Chapter 21: You Wish

A few days later, upon learning that Meng Xingzhe had also joined the dinner group organized by Tian Huasheng, Tong Yumo timidly expressed that she could join for dinner as well.

Tian Huasheng privately asked Yao Jia for her opinion. Yao Jia replied, “You’re the chef, it’s up to you.”

Tian Huasheng scratched his head and said in a cutesy voice, “Actually, I like having more people around; it makes things lively. Plus, the more people there are, the lower the cost per person. But I have a feeling that although Tong Yumo seems obedient, her kind of obedience can stir up trouble.”

Yao Jia laughed, “You have a keen eye.”

After some discussion, they decided to let Tong Yumo join and give it a try. Thus, their small dining group expanded from three to four people.

As Tian Huasheng predicted, the seemingly well-behaved Tong Yumo had plenty of comments on her first night joining the dinner.

Sitting at the table, she looked at the dishes with a frown, “I think there’s too much oil in the vegetables. Eating this at night will make you gain weight.”

Then she glanced at the fish dish Tian Huasheng had carefully prepared, “I hate ginger. Just seeing it makes me nauseous. I hope you won’t use it again.”

Finally, she commented on the egg soup, “Why didn’t you add some cilantro to enhance the flavor?”

After hearing her comments, delivered in such a sweet manner, Tian Huasheng exchanged a look with Yao Jia.

Yao Jia was about to speak, but Tian Huasheng interrupted with, “Let’s eat, let’s eat!” Yao Jia knew Tian Huasheng was worried she’d be too harsh on Tong Yumo, who might then complain about being bullied by the fierce female employee.

Meng Xingzhe, sitting nearby, smirked and said, “I thought I was hard to please, but it turns out you’re even pickier, Tong Yumo.”

Yao Jia thought it was rare for this newcomer to have such a clear understanding of himself. It wasn’t easy.

Tong Yumo’s face turned red as she looked at Meng Xingzhe’s handsome face, trying to defend herself, “I’m not being picky, I was just casually mentioning it.”

After dinner, Meng Xingzhe put down his chopsticks and was about to head back to his room. Tong Yumo followed suit.

Yao Jia stopped both of them.

Meng Xingzhe quickly said, “It’s not my turn to wash the dishes today.”

Yao Jia ignored him. Before disciplining the monkey, you have to deal with the chicken first, so he shouldn’t rush off; he needed to play the role of the chicken.

“Now that the four of us are having dinner together, we need to divide the work. We can’t have one person doing all the shopping, cooking, and cleaning while the others just eat and stroll away.”

Meng Xingzhe knew from this opening that Yao Jia’s words were directed at someone specific. He didn’t interrupt.

Yao Jia continued, “First, the cost of meals will be split evenly. Then, buying groceries, rice, and washing dishes will be done on a rotational basis.”

Tong Yumo timidly asked, “But Yao Jia, you don’t cook, so why do you get to decide these things?”

Tian Huasheng chimed in with his cutesy voice, “I cook, so I should be the one to say it, right? Well, I’m officially handing over the authority to Jia! Ta-da!” He spread his hands, making a gesture as if introducing the host, Yao Jia.

Yao Jia gave him a knowing look and continued, “I’ll break down the cost of tonight’s meal later. Please send a red envelope to Xiao Tian. I’ll also create a new schedule for buying groceries and washing dishes. Let’s all follow the schedule diligently.”

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow while sitting in his chair. He thought Yao Jia showed quite a bit of leadership at that moment.

Tong Yumo timidly raised her hand again, wanting to speak.

Yao Jia signaled for her to go ahead.

She wondered why Tong Yumo always had to act so timidly, as if she were living under the oppressive rule of the Yao family, afraid to speak up.

With eyes wide like an innocent fawn, Tong Yumo’s voice was sweet and naive, “I’m mainly focused on losing weight, so I don’t eat much at night, just a small bite.”

She paused.

Yao Jia raised an eyebrow, “So?”

Tong Yumo wore an expression that seemed to say, “How do you not understand what I’m saying?” She said, “So, I shouldn’t have to participate in splitting the cost of the meals or the dishwashing schedule, right?”

Yao Jia laughed. This girl was really money-minded.

