Chapter 95

"Second young master, there's water on the spatula, don't put it in the oil, or the oil will splatter," Aunt Li hurriedly grabbed the spatula from Yuan Yi's hand, turned off the stove, and, not wanting to directly tell him to stop messing around in the kitchen, she offered a more tactful suggestion, "It's already so late, you should go to bed."

Yuan Yi looked at the few dishes he had burnt, wiped the oil spots on the back of his hand, and sighed, "Why is cooking harder than programming?"

"Second young master, are you telling me a joke?" Aunt Li wiped the oil spots off the counter with a cloth. "Cooking is just a life skill, many people can do it, but programming isn't something everyone can do. How can you compare the two?"

In Aunt Li's eyes, Yuan Yi was very capable. He had started his own business in college, now he owned many properties, and had even managed to win the heart of Miss Yan. He was already incredibly accomplished.

Yuan Yi sighed again, realizing that he couldn't win over his future father-in-law by programming.

"Let's continue tomorrow," Aunt Li, seeing that Yuan Yi wasn't satisfied, didn't dare keep him in the kitchen for fear he would break something. It was New Year's Eve, and if something like a fire or explosion happened, it would be very inauspicious.

As they left the kitchen, Yuan Yi's phone rang. The ringtone was one Yan Xi had set herself, claiming that as his girlfriend, it had to be a unique tone.

"Xiao Xi?" Did she call to tell him that he couldn't come to her house for dinner on New Year's Eve?

On the other side of the phone, Yan Xi glanced at the still-angry Song Hai. "I told my dad that I invited you to our house for New Year's dinner..."

"How did he react?!" Yuan Yi asked, a bit agitated. "Uncle didn't refuse, right?"

"What are you thinking?" Yan Xi laughed. "Dad said for you to come earlier, and that you should have lunch with us too." She looked at Song Hai again, who nodded before continuing, "It'll be livelier with more people, it's just me and Dad at home, it's kind of boring."

Song Hai thought to himself: No, actually, I'm not bored at all.

"Alright, alright, you and Uncle can make a list of the ingredients, and if anything's missing, you don't need to go out and buy it, I'll bring it with me." Yuan Yi thought for a moment. "I'll also buy some fireworks and Spring Festival couplets. New Year's should be lively."

Yan Xi listened to Yuan Yi's rapid-fire words on the phone, unable to help but laugh. Was he so happy that he sounded a bit silly? But after the laughter, she felt a little sad. How much did Yuan Yi want to experience a normal New Year?

Not going to his grandfather's house with his brother, not going to some other relative's house, but sitting at the table with his closest family and having a proper meal?

Or was she overthinking? Did Yuan Yi just simply want to spend the New Year with her? Thinking this way made her feel a little better—it at least proved that he cared about her, that she was important to him.

After Yuan Yi hung up, he tied his apron back on. "Aunt Li, you go to bed. I'll practice for a little longer."

Aunt Li, who had just finished tidying up the kitchen, was speechless for a while. "What's going on here?"

"Uncle Song invited me to come for lunch the day after tomorrow, so I want to take advantage of the time to practice a little more. Otherwise, I won't have enough time," Yuan Yi said, placing the pan on the stove. "To win a man's heart, you have to first win his stomach. My future father-in-law has everything, so I can only use this to win him over."

Aunt Li wanted to ask Yuan Yi if he was serious, but seeing the confident way he was acting, she knew that question didn't need to be asked. Young people in love always make some cute, silly mistakes, like trying to win others over using their weaknesses.

Yuan Yi was such a proud person, yet now he was willing to wash dishes and cook for Miss Yan. Who would believe it if they heard it?

Aunt Li smiled. "Young master, let me teach you."

As people get older, they're more willing to indulge young ones in their silly mistakes, and in doing so, it feels like it keeps them young at heart.

The night passed, and Yuan Yi, who had stayed up late practicing his cooking skills, hadn't yet woken from his dreams. However, news about him bringing Yan Xi to meet his parents had already spread everywhere. Major media outlets, as if on cue, reported how much the Xu family valued Yan Xi. Even the rumored couple, Mr. and Mrs. Yuan Yasen, who didn't like Yan Xi, had specifically come to the Xu family to meet their future daughter-in-law, and the whole family had lunch together.

A reporter who had been waiting outside the Xu family captured Yuan Yi and Yan Xi leaving the Xu house, laughing and chatting. The Xu family aunts were very attentive to Yan Xi, indicating that she had already gained the status of a granddaughter-in-law. Some bolder reporters even interviewed Yuan Yi's older brother, Yuan Bo, about his thoughts on his future sister-in-law, and posted the video online.

In the video, Yuan Bo appeared serious and solemn. When asked if the Yuan family had any complaints about Yan Xi, Yuan Bo immediately denied it, praising her multiple times and saying that the whole family liked her. He even said that his younger brother was fortunate to have Yan Xi as his girlfriend. This kind of praise for someone else's daughter and belittling his own family had a bit of an elder-brother-like-father vibe. However, after the video went viral, it convinced countless netizens that the rumors about the Yuan family disliking Yan Xi were false, and that Yuan Yi's departure from the Changfeng management was simply because he wanted to start his own business.

After the news spread, some netizens couldn't help but joke that the Yuan family was so eager to welcome Yan Xi into their home that they practically wanted to carry her in on a palanquin. What they originally thought would be a classic Cinderella story of a poor girl marrying into a rich family, turned out to be the story of a rich family trying to marry a goddess.

When Yan Xi woke up and checked her Weibo, she saw that many people had tagged her, calling her an inspirational goddess. Upon clicking on it, she realized they were talking about how much the elders of the Xu and Yuan families liked her.

Host Yan Xi: "Everyone says I do a good job and praise me as an inspirational goddess, I'd be even happier."

Yuan Yi reposted Yan Xi's Weibo and commented: "Liking you is only natural, whether it's for work or other aspects."

Netizen 1: "So cute and sweet, I'm all in for this dog food, you all go ahead."

Netizen 2: "Hahaha, people who used to mock Yan Xi for relying on a rich family, come out and walk a few steps, who's really relying on whose leg now?"

Netizen 3: "Mr. Yuan, seeing as I liked your post, will you send me a mobile game gift pack?"

Netizen 4: "I think Yan Xi is right. A relationship is not a woman's whole life, the man's parents should like her, or else why get married? Everyone is praising her as an inspirational goddess over such small matters, I think it's an insult to her talent and ability."

Netizen 5: "The person above is really enough, always spouting some grand philosophy. Don't you get tired living like this?"

Bored netizens often end up arguing over trivial matters, and in the end, Yan Xi, the person involved, could only choose to ignore them.

She was wearing a thick winter coat, walking onto the cold street, as her father had said the house was missing red lanterns for the front door, so she had to go out to run the errand.

"Yan Xi." Just as she reached the mall, a stylishly dressed young woman walked toward her and, without a word, raised her hand as if to slap her.

Yan Xi grabbed her wrist without hesitation and scolded, "Have you watched too many drama shows? You want to slap someone in public? Are you out of your mind?"

Although she had never interacted with this girl before, she had seen her picture in posts about the younger members of the Song family.

Song Shi, cousin of Song Chao and Song Ci.