WBJAO CH 6: Body – Not on Purpose

Shen Chiyuan noticed that the others had gone into the kitchen voluntarily, assuming they all knew how to cook. After some thought, he looked at Mu Songmian and Si Yan.

“We’ll head to the kitchen later.”

Mu Songmian, lazily leaning on the sofa, nodded. “I have no objections. Whether or not I get to eat dinner today depends entirely on you, Chiyuan.”

Si Yan smiled and added, “No problem at all.”

With their decision made, the three of them stayed seated on the sofa, waiting for the four in the kitchen to come out.

But as time ticked by, there was no sound from the kitchen. It was eerily quiet, as if the four hadn’t gone in at all.Curious, Shen Chiyuan glanced toward the kitchen and instinctively asked, “They’ve been in there for so long without making a sound. What are they doing?”

Mu Songmian glanced at the kitchen and replied nonchalantly, “I’m guessing they’re debating whether water can fill them up, or rummaging around to see if they can find some instant noodles.”

Shen Chiyuan: “Huh?”

Si Yan smirked and nodded. “Guining and the others don’t seem like the type who can cook.”

Sure enough, just as Si Yan finished speaking, the four people who had gone into the kitchen walked out looking disgruntled, appearing to have gained nothing but the raw ingredients.

Qiao Guining sat on the sofa with a sour expression. “If delivery isn’t allowed, can’t I at least order takeout?”

As he spoke, Qiao Guining pulled out his phone, ready to place an order. But as soon as he took out the phone, he froze.

For the sake of the show’s concept, the production team had temporarily confiscated the guests’ personal phones and provided them with standardized phones instead—antiquated models capable of only making calls, sending messages, and taking photos.

If anyone needed to contact them urgently, the production team would relay the message. However, all the guests had already informed their friends and taken time off before joining the show.

Qiao Guining stared furiously at the phone, looking as if he wanted to eat it.

Wen Tang, eyeing the limited-functionality phone with disdain, commented, “I have no idea where they dug up these antiques. I haven’t seen a phone like this in ages.”

“It seems like the production team put a lot of effort into this,” Xia Wen added, though he didn’t look pleased either.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew tense. Si Yan and Mu Songmian, knowing Shen Chiyuan could cook, kept quiet. After all, cooking could be exhausting.

By now, everyone still hadn’t eaten, and their expressions didn’t look great. Apart from Shen Chiyuan and Mu Songmian, everyone’s face was visibly sour.

Si Yan was slightly better, though the smile on his face had disappeared as he fiddled with the phone provided by the production team.

This couldn’t go on forever. After thinking for a moment, Shen Chiyuan finally spoke slowly, “If you don’t mind, I can give it a try.”

Qiao Guining tossed his phone aside and looked at Shen Chiyuan with surprise. “You can cook?”

Shen Chiyuan nodded. “A little.”

Qiao Guining blinked, staring at Shen Chiyuan with eager anticipation.

The other three also turned their attention to Shen Chiyuan. There was no other option—none of them could cook, and the production team had made it clear they wouldn’t help, practically forcing them to fend for themselves.

Shen Chiyuan stood up and nodded slightly. “I’ll give it a shot.”

With that, he headed to the kitchen to start cooking.Watching Shen Chiyuan’s figure disappear into the kitchen, Mu Songmian also stood up, brushing his pants lightly with his hand. “I’ll go help.”

Si Yan glanced at the kitchen and then at Mu Songmian, who had followed behind, but ultimately decided against joining them.

The kitchen space should be left to the two of them. If they really couldn’t handle it, he could step in later.

Qiao Guining thought about it too. He wasn’t the type to sit back and let others do all the work, so he started to get up to help, but Si Yan stopped him.

“Guining, wait.”

Qiao Guining looked back, puzzled. “Hmm? What is it?”

