A Vengeful Retribution

Chapter 23: Business

3rd POV

As they make their way back to their shared dorm, he casually raises a question.

"Alright, Lau. What do you want to have for dinner tonight?" He raised an eyebrow slightly at her, as if expecting his childhood friend to already have an answer.

Laura tapped her chin, her red eye gleaming thoughtfully as they walked through the dorm halls.

"Hmmm... I think I want something hearty tonight."

Yap Haruto chuckled. "That's still vague, y'know."

She smirked. "You're the chef, love. Impress me."

Yap rolled his eyes playfully. "That's how you get me to make the most ridiculous dishes, isn't it?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

He sighed, but there was amusement in his tone. "Fine, fine... let's see what we got in the fridge first."

As they reached their dorm, Yap unlocked the door and immediately made a beeline for the kitchen. With practiced ease, he opened the fridge—

And immediately froze.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

Yap slowly shut the fridge door, then turned to her with a completely deadpan expression.

"We have... next to nothing."

Laura blinked. "What do you mean, next to nothing?"

Yap crossed his arms. "I mean, if you want dinner tonight, it's either gonna be instant ramen, or—" He paused, then narrowed his eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Laura tilted her head. "That depends. Are you about to do something stupid?"

Yap grinned. "Always."

She sighed. "Fine. I trust you. But if this ends in disaster, I'm making you sleep on the floor."

Yap saluted mockingly. "Understood, my dear tyrant."

And with that, he got to work, determined to turn their barebones fridge into something remotely edible.

Yap sighed as he looked over the ingredients he had left. A few eggs, some leftover rice, a near-empty bottle of soy sauce, and a couple of vegetables that were barely hanging on to freshness.

"Alright... time to make magic happen."

He grabbed a pan, turned on the stove, and got to work. As he cracked the eggs into a bowl, he made a mental note.

"Restock the fridge first thing tomorrow. No excuses."

Laura, sitting at the counter, rested her chin on her palm, watching him. "You're talking to yourself again."

"It's called strategic thinking." He shot back, stirring the eggs with a pair of chopsticks before pouring them into the pan.

Laura smirked. "Strategic thinking? Is that what you call scrambling to make dinner with whatever's left?"

Yap didn't even look up. "Hey, if I can make this work, that just means I'm a genius in the kitchen."

Laura chuckled, but then sniffed the air as the aroma of sizzling garlic and eggs filled the dorm. "I'll admit, it does smell good."

Yap grinned. "Of course. I don't disappoint."

As he tossed in the rice and started mixing everything together, he silently prayed that this impromptu meal would be enough. If not... well, worst case scenario, instant ramen was still an option.