“Hey, don't dig into the leftovers. I can cook, you know. What do you want? I'll make it for you."

Gifford was surprised. This girl was much nicer than Rika. He asked in disbelief, "You can cook?" She already told him that, but apparently he wasn't paying that much attention. How would she have taken care of her grandfather otherwise?

Erica was two years older than Chantel but was still very childish. She couldn't even hold a pan steadily. Fortunately, she married Matthew.

She was his problem now.

Most girls in the Leonard family weren't particularly adept with stove or pan. Yvette only knew how to boil eggs, and almost nothing else.

Gifford was a little worried for Yvette. She was going to marry into the Baker family. He wondered if her inability to cook would hurt her chances of domestic bliss.

But as spoiled as Rika was, her marriage to Matthew seemed pretty solid. If she got on his nerves, Matthew never let that show.

Thinking of this, Gifford had to admit that Erica was really Lucky to marry into the Hilton family.

“Yes, I can cook. What do you want to eat?" Chantel asked again.

Gifford shook his head.

“I'm not picky. Fix whatever you want. You make it, I'll eat it." After all, it was almost midnight. He didn't want to keep her up half the night cooking for him.

“Okay.”

So Chantel turned on burners and started to prep a basic meal. Gifford had nothing to do, so he watched her.

People always assumed that kids who grew up in the countryside learned how to take care of their family. Now it Looked Like that was true.

Chantel was good at everything from washing vegetables to cooking.

Meanwhile, Gifford made small talk.

"Did you cook at home a lot?"

“Oh yeah. My grandpa would feed the chickens and cattle, and I'd have to fix the meals."

“So how do you like it here?"

Chantel turned around and nodded at him seriously.

"It's nice. Your parents have been good to me. And Ethan's so cute!" Chantel wondered about Ethan, like who his mom was. She guessed it had to be Erica or

Yvette. But when she tried to confirm these guesses with Blair, she shut the young girl down.

So, finally, she stopped asking.

“That's cool."

Soon, the kitchen was filled with the delicious odors of a freshly cooked meal. She'd fixed a large bowl of braised noodles with tomato and egg.