“I think you’re making this up.” Tong Hui clearly didn’t believe him.
Jiang Muzhou placed the dried mushrooms to the side, sat down on the sofa, and began rummaging through the box, taking its contents out one by one.
There were bamboo shoots, dried vegetables, dried radishes, and the like.
Seeing that Tong Hui wasn’t falling for it, he asked with a smile, “What makes you say that?”
Tong Hui analyzed, “Look at this. First, although Wenwen said her cousin is very strict, when she came to look for me last time, President Shang was the one who brought her, which shows he treats his family pretty well. Second, he even lent his car to you, doesn’t that prove he’s easygoing?”
“Who said his car was lent to me?”
Tong Hui pointed toward the door, then pointed at his own eyes, implying that he had eyes and could see for himself, so Jiang Muzhou couldn’t fool him.
Jiang Muzhou didn’t bother explaining either. Explain what? Explain that Shang Shixu had driven him back personally, that he had fallen asleep in the car, and that instead of waking him up, Shang Shixu had specifically left the car with him?
Seeing that Jiang Muzhou remained silent, Tong Hui sidled up closer, carefully scrutinizing Jiang Muzhou’s expression as he probed, “What kind of relationship do you and President Shang have?”
Jiang Muzhou looked at him. This had to be the second person asking this question.
Tong Hui’s hair wasn’t tied back, and since he was sitting too close, his soft strands brushed against Jiang Muzhou’s face.
Jiang Muzhou abruptly pushed away Tong Hui’s overly close head. “We just know each other. He bought a stake in this studio of mine.”
Tong Hui wasn’t annoyed at being pushed away. “Oh, I see.”
“I don’t have a pot here. How am I supposed to cook all these things you brought?” Jiang Muzhou pointed at the pile of dried goods on the table.
That reminded Tong Hui of something. With an “oh,” he said, “I also brought you a soup pot.”
With that, he stood up and walked out, returning a moment later carrying another box.
“You said last time we should look out for each other, and I figured it’s not very convenient for you to cook here, so I bought you a pot. You can buy some ingredients to stew soup; normally you can use dried mushrooms to stew some chicken soup and nourish yourself when you’re resting.” Tong Hui opened the packaging box as he spoke. “Take a look and see if this is big enough.”
After arranging everything neatly on the table, Tong Hui stared expectantly at Jiang Muzhou.
Jiang Muzhou felt a bit creeped out by the gaze. “What?”
Some of his motorcycle-riding buddies were from the Northeast, and Jiang Muzhou easily picked up a couple of Northeastern phrases nowadays.
Tong Hui said, “Look, I’ve got everything prepared. Are you going to light the stove today?”
Looking at the pile of items before him, Jiang Muzhou also felt that eating takeout every single day wasn’t much of a solution.
“Shall we stew some chicken soup today, then?”
Tong Hui immediately stood up. “I’ll go buy groceries.”
Tong Hui drove his car to the supermarket to buy supplies, while Jiang Muzhou went back to work.
A good while after Jiang Muzhou finished work, Tong Hui drove back.
Jiang Muzhou hurried out to welcome them, only to find another person sitting in the passenger seat.
It was that pretty girl, Dong Qianwen.
Today she had her chestnut-colored curly hair permed and dyed, and she was wearing a matching skirt set that made her legs look straight, slender, and glowing white.
After getting out of the car, she smiled and greeted him, then cast her gaze toward the car parked by the entrance.
Tong Hui hauled the items out of the car and said, “See? I didn’t lie to you. His car really was lent to Xiao Zhou.”
Dong Qianwen looked both doubtful and perplexed, but failing to make sense of it, she let it go.
While Tong Hui was out buying ingredients, Jiang Muzhou had cleared out a small meeting room where the table, chairs, and extension cords happened to have everything needed.
Tong Hui said, “It’s not very convenient for you to cook here. Why don’t you convert a small kitchen, or rent another place to live?”
Jiang Muzhou shook his head. “The company is just getting on track now, I’m not going to bother with all that trouble.”
“Then aren’t you going to date in the future? Living here is bound to be inconvenient.”
“We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”
He had expected that given Dong Qianwen’s aggressive approach in actively pursuing Tong Hui the other day, she would have a very lively personality. Yet after spending time with her, today’s version of her felt somewhat disconnected from what he had seen before.
Last time she was fiery, but today she only felt tranquil.
