Translated by newbienoona

Edited by anks

Mankuai’s voice on the other end of the phone is too faint for An Chuxia to hear . All she hears is an occasional grunt from Qilu until he says, “I’ll come over later . ”

Then, he hangs up . An Chuxia looks upset, but she’s quite surprised when he hangs up quickly . But then, he has no reason to talk with her over the phone since he’s going to be with her .

The driver talks over his shoulder as he decelerates . “Where do you want me to send you off?”

“Go home first . I’ll drive myself . ” Last time he went to Mankuai’s, he was dropped off and picked up .

I don’t want him to visit Mankuai… . .

An Chuxia reminds herself not to return to the old Han Qilu, but she can’t control her impulses . If she prevents Han Qilu from seeing Mankuai, it might just force him to see her all the more, and that might break her .

Still, she wants to get back home to make the tomato soup and cola chicken wings he requested . She has to give her best effort .

As she’s thinking about this, Han Qilu suddenly says, “I’m just picking her up . I should be back in time for dinner . ”

Did he have to be accountable to her? An Chuxia wants to retort, but words elude her . Finally, she summarizes her thought in one word: “Okay . ”

As soon as they arrive, they both go separate ways . She heads for the kitchen, while he heads toward the driver’s seat . All he could see as she heads to the house is her back; it’s small, but powerful .

This realization suddenly forces him to tear his eyes off her and drive away as fast as he can .

The kitchen may be very high-end, but the tools are still quite common to An Chuxia .

Since she told the staff she’s preparing dinner, the chef and cook wait for her to arrive . As soon as they see her, they say in unison, “Xiaonainai is awesome!”

“I’m just making a meal, not going to a battle,” An Chuxia says, chuckling . “Go rest . I can do this by myself . ”

The head chef steps forward, “Xiaonainai, we won’t interfere, but we’d like to help you prepare . Otherwise,we won’t be able to rest . ”

The chef is sincere, but his eyes are firm . She’s persuaded to keep them only to a certain degree . She allows them to wash and cut the vegetables .

The chef engages her in conversation . But like he promised, he doesn’t interfere with her cooking .

Before her current life, the only thing she could make in her kitchen was porridge . She hasn’t tried to show off her culinary skills . But tonight, she made all the dishes she wanted, to the point that even the chef’s eyes bulged . He can’t believe she made these all on her own .

“Chef, I’d like to make seafood, but I’m not confident in cooking it . You can help me make those dishes . ” She points to the seafood she purchased .

An Chuxia has learned what the Hans like eating . Jiang Yuan and she share similar tastes: they both like slightly salty home-cooked meals . On the other hand, Han Liuhai doesn’t care for salty meals, but he loves seafood .

Growing up, seafood was a luxury . They only purchased it for the Chinese New Year . This is why the chef has to help her out .

“Of course . Master and madame are going to be here soon . We will be done by the time they arrive . ” The chef makes the statement as they hear a car arrive .

An Chuxia races to the window and peers in hope of seeing Han Qilu . He promised to be back by dinner, and the thought that he kept his promise made her heart beat rapidly .

But did he really return? It doesn’t make sense that he’ll pick her up but not dine together .

Would this be the last time she’d be making cola chicken for Han Qilu?

The maid sees An Chuxia in a daze, so she asks, “What do you want me to do with the chicken wings?”

An Chuxia asks herself the same question, but she answers subconsciously, “I’ll cook it . ”

It turns out, her heart already knows the answer . Even if Han Qilu won’t be able to eat it, someone else can enjoy it . She shouldn’t waste food because of him .

There may not be such an opportunity in the future .

Soon enough, all the dishes are cooked, and the maid serving the vegetable dish cleverly says, “Xiaonainai, the cilantro chicken smells so good, I’m tempted to steal a few . Should I set it on the table?”

She knows what the maid is implying, so she doesn’t have to pretend . An Chuxia tells the maid to set the dish on the table .

