Chapter 69 The Love-Brain Female Lead Awakens 12

Once she had the boyfriend in hand, maybe by then she would not even have to make a move herself. If he wanted to keep his girlfriend, Yi Chen’an would have to start worrying on his own about how to win over the future father-in-law who used to be just a friend.

Just imagining that scene made her a little wistful, but also deeply satisfied.

Daydreaming made people happy, and Sang Ruo managed to cheer herself up.

She was grinning like a fool.

But to Old Sang, it did not sound that way at all.

Fortunately, he did not like Zhou Yan, and he also did not think it was at all reliable for Sang Ruo to switch boyfriends again so soon, so he dropped the topic from before and changed the subject. He told her that this year her eldest cousin’s dragon boat team had taken first place, her eldest uncle was thrilled, and had handed out quite a lot of zongzi. There would also be a dinner gathering that evening. He and her mom were both at her uncle’s place in town helping with the preparations.

Sang Ruo got so excited that she could only regret missing this year’s dragon boat zongzi. She had also missed seeing her eldest cousin’s gallant figure out on the dragon boat.

The father and daughter chatted on and on about all sorts of random things. Before hanging up, Old Sang added sourly, “It’s a holiday and you’re not coming home to keep your mother and me company. All you remember is sticking to your boyfriend.”

Sang Ruo’s head started to ache. “Old Sang, you can’t wrong me like that. I said last week that I’d come back, and you were the one who stopped me. You said you’d both be busy, and even if I came home, you wouldn’t have time for me.”

Old Sang let out a proud little huff. Sang Ruo knew exactly what that meant, so she hurried to soothe him, half coaxing and half acting spoiled, saying that she missed both Dad and Mom very much. She would see him when he came over on his business trip anyway, and summer vacation was almost here. The moment she finished her exams, she would definitely go home.

After calming her dad down, Sang Ruo let out a breath.

But when she hung up, her brain froze. She had always been used to holding the phone against her cheek when talking, and at some point she must have brushed the speaker on. She had not noticed at all.

Sang Ruo tilted her head and studied Yi Chen’an. The other things were fine. What she was really worried about was whether he had heard that whole discussion between father and daughter about boyfriends.

Actually, it was not all worry. There was a hint of hope in it too. She wanted to see what kind of reaction he would have.

However…

Yi Chen’an’s expression management was simply too good. She could not read a thing from his face. This was probably one of the downsides that came with liking a mature man. They were nothing like those loud, impulsive boys whose thoughts were written all over their faces most of the time.

Resting her chin on her hand, Sang Ruo found herself wishing for a Doraemon. Right now, what she desperately needed was some sort of mind-reading gadget for this man, or a favorability meter.

But there was no such effortless good fortune in this world. She could only sacrifice more of her own brain cells.

Yi Chen’an stopped the car and said, “We’re at the supermarket.”

Sang Ruo’s emotional antennae immediately picked up that this sentence was a sign that the ice was melting. The man’s earlier low pressure was gone, his tone was light again, and he even seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

“…”

Ha, what a fickle man!

“I’ll go with you to park the car?” Sang Ruo suggested.

Yi Chen’an reached over and unfastened her seat belt for her. “The underground garage is too stuffy and hot.”

The meaning could not have been clearer.

The man she had set her sights on was really so considerate. Sang Ruo was briefly intoxicated by it. Then the next second, she heard the man urge her, “Hurry up and get out. Traffic’s about to back up behind us.”

Sang Ruo pouted. A man who could kill a conversation was handsome for no more than three seconds.

“I’ll wait for you in the fresh produce section. Just come find me there later.”

Then, urged on by the blaring horn of the car behind them, Yi Chen’an drove away. She had no idea whether he had heard what she said.

Going to the supermarket on a weekend evening was really not a good decision. Especially in the produce, fresh food, grain, and oil section, it was packed shoulder to shoulder. Even if you were only buying a single scallion, you still had to stand in line forever just to get it weighed.

Sang Ruo pushed the shopping cart forward with difficulty. She stopped caring about recipes and simply grabbed whatever ingredients looked fresh and appetizing, fighting her way out from among all the aunties and married couples.

Looking at the cart piled full gave her an enormous sense of accomplishment.

