Chapter 6
Yun Chuman slept soundly all night, hugging two warm "pillows." When she woke up the next day, the two children were still asleep.
Yun Juan and Yun Shu were indeed twins. Their sleeping postures were exactly the same- left fist raised above their heads, right leg kicked to the side. Both were wearing little tiger onesies, looking adorably fierce.
Suppressing a laugh, Yun Chuman secretly poked their chubby cheeks, tucked them back in, and tiptoed away.
It wasn't fully bright yet. Yun Chuman stretched and went into the kitchen.
She had bought groceries on her way back yesterday. While the restaurant food was delicious, it wasn't very healthy for two young children.
So she planned to eat at home as much as possible, occasionally going out for a treat.
She planned to make a congee with preserved egg and lean pork first, and then prepare some light side dishes after Yun Juan and Yun Shu woke up.
Actually, this was Yun Chuman's first time cooking. Still, she was full of confidence and even a little excited.
After all, one of her hobbies in her past life was watching cookbooks and cooking shows. She knew how to cook most dishes inside and out, possessing a wealth of theoretical knowledge.
Yun Chuman deftly tossed the chopped preserved egg and lean pork into the pot, then covered it, turned the heat to low, and turned to walk towards the living room.
She remembered that cooking congee takes a long time. Since she had nothing better to do, she figured she might as well do some morning exercise to stay healthy.
So she opened her phone and started searching for tutorials.
Before long, her brow furrowed. Yoga and aerobics were both too difficult for someone like her who had just gained good health. She didn't want to leave behind another ridiculous video on the live stream camera!
Yun Chuman thought for a moment and searched "morning exercises even babies can learn" in her browser. A lot of similar answers appeared. She clicked on one video. After watching only the beginning, her eyes lit up: "This is it!"
Afraid of disturbing her two children's rest, she didn't turn on the sound, but still poured her enthusiasm and seriousness into every movement.
At the same time, the previously sluggish viewership of the live stream suddenly increased.
—This performance is really refreshing! Thank you childhood friend for inviting me to watch. I definitely won't be late today because of a nap.
—Yun Chuman's performance is very good; don't do it again next time.
—Am I the only one worried about that pot of congee?
"Elder Sister, wake up! You're a beauty, not a comedian!"
"Looking forward to the two cubs' reaction, hahaha!"
In her sleep, Yun Shu realized Yun Chuman wasn't beside her and panicked.
She sniffled and aggrievedly whispered, "Mommy..."
Yun Juan, who was still asleep, sat up abruptly upon hearing the sound. He looked around blankly before looking down and saw his younger sister crying in her sleep. He quickly patted her shoulder, "Little Shu, little Shu, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Yun Shu sat up with her hair in a mess. After a long pause, she finally said, "Mommy..."
"She's outside. Let's go find her together." Yun Juan leaned over the edge of the bed, rolled over, and his two short legs landed steadily on the floor.
"En."
Yun Shu responded softly, clumsily rolling off the bed.
She was clearly still half asleep. Her little head was tilted back, revealing the red marks on her face. Her eyes were closed as she clutched a small pillow.
Yun Juan was used to it. Little Shu always took a while to fully wake up after waking up. It was quite amusing.
He naturally helped press Yun Shu's hair down before taking her chubby hand and slowly led her out of the bedroom.
Yun Chuman was the first to notice the two children walking out hand in hand. Without pausing, she greeted them enthusiastically, "Good morning, little Juan and little Shu! Did you sleep well last night?"
Yun Juan froze on the spot. What was his mommy doing?
Yun Shu jolted awake, her small pillow falling to the floor.
She looked at Yun Chuman with a puzzled expression, about to say something, when her peripheral vision caught sight of the living room camera. She immediately lowered her head.
Yun Chuman didn't miss this small gesture, her brows furrowing with concern. It seemed she needed to bring forward the process of boosting Yun Shu's confidence.
But how exactly should she do it?
While pondering this, she paused the instructional video, squatted down, and waved to the two with a smile: "Come and exercise with Mommy. Afterward, we'll have breakfast."
Yun Juan and Yun Shu simultaneously realized, "So Mommy was exercising."
Yun Shu naturally wouldn't refuse. She hummed in agreement and ran towards her with her short legs.
Yun Chuman reached out and steadily caught her.
Yun Shu hugged her, nuzzling her neck with her cheek, and said softly, "Good morning, Mommy."
Yun Chuman couldn't resist giving her an extra rub on the head. What a little angel! So adorable!
She then looked at Yun Juan in the distance, her gaze filled with anticipation.
However, the little boy froze for a moment, then bent down to pick up a small pillow from the floor, turned, and ran back to the bedroom.
Yun Chuman: ???
What was going on? Why did he run away? Was she that scary?
Before she could figure it out, Yun Juan came back out of the bedroom, carrying a pair of adult slippers.
He walked up to Yun Chuman with a serious face, bent down to put the slippers down, and said solemnly, "The floor is cold, need to wear shoes."
"Oh, oh... thank you, little Juan."
Yun Chuman subconsciously stood up and put on the shoes. Her icy feet were instantly enveloped by warmth.
She paused, momentarily stunned. No wonder Yun Juan gave her a sense of familiarity. Wasn't he exactly like her worrying elder brother from her past life?
"En."
Yun Juan tugged at the tail of his little tiger pajamas, awkwardly saying, "Good morning, Mommy."
Yun Chuman also ruffled his little head. Though a bit arrogant, he was still a little angel. A proud little angel!
She invited the two children again: "Come on, let's do some exercises together. It's very simple!"
Yun Juan and Yun Shu obediently responded, standing on either side of her.
Yun Chuman was very satisfied. Developing a good habit of morning exercise would definitely make the two children incredibly healthy in the future!
