering sweetness upon tasting.
Qi Yao deliberately left some for Dean, “It doesn’t look as good as yours, but try it. Will Yi Er like this kind of food?”
After taking a tiny bite, Dean found out… there really were male zergs who could cook!
He didn’t let himself get hurt and still did it very successfully!
Especially these cookies, crispy and fragrant, after General Yi Er eats them, he’ll definitely want another batch!
Heavens! General Yi Er will become the first female zerg in the empire to eat food personally made by the male lord!
Seeing the gleam in Dean’s single eye, Qi Yao knew what was up.
It was almost noon now, he had to hurry up and take the lunch to Yi Er, lest Yi Er had already eaten lunch and didn’t have the appetite for what he made, then he wouldn’t be able to increase his favorability.
After packing the lunch, Qi Yao wasted no time and set off to find Yi Er.
Yi Er mentioned that the military district was only a ten-minute journey from the residence. Qi Yao, holding the lunchbox, felt like he was carrying 98.7 favorability points, filled with strength and anticipation.
Just as he stepped out of the gate, Dean chased after him, “Mr. Qi, I’ll take you there in the aircraft.”
Qi Yao had a terminal, which could navigate, and there was a clear distinction between male and female zergs. If Dean were to take him, the two zergs would be alone in the enclosed aircraft.
He had just gotten married and was already alone with a female zerg, even though this female zerg was just his butler. But just the thought made him feel guilty towards Yi Er and the various vows he made to Yi Er, so he declined without hesitation, “No, I can go by myself.”
Saying that, he followed the guidance of the terminal and headed towards his destination, the Second Military District.
The ten-minute journey Yi Er mentioned referred to the travel time in the aircraft.
After walking for ten minutes, Qi Yao still didn’t see the shadow of the Second Military District. Then he realized what a foolish mistake he had made.
Excitement and anticipation had clouded his judgment. Seeing that there were still twenty-five minutes left on the terminal’s reminder, Qi Yao was at a loss whether to advance or retreat.
Now that he had come this far, should he give up?
Forget it, going back to find Dean would take almost the same amount of time. It’s better to walk there by himself.
Twenty-five minutes later, Qi Yao arrived at the Second Military District.
Zergs coming and going after work, Qi Yao stood in front of the gate of the Second Military District, sweating profusely, stopped by the guards at the gate and couldn’t go in. Helpless, he could only seek help from Yi Er through the terminal.
In the office, Yi Er’s terminal rang, he put down the 3,000-word inspection report, saw Qi Yao’s name, and thought he was going to talk about the recording again, so he answered without hesitation.
A noisy sound came from the speaker.
Where was this? Why was there such a chaotic noise? Yi Er frowned slightly and opened the holographic projection.
In the image, Qi Yao stood under a shady tree near the gate of the Second Military District, sweating profusely, with a gentle smile on his face. He raised the neatly packed lunchbox in his hand and said to Yi Er, “Yi Er, have you eaten? I made lunch myself, would you like to try it?”
Qi Yao appeared at the Second Military District, catching Yi Er completely off guard. His breath hitched, and he said coldly, “Stay where you are, I’ll come get you!”
Closing the terminal, Qi Yao squatted under the tree with the lunchbox in his arms.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the female zergs passing by were giving him strange looks.
He even heard the deliberately lowered whispers.
“Isn’t that the male host of General Yi Er, who was exposed yesterday? Black hair, black eyes, I think he looks quite similar!”
“I think so too. Is he here to find General Yi Er?”
“He should be. I just saw him waiting there and talking on the terminal. He must have asked General Yi Er to come pick him up.”
“Why is he here? Could it be that General Yi Er isn’t treating him well, and he’s here to ask for star coins from General Yi Er?”
“Now that you mention it, it seems like it. Hey, did you know, he came alone, and look at him all sweaty. General Yi Er didn’t even send an aircraft to pick him up! Now I wonder if General Yi Er will come out.”
“Oh my God! Did he walk here?! From General Yi Er’s villa to here, it takes us about half an hour, for a delicate male zerg like him to walk here, it’s probably forty minutes!”
“Why is Yi Er so heartless, making his newlywed male lord walk over to find him on foot!”
“Exactly! The beautiful and delicate male host, his noble and fair feet must have been blistered and painful!”
“And look at him sweating, his face and ears are all red, he must be exhausted!”
“Ah, he looks even better with a blush… When will Yi Er divorce, he doesn’t cherish his male lord, I’m willing to take over, I’m willing to take care of this male lord who has been neglected by Yi Er! I’ll give him the most thoughtful care and the most sincere concern!”
“I’m willing too! When will the male lord open his eyes and see through Yi Er’s unworthiness? If he divorces Yi Er sooner, I’ll definitely be the first to confess to the male lord!”
“…”
Qi Yao found the conversation increasingly absurd as he listened. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, unable to see the drops that had dried, and awkwardly turned away, trying not to make eye contact with these people with distorted values.
His feet didn’t hurt, he wasn’t being neglected by Yi Er! He wasn’t going to divorce Yi Er either!
Why hadn’t Yi Er come yet!
More and more female zergs gathered at the door, and the discussions about his distress and the merciless derogatory comments about Yi Er grew louder.
Qi Yao regretted not announcing his arrival. Now that he had unintentionally attracted attention, he couldn’t show any signs of grievance or sadness to gain sympathy from the female zergs. So he stood up straight, trying to appear happy and hopeful.
Qi Yao’s eager anticipation and perfect expression management almost made his cheeks stiff. Three minutes later, Yi Er finally came out.
Qi Yao waved awkwardly to Yi Er. “Yi Er, over here!”
As soon as the female zergs heard Yi Er’s name, they scattered in a commotion.
Qi Yao rubbed his stiff face and walked towards Yi Er.
Yi Er quickly stepped forward. “Why did you suddenly come?”
Qi Yao showed the lunch to Yi Er. “It’s not sudden at all. I planned it for two hours and specially came to deliver lunch to you.”
The male lord delivering lunch to the female master was unheard of and unseen before, even Yi Er was shocked and suspicious.
Yi Er guessed that Qi Yao was probably here for the recording. “It’s just a recording, it’s not a big deal. If you really care about it, I’ll give it to you when we get home. You don’t have to do this.”
“A recording?” Qi Yao almost forgot about that, explaining, “You misunderstood, I really just came to deliver lunch. You’ve been working all morning, you must be tired. I made some cookies by myself, don’t you want to try them?”