“Isn’t this a bit too much?” At some point, Yi Chen’an had found his way to her side. Looking at the cart, he asked in concern.

“No. It’s just that the bag of rice and the bottle of oil take up a lot of space. There really isn’t that much of anything else.” She leaned her whole weight forward, draping herself over the shopping cart handle and treating the cart like a toy, letting it slide ahead little by little. Then she complained, “Whose fault is it that your kitchen looks like it was just renovated? There’s nothing in it.”

Yi Chen’an looked at the fifteen-kilogram bag of rice and the five-liter bottle of olive oil. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end he did not. He only asked, “Do you need anything else?”

Sang Ruo checked over things, then told him to go to the seasoning shelves and get some Sichuan peppercorns. She herself went to queue up to have things weighed.

Yi Chen’an nodded and headed toward the seasoning section. After taking only a couple of steps, he came back again. Grabbing her by the back of her collar, he lifted her upright and set her straight on her feet, then said, “Walk properly. Don’t fall.”

“…”

Was he treating her like a child? Sang Ruo pouted.

Then she saw the man press his lips together, pat her on the head, and say softly, “Be good.” His tone was soothing.

Sang Ruo was instantly healed. She felt warmth spread from her cheeks across her face, and hurriedly lowered her head so she would not have to look at him. He had told her to be good…

Yi Chen’an did not come back until quite a while later. By then, Sang Ruo had already finished queuing and weighing everything, and was just about to go look for him.

“Which kind do you want?”

In his hands, the man held a box of ground Sichuan peppercorn, a jar of red peppercorns, a jar of green peppercorns, and a bottle of peppercorn oil. Tucked under his arm was also a huge assorted snack gift pack.

This version of Yi Chen’an really was a bit off-brand.

“Why did you get so many?” Sang Ruo asked.

Holding all those bottles and jars, he gave a very serious explanation. “I read the instructions on the packaging carefully. Almost every kind is used in more or less the same way. But if that’s the case, then why are there so many different varieties?”

President Yi, who was decisive and ruthless in the business world, looked absurdly indecisive right now.

“…”

Sang Ruo noticed that quite a few of the people waiting in line to get things weighed were looking over this way, so she quickly said to Yi Chen’an, “Just put them all down.”

The man set the pile of Sichuan pepper products into the shopping cart, then placed the snack pack he had tucked under his arm on top. He did not eat snacks, so that bag had obviously been bought for Sang Ruo.

Only then did Yi Chen’an curl his lips into a smile. No matter how she looked at it, that smile seemed a little… smug.

Could it be that he thought he’d done a pretty good job with this task, so he was feeling rather accomplished?

Sang Ruo tested the waters. “I forgot to say it earlier, but I didn’t expect you to buy such a complete set.” There was a hint of encouragement in her tone.

The man pushed the shopping cart for her, his smile widening a little more. Sang Ruo found it speechless-making, and also a little funny. She thought that this side of Yi Chen’an… was pretty childish. She had never imagined that someone who looked so mature and steady could have a side like this too.

Sang Ruo was delighted to have discovered his little secret.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” Sang Ruo urged Yi Chen’an toward the checkout. “Come on, we have to line up at the register too.”

Today’s haul took three big bags to pack, mainly because the oil and rice were heavy and took up space.

Sang Ruo reached for the bags. “I didn’t expect there to be this much. I’ll carry one.”

Yi Chen’an didn’t say anything. He rummaged through another bag, pulled out that packet of snacks, and handed it to her. “Hold this.”

Sang Ruo thought he had something else in mind, so she set down the bag she was carrying and stood there holding the packet of snacks in her arms.

The snack pack was mostly puffed foods. It looked bulky, but it wasn’t heavy at all. Then Sang Ruo watched Yi Chen’an quickly redistribute the things in the three plastic bags so the total weight was evenly balanced, then lift them all.

“Give me one.”

Yi Chen’an shifted away slightly and said, “Just hold on to that big bag properly and wait for me at the supermarket entrance.” As soon as he finished speaking, he strode briskly toward the exit leading to the parking lot.

Sang Ruo only had time to let out a belated, “Oh.”

After that, all the way back, Sang Ruo trailed behind Porter Yi like a mascot, clutching a huge bag of snacks in her arms.

