“Xinyi, you’re lucky.” Lu Xiulan said with a bitter smile.
Lu Xinyi turned her head to her cousin, noticing the grim and sad expression on her face. Did she have a problem?
Like what Shen Yi said earlier, he drove her back home with Lu Xiulan. Her car that was forgotten in the parking lot would be retrieved by one of his employees. As soon as he dropped off his wife at home, Shen Yi went back to work.
“How so?” Lu Xinyi asked. She was sitting on the floor, playing with her two dogs while Lu Xiulan was on the couch having tea. They just finished watching a horror movie.
“Shen Yi seems to care for you. I wish I could experience the same concern, too.” Lu Xiulan sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “How many frogs I should kiss before I meet my prince charming?”
“I thought you’re seeing someone from County D?” Lu Xinyi patted Mallow’s head before giving him a treat.
“No, we aren’t together.” Lu Xiulan laughed as she put down her cup on the coffee table.
“But I thought you two are doing well.” Lu Xinyi remembered that Lu Xiulan met someone at her work and started seeing him.
“Xinyi, you haven’t dated anyone aside from Gong Yijun, right? Women might be able to fake orgasms, but men can fake a whole relationship.” Lu Xiulan joined her cousin on the floor and played with Milktea who had been fighting with Mallow to get Lu Xinyi’s attention.
“What happened? He cheated on you?”
“No. How could he cheat on me when we aren’t even together?” Xiulan passed the bottle of water to Lu Xinyi. Lu Xinyi opened the cap and poured the content on the empty bowl for her dogs.
“He isn’t ready to commit to you?”
Lu Xiulan shrugged before leaning her back against the couch behind her. Her eyes looked up at the wide, high ceiling of Shen Yi’s house.
“It’s painful to wait or forget someone, but I think it’s more painful when you don’t know whether to wait or forget.”
Lu Xinyi laid on the floor with her head on Lu Xiulan’s lap. She hadn’t seen her cousin for months, and this was the first time she saw her sad like this.
“Love sucks,” Lu Xinyi concluded.
“Indeed. Love sucks,” Lu Xiulan agreed. “Hey, do you think Gong Yijun will never return Uncle’s recipe book he took from you?”
Lu Xinyi grimaced. She wasn’t expecting that he would return it to her. When his mother’s cafe started to lose customers, Gong Yijun was desperate to help his mother save their family business.
One time, he discovered Lu Xinyi’s recipe book in her room when he paid a visit to her apartment and took it without her permission. Of course, she discovered what he did and asked him to give it back. Gong Yijun refused but offered her a job in their cafe instead. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
Thinking about it, Lu Xinyi realized why he offered her to stay at his apartment when she was kicked out from her last place. The bastard was eyeing at the other books!
“No, I don’t think so. He took it three years ago, and I never saw it since then.” Lu Xinyi replied.
“What? That’s disappointing. I was hoping I can taste some of Uncle’s desserts again. It’s been a long time since I tasted it.” Lu Xiulan pouted, her hand ran on the soft fur of Milktea.
“Didn’t he teach us how to make your favorite Hot Banana in Coconut MIlk?” Lu Xinyi asked.
“But that’s basic, Xinyi! What I don’t understand is why can’t I make it delicious like yours and Uncle’s. I know! Make me one now!”
Lu Xiulan shook her cousin’s shoulders to get up and make her the dessert she was craving for.
“What? Right now? But we already ate a box of pizza.”
Lu Xiulan persisted and dragged Lu Xinyi to the kitchen. They washed their hands before preparing the ingredients.
“You’re lucky Madam Jin just did shopping earlier. We have some coconut milk in the fridge.” Lu Xinyi watched as her cousin raided their fridge. She was already munching on a banana when she gave Lu Xinyi the ingredients she needed.
“I’ll help you. I’ll chop the bananas while you boil the coconut milk. Let me see how much sugar you put on it, okay?” Lu Xiulan requested.
“I only need two bananas, Xiulan, and please don’t eat the rest of it.”
In a medium saucepan, Lu Xinyi brought a cup of coconut milk to a boil while Xiulan chopped the bananas. Once it started to boil, she called her cousin to see how much sugar and ground cinnamon she would add. She added the sugar and cinnamon, then stirred them in the mixture to dissolve.
“I don’t know how you do it, Xiulan, but Dad said we have to add two tablespoons of sugar and a quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon for every cup of coconut milk. Just how much do you add in yours?”
Lu Xiulan scratched her head and laughed awkwardly. She didn’t really measure the ingredients whenever she cooks. “I don’t know,” she confessed.
“You don’t know?”
Lu Xiulan shook her head.”No, but I usually put more sugar than cinnamon. You know I don’t like the taste of cinnamon.”
Lu Xinyi added the bananas and brought back to boil. She then turned down the heat and simmered for a few more minutes until the bananas became tender. Lu Xiulan prepared small bowls and passed it to Lu Xinyi. She was already drooling at the scent of it.
“Hey, I’m just wondering. Have you ever met your fiance?” Lu Xiulan asked.
Xinyi gave her a look before turning off the heat and served some to her cousin. Lu Xiulan happily dug into her favorite childhood dessert. This was one of those dishes she would always request for her uncle to make when he was still alive.
“Whose fiance?” Shen Yi’s voice echoed within the kitchen as he stepped in, removing the irritating tie on his neck. The scent of light cinnamon and coconut milk lured him to check the kitchen. He was sure his wife was cooking something delicious again.
