After slicing off three more locks, which has been the most practical application of his sword-wielding techniques by far, Lin Yie grabs all the available ingredients from the shelves and puts them on the counter.
Nightingale's eyes gleam as she stares at the ingredients.
"I'm not done yet."
Nightingale asks, "Pineapple bun knows how to make pineapple buns?"
"Of course," Lin Yie smiles confidently and brags, "There's nothing I don't know. Back when I was working as a pastry chef, everyone loved my food! They traveled from miles away just to taste them, especially my pineapple buns!"
When he sees Nightingale is drooling, probably imagining the perfect pineapple buns, Lin Yie reaches down quickly and grabs the small booklet. He saw this when he first entered the kitchen. It seems to have all the recipes available. Of course, it should include the recipe for pineapple buns as well.
Butter, milk, eggs…
Lin Yie starts picking out the ingredients while glancing at the page about pineapple buns. He can't help but mutter, "Why is this so complicated?"
Nightingale breaks out of her trance and tilts her head, "Pineapple Bun, what were you talking about?"
"Nothing. I was saying this is too easy. How many do you want?"
"A lot."
"What does that mean?"
"A lot is a lot."
Lin Yie nods. He's going to be scolded anyway, so why stop here?
After checking the ingredients he picked out, Lin Yie realizes he's missing the most important, sugar. He looks around for a bit. Eventually, he finds a metal can, but it's locked. He unsheathes his sword and gets ready to hack the lock open, but then he remembers something.
Sugar in this world is a luxury. In some places, sugar is even viewed as a strategic resource. Maybe it's not that important in Rhodes Island, since the cafeteria makes desserts on a regular basis, but the desserts here have very little sugar in them. They wouldn't even be called desserts in Lin Yie's world. However, just being a little bit sweet is enough in Terra.
He can get away with using other ingredients, but this?
Lin Yie is not so sure.
He understands sugar's value, and he can imagine the consequences of using this can of sugar without permission. It would be more serious than breaking the locks and using the other ingredients, combined.
He looks at Nightingale and sees the hopeful look in her eyes.
Whatever.
Lin Yie cuts the lock off secretly. He says, "I will let you have a taste of the real pineapple bun."
Then, he begins his performance.
Lin Yie wasn't lying to Nightingale when he said that he worked at a pastry shop before, but all he actually did was hand out fliers in a costume. Still, he was able to see how real pastry chefs worked. As the saying goes, even if you haven't tried pork, you should have seen pigs run.
He takes a deep breath and begins imitating the chefs from his memory. He puts on a confident smile like a real chef. Even Nightingale seems quite satisfied with his performance.
"Pineapple Bun is so great!"
Lin Yie smiles, "It's nothing."
Suddenly, his hand mixer spins much faster, and the bowl slips out of his hand. Fortunately, the bowl is made of metal.
*Clang*
Nightingale stares at Lin Yie's hands.
Lin Yie coughs awkwardly and says, "We can move onto the next stage."
"What's the next step?" Nightingale asks, too excited to ask about what just happened.
"Liz, go watch the door for me."
Nightingale tilts her head, clearly confused.
"Just see if someone is coming here."
"Oh."
Nightingale walks away reluctantly.
When Nightingale is out of sight, Lin Yie flips open the booklet again.
This and that…
When Nightingale returns, Lin Yie hides the booklet quickly, but then, he realizes he didn't memorize everything.
Crap… Why didn't I just admit I don't know anything?
"I didn't see anyone."
"Um."
Lin Yie waves his hand in response.
"Eggs, salt…" Under Nightingale's watchful eye, Lin Yie adds the ingredients slowly.
Then, he suddenly freezes.
"Pineapple Bun?"
How much sugar do I need to add again?
"What?"
"It's nothing," Lin Yie shakes his head quickly. He stares at the can briefly. Then, he clenches his teeth and grabs a fistful of sugar from the can.
Desserts have to be sweet anyway.
Nightingale seems confused, but the white sugar crystals manage to get her full attention.
Twenty minutes later, Lin Yie takes the dough out of the mixing bowl.
He wipes the sweat off his forehead and gestures, "Give it a try."
Nightingale tilts her head in confusion.
"You can make the shape you want to eat."
"I don't wanna," Nightingale says, "I just want to eat."
Lin Yie sighs.
And so, he begins making whatever shapes he has in mind.
