Rebirth at the Start: This Fate is Too Explosive!

Chapter 26 Two Rhythms at the Dining Table

After everything is dealt with.

They rinsed their hands under the tap, the cool water washing away the lingering smell of cooking on their fingertips, and then shook the water droplets off their hands.

The two strolled into the living room one after the other.

Tang Yanning sat at the tea-making station.

With slender, white fingers holding the fairness cup, she poured tea for the two of them: "Ye Zi, Ming Zhe, please have some tea and rest for a while."

Her voice was as clear and vibrant as the aroma of tea.

Zhao Mingzhe slumped onto the sofa, waved his hand, and laughed, "Just pour it for Lao Ye. My stomach is still rumbling with the half-pot of tea I just drank."

Pei Yi'an remained silent, but simply picked up the freshly filled teacup and handed it directly to Ye Fan.

When Ye Fan took it, the cup still retained the warmth and fragrance of her hands.

He was truly thirsty, so he tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with each swallow—he hadn't even had a sip of water since he came in and started working.

"Drink slowly, I'm not trying to take it from you."

Zhao Mingzhe crossed his legs and teased him, casually pushing the tea and snacks on the coffee table toward him.

The stove outside the window was still bubbling away, and the faint aroma of rice wafted through the air.

He put down his teacup, let out a satisfied sigh, and said, "We can eat in another half hour."

"Yay!"

Tang Yanning's eyes lit up, and she excitedly waved her little fist, like a child about to receive candy.

Although Pei Yi'an didn't say anything, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on her lips, and her eyes were full of anticipation.

Ye Fan looked at the two women and asked, "After we finish eating, are we going straight to the library?"

"Should we rest for a while?"

Tang Yanning suggested, "Let's take a half-hour break! We can chat and have some tea in the living room."

Then she poked Pei Yi'an with her finger: "Yi'an, what do you think?"

Pei Yi'an smiled gently: "Okay, let's rest for a bit before we go!"

Ye Fan and Zhao Mingzhe exchanged a knowing glance and simultaneously made an OK sign, indicating that neither of them had any problems.

For Ye Fan, it didn't matter whether he went to review or not.

For Zhao Mingzhe, reviewing was truly painful, and he was more than happy to take a half-hour break when someone suggested it.

.........

Thirty minutes later.

"Dinner's ready!"

"Old Zhao, go to the kitchen and bring out the soup."

Ye Fan's loud voice rang out in the courtyard.

He steadily carried a large pot of steaming hot rice in both hands, placing it in a large bowl and bringing it to the dining room. This was to make it easier to serve the rice without having to run around.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Mingzhe walked from the living room to the kitchen.

A little while later, she brought out a pot of fragrant radish and pork rib soup, with bright green celery floating on top of the noodles.

It was obviously just sprinkled on.

In the restaurant.

Pei Yi'an was carefully serving rice to everyone, her movements elegant and skillful, with a few strands of hair falling beside her cheeks, clearly indicating that she often cooked at home.

"Be careful, it's hot," Tang Yanning whispered, holding a soup spoon and ladling soup into a bowl.

Ye Fan casually washed the large cauldron on the stove. This habit was introduced to him by Gu Ruoning. "Wash things after use" is a simple sentence, but it has become a good habit that he has maintained for many years.

Zhao Mingzhe eagerly brought out a bowl of sesame oil from the kitchen.

The sesame oil from Luxi is made from minced garlic, shallots, lard, and white vinegar; it's incredibly fragrant.

Ye Fan knew the production process, but he could never recreate that taste.

Zhao Mingzhe deftly drizzled a spoonful of sesame oil over each bowl of rice, the golden oil seeping into the rice grains: "Come on, Yi'an, Yan Ning, a spoonful of sesame oil with rice from the cauldron is the perfect match! Delicious!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Yanning's eyes lit up immediately, and her delicate nose twitched slightly: "That's right! I almost forgot about this wonderful thing. Adding a little of this sesame oil will make it absolutely amazing."

