Xia Zhi has been living in Liyue for some time now.
He has made quite a few good friends during his stay, and Xiangling is probably one of the earliest he met.
Xia Zhi still remembers the night he first went to Wanmin Restaurant for a meal.
He also admires this young girl who is passionate about cooking.
Moreover, Xia Zhi always feels like Xiangling has some kind of protagonist template.
A Vision holder, a disciple of the Adepti, a culinary genius, and she even found a beast as a pet during her childhood travels…
In the kitchen, Xia Zhi was chopping vegetables. Using his God's Eye, he glanced at the Pyro girl standing beside him, learning attentively.
"Xiangling."
"Hmm?"
"You mentioned earlier that you made many friends during your trip to Mondstadt."
"Yes! So many! Especially Amber, she helped me a lot!"
"Amber…"
"She's a Scout Knight of the Knights of Favonius, and like me, she's also a Pyro Vision holder. I first met her in the woods outside Mondstadt City. I was roasting mushrooms at the time, and she came over because she smelled the aroma. That's how we met…"
As Xia Zhi listened to Xiangling's story, he silently formed a preliminary impression of this girl named Amber: a lively, food-loving beauty.
"Amber's grandfather used to be a mercenary leader and also came from Liyue Harbor, but four years ago, he left without saying goodbye, leaving only his knight emblem and sword. Amber said she might come to Liyue to look for him in the future, and I told her to come find me when she does…"
For a protagonist in the culinary world, this is the perfect character to bond with.
Xiangling, you're definitely the main character!
Xia Zhi nodded and asked, "You also went to Springvale, right?"
"Yes! How did you know, Mr. Xia?"
"Diona's father told us."
"Huh?"
"Her father is the head hunter of Springvale, Draff."
"Oh! It's him! I remember him!"
"Right? I heard you found a wild boar that had been extinct for over 300 years there and even had a cooking duel with someone. Impressive."
"Hehe, I brought back a lot of wild boar meat too."
Xiangling took out a pile of frozen meat from her Serenitea Pot.
Xia Zhi took it and noticed that the quality was indeed much better than the ordinary pork sold in the market.
"Too bad it's not fresh."
"It's fine, I have this knife."
Xia Zhi picked up the Eternal Spirit Knife and gently sliced the meat. The frozen meat immediately became as fresh as if it had just been slaughtered.
Xiangling was stunned, and her eyes immediately turned fiery as she looked at the knife in his hand.
"This knife can restore the freshness of ingredients."
"So amazing!"
"Want it?"
"I really want it!"
"Too bad, I only have this one kitchen knife."
"Ugh…"
"But if you want to use it, I can lend it to you."
"Great!"
While Xia Zhi was chopping vegetables, he didn't show off any fancy techniques, just a steady hand.
So Xiangling, watching from the side, wasn't too impressed, only noticing how steady his hands were.
"Xiangling, what are you planning to cook tonight?"
"My innovative dish! You've definitely never had it before!"
Zhu Zi, who was nearby, recalled the strange innovative dishes Xiangling had tried before her trip and couldn't help but change her expression slightly.
Xiangling quickly added, "Don't worry! I've improved it many times on the road! All my friends who tried it said it was great!"
Zhu Zi smiled in relief. "That's good to hear."
After Xia Zhi finished chopping the vegetables, he handed the knife to Xiangling. "I've prepared most of the ingredients. The cutting board is all yours now."
Xiangling eagerly took the Eternal Spirit Knife, gently caressing it, her eyes shining. "Okay!"
She looked like a fangirl.
Xia Zhi shook his head and turned to start stir-frying.
With a sizzle, the aroma of the wok filled the air.
Xiangling, who had been happily playing with her new kitchen tool, suddenly froze when she caught a whiff of the aroma.
"This smell…"
Xiangling sniffed the air, her expression turning incredulous.
"How…"
She turned to look at the calm figure in front of the stove and couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Then, she saw a small, familiar figure dart into the kitchen at lightning speed.
It was Guoba.
The little creature ran to Xia Zhi's feet.
Seeing this, Xiangling immediately put down the Eternal Spirit Knife, which she had been cherishing just moments ago, and quickly walked over to the wok to look at the dish inside.
It was just a simple pan-fried tofu.
Guoba looked up, tugging at Xia Zhi's pants with its paw.
"Woof woof!"
Its voice sounded pitiful, like a hungry puppy or kitten whimpering.
Xia Zhi couldn't help but laugh.
"Guoba, what's wrong?"
"Woof!"
"Want to eat?"
"Woof!"
"It's not ready yet. You can't eat it now. Be good and go play outside. You can eat when it's time for dinner."
"Woof…"
"Alright, I'll give you one piece, just one."
"Woof!"
Xia Zhi used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of freshly fried tofu and fed it to the little creature at his feet.
Guoba was careful not to touch the chopsticks as it bit into the tofu.
"Woof!!!"
"Did it burn you?"
"Woof!!!"
Xiangling bent down, picked up Guoba, and scolded it, "Don't cause trouble! And don't steal food! Go outside and behave!"
"Woof woof woof!!"
Xiangling walked to the kitchen door and tossed Guoba outside, then came back. "Sorry, Mr. Xia…"
"Haha, it's fine. Consider it as letting Guoba taste-test the dish."
Xia Zhi continued frying the tofu.
Xiangling looked at the golden, tempting tofu in the wok and couldn't help but swallow her saliva again.
"Mr. Xia, this…"
"What's wrong?"
"Why does it smell so good?"
"Pan-fried tofu is naturally fragrant."
"No, it's not that! I can't quite describe it, but the aroma is just so…"
Xiangling seemed a bit confused.
"…I remember I've had your pan-fried tofu before, but it never smelled this good. Did you use a special recipe for the tofu?"
"No, it's the same as before."
"Then it must be a special seasoning!"
"Nope, just a bit of salt."
"Huh? Then how did you do it?"
When Xiangling was away on her journey, Xia Zhi culinary skill was low-tier. Now, he's a [Culinary Grandmaster]. Naturally, the food he makes now is on a completely different level from before.
"I just had a sudden realization a few days ago, and my cooking skills improved a bit."
"!"
Xiangling was stunned.
Xia Zhi picked up a piece of tofu and offered it to Xiangling.
"Want to try?"
"Okay."
Xiangling opened her mouth and took a bite.
Despite using the simplest cooking method with just a bit of salt for flavor, it was unexpectedly delicious.
So delicious that she didn't want to chew and swallow it.
She had worked so hard during her journey, finally improving her cooking skills, thinking she could close the gap between them. But upon returning, she found that the gap had only widened even more.
Xiangling felt a deep sense of defeat.
"Is it good?"
"Delicious."
"Good. Zhu Zi, want to try?"
"Yes!"
Xia Zhi fed another piece to Zhu Zi.
Zhu Zi looked satisfied. "Thank you, Boss!"
Xia Zhi smiled and continued frying the tofu slowly.
Xiangling watched for a while, feeling that Xia Zhi's technique was truly ordinary. She couldn't learn anything from it and could only return to the cutting board, chopping vegetables listlessly.
This time, she was genuinely disheartened.
Before, Mr. Xia's culinary skills were impressive, but she felt that with enough effort, she could catch up.
But now, Mr. Xia's skills felt like an insurmountable chasm, making her feel like she had no hope of ever reaching his level.
And Mr. Xia isn't even that much older than me…
Xiangling looked down at the cutting board, her eyes filled with confusion.
Xia Zhi glanced at Xiangling through his God's Eye but didn't say anything.
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