"Jiu'er, we're back."
Qi Xi Zhi called out softly as soon as he entered.
"Senior Sister, is Teacher Qi always like this when he gets home?" Luo An, who was walking at the back, asked, a little startled by how gentle his teacher became the moment he stepped into the house.
This was not the teacher he knew.
Upon hearing her junior disciple's words, Mo Ya Ya immediately withdrew her gaze and softly said, lowering her head, "Keep your voice down!"
"If Teacher loses face, your life won't be easy either!"
"Besides, isn't this good?"
"Teacher and Teacher's Wife have always had a good relationship. Even in old age, their feelings are like when they were young. It's enviable..."
She had personally seen the two elders walking hand in hand by the artificial lake on campus, chatting and laughing, a sight that evoked envy.
Compared to the passionate and tempestuous relationships of young people, the love stories that spoke of faraway places and vows of eternal love, she actually preferred this kind of life where one had gone through old age together, with the rest of their lives still shared.
"It's good!" Luo An nodded.
"It's just that I'm not used to Teacher Qi being like this..."
Indeed, since he enrolled, he had never seen his advisor like this.
In the office, during gatherings, they were always very serious and formal, occasionally smiling at them, but he had never seen such a gentle demeanor.
Seeing it all of a sudden, he was, to be honest, a little... scared.
"It's okay, you'll get used to it," Mo Ya Ya smiled gently and patted Luo An's shoulder.
"Teacher himself knows this, it's just that he can't abandon his strict teacher persona!"
Speaking of this, Mo Ya Ya couldn't help but laugh.
This was something Teacher's Wife had told them, asking them not to expose Teacher Qi.
Luo An nodded blankly, "Okay, I've noted it down."
"Alright, let's go in."
"Okay."
...
"Jiu'er, come here." As Qi Xi Zhi entered, Zheng Jiu happened to be coming out of the study.
"Let me introduce you to the two postgraduate students I've been mentoring since last year. This is Qiu Xi, and the one behind her is Luo An."
Qiu Xi looked up. Although her hair was white, her aura was undeniable.
"Greetings, Teacher's Wife. I am Qiu Xi."
"Greetings, Teacher's Wife. I am Luo An."
"Hello, you two," Zheng Jiu glanced at the two young people and nodded gently.
After speaking, her gaze fell on Qiu Xi.
The little girl that Xi Zhi mentioned should be this one.
Qiu Xi... the name was good, and she was good-looking too.
It was just that she didn't know if what she said was true or not.
"Zi Qin and Ya Ya, you two come and sit as well. It's been a while, come and chat together."
"Of course, Teacher's Wife."
Zheng Jiu didn't dwell on matters with Qiu Xi but started chatting with the young people.
From studies to life, they talked about quite a lot.
"Jiu'er, the ingredients have been bought. Should I have someone start cooking?" Qi Xi Zhi called out suddenly as he came down.
"..."
Really!
He still couldn't get used to Teacher Qi acting like this for now.
"I know. Leave it there, I'll handle it."
"Alright, then I'll get it done for you."
"Okay."
"Have your cooking skills improved, you two? Want to try again and show off your skills?" Zheng Jiu said with a smile, looking at Wei Zi Qin and Mo Ya Ya.
"Teacher's Wife!"
"Please spare me from this. I'll go help Teacher Qi now." Wei Zi Qin, remembering his previous experience, left immediately after speaking.
"That Teacher's Wife ah... I, I don't think I can do this either. I won't make any dark cuisine!"
One time was enough for such a thing!
It absolutely could not happen a second time!
No matter how much she taught, she couldn't learn. She, a kitchen killer, was truly wasting ingredients!
"..." Luo An, looking a bit bewildered at his senior brother and sister who had already fled, didn't know how to speak.
He... he didn't have that skill either!
If you asked him to fry an egg or make instant noodles, he could do it! But if you asked him to cook properly, the pot might just develop a hole...
"Teacher's Wife, my cooking skills are not very good either, so I won't do it..."
"I... I'll go help Teacher first!"
"..."
