Good Food
On the drive back, Osho couldn’t help but think that Mrs Jane felt... off.
She still seed as stoic as ever, and her Aura was stable, not indicating anything was wrong with her. Yet there were still small signs. The way she kept glancing at him through his reflection in the car window, how she made sure to stay near him, and asked if he was alright or needed anything each ti he made even the smallest movent.
’Is she worried about ?’ That was his initial thought, and it wasn’t entirely wrong, but for her to seem this way when she seed the sa before her talk with the other two Experts... what did they talk about to make her this much more concerned about him?
He sighed inwardly and chose not to think about it, but he still kept it at the back of his mind. Just in case.
He watched as the driver went past the district where his apartnt was located and kept going. He’d been inford that he would be staying with Mrs Jane for the duration of the exams and admission into the different beast colleges. An arrangent which suited him just fine.
The two of them sat in relative silence. Not awkward, and both seed content to leave it that way.
The more Osho got to know her, the more he found her personality interesting.
Unlike him who generally just sucked at social interactions and expressing himself, Mrs Jane was perfectly capable of making conversations and expressing herself.
At first, he thought it was due to the pride that ca with being an Expert ranked Beast Tar, however, he realized that she just didn’t care enough to do so.
There was no underlying trauma or anything like that. As far as he was aware, both her parents were alive and she didn’t have any siblings to speak of.
He doubted she publicised everything about her life, but as far as he could tell, there was no outside influence that caused her to be the way she was. This truly was just how she was.
’She isn’t a bad person, though.’ That much was certain. She just wasn’t... keen on letting people in that much.
As Osho pondered, the car soon pulled into a pretty nice-looking neighbourhood with expensive houses. So were huge while others were just decent-looking with a respectable size, and Mrs Jane’s ho was among the latter.
It was a two-storey building that had so of that modern architectural grace with the corners and sharp edges and was of a decent size.
The car pulled in and the two of them stepped out just before it entered the garage. Osho observed the house and nodded in appreciation.
"Your ho is nice." He comnted and she just nodded.
"Thank you."
The two of them entered and Osho took in the interior. Just like the outside, the inside looked quite modern, but it wasn’t overbearing with over-the-top decorations and just had so simple yet stylish furniture and a few yet impactful decorations that didn’t quite fit the minimalist lifestyle but were still appealing to the senses and not excessive in any way.
"My parents should be asleep right now. Co, let show you to the guest room." She motioned for him to follow and he did so gladly.
They went upstairs and he was shown a guest room which was probably larger than his living room in his apartnt. There wasn’t a lot. Just a nice bed, shelf, rug, wardrobe, and the door leading to the bathroom.
Osho didn’t have anything on him other than the clothes on his back, so he didn’t have to unpack or anything.
"Do you need anything?" Mrs Jane asked and Osho decided not to be overly polite.
"I could eat." She nodded and turned to leave, but then Osho said.
"I can assist." She paused and faced him with a raised brow.
"You’re my guest, making you cook would make that point pretty redundant." She pointed out.
"Well you aren’t making cook, I’m choosing to cook of my own volition." Osho retorted, but she just scoffed.
"You’re not slick. Besides, I brought you here to rest and watch over you. Even if it’s of your own volition, you should be resting, not cooking." She countered and Osho cursed his lips before saying flatly.
"I wanna make use of the tools in your kitchen."
Mrs Jane: (・－・ )
Osho: ( ・３・)
"... Fine. Follow ." She sighed and Osho smiled.
’Food?’ Gale piped up and Osho looked down to see the bird staring up at him with big eyes. He smiled and stroked his feathers.
’Yeah, food.’
They went back downstairs and quietly migrated to the kitchen, and Osho couldn’t help but marvel.
’Yeah. This should work.’ He thought as he gave it a look over. There were far more utensils in just a single part of this kitchen than what he had back in his apartnt.
"Knock yourself out." She said lightly as she sat down and crossed her legs on a chair not too far away.
Osho gently put Gale down on the counter and rubbed his hands together like a gremlin.
"Don’t mind if I do."
Mrs Jane watched as the boy spent a few minutes getting familiar with the various appliances and gadgets around the kitchen.
A small part of her wondered if he even knew how to use half the stuff, but she quickly rooted out the thought. The boy had shown her more than a few tis that underestimating him wasn’t a wise venture.