While Tong Hui and Jiang Muzhou were prepping the ingredients, Dong Qianwen stood beside them handing over items and tidying up the trash.
Communicating with her was also very comfortable; she didn’t have any of the airs of a wealthy young heiress.
Jiang Muzhou finally understood why Tong Hui had fallen in love so quickly—she was completely his type. His initial rejection had simply been because the girl’s aggressive approach at the time had startled him.
Once the two of them were truly together and spent time interacting, did it actually feel pretty nice?
Jiang Muzhou poured a splash of cooking wine into the pot, added some seasonings, and put the lid on.
The moment he turned his head, he noticed Dong Qianwen sitting in a chair staring intently at Tong Hui.
He laughed and gave Tong Hui a shove, playfully teasing, “Does your little girlfriend just stare at you like this all the time?”
Tong Hui didn’t turn his head, but the tips of his ears turned a little red, looking like an innocent eighteen- or nineteen-year-old boy. “Yeah.”
“Getting shy, are you?”
Dinner consisted of a whole stewed chicken, along with some ready-to-eat deli meats Tong Hui had bought along the way. They also used Jiang Muzhou’s old rice cooker to make a little rice, steaming some cured pork that Gu Yubai had brought last time right on top of it.
Jiang Muzhou was a pretty good cook, which was precisely why Tong Hui always wanted to come over for a free meal.
While cleaning up after the meal, Tong Hui announced that he would be coming over for dinner whenever he had nothing to eat.
Jiang Muzhou laughed. “Sure, but you have to call in advance and bring your own ingredients.”
“Of course, leave it to me.” Tong Hui tucked a strand of his medium-length hair behind his ear.
Meanwhile, Shang Shixu woke up after sneezing several times in a row. He rubbed his nose and couldn’t fall back asleep.
He got up and pulled the curtains open a crack. It was a little past four in the morning, and the sky outside hadn’t brightened yet.
He sat propped against the edge of the bed, opened his phone, scrolled through his notifications, and replied to a few messages.
Then he saw a message from Wu Wanting asking when he would be back.
Ever since his birthday, he had been constantly busy on business trips, and his contact with Wu Wanting had lapsed.
Seeing the message, he realized he had neglected her and quickly replied that he would treat her to a meal once he returned to the country.
She must have just gotten off work, because she replied to his message instantly.
The two of them chatted for a bit and settled on a dining location.
Shang Shixu scrolled through their chat history. The content was sparse—from adding each other as friends until now, there were only about twenty-odd messages.
Back and forth, every single message was polite and courteous.
Shang Shixu wondered if all developing relationships started out this way: first chatting about what foods they liked, then asking what they were eating today; and after getting married, still asking what they were eating today or whether they were coming home, and once they had kids, talking about topics related to the kids.
Wu Wanting fit his criteria for a marriage partner perfectly: good family background, high education, attractive appearance, and especially those very pretty eyes.
She spoke very gently, embodying the image of a wife he had in mind.
Yet he always felt something was missing—he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, perhaps because they had just started interacting.
His aunt always said that affection was something cultivated and would develop the longer people spent together, and he agreed with that viewpoint.
As long as he wanted to, and as long as he invested time and effort, he could cultivate whatever he desired.
Just as he wanted to lie back down and rest for a bit longer, his phone lit up again.
Shang Shixu unlocked his phone to find a message from Dong Qianwen.
She had sent two pictures: one of his car parked outside Jiang Muzhou’s studio, and another of Jiang Muzhou sitting with his head lowered while eating, a pot of chicken soup and two side dishes set before him.
Shang Shixu: [?]
Dong Qianwen: [?]
Dong Qianwen: [It should be the middle of the night over on your end. You’re not sleeping?]
Shang Shixu: [How are you at his place?]
Dong Qianwen: [My boyfriend brought me here to check out your car. When did you become so generous?]
Dong Qianwen: [Didn’t you say this was the car you bought with the first pot of gold you ever earned, and that you wouldn’t lend it to anyone?]
Shang Shixu didn’t answer, replying instead: [Watch yourself when you’re dating. I won’t be able to cover for you for long.]
Dong Qianwen: [Nobody can manage me.]
Shang Shixu didn’t reply, choosing instead to tap open the second photo.
Jiang Muzhou was holding chopsticks, his head lowered as he ate a piece of meat. Jiang Muzhou had fair skin, and under the cool-toned lighting, only the small mole on his wrist stood out strikingly.