Soon, everyone took their seats around the dining table.
Chef Qin, having showcased his skills, was urged by several girls to sit at the head of the table.
Xia Nuannuan was initially hesitant to sit next to him, but Mu Nan, with a smiling gesture, pressed her shoulder and guided her to sit beside Qin Tian.
“Looking at it this way, it really feels like we’re crashing your and Nuannuan’s place for a meal!”
Liao Juan said with a teasing smile.
Upon hearing this, Xia Nuannuan’s small face flushed red.
“You’re right, it does feel like that!”
Mu Nan chimed in with agreement.
“Class monitor, this is your home, you should sit here.”
Xia Nuannuan felt her face burning intensely, and she made a move to stand up and offer her seat.
“Sit down, sit down!”
Mu Nan, sitting on her other side, quickly stretched her arm to hold onto her shoulder, smiling as she said, “Don’t make a fuss, quickly sit down. Besides you, who else dares to sit next to Qin Tian? Aren’t you jealous?”
“Exactly, exactly.”
“Hehe… Class monitor is right.”
The girls couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Class monitor, what are you talking about? I wouldn’t!”
Xia Nuannuan denied with a blush, muttering shyly, “Can you all stop teasing me?”
Hearing this, the girls laughed even harder.
Qin Tian also smiled, his skin being rather thick. In fact, he hoped the girls would say a few more things.
“Um… I can’t wait, so I’ll start eating first!”
Zhang Peng interjected abruptly, killing the atmosphere.
Everyone rolled their eyes, glaring at him with disdain.
“I’m hungry, I don’t want to eat dog food, I want to eat this dish.”
Zhang Dapeng grinned.
“You should just stand outside and eat the north wind!”
Qin Tian retorted speechlessly, then turned to the girls and said, “Everyone, please start eating. Let me know how my cooking is.”
“We’ve already tasted it. That beef earlier was absolutely delicious, and these dishes also look very appetizing.”
Mu Nan showered him with praise without holding back.
“You all tasted it? Only I didn’t? Damn it, I don’t care anymore, I’ll taste it first.”
Zhang Peng looked indignant and quickly picked up a chopstickful of beef and put it in his mouth.
Following that, his eyes widened slightly, and his face showed a look of utter shock.
“No way, is it really that good?”
After exclaiming indistinctly, Grandpa Zhang’s chopsticks flew, launching an assault on the other dishes.
“Holy crap, this chicken is good too.”
“This stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts is also decent.”
“No way, even the vegetables are this delicious? Brother Tian, when did you study advanced culinary arts at Blue Flame Culinary Academy?”
Zhang Peng praised continuously, his talkative habit resurfacing.
“Grandpa Zhang, can you stop rambling while you eat? And also, please mind your image, okay?”
Qin Tian looked at him speechlessly.
“We’re all so familiar with each other, there’s no need for that. Besides, aren’t I just praising your cooking for being delicious!”
Zhang Peng said with a chuckle.
Qin Tian pursed his lips, too lazy to bother with this guy anymore.
The girls were naturally more mindful of their image than Zhang Peng, but they were also enjoying the feast.
“Nuannuan, eat more.”
Qin Tian picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and placed it in Xia Nuannuan’s bowl.
“Thank you.”
Xia Nuannuan thanked him happily, lowered her head to take a bite, and said with a joyous tone, “Qin Tian, these ribs are also very delicious.”
“There’s still a slight gap compared to Auntie’s cooking.”
Qin Tian smiled.
“No, I think it’s almost the same.”
Xia Nuannuan refuted with a serious expression, saying with admiration in her eyes, “Qin Tian, how come I feel like you can do anything?”
The class monitor and others nodded in agreement.
For their generation, the post-90s, many were only children, and most girls rarely entered the kitchen, let alone the boys.
In the girls’ eyes, Qin Tian being able to cook so deliciously was simply unbelievable.
“Can’t help it, who made me so smart? I learn everything quickly.”
Qin Tian grinned.
“Here we go again.”
Xia Nuannuan gave him a look of disdain, lowered her head to concentrate on eating, and didn’t give him another chance to be narcissistic.
Mu Nan and the others were also speechless.
Did he really say that?
Wasn’t that implying that they girls were not smart, and far from it?
Thus, the girls also started to imitate Zhang Peng, channeling their frustration into eating.
“Come, everyone, let’s toast!”
Mu Nan suddenly raised her cup of juice, saying with a beaming smile, “I was careless this time. I didn’t expect none of you could cook. Fortunately, we have our Chef Qin to the rescue, preparing such a feast for us. Otherwise, these ingredients would have gone to waste.”
“Thank you, Chef Qin!”
“Thanks, thanks.”
The girls raised their cups one after another.
Then, everyone suddenly felt something was missing, and their gazes simultaneously fell on Grandpa Zhang.
Zhang Peng was seen buried in his meal, wrestling with a large chicken leg, his mouth smeared with oil.
“Zhang Peng, are you a pig?”
Qin Tian grumbled with a dark expression.
“Huh?”
Zhang Peng instantly looked up, glancing left and right, and quickly picked up his cup as well.
“Cheers, come on, let’s all have a drink together!”
“Your cup is empty.”
Cui Ying, sitting next to him, reminded him.
“Empty?”
Zhang Peng looked at his cup and realized it was indeed empty, so he quickly picked up the Fruitzicano at his feet, unscrewed it, and filled his cup.
“Here’s to us!”
He shouted loudly.
Everyone was beyond speechless.
After sharing a drink, Mu Nan couldn’t help but sigh, “There’s only a month left until graduation. It feels like time is really flying by. After this holiday, the opportunities for us to gather like this for study and meals might be gone forever.”
“Yeah, I used to wish I could graduate sooner, thinking high school was too tough. Now that graduation is so close and we’re about to part ways, I feel a bit reluctant.”
Liao Juan added.
Hearing this, everyone fell into a brief silence.
“There are no eternal banquets in life. No matter what, we will always be classmates, always friends. Even if we go our separate ways in the future, we can still reunite when we come back.”
Qin Tian said with a smile, trying to shift the mood.
“Right, Qin Tian is right. Eat your food, eat your food. My bad, I shouldn’t have brought that up suddenly and ruined the atmosphere. Let’s change the topic.”
Mu Nan nodded with a bright smile.
Afterward, as everyone enjoyed the delicious lunch, they chatted and laughed, creating a very lively atmosphere.
Unknowingly, the bonds between them had also been strengthened considerably.
By the end, every dish on the table was cleaned out, and even the large bowl of crucian carp and tofu soup was finished by everyone.
“I can’t anymore, I ate too much today. Oh no, I’m going to get fat again.”
Xia Nuannuan leaned back in her chair, saying with a distressed expression.
Everyone looked at each other, and then burst into laughter.
“Hahaha…”
“What are you laughing at? I’m serious, I haven’t been this full in a long time.”
Xia Nuannuan said a bit shyly.
“Xia Nuannuan, you shouldn’t say that anymore. It’s easy to provoke jealousy.”
Mu Nan stood up and said.
“What do you mean?”
Xia Nuannuan looked at her in surprise.
Mu Nan glanced at her, then looked down at her own unremarkable chest, and sighed helplessly, “Because with your figure, you’ve already outshone all of us!”
The other three girls looked at Xia Nuannuan with envious and jealous eyes.