Chapter 8: The Kitchen — A fully equipped kitchen.

Before logging in that evening, Tang Danqing went through the recharge process and bought another batch of Survival Coins.

[Converted into 150,000 Survival Coins!]

She read the notification and settled comfortably into her game pod.

She didn’t have time to grind Achievements for Survival Coins, but there was no way she was going to freeze and suffer in the game. That was why recharging was essential to her gaming experience.

[Login successful]

[Achievement Unlocked: Day 3.]

[Achievement Reward: 1,000 Survival Coins.]

[150,000 Survival Coins received.]

Her balance was back in good shape.

Tang Danqing logged into the game and looked around the brightly lit living room, then glanced toward the kitchen.

She hadn’t forgotten that she’d promised Little Jelly she’d fix up the kitchen today.

A cozy home definitely needed a proper, well-lit kitchen.

The living room was empty. Tang Danqing was about to look for the NPC in the master bedroom when the golden-haired, adorable NPC came out of the study.

She held a dustpan and broom, sweeping little scraps and dust off the floor and into the pan.

The NPC looked up and spotted Tang Danqing in the living room. The corners of her mouth lifted, her eyes curved, and she gave Tang Danqing a soft, sweet smile.

“You’re back. You must have had a long day. Come sit down. I wiped off the sofa, so it’s clean. You can rest in the bedroom if you’d rather.”

The NPC had changed into one of the new outfits Tang Danqing bought her: simple shorts with a brown striped T-shirt and gray slippers. With her short arms and legs, she looked like a tiny little homebody.

“You look adorable in that,” Tang Danqing said with a smile as she walked over. She took the cleaning tools from the NPC and led her to sit on the sofa with her.

It looked as though the NPC’s stomachache had passed. But looking at her translucent, lychee-jelly-pale face, Tang Danqing worried that she might be deathly white from malnutrition.

At first, Tang Danqing had only thought she was cute. But once she realized the NPC’s health could change over time, she started paying closer attention.

“Did you take your medicine today? Have you eaten anything? Is your stomach feeling better? Why are you sweeping? You were unwell yesterday. You should be resting today.”

“I wanted you to come home to a clean place,” the NPC replied.

Her stomach had improved a lot, but it still wasn’t ready for a proper meal. Aside from a few cups of warm water, she’d only eaten two crackers today.

Tang Danqing patted her on the head. “Seeing you is enough to make me happy. If you’ve eaten that little, you need to rest. Get better first, then worry about everything else. Today I’ll buy a robot vacuum to clean the house for us.”

The NPC was obviously the type to go out of her way to please others. Tang Danqing felt relieved to see her when she logged in, but worried she might tire herself out.

Who started doing chores the moment they began feeling better?

Especially when the NPC added, “I just wanted to do something for you, too.”

Tang Danqing immediately shook her head. She pinched the NPC’s cheek and said, “You need to make yourself comfortable first. Then you can think about doing things for me. Your goal right now is to get healthy.”

“Come on. Let’s go to the kitchen. You’re still sick, so I’ll fix up the stove and make you some rice soup tonight.”

The best thing Tang Danqing could do was make the home more comfortable.

The house had electricity and water but no gas, so she made sure all the kitchen equipment she bought could run on electricity alone.

After buying a large black marble countertop, Tang Danqing set up an induction cooktop, rice cooker, microwave, oven, air fryer, juicer, and electric griddle. That way, the NPC would have the right tool for whatever she wanted to make.

Then Tang Danqing put in new cupboards and cabinets. She slapped on a Renovation Coupon, and in the blink of an eye, a sleek, modern kitchen stood before them.

She bought a nonslip rug to lay over the tiles in front of the sink.

The rug had a cute brown bear-paw design. Tang Danqing asked the NPC if she liked the style. The NPC smiled and said she loved it, so Tang Danqing bought a matching apron and hung it on a kitchen hook.

The new cupboards had plenty of room. Tang Danqing bought a whole stack of plates for vegetables and fish, soup bowls, rice bowls, little bowls for steamed dishes, noodle bowls, dipping dishes, and more.

It wasn’t only students with too much stationery. Wealthy people probably had even more.

Tang Danqing spared no expense on the pots and pans, either. She bought enough to fill the cupboards.

Finally came the everyday seasonings: table salt, including low-sodium, iodized, and non-iodized varieties; sugar, including white sugar, brown sugar, and blocks of dark brown sugar; soy sauce, including light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and seasoned soy sauce for steamed fish; vinegar, both aged and white; oyster sauce; MSG; chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds; star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, thirteen-spice powder, cumin, basil, cooking wine, sesame oil, doubanjiang, ketchup, salad dressing, jam, curry, Japanese nori… Tang Danqing bought almost everything she saw in the Shop.

Good thing this kitchen is big.

The NPC helped out, busily putting away pots, dishes, and all kinds of seasonings.

Tang Danqing almost forgot—

Then she remembered and bought a dishwasher and a sterilizer.