“Do you think that’s fair?” she asked with a smile.

Tong Yumo blinked her innocent fawn-like eyes and said, “I think it’s fine. After all, I eat very little. I just want to join in for the fun.”

Yao Jia said, “But even if you eat just a small bite, don’t you need some dishes to go with it? Even if it’s a small bite, it’s not like it falls from the sky, right? It still costs money. And even if you only eat a bite, are you going to eat it with your hands? No, you’ll still need to use bowls and chopsticks, won’t you? So why do you think that just because you eat less, you should get a free meal without contributing or washing dishes?”

Tong Yumo’s face flushed again, as if she were being bullied, “Yao Jia, I can’t argue with you, but isn’t it too heartless to say that? Are you forcing me not to eat, not even a small bite?”

Yao Jia couldn’t help but laugh at her twisted logic, “Fine, I can’t explain it to you without getting labeled.”

Meng Xingzhe suddenly spoke up, “If you eat a small bite, you pay for a small bite. That’s only fair. No one’s asking you to pay for two, three, or four bites, so don’t feel wronged.”

Yao Jia turned to look at him. She realized that he was truly strapped for cash, so much so that he wouldn’t let anyone take advantage, even if it was just a small amount.

His face bore a slightly impatient expression, showing a complete lack of interest in the verbal sparring between the girls. He seemed to just want to settle the matter quickly without any back-and-forth bickering.

Tong Yumo pouted at Meng Xingzhe’s words, her eyes misty as she softly murmured, “Then maybe I should stop eating altogether. I’ll just continue my diet, and you all can eat while I sit here and chat with you.”

Meng Xingzhe replied, “We try not to talk while eating. It’s unhygienic to have saliva flying into the food.”

Tong Yumo’s last attempt to compromise was completely shut down. She turned her head to stare unblinkingly at Meng Xingzhe, her voice tinged with grievance, “Meng Xingzhe, how can you be like this? Don’t you know why I insisted on coming over to have dinner with you as soon as I heard you were here?”

Meng Xingzhe thought for a moment.

Quickly, he turned to Tong Yumo and said, “I just did a quick calculation. For tonight’s dinner, you should contribute about four yuan and fifty cents.”

Tong Yumo glared at him, her eyes growing redder. Suddenly, she stood up, her voice choked with tears, “Fine, Yao Jia, I know you just don’t like me! Whatever, you all can eat by yourselves from now on. Is it okay if I don’t eat?”

With that, she ran back to her room.

“???”

Yao Jia was left with a head full of bewildered question marks.

Wasn’t it the king of straight men who just rebuffed her? What did it have to do with her??

She turned to ask Meng Xingzhe, “Hey, do you really not realize she has feelings for you?”

It’s obvious enough that she’s taking it out on me, ha.

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of nonchalance. “Plenty of people have feelings for me. What can I do about it, marry them all?”

Yao Jia: “…”

Fine, you’re the king of arrogance, I concede.

“By the way,” Meng Xingzhe suddenly said, “let me be clear, don’t get any ideas about me just because we have dinner together. You’re not my type.”

Tian Huasheng was drinking water and almost choked.

Yao Jia nearly flipped the table.

“Please, I beg you, spare me. I’m only interested in tall, rich, and handsome guys!”

Meng Xingzhe immediately responded, “What a coincidence, I’m only interested in fair, rich, and beautiful women.”

Tian Huasheng wiped his mouth and clapped his hands, “Congratulations to both of you, you’re perfectly incompatible!”

Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe glared at each other.

Yao Jia thought warily to herself: I must not let this guy, who seems like a freeloading suspect, find out I’m the Chairman’s daughter, or he’ll target me.

Meng Xingzhe was also calculating in his mind: I absolutely can’t let this girl, who dreams of marrying into wealth, know that I not only have looks but also a company and money, or she’ll latch onto me.

The two of them glared at each other, their eyes full of “dream on” directed at each other.

Tian Huasheng watched the drama unfold, clapping his hands and saying, “You two look like you must have owed each other a huge debt in a past life, leading to this enmity now!”

He added, “If I weren’t watching the pots every day, I’d be afraid you two would poison each other’s food!”

Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe exchanged even more disdainful glances after hearing that.

