After the Soul Swap Between Love Rival AO - Chapter 18

The two continued shopping in the supermarket.

The store had three floors, stocked with all kinds of goods, including a dedicated baking section. The dazzling array of decorative materials had Cheng Luanxin completely mesmerized.

Donuts definitely needed chocolate glaze, and after that, they’d be topped with sprinkles, sugar pearls, almond flakes, freeze-dried fruit slices, matcha powder, and other ingredients to create different flavors. Cheng Luanxin was utterly overwhelmed by the choices.

Especially the sprinkles and sugar pearls—so many flavors, so many color schemes, all incredibly pretty.

She wanted to buy everything, unable to part with any of them.

Song Qiuchi reminded her, “Just pick two. Don’t forget, one box costs one token.”

Cheng Luanxin, blinded by desire, protested, “But don’t you think these are so pretty? Actually, I’m kind of rich…”

Song Qiuchi: “…Three at most.”

Cheng Luanxin muttered under her breath like she was possessed, “But look at this iridescent seashell design—it’s so pretty… And this matte macaron color is nice too, simple and clean… And this star-and-crown one looks so luxurious… We can’t just buy sugar pearls and skip the freeze-dried fruit slices. What if someone doesn’t like sprinkles? There are so many of us…”

Song Qiuchi rubbed her temples, exasperated. “Fine, do whatever you want. Just don’t ask me to split the cost.”

With permission granted, Cheng Luanxin grinned and swiftly grabbed five or six bottles of sugar pearls and several packs of freeze-dried fruit slices, tossing them all into the cart.

She felt a little guilty. “Is it too heavy? Should I push it?”

Song Qiuchi glanced at her and reluctantly let go.

At checkout, the total came to nearly fifty tokens.

Though Cheng Luanxin’s heart ached at the expense, the sight of the colorful decorative materials in the shopping bag made it all worth it.

Each carrying a large bag of loot, they returned to the van.

The more Cheng Luanxin looked at the decorations, the more she adored them. Like a child, she lined them up on the seat. “You pick first. What flavor do you want?”

Song Qiuchi glanced over. “White chocolate with iridescent seashells.”

“You also think the iridescent seashells are super pretty and high-end, right?” Cheng Luanxin, flush with cash, waved her hand grandly. “No problem, I’ll load yours up!”

Song Qiuchi: “…”

There’s no need to load them up.

Comments:

He Ran: “I never knew Qiuchi was so girly.”

Su Ling: “Hahahaha, Luanxin looks so helpless.”

Bian Ning: “But those toppings really are gorgeous. I’d go for the freeze-dried strawberry ones.”

Duan Mengshu: “Then I’ll take the kiwi.”

…

The two returned to the shared house. In addition to the small kitchen in each room, there was also a spacious communal kitchen on the first floor, where they planned to make the donuts.

After washing their hands, they helped each other tie their aprons.

The aprons were newly bought too, adorned with cute little duck patterns.

In the dating script provided by Yu Peiyin, special emphasis was placed on the technique of tying an apron—first, hang it around the other person’s neck from the front, then wrap your arms around their waist from behind to pull the ties to the back and fasten them, all while keeping it as natural and intimate as possible.

In their haste, both had long forgotten these meticulous instructions. Cheng Luanxin self-sufficiently draped the apron around her own neck, then spread her arms and turned her back to Song Qiuchi. “Tie it tight around the waist for me. If it’s too loose, it’ll be inconvenient. Make a bow for me.”

Song Qiuchi had no idea how to tie a bow, so she just made a simple slipknot. “Done.”

Cheng Luanxin circled behind Song Qiuchi and bent slightly. “Let me tie yours too.”

She put in the effort, tying a proper bow for Song Qiuchi and adjusting it neatly.

Song Qiuchi felt her own slipknot was a bit half-hearted and paused. “Thanks.”

Cheng Luanxin had no idea what her back looked like and was feeling rather pleased with herself. Humming a tune, she flitted around the kitchen as if performing in a musical.

Song Qiuchi helped her unpack the ingredients. “You’re this happy?”

Cheng Luanxin nodded. “Of course! I’ve loved this kind of stuff since I was a kid. Did you have any hands-on classes when you were little? Like gardening or cooking? Those were my favorites.”