She replayed the instructional video, this time with the sound on as well.
The rousing music instantly blared: "Ta-da! The era of the seventh set of broadcast gymnastics is calling..."
One adult and two young diligently followed the video.
The two younger ones were doing quite well despite their arms and legs being a bit short.
Then, there was Yun Chuman. Her limbs were long and slender, but her movements were stiff and exaggerated, making her look like a zombie fighting!
The live stream chat was almost overflowing with laughter.
—Haha, once again, thank you Yun Chuman for making an outstanding contribution to the parody section!
—She is actually doing calisthenics?! I couldn’t tell earlier!
—Sniff sniff, you're all laughing at Yun Chuman, but I'm the only one envious of her having two adorable kids.
Yun Chuman, of course, was unaware of the audience's reactions. Her mind was completely focused on the calisthenics.
At this moment, Yun Juan sniffed and hesitated to say, "Mommy, something seems to be burnt."
"Huh? What's burnt?"
Yun Chuman only caught on after two seconds. Her smile grew increasingly stiff. She abandoned the calisthenics and hurriedly ran into the kitchen, "Oh no! My century egg and lean pork congee!"
Yun Juan and Yun Shu followed behind her with their short legs. Their expressions were still somewhat bewildered.
The clay pot on the stove hissed and crackled wildly, while the lid was bobbing and spitting out broth.
Yun Chuman turned off the heat at once, put on gloves, and opened the lid, revealing a bowl of rice congee brimming with preserved eggs and lean meat. Bubbles burst on the grayish broth, releasing a strong, burnt smell.
Yun Chuman stirred it a couple of times with a spoon and the congee turned even darker.
She didn't understand and was utterly shocked. What was this?
After grabbing a stool, the two children were now standing on either side of her.
Yun Shu stretched her head and asked, "Mommy, what did you make?"
"Preserved eggs...lean meat...congee..." Yun Chuman said hesitantly.
The two children exchanged glances.
Yun Juan winked at Yun Shu.
Yun Shu nodded. Her voice suddenly rose: "Yay! It's my favorite congee! Mommy, I want some!"
She raised her chubby little arm, looking very eager.
"I want some too," Yun Juan said, pulling out two small bowls printed with flowers.
Yun Chuman scratched her cheek in frustration. Reason told her it couldn't be eaten, but she couldn't resist the expectant eyes of the two children. Several eye-tracking battles ended in her defeat, and finally, she could only reluctantly give each of them a small spoonful.
Yun Juan and Yun Shu stood facing each other, each holding a small bowl. They blew on the congee in their spoons in unison before putting it in their mouth without hesitation.
Yun Chuman wore a pained expression throughout, worried yet unable to suppress her anticipation. Maybe it just looked unappetizing, but actually tasted good?
Then she saw Yun Juan freeze for several seconds before starting to chew.
He swallowed the congee in a few quick bites. His little brow furrowed briefly before he said expressionlessly, "Delicious."
Yun Shu's reaction was slightly stronger. Her little hand holding the bowl trembled the moment she took a bite. She swallowed it without even chewing, secretly sticking out her tongue, and exclaimed in a high pitched tone, "Mommy, your cooking tastes so good! I love it!"
Yun Chuman: ...
But their reactions didn't indicate that!
She couldn't resist and tried a bite herself, almost vomiting.
The congee was awful. The rice was undercooked, the meat was fishy and burnt, and due to the excessive amount of preserved egg, it was bitter on top of bitterness without any salt!
She caught a glimpse of the two children still forcing themselves to eat.
Yun Chuman quickly snatched the spoons from their hands and said seriously, "Little Juan, little Shu, don't eat this! You'll get poisoned!"
The two children didn't speak, clutching their bowls tightly. They were clearly unwilling to let go.
Yun Chuman was quite puzzled, but still asked gently, "Little Juan, little Shu, tell me why you still want to eat, okay?"
Yun Juan pursed his lips, turned his little head to the side, and after a long while said, "Because Mommy made it."
Yun Shu lowered her head, nervously shuffling her left foot on the ground, and whispered, "We don't want to miss it."
Yun Chuman quickly realized that the original owner probably rarely cooked for the two children, or perhaps had never cooked at all, which was why Yun Juan and Yun Shu cherished this bowl of unpalatable congee so much.
She suddenly felt a lump in her throat and gently patted their little heads, saying, "Little Juan, little Shu cherish my hard work so much, I'm very happy. But this is too awful and it might even make you sick, so how about we go out for breakfast today?"
The two children hesitantly put down their bowls.
Yun Chuman smiled and continued, "Mommy promises you, starting today I'll learn to cook properly and will definitely cook delicious food for you from now on! Whatever you want to eat, I'll make it for you!"
Just now, she had given up on cooking. While there was a gap between theory and practice, this pot of congee made it absolutely clear that she had no talent. However, seeing her two children like that, she felt she could practice some more!
Yun Juan and Yun Shu's eyes lit up, looking at her with surprise.
"Really? Can I learn with Mommy?" Yun Shu asked happily.
"With little Shu by my side, I'll be even more motivated!"
Yun Juan hesitated before saying awkwardly, "I...I'll help too."
"Okay! From now on, the three of us will cook together!"
Yun Chuman was just saying this; after all, the children were still young and not suitable for knives or fire.
But Yun Juan and Yun Shu took it seriously. They had a feeling their mother might make similar things again, and if they wanted to eat something good, they would have to rely on themselves, otherwise they might really get poisoned! The two children suddenly realized how necessary and significant the responsibility was to learn to cook.
Author's Note:
【Young cubs’ Diary】
Yun Juan: Mom's cooking is yummy, but I still want to learn how to cook as soon as possible.
Yun Shu: Mom's cooking is yummy. En, but tomorrow I'll watch less cartoons and more food shows~
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