The next day, Wenxiu Lord and Severus woke up early for a change.
Groaning against the lingering soreness all over his body, Wenxiu Lord stretched lazily. Once Severus had washed up and changed, Wenxiu Lord sleepily rubbed his eyes, yawning while battling the ache in every muscle as he shuffled in his slippers toward the bathroom.
He was dead tired. Even though he had bought recovery potions in Diagon Alley yesterday and chugged two bottles right before bed, combined with the initial healing charm he had cast on himself on the first day, his physical functions were pretty much back to normal. Still, the exhaustion weighing on his soul made him feel bone-weary every single day, leaving him with nothing but the desire to sleep until the end of time.
Yet, thinking of today's plans and wanting enough energy to brew potions with Severus later, Wenxiu Lord splashed cold water directly onto his face.
Taking a handful of icy winter water to the face was a truly exhilarating wake-up call; Wenxiu Lord felt every pore on his skin snap shut.
When he walked down the stairs, Tobias Snape was nowhere to be seen, nor was Eileen Snape—they must have already left to deliver their handmade goods, just like yesterday.
The only person in the living room was Severus, sitting at the dining table, munching on dry slices of bread with milk while holding a copy of *One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi*.
Wenxiu Lord leaned in for a closer look. *Hah!* It happened to be a detailed profile of a slug, complete with illustrations.
He looked at Severus in sheer admiration. *Sasuga, future Potions Master—reading this trash to stimulate his appetite.*
Between the food and the book, a single glance was enough to completely suppress anyone's appetite.
Even though Wenxiu Lord's current body belonged to a foreigner, his soul harbored a thoroughly Chinese stomach. Locking his gaze onto the meager excuse for breakfast in front of Severus, Wenxiu Lord frowned in disbelief and stared at him. "Is this really what you eat for breakfast?"
"Yeah." Though somewhat baffled by the question, Severus answered anyway, raising a hand to point at the refrigerator. "Your share is in there." With that, his attention snapped right back to his book.
Having missed breakfast for two days straight since waking up in this world, Wenxiu Lord completely lost his patience. He stepped forward, snatched the dry bread right out of Severus's hands, and shoved it into his mouth, swallowing in a few desperate gulps.
Having his food snatched right out of the bat's mouth, Severus looked up in confusion at the silver-haired boy who was now coughing and pounding his chest in a desperate bid not to choke, before thoughtfully handing over his own glass of cold milk.
"Wait for me." Once he could finally breathe again, Wenxiu Lord dropped those words and dashed up to the second floor without waiting for Severus to ask.
When the boy came back down, he was holding a few ingredients in his hands.
He had bought these using Severus's money yesterday at the Asian supermarket they stumbled across on the way to Diagon Alley. After all, this was Britain, a place with a culinary history even shorter than America's. He had originally figured he would whip up something to improve their meals whenever he got sick of the local fare, but he never expected it to come in handy so soon.
Wenxiu Lord set the ingredients down in the kitchen, the tied apron accentuating his slender waist. Without even lifting his head, he told the Severus who had followed him in, "I'll make you breakfast. I guarantee it's delicious."
Ever since graduating from college in his past life, Wenxiu Lord had lived alone. After surviving on takeout for over a year, his stomach finally gave out long before his mental state did, earning him a first-class ticket to the hospital with a gastric ulcer. For the sake of his own body, he had ultimately forced himself to learn how to cook.
Watching Wenxiu Lord expertly prep the ingredients, bathed in the early morning sunlight with his silver hair tied high to reveal his delicate neck, Severus thought the boy looked entirely bathed in warmth, infusing this gloomy, dreary house with a sudden sense of domestic comfort.
This pleasing sight momentarily reminded Severus of his early childhood, before his father went bankrupt, when his mother used to tidy her hair and wear an apron just like this while bustling about the kitchen.
After whipping up a simple batch of vegetable and lean pork congee, Wenxiu Lord turned around and caught Severus standing in the kitchen doorway, staring blankly. He flashed him a brilliant smile.
Snap out of it, Severus felt his heart skip a beat, shaken by the boy's warm smile. He put on a stern, indifferent front, completely ignored Wenxiu Lord, and stiffly turned on his heel to leave the kitchen.
Sitting at the dining table, Severus found it impossible to shake the mental image of the swaying tips of hair against the boy's neck and that bright, radiant smile.
A moment later, Wenxiu Lord emerged from the kitchen carrying a small pot of congee.
"Quick, taste and see how it is." Wenxiu Lord ladled out a large bowl of vegetable and lean pork congee, placed it in front of Severus, and sat down opposite him, resting his chin in his hands as he watched.
Severus scooped up a spoonful and cautiously tasted it. The flavor was a bit unusual, but not bad at all. More importantly, it was hot, and as it slid down into his stomach, it left a spreading warmth. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything hot.
"It's delicious."
