TL: Moonlit
Yu Bai didn’t return home early, so he needed to make dinner for Xing Xing quickly.
Yu Bai planned to make lean pork congee with preserved eggs for Xing Xing, but it wasn’t just Xing Xing waiting for dinner at home. Ji Rongyu, who worked as a part-time babysitter, was also there taking care of Xing Xing.
Yu Bai didn’t know Ji Rongyu’s appetite, but considering his tall stature and larger build, Yu Bai estimated that Ji Rongyu would have quite a big appetite.
If he let Ji Rongyu and Xing Xing have the preserved egg congee together, they might not get enough to eat.
So Yu Bai thought for a moment and decided to use the leftover salted beef tendon from the fridge to make a bowl of beef noodle soup for himself and Ji Rongyu.
The noodles were already prepared, making it more convenient to cook.
Yu Bai prepared dinner in the kitchen while Ji Rongyu and Xing Xing stayed in the living room.
Xing Xing completely ignored Ji Rongyu the whole time.
Even if Ji Rongyu tried to play with Xing Xing, waving and moving around in front of him, Xing Xing would simply turn around silently and face the other way with his round, chubby back, quietly playing with the building blocks in his hands without even looking at Ji Rongyu.
Xing Xing was in the process of building a small bridge. When he reached the middle, he lifted his little head and searched for an arched building block.
He found it!
Xing Xing’s eyes lit up.
Unfortunately, the arched block was a bit far from him, so Xing Xing needed to crawl and walk over to get it.
Xing Xing immediately propped himself up on his little hands, but before he could stand up, a big hand picked up the arched block.
Xing Xing raised his head.
Ji Rongyu handed the arched block to him.
“Here, you want this one, right?”
Xing Xing’s gaze shifted between the arched block and Ji Rongyu’s face. He hesitantly held onto the square block in his hand, seeming to contemplate whether he should accept the arched block from Ji Rongyu.
And then…
Ji Rongyu, holding the arched block, once again received Xing Xing’s chubby back.
His dad had said that he should do things by himself!
He wouldn’t take the arched block from the bad babysitter’s hand.
Even though he didn’t have that arched block, he could build something else!
Ji Rongyu raised an eyebrow.
This little child had quite a temper. It seemed like it wouldn’t be easy to coax him.
But…
Ji Rongyu had never been afraid of anything since he was young. Whatever he wanted to get or accomplish, he could do it.
Coaxing a little child shouldn’t be too difficult, right?
Ji Rongyu approached Xing Xing and lowered his voice.
“Xing Xing, why don’t you like me?”
Xing Xing, holding the building blocks, showed a hint of caution in his round, bright eyes.
Xing Xing only glanced briefly at Ji Rongyu before quickly turning his head back and continuing to play with the building blocks.
Ji Rongyu didn’t give up. His slender eyes blinked, and he continued, “But I actually like you. You’re more well-behaved and sensible than other children… I heard from your dad that you’re only three years old, but you can already build bridges with building blocks. That’s impressive.”
Although Xing Xing still had his back turned to Ji Rongyu, his actions with the building blocks slowed down.
Ji Rongyu didn’t miss this small detail. A gleam of light flashed in his eyes.
“And you’re very cute, just like your dad. Both of you look great…”
There was no doubt that Xing Xing was Yu Bai’s soft spot, and Yu Bai was Xing Xing’s soft spot.
With one sentence, Ji Rongyu praised both Yu Bai and Xing Xing, causing cracks to appear in Xing Xing’s defensive line.
At this moment, Ji Rongyu casually said, “Don’t you want to go to the kitchen and see how well your dad cooks?”
Xing Xing’s hands that were building with blocks paused for a moment. His childish voice carried a tinge of melancholy.
“Dad doesn’t let me go to the kitchen because it’s dangerous, and I might get hurt…”
Xing Xing had only seen Yu Bai cooking at the kitchen door, but Xing Xing’s height wasn’t enough to see the countertop in the kitchen. He could only catch glimpses of Yu Bai’s movements.
“I can hold you,” Ji Rongyu said. “I can lift you up, and we can both watch from the kitchen door. How about that?”
Xing Xing showed some interest. He struggled to raise his head and met Ji Rongyu’s deep, bright eyes.