"Look, this is a lake."
"This is a zongzi."
"This is a cloud."
Nightingale just watches Lin Yie play with the dough and mold it into different shapes.
Lin Yie pauses. He has been trying to make the dough in his hand look like a cloud, but… this shape seems a bit revolting.
How is this so different from what I saw in the booklet?
Lin Yie coughs a few times to shift Nightingale's attention from the "cloud." He puts the dough on a tray and pushes the tray into the oven.
"Now we wait."
There are no chairs in the kitchen, but going back to the cafeteria is too much work, so Lin Yie just sits on the ground and waits for the timer to end, with Nightingale sitting next to him.
"Pineapple Bun is so great!"
"I'm not," Lin Yie says in a quiet voice.
"You are. You know everything," Nightingale says, "You can do whatever you want."
Lin Yie glances at her. He wishes he can do whatever he wants, but it's just a wish.
Reality is always so…
*Ding*
"..."
Lin Yie stares at his "pineapple bun" in silence.
What is this dark yellow thing? Why does it look so disgusting?
He wants to puke.
Nightingale moves closer and stares at the "pineapple bun."
"Is this Pineapple Bun's pineapple bun? It looks awesome."
Her sincere praise just makes Lin Yie feel more ashamed. He can't keep the act up any longer.
"I messed up."
"Messed up?" Nightingale tilts her head, "Why?"
"I just messed up," Lin Yie pokes the bread and says, "I don't know why it looks like this."
"I want to eat it."
"It doesn't look great."
"It looks tasty to me."
Nightingale stares at the strange-looking pineapple bun.
Since Lin Yie is not saying anything or stopping her, Nightingale breaks off a small piece of the bread and chews on it.
Lin Yie watches her nervously, "How does it taste?"
Nightingale smiles, "It's delicious."
"Really?"
"Pineapple Bun's pineapple bun tastes great!" Nightingale says without thinking, "It tastes better than other pineapple buns."
Nightingale stuffs her mouth with more of the pineapple bun and says, "Pineapple Bun is so great!"
After hearing such praise, Lin Yie can't help but give his pineapple bun a try.
But, after taking his first bite, Lin yie raises an eyebrow in shock.
It's not disgusting per se, but… it's sweet, way too sweet. It's like eating sugar directly, and the texture is really bad, flat, and bumpy from the improperly melted sugar crystals...
Lin Yie takes the pineapple bun away from Nightingale's hands. He sighs, "It doesn't even taste good."
He looks at the ground in shame, "I shouldn't have lied to you. I don't know how to make pineapple buns, so you don't have to comfort me."
"Comfort?" Nightingale shakes her head, "I'm not comforting Pineapple Bun."
"So you really think this tastes good?"
Nightingale nods.
"I can't believe you," Lin Yie looks at her incredulously, "This is too sweet."
"Why does Pineapple Bun think this tastes bad?" Nightingale asks, "Doesn't food taste better when it's sweet? Pineapple Bun's pineapple bun is sweeter than other pineapple buns. It's the best."
Lin Yie is left speechless. He sighs as he returns the "pineapple bun" to her, "Eat as much as you want then."
As he watches Nightingale seemingly enjoy the overly sweetened bread, Lin Yie decides to hone his skills and learn how to make pineapple buns properly, but before he can think about what he should do, he hears an angry shout.
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
Lin Yie sees the chef charging toward him with a frying pan.
"Liz, run!" He grabs Nightingale's hand and starts dragging her away, "If we don't go, we will get our butts kicked."
Nightingale tilts her head in confusion, "Why?"
Lin Yie says in a hurry, "I will explain later. Just go."
"What about Pineapple Bun?"
"I'll stay here and make more pineapple buns for you," Lin Yie smiles, "Alright?"
Nightingale nods, but takes a worried glance back at the chef, "That person seems really mad. Can Pineapple Bun beat him?"
"Do you really think he can beat me?"
Nightingale shakes her head.
"Then go," Lin Yie pushes Nightingale out the door, "Shining is going to worry about you."
Nightingale nods before jogging back to her room.
Lin Yie takes a deep breath and closes the door behind him. He turns around slowly to face the angry chef, with his hands raised in a placating manner.
"Don't be mad please."
"Where's the other one?!"
"It's just me," Lin Yie insists, "It's just me."
Draft by Demosama
Proofread by PanzerComrade56
