Chapter 40.2
His boyfriend looked really handsome in white.
“What do you want to eat?”
Lu Yao, wearing gloves, was wrapping dumplings. The plain dough under his hands turned into beautiful pleats.
Yu Le stopped in front of the stove, his gaze scanning around. He zeroed in on a big bowl covered with plastic wrap filled with bright-colored ribs, which made his mouth water, “I want rib noodles.” He added, “In red (spicy) broth.”
Lu Yao glanced at him and then removed one of the plastic gloves. With Yu Le’s puzzled look, he gently lifted his chin up a little.
A small pimple was clearly visible on his cheek.
“You’re a bit overheated.”
Lu Yao gently pinched his face, “Eat clear soup instead. I’ll make you some chrysanthemum sweet tea later to cool you down.”
The place where he was pinched felt lingeringly warm. Yu Le first responded with a soft “Okay,” then quietly explained, “It might not be heat excess.”
Lu Yao put the glove back on, “Then what is it?”
Yu Le: “Maybe because I was sleepless until the early morning after I went back to my room last night.”
He paused for two seconds before adding seriously, “It’s all your fault.”
Lu Yao’s lips curved into a faint smile, “Sounds like it’s my fault.”
Yu Le was satisfied, “Glad you know that.”
Lu Yao: “If you can’t sleep again, remember to tell me immediately.”
Yu Le: “Hmm?”
“Owing up to my mistakes,” Lu Yao said. “Next time, I’ll come over to soothe you to sleep.”
If there were a little mood lightbulb above Yu Le’s head, it would now be flashing a bright pink warning light.
Decided.
Tonight, his wish to the mountain deity was to continue having insomnia.
Yu Le rubbed his ear tips and turned to sit at the table.
Wang Wenyuan was also there. Her small bamboo steamer with shaomai was already finished, and she had drunk half of her porridge. There was still an untouched serving of xiaolongbao beside her.
“Can you finish that?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Wang Wenyuan: “I can’t finish it, so I’ll take it upstairs to my boyfriend, who’s too focused on his report to notice.”
Yu Le: “Chen Fa?”
Wang Wenyuan: “Mm-hmm.”
Yu Le: “Aren’t you two broken up?”
Wang Wenyuan: “Well, if divorced couples can remarry, why can’t people in this remote mountain forest get back together after breaking up?”
Of course, there was no such impossibility, but there were some stories Yu Le didn’t know, like how some things were buried back underground before they could be consumed.
“Alright, I’m leaving.” Wang Wenyuan wiped her mouth, stood up, and picked up the bamboo steamer, “By the way, tell your man that the glutinous rice-filled shumai is too weird. If possible, try meat filling next time.”
Yu Le: “Okay, got it.”
Yu Le: “Weird? I think it tastes pretty good.”
Yu Le: “……?”
It wasn’t until Wang Wenyuan’s figure completely disappeared around the corner of the stairs that Yu Le realized something was wrong.
Your man?
Your man??
How did she figure that out???
Just as Wang Wenyuan left, Yu Le was still in a daze, and Zhao Xiaosong bounced in with Miao Miao.
“Boss, Miao Miao wants to eat bean sprout buns~”
Miao Miao, dressed in a little pink dress, obediently followed behind, her big eyes blinking cutely like a doll.
Lu Yao had them sit down first and quickly placed buns and soy milk on the table for them.
“Boss!” Zhao Xiaosong raised both arms high, his fingertips pointing to his head, and made a giant heart shape with his hands, “I’m grateful to you!”
Miao Miao: “Thank you, Brother Lu Yao.”
Lu Yao didn’t respond to Zhao Xiaosong, smiling as he patted Miao Miao’s cute little head, “You’re welcome.”
Yu Le’s noodles were soon cooked. It was indeed clear soup, topped with a layer of ribs, all meat, and underneath, a golden fried egg.
Yu Le happily took a bite of the fried egg filled with bone broth and asked Zhao Xiaosong, “Little brother, aren’t you opening your ice powder stall today?”
Zhao Xiaosong: “I’ve used up all the ingredients except the brown sugar. That’s all for this year. I’ll buy more next year. There’s less than a month left of summer vacation, and Miao Miao hasn’t finished her summer homework. I need to tutor her.”
“Oh, right.” He remembered something, glanced at Lu Yao, and saw that he wasn’t looking their way. He leaned in and whispered to Yu Le, “Brother Le, we agreed that the money earned should be shared with the boss. When is it convenient for you to help me calculate it?”
Yu Le imitated his way of lowering his voice. “Your boss probably won’t accept it.”
Zhao Xiaosong: “That’s not up to him. Whether he accepts it is his choice, but giving it is my intention. My mom said, we should be grateful and repay kindness. Otherwise, at midnight, the mountain deity’s little demons might poke us with a steak fork!”
He tugged at Yu Le’s sleeve, “Brother Le, I’ll give you the money later, and you help me give it to the boss, okay?”
Yu Le: “Hmm… alright, but I can’t guarantee he’ll accept it.”
Zhao Xiaosong confidently said, “No problem. I know the boss listens to you~”
Yu Le blinked, “He listens to me?”
“Yeah.” Zhao Xiaosong grinned slyly, “Don’t think you can fool me just because I’m a kid. My parents are like that. If my mom wants to go east, my dad will never go west. Hehe.”
Is that so?
Yu Le stroked his chin, wondering why he hadn’t noticed this.
All he knew was that if Lu Yao wanted to go east, he would definitely stick with him without hesitation.
What’s good about the west?
There’s no one there who can make him a bowl of clear soup noodles with fried egg and ribs~
Miao Miao’s soy milk wasn’t very sweet, so Zhao Xiaosong added a little bit more to taste.
Yu Le finished his meal and didn’t want to disturb the childhood friends who were cultivating their relationship. He took his own bowl and chopsticks and went to the trash can behind the stove to dispose of the leftovers.
There were a few bowls soaking in the sink that hadn’t been washed yet. Seeing that Lu Yao was still busy, Yu Le decided to “be virtuous” and picked up a sponge to start washing.
Unfortunately, before he could finish one, the noise attracted Lu Yao’s attention.
“Leave it. I’ll do it.”
Just as Lu Yao finished tidying up, he threw away the disposable gloves, turned around, and took over the task Yu Le had just started, “Dishwashing liquid can be harsh on your hands. It’s better not to touch it too much.”
Yu Le smiled as Lu Yao carefully rinsed the foam from his hands, “I thought only men said things like that to girls.”
“Broaden your mind, Yu Le.” Lu Yao handed him a paper towel. “It’s not about being a girl, it’s about being a treasure.”
To the treasure.
Treasure,
Treasure.
Whoosh—
Yu “Treasure”’s neck turned all red.
Yu Le quickly pulled back his hand and dried the water stains himself. Not far away, the two elementary school-aged children were still intently discussing whether the soy milk was sweet enough.
“It’s not very sweet.” Yu Le murmured.
Lu Yao: “Hmm?”
Yu Le: “Not as sweet as your mouth.”
Two seconds later, the sound of water stopped. Lu Yao turned off the faucet and turned around.
Yu Le’s gaze was wandering, “What’s up?”
Lu Yao: “Say it again, and I’ll make you sweet and sour fish tonight.”
