TL: Hua
Xia Shu’an still didn’t return to the villa; he said: “I haven’t completely forgiven you yet, and I also paid the rent to Wenzhi. There’s still two weeks before it’s due.”
Shen Boyan: “He also collected rent from you?”
“Why can’t he?”
Shen Boyan: That’s great. This proves that, except for you and me (and your parents), everyone else in the world has only a relationship of interest with you!
Shen Boyan: Satisfied.
That’s what Xia Shu’an said when Shen Boyan proposed to move back together after returning to Rongchuan. At that time, Shen Boyan’s car was parked on the side of the road, and the two of them were eating in a small restaurant. Upon hearing Xia Shu’an mention this matter coldly, Shen Boyan’s heart spun with a thought. He put down his chopsticks and gazed at Xia Shu’an with a melancholic and affectionate gaze.
“Then can I go find you? Can I go and talk to you when I have time?”
Xia Shu’an wanted to reject him coldly, but seeing Shen Boyan’s sickening tremble (of fear for rejection), the words that reached his mouth became: “OK.”
The man opposite suddenly laughed and said cheerfully, like a child who knew his parents would take him to the amusement park on the weekend, “That’s great!”
—-
So that night, Shen Boyan appeared at the door of the house where Xia Shu’an currently lives, carrying two large bags of vegetables.
He smiled brightly and said, “Good evening!”
Xia Shu’an: “….”
When Shen Boyan saw Xia Shu’an leaning against the door and keeping silent, he tilted his head and said, “Why don’t you invite me in and sit for a while?”
Xia Shu’an vaguely felt that his camp was being continuously invaded. He had an intuition that if Shen Boyan was allowed in at this time, he would never have peace in the future.
Holding on to his inner integrity, he said, “Is there something you want?”
Shen Boyan’s mouth contained a smile, and the corners of his eyes curled into a skillful arc as he said, “I’m here to have dinner with you. Didn’t you say I could come to you?”
I’m talking about once a week, not once a day.
“No, I’m going to order takeout.”
“It’s not clean to order takeout food. If Aunt Qiao and Yu find out about it, they will blame me for not taking good care of you.”
The clever Shen Boyan already knew how to make excuses.
Xia Shu’an was still insisting, “But I don’t know how to cook either.”
Shen Boyan: “I can! You see, I bought vegetables specifically to cook dinner tonight.” Then he lifted the bag in his hand.
“I know how to make a lot of dishes. What do you want to eat? Stir-fried bean sprouts or cold spinach?”
“Or have scrambled eggs with parsnips, which are at their freshest in April!”
Xia Shu’an should have refused immediately, but the desire to see Shen Boyan cooking kept tugging at the rationality of his brain, and the parsnip scrambled eggs were also delicious, making it difficult for him to answer for a moment.
Shen Boyan saw his hesitation, pushed the door lightly, and stepped into the room naturally.
“Where is the kitchen? Ah, it’s here.”
Xia Shu’an frowned and looked at Shen Boyan’s back. After a while, he gently closed the door, walked to the living room next to the kitchen door, pulled up a chair, and observed the man in the kitchen.
Shen Boyan had already put on a light yellow apron, and skillfully took out the metal basin and cutting board from the cabinet. The sound of water gurgled, and he rolled up both sides of his sleeves. His tall figure almost covered the counter, and he unhurriedly began to wash the vegetables.
Xia Shu’an: “…”
This feeling is so amazing. Xia Shu’an’s mind is full of “fresh,” “twisted,” “outrageous,” but “fun,” so he can’t help but observe the man for a while, and then he saw Shen Boyan holding a knife with one hand and pressing the vegetables on the chopping board with the other. He raised the knife and lowered it, quickly cutting parsnip, shallot, garlic, and ginger with a technique that he couldn’t match. He even knows how to stir soy sauce and sesame oil, and a sweet and refreshing taste of soy sauce floated down the kitchen to Xia Shu’an’s nose.
“”
After mixing the ingredients, Shen Boyan started to light the fire and pour in the oil. The aroma was lingering, making Xia Shu’an’s stomach growl. Xia Shu’an stood up a little awkwardly. Looking at the man inside who was skillfully cooking vegetables, he still couldn’t help his inner desire to snap a photo with his mobile phone.
Xia Shu’an is not a person who loves sharing. He almost never posts to WeChat Moment. Shen Boyan has a unique status. Xia Shu’an can’t just post to classmates or company groups. In the end, he posted the photo to his family group. Well, there’s no Shen Boyan’s presence in the three-person family group.
This is normal. Which small group doesn’t break into small groups after removing a certain person? It’s just basic.
As soon as he posted the photo to the group, this small group of three people started to click like one after another.
[Father Xia: An An is having dinner.]
[Mama Xia: Is this Xiao Shen cooking? Where is this? You’re not at home?]
With her piercing eyes, Mama Xia is truly a contemporary female Sherlock Holmes.
[Xia Xia: We’re not at home today, mama Xia. Yes, it’s him cooking.]
For rich people, it’s not unusual to change houses in one day. Father Xia and Mother Xia didn’t care about the background. They all praised their daughter-in-law for being virtuous and well-behaved, able to work in the hall and in the kitchen1It’s a saying, meaning that a person is skilled in many things..
[Mother Xia: An’an, Xiao Shen cooks for you; how are you going to repay him?]
[Xia Xia: By finishing all the food.]
[Father Xia: …]
Putting down the phone, Father Xia said to Mother Xia beside him with some emotion: “Xiao Shen is such a good person. Not only is he so kind to An’an, he also helps us solve our family problems. What do you think is so good about our family An’an that makes Xiao Shen so determined?”
