I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

Bai Xiaoqi's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Do I want to learn to cook?"

During her more than fifty days of wandering in human society, she had long since discovered that the streets were filled with all kinds of restaurants, and thus concluded that humans who could cook were the most useful.

And once you learn to cook, you'll become a very useful human being.

That way, I shouldn't feel like I'm inferior to him anymore, right?

Do you want to learn?

"think."

"Very good, come with me into the kitchen."

Chen Shuo glanced at his watch; it was almost dinnertime. He led Bai Xiaoqi to the kitchen, which hadn't been used in ages. Seeing the state of the kitchen, he couldn't help but turn to Bai Xiaoqi and say, "I think you should reconsider cooking."

Strictly speaking, the rest of the apartment that Chen Shuo rented was kept quite clean and tidy, including the living room, balcony, and bathroom.

But the kitchen was an exception; the walls were covered in dark grease stains, and the floor tiles were covered in greasy stains, making them sticky to walk on.

The broken pot on the gas stove was covered in cobwebs, and various dirty bottles and jars were thrown on the cupboard. The yellow bottle of dish soap was covered in grease, and the seasoning box contained something that was hard to tell if it was salt or MSG, as it had clumped together.

The entire kitchen was so bad that even a dog would shake its head in disapproval.

Chen Shuo felt that the kitchen was in this state because of the previous tenant's mischief.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with him, since he hasn't used the kitchen at all since he moved in.

This environment made Bai Xiaoqi, a cat girl who used to sleep on the streets and wander everywhere, frown. Then she suddenly remembered the agreement that she would clean the room from now on.

Does that mean this area also needs to be cleaned?

I just thought cleaning the room was a very easy task, which couldn't make up for the feeling of being taken in.

And now...

"If you really want to learn to cook, we should call someone to come and clean the kitchen first," Chen Shuo suggested.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment and shook her head.

"Aren't you going to learn to cook?"

"We must learn."

Bai Xiaoqi looked at the kitchen, and after a moment, her eyes gradually hardened. "I'll clean this place."

"........"

It was nearing dusk, and it was getting dark outside. The room was dark, and Chen Shuo stared into her deep blue eyes. He felt that these beautiful eyes were radiating a kind of light, a light called fighting spirit.

Wow, he felt like he was on fire.

.......

"You pack your things first, I'm going out to buy some."

Afraid of getting her new clothes dirty, Bai Xiaoqi changed into Chen Shuo's pajamas, squatted on the ground, and vigorously scrubbed the stubborn dirt with a steel wool pad dipped in laundry detergent.

Seeing this scene, Chen Shuo gave a few instructions, then took the keys, along with the bottles, jars, and other trash he had collected from the kitchen, and went out to buy things.

Arriving at a supermarket near the neighborhood, Chen Shuo strode inside and bought a bunch of random things. In the kitchen, there was a gas stove, but he had never paid the gas bill. After thinking for a moment, he also bought an induction cooker.

He bought pots and pans, rice, flour, cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, and then pushed his shopping cart to the vegetable market on the basement floor. There was a dazzling array of vegetables, but he didn't dare to buy too much and just bought a few at random.

When it came time to pay the bill, a whole bunch of things cost over a thousand yuan. By the time we got out of the store, it was already getting dark.

Back home, the cat-eared girl was still squatting in the kitchen scrubbing the floor. Chen Shuo kicked the door open with his foot, "Stop scrubbing, come and help me."

Bai Xiaoqi turned around and saw Chen Shuo carrying large and small bags. She quickly ran over to take them from him. "You bought so much stuff?"

"Yeah, since I'll be cooking at home from now on, I'll definitely need to buy all the necessary supplies. Ugh, I'm exhausted."

Chen Shuo rubbed his shoulder, feeling like he was out of his mind. He should have taken this cat-eared girl with him when doing physical labor; she was strong.

There was an induction cooker, pots and pans, rice, flour and cooking oil, all weighing dozens of kilograms. We kept stopping and starting along the way, and we were exhausted before we finally got all this stuff back.

"It's been cleaned so thoroughly?"

When Chen Shuo walked into the kitchen, the spotless environment made him pause for a moment. He felt like he had come to the wrong place. All the dirt on the floor had been removed, and the oil stains on the walls had disappeared.

Who would have thought that the kitchen floor tiles and walls were white? He had thought they were yellow.

Hearing Chen Shuo's amazed tone, Bai Xiaoqi wrinkled her nose, let out a smug hum, and squatted down to take out the things she had bought one by one.

Chen Shuo leaned against the door frame, rubbing his arm as he watched her busy work. Suddenly, he asked, "How is it? After working for half a day, do you feel much more at ease? Do you no longer feel like you've been eating and living here for free?"

"Ah."

Bai Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently.

"Labor is the most glorious thing."

Chen Shuo laughed. This girl really embodies the core socialist values; it's a shame she's not working in a factory tightening screws.

Chapter Twenty-Two: How about I get you a cat license?

The rice cooker, wok, and bowls and chopsticks were all new and needed to be cleaned thoroughly. Chen Shuo rinsed the rice twice, put it in the rice cooker to steam, and then directed Bai Xiaoqi to wash the vegetables as well.

Looking at the few scallions, two tomatoes, and a few eggs lying on the cutting board, the two men stared at each other, completely bewildered.

"What's next?" After exchanging glances for a while, Bai Xiaoqi couldn't help but ask.