Song Qiuchi thought back. “We did, but they were usually taken over by exam subjects. We barely had any.”

Cheng Luanxin laughed. “So all schools are the same, huh? Honestly, I didn’t get to take many either.”

The romance observers were also drawn into childhood nostalgia:

Liang Shengxia: “I loved hands-on classes too when I was little, along with art and crafts.”

Duan Mengshu: “And here I thought your favorite would’ve been P.E.!”

Bian Ning: “Our school never canceled hands-on classes. They were so much fun.”

Su Ling: “But I still can’t picture Qiuchi gardening, lol.”

The two began following the tutorial to make donuts.

Step one: Whisk eggs, salt, and sugar together in a specific ratio.

Cheng Luanxin cracked six eggs into a stainless steel bowl and started whisking. But the bowl she bought was way too big—the six eggs barely covered the bottom, making it awkward to mix, and the clattering noise was incessant.

Song Qiuchi couldn’t take it anymore. “Tilt the bowl. It’ll be easier.”

Muttering, “I knew that,” Cheng Luanxin obediently tilted the bowl.

Step two: Sift in cake flour and baking powder, then mix well.

Cheng Luanxin painstakingly sifted the flour through a sieve. “Why do we have to sift it? It’ll all go through eventually anyway. This is so tedious…”

Song Qiuchi didn’t know the reason either, but seeing flour scattered everywhere, she took the bowl and sieve from Cheng Luanxin’s hands.

“I’ll handle this. You go mix the chocolate glaze.”

This task suited Cheng Luanxin just fine. To make donuts in various colors, they had bought a set of twelve food colorings to tint the white chocolate glaze for different flavors.

She sat on the round stool, mixing colors while sighing, “So donut colors are all made with food coloring? Doesn’t that mean they’re all just plain-flavored at their core? Should we add some strawberry jam or matcha powder to change up the taste?”

Song Qiuchi kept her eyes down, meticulously sifting flour. “I’d advise against improvising…”

“Ah! I squeezed too much strawberry jam!”

Song Qiuchi: “…”

At that speed, there was no time to stop her.

“Why is it so thick and chunky…” Cheng Luanxin stirred the chocolate sauce, now transformed into a lumpy red mess, looking somewhat embarrassed. “I think… this batch of chocolate sauce is going to waste…”

Song Qiuchi walked over, scooped up a spoonful of the strawberry-chocolate mixture, and tasted it. “Don’t waste it. It’s not bad—we can use it as filling.”

Cheng Luanxin looked skeptical. “Really?”

Song Qiuchi handed her the spoon. “Try it yourself.”

Cheng Luanxin froze, holding the spoon that Song Qiuchi had already used to eat half of the mixture, unsure whether she should rinse it first.

After all, Song Qiuchi had once drunk the leftover sweet fermented rice balls from her bowl without asking for a new one.

It wasn’t that Cheng Luanxin thought Song Qiuchi was dirty—after all, it was her own body. She just felt a little awkward. Sharing a spoon like this was way too intimate, especially with the romance observers watching. Wasn’t this just a cliché indirect kiss?

After a moment’s hesitation, she still put the spoon in her mouth.

The taste was sweet and tangy, with a fibrous texture from the fruit—it would probably make a great filling.

Song Qiuchi blinked. “You didn’t rinse the spoon?”

Cheng Luanxin was stunned. “Huh? You didn’t tell me to!”

Song Qiuchi sighed. “Do I really need to say it?”

Cheng Luanxin flushed. “I was worried you’d think I was rejecting you and hurt your pride!””

Song Qiuchi: “…My pride isn’t that fragile.”

Live Comments:

Su Ling: “HAHAHAHAHA ‘my pride isn’t that fragile’ I’m dead”

Bian Ning: “But the indirect kiss is so sweet though”

He Ran: “Am I the only one wondering if the strawberry-chocolate sauce actually tastes good?”

Seeing Cheng Luanxin visibly deflate, Song Qiuchi realized she’d upset her again and changed the subject. “It does taste pretty good, right?”

Cheng Luanxin slumped over the counter, pouting. “Eh, it’s alright.”

Song Qiuchi sighed. “If the romance observers hear you say that, who’d want to eat your donuts?”

Cheng Luanxin muttered under her breath, “Still worried about the observers? I’m upset—shouldn’t you be comforting me first…”