Flashback: Kitchen Hazard 3

Can't she be a little more composed? She always expects everyone to follow right behind her and catch her whenever she falls. But how could they possibly have the energy to focus solely on her safety all the time?

Several of them quickly fixed their gazes on their young miss, terrified that she might collapse the next second. They couldn't afford to pay for that! The young master had given strict and repeated orders to take good care of the miss, and if anything happened to her, a thousand lives wouldn't be enough for Shangguan Han to kill them! Furthermore, they genuinely cared for the miss, which made it all the more important that she stayed out of harm's way! Shangguan Xiao had no idea that a single little gesture of hers could throw the entire household into such a flurry of panic and endless turmoil.

Ignoring everything else, she dashed swiftly toward her bedroom! As soon as she got upstairs, she pushed open her room located right at the front. The moment she stepped inside, her vision was filled with a room bursting in shades of pink and purple. It looked dreamy and almost surreal! Yet, through the room's arrangement, one could easily tell just how much Shangguan Han doted on this precious younger sister of his. Sitting down on the white sofa, she took everything she had prepared out of her school bag. After carefully organizing them, she picked up her papers and headed downstairs.

Because she was in such a rush, she didn't even bother to close her bedroom door! Carrying her things, she sprinted eagerly toward the lower floor, practically running and jumping down the steps. With just a few stairs left to go, she actually decided to jump straight down from above just to save time!

The housekeeper happened to catch this exact scene from the foot of the stairs, and his heart leaped into his throat. He hurried forward, shouting anxiously, "My young miss! Be careful! Watch out!" He reached out his hands, preparing to catch Shangguan Xiao in case she suddenly tumbled down. Even though the floor was covered with a white plush carpet, taking a fall down the stairs would still hurt! Why couldn't the young miss understand that?

Shangguan Xiao skipped right past the housekeeper and hopped gracefully to the side. With an innocent and harmless smile, she said, "Oh, Uncle Housekeeper, I'm fine!" As she spoke, she fluttered the piece of paper in her hand and spun around happily in front of him.

Assured that the young miss was truly uninjured, the housekeeper finally let out a breath of relief. She certainly knew how to put his old bones through a workout! Unfortunately, both Mr. and Mrs. Shangguan, along with everyone else, doted on this young miss to the point where she was practically fearless. Right now, he truly worried that one day, she might be exploited by people with malicious intentions.

Seeing the housekeeper still standing there in a daze, Shangguan Xiao didn't plan to linger. She ran off toward the kitchen on her own! Humming a little tune, she pushed open the kitchen door with utmost care.

Stepping inside, the chefs were all deeply focused on their respective tasks. It was quiet all around, with almost no one speaking. The only sound was the rhythmic tapping of kitchen knives against the chopping boards—those "clack, clack" noises forming a unique symphony of their own.

No one noticed Shangguan Xiao walking in! Watching a chef washing vegetables, Shangguan Xiao curiously pointed to the greens in the man's hands and asked, "What kind of vegetable is this? It looks so pretty, and it even has little yellow flowers on it."

Hearing a young girl's voice, the chef initially thought he was hallucinating. But turning his head inadvertently, he was shocked to see the young miss standing right beside him, blinking her big, curious eyes as she gazed up at him. Startled, the vegetable-washing chef accidentally let go, and the impeccably washed greens tumbled straight onto the floor.

Seeing his expression, Shangguan Xiao thought she had run into something terrifying. She blinked her large eyes and looked at the chef with a self-reproachful expression, asking, "Did I scare you?" As she spoke, she crouched down to help him pick up the vegetables scattered on the floor.

Hearing their young miss taking all the blame upon herself made him feel rather embarrassed. When the miss had asked him what vegetable it was earlier, he had thought it was auditory illusion, so he hadn't answered. Now, he had clumsily dropped the freshly washed greens, yet instead of scolding him, the miss was blaming herself. It made him feel thoroughly ashamed!

Embarrassed, he reached up to ruffle his own hair and stammered, "No! Of course... it's not the miss's fault. I was just clumsy and knocked them over! The miss doesn't need to blame herself!"

Realizing that the middle-aged man in front of her wasn't angry about her sudden appearance, Shangguan Xiao broke into a happy smile and looked at him expectantly. "Then can you tell me what these are now?" Persistent as ever, she kept pressing for the name of the greens.

Hearing this, the chef scratched his head again and hurriedly replied, "O-Of course! These are daylilies. Pretty, aren't they?"

Everyone loves beautiful things, and Shangguan Xiao was certainly no exception. The others nearby heard the exchange and turned their heads one after another, only to discover—to their shared surprise—that their young miss had wandered into the kitchen! They all crowded around, bombarding her with a flurry of affectionate greetings.

Faced with this enthusiastic group of uncles and aunties, Shangguan Xiao felt a little unaccustomed to it all for a moment. Suddenly, someone asked, "Why did the miss come into the kitchen by herself? Are you hungry?"

That question truly hit the nail on the head, reminding Shangguan Xiao of her original purpose. She hurried to explain why she was there, saying rather sheepishly, "Actually, I came to borrow the kitchen! You all don't need to cook today. I've decided to make a meal myself!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was deeply touched! But still, they couldn't possibly agree! How could they let their young miss stay alone in the kitchen? What if something went wrong? They stood their ground firmly, refusing to yield. The head chef insisted, "That won't do! Miss, you've never cooked before. What if something happens?"

Using a mix of coaxing and acting cute, Shangguan Xiao put on a pitiful expression and pleaded, "Please! Just lend it to me for a little while! I promise I won't cause any trouble! Please!" She pressed her palms together in front of her chest, making a beseeching gesture.

