Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
He opened the balcony door all the way and made way for Yu Zi to come in with her phone in her hand.
Yan Huaian was at a loss for a moment before deciding to ask her, “Your… fiancé, did he misunderstand?”
Yu Zi stopped in her tracks for a second before continuing to walk toward the kitchen. Then, she replied, “We broke up. The engagement fell through.”
“I’m sorry,” Yan Huaian said. At the same time, he struggled to stop the corners of his mouth from arching upward. It looked like his face muscles were having spasms.
Thankfully Yu Zi had her head lowered down, so she did not notice this.
“If you’re… willing to share, I’ll be your ears. If you’re not, then I won’t ask anymore,” Yan Huaian said. In reality, he was immensely curious about it.
“It’s nothing really. It’s… let’s just say our families think differently. The elders were not quite satisfied.” Yu Zi explained briefly, obviously not wanting to talk about it anymore.
Yan Huaian pondered quietly for a moment and decided not to ask further.
When she returned to the kitchen, she discovered the fried beans that she had been frying halfway had been thoroughly cooked by him. It seemed like he had started cooking some sort of beef brisket dish with tomatoes now.
Yan Huaian felt embarrassed and said, “Do you mind that I took the initiative to make this? When we had lunch the other day, I saw you ordered a bowl of tomato soup. So, I was thinking you wouldn’t hate the taste of it.”
Yu Zi smiled as she nodded. “I like them.”
Yan Huaian showed a relieved expression, but he noticed Yu Zi hesitating, which made him ask her, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really. It’s just that when you cooking beef brisket with tomatoes, do you usually put soy sauce in it?” Yu Zi asked.
Yan Huaian choked at her question.
Alright, he could admit that he was a man that was full of schemes. When Yu Zi’s cell phone rang, he ‘accidentally’ glanced at the screen and knew that it was Yu Zi’s boyfriend calling her.
Hence, he deliberately wanted to make his presence known when she was on the phone with him, just so that he would misunderstand. He noticed the atmosphere yesterday, so it was clear that something was going on with Yu Zi and Yu Jingchen. However, he did not expect them to have actually broken up.
Asking for the soy sauce was an excuse he thought of in the heat of the moment, and he forgot that he was making beef brisket with tomatoes.
Thus, after hearing Yu Zi’s question, Yan Huaian was suddenly at a loss for words. He rubbed his nose before replying, “Hmm, don’t you usually put soy sauce when you’re cooking beef brisket with tomatoes?”
“I never have. Have you been doing it this whole time?” Yu Zi giggled as she asked. She was not suspicious of him at all.
Since Yan Huaian was a grown man, he was not able to cook for himself often. Moreover, everyone had different habits when it came to their choice of seasoning.
Yan Huaian was unclear about this too, but he reckoned that it would not make much of a difference if he added a little bit anyway.
Yan Huaian shook his head. “It’s my first time making this, so I wasn’t sure. I was contemplating whether it needed some.”
Yu Zi laughed when she saw Yan Huaian’s clueless expression. She had mixed feelings about it though, as it was a striking contrast to his powerful personality. She did not expect the swift and decisive man at work to be this uncoordinated at home.
The lousy frame of mind she was in after talking with Yue Jingchen slowly dissipated as she laughed at the man in front of her. She immediately felt more relaxed now.
“You should go and sit down in the living room. I’ll finish up,” Yu Zi said.
“I came here for the first time today, and I’m already freeloading off you. You need to at least give me a chance to express my gratitude.” Yan Huaian chuckled as he spoke. Before they knew it, they were no longer so unfamiliar with each other and were soon getting comfortable around each other.
The only thing that bothered Yu Zu was the fact that Yan Huaian constantly had an electrifying gaze when he was talking.
Yu Zi could hardly bear to have any eye contact with him.
He just so happened to have a benevolent gaze as well, so it seemed like he had no other emotions in his eyes. However, she ended up being the one that did not dare to meet his gaze, as if she was the one having wicked thoughts.
Yu Zi’s eye drifted away and fell to his shoulder. She fixed her gaze on it as she said, “You’ve brought wine over as well. Furthermore, it’s your first time coming over for a visit. How can I let you do all the work? Also, didn’t you already finish up a dish for me?”
Yan Huaian noticed Yu Zi’s peculiar behavior and held in the grin that was forming at the corner of his mouth. He did not insist further, but he adjusted his tone and chuckled lightly as he said, “Alright. I’ll go over there and wait.”
The sudden low and magnetic voice pierced straight through Yu Zi’s heart. Her face flushed unconsciously, and she felt her ears heat up.
She thought to herself, ‘The man’s just too charming. It’d be unusual if I felt nothing around him.’
The problem was that she had just broken up, and thus, had no interest in these matters. Nor could she lift her spirits immediately and start a new relationship. There was a feeling of admiration when facing Yan Huaian, but she had never thought of him in that way.
