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Xie Lian was walking home from his trip around the village, finding some fresh vegetables and fruits for him and Hua Cheng to eat for lunch.
He finally arrived at Puqi shrine, smiling as he noticed Hua Cheng waiting for him at the porch.
“Gege, those groceries look heavy, shall I carry them for you?” Xie Lian shook his head.
“No need, I can handle myself, San Lang.” Hua Cheng nodded, apologizing briefly as he opened the door for him.
“What is gege making for lunch today?” He asked, going through the ingredients Xie Lian had just bought.
“Nothing much, I want to try a new recipe, is San Lang open to it?” Hua Cheng nodded in excitement, he would happily eat anything Xie Lian made, especially for him. "Of course I am, what is gege making?”
“There's been this viral salad recipe going around the village! I wanted to try making it for you.” Hua Cheng smiled, his gaze never leaving him. “Very well, I'll wait here. If there's anything I can help with, don't be afraid to call me, okay?” Xie Lian nodded, taking the groceries as he set off to the kitchen.
Xie Lian hummed to himself, cutting the vegetables into smaller pieces. Finally, the salad was complete, ‘it went better than I expected’ he thought, making his way back inside the shrine.
“San Lang! Lunch is ready.” Hua Cheng was waiting patiently by the table, fidgeting with his hair. “The food looks delicious, gege.”
He took a bite, sure, the food looked amazing, anyone would've happily eaten it until they were greeted by the taste.
“It's a bit bitter, and it's too salty.” Xie Lian sighed, picking at his own food as he nearly choked on the taste, even he couldn't deny it was bad. “Sorry, I can make you something else.” Hua Cheng shook his head, “No need, if gege really wants to make something else, then let san Lang help you, okay?” Xie Lian's eyes widened in excitement, nodding eagerly, “Yes, that would be nice!”
—
Hua Cheng worked on the vegetables, though, he accidentally put too much pressure into cutting the tomatoes, nearly snapping the cutting board in half, he begged for forgiveness, but Xie Lian found it amusing, gently comforting him.
“San lang is so strong, it's no surprise something like that would happen.” He says, but Hua Cheng didn't feel any less guilty, “I’m sorry, gege. I promise I'll buy a better one for you!”
Xie Lian laughs heartily, petting Hua Cheng's hair, “Hmm, it's no big deal, let's just continue cooking, okay? I'll deal with the cutting if you'd like.” Hua Cheng nodded, apologizing profusely.
—
The pair enjoyed a much better salad, Hua Cheng going on and on about how much he loved Xie Lian's food, Xie Lian could only smile sheepishly, insisting that it wouldn't taste as good without his help.