Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Mu Sheng came back to the dining table with a small bowl of rice.
The braised pork belly was soft and the fish was tender. Both these dishes went well with rice, especially their sauces. When the food started to feel a little too greasy, she ate some vegetables.
The cabbage was simply fragrant and refreshing and was a perfect match with the pork belly.
Before long, Mu Sheng had finished all the rice in her bowl.
However, half the food had yet to be eaten. Mu Sheng automatically pursed her lips as she looked at the braised pork belly sitting on the table.
Since they were in the countryside, fluorescent light bulbs were typically used making the lighting slightly dim. Mu Shengâs bright clear eyes looked particularly brilliant under the warm light.
[Oh god! Li Hanchen, I order you to give her another bowl of rice! How could you leave her hungry?]
[There is plenty of food at my place. Mu Sheng, you can come over anytime. I promise there will be plenty of braised pork belly! I want to give her some food too. She is so cute!]
Li Hanchen naturally knew Mu Sheng wanted to eat more. He decided to take her for a walk after dinner.
Li Hanchen looked at Mu Sheng. âWhy donât you have half a bowl more?â
Mu Sheng opened her eyes slightly. âCan I?â
Li Hanchen suppressed the smile on his face and nodded. âUh huh.â
âButâ¦â Mu Sheng sounded hesitant. âWill there be enough food tomorrow?â
Li Hanchen was deboning fish. The dim light made his cool profile soften a little. âDonât worry. I will never let you go hungry.â
Mu Sheng finally got up to get more rice. All the viewers went into a commotion.
[Oh god! What is this I am seeing? I have a feeling he is hitting on her!]
[Donât bother holding back. With a face like his, everything he says sounds sexy.]
[I am starting to love them. I thought Li Hanchen and Mu Sheng would be the least entertaining group to watch, but I was mistaken. I have not stopped smiling ever since I started watching them.]
Meanwhile, inside the room, Mu Sheng came back with more rice and happily polished off the food.
After dinner, Mu Sheng wanted to help clear the dishes, but he stopped her. âJust sit at the door and wait for me.â
Mu Sheng did as he said.
Since there were no electronic devices around, nighttime in the countryside was particularly quiet.
The sky was filled with stars and the sound of insects could be heard.
The cameraman was shooting from behind, so he did not get a shot of Mu Shengâs cool features. Instead, he filmed her from behind as she obediently sat on the bench and waited for Li Hanchen. She inexplicably seemed adorable and struck a chord in the audienceâs heart.
[She⦠She is so cute from behind⦠Omigod⦠I think she looks very sweetâ¦]
[To be honest, I really want to touch her head. Even though Mu Sheng doesnât seem like a pushover, she seems particularly obedient in front of Li Hanchen and kind of resembles a kitten.]
A white kitten suddenly appeared in the scene the moment the viewers stopped talking.
The kitten belonged to the owner of the compound. Since people kept coming and going in the day, the kitten had stayed in its shed without daring to come out. Now that it was nightfall, it came out to look for food.
Mu Sheng was daydreaming when she suddenly sensed something moving by her feet.
She lowered her head and saw a pair of beautiful eyes looking at her.
The kitten meowed softly at Mu Sheng.
It seemed to be hungry and kept sniffing at Mu Shengâs feet.
Since cats liked to eat fish, Mu Sheng walked over to the table. She took some fishbone and gave it to the cat.
[Stop right there! Mu Sheng, have you forgotten what Li Hanchen said? He said the bones were for making fish soup stock tomorrow!]
[The kitten is so adorable. Who could say no to it? I know I certainly canât.]
Mu Sheng watched as the kitten quietly ate.
Since it was very quiet in the yard and Mu Sheng was distracted by the cat, she failed to notice when Li Hanchen came close to her after doing the dishes.
He leaned against the door as he quietly looked at the woman and kitten.
The kitten seemed happy after getting to eat and shook its tail excitedly before it opened its eyes wide and meowed to Mu Sheng.
It was the first time Mu Sheng had ever seen such a small adorable kitten, and it kept trying to be close to her.
Mu Sheng could not resist meowing back at the kitten.
Laughter suddenly rang in the compound.
Mu Sheng turned to see Li Hanchen leaning against the door.
He had gorgeous features and the soft glow of the moonlight made him look divine. However, the smile on his face made him look authentic.
