Morning Exercise

Dinner that night was one of the best the Jin brothers ever had.

They couldn't believe that the porridge they were eating had the ingredients that they regularly eat to the point of getting tired of them. Yet this time it was different. The millet porridge was fragrant and smooth. The pieces of fish and the chopped peanuts added a delightful texture to every mouthful and the coriander added a hint of freshness.

Jin Haoran particularly enjoyed the spicy fish in tomato sauce. He didn't think that the fish he often caught for their meals can be made into this. It was spicy and the tomato sauce was savory and a little bit tangy and sweet. Who knew that those decorative berries were edible? Even more so, they were delicious!

As for the cucumber and cherry tomato bites, the brothers found them very novel to eat. They obviously have eaten cucumbers so many times, but this time, the combination of the sweet and sour tomatoes and the freshness of the cucumbers plus that wonderful sauce mixture made them amazed. On top of that, eating such pretty food skewered with a toothpick was quite fun!

Aunt Li was full of praises. "Mei-er, these are so delicious! How did you even think of cooking these? They look so good. The yellows, reds, and greens on the table look really appetizing!"

How can Mei-Li explain that she just took advantage of the wisdom of modern cooking books and videos where taste is not the only thing that matters but presentation is important too. She just smiled at Aunt Li. "Glad you liked it. I'll make more in the future."

After cooking before, Mei Li would have taken loads of photos of her dishes and shared with friends or post online. But now, there's no mobile phone and internet, so they ate directly. There are no friends to give her online likes and emojis, but watching everyone here happily devour the food she made, Mei Li felt a different kind of happiness and sweetness in her heart. It was more genuine.

"Can I have another bowl of porridge?" This was probably the longest sentence Haoran has said to Mei Li.

The guy could really eat a lot! He almost consumed one bowlful of spicy fish in tomato sauce by himself. Second brother seems to be a big foodie! Mei Li smiled and ladled another bowl of porridge for him.

"Little girl, how did you learn to cook all these?" Shufen asked her. The rest perked up their ears in curiosity too.

Mei Li was speechless for a moment. She couldn't tell them she's from another world and time, right? Wouldn't they burn her for being an evil spirit or something? So she used the old Fu Mei Li as a shield.

"My stepmother and younger sister often didn't want me to eat their food and just gave me leftovers or almost rotten dishes. So I secretly learned how to cook for myself. I couldn't eat as much as I wanted though since more missing ingredients would have made them suspicious and I would have been beaten if caught."

She said this half truth and half lie as nonchalantly as she could. The lie being she secretly learned cooking. The previous Mei Li never did and starved many times until she became sickly.

Looking at her thin figure and sallow skin, it was obvious she was malnourished. The brothers also knew very well her condition when they picked her up from the Fu family. Pity gushed out from their hearts and they stopped questioning her for fear that she will be sad.

Aunt Li patted her hands, "Don't worry, you are with us now. This family may not have as many ingredients in the kitchen as others, but you are always welcome to eat. We will not let you go hungry!"

Mei Li felt warm from her words. She bowed her head and smiled, "Thank you, Aunt Li."

Fu Mei Li slept fully satisfied that night. She finally got to eat something tastier than plain porridge.

The next morning, she was awakened by some rustling noises in the rear courtyard. She opened one of the windows and was dumbfounded by what she saw.

All five Jin brothers were at the yard doing some boxing exercises. Haoran was even practicing his sword. But what made Mei Li rooted to the spot was that everyone except the fifth were topless, oh my!

Mei Li suddenly felt like she was plunged into a hot and sexy commercial for healthcare or maybe perfume for men.

The brothers were tall and had really good figures. Mingyu and Shufen were on the leaner side. They were well proportioned though with flat abs and discernable mucsles on the chests and arms. Shufen really did look like a top male model and Mingyu's noble bearing cannot be denied. Their fair skin shone in the morning sun.

Longwei still had his clothes on and instead of the more complex moves his brothers were doing, he stuck to simple stances and hand movements. He didn't look as strong as his brothers but the way he was so focused and working hard was quite charming.

Providing a beautiful contrast were the darker skin tones of Weimin and Haoran who were obviously exposed to the sun more. Those two have bulkier builds and an adventurous outdoorsy vibe. Weimin has broad shoulders that looked very reassuring and his arms looked strong and quite capable.

Haoran was even more tantalizing to her eyes. This guy has already caught her attention in the first place and now seeing him without a shirt just made Mei Li feel all sorts of tingly! The man was tall, muscly, and handsome in a very good way! He doesn't look like those guys who practically live in the gym with overly bulging muscles. Instead he looked really fit and powerful. Those washboard abs, yum!

Sweat decorated the men's temples and made their hair slightly damp. Moisture also trickled down their topless bodies and Mei Li felt like her eyes were pierced. Such a good early morning sight. One cannot help but appreciate.

Oh no, she's about to have a nosebleed!

Mei Li hurriedly closed the window. Honestly, she wanted to keep looking but was afraid that she'll be caught by the guys. What would these ancient men think of her oggling them? They'd probably find her too shameless!