Chapter 182 What's wrong? You still want to eat dragon meat?

She had slept for twelve hours.

Ling Yue was woken up by hunger at four in the morning.

Clutching her stomach, she went downstairs to find something to eat.

She was dealt a critical blow by a fridge full of fruit and vegetable salads, snowflake steaks, cold pastries, and canned bird's nest.

“Why isn't there anything warm?”

She muttered as she opened the oven, the microwave...

Good grief, there was nothing.

Maybe she should just eat two avocados?

So cold...

Forget it, she'd just boil a corn cob to gnaw on.

Ling Yue took a pot to fill with water.

“What are you doing?”

Song Xinyao appeared behind her like a ghost.

“Oh my god!” Ling Yue was so startled she even blurted out some Dongbei dialect. “Why don't you make any sound when you walk?”

It was a good thing the lights were on, or she really might have had a heart attack from the fright.

Song Xinyao rolled her eyes to the heavens. “My dear Eldest Miss, the sound of you filling the pot was so loud it drowned out my footsteps, okay?”

Once there was enough water, Ling Yue turned off the faucet.

“Why are you up?”

Song Xinyao coughed lightly. “I’m hungry.”

As expected.

Ling Yue: “Then should I boil an extra corn cob?”

“Corn is so tasteless.” Song Xinyao said with a hint of disdain.

Ling Yue swept her gaze up and down her, uttering a classic motherly line, “What's wrong, you want to eat dragon meat too?”

“I know corn is tasteless, but it’s not like we can go out and buy something in the middle of the night, right?”

Song Xinyao winked and scrutinized Ling Yue for two seconds. “Have you forgotten something?”

“Forgotten what?” Ling Yue was baffled by her mysterious expression.

“You can order takeout, dear!” Song Xinyao’s voice rose slightly.

Ling Yue's expression crumbled.

Uh...

She really had forgotten about that.

Song Xinyao clicked her tongue twice, her face looking quite punchable. “The Eldest Miss is so used to having everything handed to her that she's forgotten what life was like for us ordinary folk.”

“Stop yapping and let's see what there is to eat!” Ling Yue pushed her toward the living room.

“I already checked in my room. The 24-hour convenience store about a kilometer away has Oden, but they don't have the items I want anymore.

Besides that, all the restaurants near the villa are closed. There are two barbecue places six kilometers away that are still open, but delivery takes 70 minutes. Even if we hire a flash delivery runner, it'll still take 40 minutes.”

“That long? I'll have starved to death by then.” Ling Yue's head drooped weakly.

Song Xinyao giggled. “So, I planned to come out and cook instant noodles.”

“Instant noodles! Where? Why didn't I see any?” Ling Yue remembered rummaging around here for quite a while just now and hadn't seen such a treasure.

“I was just about to look in the kitchen, but didn't you just push me into the living room?” Song Xinyao spread her hands.

Ling Yue said crossly, “Go cook them then.”

“Yes, Eldest Miss~”

Ling Yue couldn't help but wonder if, given a handkerchief, she would flick it and give her a formal bow.

Song Xinyao had kept the instant noodles in the side cabinet where the seasonings were stored.

“What flavor do you want?”

She pulled out Pickled Cabbage Beef, Pickled Pepper Beef, Spicy Beef, and Old Hen Soup noodles one by one.

Ling Yue swallowed hard. “Pickled cabbage!”

Hesitating for even a second would be a slight to such authority.

“Then let's have two... no, three packs!” Song Xinyao chuckled and pulled out the noodles.

She was so hungry she could eat a cow; one pack each definitely wouldn't be enough!

To avoid a fight, it was necessary to increase the portion.

Ling Yue opened the fridge, glanced to the side, and saw eggs. “Two eggs?”

Song Xinyao said generously, “Bring 'em!”

Ling Yue sighed. “If only we had some ham sausages.”

Eating noodles without sausage means half the flavor is missing!

But Ling Yue felt that her fridge probably wouldn't contain such food.

Song Xinyao's smile became mysterious. “It's just sausages; we have them!”

She opened the seasoning cabinet again, stood on her tiptoes, and pulled down two instant noodle sausages from the top shelf.

Ling Yue's eyes lit up.

