Chapter 108: Ma La Diced Chicken
Translated by Kollumceti Exiled Rebels Scanlations
In the end, he did not bother to eat. After rolling in the sheets, Shen Fu only had time to hold Lin ShuYi in his arms and kiss him on the lips before he drowsily pa.s.sed out.
Lin ShuYi did not hear any talking for quite a while and when he looked up, he found that Shen Fu had already fallen asleep.
He gently struggled out of Shen Fu’s arms. Shen Fu reflexively tightened his arms for a moment before he let Lin ShuYi leave his embrace.
Lin ShuYi bent down and took a close look at Shen Fu’s face. It was really as he had seen at the beginning. Shen Fu clearly seemed a little haggard because of a serious lack of sleep.
He wanted to know what Shen Fu was hiding from him, but he did not really want to ask upon seeing how tired Shen Fu was. He could tell how sincere a person was. Lin ShuYi thought to himself, Shen Fu liked him as much as he liked Shen Fu, so it was not so important to know what he was hiding in the end. He would surely tell him one day after clearly keeping him on tenterhooks.
However, he was still a little distressed on seeing Shen Fu so fatigued. Looking at the clock next to him, he found that more than an hour had pa.s.sed. It was already after seven o’clock in the morning. Lin ShuYi tugged on his loose clothes and went into the bathroom.
He did not intentionally wear Shen Fu’s clothes. He just missed him a little.
He found that the little bun in the opposite room was awake when he finished washing. The bun was standing in his little bed in his thin cotton romper as he called out to his brother, “Big Brother~”
Xiao Yu poked his downy head out from the quilt. His eyes were still a bit sleep-hazed, “Hmm? Is Tao Tao awake?”
Tao Tao held the bars of his cradle and turned happily twice to express his sense of existence.
Xiao Yu was amused. He ruffled his slightly messy hair, before lifting the quilt and sitting up. Then he reached out and lifted Tao Tao out of the cradle. Though he was not very strong, he was still extremely cautious when holding Tao Tao. Then he put Tao Tao on the ground. Tao Tao reached out and held his brother’s finger and pulled his Big Brother as he walked towards the door.
Xiao Yu reached out and held his brother’s hand. He did not need to think to know where he was going.
“We don’t know if Daddy is awake. Would Tao Tao like to play in the room first?”
Tao Tao did not really understand Xiao Yu words very well. He only knew that he had said the word Daddy, thus his steps became even more perky. He walked to the door and stopped, then he slapped the door with his cotton-padded hand as he looked at Xiao Yu, “Open, Daddy~”
Xiao Yu was helpless and could only open the door. Tao Tao continued to hold his Big Brother’s hand as he walked towards Lin ShuYi’s room.
As soon as he reached the door, it opened from inside and Lin ShuYi poked his head out from behind. Tao Tao stared in surprise with widened eyes. Then he threw himself into Lin ShuYi’s arms, “Daddy~”
Lin ShuYi kissed Tao Tao on his forehead, then turned his head and kissed Xiao Yu, “Daddy Shen is back. Does Xiao Yu want to go in and have a look?”
Xiao Yu eyes’s also widened, “Daddy Shen is back? When did he come back?”
Lin ShuYi replied, “This morning. He’s sleeping now.”
Xiao Yu had already taken a step. When he heard what Lin ShuYi said, he put his foot back, “Is Daddy Shen still sleeping? Let’s wait until he’s awake then.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lin ShuYi said with a smile. “He’s sleeping soundly. You can go in and give him a kiss him and come out again.”
Xiao Yu nodded and went in happily.
The room has been tidied hastily by Lin ShuYi. Shen Fu lay face-down on the bed and was sleeping deeply. Xiao Yu leaned over and kissed Shen Fu firmly on his face. Shen Fu did not stir at all. Xiao Yu found it amusing, so he kissed Shen Fu a few times on the other cheek. Tao Tao twisted his body and crawled down from Lin ShuYi’s arms. Learning from his Big Brother’s actions, Tao Tao also climbed onto the bed and gave Shen Fu a few wet kisses.
Then Lin ShuYi carried Tao Tao off the bed and went into the bathroom to wash his face and rinse his mouth. With each hand holding one, they went for breakfast.
No one had eaten the breakfast made for Shen Fu this morning. So, Aunt Chen warmed up the porridge again and added a variety of steamed buns. A custard bun that smelt of milk for Tao Tao, the fresh meat and mushroom buns that Xiao Yu liked, and a vegetable with dried plum steamed bun for Lin ShuYi. With a few boiled eggs, it was a nutritious and plentiful breakfast.
