Chen Ze, recalling the episode with Elizabeth where one drink had knocked him out, felt a certain resistance to drinking alcohol internally. After all, he wasn’t particularly fond of drinking, and he detested the feeling of being drunk, so Chen Ze always tried his best to control his alcohol consumption.
But Elizabeth’s drink was outrageously potent—one sip could floor him, and Chen Ze never had a chance to resist. Moreover, the drink didn’t burn like strong spirits often do, which could lead to the misleading impression that it was not very alcoholic, thus catching one even more off guard.
"Uh... Lafra, welco back, what’s this in front of you?" Chen Ze set the potted plant on the floor, clapped his hands clean, then turned to Lafra and asked with concern.
"Darling~ this is a cocktail I’ve mixed myself...ah, no, I an I created this drink, and I’ve nad it Flaming Red Lips," Lafra boasted proudly—as if she was just short of having the words ’Co on, praise ’ written across her face.
However, Chen Ze really wanted to make a sarcastic remark. The na Flaming Red Lips wasn’t bad, but Chen Ze had seen a Chinese cartoon called "I Am MT," so he had certain misconceptions about the na, vaguely associating it with sothing like a chain lightning spell.
"Do you want to give it a try, dear?" Lafra leaned in, a smug expression on her face as she offered the Flaming Red Lips to Chen Ze, who accepted it reluctantly and then looked apprehensively at the icy Flaming Red Lips in his hand.
It was very cold, which suited Chen Ze’s preferences—he liked drinking chilled water, even though he knew that drinking hot water was healthier.
"Alright, I’ll have a taste." Chen Ze nodded, braced himself with a do-or-die mindset, and downed the Flaming Red Lips in his hand.
The first sip tasted sowhat like red wine, but sweeter, with a faint aroma of fruit. Like with Elizabeth’s drink, Chen Ze didn’t detect a strong alcohol kick, which gave him a headache as he prepared for the possibility of waking up clear-headed only the next day.
"How is the flavor?" Opening his eyes, Chen Ze saw Lafra’s pretty face very close to his, so close that Chen Ze could see her eyelashes.
Chen Ze didn’t react imdiately. His most prominent thought was that Lafra had such nice skin. He was so close, yet he couldn’t spot a single flaw on her face, not a single pimple, smooth enough to make countless won scream with envy.
"What..what are you looking at.." Lafra’s face grew redder and redder, almost like a tomato. Chen Ze felt he must be going mad from his chef duties, seeing everything first and foremost as an ingredient.
"I’m looking at you," Chen Ze replied seriously while looking at Lafra, because that was the truth—he indeed was looking at her.
"At my girlfriend," Chen Ze added. It wouldn’t be good to be mistaken for a lecher by the uninford if he did not clarify the status of their relationship.
"...Hmph!" Lafra’s face beca so red it almost seed like it might explode. The next second she huffed, stomped on Chen Ze’s foot, then ran upstairs without looking back, leaving Chen Ze alone to rub his sore foot in pain.
"Boss, I never would’ve guessed—you’re like a flowering iron tree, a titanium alloy straight man turned flirting expert?" Betty said with a look that could only be described as divine, leaving Chen Ze sowhat speechless.
But he had to admit, he was suddenly getting used to Lafra stepping on his foot, and Chen Ze vigorously shook his head, wanting to forget such an ungentlemanly thought imdiately.
Chen Ze shook his head. He still hadn’t shown any signs of dizziness or drunkenness. It seed that this ti Lafra truly mixed a great drink, delicious in taste and moreover, it didn’t give him a hangover.
"Hurry up and clean up, I reckon custors will be here soon," Chen Ze urged Betty, and then he poured the potting soil into the large planter.
The potting soil was sowhat heavy. If it had been the Chen Ze of the past, although he could have brought these things inside, he couldn’t have avoided gasping for breath, exhausted to death. But having worked as a chef for so long, Chen Ze felt his physical condition had actually improved. He wasn’t sure if it was because he cooked every day.
Chen Ze carefully took out the seed of the Flat Peach Tree and buried it in the soil. All he had to do next was to water it daily, fertilize it, and casually wait for the Flat Peach Tree to mature and bear fruit.
But then Chen Ze suddenly realized he seed to have overlooked sothing.
"...damn, I just rembered, this Flat Peach Tree bears fruit every six thousand years. So, how long will it take to grow into a big tree? And with a day in heaven being a year on earth, I suppose this counts as underground, right? So six thousand years would equal..." Chen Ze felt a bit dizzy. It was unclear whether he was planting the Flat Peach Tree for himself, or for his great-great-great... grandchildren.
"Ah, well, consider it as cultivating my character," Chen Ze shook his head. Even if he had Hastur’s Quadruple Speed Slate, if he used it daily, it would probably only an leaving it to his great-great... grandchildren instead of great-great-great... grandchildren, not much of a difference.
"Manager, why do I feel like your mood just suddenly dropped?" Betty looked at Chen Ze with a puzzled face. He had just been beaming with joy, yet now he seed downcast, surrounded by gloomy clouds.
Tsk, tsk, n turn their faces faster than turning pages of a book.
"It’s nothing, I just feel like I might have made an ultra-long term investnt, the kind where you don’t know when you’ll break even," Chen Ze sighed and then returned to the kitchen. He planned to make sothing to adjust his mood, perhaps he would feel better afterward?
Chen Ze stood in the kitchen. When making red wine braised beef, he had used almost half a bottle of red wine and there was still so left. Even though he had a storage stone to prevent the ingredients from expiring, Chen Ze always felt it was sowhat odd if he didn’t deal with this red wine.
"Your drifting smile~ has the scent of rosemary~" Suddenly, Chen Ze’s phone rang. He was startled for a mont, then picked up the phone to see, it was his little sister.
"What’s up?" Chen Ze curiously answered, asking.
"Bro, mom said she sent you sothing, but you didn’t pick up earlier when she called, so she asked to tell you," Chen Xingchen’s voice ca from the other side.
"Okay, I’ll send you so money later. You’re in your last year of high school now, study hard," Chen Ze said with a smile, nodded, then chatted about family matters with his sister a bit more before hanging up.
"What has mom sent this ti..." Chen Ze felt a bit vexed. Was that deep maternal love coming again?
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