She couldn't wait to gently stir the rice with chopsticks, ensuring the sesame oil evenly coated each grain.

Pei Yi'an also showed a satisfied smile and said softly, "That's right, adding a little sesame oil makes it taste very good."

At this moment, Ye Fan walked in, wiping his hands.

Seeing the three of them drooling around the table, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Eat up! You must all be starving."

The four of them exchanged smiles, and without prior arrangement, they picked up their chopsticks and launched an "attack" on the fragrant lunch.

Zhao Mingzhe shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth and mumbled indistinctly, "Mmm... awesome, that's the taste! Old Ye's skills haven't declined!"

Tang Yanning took a small bite, her eyes curving into crescents with happiness.

Pei Yi'an ate slowly and deliberately, nodding occasionally in agreement with everyone's conversation; her movements were small and elegant.

Ye Fan ate until fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He quickly picked up the remote control and turned on the air conditioner. The weather had been too hot these past two days, and he couldn't stand it.

Before long, Zhao Mingzhe and Ye Fan had finished their bowls of rice.

Then he picked up the soup bowl and gulped it down.

Pei Yi'an and Tang Yanning ate slowly and elegantly. Pei Yi'an ate in small bites, while Tang Yanning would wipe the corners of his mouth with a tissue from time to time.

This stands in stark contrast to the two of them.

Ye Fan and Zhao Mingzhe had a rather unique way of eating.

They like to finish a bowl of rice completely first, then pick up a bowl of soup and drink it all in one gulp, repeating this cycle over and over again.

They believe that this alternating "rice-soup-rice-soup" eating method best allows them to appreciate the deliciousness of the food.

From childhood to adulthood, the two have tacitly maintained the same eating habits.

On the other side...

Pei Yi'an and Tang Yanning, on the other hand, ate in the traditional way—taking a few bites of rice and then elegantly scooping a spoonful of soup to drink.

Two distinctly different dining rhythms create an interesting contrast at the table.

A few minutes later.

Ye Fan and Zhao Mingzhe had already finished eating, which was quite fast.

"Yi'an, Yan Ning, take your time eating! I'll go to the living room to make some tea. Just put the bowls and chopsticks down after you finish eating, and then we can come out and have tea and chat together," Ye Fan instructed as he stood up.

The two entered the living room one after the other.

Zhao Mingzhe slumped onto the sofa, casually pulled two toothpicks from the toothpick box on the coffee table, and handed one to Ye Fan. The two of them picked their teeth in this casual manner.

Ye Fan skillfully boiled water and rinsed the cups, his tea-making movements flowing smoothly, showing the demeanor of a seasoned tea master.

The celadon tea set flew through his hands, and the aroma of tea gradually filled the living room.

"Old Zhao, do you want to go back and get your review materials?" Ye Fan asked without looking up, his hands still busy.

"Okay! I'll go back and get it now!" Zhao Mingzhe said, getting up to leave.

Ye Fan gently lifted his wrist, slowly pouring the first brew of tea into the fairness cup, and said, "Forget it, you wouldn't know what study materials to use when we get back. I'll give you some practice questions later!"

He had an idea: he would give Zhao Mingzhe some more must-know questions that hadn't been asked in the past few days, so that Zhao Mingzhe wouldn't have to go back to get them, since they weren't really useful anyway.

"Old Ye! I always struggle with those problems you set; they give me a real headache!"

Zhao Mingzhe looked distressed.

Ye Fan retorted without looking up, "Stop spouting nonsense. It's not like you have a headache doing the other problems."

"Damn it"

Zhao Mingzhe was about to retort, but the words caught in his throat—upon closer reflection, what Lao Ye said was absolutely true.

"Cough cough cough"

He touched his nose sheepishly, unable to find a rebuttal, and could only cough awkwardly twice.