Hence, she watched curiously as he found ingredients to use and started cooking.
She didn’t doubt his ability to cook. The way Ellie seed to almost worship his cooking was an indicator of his skills. Sothing Mrs Jane decided to attribute to him needing to be resourceful with limited ingredients.
However, she believed she was a decent cook herself, so she didn’t think Osho would be THAT impressive.
’Why am I even comparing myself to him? It’s food.’ She chastised herself inwardly, but then she paused and inhaled slightly.
’... It slls good.’ She blinked and returned her full attention to Osho. She had no idea when he’d put on an apron, but right now, he seed to be in the zone.
He was effortlessly cutting through so onions, carrots, green beans, and spring onions before adding them to a wok that was already sautéing small bits of shredded at.
He added so seasoning and sauce before adding a decent amount of water and lowering the heat to let it simr. After that, he moved to wash so rice and started boiling that as well.
Throughout the process, he made sure to constantly check on the stir-fried sauce.
Once the rice was semi-boiled, he took the pot off the fire and drained the water in the sink before getting a large pan and pouring the rice in. Then he added soy sauce, oyster sauce, and so other spices until the rice beca a dark color.
Mrs Jane watched him as he handled the appliances expertly. The way he controlled the heat of the stove and seed to know just how much of sothing he needed to add or reduce. Everything that needed to be cut was cut down to virtually perfection as it was neither too big nor too small.
Mrs Jane couldn’t help but be entranced by the display. She didn’t even know when she started leaning forward with anticipation.
"And done." Osho’s voice snapped her out of her reverie and she watched as he plated the food for the two of them.
"Fried rice." Osho said as he slid a plate towards her.
A savory aroma after up and Mrs Jane felt her mouth begin to water. It’s been a while since that happened.
"... You seem to enjoy rice. You brought that to school last ti as well, didn’t you?" She said calmly, as though she wasn’t eager to test the food.
Osho just smiled. "It’s a favorite. Very flexible. But I can make other things," He tilted his head. "Also, do you mind Gale waiting directly from the plate?" He enquired as he pointed at Gale who had a plate in front of him, but wasn’t eating as he seed to be waiting for permission.
Mrs Jane noticed the plate had so chunks of beast food mixed within, and was actually surprised as she hadn’t noticed at all.
"It’s alright." She nodded and Osho gave Gale the go-ahead before taking the stool next to Mrs Jane. She saw him close his eyes and mumble sothing unintelligible, a prayer perhaps?
Before she could ask him about it, he started eating.
She stared down at her plate and lingered before taking a spoon and having a bite herself.
As soon as the food entered her mouth, she couldn’t help but be taken off guard.
’This... is very good.’ She exclaid inwardly and found herself taking another bite before she could stop herself.
’Everything is cooked to perfection, and the food-to-seasoning ratios are nothing short of immaculate. There’s at and veggies in every bite yet it doesn’t feel excessive in any way.’ She spared another glance at Osho who seed to be deep in thought as he ate.
’Good talent with his Beast, athletic and good at fighting, good at theory and is smart, good-looking, and has incredible cooking skills.’ She sighed in her heart.
’Eleanor, girl, you scored big ti.’
***
Soon after they finished eating, they cleaned what they used and Osho finally went to the guest room to sleep.
’Slls nice.’ Gale plopped down on the bed and put his beak into the blanket to sniff. Osho couldn’t help but agree.
He rembered hearing that everyone’s ho seems to have a certain sll unique to it, and more often than not, you can’t perceive the sll of your own ho since, well, you live there, but others could.
The sll here reminded Osho of pine wood and sothing earthy. Faint but there.
Shaking his head, he also got on the bed and Gale quickly climbed him to lie on his chest.
’Exam is tomorrow, huh?’ He thought as he idly stroked Gale’s feathers. The bird just nuzzled into him, content with their current positioning.
’This will probably be my second milestone after transmigrating here.’ He mused, the first Milestone being his hatching of Gale.
’I don’t know about not showing off during the written exam, though, I’ll just do my best there. As for the practical exam? None of that hiding my strength nonsense. I’m getting into the best possible college available. Also, I do kinda feel like showing off.’ He chuckled to himself and closed his eyes.
"Let’s see what happens, then."
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