Chapter 180: Is That How Much You Miss Me?

Zhu Qi had not yet swallowed a mouthful of water when he suddenly heard this, his face flushing red with anger.

Playing him for a fool?

"You want to..."

"Yuanyuan wants to eat it."

Sheng Yu's one sentence choked back the insults Zhu Qi was about to blurt out.

Zhu Qi raised a finger to point at him, let out a cold snort, and set his cup on the coffee table.

Leaning on his cane, he walked toward the kitchen, and Situ stepped forward to support him.

Sheng Yu followed behind with his long legs, rolling up his sleeves as he walked.

"Yuanyuan grew up in Yucheng; why would she like to eat soybean paste noodles?"

In Sheng Yu's view, soybean paste noodles were something Northerners preferred.

Zhu Qi's pace slowed down.

"My wife is a Northerner; she likes to eat soybean paste noodles. After she married me and moved to Yucheng, she couldn't find good soybean paste noodles, so I went to her hometown myself to learn the authentic flavor."

He glanced sideways at Sheng Yu, his eyes full of criticism, and snorted, "A man who won't cook delicious food for his own woman—what kind of man is that!"

He had assumed that a man like Sheng Yu, who had sat in high positions for so long, would be angry upon hearing this.

However, he did not expect Sheng Yu to curl the corners of his lips, "You are right."

Zhu Qi: "..."

A surge of old anger welled up in Zhu Qi's chest, neither subsiding nor releasing.

Walking into the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator door, glanced at the ingredients, and frowned, "There aren't enough vegetable toppings."

"Situ," Sheng Yu said.

Situ immediately took out his phone and opened his notes, "Tell me, I'll go buy them right away."

Zhu Qi listed several vegetables in a row.

After Situ finished recording, he went out to the nearby supermarket to shop.

Only Sheng Yu and Zhu Qi were left in the house.

The atmosphere suddenly became strange and awkward.

Of course, only Zhu Qi felt this way; Sheng Yu appeared nonchalant, as if this were his own home.

Seeing this made Zhu Qi's temper flare up again.

Sheng Yu scanned the chessboard next to the living room sofa, "Situ probably won't be back that quickly. Would you like to play a game of chess, sir?"

Zhu Qi didn't say yes or no, but simply leaned on his cane, walked over, and sat down in front of the chessboard.

Sheng Yu sat opposite him.

"You young people probably don't play Chinese chess much. I'll let you take the red pieces; you go first."

Sheng Yu curled his lips, "No need, I'm afraid you..."

The unfinished sentence successfully provoked Zhu Qi's competitive spirit, "Afraid of what?"

"Nothing."

Zhu Qi raised his voice, "Are you trying to say you're afraid I'll lose?"

"No," Sheng Yu said leisurely, "I'm afraid you'll lose very ugly."

Zhu Qi: "..."

When Situ returned with the groceries, he saw Sheng Yu and Zhu Qi sitting on opposite sides of the chessboard.

The outcome on the board had already been decided.

Zhu Qi was red-faced and furious, while Sheng Yu was calm and composed, showing no shame for not having shown any mercy.

Situ frowned.

Young Master Yu doesn't just bully puppies, children, and the woman he loves; how is he bullying an old man too?

Seeing Sheng Yu about to stand up, Zhu Qi called him back, "Wait, I underestimated you just now; let's play another round."

Sheng Yu's hand, which was rolling up his sleeve, paused, and he let out a laugh; he finally knew who Zhu Yuan inherited her "bad at games but loves to play" nature from.

Another round ended.

Situ couldn't bear to watch.

Sheng Yu had practically slaughtered Zhu Qi, leaving him with nothing.

Poor Zhu Qi, an elderly and frail man, was bullied to the point of being too angry to speak, though fortunately, he reclaimed his home-field advantage in the kitchen later.

In the kitchen, Zhu Qi handed Sheng Yu a carrot.

"Wash it, then cut it into shreds."

Sheng Yu rolled up his sleeves, took off the green Hair Tie and the vermilion-red bead bracelet from his right wrist, put them into his pocket, and then took the carrot to rinse it under the faucet.

