Chapter 26

Zou Chengfeng offered a quick apology and stepped out of the elevator.

Not until the elevator doors slid shut did a bleach-blonde youth catch up to him from behind, asking, “First Senior Brother? Who were you chasing just now? Mr. Qin said he’d drive us back to the hotel.”

Still dazed, Zou Chengfeng recalled what had just happened and shook his head, poking fun at himself. “I mistook someone else for Xi Mi.”

The blonde youth yawned. “Why would she come to a place like this? Let’s hurry back. I’m dying of sleepiness.”

…

The elevator reached the first floor with a soft ding, as if releasing a hold button between the two of them.

Xi Mi squirmed out of his arms, and Ying Quhe released her at the exact same moment. She stepped out of the elevator and headed outside, with Ying Quhe following close behind. Once they reached the street, he asked her, “Can you drive?”

Xi Mi blinked in surprise, then shook her head. “I don’t have a driver’s license.”

“Then we’ll wait for the driver.” Seeing her frantically try to cross the street, nearly getting hit by a passing car, Ying Quhe grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. “Didn’t you see the car? What are you panicking for?”

Feeling her hand trembling, Ying Quhe inexplicably tightened his grip a bit, trying to calm her down and give her some sense of security.

Still shaken, Xi Mi gasped and explained, “Just now… that man back there was my First Senior Brother!”

“Oh?” Ying Quhe recalled carefully. The man had good posture and appearance, looking like an elite in a sharp suit. He leaned down, looking straight into Xi Mi’s eyes. “Miss Xi, you once told me your First Senior Brother had ‘a greasy round head, a balding crown, and a big belly.’ Meeting him today, he doesn’t seem to match your description. Are you blind, or am I?”

o(╯□╰)o

Xi Mi grabbed her own ears with both hands and looked at him pitifully. “Your disciple admits her mistake. I know lying to you was wrong, but my First Senior Brother really looks like that in my heart!” She freed one hand and raised two fingers in an oath. “Really, I swear!”

Still leaning down at eye level with her, Ying Quhe reached out and pulled on one of her ears. “Miss Xi, then please tell me: what do I look like in your heart?”

“…Y-You, you, you…” Ears held in his grip, Xi Mi suddenly stammered, “In my heart, you are tall and mighty, strikingly handsome, like a white-robed immortal descending from the ceiling into the kitchen! Emerging from thick soup unsullied, washed in clear broth without being temptingly ostentatious!”

Xi Mi racked her brain and felt deeply that this description suited Ying Quhe to a tee.

Ying Quhe pulled back his hand and straightened up, looking down at her. “Explain to me properly: what exactly does ’emerging from thick soup unsullied, washed in clear broth without being temptingly ostentatious^[1]‘ mean?”

Standing near the KTV made Xi Mi feel uneasy. She asked, “Can we walk while we talk?”

Ying Quhe walked side by side with her onto the rubberized sidewalk. The lush willow trees gave off a faint, damp plant aroma in the night air. The streetlights stretched their shadows out into long, slender bamboo poles.

Xi Mi explained, “It means you emerge from thick soup without being contaminated by oil, not a single speck of grease sticking to you. And even after being washed in clear broth, you don’t look overly seductive either.”

What a fine “emerging from thick soup unsullied, washed in clear broth without being temptingly ostentatious.” What a fine white-robed immortal descending from the ceiling into the kitchen.

Was she sure it wasn’t Sadako descending from the ceiling at midnight?

And why on earth would he take a bath in thick soup, or wash himself in clear broth?

At the end of the sidewalk lay Jinyang’s bustling night market street. This street was one of Jinyang’s major features, lined with mock-ancient architecture and packed with countless local snacks.

Xi Mi’s legs moved of their own accord as she stepped into the street of snacks she had coveted for so long. She darted over to a food stall and pointed at the deep-fried potato strips. “Boss, one order of ruffled potatosticks, please! No chili, sweet and sour flavor, and extra fish mint!”

“There’s something I’m curious about,” Ying Quhe said as he stood behind her, sweeping a disgusted glance over the food stall’s blackened pots.

While waiting for the stall owner to drop the potato strips into the oil, Xi Mi grabbed a Cantonese sausage on her own and dropped it into the fryer, asking without turning around, “What is it?”