Si Yan smiled faintly. “Let the two of them work together for a bit first. We can go help later if needed.”Realizing what Si Yan meant, Qiao Guining raised an eyebrow, glanced at the kitchen again, and obediently sat back down.

Xia Wen, who had overheard Si Yan’s words, cast his gaze toward the kitchen door. After thinking for a moment, he got up and headed upstairs. —In the kitchen, Shen Chiyuan had just rolled up his sleeves when he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw Mu Songmian walking over.

Shen Chiyuan paused while opening the fridge, turned his head, and asked, “Dr. Mu, do you need some water?”

Mu Songmian didn’t answer Shen Chiyuan’s question. Instead, he walked in, rolled up his sleeves, and stood by the sink.Watching Mu Songmian’s actions, Shen Chiyuan was momentarily puzzled about what he was trying to do.

Seeing that Shen Chiyuan was still standing there, holding the fridge door in a daze, Mu Songmian chuckled, “What are you in a daze for? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing dinner?”

“Oh, right,” Shen Chiyuan snapped back to reality.

Mu Songmian looked at the kitchen, which showed no signs of use, and asked, “What are we having for dinner?”

Shen Chiyuan glanced at the ingredients in the fridge, thought for a moment, and answered, “Let’s just have noodles. We’re too late to cook rice.”

Mu Songmian nodded without objection and continued to stand by the sink, waiting for Shen Chiyuan to hand over the vegetables to wash.

The ingredients in the fridge were quite fresh. Shen Chiyuan took some bok choy out and handed it to Mu Songmian. “Sorry to trouble you, Dr. Mu.”

Mu Songmian responded, “No trouble at all.”

Noodles cooked faster, and since everyone had been hungry for a while, cooking rice or stir-frying vegetables would take too long before anyone could eat.

Shen Chiyuan pulled out a special pot for making soup from the cabinet. He realized that using a frying pan to cook for seven people would be too small.

After heating the water, Shen Chiyuan glanced at Mu Songmian, who was carefully washing the bok choy with a serious, focused expression, as if performing a delicate operation.

Shen Chiyuan couldn’t help but smile. He seemed to know why Mu Songmian had come in to help—he was worried the others might not wash the vegetables properly and wouldn’t want to eat them.

Taking advantage of the time while waiting for the water to boil, Shen Chiyuan stepped out briefly, standing at the kitchen door and calling to the living room, “Does everyone eat eggs?”

“Yes!” Wen Tang was the first to respond, looking quite excited.

Si Yan, lounging on the back of the sofa, looked at Shen Chiyuan in the kitchen and smiled, “We all eat them.”

Shen Chiyuan nodded and returned to the kitchen.

The water in the pot had just come to a boil. Shen Chiyuan opened the noodle packet and added all the noodles to the pot. After thinking for a moment, he pulled out another pot to cook some poached eggs.

It was possible to crack the eggs directly into the noodles, but the egg whites would spread out and mix into the noodles, which wouldn’t look very appetizing. If it was just for himself, Shen Chiyuan wouldn’t bother with a separate pot for the eggs.

While the eggs were cooking, Mu Songmian had finally finished washing the bok choy, placing it in a colander to drain the water.Looking at both pots in action, Mu Songmian asked, “Should I cook two pots?”

Shen Chiyuan cracked the last egg into the pot and shook his head. “One pot is enough. The other one is for the eggs.”

Mu Songmian nodded. “Is there anything else I can help with?”

Shen Chiyuan shook his head. “We just need to wait for the noodles to be ready, then we can eat.”

The bowls and chopsticks had been in the sterilizer, so there was no need to take them out and wash them again, saving them the step of cleaning the tableware.

With nothing to do, Mu Songmian didn’t leave but stood at the side, watching Shen Chiyuan. He lifted the lid of the pot and added the seasonings to the bok choy, his movements smooth and fluid.

Soon, the aroma of the noodles wafted out of the kitchen. The five people sitting in the living room paused their conversation and all turned toward the kitchen, swallowing in unison.