After breakfast, Lin ShuYi packed Xiao Yu’s schoolbag and sent him to school. Tao Tao’s clothes were changed and his hand was held by Aunt Chen as he went to the XiQin Restaurant with Lin ShuYi.
It was not until noon that Shen Fu woke up. The room was dark and the scent of Lin ShuYi’s shower gel lingered in the air. Shen Fu turned over drunkenly as his stomach let out an untimely grumble.
The phone rang at this moment, like it had a telepathic connection.
Shen Fu narrowed his eyes as he answered. His voice was a little hoa.r.s.e, “h.e.l.lo.”
“Are you awake? Get up and eat something before going to sleep again. I’ve made some food, come and eat after you’ve washed your face and rinsed your mouth.”
Shen Fu was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness in an instant. He gave a hum of agreement before he made a kissing sound into the phone. There was no movement on the other side for a long time. Finally, Lin ShuYi said, “Hurry up.”
Then he hung up in a hurry, as if he were shy.
The XiQin Restaurant was just as crowded as it was in the past. Many customers had become regulars and even if they stayed far away, many still chose to drive over with their families to eat here when they had the time.
Most of the frequent regulars knew about the relationship between Shen Fu and Lin ShuYi. When they saw Shen Fu, they would greet him with a smile. Shen Fu responded to each of them before entering the kitchen.
Lin ShuYi was wearing an ap.r.o.n. His slender hand that did not have the slightest hint of femininity hand ladled the dishes out onto a plate. The brilliant red dish looked delicious and seemed to go well with rice.
With one glance, it was easy to tell that it was specially made for Shen Fu.
Tang Shuang was busy making other dishes. When he saw Shen Fu coming in, he said with half complaint and half envy, “I thought Bro Xiao Yi came to help me today. Who knew that he specially came to cook for Bro Shen? It made me excited in vain.”
Shen Fu ignored the teasing in his words and replied with a smile, “How are your studies going?”
Tang Shuang became serious when asked about proper business. He knew that Lin ShuYi intentionally handed the management of the XiQin Restaurant over to him. Tang Shuang, who was highly regarded by his boss, was very diligent in his studies. He worked hard to learn and remember whatever Lin ShuYi taught him. He had nearly mastered many things in the past few months. Lin ShuYi’s requirements were strict, he would not ask Tang Shuang to do it as long as he was not one hundred percent confident in his work. When all was said and done, Tang Shuang had some basic fundamentals, so he learnt quickly with some pointers from Lin ShuYi.
“En, I haven’t slackened at all.”
Shen Fu nodded, “That’s good.”
Several dishes had been prepared and Lin ShuYi carried them to the back. Shen Fu did not stay to chat with Tang Shuang and followed Lin ShuYi.
In the small yard behind the restaurant, Tao Tao was sitting on the picnic mat playing with toys. He put down his toys and stood up as soon as Lin ShuYi appeared. When he saw Lin ShuYi holding something in his hand, he consciously did not throw himself at Lin ShuYi. Then he saw Shen Fu tagging along so he widened his eyes in happiness and joyfully threw himself at Shen Fu. “Daddy.”
Shen Fu embraced Tao Tao and turned his face toward Tao Tao. Tao Tao understood what Shen Fu wanted and kissed him hard on the face while giggling constantly.
“Did Tao Tao grow taller again? Let Daddy see.”
Tao Tao did not understand Shen Fu’s words very well. He hugged Shen Fu’s neck, laid his head on him and quieted down instead.
Shen Fu looked at Lin ShuYi in doubt. Aunt Chen explained, “He should be sleepy since he was up in the morning until now. Let him drink some milk before taking a nap.”
As soon as Tao Tao heard ‘milk’, he immediately raised his head and said to Shen Fu, “Milk milk.” His eyes were shining like jade beads, it was exceedingly beautiful.
“Okay, Daddy’s going to get it for you.”
Lin ShuYi laid the dishes on the table while he instructed Shen Fu, “The bottle is being sterilized in the pot. Take it out and cool it. There is warm water in the thermos cup. The temperature should be just right to make milk for him.”
As expected, Tao Tao was sleepy. After drinking half of his feeding bottle, he hugged it and fell asleep.
Lin ShuYi took away the feeding bottle in his arms and covered him with a small blanket before coming out to eat with everyone.