“How can you like eating this kind of trash food?”

The stall owner’s wife scoffed and interrupted, “Aiya, handsome, what do you mean trash food? Don’t you know anything about street delicacies? We’re the very first ruffled potatostick stall in Jinyang! You won’t find another stall in all of Jinyang whose potatosticks can match our flavor, you know? Have you heard of Ying Shi Pavilion? The big boss of Ying Shi Pavilion buys potatosticks from us all the time!”

While the husband scrambled to mix the potatosticks, Xi Mi fished the Cantonese sausage out of the fryer herself, brushed two layers of the stall’s special roasted soybean flour over it, took a bite, and turned her head to ask Ying Quhe, “You come here often? How come you never brought me?”

Ying Quhe changed the subject. “I’m curious: since you ran away on your wedding day, do you count as a married person now? Was that man earlier your husband?”

Xi Mi choked on her food.

Married person, my foot!

“We didn’t get a marriage certificate!”

The stall owner’s wife handed the mixed sweet-and-sour potatosticks to Xi Mi, chiming in as she collected the money: “Little girl, you aren’t even of legal marriage age yet, right? You young people sure know how to play, running away from weddings and all.”

Walking away with her snacks, Xi Mi explained, “Where I come from, it’s popular to hold the wedding ceremony first and get the certificate later. So I’m single! Single! Not a married person!”

“Oh.” Ying Quhe brushed past her, naturally patting her head and dropping a comment-“Very smart”-before walking on ahead.

Xi Mi paused mid-bite into her sausage and rubbed the top of her head with the back of her fist, where the warmth of Ying Quhe’s touch still seemed to linger. She caught up and lightly kicked the back of his heel. “Hey, do you want some ruffled potatosticks?”

Ying Quhe showed nothing but disdain. “What’s the difference between that and garbage?”

Xi Mi circled in front of him, blocking his path. “Try it! It tastes really good.”

Ying Quhe turned a blind eye, walking right around her to keep going.

As the crowd thinned out along the street, it grew quiet enough to hear only the young girl’s voice.

“Ying Quhe! Try one! You’ll fall in love with the flavor!”

“Just one bite?”

“As a chef, shouldn’t you try any kind of food? Swill has its own taste, trash has its own taste. Shennong tasted a hundred herbs^[2], and a master chef tastes a hundred flavors!”

Xi Mi impaled a potato strip with a toothpick and held it up to his mouth, gently rubbing it against his firmly pressed lips until his golden mouth finally opened, taking a bite of the potato strip to taste it.

Deep-fried potato strips with a crispy, sweet-and-sour coating on the outside and a soft, mouth-pleasing tenderness on the inside.

“How is it?” Xi Mi stood on tiptoe and pressed her finger between his eyebrows, massaging away his tight frown. “Can’t you stop pulling a face all the time? Even if you ate garbage, at least you know what garbage tastes like now. You haven’t lost anything.”

Ying Quhe leaned back to dodge her finger, the corner of his lips curling into a grin. “It tastes a bit better than garbage.”

The smile spread across his face. It was just an ordinary smile, yet it filled Xi Mi with pleasant surprise, as if brilliant, colorful fireworks were bursting behind her.

Crackle, pop.

…

On the car ride home, Xi Mi was completely exhausted. Her eyelids fought to stay open, and in her deep sleep, her head kept bumping against the window.

Ying Quhe shifted closer to her, turned her head, and rested it on his shoulder. The young girl nuzzled against his shoulder, as if she had finally found a comfortable way to sleep.

…

With the 10-to-3 Competition approaching, Xi Mi did not dare slack off. She practiced various dishes at the restaurant, gradually mastering the seafood techniques Ying Quhe had taught her.

Friday afternoon.

Ji Donglin brought Lao Qin and Xiao Ming to the restaurant to support Xi Mi. Xi Mi cooked six different dishes. Noticing the Old Lady wasn’t around, Xi Mi asked in passing, “Where’s the Old Lady? Why didn’t she come along?”

Xiao Ming stuffed a mouthful of food into his mouth with his chopsticks. “Grandma’s rheumatism is flaring up, so she’s resting at home.”

