Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Cooking

The adjutant walked out of the office, the delicious aroma of food lingering in the air, refusing to dissipate.

’This food smells incredible!’ It wasn’t as if he’d never been to a restaurant—he’d even eaten at the finest ones—but nothing had ever smelled this amazing.

’I can’t believe our Major General’s cooking skills are this good!’

’It’s almost unbelievable.’

“Hey, what’s gotten into you today? You seem… Wait, what’s that smell? It’s amazing!” a colleague passing by suddenly stopped, leaning in to sniff him with a look of disbelief. “What did you eat?”

The adjutant presented the nutrient solution to him. “Just this. You want some?”

Seeing the nutrient solution, the man frowned. “You can keep it.” ’That stuff is the last thing we need more of around here!’

“You really didn’t eat anything? Then what’s that smell on you?”

The aroma was so intoxicating that he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight without getting an answer.

“I didn’t eat anything. The Major General did. He brought a packed lunch today.”

“Our Major General brought his own lunch? Did the Major General make it himself? It smells so good. What did he bring?”

“You want to know?”

“Am I not making it obvious enough?”

The adjutant grinned at him. “Go ask him yourself!”

With that, he turned and left. ’The Major General was so protective of his food he wouldn’t even give me a taste. Heartbreaking!’

Ares finished his lunch, feeling completely content.

He carefully washed the lunch box, set it aside, and as he walked out of his office, he felt several pairs of eyes on him.

For someone like Ares, who had come from the battlefield, such gazes were incredibly easy to notice.

“What are you all looking at me for?” Ares stopped, his voice laced with suspicion. “If you have nothing to do, you can go run laps.”

“Major General Ares, we heard you brought lunch today. The aroma was incredible, and we were all wondering what you had, if you don’t mind us asking.”

Ares was stunned for a moment, then he looked at his adjutant.

The adjutant immediately said, “I didn’t say anything! Their noses are just too good. They smelled it themselves.”

This was an answer Ares truly hadn’t expected.

“I didn’t make the food. My Lady made it. She rather enjoys and is skilled at cooking. I can’t make anything that tastes like this.”

Ares’s tone was earnest and natural as he spoke, with no trace of bragging. And yet, how could you say he wasn’t showing off when he’d just mentioned that his Lady had made him a bento?

’Major General Ares’s Lady… isn’t she the one who directly submitted an application to the military to have him become her side husband?’

’Just a side husband, and he gets a bento made by his Lady’s own hands?’

’Of course, that wasn’t the main point. The real shock was that Major General Ares had just said his Lady *enjoyed* and was *skilled at* cooking. Heavens, how was that possible!’

’Are there really females in this world who enjoy cooking?’

’Don’t they all despise cooking for its strong smells and heavy smoke, which harms their delicate skin?’

At that moment, these men, just like the adjutant, couldn’t help but question Ares’s mental state.

’Has Major General Ares’s Spirit Sea problem gotten worse?’

’Poor guy. He’s starting to hallucinate.’

*

Lu Xiao had nothing to do today. Her file had just been entered into the system, and her personal consultation room hadn’t been activated yet. She couldn’t officially see patients until tomorrow at the earliest, so she spent the entire morning bored and staring into space.

Finally, it was lunchtime. As Lu Xiao took out the bento she’d brought to heat it up, the lunch delivery from the cafeteria arrived.

Teacher Ai Li called out to her, “My dear Xiao Xiao, are you sure you won’t eat with us?”

“Teacher Ai Li, I brought a bento today.”

“I know. What I mean is, are you really going to eat a bento made by a male? I remember you’re married. You have a side husband now, right?”

“Yes, but he didn’t make this. I made it myself.” ’In this world, being harsh toward males was practically engraved in their genes.’

’Even with the bento she’d brought, no one asked who made it; they just subconsciously assumed it was a male.’

’And a bento made by a male was automatically equated with being unappetizing.’

’And yet, the head chefs at restaurants were all males.’

’It was a contradiction, but one that was taken for granted.’

When Teacher Ai Li heard Lu Xiao’s words, she froze for a second before her eyes went wide. “Oh, heavens! My dear, you actually cooked yourself? What is your side husband doing? How could he let you into a kitchen? A place like that has strong smells and oily smoke—it’s the worst thing for your skin! How could you go in there!”

Teacher Ai Li’s agitated and exaggerated tone almost made Lu Xiao feel as if she hadn’t gone to a kitchen, but to a battlefield.

“Teacher Ai Li, I’m afraid you’ve never experienced the joy of creating a delicious dish with your own hands. Cooking is my hobby. It has nothing to do with my side husband. In fact, if he tried to stop me, I’d get angry. Fortunately, he listens to me very well. Would you all like to try some? I brought braised prawns in oil today.”

Lu Xiao opened her heated bento, revealing vibrant, orange-red braised prawns to everyone. An incredible aroma instantly filled the air.

Teacher Sherry had just come out of the restroom. When she smelled the aroma of food wafting through the air, she immediately exclaimed, “Heavens, why does lunch smell so amazing today?”

Teacher Ai Li, who had just been lecturing Lu Xiao about kitchens, spoke up. “It’s not our food order that smells good, it’s the bento Lu Xiao made with her own hands!”

Teacher Sherry, who had just walked over, happened to hear this and saw Lu Xiao’s lunch, which was different from theirs. “Heavens, you made this yourself, dear? How could you go into a kitchen? But you actually know how to cook! May I try some?”

“Of course.” Lu Xiao used her chopsticks to place a braised prawn into the lunch boxes of the other four people present. “If you like it, I can teach you. Sometimes, cooking for yourself is a different way to experience life, isn’t it?”

Teacher Sherry eagerly ate the prawn, a look of pure enjoyment on her face. “Although I’ve always felt that a place like the kitchen is no place for us females, I think you have a point now. Because this is absolutely delicious. Please, can you tell me how it’s made?”

Teacher Ai Li wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’d like to know as well, please.”

Lu Xiao said with a smile, “Then you all have to promise you’ll actually try making it yourselves!”

“Alright, I’ll record a video for you. I promise I won’t lie.” After Teacher Ai Li spoke, Teacher Sherry added with a laugh, “Why don’t we do a group video call while we cook? Oh, heavens, I’m actually going to enter a kitchen and cook! If word gets out, my friends will definitely think I’ve gone crazy. But none of them can make prawns this delicious. Just thinking about their shocked faces when they taste it, I can’t help but laugh out loud!”

’Lu Xiao never imagined that a single braised prawn could convince females, who viewed the kitchen as a place of horror, to willingly set foot inside to cook. It was incredible.’

’It had even become something for them to compete over.’

’Still, this was probably a good thing… right?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep