Chapter 4 Part 2
[T/N: This is part 2/2 of ko-fi update for this week! Keep it coming~~~ 1 ko-fi = 2 additional parts for next week! ^^ anyway, this chapter is very mouth-watering ? ]
“No, auntie. You and your family come out for dinner, it"s not good for me and my friend to join you all, correct? Maybe next time? Thank you so much for the invitation, auntie.” Qiao Yin kept a smiling face but then she realized she had said something wrong. She shouldn"t have followed what she said. She should say Xiao Yang was her ‘client", so there was no reason for her to continue to pester her.
As a result, Zheng Zi Hao"s mother really didn"t let them go.
In the end, it was Xiao Yang who voiced out, “Then sorry for making you pay.” Then he tapped on Qiao Yin"s arm, asking her to sit down. “It"s okay, sit.”
She did not know what he"s thinking, but since he said he didn"t mind, Qiao Yin couldn"t say no. She said thank you and sat down. When she was still dating Zheng Zi Hao, his mother had already disliked her. There were three reasons why she disliked her. First, she grew up in a single-parent family. Second, she was too busy earning money. Third, she made more money than Zheng Zi Hao. Many old folks did not like their daughter-in-law to be too capable and they liked to compare. Now that they had Xue Qing, who was such a good daughter-in-law candidate, naturally they would want to show off in front of Qiao Yin.
Qiao Yin was not too worried, and she never argued with the elderly regarding such a small matter. What"s more, when one became old, they tend to have shortcomings that could not be fixed. In the past, she cared about her relationship with Zheng Zi Hao, so she did not argue back. Now, their relationship was different, she felt that she did not need to worry. She was afraid that Xiao Yang was not familiar with the Zheng family and felt awkward sitting in the same table as them, so she wanted to talk to him more. However, she didn"t expect Zheng Zi Hao"s mother to be more attentive than she was.
Her “target of attack” became Xiao Yang and her firepower was at full force. Her face was smiling when she asked from family matters to work matters as if she could flip open his household registration book and read it through. “Police? Nice. You are good-looking as well… You look like you are in your twenties? How many years have you been working as a police?”
When she finished asking, she took a look at Qiao Yin. In the open and the dark, it"s like a hint that she was keeping a gigolo.
Qiao Yin"s face still had not collapsed, then she saw Zheng Zi Hao had already closed his mouth and enduring silently. He was always very nice to her. His temper was gentle and never got mad at her. However, there were times he had to quarrel with his mother to protect her. Although the two of them had broken up, according to his temperament, he still took Qiao Yin as his friend. He could never allow his mother to humiliate her.
Xiao Yang did not show any expression since the very beginning. He replied as per what she had asked, handling the situation with ease. “I am thirty-one years old. After I graduated from the police school, I went to the police station to work. Currently, I am working in the Criminal Investigation Division of the City Criminal Police Brigade.”
With his seriousness, Zheng Zi Hao"s mother couldn"t continue to keep the smile on her face. “A cop? It is not a good job. It"s dangerous and tough, and it"s not well paid…”
“Mom.” Before she said something even more unpleasant, Zheng Zi Hao stopped her. His face was so grim and he frowned when he looked at his mother, with his eyes burning. Seeing that his son was getting angry, Zheng Zi Hao"s father could not go on with this scene. He used his elbow to poke her and gave a soft warning. “That"s enough ah.”
She stared at her husband. She wanted to say something but was interrupted by Xiao Yang, “I"m sorry, but I"ve got something on, so I have to leave first.” He stood up with no expression on his face and called the waiter over. He informed the waiter concisely, “This table is all my friends. Please inform the chef to bring out the signature dishes.” Then he turned around and said to the dumbfounded people, “Please take your time to eat. This meal is on me.”
Then he turned to look at Qiao Yin and said calmly, “Will you send me off?”
Qiao Yin finally regained her soul and stood up immediately. She turned around and said goodbye to Zheng Zi Hao"s parents. “Then I"ll go off first as well. Uncle and auntie, please take your time to eat.” After that, she nodded towards Zheng Zi Hao and Xue Qing. Zheng Zi Hao"s expression became a little relaxed, and he seemed happy to see Xiao Yang overcame her difficulties. He smiled sincerely and said, “See you next time.”
