When Qiao Xuan, the real chef took over, a hearty and delicious lunch was almost complete.
“Wow, looking good.” The children immediately gathered.
“The cooking is more delicious than Brother Yu Heng’s. Brother Yu Heng always burnt the fried fish.” One of the little girls took a shot at his expense.
“Ha ha ha, really?” Despite knowing it was rude to laugh at her boss, but Qiao Xuan couldn’t help herself.
In the hotel, he was her boss and she ought to show him respect. It’s not so on the outside. The two of them weren’t close anyway, so there was no need to pretend.
“What are you laughing at? Your cooking is also difficult to swallow.” Another boy defended Yu Heng.
The boy’s parents were drug traffickers and users. They both died in prison, and he was sent to the orphanage not long ago. The trauma still affects him deeply.
He had the aura of danger around him and was the biggest troublemaker at the orphanage.
“Xiao Yi, you can’t say that to the Big Sister. Be nice.” The Dean saw the situation and came forward to mediate, softly reprimanding him.
“Why not? This is disgusting, I don’t want to eat!” He said, ready to splash the soup on Qiao Xuan.
“Be careful!” Yu Heng also saw the situation and rushed to protect Qiao Xuan.
But when Xiao Yi touched the pot, he quickly withdrew his hands. The pot was scalding hot.
“Ah! It hurts!” Xiao Yi screamed in pain. Qiao Xuan caught his hand in hers.
“Is it painful?” Seeing the pained expression on his face she said, “So you should know it hurts when you bully people, right?”
Xiao Yi didn’t expect the Big Sister’s move, so he dare not disturb the Big Sister anymore.
“I’ve learned self-defense before. Do you know why? Because when my Mom pa.s.sed away early, some children would bully me for not having a Mom. So I asked my Dad to let me take self-defense cla.s.ses, because I know if you don’t want to be bullied, then you have to become strong. However, bullying the weaker is not honorable. Knowing how to protect oneself as well as others is the real strength. Okay?”
“Hmm.” Xiao Yi angrily turned away.
Although the Big Sister’s words touched him, he still stubbornly refused to make peace.
“Come on, I cooked so hard. You’re really not going to eat? I work as a chef in the hotel. You haven’t even tried it, but said it’s disgusting. That makes me sad.” Qiao Xuan saw him softening, so she took advantage to push him a little.
Xiao Yi was still silent, but he turned around and went to get a plate.
“Thank you, Miss Yu.” Seeing a conflict resolved, the Dean quickly apologized to Qiao Xuan.
“It’s alright Dean. Because I myself have experienced the loss of a parent, so I can understand his feelings. In fact, they’re not bad, they just need more love.”
“Yes, you’re right… Oh, you’ve been busy since noon. Eat first and we’ll chat again.”
“Ah, okay.” Qiao Xuan didn’t immediately follow the Dean, but deliberately slowed down waiting for Ji Yu Heng to follow. “Hey, just… Thank you. ”
Although her first instinct was to protect herself, but in the corner of her eye, she saw him rush over.
“What for? Anyway, you were Wonder Woman, so strong. There was no need for me.” Although he was still distant, Ji Yu Heng’s tone significantly changed toward her, no longer sharp like before.
“Oh, is this you being nice? What “Wonder Woman”?” Qiao Xuan teased him.
“I was giving you a compliment. What you said was good: if you don’t want to be bullied, then you have to become strong. I think this sentence is very good.”
Yu Heng’s att.i.tude became serious, looking at her anew.
When he heard what she said, his heart was really affected because he felt the same way.
“It’s rare to hear you say something so profound. I’m reluctantly giving you praise.” Qiao Xuan was not aware of the change in Ji Yu Heng, but atmosphere between them has become more relaxed.
Qiao Xuan stayed and also helped the children do their homework. They didn’t leave until it was evening.
“You don’t want to stay for dinner?” The Dean tried to retain the two.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to work tomorrow, so I need to get back early.” Qiao Xuan was the first to decline the Dean.
For Ji Yu Heng it may not be a problem. After all, he is the general manager. But she is a poor kitchen a.s.sistant, and had to get up before six in the morning for work.
“Well, remember to drive carefully.” The Dean cautioned.
“I will, I will.” Yu Heng replied.
After leaving the orphanage, Qiao Xuan and Yu Heng walked silently down the residential area. It was evening and the streetlights were all lit, making the atmosphere between them a little awkward.
“This… I’m taking the bus.” Qiao Xuan suddenly remembered what he asked her at noon. She hadn’t given him a satisfactory answer, so she was anxious to get away.
“Wait.” Yu Heng grabbed her by the collar, not letting her off so easily.
“Ah!” Knowing she couldn’t escape, Qiao Xuan gave up any resistance.
“You haven’t answered me. Why did you come here?” Now that there was no one around, he was free to interrogate her.
“…just happened to pa.s.s by here.” She raked her useless brain for something clever to say, but in the end couldn’t come up with any good excuse.
“Just? You really just ah.” Even a three year old wouldn’t believe her words. Did she think he would?
“What about you? Why are you getting food from the restaurant to feed the orphanage? This is not what a profiteer does. Were you once an orphan at the orphanage?” She had no choice but to counterattack.