She had craved instant noodles since she was a child. She hadn't expected that even after growing up and becoming wealthy, she would still have a taste for them.

Why was that?

When she was little, she had no pocket money. She ate whatever was made at home, or she cooked herself; she never had the chance to eat instant noodles.

In university, when she had no money, she could only gnaw on fifty-cent steamed buns. Eating instant noodles once in a while was considered a treat.

She did eat instant noodles often when she started working, but by then she had her own money. She mostly ordered group-buy meals; after all, having meat, vegetables, and rice was considered a balanced diet.

So, she actually quite liked eating instant noodles.

Especially after six months of a bland diet, she missed the taste of instant noodles immensely.

Both burners were lit at the same time.

One burner was for frying eggs, the other for boiling water.

Ling Yue rummaged out a bag of Baby bok choy from the fridge, washing it to boil later.

Peering into the freezer, she found a long strip of beef.

It seemed to be homemade beef rolls bought specifically from herdsmen, with a faint milky fragrance when eaten.

She quickly brought out the beef slicer and cut a whole plate of beef rolls.

There was also some handmade Shrimp paste Luo Shanshan had made before; she'd use half a bag!

And handmade Fish balls made by Wang Junqi; half a bag of those too!

With three packs of noodles plus all the toppings, the large iron pot was half-filled. Finally, she sprinkled on chopped green onions and Millet chili rings.

The two sat at the dining table, each holding a small bowl, and began serving themselves.

Ling Yue blew on it twice, swirled some noodles, and stuffed them into her mouth.

“Delicious! It's to die for!”

The noodles were chewy and coated in the pickled cabbage broth; one bite felt like ascending to heaven.

Followed by a bite of fried egg, Baby bok choy, and beef...

“Amazing.” Song Xinyao said proudly. “Look at my skills!”

Ling Yue had no time to talk. Slurping the noodles, she gave a thumbs-up of praise without even looking up.

“Heh.”

Just as they were enjoying themselves, a cold laugh drifted over from across the room.

Ling Yue and Song Xinyao both felt a chill on the backs of their necks.

They slowly turned their heads—

Shen Qingxue stood nearby with her arms crossed, gritting her teeth, her gaze sharp enough to kill.

She slowly approached. “Eating all by yourselves?”

Ling Yue swallowed her food and pointed at Song Xinyao. “She cooked it.”

“Wait, what?” Song Xinyao put down her chopsticks. “Didn't you eat too?”

“Keep pretending! Both of you!” Shen Qingxue walked slowly to the table and peeked into the pot. “Your eyes are bigger than your stomachs. Can you two even finish such a huge pot? This is enough for five people.”

Ling Yue smacked her lips. “Join us?”

“I'm on a diet.” She forced herself to look away.

Ling Yue and Song Xinyao exchanged a glance.

Song Xinyao tempted her, “Hey, Little Xuexue, you're dreaming. How can you gain weight from eating in a dream?”

Ling Yue fanned the steam from the pot with her hand. “Instant noodles have a time limit, you know. They're perfect right now—soft yet chewy, hot and slurpable. In another minute, they'll be soggy.

Besides, Fish balls and shrimp meat have no calories.”

It was the smell of pickled cabbage beef noodles.

Shen Qingxue could hear herself swallowing.

Actually, losing one pound is dieting, and losing ten pounds is dieting.

If she ate today, she'd just do an intermittent fast tomorrow.

“Fine, I'll eat!” Shen Qingxue went to the kitchen to get a bowl and chopsticks, joining the late-night snack crew.

Oh my goodness!

Why is it so delicious!

The three of them actually managed to finish most of the pot of noodles.

They lay on the sofa, still wanting more.

“I cooked the noodles,” Song Xinyao said suddenly.

Ling Yue and Shen Qingxue both knew what she meant.

Ling Yue spoke up, “I provided the ingredients and the venue.”

“Childish.” Shen Qingxue stood up. “Did I say I wouldn't do the dishes?”

After washing the dishes, Shen Qingxue went for a walk in the yard.

She said she was afraid of gaining weight if she just sat there.

Talk about an actress's self-discipline.

Ling Yue admired her, but she didn't want to move.