Yu Zi heaved a sigh of relief when she closed the kitchen door after Yan Huaian had left the kitchen.
Even though her heart was strong, Yan Huaian’s presence still had an influence over her. It was if the indoor space had suddenly become tighter and the temperature inside was rising unceasingly.
It was not until he left the room that the temperature started to drop again.
Yu Zi touched her face and was startled by how hot it felt. She did not expect it to be scalding hot.
She quickly turned on the faucet and washed her hands with cold water. Her palms quickly cooled down, so she dried them before covering her cheeks with them. Then, she patted it several times to cool it down as she sighed quietly. Only then did she continue her cooking.
Yu Zi cooked up two types of green vegetables. In addition to the dried green beans from earlier, and a bowl of beef brisket with tomato, she also prepared plate of cold enoki mushroom salad. It was mixed in with shreds of cucumber and a few drops of chili oil, making it crisp and refreshing.
Yan Huaian was very polite about it and even had a second bowl of rice.
Yu Zi worked up an appetite too after watching him eat it so voraciously. She was initially not that hungry and was only planning to cook one dish. However, Yan Huaian gave her the appetite to eat up, and her mood became increasingly good.
“I didn’t expect you to cook so well.” Yu Zi said with a smile, unable to hide her astonishment.
Although Yan Huaian had only half-prepared the beef brisket with tomatoes, the base of it was good, and she actually did not need to add anything more to it.
In truth, she was quite amazed that he was able to cook at all. She reckoned that his cooking skills were limited to being able to prepare a dish thoroughly without it being undercooked. However, she did not expect him to be able to make a dish look and taste great.
Yan Huaian could not control his laughter, “Please don’t say it like that. One of the dishes was already cooked midway by you; I only added fire to it. The other dish was only prepared by me, and you’re the one that finished it off. In the end, it’s all your craftsmanship, not mine.”
Yu Zi let out an, “Ah.” The green bean she was holding with her chopstick fell into her bowl, “If… If you put it that way, it feels like I’m bragging about myself.”
Yan Huaian grinned and let out a contented sigh. “It’s been a while since I’ve been so happy when eating a meal.”
Yu Zi froze for a moment and did not know how to respond. Then, she heard Yan Huaian explain, “I usually eat by myself. To have someone as a companion and to be able to chat while eating is quite nice.”
Yu Zi quickly let out a dry laugh upon hearing this.
Yan Huaian knew that Yu Zi did not want to fall into this routine, so he pursed his lips and smiled faintly. Then, he said, “Can you let me come here for a meal every once in a while? Rest assured, I’ll bring all the ingredients, and I’ll help you with cooking. I won’t leave you to prepare everything for me.”
Yu Zi felt that Yan Huaian’s words were quite off-the-marl. It felt like a topic that a newlywed young couple would discuss.
However, Yan Huaian was not just a neighbor, he also an essential client. Therefore, Yu Zi was unwilling to offend Yan Huaian even if it felt inappropriate.
Hence, she just nodded and smiled reluctantly. “As long as I don’t have to work overtime.”
Yan Huaian smiled and did not say anything more.
Then, Yu Zi’s phone rang again.
She took a look at it and saw that it was Yue Jingchen again.
She hung up on him, but Yue Jingchen continued to call her.
Yan Huaian glanced at it faintly, and said, “You can pick it up. I’ll go somewhere else.”
However, Yu Zi quickly shook her head. “No need.”
Afterward, she switched her phone off.
“You guys… are okay, right?” Yan Huaian asked hesitantly, before proceeding to smile in embarrassment. “Sorry, I’m being nosy.”
Yu Zi shook her head once more. “We’ve broken up anyway, and I don’t want to continue being entangled with him. There’s no point to it, so I should just cut off contact.”
Once Yu Zi said this, it was clear that she did not intend to continue discussing the topic.
Yan Huaian glanced at the phone that had been turned off and his lips curved upward slightly as he lowered his head to drink the soup.
The young lady he fancied was so blunt and decisive. Even her breakup had been done swiftly and tidily, and there was no dragging of feet.
When she was in love with you, she would go to hell and back for you. However, when she realized that there was no way they could be together and needed to separate, she would become calm and cold. It made one think that she was unreasonably ruthless.
That was what he liked about her – her style that was direct and efficient.
When he first met her, she was following her mentor from behind and was looking at him curiously. When she met his eyes, there was a feeling of nervousness that was expected of the new girl in a workplace. However, the restlessness only appeared for a brief second. She subconsciously tried to avoid his eyes, but after a moment of contemplation, she looked back at him and held his gaze.
At that moment, he found the young lady to be genuinely fascinating.
From then on, every time he needed to talk to her mentor, she would tag along. Moreover, her mentor would sometimes even allow her to show her capabilities and share her point of view.