From a distance, Jiang Yuan spies An Chuxia carrying a dish to the table . The madame gets up from her seat and says, “An Chuxia, I thought you went out with Qilu . I didn’t know you were in the kitchen!”

The head chef quickly says, “Madame, we were too lazy to make dinner . These dishes were all prepared by the young miss . ”

An Chuxia was at the other end of the table, so she did not hear the chef’s explanation .

“Quickly, sit down and rest,” Jiang Yuan orders Chuxia, feeling vexed . “You just got discharged . Aren’t you tired?”

“The child is being kind, don’t mention trivial matters,” Han Liuhai says . Looking at steward Han, he says, “Pour some juice for Chuxia . ”

“Surely . ” Steward Han smiles and pours a gla.s.s of juice and takes it to An Chuxia . “Xiaonainai, drink . Look, you’re sweating . ”

“Thank you,” she politely responds .

“That’s it!” Jiang Yuan responds, s.h.i.+mmying . She’s dressed in an elegant skirt, but she acts impishly .

“The shrimp tastes good, so fres.h.!.+ You might have to compete with the chef!” Han Liuhai praises immediately after taking a bite .

An Chuxia quickly explains, “I cooked all the dishes but the seafood . He did that since I don’t know how to prepare it . ”

The head chef, who’s standing at the edge of the room says, “Xiaonainai, I deliberately said you made all the dishes… . ”

“It’s all the same, haha . ” Han Liuhai says with a smile .

An Chuxia doesn’t like lying, and this is why she receives goodwill . It was then Jiang Yuan realizes someone is missing from the table .

“Where did that boy go? Why isn’t he here to eat?” Jiang Yuan takes a sip of water . “Call him to the table . It’s Chuxia’s first dinner after coming home . ”

An Chuxia was feeling good, forgetting Han Qilu . But as soon as Jiang Yuan mentions him, she feels desolate .

Would he be able to come home to eat?

Upon hearing Jiang Yuan’s statement, the room’s lightened mood turns solemn . A servant steps forward and whispers into steward Han’s ear . Jiang Yuan immediately notices . “Speak directly!”

The servant promptly states, “The young master went to B City to visit the lady . He said he’s picking her up . ”

“What, that person? That’s great! Call him and tell him to return immediately!” Jiang Yuan is really angry this time . She sees that An Chuxia took the time to prepare his favorite food, and yet, the idiot runs out to pick up his lover! If she was in An Chuxia’s place, she would’ve gotten a kitchen knife and rushed over to get rid of the woman!

The servant is about to respond when An Chuxia screams for her to stop . “Forget it, mommy . If you call him back now, he’ll definitely not return . Everyone will just be miserable, so, forget it . ”

Jiang Yuan wants to retort, but Han Liuhai’s eyes tell her to back down . An Chuxia’s statement isn’t unreasonable . Truly, he can be forced to come back, but it’s his decision to return .

She relents, waving the servant away . She looks at her husband and says, “He’s your son!”

She might as well have said she didn’t birth him… .

“Eat!” He coughs . Through An Chuxia’s eyes, Han Liuhai is a model spouse . Not only is he a successful businessman, but he truly loves Jiang Yuan . A man like him is rare .

By the time dinner ends, Han Qilu has yet to appear . An Chuxia’s heart is heavy, but she invites Jiang Yuan for a stroll outside to help digest the food . Han Liuhai excuses himself since he has a laundry list of things to finish .

“An Chuxia, rest a.s.sured I will never accept Mankuai . She’s a devil; I didn’t like her before when she left Qilu . That was such a difficult time, and his world almost collapsed . ” Jiang Yuan is quite emotional recounting the memories . “But your relations.h.i.+p [with him] was so good, and it made me really happy . Who knew this would happen… . ”

“Mommy, don’t be sad . ” An Chuxia smiles . “Will his memories return?”

“I hope it’s not too late . Do you know what happens when rice is cooked?” Jiang Yuan says anxiously . “It’s late, and he’s not home yet . I have to call him and convince him to come home!