Don’t Covet the Beautiful System!! - Chap 42
However, this thought only stayed in Pei Qingyuan’s mind for a few seconds before quickly dissipating.
It was because through the glass door of the kitchen, he saw Ji Tong picking up the phone on the table and poking on the screen with a flustered face, as if making a call. Hua Hua beside him was frightened, but also straightened up and looked at the phone screen together with an expression of anxious waiting.
Could it be that he was calling He Shiwen for help…?
This was just a natural reaction of oil when it met water.
After a short period of panic, Pei Qingyuan had already realized what the problem was. He should’ve drained the meat completely before putting it in the oil pan or he should’ve turned down the heat first, nimbly dropped the meat and ran away. Then he could’ve returned when the bursting oil was over.
At least for now, the meat in the pot was still normal.
He hadn’t completely failed yet.
Pei Qingyuan quickly took protective measures and he turned to look at the door. “It’s okay. There is no need to look for Uncle He.”
In the crackling noise, Ji Tong vaguely heard the host’s voice. He paused and looked up.
A moment later, Ji Tong’s fingers involuntarily moved up. The phone completely blocked his face. He moved the camera behind him to the appropriate position and clicked, freezing this commemorative scene.
The young man in the center of the photo held a pot lid in one hand, blocking it in front of him like a shield, while a spatula was held in his other hand. He turned to look at Ji Tong in a hurry and it was completely without the cold demeanor of the past.
Such a host looked really interesting.
His diary would be filled with a wonderful new photo.
The sound of oil popping gradually subsided. Pei Qingyuan relaxed his guard and tried to approach the sizzling pan again. He held the spatula and stir-fried the pork belly that was slightly browned because it hadn’t been turned over in too long.
It went smoothly and there were no more problems.
Pei Qingyuan recalled the recipe imprinted in his mind and felt that everything was back in control.
It was only Ji Tong and Hua Hua outside the door who looked a bit strange.
For some reason, Ji Tong was very happy after putting down the phone. Hua Hua lay flat and rolled around stupidly, the chubby butt with a love heart hitting the ground.
…They could probably smell the aroma of pork belly.
Pei Qingyuan thought uncertainly.
In the following time, Ji Tong and Hua Hua learned to be smart. They supported Pei Qingyuan by taking the small stools outside the door while the meat was being stewed. One child and one cat continued to watch him cook through the absolutely safe glass door.
After passing the hurdle of the oil explosion, Pei Qingyuan seemed to be much more comfortable, especially when he firmly remembered He Shiwen’s advice.
As long as the fire wasn’t out of control, the vegetables in the pot could be saved. They wouldn’t be burnt to the point of being irreparable in the blink of an eye.
The room that was slowly immersed in the night was soon filled with various scents.
The simple aroma of rice wafted from the rice cooker. The braised pork was transferred to the sauce and was bubbling with red sauce bubbles. The sticky tomatoes in the iron pot were softly wrapped in a golden egg liquid.
Ji Tong was so hungry that his stomach growled. He dragged the small stool to the switch on the wall of the living room, stepped on it and tiptoed to turn on the light. The idle Hua Hua twisted the flower skirt and followed behind him step by step.
He pressed the switch and warm orange-yellow light filled the room.
This body was too short. During the time when Pei Qingyuan couldn’t help him, the small stool had become his essential weapon in this home.
If he still wasn’t tall enough, he could lift up Hua Hua and use the cat’s paws to do things.
It was a blessing to have a cat that could understand people and not shed fur.
The host was too prescient when choosing this reward without hesitation.
At dinner time, Hua Hua patrolled around the table with his tail raised. Meanwhile, Pei Qingyuan set up steaming dishes and chopsticks on the table.
The three dishes all looked very good. The braised pork was bright red and rich, the scrambled eggs with tomatoes were intertwined with red and yellow and the fried vegetables were just green.
Ji Tong sat on the child’s chair. He picked up a bowl that was around the size of his face and raised his chopsticks full of emotion.
He might not have turned into a big bowl with long legs as he wished, but he did have a large bowl that was unusual for a three year old child.
The host bought it for him.
Pei Qingyuan, who was sitting opposite him, hadn’t moved his chopsticks yet. His eyes were a bit nervous as he watched the reaction of family member No 1.
The braised pork was a bit salty, the scrambled eggs with tomatoes was a bit sweet and the stir-fried vegetables was a bit light.
However, it was harmless. Compared to the miserable situation of human beings who entered the kitchen for the first time that Ji Tong had searched out before, this little seasoning error wasn’t a problem at all.
Ji Tong quickly revealed a smile full of affirmation.
“It is delicious.” He proved his praise with practical actions. “The host is really powerful.”