“Nonsense! I have a name and a surname, and my parent’s names are clearly written on my identification records. I beg you, don’t make false accusations!” Yu Heng was affronted by Qiao Xuan’s fallacy.
“Oh well, then why do you do this?” Seeing him more disturbed, she continued to attack.
“I take the food to the orphanage because… Wait a minute, am I the one on trial here? Why am I answering your questions?” Yu Heng rubbed his face, trying to calm down.
d.a.m.n, he’s always been very calm. Why is he letting her get to him like this?
“Oh.” It’s rare to see him like this. Qiao Xuan couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at? I warn you, you’d better not tell anyone about today. Otherwise I’ll make you regret it, hear?” Yu Heng didn’t know why he could be so easily led by the nose by her, but he decided not to continue in order to avoid further disadvantage.
“Well… I’ll consider it.” This was a rare opportunity to tease him, so she was going to relish it.
“Yu Qiao Xuan!” This woman best not think he was joking.
“Well, to speak or not to speak. Do you think I care?” Maybe because he was getting really angry, so Qiao Xuan didn’t continue to fan the flames.
But now that he’s making such a fuss, did he really care?
It seems Ji Yu Heng was not without weaknesses. Hey, this trip was really worth tracking.
But then again, he did try to help when Xiao Yi tried to attack her. And now she’s even promised to help him keep his secret. Although she was there to spy on him, she did just give him a promise, and she can’t go back on that.
Anyway, she would continue to look for his other weaknesses in the days to come.
She considered today a success. However due to her poor skills as a spy, she was easily caught. She doesn’t want to make the same mistake twice.
There was no guarantee that he will let her go next time. He mustn’t find out her real purpose working for Fu Hua. The loss would outweigh the gain.
“Ah… If you don’t track him, how else will you get close to him?” Qiao Xuan pondered.
The recent debt period was very tight. In order to pay the monthly debt, her Dad had to use almost all the monthly income from the B & B. Qiao Xuan also had to live frugally so she could send money to her Dad to share the burden. Now she will have her meal at work before heading home to save money on food.
She also knew that her Dad was giving Uncle Yi’s wife and children money used for the debt to help them out. The pressure of the debt was huge, but she couldn’t really be angry with her Dad.
Like her Mom, she loves her Dad very much. Her Dad has always been the giving type, which is why she was proud of him.
“Wow, there are still prawns.” Sometimes there will be leftovers from the buffet, and the staff are free to help themselves.
Today, Qiao Xuan was working the evening shift. She suddenly felt hungry, so she used the remaining ingredients in the kitchen to cook a bowl of her Dad’s gnocchi to eat.
During the evening to night shift, the staff are relatively small. There wasn’t much to do either, so they usually hung out in the staff lounge. The only person in the kitchen at the moment was Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan put the gnocchi into a bowl, moved a chair over, and sat directly in front of the work bench.
“What a delicious aroma.” The smell tantalizing her hunger.
But before she could even eat a few mouthfuls, a man suddenly walked into the kitchen disturbing her meal.
“General Manager.” She hadn’t expected to see Ji Yu Heng.
The smell… So familiar… Yes, it was the same as from when he was a child.
“How is it? Is it good?” Her Dad’s gnocchi were to best, but she was confident in her skills.
“Yes.” Yu Heng picked a piece with the chopsticks. “You said this is your Dad’s recipe?”
“Yes, he often made it for me.” It was her Dad’s specialty, and her favorite.
“The… What does your family do?” Yu Heng asked tentatively.
“Oh, our home is open to people…” Qiao Xuan started, then stopped herself. “Uh I mean, we run a snack bar from our home in the country.” Qiao Xuan thought it was a close call.
“A snack bar?” Yu Heng frowned.
This sounded wrong, but maybe there were two different cooks with similar tastes?
“What’s wrong?” Qiao Xuan carefully observed Ji Yu Heng’s expression.
“Oh nothing, it’s just… A long time ago, I ate a similar tasting gnocchi and thought…”
He remembered fondly that the bowl of gnocchi gave him the feeling of warmth. Qiao Xuan breathed a huge sigh of relief.
This kind of gnocchi could be found all over Taiwan, throughout the night markets. Sometimes it was hard to tell the differences. Her fears were groundless.
“It seems that I was thinking too much.”
“Hmm.” Determined to keep him from probing further, Qiao Xuan urged him to eat up.
Although her answer was different from what he expected, but her gnocchi invoked a very important memory from his childhood. It also soothed him from his confused emotions.
Every time he swallowed mouthful it invoked more memories, and it also triggered his curiosities about Qiao Xuan.
“You are working the night shift today?” Yu Heng was puzzled because the restaurant usually didn’t have female staff work the night shift.
“No, today I worked the evening shift but I’m having a meal before going home.”
“Why? After work, aren’t you anxious to go home and rest? Why stay so late at the restaurant? And you are a woman. Is your family not worried about you coming home so late?”
“No, I rent a house in Taipei. My Dad and I don’t live together. I worry about him, more than he worries about me.”
“Worry about him? Is there something wrong with your Dad?” Yu Heng was concerned.
