Click, click!!!
The sound of the blade cutting against the wooden board was exceptionally crisp. Ye Moran had excellent knife skills; she was currently shredding potatoes.
The whole potato was like plasticine that could be pinched or flattened at will, perfectly toyed with in the palm of her hand!
With every stroke of the knife, she could cut potato slices of almost the exact same thinness.
Ye Jin stood to the side, dazed as he watched. He looked at his own hands, then at his Elder Sister’s hands, a sense of frustration silently welling up in his heart.
Was he really unable to do anything well?
No, you can do it, Ye Jin. You’re the best. You can definitely learn. Even if you can’t do it as well as Elder Sister, you can still do it.
Seeing how serious his Elder Sister was, a surge of competitive spirit suddenly rose in Ye Jin’s heart. He clenched his small fists tightly and secretly cheered himself on!
Hmm???
What was the little guy thinking?
Although she hadn’t turned her head, she had noticed Ye Jin the moment he stepped into the kitchen. She just hadn’t shown it, fearing she might startle the little guy!
Besides, she also wanted to show off her culinary skills in front of the little guy to make him admire her more.
But what was the little guy doing now? It didn’t seem quite like what she had expected.
She put down the knife, turned her head, and looked at the little guy.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Ah?!”
Ye Jin was startled by his Elder Sister’s sudden voice, but he quickly snapped out of it and scratched his head sheepishly.
“Elder Sister, I want to learn how to cook too, is that okay?”
“I want to cook for you!”
Ye Jin looked up, revealing a naive smile, seemingly a truly considerate boy who cared for his Elder Sister!
Although she couldn’t figure out Ye Jin’s real thoughts, just the idea of Ye Jin wanting to cook for her made her very happy!
“Alright, Elder Sister will teach you.”
Ye Moran picked up a smaller potato, washed it, peeled it, and placed a smaller knife in front of the little guy next to the Nanguo!
“Let’s start with this potato. Let me see how you cut it first, and then I’ll teach you slowly, okay?”
“Okay!”
Ye Jin gave his Elder Sister an ‘OK’ sign, took the knife, and began cutting, using his other hand to steady the top of the potato.
He cut very carefully with every stroke, afraid of cutting himself and even more afraid of not cutting it well enough.
By the time he finished cutting the whole potato, Ye Moran had already prepared three or four dishes!
She looked at the potato shreds the little guy had cut.
Well… how should she put it? He didn’t cut his hand, so it should be considered a great success, right?!
Thinking this, she patted the little guy’s head.
“Great job. But now Elder Sister is going to stir-fry. There will be oily smoke in a moment. I’ll teach you slowly tomorrow. For now, go outside, okay?”
“Okay then.”
Ye Jin glanced at the potato shreds he had cut, then at his Elder Sister. He nodded somewhat dejectedly and walked out of the kitchen with his head down!
Ye Moran didn’t go to comfort the little guy. To her, it was best if the little guy knew nothing; that way, he would only depend on her more!
As for the temptation of the little guy cooking for her, although she was very moved at first, it wasn’t that important when she thought about it carefully. After all, the little guy himself was already a delicious dish she had been salivating over for a long time!
She took the potato shreds the little guy had cut—which looked more like potato chunks—put them on a plate, carefully sealed them with plastic wrap, and put them in the refrigerator!
Even though they weren’t cut very well, the little guy had cut them with his heart. Later, she would use this plate of “potato shreds” to stir-fry a dish for herself!
—
Ye Jin returned to the TV dejectedly, feeling completely listless. The bit of spirit he had managed to muster just now had completely vanished.
Was he really incapable of doing anything right?
He couldn’t even cut potato shreds well. He was truly a fool who couldn’t help his Elder Sister at all. If he stayed like this, Elder Sister would surely grow to hate him, right?
He looked up and involuntarily glanced toward the door. How about… telling Elder Sister about leaving after finishing this meal?
Anyway, Elder Sister would hate him sooner or later. It would be better to leave now; at least he wouldn’t be hated yet.
Although he really didn’t want to be abandoned by Elder Sister, leaving on his own shouldn’t count as being abandoned, right?
At least Elder Sister still loved him, didn’t she?
As he thought this, he felt even worse. His chest felt stuffy, making it slightly difficult for him to breathe!
He curled up, hugging himself tightly and burying his head between his knees. He wasn’t crying; he just wanted to be alone for a bit.
Ye Moran had just brought out the dishes when she saw the little guy in this state. She knew the little guy must be sad about the cutting just now.
After a moment of hesitation, she decided to comfort him. After all, the little guy could be bullied to tears by her, but he couldn’t be sad on his own.
That would make her heart ache too!
She finished setting out all the dishes before walking over, gently putting her arm around the little guy’s waist and pulling him into her embrace.
“Don’t be sad anymore, little guy. Take it slow, okay?”
“When I first started learning, I even cut my finger. You didn’t cut yours at all; you’re much better than I was.”
Being suddenly pulled into his Elder Sister’s arms, Ye Jin felt it wasn’t quite right. Just as he was about to struggle, he heard these words.
He slowly stopped struggling, looked up, and gazed blankly at his Elder Sister.
He wasn’t sure if she was comforting him or telling the truth.
“What, do you think I’m lying to you? Everything I said is the truth. I even have a scar here. Do you want to see it?”
As Ye Moran spoke, she held out her left hand. On her left index finger, there was indeed a shallow knife scar. It was very faint, and hard to notice without looking closely!
Ye Jin believed her now; his Elder Sister wasn’t just comforting him but telling a fact.
Just as a flicker of joy rose in his heart, he thought about his Elder Sister’s hand being injured. Even though it was an old injury, he still felt a wave of sadness.
His small hand immediately grasped her finger, gently stroking it.
“Did it hurt?”
“Silly boy, that was a long time ago. It stopped hurting long ago.”
“I—I’m not asking if it hurts now. I’m asking about back then…”
Ye Jin argued for himself with a serious little face!
“Is that so? Thinking back, it really did hurt quite a bit at the time!”
“I see…”
Ye Jin pursed his lips. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. The dejected feelings in his heart surged even more.
He really seemed useless. Even when his Elder Sister was hurt, he couldn’t do anything about it.
Although it was an injury from a long time ago, he hadn’t even noticed that his Elder Sister was injured back then.
After a long silence, he suddenly looked up. Biting his lip, he slowly spoke the words he had prepared earlier!
“Elder Sister, I want to leave here. Is that okay?”
“Buzz!~”
The smile on Ye Moran’s face froze, and a buzzing sound rang through her brain!
In that instant, she seemed to lose all ability to move. Even her breathing and heartbeat stopped, and an indescribable panic instantly swept through her entire body!
“Why? Why say that all of a sudden?”
She didn’t even know what her voice sounded like when she asked that question. She was just incredibly panicked, her arms tightening around the little guy!
“Elder Sister, you’re hurting me!”