Chapter 12: Even Stranger

**Chapter 12: Even Stranger**

"By the way, Itō-san, what do you like to eat?" Lin Qingshan asked, holding Pochita, and looking at Ayumi Itō in a casual, laid-back manner.

At that moment, the three of them, along with the dog, formed a rather unusual group: a seemingly carefree young man, a professional and elite OL (office lady), and a vibrant, youthful college girl, all walking down the commercial street in the heart of Shanghai.

It looked as though they came from three different worlds.

"Me? I would like to have sukiyaki..."

Actually, Ayumi Itō wanted to be polite and say anything would do, but for some reason, the image of sukiyaki suddenly flashed in her mind, and she found herself salivating, blurting it out.

"Sukiyaki?" Gu Qianli asked curiously.

In this world, due to Japan becoming a region, its culture had become somewhat niche, unlike the cultural invasion of Japan in the previous world. However, Lin Qingshan, who was familiar with Japanese culture through anime, quickly explained, "Qianli, you can think of it as a kind of hotpot, but the flavor is much milder, with the base being just light soy sauce."

"But the taste is similar to what we have here, leaning toward the sweet side."

Gu Qianli nodded in realization, "I see, but it seems we don't have anything like sukiyaki here..."

"Yeah, there really isn't..." Ayumi Itō, who had been in Shanghai for a while, confirmed that there weren't any Japanese restaurants around, let alone a place serving sukiyaki.

She couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

"If there isn't, we can just make it ourselves," Lin Qingshan suddenly suggested, patting his chest.

"Make it ourselves?" Ayumi Itō and Gu Qianli echoed in unison, their curiosity piqued.

"Qingshan-sensei... I... I don't know how to make sukiyaki..." Ayumi Itō said, a bit embarrassed.

"You don't know, but I do," Lin Qingshan said with a wink.

"You know how to make sukiyaki?" Gu Qianli asked, looking at Lin Qingshan with doubt.

Lin Qingshan patted his chest again and smiled confidently, "Don't worry, I can cook for myself and am skilled in various... uh, regional cuisines!"

In his past life, he had rented a place on his own, so as someone living alone, how could he not learn to cook? Even if he hadn't known how to cook at first, being exposed to countless food videos online would have made him eager to try his hand at it.

Lin Qingshan had always been an action-oriented person in his previous life. He had tried making Thai-style dishes, Japanese cuisine, Southeast Asian satay barbecue, Spanish paella, Korean army stew, Cantonese roast chicken, Beijing roast duck, and more at home. As long as the dishes were relatively simple, he could make them.

Sukiyaki was no exception—it was easy to prepare with simple ingredients and straightforward methods, and he had never failed at it.

"I didn't know... Qingshan-sensei was so talented..." Ayumi Itō said with eyes full of admiration.

"Hehe... all we need to do is find a BBQ buffet place, buy a bottle of sweet soy sauce, and we'll be good to go. It might not have the exact flavor of sukiyaki sauce, but we can use other ingredients to extract the flavor and umami," Lin Qingshan said with a grin.

At this, Ayumi Itō suddenly shrank back slightly and asked, "Qingshan-sensei... shouldn't you ask Miss Qianli what she wants?"

"Qianli, huh..." Lin Qingshan replied, "You don't need to worry about that; Qianli prefers vegetable salads and her favorite drink is orange soda."

Gu Qianli was taken aback and looked at Lin Qingshan, asking, "Qingshan, how do you know my preferences?"

"I've eaten with you so many times; of course, I paid attention to your likes and dislikes. Even dogs need to be aware of their owner's preferences, right? Isn't that right, Pochita?" Lin Qingshan said, addressing the dog in his arms.

"Woof woof woof woof woof!" Pochita wagged its tail and barked happily in response.

"Woof woof!" Lin Qingshan then raised his head, barked twice at Gu Qianli, and said, "Pochita just told me, 'That's exactly right, Ah Shan!'"

Both Gu Qianli and Ayumi Itō looked at Lin Qingshan with increasingly strange expressions.

Especially Gu Qianli... She was beginning to feel that Lin Qingshan really saw himself as her pet dog...

...

[Translator: sauron]

They arrived at a BBQ buffet in the city center, where Lin Qingshan, without hesitation, spent 500 yuan per person—1,500 yuan in total—treating Gu Qianli and Ayumi Itō to a meal.

He didn't mind the expense at all.

After all, he was earning 6,000 yuan in royalties every half month, and as a transmigrator and system host, he believed he would earn much more in the future.

So why be stingy with this amount of money?

Moreover, expensive things had their reasons... No, wait, this was Shanghai—things were expensive for no reason!

However, before entering the BBQ restaurant, he went to a nearby store to buy a bottle of "sweet soy sauce."

It was actually just steamed fish soy sauce.

He then hid the bottle in his coat, sneaking it into the restaurant with Pochita's help.

What a joke! He had spent 1,500 yuan, but they still wouldn't allow him to bring in outside food?

Yet, Lin Qingshan did feel that the 1,500 yuan BBQ buffet was somewhat worth it.

"Alright, alright, watch me perform!" Lin Qingshan said as he gathered the ingredients, somewhat clumsily heating oil in the stone pot meant for making a small hotpot, then sautéing beef until it was fragrant.

He then poured in the hidden steamed fish soy sauce and added some water.

Next, he added other ingredients: green onions, tofu, konjac noodles, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, crown daisy, and napa cabbage as the base.

After that, he added more fresh meat and finally sprinkled some sugar, green onions, and vinegar.

And just like that, a not-so-authentic "sukiyaki" was ready.

"Oh, and there's this—pasteurized raw eggs!" Lin Qingshan cracked an egg into a bowl and handed it to Ayumi Itō.

Even though Japanese culture wasn't particularly prevalent, pasteurized eggs had somehow become a thing in Shanghai.

Perhaps it was due to... food safety concerns?

In any case, it was odd.

Ayumi Itō looked at the somewhat unfamiliar sukiyaki in front of her, but still could recognize the familiar elements. She suddenly felt a pang of homesickness.

This must be what it feels like for a traveler to long for home.

She quickly picked up a piece of beef, dipped it in the raw egg, and then put it in her mouth...

"So... so delicious..."

Ayumi Itō was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, her eyes brimming with tears.

Although the taste wasn't exactly the same as the sukiyaki her mother used to make, it was still incredibly delicious...

"If it's good, have some more!" Lin Qingshan said with a wave of his hand. "By the way, Qianli, I made sure to prepare plenty of fresh veggies and cherry tomatoes for your salad. I also noticed some purple cabbage that you don't like, so I removed it beforehand."

"..."

Gu Qianli shook her head. Although Lin Qingshan's thoughtfulness was nice, combined with what he had said earlier on the street, she couldn't help but feel...

It was getting even stranger.