Rebirth at the Start: This Fate is Too Explosive!

Chapter 185 Bringing the Ancestral Spirit to the Bamboo Grove Courtyard

Ye Fan turned his head and looked at Xian Zuling's anxious little face, feigning confusion: "Xian Zuling, what's wrong?"

"Ye Fan!" Xian Zuling hurriedly explained, her voice tinged with urgency, "I...I didn't say I wouldn't cook for you! Really! You don't need to hire a housekeeper..."

She was afraid that Ye Fan would misunderstand.

"I know." Ye Fan nodded, his tone somewhat businesslike. "But I don't like taking advantage of people, as I've already mentioned. If you refuse to eat and refuse to take a salary, then I have no choice but to hire someone, right? I can't let you work for free, can I?"

He deliberately presented himself as if he were on the right track.

Xian Zuling twisted her fingers in distress.

The ingredients Ye Fan bought were far too expensive—bird's nest, seafood… How could she possibly eat and take them all at the same time after cooking a meal? That would be taking too much advantage of her!

She lowered her head, her heart churning with inner turmoil.

Ultimately, a compromise prevailed: I'll just eat a little bit, the cheapest option, or... just rice and vegetables?

She mustered her courage and raised her head, her voice soft but clear: "Then...then I'll eat. Ye Fan, you don't need to hire a housekeeper, I'll cook for you."

She paused for a moment, then added softly, "I...I can eat a little less..."

Ye Fan nodded. He had achieved his goal. All he had done was to ensure that the ancestral spirits would have something good to eat.

He drove back to school first, before it was even evening.

Ye Fan told Xian Zuling to go back to the dormitory first, and to meet him at the parking spot at 6 o'clock.

Ye Fan returned to his dormitory and immediately took a shower.

Each dormitory at Nanjing University is equipped with a private bathroom, making showering quite convenient.

Especially now in September, it's still summer in Nanjing, very hot. You'll sweat a lot in no time, and it's very uncomfortable if you don't take a shower.

He watched as the shower system in his dormitory kept deducting fees; for someone who could hold off on taking a shower, it would cost several yuan per shower.

This made him think of the ancestral spirit offering. It cost him about one yuan to take a bath, and since girls have such long hair, they must need more hot water, meaning a bath would cost more than one yuan.

Xian Zuling only spends a few dollars on a meal, so the hot water fee must be an expense that she needs to carefully budget.

She probably wouldn't be willing to buy things like shower gel and face wash...

Ye Fan could almost imagine that she probably only had the cheapest bar of soap, and that she had to use a basin to collect water when taking a bath, carefully saving every drop...

And the ancestral spirit that appeared at this moment was indeed as Ye Fan had predicted.

On the toiletries shelf in her dormitory, there was only one lonely bar of soap.

Every time she takes a shower, she patiently waits until all her roommates have finished before entering the bathroom. She uses a plastic basin to collect the water and finishes showering quickly in the most water-efficient way.

Ye Fan finished showering and drying his hair at six o'clock, and walked to the parking area.

However, he did not see the figure of the ancestral spirit.

In the past, when Ye Fan came, the ancestral spirit would always be standing here waiting for him early in the morning, but today was strange. Even if something delayed him, it wouldn't have taken this long.

He picked up his phone and called Xian Zuling.

Then my phone rang: The number you dialed is currently switched off...

Ye Fan's brows furrowed even more.

Just then, a figure hurriedly ran over from a distance; it was Xian Zuling.

Her cheeks were flushed, her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and a few strands of hair clung to her temples. She stopped panting in front of Ye Fan: "Ye... Ye Fan, I'm so sorry! I... I just forgot the time!"

Her eyes were full of apology and panic.

She had just taken advantage of this time to run to the bookstore to look at a cooking recipe book. She spent a long time in the bookstore and learned how to cook the ingredients that Ye Fan had just bought.

She was preoccupied with the expensive ingredients she had bought that afternoon, worried that she might ruin them if she didn't know how to cook them, so she decided to look through some cookbooks.

She found recipes for black-boned chicken and seafood, and became engrossed in reading them by the bookshelf, silently rehearsing the steps in her mind as she read.

She was so focused that she completely forgot about the passage of time.

It wasn't until the bookstore owner, with a hint of displeasure, reminded her, "Young lady, are you here to look at books or to buy them? This isn't a library!"

She suddenly woke up and realized it was already late. She ran back as fast as she could, but she was still late.

Her idea was simple: to record the cooking process first, so that she would at least know how to prepare these ingredients.

Ye Fan looked at the fine beads of sweat on her forehead and asked with some concern, "Where did you go just now? Why couldn't I get through to your phone?"

"My cell phone..." Xian Zuling hurriedly pulled out his old Nokia from his pocket. Sure enough, the screen was black. "It... is off."

She was somewhat embarrassed.

Ye Fan was puzzled: "This phone won't run out of battery for ten days or half a month, how could it be turned off?" Ye Fan took the phone from her hand, and sure enough, it was turned off.

The ancestral spirit weakly said, "It must be broken..."

He tried pressing the power button, but there was no response.

After thinking for a moment, he used his fingers to pry open the back cover.

hiss--!

Ye Fan's eyes narrowed. The phone battery was clearly bulging and deformed, like a bloated loaf of bread, with the edges even stretched open!

Good grief, the battery is bulging...

At this rate, the charger could explode one day.

He gently closed the back cover and handed it back to her, saying, "Let's go now!"

"Okay!" Xian Zuling obediently replied, following behind Ye Fan.

After walking for a while, she remembered the crucial question and asked in a low voice, "Ye Fan, where are we going to cook?"

She thought it would be in a communal kitchen or his rented small room.

Ye Fan didn't turn around, continuing on his way: "You'll find out when you come with me."

After walking for a while, the two passed through a lush bamboo forest.

One after another, small courtyards came into Xianzu Ling's view.

Since the start of the semester, she has basically lived a monotonous life, going back and forth between three points. If it weren't for Ye Fan, her life wouldn't have been so turbulent, and she wouldn't have been able to come to the Bamboo Grove Courtyard during her four years of undergraduate studies.

Xian Zuling involuntarily slowed her pace, opened her eyes wide, and looked around with curiosity and surprise.

The evening breeze rustled through the bamboo leaves, dispelling the late summer heat and bringing a rare coolness and tranquility.

These rows of elegant and quiet courtyards were places she had never set foot in before.

The tranquil atmosphere of the bamboo forest made her feel inexplicably warm and relaxed, and her tense heartstrings were soothed. A faint, relaxed smile even appeared on her face unconsciously.

This reminded her of the bamboo grove behind her old house...

Ye Fan stopped in front of a small courtyard with bamboo wind chimes hanging on it, took out his key and opened the gate.

Xian Zuling looked at him in surprise. How did Ye Fan get a key here? Aren't these all the professors' residences at the school?