Watching his technique for washing the carrot, Zhu Qi sneered; with just this, he wanted to learn how to make soybean paste noodles?

Sheng Yu placed the washed carrot on the cutting board and reached for the kitchen knife with his other hand to start cutting.

"How are you supposed to eat it without peeling it?" Zhu Qi pressed both hands on his cane, lifting his chin to glare at him, looking exactly like a proctor.

Sheng Yu took the peeler Situ handed him—a tool he had never used before.

"Young Master Yu, why don't I do it?"

Zhu Qi coughed a few times, "No cheating allowed!"

Sheng Yu pushed Situ aside with a blank expression, took the peeler in one hand and the carrot in the other, and began to peel it.

However, since he had never used one, he only managed to scrape off a few bits of skin after several tries.

Just as Zhu Qi was preparing to pour cold water on him, he picked up the kitchen knife from the side and went *swish-swish-swish* on the carrot a few times.

He held the peeled carrot in his hand and weighed it a few times.

Zhu Qi let out a cold snort, "Small tricks!"

Afterwards, Zhu Qi gave him a few more vegetables and told him to continue shredding them, "These are all vegetable toppings; they are essential."

As he cut more and more, looking at the plates piled high with vegetable toppings, Sheng Yu slowly clenched his back teeth.

Situ whispered a reminder from the side: "Young Master Yu, Miss Zhu is just waiting to eat this."

Sheng Yu's expression changed visibly to the naked eye.

Situ breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, that kid Enzo really has some skills.

The words he had just said to the creature were what Enzo had secretly told him before they came; he hadn't wanted to pay attention at the time, but he hadn't expected them to be so effective.

Afterwards, whenever Sheng Yu showed the slightest sign of losing his temper, Situ would step forward to offer a reminder.

Sheng Yu turned his head slightly, and Situ, thinking he was about to get angry again, blurted out: "Miss Zhu is just waiting..."

"I told you to bring a plate." Sheng Yu's eyes were cold and dark, "Is your brain flooded with water?"

Situ didn't change his expression as he went to fetch a plate, "I'm sorry, Young Master Yu."

With the vegetable toppings prepared, Zhu Qi began to teach Sheng Yu how to simmer the fried sauce.

Watching sweat bead on his smooth forehead, Zhu Qi glanced at him, "If you find it difficult, don't learn it."

"It's not as hard as playing chess," Sheng Yu said nonchalantly.

Zhu Qi sneered, "Fine, you kid."

After simmering the fried sauce.

Zhu Qi tasted a spoonful, "No good, even a dog wouldn't eat this."

Situ felt a chill down his spine; this old man really dared to say anything.

Sheng Yu didn't say a word, poured out the fried sauce, and started simmering a new batch.

Zhu Qi tasted it again, "A dog could eat this."

"A dog would probably like to eat this."

"A dog would give it a thumbs up after eating it."

"It's for a human to eat."

As Zhu Qi finally connected Sheng Yu's culinary skills to humans, Situ breathed a sigh of relief.

When Sheng Yu simmered the nth pot of fried sauce, Zhu Qi finally said: "It's passable, it has the taste of the one I make."

Who would have thought Sheng Yu would pour the fried sauce into a bowl without changing his expression, "It cannot be just passable. She wants to eat it, so I will make her the flavor she likes best. Again."

As Sheng Yu turned to go to the sink to scrub the pot, Zhu Qi's gaze faltered slightly.

Does this kid really like Yuanyuan that much?

When Zhu Yuan was sleeping in the middle of the night, she felt groggily that someone was lying beside her.

She was startled, and the next second, she was scooped into a warm, broad embrace.

The temperature of the man's palms pressed against her slender waist through her hospital gown.

Zhu Yuan instinctively gripped the clothes on his chest.

She didn't know if it was her imagination, but why was there a faint smell of cooking oil on Sheng Yu, as if he had been marinated in the smoky atmosphere of a kitchen, a scent that even body wash couldn't wash away?

Before she could even speak, Sheng Yu's deep voice asked her with a smile: "I heard you were absent-minded all day; do you miss me that much?"