"Hahaha," Erica giggled awkwardly. "Are you saying that I'm going to have to spend the rest of my life with you?"
Matthew's composure was as calm and monotonous as Erica's awkwardness. "Yes."
Erica was speechless. She retorted in a low voice, "I think you have been sent into my life to help me grow and develop into a better person." The thought wasn't exactly wrong. He had made her realize that someone could be as cold and domineering as he was. However, he changed the topic.
"For the last time, are you going to eat hot pot or not?" he asked.
Erica shook her head and boldly made a demand despite Matthew's gloomy face. "I want to eat some noodles, and I want you to make them for me!" 'Men like Matthew tend to be perfect. Even if they aren't they want to be. I haven't tasted his cooking yet, but he must be good, ' she was thinking.
Casting a cold glance at her, Matthew replied, "Alright, but just this once."
"Deal!" Erica chuckled. But then…
"Hang on! Aren't you drunk? Are you sober enough to cook?"
A faint trace of emotion flashed through Matthew's eyes, but it was gone long before Erica could see it clearly. Then came the assurance which was not assuring enough. "You frightened me just now. So much that I got sober instantly."
"That's good! Now, go. Go cook something for me." She couldn't wait to taste something he made.
He stood up from the edge of the bed and heard her add, "Hey Matthew, you look dashing no matter what you wear! If you keep working hard, then maybe you will become the most handsome man ever! Maybe then even Aaron won't be able to hold a candle against you."
Her tone had been naughty, but Matthew merely began to take off his jacket with his back to her. Then he sneered, "I don't care!"
Erica rolled her eyes. 'Hum! Such an arrogant man!'
When he went downstairs, she followed him into the kitchen.
Before opening the walk-in fridge, which opened on the left side of the kitchen, he looked back at her. She was seemingly excited. He asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I am going to find something to eat before the noodles are ready. I know it can take a while." The fridge was at least twenty square meters large. Even if she didn't get something to eat there, it would still feel pretty great to see its magnitude.
The last time she had visited his villa, she had wanted to see the fridge but then had forgotten about it completely when thinking about the wine cellar.
Matthew fell silent and let her follow him inside.
When the doors of the fridge were opened, Erica couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" It was so well stocked and Matthew had organized it remarkably well.
Organic vegetables, fresh fruits, drinks, and various other assortment of food and drinks were set up in their own sections.
Matthew cast a quick glance at the stunned Erica, and asked with a frown, "What kind of noodles do you like?"
Erica said, "Whatever you cook." Then she picked up a date and asked, "Can I eat these things?"
"What do you think?" With that, he walked out into the kitchen, carrying a few things in his arms.
Erica didn't mind his attitude. She was still stunned at how unbelievably quick he had been at agreeing to cook for her. She had thought it would be impossible. But the man had walked right into the kitchen without protesting.
His hands were mainly used for signing documents. It was impressive enough that he was going to cook for her. Thus, she would just ignore his unfriendly tone.
After a while, Erica came ambling out of the fridge with a can of coke and some snacks in her hands.
She stopped near the man who was skillfully washing the pot, boiling water and chopping vegetables at an expert pace.
Erica walked up to him while chewing a date. Then she picked another date from her palm and brought it to his lips. She passed a smile. "Chef Matthew, here, please have a date!"
When Matthew saw that her cheek was bulging due to the date in her mouth, he asked, "Did you wash your hands?"
Erica went into a daze; she hadn't. Then she recovered. "Don't worry! Being exposed to germs will help you boost you immunity. Now open up!"
"Take that away from me!" he snapped; the man was a complete germ-o-phobe.
"You are working very hard in cooking those noodles for me, so I will ignore your attitude for now. But still, open wide!"
"No, I—" As soon as he opened his mouth to speak again, she stuffed the date into his mouth quickly.
"Hahaha." She laughed triumphantly.
Matthew's face darkened with embarrassment. Just as he was about to turn to the trash can and spat it out, Erica, who could sense his intention, spoke up. "Do you really despise me that much?"
He gave up on the idea of spitting it out when he heard that.
Seeing that her words had worked, she continued, "I ate the date without washing my hands too. If you don't believe me, I'll eat one more just to show you!"
She put another date into her mouth and chuckled, "Hmm, so sweet! Where did you buy them? I am gonna buy four pounds myself tomorrow."
Matthew maneuvered the date to the left side of his mouth, raised the kitchen knife and waved it in front of her. "Get out!"
The light reflected from the sharp kitchen knife glared into her eyes. Erica was so scared that she almost swallowed the date in her mouth. She pleaded as she ran out, "Calm down! Don't forget you're a gentleman."
She had run into the living room by the time she had finished those words. Only then did she look back towards the kitchen.
He was still engrossed in chopping the vegetables. Since his back was to her, she couldn't see if he had swallowed the date or spat it out.
Just as Matthew thought that Erica had finally behaved herself, she walked into the kitchen several minutes later once again.
Watching him unpacking a packet of ham, she said, "Hey, I can't believe you have… Huh? What kind of meat is that? Is there only a single slice in that package?"
The man didn't turn his head. "It's called Iberian ham. If soaked in warm water first and then cooked with fresh tomatoes, it tastes very good."
'Iberian ham?' Erica was curious. She absent-mindedly picked up the package he had torn off, and put an imported cherry into his mouth with the other hand.
While doing so, she accidentally touched his lips and was surprised at how soft they were.
He pulled a long face, but she never noticed that. She was busy inspecting the ham package which had a lot of English stuff written on it.
She turned the package around and found a price tag on.
'43 dollars… Just one slice? That's expensive!' She looked at the ham in his hand in astonishment. Just how much could it be? Fifty grams, maybe? 43 dollars for that? What was this meat? Some sacred stuff or what?
Erica figured that if Wesley ever came to know that they were living such a luxurious life, he would come and beat up Matthew.
She silently left the kitchen, chewing a cherry she had just put in. While on her way, she spat out the seed into the kitchen trash can.
About half an hour later, Matthew put a bowl of noodles on the table and called her out. She was texting Rhea in the living room. "Your noodles are ready."
"Coming!"
Erica put her phone away immediately and ran into the dining room. Just as she was about to sit down, Matthew came back from the kitchen with a plate of sliced cantaloupe covered with some ham, and ordered, "Go wash your hands first!"
She waved at him. "I just washed them."
"When?"
"When I washed the cherries." Erica wondered why the fuss.
"Go wash them again!" he ordered.
'Why is he so obsessed with cleanliness and washing hands?' She glanced at the seafood noodles, hesitated and argued, "Do I really have to? I am not going to eat with my hands anyway…" She was not a cleanliness freak.
Matthew insisted, "Yes! Wash them!"
She sighed in exasperation, and took a whiff of the noodles before reluctantly going to wash her hands.