Compared to Xing Xing, who couldn’t even jump as high as his knees, Ji Rongyu was undoubtedly a “giant.”
If Ji Rongyu picked up Xing Xing and they stayed together at the kitchen door, Xing Xing would be able to see the scene of his dad cooking!
However…
A hesitant expression appeared on Xing Xing’s tender face.
Other than his dad, Xing Xing didn’t want to be held by anyone else, especially someone he didn’t particularly like…
Ji Rongyu added fuel to the fire, saying, “If you don’t want to see, I’ll go watch by myself.”
Earlier, Yu Bai had told Ji Rongyu that tonight he would be making beef noodles and lean pork congee with preserved eggs, along with a couple of side dishes.
Beef noodles and lean pork congee with preserved eggs were common dishes in the market. Ji Rongyu had also visited P City, the birthplace of a famous beef noodle restaurant in Huaxia, and tried the renowned beef noodles there.
That beef noodle restaurant was indeed the best beef noodle Ji Rongyu had ever tasted in his life, but it was also one of the few restaurants in the food and beverage industry that had refused his investment.
The production techniques for their beef noodles were passed down through generations, and opening branch stores would inevitably affect the quality and taste of the beef noodles.
Teppanyaki, salted beef tendon… That slim and handsome young man in the kitchen had already surprised him twice.
Ji Rongyu also knew that Yu Bai had solid culinary skills.
So Ji Rongyu was curious. Could the beef noodles made by Yu Bai match the standards of that century-old famous beef noodle restaurant he had tried?
Ji Rongyu thought this way, not because he intentionally underestimated Yu Bai, but because compared to the culinary industry, Yu Bai was just too young.
Young chefs lacked the sedimentation of time and were usually not on par with experienced veteran chefs.
“I… I want to see!”
After hesitating for a long time, Xing Xing couldn’t resist the temptation of “watching Dad cook.”
Xing Xing stepped on his little shoes and walked towards Ji Rongyu with a “pat-pat” sound.
Xing Xing pouted and stretched out his little arm, reluctantly saying, “Hold me.”
Regardless of how stubborn the little child was, Ji Rongyu had confidence in subduing him.
Look, now this cub voluntarily asked him for a hug!
Ji Rongyu crouched down, swiftly lifting Xing Xing up in his arms.
As Ji Rongyu held Xing Xing, he realized that although Xing Xing appeared round and chubby on the outside, it was just an illusion. Xing Xing was not heavy at all when held, as light as a little snowball.
Moreover, this “little snowball” was soft and tender all over, giving a particularly pleasant feeling when held.
But nestled in Ji Rongyu’s arms, Xing Xing felt that Ji Rongyu was stiff all over.
Sitting on Ji Rongyu’s arm, Ji Rongyu’s arm felt as hard as iron, not comfortable at all.
Xing Xing pouted.
Dad’s embrace was still the most comfortable! Dad’s arms were soft, and when Xing Xing leaned against his dad’s embrace, it was as comfortable as resting on a pillow!
Ji Rongyu took a step towards the kitchen, and Xing Xing’s two chubby little arms immediately wrapped around Ji Rongyu’s neck.
When Xing Xing stood on the floor and looked at Ji Rongyu, he felt that Ji Rongyu was slightly taller than his dad.
But when he was held by Ji Rongyu, Xing Xing realized that Ji Rongyu seemed to be more than just a bit taller than his dad!
Xing Xing glanced down at the ground, and his little heart thumped.
It’s… a bit scary.
The soft and tender arms of the cub were tightly pressed against Ji Rongyu’s neck, and a faint milk fragrance lingered beneath Ji Rongyu’s nose.
For some unknown reason, Ji Rongyu’s mood improved a little.
When facing his siblings’ children before, he mostly ignored them and never took the initiative to get close to them or have any emotional fluctuations because of them.
But it seemed different with the child in his arms.
Ji Rongyu pondered.
Could it be… that children from other families smell good?
—
When Ji Rongyu arrived at the kitchen door holding Xing Xing, Yu Bai was making beef noodles.
On the stove in the kitchen, a small pot was simmering with lean pork congee and preserved eggs.
Even though the pot for the congee was covered, the aroma of the congee still seeped out through the gaps in the lid.