Li Hanchenâs eyes lit up as he smiled. He forgot Mu Sheng telling him to pretend they did not know each other.
He simply felt Mu Sheng was adorable when she meowed at the kitten.
Li Hanchen instinctively waved at Mu Sheng. âCome over.â
Mu Sheng felt puzzled, but she had to admit Li Hanchen had a particularly mesmerizing face.
Mu Sheng walked over quizzically. âYes?â
Li Hanchen moved his right hand slightly. Just as he was about to touch Mu Shengâs head, he suddenly recalled the camera was rolling, so he instantly halted. Instead, he reached his hand out to remove a fallen leaf from Mu Shengâs head.
âSomething fell on your head.â
Mu Sheng glanced at the fallen leaf in Li Hanchenâs hand. âOh yes. What time is it?â
Li Hanchen glanced at the time. â8:30 pm.â
Mu Sheng nodded. Since their phones were taken, and they had nothing to do, she asked, âThen, is it bedtime yet?â
Li Hanchen cleared his throat. âNot yet. Letâs go for a walk first.â
âOkay.â
The moment he finished his sentence, Mu Sheng walked out of the compound with Li Hanchen following behind her. The kitten hesitated before following them as well.
The kitten did not dare to come close to Li Hanchen and only dared to follow Mu Sheng.
They disappeared into the night.
[Oh god! They look so good together! Did you see the smile on Li Hanchenâs face? He looks cool, domineering, and a little indulgent. Oh my!]
[Excuse me. Are you talking about a pie chart?]
[Hahahaha! Oh my! I canât have enough of them. I have decided to stop watching the other entertainment program about matchmaking and just stick to this. Just this show alone is more romantic than I can handle.]
[Stop laughing already. Has it dawned on you that it is almost 9:00 pm, but Chu Rao and Prof Yeâs team havenât eaten yet.]n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
The camera turned to Ye Zhipei and Chu Rao. The situation looked worlds apart from Li Hanchen and Mu Shengâs team.
After Chu Rao came back with the shopping, she was already exhausted.
She sat on a chair to catch her breath. Since she was dressed in a minidress, her fine figure was visible.
After resting for some time, Chu Rao inexplicably detected Ye Zhipeiâs sudden bad mood for some reason.
It was purely reflex from all the torture she suffered from Ye Zhipei in the past.
Ye Zhipei glanced at Chu Raoâs exposed shoulders and took off his coat to cover Chu Rao with it.
Perhaps his movement was too large, the figurine fell from Ye Zhipeiâs pocket inadvertently.
The moment Chu Rao saw the figurine, she felt he must be threatening her again!
Chu Rao instantly jumped out of the chair. âWell, I am sure you are exhausted, Prof Ye. Why donât you take a break and leave the cooking to me?â
Ye Zhipei calmly picked up the figurine and turned to look at Chu Rao. âAre you sure?â
Chu Raoâs cooking? He had the honor of sampling it once. Letâs just say it was absolutely unforgettable.
Chu Rao detected the doubt in his eyes and instantly felt competitive. âOf course. Donât worry. I am very good at cooking.â
She took the things and went to cook the moment she finished her sentence.
Chu Rao had entered the kitchen at 6:00 pm and two hours had passed.
Even though some noise could be heard coming from the kitchen, she was not done cooking.
Ye Zhipei finally stood up and went over to the kitchen. The moment he got to the door, Chu Rao walked out with something in her hands.
âHmm? What are you doing here? I am already done cooking.â Chu Rao showed Ye Zhipei the dish in her hands.
He looked at the black unidentified stuff on the plate. Despite being a knowledgeable professor, he was incapable of identifying the ingredients.
Ye Zhipei went back to the dining table and waited for Chu Rao to bring all the food out.
She had made three dishes, one soup and two bowls of rice. After she was done arranging everything, the two of them started to eat.
Ye Zhipei checked out the plate of potatoes sitting right in front of him and noticed that the potatoes were not skinned. âWhatâs this?â
âStir-fried shredded potatoesâ¦.â Chu Rao automatically wanted to say it was his favorite, but she swallowed her words. âCanât you tell?â
Ye Zhipei automatically went quiet. He took some stir-fried shredded potatoes and put them into his mouth and promptly tasted some dirt.
Chu Rao naturally knew her cooking was terrible, so she awkwardly changed the subject.
