Chapter 320 Not That It Can't Be Drunk

Song Ni looked up expectantly, curious about the results of her first attempt at cooking. "How is it?" Tan Zheng looked at Song Ni, slightly retracting his expression. "Not bad." "Really!" Song Ni immediately reached out to snatch the spoon from Tan Zheng's hand, wanting to taste it herself. Tan Zheng, however, dodged quickly, not letting Song Ni touch the spoon at all. "Didn't you make this for me to drink?" Song Ni looked at him suspiciously. "Yes, it's for you, no mistake. But it's my first time cooking, and I want to taste it myself. Is there a problem? Or are you lying to me?" Tan Zheng: ... Indeed, deceiving Song Ni was not an easy task. Tan Zheng was still a bit hesitant, afraid Song Ni would be unhappy after tasting it. In that brief moment, Song Ni had already taken out other spoons from the cupboard. She was quite confident, scooped a full spoonful, and then ate it in one large bite. Seeing this, Tan Zheng couldn't help but frown. He took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator as a precaution. Song Ni's face immediately scrunched up, and she started patting her chest. "..." Tan Zheng handed her the water, and Song Ni quickly took a big gulp to rinse her mouth. What was this? It was all strong seasoning, with none of the original flavor of the fish soup. Song Ni smacked her lips, her brows furrowing even tighter. "Why is this?" She knew the taste of fish soup, and she remembered the taste of the fish soup Tan Zheng had made for her. How could what she made be worlds apart from theirs? Tan Zheng glanced at the countertop and found three seasoning bottles in total. They were all white granular substances. One was salt, one was sugar, and the other was MSG that had been ground down. Tan Zheng understood. "Which one did you put in?" These three bottles looked exactly the same, and the labels were quite small. Song Ni didn't remember which was which and shook her head. Relying on his own cooking experience, Tan Zheng picked out the MSG. "You used the wrong seasoning." Others might mistake sugar for salt, but Song Ni, surprisingly, mistook MSG for salt. "..." Song Ni's eyes widened as she pointed at what Tan Zheng was holding. "So, all my effort, getting up before dawn to busy myself, was ruined by this one thing?" Tan Zheng looked down at the soup in the pot. Judging by its color, it didn't look like the fish had been simply pan-fried before being simmered in boiling water. Therefore, even if Song Ni had used the right salt, the taste might not have been good. Of course, Tan Zheng wouldn't say this. On the matter of encouraging Song Ni and not discouraging her, he was perfectly aligned with Madam Song. Tan Zheng comforted her, "It's not undrinkable. You've done great, darling." "..." Song Ni found it hard to accept. She hadn't lost her sense of taste; what she had just tasted was clearly awful. How could she continue to drink it? But to make Song Ni believe she could continue drinking it, Tan Zheng even scooped a large bowl and intended to drink it all. Song Ni quickly reached out to stop him, a hint of anger in her voice. "What are you doing?! If it's not good, don't drink it! It's not like I can't accept failure." It was just a little bit of sadness. After all, she had really wanted to make a delicious breakfast for Tan Zheng. Even if it couldn't be delicious, it shouldn't be inedible. To think she had failed at the step of adding seasonings. The more she thought about it, the more unyielding Song Ni felt. She snatched the bowl from Tan Zheng's hand and unceremoniously poured the soup away. "It's still early. I'll start over now. Wait for me, I'll make a delicious fish soup!" She wasn't going to class anyway, and she had plenty of time today. Tan Zheng: ... Hiss— Since she had this passion, he couldn't possibly dampen it. Seeing Song Ni skillfully take out the ingredients from the refrigerator, Tan Zheng was a little surprised. "Did you look it up online specifically?" Song Ni shook her head. "I called Mom, and she taught me." The man nodded, no wonder. His approval disappeared when he saw Song Ni slicing ginger. Tan Zheng was startled by Song Ni's posture, holding the knife high above her head. His relaxed expression vanished, and he nervously grabbed her wrist, taking the knife from her hand. "Darling, is this how you cut things?" Song Ni frowned at the ginger on the cutting board. "Mom told me it's best to cut it into cubes from a vertical direction, and it'll be easier to cut into shreds later. But I've never been able to cut properly. Knife skills aren't something you achieve instantly, so I thought I'd just make do with it today." Tan Zheng: ... "Make do" couldn't mean cutting like this! What if she cut her hand with the knife falling from such a height? Tan Zheng still felt a lingering fear. "Leave these to me. You go prepare the rest." Song Ni hesitated. She wanted to complete it independently. If Tan Zheng helped her cut the ingredients, would it still count as her doing it? Tan Zheng seemed to read her mind. "I'll just cut them for you. You'll do everything else. You're the head chef, and I'm your assistant. I'll do whatever you tell me to do." Song Ni didn't dare to agree with what Tan Zheng said. With her skills, which were worse than a novice, how could she be the head chef in front of him? "Just cut them, and then don't interfere." The man's brow twitched slightly. Fine, as long as she didn't touch the knife. Tan Zheng's movements were clean and efficient. In a few moments, he had cut the ginger and placed the other chopped ingredients in plates. After finishing, Tan Zheng washed his hands and retreated to the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame and watching Song Ni. Song Ni truly didn't know how to cook, but she was clever. She still remembered the steps she had taken earlier. Watching this scene, Tan Zheng felt a warmth spread through his heart. He had never thought that Song Ni's inability to cook was a bad thing, nor had he ever considered asking her to cook. But this moment was indeed blissful. It even sparked an idea in his heart to cook more often in the future. This time, with Tan Zheng watching, Song Ni was more cautious and made no mistakes. When the soup was ready, Song Ni tasted it herself first. Upon tasting it, her brows furrowed slightly. Tan Zheng walked over. "What's wrong?" Song Ni tasted it again. "It's a bit strange?" Tan Zheng tasted it from her hand as well. It was the taste of fish soup. "What's strange about it?" Song Ni put down the spoon, her finger lightly tapping her chin. "Why is it not quite the same as the fish soup you made before?" Although this pot was much better than the previous one, Song Ni had tasted better fish soup, and the difference was obvious. Compared to Tan Zheng's, it was simply too inferior. Tan Zheng chuckled lightly. So, she was bothered by this. The man pondered for a moment and then revealed one of the steps he used to make fish soup. Song Ni: "..." "Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Song Ni was almost infuriated by this man! He knew her steps weren't complete, so why didn't he tell her? Tan Zheng raised his hand and touched his nose. "I was afraid of discouraging you and making you sad." Song Ni: ...