Addiction to Temptation: His Mischievous Sweetheart Captivates Him-Chapter 319: Natalie Vaughn Cooks (Part 2)

Natalie Vaughn raised the knife high and then chopped down swiftly and cleanly. The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was crisp.

Hearing this noise, Mrs. Vaughn on the other end of the phone jumped in fright.

"Oh dear, honey, you must be careful, don’t scare your mom!"

Natalie Vaughn looked at her work with great satisfaction and took the phone off the stand. The image wobbled a bit before Mrs. Vaughn finally saw the situation on the cutting board.

She stared at the chunk of ginger, which had been cut in half, quite for some time. Well, this way of cutting... works too, just that it makes it harder to dice and julienne later.

"Honey, you..."

Mrs. Vaughn hesitated for a moment and finally said against her better judgment.

"Not bad."

As a mother, she couldn’t discourage her daughter who was trying to learn to cook.

Natalie Vaughn was very sensitive to reading expressions and was particularly familiar with her mother. Mrs. Vaughn’s reaction didn’t quite sound like praise.

Eh, isn’t this alright? It’s so simple and straightforward.

A half minute later, Natalie Vaughn regretted it.

After all, the steps that the predecessors figured out do have a rationale. Cutting ginger into thin strips isn’t complicated, which means the steps and procedures have low flexibility for change.

The way she just cut it indeed made the first step easier, but it added difficulty to the subsequent steps.

Natalie Vaughn pressed her lips together and finally put down the knife.

"Mom, can’t I just put it in directly like this?"

After all, as long as it has the ginger flavor, isn’t that enough? Wouldn’t throwing the ginger chunk in to cook for a while suffice in giving it flavor?

Mrs. Vaughn was very particular about cooking; not only must it be delicious, but it must look good too. She wouldn’t leave behind a work that isn’t complete with color, aroma, and taste.

It was indeed unpleasant for her to hear that Natalie Vaughn had such thoughts, yet what was more unpleasant was that she couldn’t stop Natalie, even having to agree and encourage her.

Thinking from another angle, it was already pretty good that her daughter Nina had the idea of cooking. Everything has to start small, no skill can be learned at once, so what, if her daughter comes back from abroad, it wouldn’t be too late to teach carefully.

Besides... seeing Natalie Vaughn’s posture while cutting just now, Mrs. Vaughn truly feared her daughter might cut her own hand.

So, the very particular Mrs. Vaughn finally compromised.

"Then just put it in like that, but remember to fish it out after cooking."

Otherwise, it would be too unattractive.

For the preparation of some other materials afterward, Natalie Vaughn did them quite casually.

At the end of all this, the most exhausted one wasn’t Natalie Vaughn, but Mrs. Vaughn, who had to teach and then constantly compromise.

Realizing her mother’s patience had reached its limit, Natalie Vaughn hung up the phone to maintain a close mother-daughter relationship.

Next, all that was left was to wait for it to cook thoroughly and then add noodles.

It was before dawn, but by the time she had just finished putting the ingredients in and started cooking, the sky was already slightly bright.

Zane Thorne, who had been staying in the study, finally came out. Hearing the noise in the kitchen, he changed direction.

The housekeeper they hired wouldn’t come over to make breakfast.

It was actually Caitlin Vaughn busy in the kitchen. Seeing this, Zane Thorne’s fatigue relaxed significantly.

Indeed, Natalie Vaughn couldn’t cook, and could even be called a disaster in the kitchen. The large countertop was turned into chaos by her, clearly just making a soup, yet getting flustered.

But even so, Zane Thorne still watched with relish, as his brows that were tightly furrowed due to overnight exhaustion completely eased because of Natalie Vaughn.

In a new domain, perhaps Natalie Vaughn wasn’t as adept, she kept muttering under her breath.

"Why hasn’t my fish soup turned white?"

"When should I fish out this ginger chunk?"

"Should the flame stay high like this all the time? The bubbling water won’t be gone, right?"

"Two spoons of salt — how big a spoon?"

"Are the noodles put directly in to boil, or do I need another pot?"

With each sentence, Natalie Vaughn’s brows furrowed tighter.

Cooking really isn’t a simple thing, but why does it seem so easy when Zane Thorne does it?

Natalie Vaughn sighed deeply and kept stirring with the spoon intermittently.

Seeing this, Zane Thorne couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh out loud.

"If you keep stirring like this, the fish will fall apart."

Natalie Vaughn jumped in surprise, looking at Zane Thorne leaning against the door, patting her chest.

"When did you come down? You didn’t make a sound."

As she spoke, she kept holding the spoon, and she had added a lot of water, which was now boiling and looked dangerous.

Zane Thorne stepped forward and took the spoon from Natalie Vaughn.

"You were too focused."

Natalie Vaughn scrutinized Zane Thorne carefully, noticing the red lines in his eyes, feeling a bit distressed.

"Are you going to train today?"

Zane Thorne shook his head.

"Taking another day off."

"I’m not attending class today either."

She wanted to visit Jay Sterling at the hospital again to ensure he’s really okay before feeling assured.

Zane Thorne looked down at the fish soup in the pot and chuckled softly.

"Why the sudden thought to cook?"

Natalie Vaughn felt slightly embarrassed.

"Isn’t this about doing a wifely duty? You’ve cooked so many meals for me, and I want to cook one for you too."

Zane Thorne raised his eyebrows slightly, just in time to fish up the ginger chunk Natalie Vaughn halved.

Natalie Vaughn: ...

"Ah, being the first time, having some flaws is normal."

Hearing this, Zane Thorne chuckled lightly, placed the ginger chunk into an empty bowl, then used a strainer to fish out another piece of ginger.

Natalie Vaughn raised her hand to touch her nose.

"Is it alright as long as the ginger flavor is cooked out?"

Zane Thorne didn’t dampen Natalie Vaughn’s confidence.

"Mhm, indeed."

Natalie Vaughn’s eyes lit up.

"So it’s been boiling for quite a while now, can we drink it yet?"

Zane Thorne smiled and asked.

"Have you added salt yet?"

As he finished speaking, Zane Thorne paused briefly and added.

"Two spoons — is it this spoon or two tablespoons?"

Upon hearing this, Natalie Vaughn realized Zane Thorne had listened to all her muttered questions.

"I used the small one."

Zane Thorne nodded.

"Very nice."

Natalie Vaughn’s face turned slightly red. Could adding the salt correctly also be praised?

"Can we drink it now?"

Zane Thorne glanced at the situation in the pot and shook his head.

"Wait a little longer."

After saying that, the man picked up a spoon and pressed it into the pot.

Natalie Vaughn furrowed her brows.

"Didn’t you say not to mash up the fish, so what are you doing now?"

Zane Thorne pressed the fish meat until broken, then used a strainer to take out the residue inside.

"Just now, I didn’t want you to mash it because there’s a way to eat with the fish removed separately, but the fish was already quite smashed, so I might as well squish it up and have the essence all in the fish soup, another way to eat."

Natalie Vaughn nodded, half-understanding. Seeing Zane Thorne filter the soup completely, she began urging him eagerly.

"Quick, taste it! It’s my first time cooking!"

The man couldn’t resist her enthusiasm, scooped a spoonful, and tasted it.

"..."