Chapter 594: A Grieved Yuko, Can't Even Add Two Shrimp
Ichihara Yuko and Ren effortlessly monopolized the street's attention. There was simply no avoiding it; the sheer visual impact of their combined presence left passersby staring in quiet awe. Yet, despite the lingering gazes, a distinct empty radius formed around them. Yuko's natural aura—an intoxicating blend of absolute elegance and untouchable mystery—kept the crowd at bay. People acutely felt the disparity in their standing. They lacked the courage to even step closer, knowing full well that a single, lazy glance from her would leave them flustered and entirely devoid of words.
Ren walked beside her, his hands tucked loosely into his pockets. He thought for a moment before breaking the comfortable silence. "Has a reading bug bitten the house lately?"
Yuko paused, her dark hair swaying with the subtle movement as she looked over in confusion. "What do you mean by 'the house'?"
"Modeus already likes to read, but Justice recently bought two books of her own," Ren listed them off casually. "Lucifer is completely obsessed with strange web novels, Aoandon bought a massive pile of horror anthologies, Riven has been flipping through gourmet magazines and shonen manga, and as for Nami... she reads everything, but mostly focuses on travel guides and atlases."
Yuko tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. "Riven and the others make sense, but what is going on with Nami? Why is she studying travel guides?"
"She said she wants to draw her own world map in the future, but she hopes to have a complete atlas as a reference foundation."
"Eh? That is quite an extraordinary dream," Yuko murmured, a hint of nostalgia touching her features. "Though, I didn't take any photos when I traveled across various dimensions in the past. Thinking about it now, it feels like a bit of a loss."
Ren cast a dry, sidelong glance at her. "Are you absolutely sure you were 'traveling' and not just going out on grueling business trips?"
Yuko shot him a fiercely annoyed glare. "Even if you know the truth, you don't have to say it out loud! Honestly, you lack delicacy..."
She huffed, turning her chin away. "Let's go. We are buying books."
Ren originally assumed a woman of Yuko's refined tastes would browse through high-end literary fiction, or at the very least, classic poetry. Instead, the moment they stepped into the quiet, ink-scented bookstore, she bypassed the literature aisles entirely and made a beeline straight for the manga section.
By the time the two emerged from the sliding glass doors, the sky had bled into the warm, golden hues of evening. Ren looked at the heavy paper bag in his hand and sighed. "In a way, Yuko, you really are incredibly easy to understand."
"Can't a dimensional witch enjoy a good manga?" she countered smoothly, stepping into the evening breeze. "Can't I appreciate gourmet magazines?"
"You actually like gourmet magazines?"
"I don't like reading the magazines," Yuko corrected, her tone laced with absolute entitlement. "I like looking at the glossy pictures. Then, when I see something I want to eat, I can just point at it and ask you to make it! This isn't a magazine, Ren. This is my personal recipe book!"
Ren let out a soft breath of amusement. "Your recipe book, huh? What if I don't know how to make the dish you point at?"
Yuko stopped in her tracks, utterly dumbfounded. She hadn't even considered that possibility. Her brow furrowed in deep thought before she hurriedly reached into the paper bag, pulling out a thick Chinese culinary magazine she hadn't yet packed away.
She flipped to a random glossy page and shoved it toward him. "Can you make this roast duck?"
"No."
"Then... what about this Wensi Tofu?"
"Too hard."
"This... then... what about this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?"
"Never learned it."
Yuko gritted her teeth, her crimson eyes narrowing dangerously as she aggressively flipped through a few more pages. Finally, she landed on a very familiar image and shoved the magazine back under his nose. "Then can you make this Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth?!"
She puffed out her cheeks, her elegant facade cracking into pure irritation. She could tell he was just messing with her now. Boiled Cabbage in Supreme Broth—wasn't that the exact dish he had served her when she first visited his restaurant?! For him to claim he couldn't make it was a blatant lie. He just wanted to tease her!
"You really can't?" she pressed, stepping closer.
"I forgot the recipe."
Yuko immediately smacked his arm, her expression brimming with resentment. "Don't think I'm stupid just because I have a good figure! I'm not Riven; I am not that easy to fool!"
Ren caught her wrist effortlessly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "You really are troublesome..."
"You are not allowed to call me troublesome!" she demanded, struggling weakly against his grip before her stomach betrayed her with a soft sound. "I... I want to eat... I want to eat something good... what should I eat..."
"How about I make you a dish that sounds incredibly expensive?"
Yuko's irritation vanished in an instant. Her eyes sparkled with renewed anticipation as she leaned in. "What dish is it? Is it Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?"
"Pearl Emerald White Jade Soup."