Inside the kitchen, Yu Bai was kneading the dough in his hands.
Yu Bai’s hands were not very large, but his fingers were slender and had a jade-like luster under the warm yellow light.
Skillfully, Yu Bai shaped the dough into the desired form, then stretched and folded it repeatedly… After a few repetitions, the dough turned into thin and snow-like noodles.
Since it was for their own consumption, there wasn’t much emphasis on the thickness or firmness of the noodles.
After finishing the noodles, Yu Bai placed them into the boiling broth.
The broth was made from the beef shank he had cooked the day before.
As the broth boiled, the fragrance of the beef instantly filled the entire kitchen.
Ji Rongyu and Xing Xing, standing at the door, couldn’t help but salivate.
The aroma was simply too enticing!
Yu Bai took out two long chopsticks and tossed the noodles in the pot.
When the noodles were cooked, Yu Bai immediately took out two bowls, already filled with pre-cut ingredients and flavored to taste.
He poured the beef soup over the white noodles, and on top of the noodles floated perfectly shaped soft-boiled eggs and slices of beef.
The soup was clear and white, garnished with beautiful green onions.
Yu Bai asked, “Do you like spicy food?”
Ji Rongyu, standing at the door, was completely absorbed in watching Yu Bai’s skillful noodle-making process.
It wasn’t until Yu Bai turned his head and their eyes met that Ji Rongyu snapped back to reality.
Yu Bai was asking him the question.
“Yes.”
Yu Bai nodded slightly, and with a flick of his spoon, he lightly stirred the noodles in the soup.
Bright red chili oil floated on the surface of the beef noodle soup, making one’s taste buds tingle.
“This is homemade chili oil, it might be a bit spicy, so I added only a little for you. If you find it not spicy enough when you eat it later, you can add more.”
Yu Bai said, “I’m done here, you can go back to the living room and wait for the meal.”
Ji Rongyu carried Xing Xing back to the living room.
As soon as Ji Rongyu put Xing Xing down, Xing Xing obediently fetched his own little stool and placed it next to the coffee table.
Sitting on the stool, Xing Xing patiently waited for dinner.
While waiting, Xing Xing’s round eyes fell on Ji Rongyu, who was idle on the side.
Xing Xing’s round eyes turned into half-moons, expressing dissatisfaction.
Xing Xing asked, “Are you not going to help Dad serve the meal?”
Xing Xing was still a cub and couldn’t approach the kitchen, so he could only do some things within his abilities to help lighten Yu Bai’s burden.
But this uncle was tall and strong, yet instead of helping Dad, he was just wandering around with no use at all!
Xing Xing thought that even if he was alone at home, he could take care of himself perfectly fine without needing anyone else’s help.
But his dad simply didn’t believe it and insisted on hiring a nanny to take care of Xing Xing.
This nanny uncle clearly didn’t help Xing Xing much, yet Dad still had to pay him and give him meals…
Ah, really!
Ji Rongyu had always been served by others since he was young, and he had never served others, so naturally, he didn’t know how incompetent he was as a part-time nanny.
It wasn’t until Ji Rongyu heard Xing Xing asking him to help Yu Bai serve dinner that he picked up his pace and walked toward the kitchen.
Ji Rongyu said, “I’ll help you.”
“Good, you came just in time. You can take these two bowls of noodles in.” Yu Bai said, “Xing Xing’s congee and these two side dishes, I’ll bring them in later…”
Ji Rongyu carried the two bowls of beef noodles and left. Before he left, his gaze inadvertently fell on the small pot containing the lean pork congee.
Ji Rongyu turned around.
Yu Bai had cooked a small pot of lean pork congee, but that little child was small and had a small stomach. How could he finish a whole pot of congee?
Ji Rongyu thought that the remaining congee in the small pot would probably go to waste.
Tsk, what a waste.
Author’s note:
Next chapter.
Top: With such a small amount of congee, even a chicken would shake its head when it sees it! I could eat three pots in one breath!
—
PS: The next chapter will have multiple updates and should be posted in the afternoon.
I originally planned to post more today.
But I’m almost recovered from my cold, and my pharyngitis has flared up again.
Please understand that my body wants to sleep after taking medicine. QAQ
