Cooking?
She had just ranted in her memo about how much she wanted to eat Chi Xu's cooking, and now it was about to happen?
Wasn't she just incredibly lucky?
Jiang Yuan beamed with joy. However, she still harbored doubts. He might be good at cooking noodles, but cooking dishes was a whole different ballgame.
"Can you cook?" she asked straightforwardly, instantly forgetting about her phone. "There are only vegetables at home. There's no meat."
"It's okay. There's a grocery delivery service now. What would you like to eat first?" Chi Xu opened a food delivery app, selected a nearby supermarket, and waited for Jiang Yuan to speak.
Actually, Jiang Yuan had just casually ranted in her memo. She felt a bit bad about bothering Chi Xu to cook for her. "Maybe we should just forget it. It's too much trouble."
"It's not trouble. I've got nothing better to do anyway." Seeing that Jiang Yuan remained silent for a while, Chi Xu glanced up at her. "If you don't say anything, I'll just choose on my own."
"Then choose something simple and easy." Feeling apologetic, Jiang Yuan planned to help out when the groceries arrived.
Right, she definitely couldn't let Chi Xu wash the dishes again.
She wasn't some delicate young lady who never did any housework.
Chi Xu thought about Jiang Yuan's taste when she was a kid. She liked spicy food. He selected the ingredients and some kitchen utensils, placed the order, and put away his phone.
Stuffed green peppers, spicy chicken, and stir - fried Chinese cabbage.
Three dishes should be enough for two people.
In less than half an hour, the delivery guy brought the groceries up. Chi Xu carried a big bag.
Jiang Yuan followed him into the kitchen.
All the ingredients were laid out on the kitchen counter, along with a knife, a meat grinder, bowls, chopsticks, and other things.
"How much did all these cost? I'll transfer the money to you later. Let's split the bill."
Jiang Yuan pointed at these things. Thinking about the fact that she was going to seduce Chi Xu and yet still spend his money, she wondered if she was being too excessive.
"No need." Chi Xu paused for a moment and continued, "I would have cooked this much whether you came or not."
The implication was that it wasn't specifically for her.
Jiang Yuan was both amused and annoyed. She punched his shoulder and smoothly changed the topic. "Alright, let's start cooking quickly. I'm starving."
For a while, the sounds of running water and chopping filled the kitchen.
While Chi Xu was chopping vegetables, Jiang Yuan was peeling garlic.
When Chi Xu was stuffing the meat into the peppers, Jiang Yuan started cooking the rice.
He turned on the gas, poured in the lard. When the lard was hot, he poured in the chicken.
The oil "crackled" and splashed. Chi Xu was startled and quickly took a step back. "I forgot to drain the water from the chicken. Yuanyuan, Yuanyuan, the apron, the apron."
Seeing his flustered appearance, Jiang Yuan began to wonder if Chi Xu's cooking would be edible.
She took out the apron from the supermarket bag and handed it to him.
Chi Xu glanced at it, held the spatula to stir - fry the chicken, and rested his other hand on the handle of the pan, flipping it occasionally.
"Yuanyuan, can you tie it for me? I'm busy right now."
Busy?
Jiang Yuan tilted her head and stared at Chi Xu's seemingly busy actions.
Couldn't he just turn off the fire and tie it on in less than a minute?
As if sensing what Jiang Yuan was thinking, Chi Xu said aggrievedly, "Turning off the fire suddenly will affect the taste, and if I don't stir - fry the chicken, it will stick to the pan."
Fine. Jiang Yuan unfolded the apron and studied it.
Then she walked behind Chi Xu, gently stood on tiptoe, and said, "Head."
Chi Xu obediently poked his head out. Jiang Yuan put the apron on him, holding the long strings in her hand. She carefully tightened the apron around him, trying not to touch his waist.
After doing all this, Jiang Yuan quickly took a step back, as if trying to escape the atmosphere that made her heart race.
Why did she feel that since going to the police station in the morning, her heart was becoming more and more out of control?
It was beating fast and powerfully.
"Um, I just remembered I have something to do. I, I'll go back to my room first. Remember to call me if you need any help." Jiang Yuan stammered and then fled.
Chi Xu watched her leave, feeling happy.
Staying in the same house as Jiang Yuan was like going back to three years ago when nothing had changed.
The two years of suffering and humiliation were gradually being filled with color because of Jiang Yuan's arrival.
He suddenly became a bit curious about how Jiang Yuan had been during the three years when he was away.
The curiosity welled up in him.
All along, he had adhered to the principle of not prying into each other's past, rarely talking about those years.
Maybe he was slowly letting go and accepting himself, he thought.
It had been half an hour by the time the two meat dishes and one vegetable dish were all out of the pan.
Jiang Yuan had been hiding in her room but came out following the smell.
The dining table was filled with steaming dishes, looking colorful and smelling delicious.
Chi Xu was just putting the last plate of green vegetables on the table. When he saw Jiang Yuan coming out of the room, staring hungrily at the dishes and almost drooling, he couldn't help but laugh. He handed her a pair of chopsticks and said softly, "Would you like to try one?"
Jiang Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. She immediately picked up a piece of chicken and put it in her mouth. After chewing carefully, she immediately gave him a thumbs - up.
It had seemed so unreliable when he was cooking, but unexpectedly, the taste was really good.
Chi Xu went back to the kitchen to get two bowls of rice and placed them on either side of the dining table.
The two of them pulled out their chairs and sat down. By then, night had fallen. The warm - colored lights bathed the dining room and shone in the girl's eyes, creating a warm atmosphere.
Jiang Yuan ate very contentedly. Apart from the initial praise, she just buried her head and ate without saying a word.
Chi Xu took a few bites, propped his head up, and watched Jiang Yuan with a smile.
He was thinking. Was it really a good idea to avoid talking about what had happened back then?
How lucky he was to meet Jiang Yuan again in the vast sea of people.
If he had missed her, he might have missed her for good.
The simple warmth at this moment was something he had never imagined before.
"She still resents your departure back then. She's been brooding over it and doesn't want to have anything to do with you again."
Like a thunderbolt, these words exploded in his mind. Chi Xu's eyes darkened, and he tightened his lips.
Of course, he knew that his departure would make Jiang Yuan dislike him. He just didn't expect it to be this serious.
Should he bring up this topic?
Chi Xu was afraid. He was afraid that once he opened this Pandora's box, the simple and short - lived warmth between them would disappear forever.
He also always knew that Jiang Yuan had other motives for approaching him. She no longer liked him; instead, she hated and resented him and even wished to avoid him and never see him again.
But this was always the shackle between them.
He was afraid that if Jiang Yuan knew about the embarrassed and down - and - out self during those two years, he would no longer be the Chi Xu in her heart.
He was also worried that if he brought up his departure back then, Jiang Yuan would lose interest and just stay away from him.
Chi Xu's heart was constantly struggling. The tangled emotions were like vines growing wildly in his heart.
He looked at Jiang Yuan, feeling like a person carefully holding a fragile treasure, afraid that if he was not careful, the treasure would shatter and could never be repaired.