Chapter 42: Being Put Through the Wringer Again

She immediately stepped on the foot of the person behind her. Gu Yunting curled up in pain at the waist and roared, "Bai Shunan, you used your high heels to step on me!"

Bai Shunan said with a straight face, "Please, President Gu, do not sexually harass your female subordinate in the workplace."

"What harassment? Didn't we always used to be like this?"

Bai Shunan tossed her hair: "But I made it very clear to you before I came back. From now on, we are only in a superior-subordinate relationship. If you try to get handsy with me again, I won't be polite to you!"

"You..."

Bai Shunan remained calm as she said, "President Gu, it's time for the meeting."

Gu Yunting was both angry and dejected.

"Fine, Bai Shunan, you win!" After saying this, Gu Yunting left the office in a huff.

In the blink of an eye, it was Sunday.

Bai Shuruo had not slept well last night because she was thinking about cooking to host Han Yangting's friends today, so she got up early this morning.

Han Yangting had gotten up even earlier than her and was already in the gym.

Every time she saw him in the gym, Bai Shuruo couldn't help but sneak a few glances. He wasn't a muscle-bound man, but he had a great sense of power when he worked out.

"Brother Han, morning!" she greeted first.

Han Yangting was lifting dumbbells to work his arms. Seeing Bai Shuruo at the door, he asked while exercising, "Why are you up so early?"

"Aren't I hosting your friends for dinner today? My sister might come over too, so I was thinking of going to buy groceries."

Han Yangting stopped his movements and walked toward her, his gaze resting on her face for a few seconds.

"What's wrong?" Bai Shuruo asked in confusion, while simultaneously feeling a trace of pressure.

"It's only 7 o'clock. Is the supermarket open? Is the wet market open?"

"I... I'll prepare the menu first."

In fact, she had already prepared the menu last night; she simply couldn't sleep.

Han Yangting said without room for argument: "No need to rush. My friends have no requirements for food; as long as there's something to eat, it's fine. It's still early, and since you're already up, come and work out with me."

"Ah?" Bai Shuruo revealed a pained expression.

She didn't want to work out; it was too painful.

Han Yangting said: "I won't make you do anything difficult today, just some simple things."

Bai Shuruo believed him and foolishly went to change into sportswear.

As it turned out, it involved lifting dumbbells, abdominal crunches, and a 40-minute run.

Her legs, which had finally recovered from last week, would probably be sore again tomorrow.

After struggling until 10 o'clock in the morning, Bai Shuruo was drenched in sweat and had to take a shower.

She felt pained and nervous again; would there still be time to buy groceries now?

However, when she came out after her shower, she saw a large bag of groceries on the coffee table—fish, meat, shrimp, vegetables, side dishes, and seasonings, all there.

Han Yangting had actually bought them for her on a grocery delivery platform. Upon closer inspection, all the items were bought according to her menu.

When she left her room this morning, she had left the notebook with the menu on the coffee table.

Her heart couldn't help but warm up again.

The resentment from being put through the wringer this morning also vanished completely at this moment.

He was truly thoughtful.

It was just a pity...

Bai Shuruo carried the groceries back to the kitchen and sent a WeChat message to Bai Shunan: Sis, are you free to come over for dinner today? I've already prepared the food.

Bai Shunan replied quickly: Give me a moment. Is it okay if I bring Bai Shuhua along too?

Bai Shuruo said: That's fine.

With Bai Shunan and Bai Shuhua there, the atmosphere would be livelier, and she wouldn't be the only one feeling awkward.

Bai Shuruo began to get busy in the kitchen.

Before long, Han Yangting also came out. He had just showered, his hair had just dried, and the hair on his forehead was slightly drooping. He was wearing a casual, loose sweatshirt, looking both handsome and energetic, which made Bai Shuruo's heart flutter again.

"Brother Han, it was agreed that I would treat you all to dinner, so why did you buy the ingredients?" she said while washing the vegetables.

Han Yangting said: "I saw your notebook on the coffee table, so I bought them while I was at it. If you feel guilty, you can pay me back; it was four hundred yuan in total."

"Okay." Bai Shuruo said readily and immediately transferred the money to him via her phone.

Only after paying him back did she feel at ease.

"By the way, Brother Han, my sister and my younger brother will be here in a while." She continued washing the vegetables.

"That's good, it's livelier with more people," Han Yangting said, and as he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves to help her peel garlic.

Bai Shuruo quickly said: "Brother Han, let me do it myself."

Bai Shuruo had read some articles before saying that if a man has friends over, the woman should take the initiative to cook so the man would have more "face." Although Bai Shuruo didn't quite agree with this, since such a saying existed and Han Yangting was good to her, she could do it.

But Han Yangting seemed to have no such thoughts at all.

To let a woman work alone in the kitchen—how insecure must a man be to need to rely on such behavior to save face?

Around 11 o'clock, Ling Feng and Ni Xianglei arrived.

The two of them brought over a dozen bags, big and small, containing fruit, bird's nest, and various expensive mushrooms. Ling Feng even gave Bai Shuruo a set of La Mer skincare products, and Ni Xianglei gave her a bottle of expensive French perfume.

They must not have found an excuse to give them before, so they took advantage of coming over for dinner today to bring them all at once.

"Little sister-in-law, thank you for taking care of Yangting during this time. Look, since getting married, Yangting has even put on weight, so you must accept these gifts," Ling Feng said.

Tsk tsk, look at their brotherly love; this is loving the house and its crow.

Bai Shuruo found it hard not to accept, but she still explained: "Actually, Brother Han has been taking care of me; since we got married, the one who has gotten fat is me."

Bai Shuruo had indeed noticed her face was a bit rounder; there was a scale in the gym, and she had weighed herself that morning, finding she had gained 3 jin, even after exercising and sweating.

After a while, the doorbell rang again, and Bai Shuruo hurried to open the door.

This time, it was Bai Shuhua who had come.

"Shuhua, why are you the only one? Where is Eldest Sister?"

"Eldest Sister said she had something to do and wouldn't come; she dropped me off downstairs and drove away," Bai Shuhua said.

Bai Shuhua was also carrying a bag of fruit, saying it was bought by Lin Wanfen, as it wouldn't be right to visit someone's home without bringing some fruit.

Compared to Ling Feng and Ni Xianglei, the bag of fruit in Bai Shuhua's hand seemed very meager, but Bai Shuruo felt that as long as the intention was there, it was fine; Lin Wanfen's finances were indeed not good right now.

After inviting Bai Shuhua in, Bai Shuruo immediately returned to the kitchen to cook, while Bai Shuhua watched TV in the living room with Ling Feng and Ni Xianglei.

……

In the kitchen.

The menu had been decided by Bai Shuruo, but the one busy working was Han Yangting; he was cutting pork and washing vegetables, while Bai Shuruo had instead become the one helping out.

Bai Shuruo felt bad and said: "Brother Han, let me stir-fry the dishes in a while; you go out and sit with your brothers and chat for a bit."

Seeing that the ingredients were already mostly prepared, Han Yangting nodded.

This little woman had finally received her salary and sincerely wanted to treat them to a meal; he couldn't stop her from doing the cooking.

After he went out, Bai Shuruo closed the kitchen door and let out a sigh of relief.

Now that she was the only one left in the kitchen, she could finally cook freely.

She opened a certain book again, following the videos to make every dish: shrimp with broccoli, bamboo shoots with pork belly, candied sweet potatoes, braised hairtail...

However...