Lin Xinyan suddenly stopped Zong Jinghao. She wanted to ask about Su Zhan, but she decided not to.
“Hmm?” Zong Jinghao turned back to look at her.
“Nothing. Go get changed.” Lin Xinyan smiled.
He could guess what she wanted to ask. Yet, he didn’t expose her as he didn’t want to talk about a person who was also missing.
While Zong Jinghao was cleaning himself up on the second floor, Lin Xinyan opened the fully stocked fridge. Since the kids and she were now back, Aunt Yu took the chance to stock up in case they were hungry. She scanned through everything in the fridge and took out the ingredients.
While waiting for the water to boil, she cut the meat into slices and marinated with cornstarch and eggs, which would tenderize the meat. She then cut the peppers and tomatoes into cubes and washed the vegetables.
On the second floor, Zong Jinghao had changed into his pajamas. Since the clothes were made from silk, he didn’t feel hot even when they were long-sleeved. He put on his white indoor slippers and went to check on the twins, who were already sound asleep. The whole mansion was quiet, except for the sounds coming from the kitchen.
The man stood in the dining, in a corner where he could watch his woman cooking him a meal in the kitchen. He watched her quietly, something that he was fond of as it could warm his heart.
All Zong Jinghao wanted was to live a simple life with his wife and children by his side. All he ever asked for was a person who would love him and make him a simple bowl of noodles from time to time.
As Lin Xinyan was about to cook the noodles, he hugged her from behind. The woman jumped in surprised and turned around, brushing her nose across Zong Jinghao’s cheek. She could smell the shampoo from his body, and it was a pleasant smell.
“I’ll be done soon.”
Instead of letting go, Zong Jinghao moved his hands to her belly and gently touched it. He then rested his head on her shoulder as he watched her cook. “Then, I’ll wait here.”
“How am I supposed to cook like this?” Lin Xinyan turned to glare at him.
“I don’t care.” All he wanted was to hug her.
Lin Xinyan let out a sigh as she couldn’t win over an argument against him. “It’s not as good as Aunt Yu’s, but it should satisfy your stomach.”
“Anything you make is a delicacy to me.” Zong Jinghao smiled and kissed her on her cheek.
She didn’t have the leisure to chat with him and put the last ingredient in. her husband was still hugging her, locking her on the spot. “Let me go and wait outside?”
Zong Jinghao finally let go of her, but he didn’t leave. Instead, he pulled her aside and said, “I’ll plate it.”
He then opened the cabinet and took a small bowl out. Lin Xinyan raised a brow and asked, “Are you sure you’re going to use that bowl?”
Zong Jinghao looked at his bowl and found nothing weird. “Why? We usually use this bowl, right?”
Lin Xinyan deeply sighed and took the bowl from him. “This, is a rice bowl. You need a bigger one for noodles. You can’t leave the noodles in the pot for too long either since it will get soggy.”
She put the small bowl back and took a bigger one out.
Zong Jinghao received the bowl with a grin and plated the noodles.
Lin Xinyan went into the dining room and sat down while he sat across her. “Do you want some?”
She shook her head. After trails and errors, Zong Jinghao finally learned the correct way to eat a bowl of noodles with tomato egg sauce. All he had to do was pour the sauce over the noodles and mix them together.
“Why can’t you cook the tomatoes with the noodles? Wouldn’t it save more time?” Zong Jinghao couldn’t help but ask.
“You sure? Then I’ll do it that way for you next time,” Lin Xinyan replied as she rested her head on her palm.
For this particular dish, the tomatoes had to be stir-fried in order to extract the sauce out of them. It would cause a richer and deeper-colored sauce. If the tomatoes were added together with the noodle into the boiling water, it would overcook the tomatoes and the flavor would not be as sweet as the authentic method.
Zong Jinghao took a bite of the meat. To his surprise, the bloody stench that usually came with such meat wasn’t present, and the meat was tender. “Did you learn to cook somewhere?”
Lin Xinyan nodded. “I’ve known how to do this dish way before the kids were born. And after I have them, I would take some time to learn new dishes and cook for them.”
She never had the interest in cooking until she had her own children. Being able to prepare all three meals for the twins made her happy. Since she had to work, she could only prepare their meals when she had the spare time.
Zong Jinghao couldn’t help but feel depressed when he thought about the fact that he wasn’t a part of their lives for the past six years. Looking at the clock, he asked, “Are you tired?”
Lin Xinyan was indeed tired as she stayed awake after Aunt Yu woke her up.
“Why don’t you head to bed first?” suggested Zong Jinghao.
Lin Xinyan pondered before getting up. “Alright. Remember to put the dishes in the sink after you’re finished.”
“I will. Go.”
Since Lin Xinyan had already showered, she fell asleep as soon as she went back into the bedroom. She didn’t even notice Zong Jinghao coming in, but she felt someone hugging her from behind. Knowing who it was, she didn’t even bother to wake up and continued to sleep peacefully.
Shen Peichuan and the search team looked throughout the whole midnight but still could not find Su Zhan and Qin Ya. The pit they fell into was deep and well-hidden. The victims would never hear a thing from outside unless there was a huge commotion.
Su Zhan’s phone was out of juice after hours had passed. The two spent the rest of the night in total darkness and silence. When the sun finally rose and penetrated into the pit, he turned to check on Qin Ya. The woman was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, causing him to think that she was fast asleep.
He moved quietly, worried that he might wake her up, only to realize something was off when he noticed Qin Ya showed no sign of moving or waking up hours later.
“Qin Ya,” whispered Su Zhan.
There was no response.
“Qin Ya?” Su Zhan raised his volume, but still no response from the woman.
His brows formed a frown, and he reached out to touch her. The moment their skins touched, he could tell she was burning up and quickly reached for her forehead. He didn’t need a thermometer to know she was having a high fever.
Qin Ya’s lips were so dry that skin fell off. Su Zhan quickly pulled her into his arms and gently tapped her cheek. No matter how he called out to her or tried to wake her out, she remained unconscious. He quickly turned and shouted towards the hole he fell through, hoping to get someone’s attention.
He kept shouting and shouting, until his throat ran dry and his voice turned hoarse, but to no avail. Qin Ya could faintly hear the man’s voice in her deep sleep. She tried to open her eyes, but her strength failed her. All she felt was her thirst and cold.
“W-Water…” she mumbled weakly. Su Zhan could not hear what she was saying and had to lean in.
