Yu Antong pushed Xing Lixuan out, and Jiang Yuxiu came over to do her job. The three of them performed their own duties, just like an assembly line operation, making their Pot Helmet baking faster than before.
“3, 2, 1! Time is up! Contestants, please stop what you’re doing!” the timekeeper staff in black shouted, “Contestants, please bring your finished products to the food street to assemble.”
“Huh!” Yu Antong let out a long breath, put down the unfinished piece of dough in his hand, and asked worriedly, “Yuxiu, is there enough for twenty?”
In the last ten minutes or so, he turned on all his energy and focused all his attention on making the bread. He didn’t know exactly how much he made or whether it was enough for the program group’s requirements. Although he felt that the quantity was enough in the last few minutes, he didn’t dare to stop.
Jiang Yuxiu had to add charcoal to check the heat, and was also given the duty to check the Pot Helmets’ baking progress and remove it intime. Finally free from her duty, she could count carefully now. “5, 10, 15, 20, 22! There are 22, we’ve reached the minimum quota, and even surpassed it!”
The three of them felt relieved. Lin Haoning patted the flour on his hands, he was both relieved yet regretful as he said, “It’s a pity that there are still a few uncooked Pot Helmets in the crock oven, so they can’t be counted.”
Jiang Yuxiu also casually commented, “It would be great if there were a few more leftovers, I really want to eat two Pot Helmets made by myself.”
This round of the competition was more intense and difficult than ever, and the final result was even more rewarding. It was truly a pity that they cannot personally taste their work.
“Mr. Judge, can you give us two more minutes?” Yu Antong glanced at the Pot Helmet in the oven, and said to Xing Lixuan solemnly, “We want to wait for these few to be cooked and take them away. This will not be counted in the total, they’re for us to eat.”
Xing Lixuan handed him the water glass. “You can. Come and sit down, rest for two minutes before going over there.”
Yu Antong took the water glass and was not in a hurry to drink it. He kissed Xing Lixuan on the side of his face “Muah! Thank you Mr. Judge!”
At this point in time, everyone knew that he and Xing Lixuan were married, so there was no need to deliberately keep a distance.
Yu Antong kissed him because he wanted to, and then sat next to Xing Lixuan to drink water slowly.
“Mr. Judge, may I ask what ranking do you think I can get this time?” Yu Antong asked Xing Lixuan with fluttering eyelashes after drinking the water.
Without even thinking about it, Xing Lixuan replied, “First place, you’re the best after all.
No matter what others say, Yu Antong’s culinary skills are incomparable to anyone in his heart, this is an indisputable fact.
Seeing that Yu Antong finished that glass of water almost immediately, Xing Lixuan judged that he was indeed thirsty. He continued to ask, “Do you want more drink?”
Yu Antong shook his head: “No.” If he drinks too much, his stomach will feel bloated.
A few minutes later, they went to the meeting point together to receive evaluations from the regulars here, who now become the judges for this round.
It was already 1 o’clock in the afternoon when the recording finished. Yu Antong ate a piece of Pot Helmet during the commentary section, but it wasn’t enough to quell his hunger. So, Xing Lixuan took him to find a nearby high-end restaurant for dinner.
“My legs are sore.” On the way home after dinner, Yu Antong thumped his own leg, feeling a little uncomfortable.
Xing Lixuan’s complexion paled at Yu Antong’s complaint. He was worried. “We’ll go home now, go to sleep after this. I’ll massage your legs for you.”
A normal person would be tired from standing all morning today, not to mention Yu Antong is still pregnant.
“Yeah.” Yu Antong sighed, “There’s a graduation party tonight, but I don’t want to go out anymore.”
Xing Lixuan said, “Then don’t go to the graduation party tonight.”
“I’m just complaining about it.” Yu Antong continued, “I will definitely go, I promised the lecturer that I will give a speech together with other class committee members as outstanding graduates.”
After Yu Antong finished speaking, he glanced at the front rearview mirror from the back seat, and saw Xing Lixuan’s serious face, obviously unhappy.
Although Xing Lixuan kept a straight face most of the time and didn’t smile much, Yu Antong could see his mood changes.
Yu Antong asked, “Are you angry?”