Seeing him eating so happily, Pei Qingyuan finally let go of his worries.
As a result, he tasted a piece of braised pork and frowned.
“Is it too—”
Before the word ‘salty’ could be spoken, Pei Qingyuan saw Ji Tong raise his large bowl to him and say enthusiastically, “You cooked it very well.”
Hua Hua jumped onto an empty chair and meowed happily, as if agreeing with his little master’s words.
Suddenly, he felt it was less salty.
Even so, he took the initiative to get up and pour a cup of water for Ji Tong.
Under the host’s meticulous care, Ji Tong was deeply touched and immediately wanted to find someone to show off to.
Now he had two human friends who worked in the system world, but the world they lived in was divided and they usually couldn’t meet each other except for meetings. They could only chat through the Intranet when they were bored.
Ji Tong immediately sent a photo of this dinner to the group.
[System 0587: The first dinner that the host made for me is full of color and aroma.]
[System 0587: Ah, my host is really an all-rounder genius!]
Fang Hao soon sent over a photo.
It was completely different from the table and dishes of modern homes. The photo was of a black robe that was close to the image of a xianxia drama. A dark gold long sword was worn at the waist and was very eye-catching.
[System 0499: The fifth scabbard that the host refined for me.]
[System 0499: There are five types of gold.]
The two of them fought for a while. Then Fu Yinyin’s news came late.
[System 0214: The host calls me Sister~]
Fu Yinyin didn’t post a photo but Ji Tong and Fang Hao fell silent the moment this sentence came out.
[Strange comparison atmosphere.]
[Crushing those who are arrogant.]
Pei Qingyuan noticed that Ji Tong suddenly stopped his chopsticks and seemed to be thinking about something.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“Nothing.” Ji Tong sighed and said nonsense. “Just looking at these dishes, I suddenly have a feeling that the host has grown up. Is this what humans often refer to as maternal love?”
In fact, he was thinking, ‘One day, can I hear the host call me Brother?’
It seemed a bit difficult.
But as a system, he always had to dream.
Before he became a system, he actually hadn’t passed his 18th birthday yet. If he counted the days when he was a system, he might indeed be a few months older than the host. It was worthy of being called his brother.
Pei Qingyuan: “……”
He calmly poured a piece of braised pork into Ji Tongs’ large bowl and skillfully pretended not to hear anything.
His system had always been keen to explore and learn human feelings.
After dinner, Pei Qingyuan was washing dishes in the kitchen while curiously listening to the sound of tables and chairs moving from time to time in the living room.
Ji Tong explained that tomorrow was Monday and he would start a week of a fulfilling and busy study life. Therefore, he wouldn’t study tonight and would arrange entertainment activities to help relax him physically and mentally.
He really wanted to guess, but in front of the system’s mysterious and unpredictable brain circuits, he couldn’t find an entry point to guess.
Therefore, Pei Qingyuan cleaned up the kitchen neatly. He wiped the water stains on his hands and saw twinkling starry lights on the spacious balcony.
Under the deep night sky, the railing of the balcony was wrapped with a small star, decorative light strip that Ji Tong conjured from an unknown place. It illuminated the entire space and there was a small round table in the center of the spacious balcony. Colorful pieces of paper were spread out on the table while four square stools were placed around it.
Three of the square stools already had masters. Sitting there were Ji Tong, Hua Hua and an incomparably familiar watch.
“Ruan Ruan, do you want to play flying chess?” Seeing him coming out of the kitchen, Ji Tong smiled and beckoned to him. “There are three opponents and we’re just missing one.”
Pei Qingyuan stood in place and was silent for a moment. Then he obediently walked toward the balcony.
Fortunately, he didn’t make a guess.
This obviously wasn’t something that normal humans could guess.
This entertainment was very much in Ji Tong’s style. It was novel with a hint of nonsense, funny and a bit childish. Still, it was impossible to refuse this suggestion.
Pei Qingyuan had grown to this age but he really hadn’t played flying chess with his peers.
—Let alone a cat and artificial intelligence who could play two roles.
Before the entertainment started, Pei Qingyuan’s only insistence was to inspect the surrounding residential buildings to see if anyone could accidentally discover this spectacle.
Fortunately, the building was wide and there was the blessing of the environmental surveillance function. Ji Tong was assured that their family would never be discovered by the Special Incident Investigation Bureau and be taken away en masse.
Pei Qingyuan took the dice with confidence and started the battle.
…Speaking of which, there should be no such organization, right?
At the end, the Host Domestication Log was filled with several pages of new content.
[On October 21st, the weather was sunny and I ate well.]
[In addition to the usual breakfast, today was the host’s first attempt at cooking. He left behind this precious photo of raising the lid of the pot that will surely go down in history.]
