Chapter 50: Chef Daniel (Part 2)

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Chef Daniel (Part 2)

Daniel couldn’t be bothered listening to T’Challa complain anymore.

The more he listened, the more he felt this guy was going to drag him down with him.

After all, Daniel was a master flirt.

His skills with women had once been nothing short of legendary.

He had simply retired from the dating scene years ago.

Otherwise, there’d be girls lining up around the block for him.

Unlike T’Challa.

The guy had actually followed a girl around and nearly gotten the police called on him.

That was just embarrassing.

Did he not know how to use the resources available to him?

Where was all that money of his going?

If Daniel were T’Challa, he’d have followed her in a Ferrari.

It was much classier.

"So where are we making this shrimp tonight?" T’Challa asked after finally calming down.

"I found the perfect spot."

Daniel wore a mysterious grin.

"The rooftop. It’s great up there. The door’s usually locked, so I’ll fly up first and unlock it."

"And how’s Susan supposed to get up there?"

"Nobody watches the building entrance. She can just walk in."

Daniel looked quite pleased with himself.

For the sake of creating the perfect shrimp-eating experience, he had actually put some thought into the plan.

Everything had already been arranged.

"Oh right, I’ve got a job for you."

Daniel turned toward T’Challa.

"What job?"

"You’re washing the shrimp."

"What?!"

T’Challa stared at him in disbelief. There were stacks of shrimp piled up in the bathroom, just looking at them made his scalp tingle.

How long would it take to clean all of those?

"I don’t know how."

He refused immediately.

"Cut the nonsense. I’ll teach you. I’ve got other things to do. We don’t have enough ingredients, so I need to make a trip to the grocery store."

"Tell me what to buy. I’ll go shopping. You wash them."

T’Challa had learned his lesson, there was no way he was falling for this.

"Some ingredients can only be chosen after seeing them in person."

Daniel smiled warmly as he spoke. At the same time, he casually placed a hand on T’Challa’s shoulder and began applying pressure very slowly and deliberately. The moment T’Challa felt the warning, he surrendered.

"Fine. I’ll wash them!!"

"Good."

Daniel immediately withdrew his arm.

"Since you’re so eager, come on. I’ll teach you how to clean shrimp."

T’Challa’s face twitched.

He had absolutely not been eager as Daniel dragged him into the bathroom. After demonstrating the process once, Daniel immediately slipped away.

T’Challa was left standing alone before a mountain of shrimp.

"Make sure they’re clean!" Daniel called out as he left.

"We’re eating them tonight!"

...

Daniel happily made his way downstairs.

The truth was, he had already prepared everything, the whole grocery store excuse had been completely made up, as he simply didn’t want to wash shrimp.

After leaving the dorm, he leisurely wandered around campus. Along the way, several upperclassmen tried striking up conversations with him.

Daniel politely rejected every single one, those girls were far too enthusiastic.

Suspiciously enthusiastic.

They were definitely up to something and no good could come from that. Naturally, he declined them all.

Later, Daniel stopped by the cafeteria, there was still plenty of time before dinner, so he figured he’d sample the food and to his surprise, it wasn’t bad at all.

After leaving the cafeteria, he found himself with nothing else to do. Still, he had no intention of returning to the dorm as at this hour, T’Challa was definitely still washing shrimp.

Humming an unrecognizable tune, Daniel wandered aimlessly around campus until the sky gradually darkened.

When he judged the timing to be just right, he finally visited a nearby store, there, he purchased a single bottle of cooking oil. Then he headed back.

When Daniel returned to the dormitory, T’Challa was still in the bathroom, diligently washing shrimp.

Fortunately, he was almost finished, as now only about a dozen remained.

After cleaning the final batch, T’Challa wiped the sweat from his forehead and stretched his aching back.

"Finally, all done."

He smiled in relief, then his expression froze.

Daniel was currently lounging comfortably on the sofa, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the bottle of oil sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

T’Challa’s eyes twitched, he had spent hours washing shrimps until his arms nearly fell off.

And Daniel’s grand shopping trip had resulted in... One bottle of oil?

Did Daniel think he was an idiot? This was the most common cooking oil imaginable.

Daniel had insisted he needed to personally inspect ingredients before buying them. Then he disappeared for several hours and returned right on time with a bottle of oil?

T’Challa desperately wanted to throw the cleaning brush directly into Daniel’s face. Unfortunately, after carefully comparing their combat abilities, he abandoned the idea.

He couldn’t win and that was the problem.

Taking a deep breath, T’Challa stormed back into his room, he needed some time alone.

...

By the time they met up with Susan that evening, T’Challa was still visibly upset, the whole thing had been a scam.

"Come on, don’t be mad."

Daniel looked a little guilty.

"I specifically brought back oysters for you. I’ll make sure you get some good oyster stew later. It’ll help strengthen your body."

"I don’t need it."

T’Challa replied with a sour expression.

"You washed all the shrimp yourself. That means they’ll taste even better, so make sure to eat extra tonight."

"Oh."

T’Challa still wasn’t convinced.

When Susan arrived, Daniel and T’Challa led her to the rooftop of their dormitory. Before bringing them up, Daniel had already flown up earlier and unlocked the door.

He was getting pretty experienced at these rooftop operations. As soon as they arrived, Susan looked around curiously.

"So you’re really making the shrimp yourself?"

"Of course."

Daniel grinned.

Susan’s reaction was completely different from T’Challa’s.

T’Challa had been skeptical. Susan was simply surprised that Daniel actually knew how to cook. Looking around the rooftop, she asked.

"Is it okay to start a fire up here? Won’t somebody catch us?"

"Don’t worry."

Daniel waved a hand confidently.

"I already locked the door, and I brought things to block the view."

"What are you cooking with?"

Without saying a word, Daniel proudly revealed a big frying pan.

It was huge and Susan just stared at it.

"..."

She was beginning to question Daniel’s cooking skills.

Was that really a cooking pan? Or a bathtub?

But still what interested her was Daniel’s cooking method, the process wasn’t complicated.

Daniel just heated the pan, added oil, threw in the prepared seasonings and veggies and then dumped in the shrimp. Finally, he covered everything with a lid.

"Now we wait."

Daniel explained.

At this point, even T’Challa was starting to believe Daniel could actually cook, the way he handled the ingredients clearly wasn’t amateurish and now an incredible aroma was already drifting out.

The food smelled amazing. Before long, the shrimp were finished. Daniel poured the entire batch into a big plate.

After arranging everything, he filled three glasses with coke. Yeah, right coke, he couldn’t get beers for everyone as Susan had argued against it.

Because according to her it felt illegal.

So, they settled with coke.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The three clinked their glasses together, then they finally dug in.

The shrimp looked fantastic, bright brownish shells glistened beneath a layer of oil.

T’Challa hesitated for a moment as he hadn’t eaten a shrimp before, he wasn’t sure where to start.

Daniel gave him a quick explanation before immediately grabbing one himself, he had waited long enough. The instant the first bite entered his mouth, Daniel knew he had made the right decision.

This was it.

This was the taste he had been craving, the taste he wanted.

The only regret was the lack of beer.

Across the table, Susan and T’Challa also tried their first bites. The moment they tasted the shrimp, both of them were hooked.

The flavor made them forget everything and neither of them could stop eating.

"I never expected you to make something this good!"

T’Challa praised between bites.

"It smells incredible, and it tastes even better!"

He had completely forgotten how he’d spent the entire afternoon accusing Daniel of making some kind of dark, experimental food.

The three of them ate enthusiastically, enjoying every bite.

Then.... the rooftop door suddenly opened.