The chef, who had still wanted to refuse, simply couldn't hold his ground against her. With a helpless sigh, he finally relented! Perhaps they ought to trust the young miss! Surely nothing bad would happen to her in the kitchen, and even if an accident occurred, they would be right outside the door and could rush in to rescue her in time.

Resignedly, he said, "Alright then! But we'll be standing right outside the door. If you run into any trouble at all, you must call for us!"

Hearing that she had permission, Shangguan Xiao jumped up with joy. Seeing her so happy, the staff couldn't help smiling as well.

Shangguan Xiao looked down at her notes. It instructed her on how to make a cake, which required milk, fruit juice, powdered milk, flavoring powder, salad oil, water, shortening, and baking powder as auxiliary ingredients, all to be thoroughly mixed together.

Following the instructions with great earnestness, Shangguan Xiao prepared the batter, placed it into the oven, and set the timer. Then, she moved on to her next task, checking her notes once more.

The next item to make was rice! That felt relatively simple! She casually scooped out some rice, rinsed it, and put it into the pot to cook. Next, she pulled a fish out of the refrigerator, gave it a quick, careless wash, and tossed it right into the wok—without adding any oil!

The outcome was entirely predictable! When she finally realized she had forgotten the oil, she grabbed the bottle from the side and poured it in. But the moment the oil hit the pan, with a sharp crack, the wok burst into flames!

Terrified, Shangguan Xiao threw caution to the wind, grabbed the water hose, and sprayed it frantically. But instead of shrinking, the fire only blazed larger!

Just as one wave of trouble quieted down, another arose! The oven, which had been functioning perfectly fine, suddenly let out a loud bang as it exploded! Tongues of flame began darting everywhere.

At that exact moment, Shangguan Han happened to be returning from outside. Today was Christmas Eve, so he had wanted to come home early. On his way back, he remembered that Kevin was all alone in Z-City, so he had picked him up along the way, planning to spend Christmas Eve together.

However, the moment the two men stepped through the front gates, they heard a deafening roar echoing from the main residence! Shangguan Han hurriedly dropped Kevin and dashed swiftly toward the house. Cutting straight through the plum blossom grove, he completely abandoned his usual composure!

The only thought racing through his mind was that Shangguan Xiao was inside, and he was terrified that arriving even a second too late would leave him with a lifetime of regret. Thus, he poured every ounce of his strength into rushing home.

At the same time, Ouyang Xianyu, who had been quietly reading a book alone in his room, dropped the volume instantly upon hearing the explosion. He jumped up and bolted downstairs!

The grand hall was already in absolute chaos. The housekeeper and chefs were spinning around in frantic circles, quickly trying to organize a rescue operation out of fear that Shangguan Xiao had already been harmed in the kitchen. Servants grabbed fire extinguishers, unleashing the foam while shouting loudly at the top of their lungs, "Miss! Miss!"

"Miss!" The servants' desperate cries echoed through the entire estate. Burning with anxiety, they could only wield their firefighting equipment, desperately blasting it toward the kitchen in hopes of beating back the flames!

"Miss, where are you? Are you alright?" Ouyang Xianyu had just reached the foot of the stairs when he heard them calling out for Shangguan Xiao.

Anxiously, Ouyang Xianyu rushed toward the kitchen entrance and grabbed the housekeeper by the arm. "What's going on? What happened to Shangguan Xiao?"

Seeing that Ouyang Xianyu had come down, the housekeeper grabbed him back, his expression frantic and his heart blazing with panic over the young miss's peril. "Ouyang Young Master! The miss is inside! She's still inside!" he cried, too distressed to form coherent sentences.

Ouyang Xianyu looked toward the burning kitchen. Shangguan Xiao was still inside? Was that what the housekeeper meant? With that terrifying thought, Ouyang Xianyu bolted straight into the kitchen without a backward glance.

Seeing this, the housekeeper tried desperately to hold him back. Charging straight in like that was far too dangerous! Tugging at his sleeve, the housekeeper yelled, "No! Ouyang Young Master, you can't do that, it's too dangerous!"

Ouyang Xianyu shook off the housekeeper's grip and plunged resolutely into the kitchen without a word. Shielding his nose and mouth with his hand, he strained his eyes through the thick, blinding clouds of black smoke that filled the space. The billowing fog completely obscured his vision as he yelled in a panic, "Shangguan Xiao! Shangguan Xiao, where are you?"

Amidst the raging inferno and the fierce, scorching flames licking at every surface, Shangguan Xiao crouched near the sink. Hearing Ouyang Xianyu's voice, she struggled to lift her head, raising a hand toward the swirling smoke as she cried out, "I'm here! Yu, I'm over here!"

She shouted with every last ounce of strength she had left. If he didn't pull her out of here right now, she was going to be a goner! She was actually going to die—just moments ago, she had nearly been blown to pieces by the exploding oven.

The thought alone was terrifying. At first, when she saw the wok catch fire, she had thought pouring water would put it out. Who would have known that the moment the water hit, the fire would erupt even more fiercely? Just as she was about to call for help, the oven behind her had suddenly blown up.

Luckily, her reflexes were fast and agile, allowing her to narrowly dodge the oven's "attack"! But even though she had escaped that immediate danger, the entire kitchen had caught fire.

She had genuinely thought she was going to perish right there in the kitchen. But at that exact moment, Ouyang Xianyu had come! To be honest, hearing his voice filled her heart with a surge of joyous hope. Following the source of her voice, Ouyang Xianyu quickly pinpointed her exact location.