Although the Su family was poor, Su Yang was exceptionally skilled in cooking.
Even with such simple ingredients, he managed to stir-fry them into dishes that looked unaffordably exquisite.
Though vastly different from the dishes she had eaten in the palace before, they had a unique flavor of their own.
Youen felt that such days were indeed quite pleasant.
If only she could eat Su Yang’s cooking every day.
Unfortunately, Su Yang only cooked personally on Su Yan’s birthday.
On ordinary days, Su Ting would casually boil a few bowls of porridge to get by.
Su Yang was usually busy with school affairs and rarely had the chance to come back to cook.
Today, he had taken leave from school, which was why Youen could indulge her palate.
Just as everyone was eating with great relish, a sudden knocking sound came from the door.
Su Ting instinctively said, “Child, go open the door.”
Youen, who had just taken a bite of a fried egg, reluctantly stood up and shuffled slowly toward the door.
The knocking grew increasingly urgent.
Lazily, she called out through the door, “Who is it? Why come here at noon instead of eating at home?”
“It’s me! Jiang Yunnan!”
“Jiang Yunnan?” Youen quickly opened the door and, upon seeing him, immediately asked, “Weren’t you supposed to go back and get married? What are you doing here at this hour?”
Jiang Yunnan looked dejected, his face full of frustration.
“Could it be that Miss Lin is truly unattractive?”
He shook his head.
“Perhaps she’s not your type?”
He shook his head again.
“If she’s good-looking and you like her, then you should be off getting married properly. Why come here? Did you specially invite me to the wedding banquet?
Actually, that’s not necessary. You could have just sent someone to invite me. Although I might not have gone, there was really no need for you to come in person.
Going back and forth like this is such a hassle. If you’re not careful, the bride might run away.”
Jiang Yunnan pouted with a mournful expression and said, “My bride has indeed run away.”
“What? What happened?”
Wasn’t it Jiang Yunnan who was unwilling to get married before? How did it end up with the Prefect’s daughter running away?
“I just found out that this marriage was arranged by our parents. They didn’t discuss it with me, nor did they discuss it with her. I didn’t want to get married, and she didn’t either.”
Jiang Yunnan sounded somewhat aggrieved as he spoke and continued, “But I’ve turned over a new leaf. I was willing to get married, but she wasn’t.
Just as the wedding procession arrived at her doorstep, news came that Miss Lin had run away.
You have no idea how humiliated I felt.”
“So… Miss Lin ran away.
But what does that have to do with me? Shouldn’t you go home and reflect on your mistakes? Why come to me?”
“What home do I have? I don’t know anyone in that place—can that even be called a home? If I didn’t come to you, who else could I turn to?”
“Jiang Yunnan, don’t act so familiar with me. We’ve only just met—we’re not even close, okay?”
“How is that the same? No matter what, we’re fellow townspeople, right? The two of us should join forces and figure out a way to leave this godforsaken place.”
Just then, Su Yang’s voice came from inside the house: “Youen, who’s outside? Why not invite them in?”
Su Youen turned her head and replied, “It’s just a beggar, brother. Don’t worry about it—he’ll be leaving soon!”Jiang Yunnan stared at her in astonishment, “You actually called me a beggar?!”
Su Youen was just about to shoo him away when Su Yang’s voice came from inside the house, “Don’t send him away yet. Let me get him two boiled eggs.”
Indeed, his reputation for charity wasn’t unearned.
Su Youen had no choice but to say, “Brother, that won’t be necessary. I was just joking earlier. He’s a friend I made today. I’ll invite him in right away.”
Su Yang smiled, “Since he’s a friend, I’ll go set an extra place for him.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yunnan’s face practically bloomed with joy.
“Your brother is so kind.”
Youen quickly instructed him before he entered, “My name is Su Youen. When they ask you questions later, don’t slip up, understand?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not a child. I know what should and shouldn’t be said.”
With that, he strode confidently into the Su residence.
As soon as he entered, Su Yang had already set a place for him.
“Eh? Isn’t this Young Master Jiang Yunnan from the Jiang family?”
Youen was somewhat surprised, “Brother, you know him?”
Su Yang nodded, “He’s a student at our Academy. Of course I know him.”
Jiang Yunnan pretended to be confused, scratching his head and imitating amnesia scenes from TV dramas as he slowly said, “I fell seriously ill recently and the fever damaged my brain. I can’t remember many things.”
“Such a thing happened? How pitiful.” Su Yang looked at him with sympathetic eyes, though for some reason, his gaze gradually shifted to Su Youen.
“No wonder you could become close friends with Youen. Youen also…” Before he could finish, he let out a long sigh.
Jiang Yunnan winked at Su Youen, as if saying: So you’re sick too.
Su Youen merely smiled. After all, they were at the Su family dinner table, and today was Su Yan’s birthday. She didn’t want to cause any unpleasantness, so she swallowed her anger.
Su Yang seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly asked, “Wait, isn’t today Young Master Jiang’s wedding day? Why are you here?”
“Um…” Jiang Yunnan struggled with how to respond.
He began making faces at Su Youen, seemingly asking for her help to get him out of this situation.
Youen completely ignored him, focusing on eating her meal.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yunnan suddenly kicked her under the table and asked in terribly awkward English: “Hi! What can I say?”
Su Youen was utterly speechless at his move.
She smiled and quickly explained to the three confused Su family members, “There’s really something wrong with him here.” As she spoke, she pointed to her head.
Then she whispered beside Su Yang, “Brother, Miss Lin ran away from the wedding. This is a sad matter for Yunnan, let’s not bring it up again.”
“Such a thing happened.” Su Yang sighed again, his gaze toward Jiang Yunnan filled with even more sympathy.
What a pitiful soul indeed.
Having suffered brain damage from fever and gone through such an experience – truly pitiful.
Jiang Yunnan didn’t mind any of this. In fact, he thoroughly enjoyed Su Yang’s sympathy.
Because ever since Su Yang started pitying him, his bowl had been frequently filled with food that Su Yang kept serving him.
Su Youen was quite displeased with this. Today was originally Su Yan’s birthday, but with Jiang Yunnan’s performance, everyone was almost forgetting that they were supposed to be celebrating Su Yan’s birthday.
She couldn’t understand—why would Jiang Yunnan, a perfectly good male lead, come to her, a supporting female character’s home, to steal the spotlight?
Yet the birthday celebrant himself remained completely unfazed.
For Su Yan, no matter how the days passed, they were all the same.
As long as the Su family remained safe and sound, he was already content.