Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Less than two days later, Wen Xinya received the news of Ning Shuqian getting stabbed in the hospital. Unfortunately, the knife did not actually injure Ning Shuqian seriously and she was merely slashed on the arm. Due to the fact that she was in the hospital, her wound was attended to in time and she didn’t suffer from excessive blood loss.
However, Ning Shuqian was scared soulless and insisted on being transferred to another hospital.
Feeling extremely indignant, Wen Xinya barked. “Shen Mengting injured you and made you lose so much blood. Why did you get your people to just slash Ning Shuqian? You let her off easy!”
Si Yiyan remained silent while grinning.
Wen Xinya stroked his wound gently, for fear that she would accidentally hurt him. “Although I don’t wish to get you embroiled in my feud with Ning Shuqian, you can’t let her off easily this time because she has gotten you seriously wounded. How could you just let her off so simply? Didn’t you say that you were going to stab her? Just stab her in any way that you’d like so long as you don’t kill her.”
Wen Xinya thought that he had spared Ning Shuqian on her account and thus, decided to give him the green light.
Si Yiyan held her hand and interlocked fingers with her. “I know that I’ve let her off easy by merely slashing her. However, letting her live in constant fear and paranoia is the greatest torture. She’d feel as if her life is in danger at every single waking moment. That way, she’d learn her lesson and remember not to harm you.”
Wen Xinya looked at Si Yiyan and said, “Si Yiyan, you really know how to play with one’s mind.”
Fear was the humans’ greatest enemy. Once the seeds of fear had been planted, they’d develop into inner demons that would stay deep within the labyrinths of one’s heart.
Playing mind games and tampering with humanity was something that was frowned upon and hence, he did not wish to go into detail about it, especially not with the woman he loved. Hence, he changed the subject and asked, “What’s that smell?”
A fragrant aroma of herbs filled the air. It came from the medicinal soups that Wen Xinya made.
“Ah! My herbal soup!” Wen Xinya exclaimed upon the sudden realization that she had forgotten about the soup she was brewing. She sprung up from his embrace and darted out of the study.
She had completely lost her usual composure.
Si Yiyan followed Wen Xinya to the kitchen, where his senses were infiltrated by the pleasant and appetizing aroma of traditional Chinese herbs.
Wen Xinya had excellent culinary skills, which had been taken to greater heights ever since she learned about Traditional Chinese Medicine from Du Shinan. She had begun researching on tonic soups and trying her hands at different recipes.
“Thank God we came just in time. Otherwise, my efforts would have gone in vain,” Wen Xinya said while cutting some green onions. She had gone through painstaking efforts to prepare and brew a pot of herbal soup that contained lots of rare and precious herbs that would aid in replenishing blood, as well as eel that was high in protein. Protein was essential for wound recovery and had disinfecting properties. The soup would aid in replenishing blood, strengthening the spleen, nourishing the liver and kidneys, as well as repairing wounds. It was perfect for Si Yiyan.
“I feel like the happiest man in this world,” Si Yiyan said, hugging her gently from behind and resting his head on her shoulder while watching her cut the green onions with finesse. A warm and fuzzy feeling filled his heart.
Wen Xinya burst into laughter and jested. “Si Yiyan, you’re such a drama queen!”
Si Yiyan kissed her earlobe gently and said, “Wen Xinya, the very first time I tasted your cooking, was in the Mo Family home. Back then, you also cooked a dish made with eel. However, it wasn’t for me. Back then, I started to picture you having an apron wrapped around your waist and cooking me some soup.”
Wen Xinya recalled the first time that she had made a pot of herbal soup using eel and Goji berries for her grandfather. Si Yiyan ate very little and very slowly during that meal.
Si Yiyan asked softly, “Where did you pick up such great culinary skills from?”
To his knowledge, she did not have any opportunities to learn cooking during the first fifteen years of her life. Neither did she get the chance to after reuniting with the Wen Family. Hence, he found it rather peculiar that she possessed top-notch culinary skills that were comparable to those of Michelin-star chefs.
Wen Xinya froze in shock and accidentally cut herself with the knife. “Ah!” she shrieked in pain.
“Xinya, did you cut your finger? Let me have a look,” Si Yiyan said in shock, frantically grabbing her hand to check for any serious wounds. He discovered that her beautiful pair of hands were still intact, although she had accidentally cut off a small bit of her index fingernail.
Wen Xinya had turned a little pale. After calming herself down, she said, “I’m alright. I just cut my fingernail by accident.”
She could not help but be reminded of Chu Jingnan, whom she had bumped into at the restaurant near school yesterday. In fact, she had picked up cooking in order to impress Chu Jingnan in her previous lifetime. However, Chu Jingnan had never tasted the food that she made. Ever since Chu Jingnan and Xia Ruya got together in the previous lifetime, Wen Xinya stopped cooking completely. She initially thought that she had learned how to cook for nothing. Yet… she was given another go at life and her superb culinary skills finally came in handy in this lifetime, where she cooked for the man she loved.
This time, her intentions were different from those in her previous lifetime. She cooked for Si Yiyan purely because she found joy in it. It was perhaps, genuine bliss.
“Why were you so careless? Fortunately, you didn’t cut your flesh. Although I’d like to go through thick and thin with you, I don’t want you to suffer together with me,” Si Yiyan said while touching her thumb gently with his finger.
Despite knowing that he meant that he did not want her to be injured, Wen Xinya pulled a long face deliberately and asked, “I remember the vows exchanged during weddings include staying by each other’s side during times of wealth and poverty, pain and illness, until death does the couple part. If you don’t want to suffer with me, who do you want to do it with?”
Si Yiyan kissed her fingertip and said, “I’ll take the suffering and pain while you enjoy the bliss.”
Despite feeling pleased and overjoyed, Wen Xinya punched his chest teasingly and said, “What a male chauvinist you are.”
“It’s such a shame that your pretty fingernail has been cut off. I reckon it’d take some time for it to grow out again,” Si Yiyan remarked, finding it a pity.
He had no idea why she had stiffened and grown flustered the moment he mentioned about her culinary skills, so much that she even cut herself by accident. He had sensed the change within her at that instant.
Wen Xinya retracted her hand and nudged him out of the kitchen. “Hurry and go out. Men should stay away from the kitchen. Don’t distract me, lest I accidentally cut my finger again.”
Si Yiyan looked into her bright, clear and mesmerizing eyes. It was as if the shift in her mood was completely seamless.
