Chapter 68: Good Things Come with Difficulty

  "Qin Jian! Didn't you sleep all night?" At 7:01 Beijing time, Qin Ke should have been fast asleep, but this morning she woke up strangely and suddenly interrupted my train of thought in front of the computer.

  "There's nothing... I just got up a bit early, that's all... Did I wake you up?" I said to Qin Ke, rubbing my hair vigorously with both hands.

  "Take a rest, look at all the bloodshot eyes you have!" Qin Ke Yi sat up from the bed and walked behind me, leaning down to hug me and said.

  "No way, Qin Ke Yi, I've already promised someone that it must be done within three days..." Just as I hadn't finished speaking, Qin Ke Yi suddenly reached out to press the computer's power button. Fortunately, my reaction speed hadn't decreased along with my IQ due to love, and I quickly grabbed Qin Ke Yi's hand.

  "Want me to get angry? ... Or are you going to come yourself?" Qin Ke suddenly glared at me, saying in a cold tone.

  "Okay... fine... I'll do it myself, let me just save this first..." I tried to persuade Qin Ke Yi, but as soon as I opened my mouth, I found her staring at me with even wider eyes, so I helplessly smiled and compromised, starting to save the part I had just finished on the computer.

  "Get up, come to sleep with me obediently!" Qin Ke saw that I had saved all the programs and gently pulled me up from the chair, pressing me onto the bed.

  "Don't get out of bed before noon! You can sneak up after I fall asleep, but don't let me know! If I find out, I don't know what I'll do! If you're interested in knowing, try it! ok?" Qin Kaiyi snuggled up beside me and burrowed into my arms, his words sounding like a threat, but actually making my heart feel warm and fuzzy, with a hint of Qin Kaiyi's unique caring style. So I smiled and closed my eyes...

  After sitting in front of the computer for more than a day, I was exposed to ultraviolet rays and various radiations, plus the heavy mental labor, which made me sleep particularly well. When I opened my eyes again, Qin Ke Yi was no longer on the bed, leaving only a faint body scent. I looked at the watch and it was already past one o'clock in the afternoon, so I quickly jumped out of bed and sat back in front of the computer to start working busily again.

  After sitting for a while, I felt thirsty and took the cup to the kitchen to get some water. As I walked out of the room, I found Qin Kaiyi in the kitchen, clumsily stirring something in the pot. This was enough reason for me to smash the cup in my hand onto the floor in shock. I stood there stupidly, using all sorts of methods and means to prove that this was reality and not a dream. Afterward, I began trying to accept everything before my eyes. I quietly walked to the kitchen door, leaned against it, and quietly appreciated the rare scene, while also savoring the phrase "women are most beautiful when cooking" which seemed like an excuse for men to enslave women that I had read in a book.

  "Wake up? Hehe......" Qin Ke Yi, who was busy, said to me with a smile after seeing me standing at the kitchen door.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Boiling soup!"

  "What soup? What kind of soup?" I asked curiously.

  "I followed the recipe you bought and tried cooking egg drop soup."

  "Why are you cooking soup for me?" To match the romantic atmosphere created by Qin Ke Yi, I walked over and gently asked from behind, hugging her in my arms.

  "Face big! This is entirely an impulse generated by the spirit of exploring food knowledge, don't think I'm cooking especially for you!" Qin Ke smiled and leaned his head back on my shoulder, saying to me.

  "Hey......! You're great and all, but sometimes you just don't want to face reality. What's the big deal if I admit it? I'm not going to go around telling everyone that Qin Da Mei cooked soup for me, and besides, cooking soup for your boyfriend is nothing to be ashamed of, it's only natural. Just admit it already......"

  "I admit what! You're just my experimental product, you're now a little white mouse who doesn't know what fate has in store for it... come and try!" Qin Ke Yi scooped out a bowl from the pot and handed it to me. Thinking of the fried eggs from before, I took the bowl with trepidation, cautiously facing this sudden event, holding the soup and hesitating to drink it down."

  "Drink up! I specially cooked it for you!"

  "Didn't you just say it was an exploration of knowledge? How can you now admit that it's for me to cook?" I asked Qin Ke with a smile.

  "You've got a pig's head on your neck! You're heartless!" Qin Ke glared at me and said. Her few words were like throwing a spark into a pile of dry firewood, making my heart warm up quickly. Relying on this warmth, I felt an impulsive urge to drink the soup in the bowl in one gulp.

