Chapter 1606: In Her Bedroom
They added the vegetables to the pot of seafood last, and the crayfish and the soup were ready at about the same time.
They then retrieved the freshly-bought fish from the fridge.
They lined the bottom of the bowl with ice from the freezer before placing the fish slices on top, ensuring the freshness of the meat.
By the time s.h.i.+ Xiaoya finished setting the table, it was already six.
She finished far earlier than she expected, with Han Zhuoling’s help.
Han Zhuoling was missing when she went to the living room.
“Young Master Ling?” s.h.i.+ Xiaoya called out as she searched.
There were only so many rooms in her home. Han Zhuoling wasn’t in her study, nor was he in her coatroom.
s.h.i.+ Xiaoya’s eyes started twitching. He wasn’t in her bedroom, was he?
Though she’d asked him to make himself comfortable, she didn’t intend for him to be so at home!
Wasn’t it impolite to enter a lady’s bedroom without her permission?
When she entered, she saw Han Zhuoling standing in the middle and sizing up the room, though not touching anything.
She had no idea what was there to look at.
Hearing her voice, Han Zhuoling turned and explained, “I didn’t get a good look last time, so I came to observe. I never touched your things.”
“It’s fine.” What else could she say?
But he was rooted to the spot, and he never moved anything. What could he see from this?
“Dinner’s ready.” s.h.i.+ Xiaoya stood by the doorway and said, “Come and eat?”
“Right.” Han Zhuoling nodded and finally left her bedroom.
s.h.i.+ Xiaoya heaved a sigh of relief.
Both of them sat in the dining room, and s.h.i.+ Xiaoya said shyly, “My skills are pretty average, but I’m saved thanks to these seasonings. The hotpot is made using base ingredients, same with the crayfish.”
She remembered how Han Zhuoling disliked the noodles she planned to make with artificial seasonings.
s.h.i.+ Xiaoya was still tentative right now.
But Han Zhuoling did not mind at all. “It’s alright, as long as it’s cooked by you.”
s.h.i.+ Xiaoya thought there was something weird about the words.
But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong, so she smiled. “Give it a taste, then. I never changed the base ingredients for the hotpot, but I did for the crayfish after tasting it. I added rock sugar, bay leaves, cinnamon, chili, and some other spices.”
s.h.i.+ Xiaoya even prepared disposable gloves.
Because s.h.i.+ Xiaoya modified the base ingredients for the crayfish, Han Zhuoling took one first.
“Oh, do you eat this frequently?” s.h.i.+ Xiaoya asked before he started sh.e.l.ling.
Han Zhuoling shook his head. “Rarely.”
He was frequently overseas before, and the restaurants there did not have these.
Even if the restaurants in Chinatown did, he never sought it out on purpose.
He did not have many demands so long as his appet.i.te was slaked.
Food was just an essential fuel his body needed, and it wasn’t something worth spending so much effort on.
But s.h.i.+ Xiaoya seemed pa.s.sionate about this.
“Let me teach you.” s.h.i.+ Xiaoya picked up a crayfish. “Don’t a.s.sume it’s just about sh.e.l.ling. There’s a technique to it. It’s quite simple—you can finish sh.e.l.ling within seconds without effort after learning.”
Han Zhuoling’s stoic face finally showed some interest after hearing that.