Meng Xingzhe said, “Then in the past life, you must have owed me money.”

Yao Jia scoffed, “Ha, dream on. Who’s talking about past lives with you?”

※※※※※※

After a week of authentic home-cooked Chinese meals, Meng Xingzhe eagerly went to Bei Luonan’s place for a meal over the weekend. Though Bei Luonan loved to watch drama unfold, much like Tian Huasheng, he had one redeeming quality: he was an excellent cook, especially skilled in Western cuisine.

Meng Xingzhe, with his picky palate, would only rate Michelin-starred Western dishes a three out of ten. He told Bei Luonan, “But I’m willing to give you a three and a half. Don’t get too proud.”

Bei Luonan retorted, “Oh, shove it. Why should I be proud of a lousy score from you?”

As soon as Meng Xingzhe arrived at Bei Luonan’s house, before he could even order, he was placed in front of a computer.

Bei Luonan told him, “Regarding the Smart Communication Chip, I’ve set up the initial framework with my team. The rest requires your expertise to lead the development group. After all, I’m not as capable as you.”

Meng Xingzhe looked up and glared at him.

Bei Luonan said, “Yes, exactly what you’re thinking. During the day, you work in customer service at Kunyu Technology, and at night, you can connect with us and code. Look at how exciting your day and night life can be.”

Meng Xingzhe was not pleased, “Are you treating me like a beast of burden?”

Bei Luonan reassured him, “No, no, I wouldn’t dare. After all, you’re worse than a beast.”

The “worse than a beast” Meng Xingzhe angrily ordered a meal, demanding a steak with rice.

Bei Luonan was surprised by this East-meets-West fusion. “Excuse me, oh king of arrogance, isn’t steak supposed to be paired with wine? At the very least, pasta. Why rice?”

Meng Xingzhe blurted out, “A meal isn’t a meal without some rice.”

Only after saying it did he realize that was something Yao Jia would say.

One evening, Tian Huasheng made a beef stew that was incredibly delicious and perfect with rice, which unfortunately led to a shortage of rice by the end. To secure the last spoonful of rice for himself, he engaged in a fierce battle with Yao Jia.

He said to Yao Jia, “You’re a girl, you shouldn’t eat too much, or you’ll gain weight, and that won’t look good. Come on, give this spoonful to your brother.”

But Yao Jia grabbed his wrist, holding the spoon with surprising strength as she defended her food. “Big brother, you’re older than me, your metabolism is slower, and eating too much could easily turn into a big belly, making you greasy. I’m still young, leave this metabolic challenge to me!”

Tian Huasheng was flustered and retorted, “What kind of girl eats rice at night like you do? Look at Tong Yumo, why don’t you learn from her and become a fasting fairy at night?”

Yao Jia countered, “Eating a meal without rice isn’t really eating.”

In the end, Tian Huasheng acted as the judge and split the spoonful of rice evenly between them.

As he finished eating, he felt a bit disheartened because he never imagined he would one day be reduced to fighting a girl over a spoonful of rice.

And he didn’t even win!

Perhaps it was this lingering frustration that made her words so memorable.

Meng Xingzhe explained this peculiar phenomenon to himself in such a way.

When he shared this dining theory, Bei Luonan was immediately convinced.

“Steak with rice it is, then.”

Bei Luonan rolled up his sleeves, ready to rinse the rice, when his phone rang. After checking the caller ID, his expression turned mischievous. He grabbed his phone and retreated to the bedroom, calling out to Meng Xingzhe, “Wait for me to finish this call before you start cooking the steak!”

Meng Xingzhe had arrived with an empty stomach and couldn’t wait any longer.

He got straight to work. Back in the dorms, Tian Huasheng had taught him and Yao Jia how to cook white rice, so when Tian Huasheng was busy preparing several dishes at once, they could help by cooking the rice.

When Bei Luonan emerged from the bedroom, looking quite pleased after his call, he was startled to see Meng Xingzhe already rinsing the rice and preparing to cook.

His voice trembled as he asked, “Dude, have you been possessed by something? Like the spirit of a magical snail girl or something? I can imagine not living past thirty because of my late nights, but I never imagined you’d actually start cooking rice yourself!”