The braised chicken drumettes were finally done, and the rich, savory aroma of the sauce had already taken over the entire kitchen.
Bella could not wait to pick up a small piece and pop it into her mouth.
Amazing!
The chicken skin was pan-fried to a slight crisp, coated in a perfectly balanced sweet and savory sauce. With a gentle bite, the tender, juicy meat slipped right off the bone. The perfect fusion of fat and caramelized sugar made every bite feel like ultimate comfort for the soul.
She immediately pulled out her phone, snapped a picture of the glossy, reddish-brown drumettes, and posted it in the comment section of the Little Red App:
[Cooking dummy challenge successful! Braised chicken drumettes are the greatest of all time. Smells so good that the handsome neighbor next door might just come knocking! Photo attached.]
"Um... do you want to try some? It is my first time making it, but it actually tastes pretty good," Bella said, turning to look at her roommate on the yoga mat.
Shen Wenjing stopped her stretches, looking a bit surprised.
She had moved in two months ago. Whenever she had a day off, she automatically switched to an American time zone schedule. Staying up all night and sleeping in all morning, she hardly ever crossed paths with her busy bee of a roommate.
In her impression, Bella always ate very simply, almost to the point of just throwing something together.
"Sure!" Just as Shen Wenjing was about to get up, the doorbell rang. Ding-dong.
"Ah, that must be my takeout."
Shen Wenjing brought back the delivery bag, tore open the packaging, and took out the Caesar salad she had ordered.
Bella looked at those few pitiful green leaves, then down at her own massive plate of mouth-watering chicken:
"Why do you not... try some of mine too? I made a bit too much."
Shen Wenjing stared at the glossy, tempting chicken, regretting her life choices. If she had known, she would not have dieted just for the sake of abs!
"Well, I had better not refuse such a gracious offer!" She quickly abandoned the dark side for the light, pushing her salad to the middle of the table. "Let us share!"
Shen Wenjing took a bite of the meat, her eyes instantly going wide. "Is this really your first time making this? It is absolutely incredible! It hits all the right spots for my taste buds!"
"Looks like we have pretty similar tastes."
Bella bit her chopstick, calculating that big business in her head. Finally, she braced herself and asked shamelessly:
"Um... your brother is so handsome. Do you happen to have any photos of him where he is... slightly less fully dressed?"
"Cough! Cough, cough!"
Shen Wenjing nearly choked on the meat. She snapped her head up, staring at Bella in pure shock:
"You... you...!"
After struggling to swallow the bite, she let out an exaggerated gasp:
"Did you fall in love with my brother at first sight? Are you trying to go after him and become my sister-in-law?"
Bella smiled and shook her head. "You are overthinking it. I just want to use him as a reference for my drawings."
"What kind of reference?"
Bella did not answer immediately; she just looked at her with a smile.
Seeing Bella's expression, Shen Wenjing's mind instantly connected it to the audio drama they had talked about earlier. Her pupils dilated, and she clamped her hands over her mouth, letting out a high-pitched squeal:
"You, you, you... Ahhh, oh my god! You mean THAT kind of reference?! Bella, you actually have that kind of talent?!"
"Seriously?! I do not believe it, unless you..." Shen Wenjing let out a cheeky laugh, a hint of perverted mischief in her smile.
Bella pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She got up, went back to her room to grab her tablet, and sat calmly back at the dining table, her fingertips lightly tapping her stylus.
"Wait a minute, um... could you..." Shen Wenjing suddenly became coy, her cheeks flushing bright red.
Bella looked up at her, unfazed, her tone as calm as a ruthless assassin: "Spit it out, is it your fetish or do you want a specific pose?"
Seeing Bella so straightforward, Shen Wenjing let go of her inhibitions, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a few words.
Bella thought for a moment, then quickly began sketching lines on the screen.
"It might take a little while, you don't have to just sit here waiting," Bella teased with a smile.
"Alright, then I'll rewatch Running with Sun-jae on My Back on the side!"
Over half an hour later, although her hands were still a bit rusty, Bella was quite satisfied looking at the drawing before her.
She stopped drawing and gently tugged at Shen Wenjing, who was watching her show with a goofy, doting smile: "Here, take a look. Is it to your taste?"
Shen Wenjing turned her head for a glance and instantly screamed, "Ahhhh! You are my god!!"
The image on the screen was incredibly visually striking:
The scene depicted a crisp, everyday office setting.
Two computer monitors flickered with dense Excel spreadsheets, the cold light reflecting on a woman's slender back.
Her light white shirt didn't have a single wrinkle, and her cascading long hair draped over the back of her chair.
Outside the desk, a colleague stood nearby reporting on work, completely oblivious to the hidden undercurrents beneath the table.
The focal point was the bottom of the image. In that narrow, dimly lit space under the desk, the woman wore a tight pencil skirt. Her legs, wrapped in black sheer tights, were crossed in an alluring curve, with the tip of one foot pressing against the other person's lower abdomen.
A man was currently curled up in a disheveled state beneath the table. His gold-rimmed glasses failed to conceal the dark, surging emotions in his eyes, instead adding a touch of the cold, elegant-yet-degenerate vibe of a scum in a suit.
Fine beads of sweat seeped from his handsome, straight nose. His tie was pulled loose, and in his mouth, he actually held a highly contrasting piece of fabric, attempting to suppress the low pants threatening to escape his lips.
Shen Wenjing zoomed in to take a look and blushed; it appeared to be the girl's panties.
His eyes were unfocused, glimmering with a hint of tears and pleading.
His knuckles were white with force as his large hand tightly gripped the woman's ankle. The knotted muscle lines on his arm were taut, exuding an overwhelming sense of struggling desire.
"Wow, ahhh! This is so intense! This is exactly what I wanted to see! Can you give this picture to me?" Shen Wenjing's face was flushed with excitement.
"Sure."
Bella nodded generously. "But I want to share it on the Little Red App first. I'm going to register a new account and share the things I draw in the future to test the waters."
"Yes, yes, yes! I'm going to be your number one hardcore fan!"
Bella's slender fingertips slid across her phone, quickly registering a new account.
She stared at the name field for three seconds and casually typed out an extremely hasty name:
[Arigato Mei Yangyang-san Black Silk Edition]
First picture, click to post.
Shen Wenjing swiftly clicked follow, her fingertips flying as she typed a string of wild, thirsty comments in the comment section:
[Not-So-Quiet Shen: Author! Keep updating ahhhh! The male lead is eating so well, this smut is just too good! So sexy and intense! But I think the position and size of the female lead's foot, hehehe... [Drool][Drool][Drooling]]
Bella looked at that perverted yet sincere string of comments and held back a laugh as she gave it a like.
"Hehe, let me get organized and look for it. I remember my brother has a burner TikTok account filled with his swimming practice videos." Shen Wenjing beamed as she finished downloading the pictures.
Bella nodded. After cleaning up the kitchen, she went back to her room to continue wrestling with her formulas.
She flipped through the thick stack of summer homework on her desk and let out a long breath.
Most of the assignments were already finished, leaving only a small portion left to do.
It looked like it was time once again to pull off the classic student miracle: one pen, one lamp, and one glorious all-nighter.