Qiao Xuan hesitated.
It should be okay to tell him about her family problems, right? Anyway, he doesn’t know that they want to force him to buy the B & B. But because of the debt, she’s been having a really hard time, and having someone to talk to, would be nice.
“In order to help out a neighbor, my Dad co-signed a loan in the amount of ten million TWD. That neighbor has now run off, saddling my Dad with the loan. I’m trying to help him pay of the debt, so I’m reluctant to spend money. To save as much money as possible, I’m eating here so I won’t have to spend money on food at home.”
Since she’s already telling him, what difference does it make if he knows everything? He’s not going to fire her for eating too much from the restaurant, right?
“Ten million TWD?” For a family snack bar, isn’t this an astronomical number?
“Yes, ten million TWD.” Qiao Xuan helplessly sighed. Talking about it made her mood heavy.
Yu Heng didn’t expect her to have such a huge burden. On the surface, she appears so optimistic. If she hadn’t said anything, he would’ve thought she was a carefree person. But in fact, she is carrying a load on her shoulders.
He wanted to comfort her, but their relationship was not on friendly terms. Suddenly showing her kindness seems a bit strange.
“Don’t worry, your resilience is strong like a c.o.c.kroach. You’ll think of a solution.” In the end, Yu Heng chose this way to express his concern, in a sarcastic way.
“Sheesh.” Qiao Xuan wanted to give him a good punch.
This person really can’t say anything nice.
But it was hard to find someone to talk to. Afterwards, her mood was a little lighter.
Although he couldn’t openly express his concern, but he’d still like to help her in some way. He ate the gnocchi, while silently thinking. After a moment, he thought of a way.
“What is your usual work schedule?”
“Mornings and evening shifts, why?” He was the General Manager. Why concern himself with a kitchen a.s.sistant’s schedule?
“During your shifts, if I’m at the restaurant, you’ll be responsible for preparing my meals.”
“What?” Qiao Xuan thought she was hearing things.
“Why, you don’t want to?” Yu Heng looked at her seriously.
“No, it’s not that, but… Why do you suddenly want me to cook for you?”
Qiao Xuan’s surprise is not without reason. Although, he occasionally called for meals from the kitchen, but it was always prepared by the chef, never the a.s.sistant.
Today he at her gnocchi probably because the chef was out. He was just making due. She didn’t think he’d end up making her prepare his meals from now on.
“Surprised I want to eat your cooking? Didn’t you boast that your cooking skills were very good? Where’s your confidence?”
“But I’m not a chef…”
“Not a chef? Is it only a chef that can prepare a tasty meal? This bowl of gnocchi you prepared today, I feel is very delicious.” Yu Heng was telling the truth. He is also praising her seriously.
“Well…” Their meals were usually praised by the hotel guests. To be honest, Qiao Xuan really felt a lot of pride, she uncontrollably smiled at the thought.
“So, your answer?” Seeing her look of happiness and pride, Yu Heng couldn’t help but smile.
“Well, although it’ll increase my workload, but since you’re sincere. Leave your meals to me!” Qiao Xuan accepted gracefully.
“I won’t increase your workload for nothing. I’ll pay you five thousand TWD a month.” Yu Heng decided.
“Huh? General Manager, I was joking. You don’t need to do that.” She didn’t expect Ji Yu Heng would say such a thing. Qiao Xuan wrung her hands nervously.
Just to prepare him a meal, he’s giving me five thousand TWD a month? So much money, how can she accept?
“Don’t refuse, you’re taking on extra workload. Of course, I have to pay you more. Although I don’t know the sufferings of the world, but not to the extent of exploiting employees. What do you say?” Yu Heng tries to be playful for her sake.
“You…” Qiao Xuan was close to exploding.
This man is always going form hot to cold every three seconds. What she said was so long ago, she’s already forgotten, but how can he still bring it up to tease her?
“Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll prepare your meals and you pay me money.”
She generously accepted the five thousand TWD. So long as it gets her closer to being debt free, she’s happy!
Yu Heng certainly didn’t miss the sense of relief in her smile.
“Oh yes, and another thing. Don’t prepare my meals with the kitchen ingredients. I want you to buy better quality ingredients than the kitchen’s supply. After each month, show me the receipts and I’ll compensate you. Try to buy things like lobster or steak to prepare. If I don’t finish, you can help me eat the rest.”
Looking at her small frame, if she doesn’t have nutritious meals, how is she going to have enough strength to pay off her family’s debt?
“Oh.” Although she doesn’t understand why he wants her to prepare these, but she’s already promised.
“When you’ve prepared my meal, just send it up directly. If I’m out, I’ll tell you in advance, so you won’t have to prepare anything, okay?”
“No problem… Why? Wait, you just said to directly bring it up to you personally?”
“Yes, is that not convenient for you? If not, I can ask other people…”
“No, it’s very convenient, convenient. I can send it up, no problem!” Qiao Xuan tried to restrain her joy.
Whadaya know? It must be her lucky day!
Ji Yu Heng office! She can take this opportunity to survey his room, maybe there will be more gains.
Great, this is a really great day for her.
This time she has to take full advantage!