Chapter 18: Eat till you are accustomed to it
After the noodles were made, Lin Yi started to prepare the soup stock. Since this was not a hotel, there was no pre-prepared stock he could use. So all Lin Yi could do was to use the box of LeBao’s(brand name) concentrated soup stock which he found in the cabinet. This was the first time Lin Yi had seen such concentrated soup stock, but it looked pretty good, so he poured it into the pot. Immediately, a very nice aroma spread from the pot.
First, Lin Yi went to fry the vegetables with some of the soup stock. Then he added some condiments. Last, he added some water. While doing so, Lin Yi did not waste any time. He was boiling water to cook the noodles on another stove. After the noodles were cooked, he placed them into two separate bowls and poured the soup in. Now the two bowls of YangChun noodles were completed and were ready to be served.
Strictly speaking, Lin Yi did not follow the standard steps to prepare the YanChun noodles, but it had its unique flavor which Gramps liked.
One bowl of noodle should be enough to satisfy Chen Yu Shu’s hunger. So since there were some left overs, he decided to eat them himself.
“Is it done?” asked Chen Yu Shu. Apparently when she smelled the aroma, she couldn’t resist anymore. S she put on a pair of slippers and rushed to the kitchen.
“It’s done, I was just about to call you.” Lin Yi took off the ap.r.o.n and hung it up.
“That is Yao Yao’s ap.r.o.n, you better not let her find out that you used it!” said Chen Yu Shu as she looked at the ap.r.o.n. “Since you made a meal for me, I will not tell her that.”
“Hm?” Lin Yi was confused. Why did Chen Yu Shu suddenly become so kind again? After much consideration, he decided that Chen Yu Shu was still a very mischievous person. When Lin Yi remembered Chen Yu Shu’s gloating expression from yesterday, he knew that this girl is up to no good. Even Chu Meng Yao was much easier to handle than her. But Lin Yi couldn’t care less for what Chen Yu Shu was planning. He was grateful as long as Chu Meng Yao stopped giving him trouble and let him do his job.
Chen Yu Shu frowned and felt a little uncomfortable when Lin Yi started eating his noodles right in front of her.
But when she remembered that the delicious noodles was made by Lin Yi, she could not bear to chase him away. So she decided to let it slide. Filling her stomach was top priority.
This was the first time Chen Yu Shu had such delicious noodles. Most of the time, she would just have some instant noodles and milk before going to school. This was the first time she had authentic handmade noodles.
Although she was very impressed with Lin Yi, she did not want Lin Yi to be complacent. So she decided to not voice out her complements. She simply ignored Lin Yi and quietly consumed her noodles.
Lin Yi was rather happy that Chen Yu Shu was ignoring him. He was worried that this girl would start creating trouble for him again. So he quickly finished his bowl of noodles. When he wanted to get a second helping from the pot, he remembered Chen Yu Shu and asked, “Do still want more?”
“Nope.” replied Chen Yu Shu as she shook her head. “Help me get a cup of water.”
“Aren’t there drinks right behind you?” said Lin Yi as he pointed to the refrigerator behind Chen Yu. Having said that, he started to fill his bowl with a second helping of the noodles.
“It is not good to drink fruit juice in the morning. Water is much healthier…. Why do you have to ask so much? So do you want to get me a drink or not?” replied Chen Yu Shu in an annoyed voice as she stared at him.
“Sure….” Lin Yi placed his bowl of noodles on the table, and headed for the kitchen to get Chen Yu Shu a cup of water. ‘I don’t have a choice, do I? She is holding on to my weaknesses ’
“Where is your cup?” asked Lin Yi when he remembered that he did not know which one Chen Yu Shu’s cup was.
“Oh, it is in the cabinet below the water dispenser. The pink one is mine.” Replied Chen Yu Shu.
Lin Yi nodded and walked towards the water dispenser.
“Ah…..So sleepy. Stupid alarm clock.” Chen Yu Shu yawned and started walking down the stair drowsily. She did not have a very good sleep. The first half of the night, she was distraught that her first kiss was gone. Then she spent the second half crying and lamenting to Chen Yu Shu and finally fell asleep when she could not withstand the drowsiness. But after a night of sleep, Chu Meng Yao was not that bothered about yesterday’s incident.
But, Chu Meng Yao was now very tired. She felt that she did not sleep much when the alarm clock rang. Although she felt like sleeping a while more, but when she remembered that she still had school today. She had no choice but to get out of bed.
When she realized that Chen Yu Shu was not beside her, she was surprised. ‘Didn’t I talk to her till very late at night? So she should have slept much later then me. Why did she wake up so early?’
When Chen Yu Shu came down, she got a whiff of food. Since she did not eat much yesterday, and she even vomited everything that she ate, Chu Meng Yao was now very hungry. She felt like she was about to drool when she got a whiff of food. “Xiao Shu, what are you eating? It smells so nice.”
Chu Meng Yao scampered into the dining room, and saw that Chen Yu Shu was currently eating a bowl of noodles. When she noticed that there was another bowl of noodles in front of Chen Yu Shu, she was delighted, “Ha, I knew Xiao Shu wouldn’t forget to get me. You even prepared my share. Thank you!”
Chen Yu Shu was currently drinking the soup, when she heard what Chu Meng Yao said. Before Chen Yu Shu could say anything, Chu Meng Yao already picked the chopstick and started eating. “Uh….”
Chen Yu Shu sighed. She was speechless. She then thought to herself, ‘This is really not my fault, who told you to be so quick? You didn’t give me any chance to say anything before starting to eat it!’
“This smells so nice and it is so delicious” Chu Meng Yao was really hungry. She could not stop eating after she tasted it. She started to complement it as she ate, “Xiao Shu, where did you get this?”
“I didn’t buy this…..Shield-ge made this.” Replied Chen Yu Shu. She shrugged her shoulders and looked Chu Meng Yao sympathetically. Chen Yu Shu could not bear to break the news and hurt her fragile heart again.
“Ah!” exclaimed Chu Meng Yao, “Made by him? I don’t want to eat anything that was made by him…..” and was about to put down the chopsticks.
Chen Yu Shu thought to herself, ‘You say you don’t want to eat, but you have already eaten it. But then again, you have already tasted Lin Yi’s saliva, so it should not matter so much, since you must have gotten used to it already…..Haha’
“Hmpf, it is not the food’s fault. So, I am definitely eating it!!!” When Chu Meng Yao put down the chopsticks, she felt that her mouth would start to water again. Unable to withstand the temptation, she picked up the chopsticks again and said, “Eating the food he prepared doesn’t mean that I forgive him. I didn’t eat yesterday, so I am hungry. These noodles are only acceptable right? Xiao Shu?”
“Ok, if you say so….” Although Chen Yu Shu wanted to see Chu Meng Yao’s reaction if she found out that she had once again consumed Lin Yi’s saliva, but she felt that Chu Meng Yao was pitiful enough, so she decided that it was best not to say anything.