When they passed the convenience store downstairs, Sun Tian had already started her evening shift and was promoting zongzi at the entrance. After all, once today was over, the value of zongzi would have to be discounted again.

“Doing a big grocery run?” Sun Tian greeted them with a smile.

Right now, Sang Ruo badly needed an outlet for the warm, sweet feeling swelling in her chest from being so constantly cared for by Yi Chen’an. But given their current status, she couldn’t exactly show it off openly and properly. In the end, she only replied with a beaming smile, “Enough to eat for several days.”

Sun Tian asked again, “Want a few more bundles of zongzi?”

“No, we’ve still got plenty stocked up at home.”

From beginning to end, Yi Chen’an didn’t say much.

Sun Tian picked up a box of lychees, like a sales machine. “Then how about a box of lychees? These are White Sugar Lychees¹, super sweet, not your ordinary Feizixiao Lychee².”

At the sight of that box of lychees, Sang Ruo suddenly cried out, “Ah!”

Yi Chen’an turned back.

Looking at him, Sang Ruo said in annoyance, “Before the Dragon Boat Festival, my dad mailed me a box of lychees to school, and I forgot to pick it up.”

It was just so aggravating…

Yi Chen’an asked for the shipping date, then had her look up the tracking with the order number. After that, he comforted her. “It’s only been sitting at the parcel station for two days. There’s probably still hope. I’ll take you upstairs first, then go to your school and have a look. I should make it in time to collect the package before the parcel station closes.”

Was this one of those situations where, alive or dead, she had to see the lychees for herself?

From the side, Sun Tian twisted the knife a little deeper. “It’s fine. If they’ve gone bad, you can try ours. They’re all fresh.”

Why, thank you so very much!

After they got back, Sang Ruo sincerely sent the owner of the apartment on his way, then quickly put the zongzi on to steam, shredded the stem lettuce for a cold dish, sliced the lotus root thin and stir-fried it, and made a pot of mixed mushroom and sliced pork soup.

Then she thought it over and worried that Yi Chen’an might not be full if he only ate zongzi. After all, he’d made a friendly guest appearance as a delivery guy, so she ought to treat him well. So she simply boiled some noodles too, scooped them out when they were about sixty percent cooked and plunged them into cold water. After draining them, she tossed them with golden cooked rapeseed oil and set them aside. Into a pot of boiling water she dropped a chicken breast, and once it was cooked, she let it cool and shredded it by hand. Then she mixed the chicken with the noodles and assorted shredded vegetables into a small bowlful of cold chicken noodles.

Then all that was left was waiting. Luckily, traffic in the city wasn’t bad during the holiday. Sang Ruo hadn’t even finished one episode of her drama before the newly appointed delivery guy came back with the spoils.

Carrying the foam box into the kitchen, the delivery guy announced the good news. “No major problem. The packaging was pretty tight, and the ice packs haven’t completely melted yet.”

Sang Ruo reached into the box. The lychees were still cold, so there wasn’t much loss. She instantly felt more than half reassured, and casually peeled one for the meritorious hero who was still squatting beside the foam box.

Yi Chen’an looked at the lychee held up to his mouth, but didn’t eat it. He stood up, took it with his hand, and only then put it in his mouth. “Thanks.”

Sang Ruo wasn’t discouraged. She peeled one for herself too. Mm, sweet.

Only then did Yi Chen’an look toward the dishes that had already come out of the wok, and he could genuinely be called pleasantly surprised. He had probably assumed earlier that he was about to eat some dark cuisine.

“Do you cook often at home?”

Sang Ruo answered vaguely, “Not really. I’m just interested in it.”

Sang Ruo had no way to explain how someone who had never set foot in a kitchen could so skillfully turn out a whole table of dishes, as if she’d fought countless battles on this little patch of kitchen territory. It had all started with that dream, and the more she thought about it, the more it made her hair stand on end.

Translator’s Notes

• This is live must see lychee: A play on the Chinese idiom ‘活要见人，死要见尸’ (literally: ‘if alive, must see the person; if dead, must see the corpse’). The character adapts this to express an obsessive need to confirm the state of her package, regardless of whether the fruit inside is fresh or rotten.