She bought some fresh meat and vegetables, too, but only enough for one person to eat for two days, and put them in the fridge.

That seemed to be everything the kitchen needed.

She could buy whatever else they ran out of later.

As Tang Danqing and the NPC put everything away, the kitchen gradually fell into order. Tang Danqing opened a lower cupboard, took out a bowl, and scooped some rice from the rice bin.

“You shouldn’t eat much while you’re still sick, so I’ll make you some rice soup. It’s gentle on your stomach,” Tang Danqing said with a smile. “It should make you feel better.”

She used a wok to cook the rice soup. The method was simple, and the NPC quietly watched beside her the whole time.

Once Tang Danqing had put the lid on and left the rice to boil, she went into the living room to buy a robot vacuum. The NPC followed and crouched beside her, tilting her head to watch.

“Hm?” Tang Danqing turned and met those round, dark eyes. The NPC was so cute she could hardly stand it. Smiling, she asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Shan Qing,” the NPC murmured, then asked softly, “Would you get me… a cookbook? One with dishes you like, if possible…”

“You want a cookbook?” Tang Danqing asked. She thought it over and smiled.

“You don’t have much experience cooking, do you?”

The NPC’s gaze dimmed a little. “Not much.”

“Sure, no problem. That’s great, actually.” Tang Danqing suddenly had an idea, and her eyes brightened.

She opened the bookstore section of the Pocket Shop and immediately bought twelve cookbooks: one for stir-fries, one for soups, one for staple foods, one for hot dishes, one for cold dishes, one for breakfast, one for stews, one for baking, and more. She stacked them up and handed the whole pile to the NPC.

“Look through them and see what seems interesting. Try a few recipes. Cooking gets easier with practice,” Tang Danqing encouraged her.

She’d been worried that the NPC might get bored staying home alone for so long. Being idle could take a toll on her mental and physical health. Now she had plenty of cookbooks to explore. It would give her something to do, and if she developed a hobby, even better.

The NPC looked at the cookbooks and turned her bright eyes toward Tang Danqing. “What do you like to eat?”

Tang Danqing tapped the NPC’s little hand and smiled. “I’m not picky. Don’t ask me. I want it to be a surprise when you make it.”

While she was at it, Tang Danqing pinched and stroked the NPC’s snow-white, little-bun hand. It felt so soft and springy. Her smile deepened.

Shang You watched Tang Danqing’s fingertips brush over the back of her hand again and again, teasing her, while Tang Danqing smiled with clear satisfaction and a look full of meaning.

“…”

Shang You lowered her eyes.

Shan Qing really did seem to like her… body.

As she drank her rice soup, Shang You kept turning that over in her mind.

There was no such thing as kindness without a reason. There was always some motive behind a person’s good intentions.

Tang Danqing sat in the chair opposite her, scooped out some of the rice, made herself a serving of clay-pot rice, and ate. In the process, she unlocked an Achievement!

[Achievement Unlocked: a piece of cake.]

[Achievement Reward: 1,000 Survival Coins.]

It seemed like she was unlocking more Achievements by accident. Tang Danqing checked the quest list.

[Main Quest: Does it feel like spring yet? Then take a rest in your Home Shelter and experience the environment you created for yourself.]

[Side Quest 2: It’s especially important to support one another through the bitter cold. Make your roommate feel “happy” at least once.]

[Side Quest 5: Keep exploring and unlock 30 Achievements. (26/30)]

Ugh, that bugged Side Quest 2 is such a pain. It just sits there in the quest list, impossible to complete. It’s enough to drive someone with OCD crazy.

Luckily, Tang Danqing didn’t have OCD.

She just thought that a game this big was bound to have some flaws. She hoped the developers would fix the bug soon so she could refresh the list and get another quest.

Once the NPC had finished her rice soup, Tang Danqing smiled at her. Together, they put the dishes into the dishwasher. Then Tang Danqing set her sights on completing the Main Quest.

She went to the master bedroom, set the alarm to wake her in an hour, changed into her pajamas, and lay down on the bed.

“Little Jelly, I’m going to rest for a while tonight,” Tang Danqing said to the NPC.

She hadn’t pulled up the covers yet. She lay flat on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth, and looked at her in-game avatar’s legs. The skin was fair, but the avatar had the stubby little legs of an elephant. The childish look made her laugh.

She looked at the NPC. She had stubby elephant legs, too. Both of them did. They were so cute.

Then Tang Danqing had an idea. Worried that the NPC might sneak off to do chores again while she rested, she patted the bed.

“Come sit with me.”

The NPC nodded and came over with little steps, sitting on the other side of the bed.

She curled up, hugged her knees, rested her chin on them, and quietly watched Tang Danqing.

Tang Danqing met her gaze and smiled. “You should rest here, too.”

Then she closed her eyes and tried to relax.

Shang You barely breathed. Her dark eyes watched Tang Danqing without a sound…

It seemed Shan Qing was just about to fall asleep…

Shang You let herself relax a little.

Tonight, all she had to do was sit with her?