Chapter 111 Give Him a Surprise
Every woman would be the first to feel alert when another woman appeared in front of their man—not to mention someone as beautiful as Gu Hanyan, for her beauty was obvious to everyone.
Su Ziyue clenched her bag tighter. Her lips were pulled back as she replied in an apologetic manner, “I-I want to stay for awhile.” Lu Shichu smiled as he called for the server and ordered two cups of coffee.
When Su Ziyue noticed what he did, she immediately waved her hand. “You may leave if you have things to do. I only want to…”
Lu Shichu interrupted her and said, “It’s alright. I happen to have some time on my hands.”
Su Ziyue wanted to say something else, but when she met Lu Shichu’s gaze, she fell silent.
There was nothing to hide; she was indeed feeling uncomfortable.
She drank her coffee slowly while paying attention to Qin Muchen and Gu Hanyan carefully.
The two did not sit for long as they got up suddenly.
Su Ziyue and Lu Shichu followed closely behind; they saw Gu Hanyan stepping into Qin Muchen’s car as they left.
Su Ziyue felt her heart sink inexplicably and she had a slight change in expression.
“Ziyue?”
She turned around and noticed Lu Shichu looking at her attentively. Su Ziyue felt sorry as she said, “Shichu, you should carry on with your work. I have held you up for too long, and I shall be heading back to work too.”
“It’s nothing.” Lu Shichu stretched out his hand and wanted to touch hers, but something came to his mind and he went to pat on her shoulder instead. “You can call me if there’s anything. It’s like…”
After a pause, he continued, “It’s just like when we were younger.”
Although he knew there was someone by her side who was more capable of solving her problems, the words came out of his mouth anyway.
“Okay.” Su Ziyue nodded in a smile as the corners of her eyes crinkled.
“Don’t think too much about it. Mr. Qin and Gu Hanyan might be just friends.” Su Ziyue looked slightly stunned when Lu Shichu replied. He let out a soft sigh and said, “I shall be leaving.”
After he finished speaking, he left without looking back.
Su Ziyue watched as Lu Shichu stepped into his car; she withdrew her gaze only after he drove off.
Shichu was still the same as before—nothing could escape his eyes.
…
Perhaps it was Lu Shichu’s words that convinced Su Ziyue, but she did not overthink the situation after she went back to the company.
Gu Hanyan was an international film star who had to travel frequently all year round. What was more, Qin Muchen had spent a lot of time abroad. Occasionally, he would invest in one or two films or TV shows; that was where he got to know Gu Hanyan, and it was completely normal.
Su Ziyuan had a busy afternoon. After she got off work, she drove herself home.
As she parked her car in the driveway, she did not see Qin Muchen’s Bentley that he drove today; this meant that Qin Muchen wasn’t home yet.
Although he would tease her from time to time, anyone with eyes would be able to tell how good he was to her.
Su Ziyue was not a heartless person either; since he was nice to her, she decided to give him a surprise too.
After she got changed, she came downstairs with her tablet and searched for a scallion fish recipe.
She had never cooked before and simply observed how Qin Muchen did it. Nonetheless, she thought that cooking scallion fish seemed quite easy when she was watching the gourmet show yesterday.
However, it turned out that there was no fish at home.
Su Ziyue had to head out once again to get the fish.
Then, she headed straight to the kitchen.
She looked at the tablet while repeating the instructions, “Marinate with cooking wine and some salt for half an hour. Cut the onion and garlic in shreds…”
She referred to the recipe as she went along.
After the fish was marinated, she cooked the rice with the rice cooker.
Thanks to her previous experience of helping Qin Muchen in the kitchen, she knew how to cook using a rice cooker now.
When it came to cooking, it was really Su Ziyue’s first attempt.
She was not sure if she had extraordinary talent or simply because the dish was too easy, but she somehow succeeded in one shot.
As she opened the lid of the pot, she could smell the aroma of the fish rising from the pot.
After pouring some fermented black bean gravy on the steamed fish, she topped it with chopped onions and some coriander. Finally, the last step was the most challenging for her—pouring the cooked oil on top of the fish.
Su Ziyue quickly switched off the fire once she noticed the steam rising from the pot. When she poured the oil on the fish, a sizzling sound was heard and her hand was burned.
“Ouch…”
Su Ziyue frowned as she placed her hand under the running water, accidentally draining it with hot water instead.
Despite that, she managed to resist the discomfort and finished another dish from the tablet.
However, her vegetables were overcooked and salty. Furthermore, half of them were burned and charred; Su Ziyue had no choice but to throw them away.
After several attempts, her vegetables were finally unburnt and not as salty, albeit slightly overcooked.
He wouldn’t mind to tolerate it a little and try a bite, would he? Su Ziyue thought to herself.
…
At 8 o’clock, Su Ziyue called Qin Muchen. He finally answered the call after a long while.
“I was just going to call you. You haven’t had dinner, have you? I ordered some delivery, and it should be arriving soon. Make sure you look properly before opening the door.”
Qin Muchen’s voice came from the receiver with sounds of electric current running through it. Furthermore, his background sounded hollow; he could be in an empty and spacious room.
Su Ziyue had spent two hours in the kitchen, made three dishes, and was still in her apron.
When she heard his words, she swallowed what she was about to say. I cooked dinner. Come home quick. She paused for a moment before replying, “Are you not coming home to eat?”
“Mh-hmm,” Qin Muchen responded in a low voice. He could tell from her voice that she was unhappy, so he replied in a cheerful tone, “It’s my bad that I can’t eat dinner with you today. I will make it up to you when I come back…”
When it came to a situation like this, Su Ziyue would normally blush. However, she felt really annoyed when she heard that.
She interrupted Qin Muchen’s words and said, “Oh, okay. It’s fine.”
After she finished speaking, she disconnected the call without waiting for him to reply.
She took a deep breath and tossed the phone aside. As she removed her apron hastily, her gaze fell on the table of dishes she had prepared.
Qin Muchen seldom not come home for dinner.
Whether it was the small apartment they lived in or in Cloud Bay Hilltop Villa, he would typically come home on time. Even when he had unfinished work, he would bring it back home and continue to work in his study.
It sounded very quiet from his end. Was he still working at the company?
However, when she thought of what she had seen during the day, Su Ziyue became extremely irritated.
Walking over to the table and looking at the three dishes that didn’t look presentable, she sat down and started eating. However, she spat the food out after a few bites.
Not only had her scallion fish gone cold, it had also become hard and fishy; her vegetables were still overcooked, and her tofu was too shredded.
Nothing was edible. Compared to what Qin Muchen had made, the disparity was unimaginable.
Excited to prepare a meal for Qin Muchen and to give him a surprise, she did not expect herself to fail so miserably.
Su Ziyue sat at the table for a while before getting up to throw the dishes into the trash bin. She cleaned up the kitchen to a greater degree than normal and headed upstairs when she was done.
