24 I Would Know, I Used to Be One

Chu Fan could not believe his eyes. He rubbed them with his left hand until they hurt.

"Why does this seem so familiar? Almost like déjà vu."

He snapped his fingers and his eyes widened as he came to the realization. This situation he was currently in was far more dangerous than his previous encounter with Yao Lingyan several months ago.

*yawn*

Chu Fan stiffened up and turned his head to see the innocent face staring up at him. His right hand had remained on her chest the whole time; he quickly retracted his hands.

Seeing herself be groped, she turned beet-red and buried herself under the blankets.

Chu Fan got off the bed and started begging for forgiveness while on his knees.

"Sorry, sorry! This lowly disciple is unworthy! Forgive my rudeness!"

*PA* *PA* *PA*

He began slapping himself while begging for her forgiveness.

"I am unworthy and deserve to die. Should Hun Lian wish for that, I would accept it with no regrets."

Hearing his words, she peaked her head out to see him. Hearing those crisp and loud slaps, it pained her to even hear Chu Fan be in pain. At the moment, his cheeks were red and swollen; he looked like a bubble eye goldfish.

Hearing him talk of his death and acceptance of his fate for having slept beside her, made her heart race and tears fall from her face.

At the moment, many emotions ran through her mind. She was happy that he was willing to take responsibility for his actions, whether he was conscious at the time or not. And she was angered and saddened by his resolve to die as punishment to deter any rumors that would sully her reputation.

She jumped up and pointed at him, tears falling down her rosy cheeks.

"You idiot! Take responsibility for your actions. Who will take care of the child when it is born?"

Chu Fan froze, he didn't understand at all.

"Child? How can she be? Wha-"

It finally struck him, this small and cute child was so naive that her father had tricked her.

"Father said that I should stay away from men because they all want to bed with us women only. And if they do, I'll get pregnant. You must take responsibility. This means that you'll have to simply marry me and promise to never leave me."

A thought surfaced in Chu Fan's mind.

"Could I really achieve the fabled harem ending?"

"Ahem! Then I can not refuse the wish of the sect chief's daughter."

He stayed on his knees, but he raised his right hand high with his middle, index, and ring finger pointed up high.

"I, Chu Fan, swear to the heavens as witness; that I promise to take Hun Lian as my wife. I shall brave any illness or hardship, till death do us part. Shall lightning strike me down if I break this promise."

He looked up and around him, checking for any strikes of lightning. After a couple of seconds of hearing nothing, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mm, well put. Now help me down."

He stood up and dusted himself off and reached for her hands. She reached out to touch his hands also.

*zap*

They both pulled their hands back after receiving a bit of static shock.

"Hehe, let's try that again shall we?"

He grabbed her hands, a tiny jolt of electricity ran through his body, giving him goosebumps. He merely brushed it off and lightly shivered as it tickled him.

Hun Lian landed next to him, looking like a small fairy with her pajamas. She looked up at him with big doe eyes.

"Chu Fan, I didn't bring any clothes with me. How will you get me back to my room?"

Chu Fan backed away instantly. He realized that he had completely forgotten about the imminent threat of having slept in the came bed as the sect chief's, one and only, cherished daughter. He began nervously scratching his head and pacing back and forth.

"What to do? What to do?"

Then a thought struck him.

"Wait, why is Hun Lian even here to begin with?"

He turned to look at the innocently smiling girl. He grinned and pinched her by the cheeks.

"What brought you into MY bedroom here to begin with?"

"Ai ren ru fhen hon hyu!"

"Speak properly! I can't understand you at all!"

Hun Lian began to tear up from the pain. Chu Fan noticed that his hands were firmly pinching her cheeks. And he released his hands immediately.

With tears in her eyes, she explained how the situation came to fruition.

Chu Fan smiled and shook his head.

"So that's what it is? You thought you would never see me again and had to check on me. That makes me so happy. I didn't know that, out of the whole sect, the one to love me so much would be none other than Hun Lian."

Hun Lian blushed and turned away to pout. She felt embarrassed by his teasing. True, it was a complete turnaround from when they first met. She went from hating him in the beginning to having fallen for him. It was a mind-boggling turn of events.

"Whatever. How do you plan to take me home. I can't be seen walking around in my pajamas in broad daylight."

Chu Fan began scratching his head again. Being reminded of his current predicament only gave him a headache as he tried to think of something.

