Chen Ze rubbed his head, feeling a little dizzy, but the pain wasn’t too intense. It seemed that the alcohol he had drunk before must have been pretty good, as he didn’t experience the usual agony that followed a drunken stupor.

"But... how did I get back to bed?" Chen Ze was confused. He tried to recall what happened, remembering only that he had drunk the wine Lafra gave him yesterday, and then...

What happened then?

Chen Ze got up from the bed, picked up his phone from the side, and glanced at it. It was half-past eight in the morning; a new day had begun.

"A new day, huh... Huh?" Chen Ze paused, then took another look at his phone. The time indeed indicated it was the next morning.

Chen Ze quickly stood up and realized he was wearing pajamas, deciding to hurry up and change his clothes.

Although he was unsure about what happened yesterday and how he got back, Chen Ze was worried. What if he hadn’t locked the door? What could have happened?

Could it be that a crowd of customers was sitting inside, waiting for him to go down and cook? Or perhaps the customers thought the restaurant was no longer in business and would never come back again?

"Darling, you’re awake?" The door opened, and Lafra, wearing a blood-red pajama, walked in with a basin of hot water in her hands.

"Eh? Lafra?" Chen Ze was bewildered. Why was Lafra here?

Wait, Lafra was here yesterday, and after drinking her wine, he got so drunk. So, Chen Ze understood that it must have been Lafra who’d carried him up and changed his clothes.

Chen Ze paused, quickly opened his pajama pants to check, and thankfully, his underwear hadn’t been changed...

"Pfft, what are you thinking about? I locked the door, and I changed your clothes too. I have to say, darling, your physique isn’t that great~" Lafra laughed, then came over, took out a hot towel from the basin, and handed it to Chen Ze.

Chen Ze smiled nervously, picked up the towel, and wiped his face, feeling quite a bit more sober afterward.

"Um... Lafra..." Chen Ze was a bit anxious. He had never been drunk before, so he didn’t know what he might have done while intoxicated.

Chen Ze still remembered his college roommate, who, after getting drunk, danced wildly at a class dinner, performing an incomprehensible street dance and ripping his pants.

Therefore, Chen Ze was always wary of getting drunk. He hadn’t expected to be out like a light after just one drink yesterday.

"What’s wrong?" Lafra smiled tenderly, soothing Chen Ze’s conflicted emotions considerably.

"Yesterday, when I got drunk, I didn’t do anything, did I?" Chen Ze asked, feeling particularly anxious, his palms sweaty.

"Not at all, you slept like a log. No matter how much I called you, you wouldn’t wake up." Lafra still had that gentle smile, unchanged, and exceptionally reassuring.

Chen Ze finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he noticed something—Lafra was wearing a ring, a red ring on her hand.

That ring looked very familiar to Chen Ze; it was the leaf-shaped one he had planned to give to Lafra but hadn’t because he felt too shy to present it.

Chen Ze’s confusion deepened. So, did I actually give it to her yesterday? And what else happened? Did I say anything?

Chen Ze felt his hair thinning even more, which was stomach-churning for him.

However, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. After all, what’s given is given, and seeing Lafra’s expression didn’t suggest any displeasure.

So after washing up, Chen Ze went down with Lafra.

"Dear, what are you planning to do?" Lafra asked curiously, standing behind Chen Ze and looking at the chicken in his hands.

"Dezhou Braised Chicken, I’ll let you taste it soon," Chen Ze smiled. He had long thought about making this dish, but he had never actually prepared it.

Dezhou Braised Chicken is a famous dish in Huaxia. Despite its name being mistaken by some as being from Lighthouse Country, it is indeed a native Huaxia cuisine.

The dish is delicious and famous in Shandong. Even though chefs still make it now and there even exists a dedicated industry chain providing online shopping services for it.

However, some people contend that with the passing of the older generation, the most authentic method of preparing Dezhou Braised Chicken has been lost, and the current version only scratches the surface of the original recipe.

Of course, Chen Ze wasn’t too clear about these details; even if it were true, the Dezhou Braised Chicken recipe he could prepare was the one he found online.

The required ingredients for Dezhou Braised Chicken, this Shandong cuisine, are naturally no ordinary ingredients but rather a one-kilogram local cockerel or a hen that hasn’t laid eggs.

Even though Chen Ze didn’t quite understand the reason for this requirement—perhaps a younger chicken tastes better?

But since the recipe called for it, he didn’t mind going to the market to buy a hen that met the requirement especially.

Lafra stood behind Chen Ze, looking at his serious face, a little lost in thought.

"Lafra... I... um..." Chen Ze, slightly drunk, had a red face.

"I might not... be a good boyfriend... but, but... I’ll definitely be a good... good husband..." Chen Ze sat on the ground but persisted and took out a ring from his pocket, handing it to Lafra.

Lafra had just received it and was a bit surprised; this was no ordinary ring, as it contained a magical power.

Lafra roughly sensed that the ring could enhance her fire attribute magic’s strength by half.

It could also slightly speed up Lafra’s magic power recovery rate. Although the enhancement seemed small, it was a significant improvement for her.

Lafra touched the ring on her right ring finger. It was the first gift she had received from Chen Ze, and its meaning was so special.

It was just that she didn’t know...

Lafra blushed, lightly stamped her foot, and then took a can of chilled cherry-flavored cola from the refrigerator and walked out. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She felt that if she stayed any longer, it would become even harder for her to calm down.

Chen Ze furrowed his brow, taking a calming glance at the Dezhou Braised Chicken in front of him, which had now reached the stage of setting its shape.

This was a rather complicated step; at first glance at the recipe, Chen Ze didn’t understand how to handle it and only found a method after trying a couple of times.

"Alright, next is browning, then deep frying, and after that, boiling," Chen Ze said, looking at the chicken and happily clapping his hands.

Chen Ze was eager to try the taste that could make the meat fall off the bones with a slight tremble and see what kind of flavor had attracted so many people and received unanimous praise.

"Oh right, the spices..." Chen Ze slapped his forehead, almost forgetting about the spices.