Qiao Guining couldn’t sit still. Taking a deep breath, he stood up. “I’ll go check if it’s ready.”

He had just lifted his foot to walk over when Shen Chiyuan walked out of the kitchen and saw Qiao Guining standing up, planning to come toward him.

Qiao Guining coughed awkwardly, then sat down again, acting as if he hadn’t just been eager to enter the kitchen a moment ago.

Si Yan glanced down and chuckled lightly. Choosing to participate in the show was definitely not a mistake.

“The noodles are ready,” Shen Chiyuan said without minding Qiao Guining’s actions. His purpose in coming out was simply to let everyone know the noodles were ready and they could come eat.

“Great.”

The five responded in unison.

The villa’s kitchen was spacious, and with seven people in it, it didn’t feel crowded.

The one pot of noodles was quickly divided among the seven people, each receiving a large bowl with a poached egg on top. The presentation was very nice.

Shen Chiyuan smiled shyly. “Because of the time, and to get dinner ready quickly, I made noodles.”

Si Yan, holding his bowl, smiled. “If it weren’t for you, Little Shen, we wouldn’t know when we’d be able to eat.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Indeed, none of them could cook. Without Shen Chiyuan, they wouldn’t know when they’d be able to eat.

Shen Chiyuan’s cooking skills were quite good. The noodles were eaten up clean, not a single bit left.

After everyone was full, they sat quietly in their chairs, digesting. They instinctively reached for their pockets to grab their phones to scroll through videos but stopped when they touched their phones, awkwardly pulling their hands back.

With no phones to play with and not wanting to clean up the table, it was the perfect opportunity to chat and build relationships.

Si Yan looked at Shen Chiyuan curiously and asked, “Little Shen, your cooking is really good. Who did you learn it from?”

Shen Chiyuan was about to clean up the dishes but was stopped by Si Yan, who gestured for him to sit down. “Without you, we wouldn’t know when we could eat. Let us clean up here.”

The others had no objections and just began tidying up the table. The dishes could be washed by the dishwasher, so they didn’t need to do it themselves.

Shen Chiyuan sat back down and answered Si Yan’s question honestly. “When I was young, my father was busy, so I learned to cook.”

Si Yan smiled and didn’t press further. “Little Shen, you’re really impressive.”

After a bit more casual conversation, everyone began to feel sleepy, yawning and saying they needed to go to bed.

But they hadn’t forgotten to clean up the dining table.

The bathroom was only on the first floor, and the director had maliciously provided just one. By the time the others finished showering, it was already around 10 PM.

The large villa was quiet, with only the soft hum of the air conditioner filling the silence.

Shen Chiyuan, thinking about preparing breakfast for the morning, headed to the kitchen alone while the others were showering to get the ingredients ready.

By the time he finished and came out, the living room was empty, only a small nightlight left on for illumination.

Shen Chiyuan glanced around, everything was as expected.

The others all seemed to have pleasant personalities at first glance. It was only after spending more time together that you really got to know someone—first impressions didn’t mean much. But none of this had anything to do with Shen Chiyuan, he wasn’t here for romance.

Shen Chiyuan raised his hand to rub his slightly sore eyes, exhaling deeply, and headed toward his room, intending to grab some clothes to wash up and rest.

As he pushed the door open, he saw Mu Songmian standing in front of the wardrobe, taking off his bathrobe and getting ready to change into sleepwear.

Mu Songmian had probably just finished his shower, his hair still damp, a drop of water falling from the tips of his hair and trailing down his shoulder, across his toned chest, his eight-pack abs, and the lines of his V-shaped pelvis, finally disappearing into the waistband of his pants.

Shen Chiyuan hadn’t expected Mu Songmian to have such a good physique—he hadn’t noticed at all when he was wearing clothes.

The peppermint scent in the room was much stronger than during the day, gently wafting toward Shen Chiyuan, making him feel as though he were holding a large bowl of mint in his hands.