Chapter 136 Preparing Food for the One You Love

Hearing Chen Zhe's special instruction, Krystal Jung's signature downturned eyebrows appeared on her face once again. After letting out a soft hum, she pouted, picked up two corns, and prepared to process them according to Chen Zhe's request.

"Be careful, don't rush, just slice them slowly!"

Finding it hard to truly set her mind at ease, Chen Zhe acted like a nagging mother. The moment Krystal reached the cutting board, he couldn't help but offer another reminder.

"Got it, you really are so naggy! If I had known, I wouldn't have agreed to you so easily!"

Listening to Chen Zhe's instructions and sensing the overflowing care embedded within his words, Krystal couldn't help but let the corners of her lips curl upward into a smile.

Though she was thrilled by how much Chen Zhe cared for her, Krystal had no intention of showing it openly. She deliberately put on an exasperated and impatient expression to reply to him, yet the joy in her voice was impossible to conceal.

"Alright, alright, I'll keep my mouth shut, shall I? You really are my sassy girlfriend!"

Seeing that Krystal could no longer hide her happiness yet stubbornly insisted on acting annoyed, Chen Zhe shook his head with an amused smile and decided to play along with her performance.

"We've only just started dating, and you're already calling me sassy? Hmph, I'm angry!"

Upon hearing Chen Zhe call her his sassy girlfriend, Krystal's immediate reaction was to think of a movie—that once immensely popular film, *My Sassy Girlfriend*.

Subconsciously, she cast Chen Zhe in the role of the male lead, Gyeon-woo, while casting herself as the female lead, Song Min-hee. She deliberately tried to project a domineering and overbearing aura, but no matter how hard she tried, it didn't look quite right, only adding an extra layer of cuteness instead.

"My dearest girlfriend-xi, if I cook for you as an apology, will you forgive this tactless newly minted boyfriend of yours?"

Watching Krystal's fiercely feigned expression, Chen Zhe smiled helplessly and couldn't help reaching out to tap her forehead, his tone gentle and laced with amusement.

"Well, if you cook well and satisfy me, then I'll forgive you. But if you don't satisfy me, I won't talk to you for five minutes!"

Catching the finger that Chen Zhe had tapped against her forehead, Krystal maintained her fiercely adorable look, seemingly a bit too deeply immersed in her role.

However, the condition she proposed left Chen Zhe somewhat speechless; the difference between being satisfied and dissatisfied seemed practically negligible.

"Um, five minutes actually sounds a bit too harsh, a bit too severe. Let me revise that: if your dishes fail to satisfy me, I won't speak to you for two minutes!"

Noticing the peculiar expression creeping onto Chen Zhe's face, Krystal instinctively assumed her punishment for dissatisfaction was too heavy, and she pondered it for a good long while.

Only then did she solemnly hold up two fingers toward Chen Zhe, declaring that if his cooking failed to meet her standards, she would refuse to speak to him for a full two minutes.

"Though I feel that.... Never mind, since you've put it that way, Krystal, I suppose I have no choice but to agree!"

Though he desperately wanted to laugh at this punishment mechanism that was essentially nonexistent, Chen Zhe managed to forcefully suppress his amusement through sheer willpower, though the corners of his mouth still twitched a few times.

Seeing Krystal extend her palm in a gesture asking for a high-five to seal the deal, Chen Zhe sighed helplessly, swallowed back the words he wanted to say, and raised his hand to high-five her, locking in the agreement.

"Alright, then I won't disturb my dear boyfriend's hard work anymore. Fighting!"

After the high-five, Krystal dropped her act of being a sassy girlfriend. A bright smile returned to her face as she shook a small fist at Chen Zhe in encouragement.

"Yes, then please look forward to dinner prepared with my exceptional culinary skills, my lady girlfriend!"

Watching Krystal wave her small fist to cheer him on, Chen Zhe deliberately struck a gentlemanly pose to acknowledge her encouragement.

Seeing that Krystal had already started slicing the corn, Chen Zhe returned to his own sink and began earnestly dealing with the remaining ingredients.

After a short while, Krystal finished cutting the corn according to Chen Zhe's instructions, placed the corn pieces onto a plate, washed her hands, and returned to sit at the bar. Resting her chin in both hands, she fixed her unblinking gaze on Chen Zhe's every move.

Having poured all his focus into handling the ingredients, Chen Zhe didn't notice Krystal watching him. His brows furrowed slightly as he contemplated the order in which to prepare the two dishes.

After brief deliberation, Chen Zhe decided to cook the pork rib and corn soup first. After all, this dish required a relatively long cooking time; if he started with the stir-fried beef with Chinese kale first, the food would likely grow cold before the soup was even ready.

Since he had decided to make the pork rib and corn soup first, Chen Zhe set the steak and Chinese kale aside for the moment, planning to deal with them after the soup was underway.

First, he thoroughly rinsed the pork ribs, which had been soaked in cold water two or three times to draw out the blood, and retrieved a pressure cooker from Bai Fan's utensil cabinet.

After rinsing the inside of the pressure cooker and wiping the outer shell dry with a kitchen towel, he added an appropriate amount of cold water to the pot along with the cleaned ribs.

Once the ribs were in, Chen Zhe added slices of ginger, scallion sections, and two spoonfuls of cooking wine, intending to use these aromatics to blanch the ribs and eliminate any remaining blood foam and porky odor.

He turned on the heat to blanch them. Once the water boiled, a layer of scum formed on the surface—this was the residual blood from the ribs. At this point, the ribs could be scooped out and rinsed once more with water to wash away the clinging foam.

After soaking and blanching, the ribs were exceptionally clean. Using ribs prepared this way for the soup would ensure there was no gamey flavor or impurities.

After cleaning the pressure cooker with fresh water, he refilled it with clean water, added the ribs and ginger slices back in, secured the lid, and turned the heat to high until it came to a boil, then reduced the heat to low to simmer for about forty minutes.

While the ribs were simmering, Chen Zhe turned his attention to the remaining ingredients for the soup. He placed a few pre-washed goji berries into a bowl and added a small amount of water to rehydrate them.

Next, he moved on to the other ingredients. As for the corn, he had already delegated that task to Krystal. Glancing over at the neatly sliced corn chunks, he confirmed they matched his specifications and nodded before moving on to the carrots.

Retrieving a peeled baby carrot, Chen Zhe's knife rose and fell, swiftly dicing it into small blocks and placing them on a plate for later use. Then, he grabbed a scallion and sliced it into short segments.

With the carrots and scallions prepared, all the ingredients for the pork rib and corn soup were fully prepped, leaving only the waiting game. At this point, Chen Zhe could finally begin preparing the ingredients for the stir-fried beef with Chinese kale.