âProf Ye, the educational program you did is a hit. I also watched it.â
Chu Rao wanted to slap herself the moment she finished her sentence.
This was bad. It sounded as though she kept following her ex-boyfriend and even secretly watched the program.
Chu Rao could not afford to embarrass herself, so she quickly added, âAfter all, Mr. Xie is on the show and he is an award-winning actor. Hahaha. I love his shows, so I follow him when he appears on entertainment shows as well.â
The moment she finished her sentence, Ye Zhipei suddenly stopped eating the half-cooked potato.
He set his chopstick down and looked at Chu Rao. Chu Rao instantly sensed goosebumps rising on her skin. âY⦠yes, Prof Ye?â
Ye Zhipei pointed at the potatoes. âYou didnât skin the potatoes or wash them. This tastes bad.
âYou didnât remove the fish scales. This is a failure too.
âThe vegetables are raw. They also taste awful.â
Since Ye Zhipei was stern by nature, and he was a teacher, all the viewers could sense his imposing aura through the screen as he criticized Chu Raoâs cooking.
Chu Rao slumped her shoulders and felt demoralized.
After Ye Zhipei dissed her cooking, he stood up to leave.
âArenât you going to eat?â asked Chu Rao from behind.
Was Ye Zhipei not hungry after working all afternoon?
Ye Zhipei glanced at her coldly. âYour cooking is awful.â
Chu Rao felt a little upset, but she could only answer softly, âSorry about it.â
Ye Zhipeiâs attitude was simply terrible. The cameraman could not bear watching him and even her anti-fans felt he was rude.
[Whatâs going on? How could Prof Ye be so rude? Although I donât like Chu Rao, she didnât do anything wrong today. She already took the initiative to carry things and cook.]
[I think so too. I am Chu Raoâs anti-fan, but even I think he was rude. If he has a problem with her cooking, then why didnât he cook? Isnât he supposed to be a refined man?]
[Prof Ye is usually very polite. He was only mean to Chu Rao. Donât tell me he is her anti-fan? He is simply too fierce. Just listening to him makes me feel scared.]
Chu Rao finished dinner listlessly. She hesitated briefly when it was time to put away the dishes, but she ended up making a bowl of noodles in the kitchen.
She knew Ye Zhipei did not like eating noodles, but it was the only thing she could cook decently.
She cut some ham into small pieces and placed them into the noodles, along with some vegetables. After the water started boiling, she added an egg and placed the noodles in a bowl.
Chu Rao came over to Ye Zhipeiâs door with a bowl of noodles in her hands and knocked.
âI made some noodles. Do you want some?â
Chu Rao kept convincing herself she did not care about the stupid man at all. She was just worried that if her partner died of hunger, it would affect the filming schedule.
Ye Zhipei showed up at the door coolly and glanced at the noodles. âI donât want to eat.â
Chu Rao handed it to him again. âThis is better than my earlier cooking. I mean it. This is decent. People always say I am better at making noodles.â
A thought crossed Ye Zhipeiâs mind when he heard Chu Rao saying what other people felt about her noodles.
A look of mockery swept across his eyes. He thought about the scandals appearing in the tabloids about Chu Rao and the award-winning actor, Mr. Xie. Who was she talking about? Who had tried her noodles before?
Ye Zhipei instantly turned cold. âTake it away. I donât want to eat it.â
âHow can you go without food?â Chu Rao raised her brow. She knew Ye Zhipei had a weak stomach. If he missed his meals, he would get a stomachache, so Chu Rao was insistent about getting Ye Zhipei to eat.
She walked in with the bowl of noodles. Since Ye Zhipei was preoccupied, he inadvertently stopped her, so the bowl slipped from Chu Raoâs hands and fell straight onto the ground.
CLANG!
The bowl of noodles fell with a crash and piping hot soup got splashed on Chu Raoâs calves making her jump.
Ye Zhipei looked flustered, but he quickly suppressed his anxiety and walked over to help Chu Rao. âAre you okay?â
Chu Rao looked at the noodles on the ground. Since she was also burnt by the soup, she instantly looked upset and cried.
Ye Zhipei promptly lost his cool and squatted down. âDonât cry.â
The moment Ye Zhipei spoke, Chu Rao wailed even harder as she reached her hands out to rub her tears. Her hands were hurt when she cooked and now tears inadvertently got into them making her feel even more painful.
Chu Rao cried even harder.