“Rheumatism? Is it going to rain tomorrow?”

“Yeah, and it’s going to be a heavy downpour!”

Xi Mi fell into thought, her mind starting to weigh her options.

Tomorrow was the day she was scheduled to meet up with Culinary Dao in real life. She had originally planned to wear her little white dress, but if it rained, that dress wouldn’t be very practical.

Seeing her worried expression, Ji Donglin said, “Goddess, if it rains tomorrow, I’ll drive you to and from work. As for payment, just one meal will do.”

Lao Qin took a bite of Xi Mi’s Guobaorou and chimed in, “Xi Mi, I’ll have my driver pick you up and drop you off tomorrow. My fee is just a plate of Guobaorou.”

Not to be outdone, Xiao Ming raised his hand. “Sister Xi Mi! I can drive you to and from work too! Can you cook for me?”

Xi Mi ruffled Xiao Ming’s hair. “The boss and I plan to launch new dishes tomorrow. All of you come over and help us taste-test.”

The Bald Boss walked over and teased, “If our Xi Mi makes it into the top three, I’ll roast a whole sheep for you guys myself!”

When Xi Mi went home that afternoon, Ji Donglin insisted on driving her. Arriving at the gate of Ying Quhe’s home, the big boy scratched his head and stammered, “Goddess, can I ask you for a small favor?”

“Stop calling me that already. If you keep calling me Goddess, I’ll actually start believing I am one.” Xi Mi looked at the shy big boy in front of her and asked, “What favor?”

Ji Donglin whispered, “Be my girlfriend for a day.”

It was as faint as the buzz of a mosquito.

Xi Mi only caught the word “be.” Confused, she asked, “What are you mumbling about?”

Ji Donglin held his breath and practically roared, “Goddess! Be my girlfriend for a day!”

Ying Quhe had been walking his dog in the front yard, so when Ji Donglin’s car pulled up to the gate, he had heard the commotion. Ji Donglin’s shout was far from quiet, and every word was heard loud and clear inside.

The sudden burst of volume made Xi Mi pull her neck back. She picked at her ear and looked at him like he was insane. “Are you running a fever?”

Ji Donglin took a deep breath as his voice dropped back down into a mosquito whisper.

Fortunately, Xi Mi could actually hear what he was saying this time.

“It’s my grandfather’s birthday in a few days, and he told me to bring a girlfriend home, or else don’t bother coming back,” Ji Donglin said, his cheeks turning red. “Well… in real life, I’m only acquainted with two females, and you’re one of them.”

“Then why didn’t you pick the other one? Why did you have to choose me?”

Ji Donglin said, “The other one is Xiao Ming’s grandma. Do you think I wouldn’t be beaten to death if I brought an Old Lady home to meet my family?”

Xi Mi nodded. “Fair point. What’s in it for me?”

Ji Donglin said, “Since you’re so short on cash, how about two hundred a day?”

Xi Mi said, “Two hundred a day works, but as for my acting skills… I can’t guarantee anything.”

“Six hundred?” Ji Donglin looked at her suspiciously.

“Deal!”

…

Xi Mi pushed open the iron gate and saw Ying Quhe throwing a ball for Ulrica in the front yard. Ulrica caught the ball perfectly in her mouth and carried it back to Ying Quhe.

She was quite well-behaved, seemingly not so terrifying after all.

Plucking up her courage, Xi Mi walked over and patted Ulrica’s head. Ying Quhe asked her, “What was that kid shouting about outside the gate just now?”

“You heard it all?”

“What do you think?”

“If you heard it, why ask me?”

Ying Quhe threw the ball in his hand. “You agreed?” Ulrica quickly darted after the ball, slipping away from under Xi Mi’s hand.

She dusted off her hands and stood up, nodding at him. “I agreed. Why wouldn’t I?”

The single sentence choked Ying Quhe up with frustration. He called out, “Ulrica!” The dog promptly dropped the ball in her mouth, picked up the leash from the lawn, and trotted over to present it to her master.

Ying Quhe clipped the leash onto Ulrica and led the dog away.

Xi Mi watched Ying Quhe’s handsome back as he walked off, thinking his mood shifts were truly strange.

Is he angry?

What is there to be angry about?

…