Jiang Yan truly hadn't expected it.
Everything had gone perfectly up to this point.
And yet, in the end, they still failed at the stir-frying stage.
The moment the violent explosion triggered by Overloaded echoed out, Jiang Yan realized—
Maybe Raiden Ei's inability to cook really wasn't because she lacked talent.
Silently, Jiang Yan looked at Raiden Ei standing before him.
At the moment, Ei was holding a spatula in one hand and a wok lid in the other. Purple lightning crackled continuously around her body, colliding with the stove flames and constantly triggering Overloaded reactions.
Jiang Yan: ...
Seriously now, was there really a need to treat stir-frying like a battlefield?
Jiang Yan sighed, then raised a hand.
Vector Manipulation activated!
The lightning and flames instantly died down.
The Overloaded reaction was directly neutralized by Jiang Yan.
"Alright, stop."
He extinguished the fire and looked helplessly at Ei.
"If you don't add oil and ingredients soon, the wok's about to melt through."
"Control the electrical energy inside your body. Like this."
As he spoke, Jiang Yan demonstrated for her.
A tiny arc of electricity danced at his fingertip.
Under his control, the current obediently bounced around his fingers.
Then, accompanied by a faint crackling sound, the flame reignited smoothly.
Ei widened her eyes.
She hadn't expected the fire—which had just become extremely unstable because of her lightning—to become so obedient in Jiang Yan's hands.
"Alright, next step. The wok's hot now, add the oil."
Jiang Yan instructed her.
"Okay!"
Ei nodded seriously.
Then, following Jiang Yan's guidance—
After pouring the oil into the wok, Ei immediately stopped approaching it.
She hid behind Jiang Yan, peeking her head out curiously to observe the bubbling oil.
Whenever the oil made a popping sound, she would instinctively clutch Jiang Yan's clothes tighter and hide like a little hamster.
The sight nearly made Jiang Yan laugh out loud.
Who would've thought she'd act like a little girl—afraid the oil might splatter out of the pan?
"Alright, alright. If you don't stir it now, the food's going to burn."
Jiang Yan lightly patted Ei's hand and guided her back toward the stove.
Encouraged by him, Ei gripped Jiang Yan's sleeve with one hand while stir-frying with the other.
As if only by doing this could she feel safe.
In the end, after several failed attempts under Jiang Yan's instruction, a plate of stir-fried Jueyun Chili and eggs that at least looked acceptable was finally completed.
Of course, visually acceptable didn't necessarily mean it tasted good.
Looking at the steaming dish on the table, Ei felt a little nervous.
After all, this was the first dish she had ever successfully cooked.
She had no idea how it tasted.
Jiang Yan picked up a pair of chopsticks and looked at the dish.
"Hmm? It actually looks pretty good. Let me try it."
As he spoke, he reached out with his chopsticks—
But before he could grab a bite, Ei quickly moved the plate away.
Because Ei herself didn't know how the dish tasted either.
If it ended up terrible, what if it upset Jiang Yan's stomach?
She decided she should be the first one to taste it.
She didn't want Jiang Yan risking himself for this!
Then Ei picked up her chopsticks and took a bite.
Hmm...
How should she put it?
The flavor was fairly average—not bad, exactly.
But compared to the meals Makoto and the others made, there was still quite a gap.
Jiang Yan walked over and also took a bite.
"Mmm? This tastes really good!"
Jiang Yan smiled at Ei.
"But... compared to Makoto and the others, it's still much worse..."
Ei frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
"For a first attempt, reaching this level is already amazing!"
Jiang Yan chuckled, not stingy with his praise at all.
Because for a beginner like Ei, confidence was what she needed most.
"Don't forget, Makoto's been cooking for a very long time. She cooks regularly, so of course she's skilled and the food tastes great."
"Once you get more practice, you'll be just like her."
As he spoke, Jiang Yan rubbed Ei's head.
"As long as you don't dislike it..."
Ei didn't care much about her cooking skills.
She only cared about what Jiang Yan thought.
Even cooking was the same.
When she saw that Ganyu, Kitsune Saiguu, and Raiden Makoto could all cook while she couldn't, she subconsciously began thinking—
They can all cook, but I can't... Would Jiang Yan dislike me because of that?
That was the real reason Ei had stubbornly insisted on learning to cook herself.
After hearing her words, Jiang Yan laughed softly.
"Silly girl, how could I ever dislike you?"
"Don't overthink it. Just be yourself."
Ei didn't speak.
Her beautiful violet eyes quietly gazed at him.
Jiang Yan gently rubbed her head and said:
"Alright, leave the rest of the dishes to me."
Ei nodded and finally stopped insisting on cooking everything herself.
Honestly, if not for her stubborn determination pushing her onward, she probably wouldn't even have managed to finish the first dish.
Once Jiang Yan stopped teaching Ei step-by-step, his speed increased dramatically.
His master-level cooking skills weren't just for show.
Before long, an entire table of exquisite dishes had been prepared.
"Let's eat on the deck. It still smells smoky inside the cabin."
Using the power of the Chicken Talisman in his mind, Jiang Yan levitated all the prepared dishes beside him as if invisible servants were carrying them.
Ei nodded.
Although Jiang Yan had restored the kitchen completely, the lingering smell of smoke still remained elsewhere in the cabin.
Eating inside definitely wouldn't be comfortable.
The two returned to the deck, where Raiden Makoto, Yae Miko, and the others were already seated together with Ningguang and the other two children.
"Alright, time to eat!"
Jiang Yan called out cheerfully.
Then he snapped his fingers.
The Reality Stone lit up.
A dining table and several chairs appeared on the empty deck.
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