She saw him being so magnanimous, she was certain that they were really impossible to be together anymore. Luckily, she"s not as upset as she thought she would be.
So she left Gui Xiang Ren Restaurant with Xiao Yang. When they got in the car, Qiao Yin finally couldn"t hold back her curiosity, “So this is your family"s restaurant?”
Xiao Yang took out a cigarette box from his pocket. After thinking for a while, he put it back into his pocket and he replied nonchalantly, “It"s my dad"s shop. He"s also the main chef.”
“Then you still said…” She recalled his previous comments about the restaurant.
He replied calmly, “It"s the truth.”
It seemed that even for his family, his words were still very sharp… Qiao Yin couldn"t restrain a smile and started the car, “To the police station?”
“Go home.” Xiao Yang"s response was unexpected: “There"s a chicken on the stove, and I"ll make some more dishes to eat together.”
She finally realized, when he said he had something on, he was actually trying to help her. Qiao Yin was very touched and very hungry. Although she felt that such a busy man like Xiao Yang couldn"t possibly be able to cook up some nice dishes, she couldn"t reject him as well. She could only nod her head, “Alright. Then I"ll also go back and cook two dishes and bring it over.”
Xiao Yang didn"t object to it.
They went home respectively. Qiao Yin did not intend to prepare any complicated dishes. She sliced the preserved meat that she had brought home today and placed it in a bowl. Then she put some preserved black beans, oil and salt in. After that, she steamed it in a high-pressure cooker. Then she cut the preserved fish and prepared the ginger, spring onions, and garlic. She poured the fish into the pan to pan-fry with medium heat. When the fish turned golden, she added in light soya sauce, cooking wine, ginger, spring onions, and garlic. After that, she sprinkled some cold water on it and then covered with a cover to simmer it with low heat.
After about forty minutes, she let out some air from the pressure cooker, opened the lid to smell the preserved meat. The preserved fish was also ready. The fish soaked up the gravy, leaving a good golden slice. Qiao Yin couldn"t resist and ate two pieces. she was reveled by the taste.
She carried the two dishes and knocked on Xiao Yang"s door. He was still busy in the kitchen but luckily, he did not forget to leave the door unlocked. Qiao Yin put the two dishes on the dining table and went into the kitchen to see if she could help. In the end, when she opened the kitchen door, she got dizzy by the fragrance.
When the crispy skin spicy fish was out of the pot, Xiao Yang skillfully carried the pot and poured the gravy onto the fish. After that, he sprinkled a little scallions on it. When he heard Qiao Yin came in, he turned his head to look at her, “Bring the chicken out first. It is hot in here, help me to on the air conditioner in the living room.”
He was still wearing his jeans and a casual shirt. He did not put on an ap.r.o.n, at 1.8 meters+ height, he stood in front of the stove, not in the least mismatched. After informing Qiao Yin what to do, he turned around and poured a bowl of dried red chili and shallots into the pan to stir-fry with hot oil. His technique was so proficient like a chef.
Almost dumbfounded, Qiao Yin took a while to recall Xiao Yang"s instruction. She then found the pot-shaped steaming bowl at the kitchen counter, turning to him and asked, “Is this the one?”
“Mm.” Xiao Yang threw the cabbage, which he tore just now, into the pot and handed her a pair of chopsticks. “You can try it first.”
After taking the chopsticks, she couldn"t resist the food. The familiar scent immediately rushed to her face, and with warm water and steam, she immediately lit her eyes — sweaty chicken!
She looked at Xiao Yang, feeling very surprised. However, he was still cooking the cabbage and did not respond to her.
So Qiao Yin could only pick up a small piece of chicken with the chopsticks and sent it into her mouth. The meat was marinated with special spices which made it so smooth and tender. When she bit once, it made her couldn"t bear to bite further.
Qiao Yin secretly took a peek at Xiao Yang, her eyes were subconsciously clouded by steam, thinking to herself, ‘You have a good face and body and that"s fine. How come your cooking is also so good…"