"Next..."

Chen Shuo scratched his head, "I don't know what to do next either. All I know is how to steam rice."

After thinking for a moment, he searched for a video on his phone that taught how to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and set it up on the kitchen windowsill. "Just follow what this video shows. Do whatever the people in the video do. Just learn by following along. It's very simple."

"Oh."

Bai Xiaoqi glanced at her phone for a couple of seconds, then found a tomato on the cutting board. She clumsily picked up a knife and began slicing it. Just as she made a couple of cuts, Chen Shuo behind her said, "Yes, that's it. You're doing pretty well. Once you've learned to cook, I'll pay you a wage. Ten yuan for each meal you cook. What do you think?"

"Really?"

Bai Xiaoqi's cat ears twitched, and she couldn't help but start calculating in her mind. Based on what she had learned over the past few days, a carton of yogurt cost two yuan, so ten yuan could buy...

One, two, three, four, five boxes.

Thinking of this, she was overjoyed, but after a moment's thought, she slowly shook her head, "No, I cook to offset the rent and meals, so I can't take your money."

"Then I won't give you money, but I'll give you yogurt as a reward. Okay, hurry up and cut it, the people in the video have already started cracking eggs."

"Ah."

.........

Chen Shuo stood behind her for a while, staring at her. With his professional skills, though he wasn't particularly skilled, he still looked quite convincing.

Although she seemed a bit clumsy, at least she had the intention of cooking, so I stopped bothering her and went back to the sofa to wait for dinner.

After waiting for a while, the sizzling sound of stir-frying in the kitchen gradually subsided. Chen Shuo went into the kitchen, took out the rice cooker, and started serving rice.

Two dishes were also placed on the coffee table. The dishes were very simple: one was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and the other was scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Although they both look like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, there are actually differences. One plate is noticeably darker than the other, clearly indicating that it was overcooked.

Chen Shuo picked up his chopsticks and each took a bite. He frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed. Actually, it was alright.

One dish was too salty and had a burnt taste, while the other dish was better; apart from being a little sweet, it was fine.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" Bai Xiaoqi gripped her chopsticks, looking at him nervously.

"It's alright, try it yourself." Chen Shuo wasn't a picky eater, so he figured if the flavor was strong, at least it would make his meal more palatable.

Bai Xiaoqi glanced at the two plates of food, picked up the one that wasn't burnt, put it in her mouth, chewed a few times, and mumbled, "It's sweet, I think it's delicious."

Not wanting to undermine her confidence, Chen Shuo flattered her, saying, "I think so too. This shows that you have a real talent for cooking. It's your first time cooking and it tastes so good."

"Uh-huh."

Bai Xiaoqi nodded in agreement, then suddenly asked, "If I study for a few more days, will I be able to work at a restaurant?"

"......"

Chen Shuo didn't know how to respond to this. He thought to himself, "Do you think everyone is like you and has never eaten good pork?"

"It's difficult to work in a restaurant. The chefs there know a lot of dishes and have received professional training. As for someone like you who came from a different background, well... I think you shouldn't be too ambitious. It's fine for you to just be a chef in our family."

Bai Xiaoqi thought about it for a moment and realized that what he said made sense; she seemed to have been thinking too simply.

The words "our family" stirred a strange feeling within her, and she couldn't help but look around, her gaze sweeping across the small living room.

Home...?

At this moment, Chen Shuo's voice rang out again, "Besides, didn't I tell you before? The prerequisite for going out to work is having an ID card. You don't even have an ID card, so no restaurant will hire you."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoqi came back to her senses, thought for a moment, and asked, "Then... how can I get that ID card?"

This question made Chen Shuo frown. He pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Well, in your case, you've gone from being a cat to a human. If you want to have a human ID card, they'll definitely investigate your past, but you don't have a past."

“I have a past.”

"Yes, I know you have one, but your past was as a cat. How can that be the same? They're investigating you as a person, not as a cat. You can't just tell them that you used to be a cat, can you?"

No one would believe you if you said that. If they did, you'd probably be taken in for research—whether it'd be a mental hospital or a research institute is another matter.

Chen Shuo picked up a piece of food and continued, "So you can't admit it, and you can't expose the fact that you used to be a cat. But as for being human, you've only been human for a few days. And before that, everything about you was untraceable, which means that your past is a blank. You just suddenly appeared."

"A person who suddenly appears is suspicious, right? But you can't explain it clearly. In this situation, you'd probably be mistaken for a spy..."

As he spoke, Chen Shuo suddenly stopped. A question flashed through his mind: How much is the reward for reporting spies?

I think it's around 500,000?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but start to examine Bai Xiaoqi closely, and suddenly felt that the more he looked at this cat-eared girl, the more she resembled a walking 500,000.

What are you going to do?

As he scanned her up and down, Bai Xiaoqi felt inexplicably alert, her heart began to pound with fear, and her cat ears perked up instantly. She looked at Chen Shuo with a wary expression, feeling that there was something very wrong with the way he was looking at her.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Chen Shuo snapped out of his daze, shook his head, and tried to banish the thought of 500,000 yuan from his mind. He was a good person, not a whistleblower.

This is not appropriate.

He coughed twice and changed the subject, saying, "If someone has no past or suddenly appears, getting an ID card in that situation is harder than climbing to heaven. If you really want to get one, the best way is to keep up with your resume for a few years and maybe you can get one during the census."