When Wen Xin heard that he was coming, she jumped up happily. “That’s great! Uncle Xing, come quickly!”
“Alright.” Xing Yu hung up the phone and said to the driver, “Head to Jingxiang Old Street.”
The driver had been to Jingxiang Old Street many times and knew President Xing was going to Wen Yao’s home, so he immediately turned the car around.
Hearing her daughter talking, Wen Yao turned back and saw her using the phone watch. “Xinxin, were you just making a call?”
Wen Xin ran over, looking at her happily. “Mom, I just asked Uncle Xing if he wants to eat cola chicken wings, and he said yes!”
Wen Yao didn’t expect that Xinxin would call Xing Yu and even invite him over for cola chicken wings.
Xinxin had mentioned before that she wanted to treat him.
But how could he possibly want to eat that?
“Did he say he’s coming?”
Wen Xin nodded. “Yes! Uncle Xing hasn’t had dinner yet.”
Wen Yao knew her daughter didn’t understand the matters between adults. In her eyes, she and Xing Yu were just good friends.
She usually cooked just enough for the two of them—one meat dish and one vegetable every day. Now that Xing Yu was coming, she couldn’t exactly turn him away.
“I understand. Go play.”
After Wen Xin left, she took out more chicken wings from the freezer.
When washing the rice, she added a little extra.
Xing Yu had been to this neighborhood a few times before and was already familiar with it.
As he went upstairs, he noticed that the motion-sensor light above was broken.
The corridor had no windows and was pitch dark.
He arrived at the door of Unit 2 on the fifth floor and raised his hand to knock.
Hearing the knock, Wen Xin immediately put down her paintbrush and ran to the door, standing on tiptoe to open it.
Seeing Xing Yu standing outside, she happily called out, “Uncle Xing, you’re here!”
“Mm.” Xing Yu walked in carrying a bag of snacks and immediately saw Wen Yao busy in the kitchen.
She was wearing a dark-colored apron, skillfully stir-frying.
Hearing her daughter’s voice, Wen Yao turned around—and her gaze met Xing Yu’s.
She froze for a moment. “President Xing, you’re here.”
“Mm.” Xing Yu withdrew his gaze and placed the snacks on the table. “Xinxin, I bought you some snacks. Do you want to eat them?”
“Thank you, Uncle Xing.” Wen Xin looked at the snacks in the bag. Although she was tempted, she still shook her head. “We’re about to have dinner. If I eat snacks, I won’t be able to eat dinner.”
“Then eat them tomorrow.” Xing Yu lifted his head to look at Wen Yao and walked over.
Wen Yao was finishing the last dish—minced meat with eggplant. A few more stirs and it would be ready.
She turned to grab a plate, but didn’t expect Xing Yu to suddenly be behind her, and she walked straight into his chest.
His chest was firm. Caught off guard, her nose hit him hard, and it hurt.
Instinctively, she stepped back—but an arm wrapped around her waist. A low, urgent voice came from above her head, “Careful, the pot behind you.”
Wen Yao turned and saw the pot. If it hadn’t been for Xing Yu just now, she would have bumped right into it. With how hot it was, she definitely would’ve been burned.
“My dish!” She didn’t care about anything else, grabbed the spatula, gave it a few quick stirs, then turned off the heat.
“President Xing, help me get a plate.”
Xing Yu glanced at the cabinet, spotted a clean white plate, and handed it to her.
Wen Yao continued stirring, then neatly transferred the minced eggplant onto the plate.
She set the dish down and started washing the wok.
When Xing Yu entered earlier, he had already smelled the aroma of the food. Looking at the three dishes and one soup on the table—color, aroma, and taste all appealing—he didn’t expect her cooking to be this good.
He carried the dishes to the dining table, making three trips before everything was set.
After washing and drying the wok, Wen Yao noticed that Xing Yu had already placed all the dishes on the table. He then returned to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks, preparing to serve the rice.
“President Xing, I can do it.”
“I’ll do it,” Xing Yu said as he opened the rice cooker. With practiced ease, he served three bowls of rice and brought them to the table.
Wen Yao watched him carry the freshly filled bowls. The bowls were thin, and the rice must have been hot—but he didn’t seem to mind the heat at all.
During meals, it had always just been Wen Yao and her daughter in the rental apartment. This was the first time the three of them were eating together.
Xing Yu didn’t know that Xinxin was his daughter.
And Xinxin didn’t know that Xing Yu was her father.
Only she knew. Somehow, the thought of a family of three crossed her mind.
As Wen Xin picked up a piece of cola chicken wings, she looked up at Xing Yu. “Uncle Xing, you should try the cola chicken wings.”
“Alright.” Xing Yu picked up a piece and took a bite. He had thought it looked delicious earlier, but after tasting it, he realized it was even better than he’d imagined.
Wen Xin eagerly asked, “Uncle Xing, is it good?”
Xing Yu nodded. “Very good.”
Wen Xin turned excitedly to Wen Yao. “Mom, look! Uncle Xing says it’s delicious too. My mom is amazing!”
Wen Yao felt a bit embarrassed. What hadn’t Xing Yu eaten before?
What she made were just simple home-cooked dishes, nothing fancy.
She quietly picked up some food and ate in small bites.
Xing Yu had quite a good appetite. The dishes paired well with rice—after finishing one bowl, he served himself another.
Suddenly, Wen Xin asked, “Uncle Xing, do you have a wife?”
Xing Yu: “…No.”
Curiosity filled Wen Xin’s eyes. “Uncle Xing, you’re so nice. Why hasn’t anyone married you?”
Xing Yu: “……”
“Xinxin, don’t talk so much while eating,” Wen Yao said, a little embarrassed.
Xing Yu looked at Wen Xin. “Xinxin, where is your father?”
“My dad went to a very, very faraway place. I’ve never seen him,” Wen Xin said softly, lowering her head as she continued nibbling on her chicken wing.
Xing Yu glanced at Wen Yao. Was she divorced, or widowed?
Wen Yao lowered her eyes, absentmindedly eating from her bowl, not noticing his gaze.
After dinner, Xing Yu played with Xinxin.
Wen Yao washed the dishes. There were twice as many tonight, so it took longer.
Looking at the two of them playing on the sofa, she paused, watching them for quite a while.
She walked over and reminded, “Xinxin, it’s time to bathe and go to bed.”
Thinking of the work he still had to do after returning, Xing Yu stood up. “I should head back as well.”
Wen Yao looked up. “Take care, President Xing.”
Xing Yu: “……”
Was she really in such a hurry to send him off?
If it were another woman, she would definitely find all kinds of excuses to keep him.
After leaving Wen Yao’s rental apartment, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag.
Looking up at the overhead light, he pulled out his phone and called the driver. “Tomorrow, find someone to replace the light on the fifth floor of Unit Four.”
The driver was momentarily stunned before responding, “Yes, President Xing.”
President’s Office
Xing Yu looked over the proposal from the planning department, feeling somewhat dissatisfied with the short drama script.
Wen Qi pushed the door open and walked in. “President Xing, this name is written incorrectly.”
Xing Yu looked up. “Which name?”
Wen Qi replied, “Wen Yao’s ‘Yao’ is written wrong. It’s not the ‘王’ radical one—it’s the ‘Yao’ from ‘graceful and refined’.