The Art of the Cucumber Slice

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

In the silent room, only the whisper of the breeze through the curtains and the violent thumping of my heart could be heard.

After hearing my sister’s words, I couldn’t help but swallow, my nerves instantly stretched to their breaking point.

What was the problem? Where exactly had things gone wrong?

Confusion assailed my mind, leaving me utterly bewildered, so I could only silently await Chen Si Yi’s revelation of the mystery.

However,

After a long wait, my sister, who was still holding me, remained silent.

She maintained her playful smile, and after rubbing my head and pinching my cheek, she suddenly released her grip, freeing me from her embrace.

“—Eh?”

It was so sudden that, not having fully recovered my senses, I instinctively cried out, my muddled utterance sounding exceptionally cute.

“Oh, come on, I was just teasing you two. Why are you so nervous?”

Seeing my obvious panic, Chen Si Yi couldn’t hold back her laughter, covering her mouth as she giggled. Her sweet voice, as melodious as wind chimes, made Serena and me, who stood nearby, exchange a bewildered glance.

‘Well… it looks like everything’s alright now, doesn’t it?’

I winked at Serena, silently communicating with my eyes.

Understanding my meaning, Serena also winked back, her chest rising and falling. Her expression seemed to convey: ‘Oh, you scared me to death! I thought I was going to lose this week’s allowance again!’

‘Good heavens, you’re still worried about money at a time like this? You money-grubbing demon, you’re truly beyond saving!’

Frightened by Chen Si Yi’s prank, Serena and I lost all courage to challenge her further.

After she forcibly made us change into identical pink aprons adorned with cat faces, we both walked into the kitchen with grim expressions, ready to begin our cooking lesson.

I stood on a small stool that Serena had brought over, barely able to reach the kitchen counter.

“Alright, let’s start by teaching you how to cut vegetables.”

I took a deep breath, then crouched down to retrieve a kitchen knife and a cutting board from the cabinet.

Truth be told, even though this little girl’s body was small, it possessed surprising strength. I held the heirloom kitchen knife and cutting board without the slightest tremble in my hands.

“Wait a minute, didn’t you say you were going to teach me how to control the heat earlier? Why are we starting with cutting vegetables?”

Seeing me holding the knife with an eager, ready-to-start expression, Chen Si Yi’s displeased snort immediately came from behind me.

“Cutting vegetables is such a simple task, do I really need you to teach me? I’ve known how to do it for ages!”

‘No, no, no, cutting vegetables is far from simple, my dear sister.’

‘If I had to say, the root cause of your terrible cooking is precisely because your vegetables are cut so poorly. Their bizarre, misshapen appearance on the plate makes me uncomfortable just looking at them.’

What’s more, factors like the thickness, shape, and size of the cut vegetables are intrinsically linked to the mastery of heat.

If they are too thick or too thin, too large or too small, it will affect the texture of the ingredients and the way seasonings interact with the food itself.

Therefore, as a result, while the step of cutting vegetables may seem simple, its importance is self-evident.

I explained patiently, word by word. Beside me, my sister, propping her chin, gradually furrowed her brows, revealing a look of profound realization.

“Alright, let’s try it out then.”

I lifted my dainty foot and stepped to the edge of the stool, clearing a space for the cutting board.

“Si Yi, you try it,” I said, turning my head. “I’ll see how you cut vegetables first.”

“Alright, okay…”

My sister, standing behind me, responded, then stepped forward and solemnly took the kitchen knife from my hand.

She narrowed her eyes, took a deep breath, and after patting her chest, her eyes suddenly flew open, dark pupils glinting with a cold, sharp light.

*Whish, whish, whish, whish, whish!*

The sharp blade sliced through the air, the dazzling clang echoing within the kitchen. With each swift chop, the cucumber on the cutting board was brutally hacked into fragments by Chen Si Yi, pieces scattering across the board as viscous juice splattered all over the room.

“Hmph hmph, how was that? Not bad, right?”

Retracting the knife, Chen Si Yi turned her head, offering me a demure smile as she proudly lifted her chin.

“Not bad… my foot!” I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“I clearly said to slice the cucumber, not hack it into pieces! And is this even cutting? This is downright butchering it!”

For some reason, as I watched Chen Si Yi’s utterly chaotic method of chopping the cucumber, a chill suddenly ran down my spine, and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

‘Hmm… I’d better be careful in the future and try not to provoke my sister’s anger.’

I thought this silently to myself, then retrieved the kitchen knife from Chen Si Yi’s hand. After instructing Serena to fetch another cucumber from the refrigerator, I tremblingly placed it on the cutting board and began to demonstrate myself.

*Slice, slice, slice!*

As my hand rose and fell, one cucumber slice after another detached from its main body.

Although I had transformed into a loli, my practiced touch and muscle memory remained fully intact. Each crisp sound of the blade meeting the cutting board was met with a perfectly cut cucumber slice, of moderate thickness and uniform shape and size.

In less than half a minute, the cucumber that had originally lain whole on the cutting board was completely disassembled by me, transformed into perfectly uniform thin slices neatly arranged on a ceramic plate.