Skill: Noodle Pulling

"You're awake?"

When Qin Fang opened his eyes, a voice rang in his ears. It was a woman's voice that sounded quite familiar, as if it were...

"Tang Feifei?"

As he gradually adjusted to the light, Qin Fang realized who the voice belonged to; it was none other than his high school class monitor, the famously beautiful Tang Feifei, a stunning girl who resembled a princess.

Of course, in half a month, Tang Feifei would once again become Qin Fang's schoolmate, provided he could scrape together enough tuition fees to attend college.

Tang Feifei and Qin Fang got along quite well. Their academic performances were comparable, and throughout their senior year, they often gathered to discuss study-related issues. There were even jokes about them being a couple, but at that time, Qin Fang's focus was entirely on his studies.

"Finally awake! Now I can relax!"

Tang Feifei's figure appeared, and just as Qin Fang's vision cleared, he saw the cheerful Tang Feifei using her soft, fair hand to pat her already well-developed bosom. Although the motion was subtle, it sent a wave of excitement through Qin Fang.

Startled by his own reaction, Qin Fang's face flushed slightly, and he quickly turned his head away. He looked around, realizing he was in his own place and not in a hospital, which eased his mind a bit.

Being injured was one thing, but if he had been hospitalized, it would likely take more than a month's salary just for the deposit. Naturally, he didn't want Tang Feifei to cover that for him.

However, Qin Fang clearly had other thoughts. He quickly reached into his pocket and felt for the envelope—it was still there. He let out a sigh of relief and swiftly got up from the bed without thinking too much about it.

"You just got better; you need to rest more!"

As soon as Tang Feifei saw Qin Fang like this, she immediately stopped him.

"I'm fine..."

Qin Fang was slightly taken aback; he remembered he should have been injured. But he felt no discomfort, and after walking a few steps around the floor, he felt completely normal. Then he suddenly thought of something and asked in surprise, "Did you save me?"

"No..."

Tang Feifei shook her head. "It was Sister Ning who saw you fainting in the alley and helped you. She happened to have seen your photo at my house and recognized you as my classmate, so she called me to take care of you..."

"Thank you!"

Qin Fang was somewhat dumbfounded but still managed to squeeze out a "thank you." He reached up to touch his forehead—no scars... When he had been knocked unconscious, in that hazy state, he vaguely felt a sharp pain on his forehead, as if he had been injured. Yet, he couldn't find any wounds; his forehead remained smooth as ever.

"Remember wrong? Maybe!"

Qin Fang wasn't entirely certain; at that time, his head had been in a daze, and he had little awareness. It wasn't surprising if he had experienced a hallucination from the blow.

He reached back to feel the back of his head—it didn't hurt!

Now Qin Fang was even more puzzled. The fact that his forehead wasn't injured could be explained, but getting hit in the back of the head was a definite issue; otherwise, he wouldn't have fainted. Yet now, the back of his head felt perfectly fine.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle~~

As Qin Fang was lost in surprise, a strange sound caught his attention. He turned towards the source, noticing Tang Feifei's face flushed; her fair, smooth complexion resembled a ripe apple, evoking an impulse to take a bite.

"Qin Fang, it's getting late; I should head back..."

Tang Feifei's face was red with shame—she had come to take care of Qin Fang in the morning and hadn't had lunch, and now it was nearly evening. Being hungry for most of the day was quite normal. However, as a girl, making such a scene in front of a boy felt somewhat embarrassing.

"Tang Feifei, you've taken care of me all day; I don't even know how to thank you. Why don't you have a meal with me before you go..."

Although Qin Fang was not particularly skilled at charming girls, he wasn't completely clueless either. He understood the situation immediately and invited her with a hint of gratitude on his face.

"At your place?"

Tang Feifei was taken aback by his words and looked around Qin Fang's living quarters, which, although clean, was quite modest. There was just a small bed and a desk, with nothing else.

"It may be a bit simple here, but the kitchen is shared. I think there are some vegetables left; I can cook for you!"

Qin Fang felt a bit embarrassed but was

used to such a lifestyle, so he didn't feel inferior and spoke quite earnestly.

"You can cook?"

Tang Feifei was momentarily surprised but then smiled and said, "Then I must taste it; you can't disappoint me!"

"Yeah, I'm fairly decent!"

Qin Fang nodded, promptly getting up and leaving the room to head to the kitchen. Tang Feifei only took a quick glance around before deciding to stay in the room and wait.

Qin Fang was renting from the cheapest housing available, and in such a bustling metropolis, it was considered a slum—a place with either low-rise shanties or old-style tube buildings. Even the kitchen was a shared facility.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he saw Sister Pan, who lived next door, cooking. Upon seeing Qin Fang approach, her chubby body trembled as if she had seen a cat. She noticed Qin Fang heading towards the cabinet and immediately showed a displeased expression. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Xiao Qin, I need to tell you something!"

"What is it, Sister Pan?"

Qin Fang wasn't very familiar with this woman in her thirties, but she was known for being overly friendly and loved to take advantage of others. People living nearby would often keep their distance from her, fearing she might target them. It was said her husband couldn't put up with her behavior and left her because of it.

However, she was quite nice to Qin Fang; she always greeted him with a smile instead of the cold faces others showed.

"Uh... I forgot to buy vegetables this morning, so I used yours for lunch..."

Sister Pan said a bit awkwardly, her round face reddening with embarrassment, and her squinty small eyes sparkled with an odd light.

Qin Fang was taken aback at first but then forced a bitter smile. He knew that Sister Pan liked to take a little advantage, but she had never targeted him before; he didn't expect that today he would be her victim.

"Go ahead; it's nothing major!"

However, Qin Fang didn't want to make a big deal out of it. He just managed a forced smile and was about to turn back.

"Hey, Xiao Qin..."

As soon as Qin Fang turned around, Sister Pan called him back, "There's definitely no more vegetables, but I'm making dumplings tonight, and I still have some leftover dough. The filling is ready-made, so if you don't mind... feel free to take some!"

Perhaps genuinely feeling guilty, the usually stingy Sister Pan was unusually generous this time, handing over a not-insignificant piece of dough to Qin Fang.

"In that case, thank you very much!"

Qin Fang hesitated briefly but accepted it. At that moment, it was unrealistic for him to go buy ingredients, and with the dough and dumpling filling, making dumplings wouldn't be too difficult.

Feeling a bit awkward, Sister Pan quickly left, leaving Qin Fang alone in the kitchen.

To make dumplings, he naturally needed to prepare the dumpling wrappers. While city dwellers typically bought pre-made ones, Qin Fang wasn't very interested in that; he preferred to roll his own. He kneaded the dough again, then cut it into long strips, quickly finishing the preparation.

Grabbing one of the strips, he was about to divide it into small portions when he casually tossed it in the air.

"Learned skill: Noodle Pulling. Skill level: Beginner, Proficiency: 0.1%."

Just with that toss, a message suddenly appeared in Qin Fang's mind. Although it didn't come with a voice, it felt as if someone was directly speaking in his head.