23 Chicken Congee à la Olivia Twyne

But of course, before anything else, Olivia took a shower. The maids gave her a change of clothes: a basic white shirt, navy shorts, and flip-flops. 

"Nice!" Oliver remarked sarcastically. "You look plainer than you already looked."

Olivia swatted him by the arm. 

Once she was done, she immediately headed to the kitchen and began cooking.

The kitchen was 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦! The ceilings were high, and the floor was made of white kitchen tiles. The countertops were made of marble and so expansive that they stretched all over the room.

Meanwhile, Olivia had never seen a place with such a complete set of expensive kitchen appliances. They had it all in this one room, from professional-grade ovens and stovetops to refrigerators and other specialized kitchen gadgets.

The kitchen had an insane amount of storage, with its cabinets made out of oak wood. It has multiple sinks, making it easier for Olivia to wash the dishes--Oh, they had a dishwasher.

Not the machine but an 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 person who washed the dishes.

"I don't like porridge," Oliver grumbled, peering over her shoulder as she rinsed the jasmine rice. "You rinse rice?"

Oliver ordered all the kitchen personnel to leave them alone, so they were the only ones left in the room at the moment.

"Who said I'm making this for you?" Olivia chuckled as she began draining it. "Yes, Oliver. You don't cook rice without rinsing it."

"So what will I eat if you won't cook for me?" Oliver pouted.

"Go have your chefs you're so proud of cook for you."

"But it's not fair!" Oliver whined just like a child.

She rolled her eyes. "The world is innately unfair, Oliver. Go suck it up."

Oliver crossed his arms. This was his default mannerism whenever he was annoyed, Olivia noted.

"Fine," She sighed. "But I thought you're carnivorous? You do know rice porridge has--"

"Yes, I know it has rice." He groaned impatiently. "It's literally its name."

"Okay," Olivia said in a sing-song voice. "I was planning to add a bit of chicken meat, but since you're eating some, I'll add more."

"Yay," He clapped his hands.

"Go away," She shooed him as she boiled the rice with the chicken stock. "Why are you even here?"

"Making sure you don't add some poison," 

Olivia spun around, realizing belatedly that he was a bit too close to her. Blushing, she pushed him away but her strength barely made him move a step backward.

"What was that for?" He scowled.

"Y-y-you're too close!" She turned her back from him. She realized a bit too late that this was a mistake since now she could feel the warmth of his breath against her nape.

'This is why Mom used to tell me not to tie my hair after showering!' Olivia thought to herself, her cheeks flushing a bright crimson.

"Hey--" Azure barged inside the kitchen, causing both Olives to turn their heads to look at him in surprise. "Oliver, don't you think you're being too close to her?"

"Am I?" Oliver tilted his head to the side. 

Olivia wasn't sure if he was feigning ignorance or if he legitimately had no sense of space. Either way, Oliver finally took a step back away from her, and she released a big sigh of relief.

Azure scanned his surroundings, an expression of wonder written all over his face.

"So this is what the kitchen looks like!" He mused.

"I know, right?" Oliver surprisingly agreed.

"You two have never been here before?" Olivia questioned. 

Both of them shook their head.

"There was no need for us to go here before," Oliver answered in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"You never tried to help in cooking--You know what, never mind." Olivia focused on what she was doing instead of asking questions with obvious answers. "Anyway, please kindly leave, Oliver and Azure. You're dis--"

She couldn't even finish her sentence; she heard a loud banging sound.

She immediately spun around, only to see the Twyne brothers (how odd it was to say this) playing and hitting the pots and pans like this was the first time in their lives they'd seen such kitchen utensils.

But judging from the fact that this was the first time they'd been here, it was probably the case. 

"Get out!" Olivia shouted in the sternest voice she could muster. But since she was quite a soft-spoken girl, this sounded scarier than intended.

The two blond Twynes perked up, saluted, and marched away from the kitchen.

Once the door was finally closed, she sighed in relief. She shifted her attention to the uncut vegetables, folding the sleeves of her shirt. 

"Time to blow them away with the chicken congee à la Olivia Twyne!"

***

The maids helped Olivia set up their food on the long dining table.

It only occurred to her now that it was quite embarrassing to serve such a simple meal to two rich kids who were used to eating meals prepared by Michelin chefs.

But, well, no turning back now.

Azure dipped in his spoon on his soup. "Bon appetite--" 

"Wait," Olivia interrupted. "Where's Mo--Missus Twyne?"

Only the three of them, some maids and Joe, were in the dining room. The Twyne matriarch was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry, Miss Olivia," Joe spoke, surprising the Twyne brothers because their servants rarely talk in their presence unless directly addressed by them. "But--"

"Just 'Olivia,' please." She interjected.

"Olivia," Joe nodded. "Kindly address Miss Lyn as Miss Lyn."

"Why's that?" Olivia asked curiously. 

"She doesn't go with our last name," Oliver explained.

"Oh?" Olivia mused; her tone was a mix of curiosity and surprise. "Why so--"

"Wow!" Azure exclaimed. "This tastes amazing, Olivia!"

Olivia forced a smile, noting that Azure intentionally changed the topic but went along with him.

"I'm glad you liked it." Olivia beamed from the other end of the table, sitting close to Oliver. "What's your thoughts, Oliver?"

Oliver didn't respond. Instead, he had a look of hesitant approval on his face. 

"This is good," Oliver admitted after a while. "I thought you'd be useless in our house, but I think I can use you."

Olivia scowled. 

"What does that supposed to mean?"

Ignoring her tone, Oliver spoke.

"I hereby assign you as one of our chefs."

"What?" Olivia deadpanned.

"That's a good idea, Oliver!" Azure clasped his hands together.

"Well, I did plan to help with the cooking, but to be assigned as one of your official chefs is..." Olivia trailed off, not knowing what to feel about this.

"I'm giving you the chance to earn your keep," He leaned his back on his chair, crossing his legs. "Isn't that what you wanted, Chef Olivia?"