  "Is it good? I heard that the soup can help relieve fatigue, so I cooked some for you." Qin Ke looked at me with a gentle expression as I struggled to swallow the soup in my throat. Although good soups require careful savoring, before I could even tell if Qin Ke's soup was good or not, I quickly gulped down all of it. In theory, there might be a small chance that Qin Ke had a moment of inspiration and cooked a delicious soup, but for an event with such a low probability, akin to being struck by lightning twice in one lifetime, I wouldn't dare try my luck. Moreover, the thick, medicinal flavor rising up from my throat also confirmed the necessity of this action.

  "Which... I wonder what the main ingredient of this soup is..." I endured the inexplicable taste that lingered in my throat, and with great difficulty, put on a calm face to ask Qin Ke.

  "Of course, it's eggs and persimmons, but there are no tomatoes, so I added some small persimmons. The book says to add cilantro, but I couldn't find any, so I added some Chinese cabbage...I couldn't find ginger, so I added some mustard oil, anyway the flavors are all similar...I also added some cola...that way it can be a bit sweeter..." Qin Ke listened to my meticulous analysis of each ingredient with a serious expression, making me feel chilled to the bone.

  "Did you... put salt in it?"

  "Oh no! I... forgot... Hehe!" Qin Ke was initially very surprised when he heard my words, but then smiled at me with a hint of embarrassment.

  "It's okay... it's fine... tastes pretty good, although your talent isn't high, but if you work harder in the future, there will eventually be a day when you'll reach my level... I'm busy now..." In order not to discourage Qin Ke Yi's enthusiasm for culinary arts, I reluctantly encouraged her with a few words, but considering her usual behavior, she would definitely say "then drink it all" after I finished speaking, so after I finished speaking, I immediately chose to hurry towards the room to avoid giving her an opportunity to leave any excuse...

  Qin Kaiyi was tidying up the kitchen when Zhao Lijia called to say she would be going on a trip with Li Songwei in a few days. She wanted to go shopping, but Li Songwei had something on and couldn't accompany her, so she hinted that she hoped Qin Kaiyi could replace him for this task. This news was like a bombshell to Qin Kaiyi, who was extremely bored at the time. After hanging up the phone, Qin Kaiyi quickly got dressed and rushed out of the house...

  I don't know when it started, but my stomach began to hurt. At first, I thought it was because Qin Ke Yi's soup had a laxative effect, but after going to the bathroom twice, I realized that wasn't the case. So, while holding my stomach, I continued with my work. I thought it would get better after a while, but as time passed, the pain only got stronger, and I started sweating. After thinking that everything was basically done, I decided to go to the living room to watch TV and take a break. Although the many stupid shows on TV also brought me considerable discomfort, I chose to use the legendary "fight poison with poison" method, using the relatively minor pain from watching TV to suppress the pain in my stomach.

  I was half-reclining on the sofa, my hands clutching my stomach, dazedly watching a TV show that I didn't know what it was about. After who-knows-how-long, Qin Ke opened the door and came in carrying big bags and small bags, and upon seeing me lying on the sofa with a painful expression and sweating profusely, she hastily ran over to me.

  "What's wrong with you, Kang Jian?" Qin Ke asked anxiously.

  "My stomach... hurts!" I replied weakly.

  "What?! How could this be?! Is it because of the soup I cooked?!"

  "I don't know! But it shouldn't be, stop daydreaming!"

  "Alright! I'll take you to the hospital! Let's go!" Qin Ke said, helping me up from the sofa and hailing a taxi outside to rush to the hospital.

  After arriving at the hospital, Qin Kai supported me to a chair in the hall and then went to queue up for registration. After completing all the formalities, he supported me to the emergency department. After the doctor asked a few routine questions, I was sent for several examinations. When we had finished running around and going up and down stairs, Qin Kai supported me again into the emergency department and handed over a stack of test reports to the doctor.

  "Judging from the test results... it doesn't seem like food poisoning." The doctor put on his glasses, looked at them for a long time, and said thoughtfully.

  "What's going on?" Qin Ke asked anxiously.

  "I suspect it's appendicitis!"

  "Appendicitis!? What...what should I do?!"

  "Admitted... operated on..."

  "What? Surgery? Doctor, can't we take a more conservative approach?" I didn't want to just go under the knife because of one sentence from the doctor.

  "Hey kid, be strong! The surgery isn't that painful! You have to act like a man in front of your girlfriend! This is acute appendicitis, we have to operate or it'll perforate!" The doctor comforted me with a smile, and I got a good taste of what it means to talk big without feeling any pain. Thinking back, from now on I won't be considered a complete man anymore... aside from the abdominal pain, I couldn't help but feel some heartache too...