Xing Lixuan pressed the corner of his mouth, suppressing his frown. But he still said: “No.”
“Yeah, I can see that from your face alone,” Yu Antong commented, “Don’t worry, I’m not very tired. You know that I’m a suffering-averse person and can’t bear hardships. If I’m really tired, I won’t hold on. And I just need to start speaking at the very beginning of the night, it won’t take too long.”
Just as they finished chatting, the car arrived at home. The two got out of the car, Yu Antong hugged Xing Lixuan and acted like a baby, “Husband, don’t be unhappy.”
Xing Lixuan sighed. “I’m not angry, I just feel that I didn’t take good care of you.”
“Nonsense, you took good care of me.” Yu Antong hastily retorted, “Even Dr. Smith said that I am a father-to-be with very standard indicators, and this is all thanks to you.”
Xing Lixuan pinched his cheeks, it was a little fleshier than before. “Your mouth is so sweet, but I know that you’re not obedient at all.”
“Hmm? Why am I disobedient? I’m the most obedient.”
Xing Lixuan let him go and walked into the house, Yu Antong pretended to be obedient and smiled. “I will say more nice things, Husband, do you want to listen?”
Xing Lixuan followed him and said, “Well, you sure can talk.”
“I’m not trying to appear obediently, I’m telling the truth.” Yu Antong blew rainbow farts at Xing Lixuan, “My husband is the best~ Although I am the kindest, most handsome, and best chef Baby in the world, but it’s only barely worthy enough to be with you, the best husband in the world! Where in the world can you find another person who can match such an excellent and perfect you?”
It was the first time Xing Lixuan heard such a compliment from someone. He laughed and said, “Are you complimenting me, or yourself?”
Yu Antong replied, “This is a neat literary device, you know. Don’t you understand that? You graduated from a prestigious university, didn’t you? I’m praising myself on the surface, but I’m actually praising you to a higher level. Marrying me, someone with so many virtues, only means that you have good vision. The more I praise myself, the more it proves that you are better!”
“This passage of mine has so many hidden meanings and implications, you need to peel them layer by layer. I bet any great Chinese Language teacher will praise me the second after listening to it!”
Yu Antong chattered nonsense in a serious manner. “You heard me, am I right or am I right?”
Xing Lixuan fondly shook his head. “Nonsensical.”
After entering the house, Mrs. Xing saw them coming back and asked, “You guys are back, have you eaten yet? If you haven’t eaten, ask Auntie to make some.”
Xing Lixuan replied, “We have eaten, Mom. You can continue to watch TV, Antong and I will go upstairs to rest for a while.”
“Okay, you guys go to rest first.” Mrs. Xing said to Yu Antong, “There is soup in the kitchen, come down and drink it later.”
“Got it, thank you Mom.”
After the two went upstairs, Yu Antong continued his ramble: “Since when did I make a mistake? What I said is reasonable and well-founded!”
“Yes, yes, yes, you are the most reasonable.” Xing Lixuan said with a smile, “Hurry up and change into your pajamas and rest already.”
Yu Antong changed into pajamas, and Xing Lixuan massaged his legs. He didn’t feel very sleepy at the moment, so he chatted with Xing Lixuan without thinking much.
“Xiao Nian’s formal name… how about Jingxing?” Yu Antong had a sudden thought, “Look up at the high mountains in admiration, continue the journey with steady steps1og text: 高山仰止，景行行止. Probably a couplet of sorts (cmiiw). Jingxing can be translated as “journey”. It’s also the name of a Ming Dynasty poet and a county. The phrase itself can be interpreted as “sense of awe and reverence for lofty ideals or goals (symbolized by the high mountains) and the determination to continue moving forward despite challenges ahead” (I think). Ah it would be an elegant name.”
Xing Lixuan said lightly, “Think about my last name.”
“Your surname is Xing, you don’t need to think about i–.” Yu Antong realized what Xing Lixuan meant, “Hahaha, Xing Jingxing!”
It’s really funny for Yu Antong. He laughed for a long time, and said as he still laughed, “In this way, our son can say with confidence when betting with others: if so-and-so, I’ll read my name backwards!”
“—No need to be scared of the consequences at all!”