Mother Xia rolled her eyes at him and said, “Our An’an looks good.” How would she know? Anyway, as long as Xiao Shen treats An’an well, she doesn’t care about anything else.
Unable to get an answer, Father Xia picked up his phone and looked at the photo in the group. He liked the photo a lot, so he simply saved it and posted it to Wechat Moment.
Attachment: [The kid at home.]
Since the Xia family has been “exonerated” from the “injustice,” old friends from the past have also taken the initiative to contact Father Xia again. Regardless of their sincerity, at least they still have superficial friendships. Anyone who knew the affairs of the Xia family could tell at a glance that this was not the son of the Xia family. The figure from the back looked a bit like that person.
Everyone praised him one after another, lamenting that Father Xia has a good son! This post spread around and actually reached Shen Boyan’s few assistants. Assistant Qi looked at his boss, who had the image of a good family man, and had an idea in his mind. But that aside, back to the occasion of Shen and Xia, Shen Boyan brought out the dishes and thoughtfully served the soup in a bowl.
Xia Shu’an and Shen Boyan have similar tastes but are slightly different. For example, Shen Boyan can eat light food but prefers spicy food, while Xia Shu’an has a light appetite but also loves sweets. This time, everything on the dinner table was very refreshing, and there was a small dish of tomato scrambled eggs with sour and sweet soup, which was Xia Shu’an’s favorite taste.
Shen Boyan said to him with a smile, “Come over for dinner.”
“”
Xia Shu’an sat at the table, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and clamped a handful of cold spinach. Shen Boyan’s cooking skills were indeed average, neither good nor bad.
He(sby) is about a hundred times better than him(xsa).
“Is it delicious?”
“Yeah.” Xia Shu’an nodded reluctantly.
“Really?”
The man immediately showed a satisfied smile as if his desire was being fulfilled: “I haven’t done this for a long time, as long as you like it.”
Xia Shu’an looked at his bright and sunny smile and couldn’t help but blink his eyes.
So eye-catching!
The two of them had a plain and warm dinner, as if all the quarrels and the subtle atmosphere after reconciliation did not exist. Because the atmosphere was too bland, it instead made Xia Shu’an feel a little uncomfortable. Based on his understanding of Shen Boyan, all of his actions had a purpose!
After eating, he was waiting for Shen Boyan’s next move.
“Xia Shu’an——”
“What?!”
Xia Shu’an turned his head suddenly. Is he really going to show his true face?
Shen Boyan was stunned for a moment, then smiled softly and said, “I’m leaving. I had a great dinner today.”
Xia Shu’an was stunned. “Are you leaving?”
“That’s right, I won’t disturb you anymore; I have to go to work tomorrow, so you should go to bed early.”
“Ah, oh.” Having eaten too satisfyingly at dinner, Xia Shu’an said a little sluggishly:
“You should also rest earlier.”
“Um.”
Shen Boyan naturally walked to the door, changed into his own shoes, opened the door, turned his back towards the direction of the door, and opened his arms to hug Xia Shu’an before the latter could react.
Then he quickly let go again.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
It wasn’t until he watched Shen Boyan open the door of the next house and walk in that Xia Shu’an closed the door in a trance.
What on earth does he want to do?
Shen Boyan also showed up on the second and third days. He showed up at the door of Xia Shu’an’s house every night carrying vegetables and cooked for Xia Shu’an in different ways.
It made Xia Shu’an feel like a baby bird with its mouth wide open, waiting to be fed, or a fat little pig. In short, the impression that his four limbs are not diligent and the five grains can’t be distinguished2It is used to describe people who are lazy, don’t do physical work, lack basic common sense in life, and cannot distinguish the five grains. became more and more deeply rooted in Xia Shu’an’s heart. On the fifth day after Shen Boyan came over, Xia Shu’an finally couldn’t bear it anymore and said:
“You don’t have to come over tomorrow.”
The man suddenly looked hurt.
“Why?”
A trace of pain flashed across his eyes: “Did I do something wrong? Or is the food I cooked not delicious? You can tell me, and I will change it.”
Help, there’s a little bit of pity! And a billion points for horror!
Xia Shu’an’s scalp was numb, and he interrupted the man before he could say anymore horrifying words: “No, I mean, on Friday I want to go to the supermarket by myself at night, so you don’t have to buy groceries.”
“Ah, oh, that’s it.”
Shen Boyan’s expression improved, and Xia Shu’an was amazed by the rapid change of expression.
However, the next second, he showed a pitiful expression again.
“Then, can I go with you?”
He thought for a while and said, “You don’t even know how to buy groceries yourself, right?”
Xia Shu’an looked sideways. Do you want to reconcile with me or not?
“It’s up to you; you can go if you want.”
On Friday afternoon, Xia Shu’an finished his work ahead of schedule and was getting ready to get off work. Around five o’clock, he suddenly received a message:
[Assistant Qi: Mr. Xia, President Shen asked me to tell you that he has something to do and will have to get off work late. Please stay at school for a while. He can finish work at about 6 o’clock.]
6 o’clock?
[Xia Shu’an: Got it.]
He stood up, walked to the senior sister, and said:
“Senior sister, I’m going to get off work first.”
“Okay, I’ll be done soon too.”
Xia Shu’an said goodbye to everyone in the laboratory and went out. He now has the freedom to drive again, and the keys are in the palm of his hand. After getting in the car, he looked at the car mirror and suddenly lowered his head and smiled.
Thirty-five minutes later, he appeared at the door of the Wenhui Group building, walked straight to the young lady at the front desk, and said warmly, “I’m here to see President Shen; can I go up?”