Shen Fu was famished and he was especially craving Lin ShuYi’s food. Above all, everything that Lin ShuYi made all matched his preferences.
Chicken breast was cut into thumb-sized pieces before it was kneaded and marinated with starch and soy sauce. It was then pan-fried till it was golden and fragrant on the outside, and soft and delicious on the inside. Scallions, ginger, dried chilli, and Sichuan pepper were sautéd before the diced chicken was added and stir-fried. When served, a handful of fried and crisp peanuts and sesame seeds were sprinkled on it. The Ma La Diced Chicken had an extremely strong peppery and spicy fragrance. With its tastiness and how well it paired with rice, it instantly awoke Shen Fu’s taste buds and restored his appet.i.te.
He has eaten many sumptuous dishes, yet he still thought that only the dishes made by Lin ShuYi suit his taste best.
They did not remain at the XiQin Restaurant after the meal. Instead, they went outside for a walk while carrying Tao Tao who had woken up.
Nowadays, there were many people who recognized them on ChaoYang Street. People probably felt that this family was no different from an ordinary family that had two lovely children after the shock in the beginning to the present. Moreover, the attractiveness index of the entire family was excessively high. The family was really charming, the big ones were handsome and the little ones were cute. Thus, they no longer held any prejudice, after all, this was other people’s lives and whether they had a good or bad life had little to do with themselves.
However, the old grandfathers and grandmothers on the street doted on Tao Tao, this smart and lovely child, excessively. Due to Tao Tao’s illness, Lin ShuYi would not let anyone take him out to play by themselves, but he was all right with others holding and teasing him.
Tao Tao was not shy with strangers. The life at the welfare inst.i.tute had formed his extraordinarily outgoing and likable temperament. He was always smiling when he saw anyone and would call ‘Grandpa’ and ‘Grandma’ when he saw the older folks, amusing everyone till they liked him very much. When the old folks saw him, they also liked to give him something to eat. Tao Tao would take it, but he would look at Lin ShuYi and only eat it when Lin ShuYi allowed it. When he could not eat it, he would obediently pack it away.
The weather was getting warmer and warmer. The temperature in S City has risen rapidly as May approached. Nowadays, many girls dressed in revealing clothes were seen on the street and this was particularly eye-catching. But today, the people who were particularly eye-catching had become Shen Fu’s group. Even the pa.s.sers-bys that were in a hurry threw a stunned look at them when they pa.s.sed by.
When Lin ShuYi acted like he did not see it, Shen Fu ignored it too as he pushed Tao Tao’s stroller through the crowd with a calm face.
They strolled to a big supermarket that was quite a distance from their home and bought some daily necessities and snacks for Xiao Yu at the same time.
Lin ShuYi was very particular about Tao Tao’s food. It was always bought in a shop specialized in children and infants goods. However, it was not necessary for Lin ShuYi to buy it most of the time because every time Mother Shen went to H City she would buy a lot in advance and bring everything back at once using the car when they came back.
After strolling around the supermarket, it was almost time to pick up Xiao Yu and go home. Shen Fu went to settle the bill and Lin ShuYi received a call from Mother Shen at this time, “Xiao Yi, are you all coming over this week?”
Lin ShuYi nodded, “En, I’ll be bringing Tao Tao and Xiao Yu and we’ll go together.”
Shen Ma responded happily over the phone, “Okay, then I’ll ask the driver to pick you up.”
Lin ShuYi was puzzled when he heard this. He turned his head and looked at Shen Fu, who was in front settling the bill, and replied, “Shen Fu can just send us there. There’s no need for the driver to pick us up.”
“Shen Fu is back?!” It seemed that she did not know about the news of Shen Fu’s return.
Lin ShuYi recalled the time that Shen Fu’s returned today. He probably had not gone back to the Shen Family, otherwise he would not have arrived so early at their door. Thus, he said, “En, around six o’clock this morning.”
Mother Shen was deeply sad about her son’s behavior that forgot his mother now that he had a young wife, but she felt at ease when she remembered that the young married couple had not seen each other for half a month. Besides, they all knew why Shen Fu had gone to Los Angeles this time and only kept it a secret from Lin ShuYi. Mother Shen felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and was afraid she would carelessly let something slip if she continued speaking. Thus, she did not continue the conversation for long and asked a little more before hanging up. She was impatiently antic.i.p.ating the wedding after the family went to Los Angeles.
Just imagine how handsome her son would be on that day!