"These children, they run quite fast!"
After speaking, Zheng Jiu looked at Qiu Xi, "Then Xiao Xi, how about you come to the kitchen with me?"
"..." Qiu Xi was also helpless!
But there was nothing she could do. Seeing Teacher's Wife's gaze, Qiu Xi nodded, "Sure."
"That's good, then let's go down and see how they are doing."
"Mm."
As they went down, several people were busily working.
Wei Zi Qin and the other two were particularly cheerful because they didn't have to go into the kitchen.
As for Teacher, it was entirely because he was at home now...
"You guys busy yourselves, Xiao Xi and I are going into the kitchen to take a look."
"Okay..."
"Okay, Teacher's Wife."
Qiu Xi followed behind Teacher's Wife.
"Xiao Xi, take a look, what needs to be done?" Zheng Jiu pointed at the ingredients that had been bought.
Qiu Xi scanned them and then thought about the ingredients the others outside were tidying up.
After a moment of thought, Qiu Xi shared her views with Teacher's Wife.
Zheng Jiu smiled and looked at Qiu Xi, "Xiao Xi, of the things you just mentioned, can you cook them all?"
"Mm, my skills are passable," Qiu Xi nodded.
Qiu Xi was quite confident in her cooking skills.
Having learned it earliest and practiced for so long, her culinary skills had improved even further.
"In that case, you be the head chef later, and I'll assist you, how about that?"
"Teacher's Wife, I can actually do it myself."
"That won't do!"
"We agreed to do it together. Since we said it, I'll stay here."
"It also gives me a chance to see how good your cooking is."
"Alright." Since Teacher's Wife had said so, Qiu Xi didn't say anything more.
"Then it's settled. You stay here and look, I'll go out and see how the others are doing."
"Okay."
After Zheng Jiu went out, Qiu Xi stood in front of the cutting board and started looking.
She touched her chin with her small hand, thought for a long time, and then started washing her hands to get to work.
"Xiao Xi, I've brought the prepared vegetables in. They've been washed and placed here for you."
"Okay, thank you, Senior Brother."
"No problem..."
"Hm? Senior Brother, why are you still standing here?" Qiu Xi stopped her work and looked at Wei Zi Qin beside her.
"That... Xiao Xi, you can do it, right?"
Wei Zi Qin was still a little worried.
After all, what happened last year was still fresh in his memory!
At that time, Ya Ya was also like this. She was just assisting, but in the end, it still led to a misunderstanding.
She didn't have experience with sugar and salt, couldn't see clearly, and even handed over the wrong cups of wine and vinegar... after a series of incidents, Teacher's Wife never dared to let her into the kitchen again.
But after that, whenever they came, as long as Teacher's Wife was there, she would always ask, "Have your cooking skills improved yet?"
Teacher's Wife indeed had great demeanor and was approachable, but sometimes she had a bit of a mischievous streak!
He was afraid that if Qiu Xi also went through this, she might not want to visit again in the future.
"Senior Brother, please don't worry!" Qiu Xi solemnly assured Wei Zi Qin with a nod, "My skills are actually quite good, there won't be any problems."
"Then... then take it easy. If anything happens, call us. We're all outside."
"Okay, I understand."
"Then I'll head out now?"
"Go ahead, go ahead."
"Okay."
After Wei Zi Qin left, Mo Ya Ya came in, saying much the same thing as Wei Zi Qin.
"Senior Sister, hurry and go out, you're affecting my work."
"..."
"Alright, then you be careful."
"..."
Seeing them leave, Qiu Xi shook her head helplessly.
"Xiao Xi, you're quite quick!" Zheng Jiu said, entering again and looking at the ingredients Qiu Xi had already prepared, she was a little surprised.
These skilled movements did seem to indicate some talent.
"Teacher's Wife, I told you I can do it myself. Why don't you go outside and keep an eye on them, and hurry them along?"
"I'll be faster on my own."
After watching for a while longer, Zheng Jiu nodded, "Alright, I'll go out and watch over you."
This student of Xi Zhi's seemed quite good so far.
...