In truth, Qi Chenyan had never eaten any of it.
But his young wife looked so excited. She had brought him to her favorite shop and was recommending the dishes she loved—he couldn’t very well spoil her fun.
“I’ll just have what you’re having.”
How could Yu Li not see that Qi Chenyan had never eaten this before, and simply didn’t know how to choose?
She checked off a few items, then asked, “Can you handle spicy food? Hot and sour noodles are fairly spicy. Since it’s your first time, I’ll order yours mildly spicy, okay?”
Qi Chenyan nodded to indicate that was fine.
While Yu Li was ordering, Qi Chenyan wasn’t idle either.
Or rather, ever since they’d sat down, he had been wiping the table with napkins.
Although this hole-in-the-wall was reasonably clean, after all, so many customers came and went every day.
Oftentimes, the staff only gave the tables a cursory wipe with a rag when clearing dishes.
Over time, a layer of grease had built up on the tables.
Qi Chenyan had a thing about cleanliness, and the places he usually frequented were high-end restaurants that could rank among the Michelin stars.
Never mind the taste—at the very least, in terms of hygiene, ordinary restaurants couldn’t compare.
So even though he tried his best to fit into the world his young wife lived in, he still couldn’t quite adjust.
When the set meals arrived, Yu Li took a sniff, looking thoroughly satisfied. “That’s the smell! I’ve been craving this for days.”
Qi Chenyan wiped both the chopsticks and the spoon before handing them to her.
Yu Li took a sip of the soup first and gestured for Qi Chenyan to eat while it was hot too.
Qi Chenyan assumed that before eating hot and sour noodles, one was supposed to take a sip of soup first to savor the flavor.
So he followed the local custom—but he couldn’t drink straight from the bowl like Yu Li did, and instead scooped up a spoonful.
As a result, he was immediately scorched by the spice and broke into several coughs.
Yu Li hurriedly pulled out a napkin and handed it to him. “Are you okay? If you can’t handle spicy food, why did you drink the soup first? The soup is much spicier than the noodles—it’s where all the essence of the seasonings collects.”
Qi Chenyan was so spice-struck that the corners of his eyes had gone red, and he was coughing too hard to speak.
“How about I order you a bowl of zhajiang noodles instead? Their zhajiang noodles are pretty good too, and they’re not spicy at all.”
Yu Li thought that if Qi Chenyan’s fangirls ever saw their idol in such a wrecked state, they’d surely think they were hallucinating.
After all, who would have imagined that Director Qi, who commanded the room with such authority on camera, couldn’t handle spicy food and had been driven to tears by a single sip of hot and sour soup?
But Qi Chenyan waved his hand, signaling that he could eat it.
Seeing his persistence, Yu Li went and grabbed a bottle of chilled soy milk, popped in a straw, and handed it to him.
“Then have something sweet to help you recover, okay?”
Qi Chenyan drank a few sips of soy milk before he finally began to recover.
When he looked up, he met his young wife’s concerned gaze. “Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
When he spoke, his voice was hoarse from the spice.
Yet like gravel rolling over crushed gold, it carried a different kind of pleasant texture.
Qi Chenyan cleared his throat before speaking again. “I was just unaccustomed to it for a moment. After a few more bites, I’ll get used to it.”
“You really don’t have to force yourself. If you don’t like hot and sour noodles, I just won’t bring you here anymore.”
Qi Chenyan took a bite of the noodles. They were quite spicy too, but the heat was within an acceptable range.
“One should always try different things. You can’t let one unexpected incident stop your footsteps from exploring.”
“And besides, it tastes pretty good. I can accept it.”
As expected of a top diplomat—his skill with words and his ability to embrace new things were both impressive. Points added.
“Put the poached egg on top of the noodles, let it soak up all the broth—it tastes amazing.”
As Yu Li spoke, she demonstrated for Qi Chenyan to see.
But then she remembered that Qi Chenyan couldn’t handle spicy food—just one sip of the soup earlier had nearly sent him to heaven.
If the poached egg soaked up all that broth, wouldn’t that kill him?
She quickly changed her words: “Never mind, this way of eating isn’t suitable for you…”
But Qi Chenyan imitated her technique, soaking the poached egg in the broth, then took a bite.
The fragrance of the egg wrapped in the sour-spicy flavor was indeed a unique taste.
Apart from the spiciness that made him want to cry, everything else was quite acceptable.
“It is indeed good.”
Yu Li hadn’t expected Qi Chenyan not only to be willing to immerse himself in the experience, but also to be so cooperative.
It was completely different from his cold, aloof appearance.
Yu Li’s almond eyes curved with a smile. “If you like it, eat more. When we have time in the future, we can come here often.”
By the end of the meal, Qi Chenyan’s face had actually flushed slightly red from the food.
Yu Li, on the other hand, felt nothing at all—she just rubbed her belly contentedly.
“I’m full. Shall we go home?”
Qi Chenyan had already put down his chopsticks long ago. Seeing that his little wife had finally eaten her fill, he made a sound of acknowledgment and stood up.
While Qi Chenyan went to pay, Yu Li suddenly realized that she had said the wrong thing earlier.
Although she and Qi Chenyan were legally married now, she had no intention of living together with him.
So what she should have said just now was that they would each go back to their own homes.
“My place is in Manguifang—the new apartment my best friend and I bought together, the one I mentioned to you in a text message last time. Do you… want to come up and sit for a while?”
Qi Chenyan, who had been walking side by side with her, suddenly stopped and looked down at her.
“Yu Li.”
He suddenly called her name.
Each word was perfectly enunciated, giving Yu Li an inexplicable feeling like being called on by her homeroom teacher back in school—she couldn’t help standing up a little straighter.
“What is it?”
Qi Chenyan sighed softly. “We are husband and wife.”
Yu Li blinked. “I know.”
“I know that our marriage began because of an accident, but since I married you, I will fulfill my responsibilities as a husband—to you, and to the child.”
“So as husband and wife, isn’t it rather inappropriate for us to live in separate places?”
Yu Li rubbed her nose, feeling somewhat guilty. “I thought you were busy with work and would find living together troublesome…”
Qi Chenyan gazed at her deeply and said earnestly, “I’ve never thought of you as a trouble. I hope you can try to trust me.”
Yu Li gave a low “oh.”
“If you really don’t want to live with me, I won’t force you.”
Hearing this, Yu Li waved her hand. “It’s not that I—”
Before she could finish, Qi Chenyan cut in: “Then shall we go to Manguifang and help you move your luggage?”
Yu Li: “…”
Why did she feel like Qi Chenyan had been waiting right here for her to fall into his trap?
But he did have a point—what kind of married couple lived in separate homes in the same city?
Besides, right now she was the one asking him for a favor. If she refused and he got upset, what if he refused to do the interview?
And so, on the way to Manguifang, Yu Li secretly sent her best friend a sticker begging for forgiveness.
Lili, the Grass on the Plain: [Sorry, my dear. For my celebrity interview project, I have to temporarily abandon you and move in with my husband-of-convenience.]
[But you have to believe me—you’ll always be the one in my heart!]
After declaring her loyalty, Yu Li turned right around and moved out.
Though in truth, all Yu Li did was carry a bag—packing, moving the luggage, and everything else was all handled by Qi Chenyan.
“Is there anything left behind?”
Yu Li hadn’t packed much anyway. She wasn’t planning to live at Qi Chenyan’s place permanently—whenever he went on a business trip, she would sneak back here to stay.
She stepped forward, rose up on her tiptoes, and reached up to wipe the sweat from Qi Chenyan’s face.
“You’ve worked hard.”