Yuko paused, letting the syllables roll over her mind before she gasped. "That is an amazing name! It sounds incredibly luxurious! It must be packed with rare and precious ingredients! Is it delicious?"
"It's delicious, don't worry."
"Oh! So what exactly is in it? What makes up a Pearl Emerald White Jade Soup? It wouldn't actually have real jade in it, would it?!"
"Hmm... how to put this..." Ren dragged out the suspense, watching her eyes widen. "Generally speaking, they are ingredients you've definitely seen before."
"Like what?"
Ren met her expectant, glowing face and delivered the punchline with a perfectly straight face. "Leafy greens and noodles."
"Mm-hmm! And then?"
"That's it."
Yuko froze, the excitement draining from her face as she stared at him blankly. "Where is the emerald?"
"The green leaves."
"And the white jade?"
"The noodles."
"And the pearls?"
"Also the noodles. You just roll them into little balls."
"I am going to bite you to death!"
A few minutes later, Yuko walked beside him with her head hung low, looking utterly dejected. Ren sighed, deciding to throw her a bone. "Actually, Pearl Emerald White Jade Soup has another high-end brother, also sharing the same name."
"Huh?" She peeked up at him through her lashes. "Really?"
"Yes."
"This time there are actual pearls, right?!" Yuko looked at him with a deadly serious expression, her crimson eyes silently promising that if he tricked her one more time, she would genuinely sink her teeth into his neck regardless of who was watching.
"There are."
"Mm! Then what is the emerald?"
"Cabbage."
"And the white jade?"
"Tofu."
"And the... pearls?"
"Rice."
Yuko stared at him, her voice deadpan. "So... it is literally just cabbage and tofu soup poured over leftover rice?"
Ren smiled warmly. "That's right. It seems you react quite quickly, Yuko. With the addition of tofu, doesn't it feel much more high-end?"
Yuko gritted her teeth, abandoning all her aristocratic grace as she pounced on him. This stinky man! She was going to bite him until he bled. To the evening commuters passing by, the brief struggle looked like nothing more than a sickeningly sweet public display of affection between a beautiful couple. Ultimately, Yuko could only silently submit, resting her head against his shoulder in defeat.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing," Ren said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "How about when Rindou and the others come over, we make something genuinely interesting for you all? And no, not Pearl Emerald White Jade Soup."
"Not even with two frozen shrimp added?" she mumbled against his coat.
Ren actually laughed at that. Her aggrieved, pitiful tone instantly reminded him of the time he had told her he could 'improve' a cheap dish for her, only to literally just toss two frozen shrimp into the bowl. Yuko had been so angry she was almost in tears, accusing him of bullying her.
"Don't laugh..." she whined, pinching his side. "It's too bullying!"
"It really wasn't, you just overthink things."
"Then what are you actually making?"
Ren looked up at the darkening sky, his voice taking on a quiet, rhythmic cadence. "When the jar is opened, the rich aroma wafts to the neighbors; even Buddha, smelling it, abandons meditation and leaps over the wall."
Yuko paused. The poetic phrasing sounded incredibly familiar. She immediately wrestled the culinary magazine out of the bag, frantically flipping through the pages until she found the exact poem printed in the historical description of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
Realizing he was actually going to make the legendary delicacy, Yuko excitedly threw her arms around Ren's neck, pressing a firm, joyful kiss to his cheek. "I knew it! You really are the best!"
"Your mood swings are giving me whiplash."
"Mind your own business! I can swing my moods if I want to! Hmph!" She grabbed his hand, pulling him forward with a bright, triumphant smile. "Let's go back! I'm tired and I want my feast!"
[Akarin's Note: "Pearl Emerald White Jade Soup" (珍珠翡翠白玉汤) is a famous Chinese folk tale and crosstalk routine. The story goes that the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, was once starving on the streets before his rise to power. Two beggars fed him a soup made of spoiled tofu, leftover cabbage, and crusty rice. Starving, he thought it was the most delicious thing in the world and asked for its name, to which the beggars jokingly called it "Pearl Emerald White Jade Soup". Years later as Emperor, he demanded his imperial chefs recreate it, but no matter what expensive ingredients they used, it never tasted like the soup from his memory.]
[Akarin's Note: "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" (佛跳墙 - Fotiaoqiang) is a world-renowned, incredibly luxurious Fujian dish. It requires dozens of premium ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, scallops, and quail eggs, simmered together in a Shaoxing wine broth for 1-2 full days. The poem Ren quotes is the literal origin of the dish's name, implying the smell is so intoxicating that even a vegetarian Buddhist monk would jump over a monastery wall to eat it.]
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