But he knew that this was just a joke, and he couldn’t stake a joke for his son’s name. His child’s name will still have a great impact on his future growth, and he can’t have homonyms or a weird-sounding name.
Yu Antong was very regretful and planned to give up this name that he had so hard to come by in a flash of inspiration, and complained, “It’s all because of your bad surname. If our son had my surname, ‘Yu Jingxing’ would sound so nice.”
Xing Lixuan said seriously, “Our son can have your surname.”
“After our son is born, you will be in charge of education, so he’ll take your surname.” The irresponsible father surnamed Yu knew that his character might lead their son to go astray, so he confessed in advance and handed over their son’s education rights.
The main thing is that, when he was browsing through parenting-related posts yesterday, he saw a compilation of parents teaching their little kids about homework. There are really 10,000 ways that little kids can make an adult’s blood pressure skyrocket.
He didn’t want to become crazy because of his child’s education, he’s still a little fairy boy after all. So, he will let Xing Lixuan take charge of it. He believed that Xing Lixuan’s stern face would make their child be obedient.
—Then he’ll give their child a delicious food gift package after studying. No child can resist the allure of sugar-coated treats!
He’ll be the most gentle and good father! There’s no need to worry about the father-son relationship at all!
‘Tsk tsk tsk, I’m really a schemer, ah!’
Yu Antong thought about it, and felt that he looked like a villain.
Xing Lixuan looked at Yu Antong’s unpredictable expression, and asked with a smile, “What are you thinking about?”
Yu Antong wickedly sing-sang, “No~thing~”
Xing Lixuan didn’t get serious with him, he thought about it in silence and said, “Why don’t we change a character and use ‘Jingyi’ instead?”
Yu Antong stretched out his hand and asked, “Which character?”
Xing Lixuan wrote it on his hand while explaining, “The same Jing, but the Yi is composed from the word 立 and 羽, as in a ‘standing feather’. Combined, it symbolizes the posture of a bird ready to soar, fluttering its wings. When used in a personal name, it carries the connotations of quick thinking and extensive knowledge2“Jingyi” here uses the character “景翊”. 翊 itself means “assist/help”, but Xing Lixuan was talking about the individual character that makes it up, which is 立 “stand” and 羽 “feather”.”
Xing Lixuan’s dictionary-diving activities these days were not in vain.
“Jingyi, Xing Jingyi.” Yu Antong repeated it twice, and said with satisfaction, “This name is quite good.”
Yu Antong made a final decision, “Then, we can use this name as a tentative choice. If we can’t think of a better name before Xiao Nian is born, then this name will be Jingyi.”
The two chatted for a few more minutes. Yu Antong felt comfortable with Xing Lixuan’s leg massage, and gradually fell asleep. He mumbled, “Husband, are your hands tired? Stop massaging me, come and take a nap with me.”
“Not tired.” Xing Lixuan lay down next to Yu Antong, half hugging him, “Go to sleep.”
Surrounded by Xing Lixuan’s familiar scent, Yu Antong felt full of security, and slept comfortably for more than two hours. He woke up just in time to drink the delicious pork rib soup stewed in the kitchen.
Yu Antong took a sip of the fragrant delicious pork rib soup, and sighed: “This kind of life is really a blessing! Husband, you come to drink too.”
He has drunk two bowls already, and he filled another bowl for Xing Lixuan.
Mrs. Xing smiled and said, “Lixuan, you have been exposed to Tongtong’s good graces in the past six months.”
Yu Antong said sweetly, “Mom, you drink too!”
She replied, “Thank you, but you can drink it. At my age, I need to watch my diet more carefully. I can’t eat high-sodium, high-fat food too often.”
Speaking of getting fat easily, Yu Antong remembered what Han Lele said about getting “happy and fat” after marriage. He put down the bowl and reached out to touch Xing Lixuan’s stomach.
“Cough!” Xing Lixuan almost choked on a mouthful of soup, he first glanced at his mother, and then warned Yu Antong with his eyes.
‘What are you doing in front of our parents!’
The author has something to say:
Xing-zong: What are you doing!
Tongtong: I swear I’m not doing anything illicit! I’m innocent! If I lied, then my son’s name will be read backwards!
Xiao Nian: …