"I'm so glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn't be used to it." Hearing this, Wenxiu Lord figured his "Raising Severus" project could officially commence. He had to get the future professor into better physical shape before he eventually left. Beaming, he scooped a bowl for himself as well.
Severus ate a lot that morning. Seeing how much he enjoyed it, Wenxiu Lord promised to make different flavors of congee tomorrow.
After breakfast, Wenxiu Lord casually waved his wand, casting a few Scourgify charms to solve the greasy, troublesome chore of washing dishes.
Stowing the tableware back in the kitchen, the two returned to the bedroom. Consulting *Magical Drafts and Potions*, Wenxiu Lord pulled over a dozen ingredients they would need today from his trunk, then cast multiple protective and warding spells around the room before finally preparing to brew.
Though his brain confidently assured him he knew what he was doing, and Severus was a potions prodigy, it was their first time actually brewing anything, so it was best to be prepared for anything.
Once Severus had set up the cauldron, Wenxiu Lord opened the book and handed it to him.
"Let's brew Dittany Essence today. It's simple, fast, and we'll have plenty of time left to rest afterward before going to see your friend."
Severus placed the book on the shelf beside the cauldron. "Is this the same potion you brought out before?"
"No, that was concentrated Dittany Essence. The names are similar, but the required ingredients, brewing time, and techniques are all different. What we're brewing now is a basic-level potion, while the one I took out earlier is an advanced one," Wenxiu Lord replied, rummaging through the knowledge in his head with a shake of his head.
"Let's get the ingredients prepped first."
"Right, okay."
Just like with casting charms, once Wenxiu Lord actually got his hands dirty, he found he could prep the potion ingredients without the slightest hitch, secretly praising the excellence of his standalone System once again.
Standing nearby, Severus observed Wenxiu Lord's technique against the instructions in the book, noticing that some of his movements differed from the text's descriptions.
Sensing Severus's gaze, Wenxiu Lord looked up and realized the boy was studying his ingredient-preparation methods. "What's wrong? Notice that some of my techniques don't match the book?"
"Yeah." Caught in the act, Severus dropped his covert observation and gave a direct answer.
Without breaking his rhythm, Wenxiu Lord curled his lip and said, "Actually, a lot of ingredients can be handled much faster and better with different methods. That book is pretty ancient, after all."
Hearing this casual dismissal, Severus silently pulled out a notebook and jotted down every single difference he had just observed.
Once the ingredients were prepped, the process grew rather tedious. As long as you kept a close eye on the temperature inside the cauldron, the stirring technique, and the timing for adding ingredients, the rest of the time was spent simply staring blankly at the brewing potion.
Unable to bear the boredom, Wenxiu Lord dumped all the remaining supervision tasks onto Severus while he parked himself in front of the cauldron, watching the medicinal liquid bubble away inside.
The longer he stared, the hungrier he got.
Fixating on the cauldron, Wenxiu Lord recalled the Harry Potter memes he had seen on Bilibili in his past life and turned to Severus. "Hey, Severus, how about we use another cauldron to cook hot pot tonight?"
"Hot pot?" Severus lifted his head, giving Wenxiu Lord a perplexed look.
Wenxiu Lord briefly explained what hot pot was.
As he went on, Severus's expression soured to such a degree that he nearly ruined the potion bubbling in the cauldron.
Mid-sentence, Wenxiu Lord caught sight of Severus's face, which had turned as pitch-black as the bottom of the cauldron, and prudently clamped his mouth shut with a guilty conscience.
Then he heard Severus say through gritted teeth, "Don't even think about it."
Wenxiu Lord pouted, retreating to the bed to sulk in his emo corner.
Giving him a cold snort, Severus turned his attention back to saving the potion he had almost driven to ruin.
About half an hour later, a cauldron of milky-white, shimmering potion was finally complete. Both Wenxiu Lord and Severus were thrilled to see their successful brew.
Wenxiu Lord bottled the potion and handed it to Severus. "The quality of this batch isn't bad. Since I barely had to do anything, you can just take it all. You can sell it at the potion shop later, and I can freeload off your earnings."
Severus looked down at the potion forcibly shoved into his hands, then glanced at Wenxiu Lord, who had rolled back onto the bed to writhe around dramatically. For a moment, he was utterly speechless.
He left one bottle on the desk and put the rest away alongside the potions Wenxiu Lord had given him earlier.
As noon approached, the two tidied up the bedroom, hastily swallowed a simple lunch, changed their clothes, and headed out the door.
Wenxiu Lord had always been curious about what Lily Evans, as described in the books, looked like in reality.
Thinking that he was about to meet a young Lily Evans in person, Wenxiu Lord felt a flutter of excitement, urging Severus to hurry up while they were still in the room.
Constantly being rushed, Severus looked at Wenxiu Lord's unconcealed joy, then recalled his endless, excited questioning from the night before. For a split second, an inexplicable wave of irritation washed over him.