"Urgh! Ah, that's it!"

He grabbed Hun Lian by the hands and dragged her into the kitchen. He grabbed an apron and put it on her.

"Eh!? What good will this do?"

She looked at Chu Fan with a blank face. She knew nothing of his plan.

"Shhh! Just do what I do. We're making breakfast."

She pointed at herself with a shocked and puzzled face.

"Haaa!? You want me to cook!? I've never stepped into a kitchen before."

Chu Fan waved his fingers at her.

"Ah ah ah! If you can learn to fight, you can learn to cook. Besides, we're cooking the most simple dish I can think of."

Hun Lian was stunned silent. She couldn't refute his argument. Cooking, when compared to cultivation, seemed to be much simpler.

"I guess. It's just throwing a bunch of ingredients into a hot pan anyways right?"

Chu Fan almost coughed up a mouthful of blood. He held back his tears of pity; this girl was truly naive.

"Ah, ignorance truly is bliss. You have so much to learn."

He began cracking eggs into a bowl and beating them. Meanwhile he began stir-frying other ingredients in a separate wok.

She was amazed by Chu Fan's ability to multitask in the kitchen. It looked like he was dancing about in the kitchen.

"What are we making?"

Chu Fan stopped and looked at her with a serious face.

"Omelette Rice."

She was confused, she had never heard of "Omelette Rice" before.

A couple of minutes later, he plated his omelette rice and served it to her. The smoke from the wok and the aroma of perfectly fried eggs wafted about the air.

"Eat up! It's your turn after this."

She picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. The dish was just too tempting not to try.

She dropped her chopsticks onto the table. The food was so tasty that she had forgotten all about etiquette and gave out a soft moan. The taste of the gravy Chu Fan had poured over the egg perfectly complemented the eggs and stir-fried rice. None of it tasted too greasy or acidic. The eggs, in their runny state, enveloped every grain of rice; transforming the dish into an unstoppable force of flavor.

Chu Fan handed her a soup spoon and she began to ladle everything into her mouth. When she was done, she even licked the bowl clean.

Chu Fan handed her a cup of water and chuckled lightly.

"Hehe, cooking is not something to underestimate. It's not just throwing things onto a hot wok. Now, try and make this dish from what you remember."

He had prepped everything for her. Pitying her, he made it easy for her. All she had to do was cook the omelette and plate it.

Hun Lian looked over at the stove, then at the handle. She twisted it clockwise.

"Fwooo!"

Flames shot up, and turned a blue hue. She thought back to what she saw Chu Fan do and imitated his movements: ladling some oil into the pan, tossing in the eggs, stirring the eggs, and flipping it.

Eventually she was done and plated her food.

Her eggs came out crispy and completely cooked, with a slightly charred and crispy outer layer. She gave the plate over to Chu Fan with a red face. It was her first time cooking, and she was cooking for her future husband who was a chef.

Chu Fan dug his spoon into the dish and inspected it a bit, adding a bit dramatic tension to his judging process.

He ate it and simply looked at Hun Lian with a blank face.

"You have done fairly good for a first timer. Now I want you to do this two more times."

"Hah!? I have to do it two more times?"

Chu Fan looked at her and shook her hands from side to side like a child would do to a parent.

"Pretty please, my precious."

Hun Lian only blushed and nodded. Seeing the fat and lovable face of Chu Fan pleading for her, made her happy. She was also happy that he gave her a nickname.

"Okay then, my tubby."

After a couple of minutes, she had plated two more servings for Chu Fan.

He grabbed the plates and placed them inside a container. He grabbed Hun Lian's hand and they made their way out of the building.

The two of them headed for the sect chief's residence, hands interlocked.

Hun Lian looked at Chu Fan confused.

"So why did you make me cook? How does this solve the problem?"

Chu Fan looked at her with a gentle smile on his face, his eyes winking.

"What are you talking about? Didn't you get up early to learn how to cook breakfast for your parents?"

Hun Lian's perception kicked in and she understood that this was all a part of Chu Fan's plan.

The two happily walked while chatting and made their ways to the sect chief's residence.

The two didn't know yet, but currently, the sect chief was fuming at the moment. He paced back and forth at the entrance to his room.

"Dear, why are you stressing out? They are merely children, what sort of trouble could come out of it?"

"Shush! You don't know of what potential harm this boy can cause. I would know, I used to be one."