……
[The host rejected the proposal that the one who loses should call the other person Brother. It is because he felt that this flying chess game was unfair and it was three against one in essence.]
[Xiao Mei is obviously an independent individual and I just helped roll the dice! In addition, Hua Hua listened to the host’s words more. I asked him not to hit my plane and he pretended not to understand.]
[It is a fair 2v2!]
[However, no matter how fair the duel is, the host is extremely lucky. It is too much to roll sixes four times in a row and four planes were dispatched at the same time.]
[Oh, forget it. Next time, I will find an opportunity to trick the host into calling me Brother.]
Before the five hours of humanoid time was up, Ji Tong finished washing, put on his pajamas and got into the warm bed in the second bedroom. He was ready to disappear on the bed with a sense of ritual, seamlessly connecting with the big bed in the consciousness space.
Pei Qingyuan, who was standing at the door of the second bedroom, turned off the lights for him. He closed the door after saying goodnight to the other person and walked to his room.
Strangely, he wanted to sneeze again.
Was it time to add extra clothes tomorrow?
The night fell silently.
The sunrise arrived as scheduled.
In late October, the autumn got darker earlier and the weather became colder.
The students who were absorbed in papers and textbooks every day were already looking forward to the winter vacation.
In a few days, a group of students, including Pei Qingyuan, would go to Chengde Private High School to participate in the cultural exchange activities. The other students who weren’t selected were envious for a while and soon plunged into an increasingly tense atmosphere.
The second monthly exam was approaching and everyone was basically studying hard. The sports day would be held in early November so registration also started in these days. It was almost the last group activity for the third years to participate in together.
As the class monitor, Pei Qingyuan was responsible for collecting the enrollment information of the class. He thought that the students of the third class studying hard recently wouldn’t want to participate. As a result, the class was very enthusiastic. According to their experience from previous years, the 100 meters run, long jump and other events that weren’t too hard were filled up.
He didn’t know the reason at first, but Ji Tong told him very proactively, “It is because the host’s performance in the basketball game is very infectious. Everyone wants to develop morally, intellectually, physically and aesthetically like the host. Therefore, it is the host’s credit~”
Pei Qingyuan thought, ‘…I don’t want to talk.’
He applied for two events for himself, the 4 x 100 meter relay run and the 4 x 200 meter relay run. In the relay run, it was easy to drag the whole team back because of his mistakes. The psychological pressure was relatively large so it temporarily wasn’t full.
At present, there was still the most tiring 1,500 meter long distance run that no one had signed up for. Pei Qingyuan looked at the registration form and was about to ask Zhou Fang which student in the class was better at long-distance running. However, Lin Zihai took the initiative to find him.
“Class monitor, is there anyone who has signed up for the 1,500 meters run? How about I do it?”
Pei Qingyuan raised his head with surprise. He glanced at the figure of the study committee member who obviously rarely exercised and calmly tried to persuade him. “Have you run before? It is very tiring. Don’t force yourself.”
Hearing him say this, Lin Zihai’s originally somewhat hesitant tone instantly became firm.
“No, class monitor. I will go!” Lin Zihai glanced at the registration form in his hand and said in an ashamed manner, “You have applied for two events that no one else wants to do. We are both class leaders and I can’t escape responsibility. Class 3 is a collective. We aren’t only classmates who attend class together, but also friends who work side by side.”
“Don’t test me any longer. I will definitely run the 1,500 meters well this time and I won’t disgrace our class!” Lin Zihai made up his mind. “Help me sign up. Thank you, class monitor!”
Pei Qingyuan took a deep breath and gripped the pen in his hand.
In the face of this study committee member who had the most serious brain supplement tendency and had driven the students in the class to make up things together, he couldn’t bear it any longer.
Just as Pei Qingyuan wanted to clarify that he never had these well-intentioned thoughts, he suddenly heard Ji Tong’s excited voice.
“Ruan Ruan, the task panel is glowing green!” He was surprised. “The second main task has progressed. To have a group of reliable and excellent friends, this task is on track!”
Pei Qingyuan heard this and couldn’t help closing his eyes.
This was good news but it didn’t seem to be that good.
…What type of esoteric and mysterious judgment rules did this task system have?
Lin Zihai saw that he wanted to say something and said excitedly, “Class monitor, what do you want to say?”
“Nothing.”
Pei Qingyuan held back his words and slowly and heavily wrote Lin Zihai’s name on the registration form.
“Thank you for signing up. Jiayou.”
Lin Zihai felt a heartfelt approval from the heavy words of the class monitor.
The class monitor was finally acknowledging him!
A trace of emotion surged in Lin Zihai’s heart and he said forcefully, “Don’t worry, class monitor, I will definitely live up to your expectations!”
