"No, I won’t." He stared directly into her eyes, taking another bite of the apple, his lips moving over the spot where she had bitten, slowly sliding over it.
Shi Nian quickly turned her head away.
Forget it, let him eat if he wants. Even if she tried to grab it back now, it would be pointless.
She couldn’t help but regret buying apples today; why couldn’t she have chosen some other fruit?
Apples, in the story of Eden, are the embodiment of original sin. Without biting into that forbidden fruit, there would be no entanglements between man and woman.
Shi Nian simply stir-fried some mushrooms with bok choy.
The bok choy was blanched in hot water beforehand to remove its bitterness. She selected small, plump mushrooms, those whose caps hadn’t fully opened and released their spores. Mom used to say that only these mushrooms were the most nutritious because once their caps fully opened, the nutrients would all dissipate with the spores.
Such small mushrooms should already be easy to flavor, but Shi Nian couldn’t help but sneak a glance back at Tang Yanqing and still made a cross-cut on each mushroom cap.
Tang Yan Yi had emphasized over and over how fussy that young master was, so she tried to put in more effort.
Once the dish was finished, Shi Nian deliberately sliced the green onions into fine threads, minced the garlic, and julienned the carrot, then sprinkled them all into the mushroom bok choy sauce.
The dish was ready to be served—bok choy vibrant green, mushrooms plump and full. Paired with the red carrot threads, it looked colorful and aromatic.
Tang Yanqing was already sitting obediently at the table, even holding up his chopsticks, staring at the plate in her hand.
Feeling guilty, she avoided his gaze, set the plate down, and quickly said, "You can start eating now."
She sat across from him, squirmed slightly, and couldn’t help but glance up at him.
He glanced at her, "What do you want to do?"
Taking a deep breath, Shi Nian pointed to the sofa in the living room, "Sorry, Mr. Tang, is it okay if I don’t eat with you here? I’d like to eat over there."
"Mm-hmm, eating while watching TV?" Tang Yanqing saw through her immediately.
Shi Nian nodded awkwardly, "...I’ve been used to it since I was a kid."
In truth, she wanted to avoid him. Eating with him face-to-face made her very nervous.
"Go ahead." He waved his hand.
One could imagine that when she used to eat with Xiang Yuan, they had to sit properly at the dining table. The Xiang Family highly valued image; even at home, Xiang Yuan wore branded loungewear perfectly ironed, so he wasn’t someone who would casually slouch on the sofa watching TV while eating.
Like receiving a pardon, Shi Nian quickly ran to the sofa. She opened a bottle for herself, then turned on the TV and tuned into a channel. The TV immediately started playing the melodramatic sounds of a soap opera.
Tang Yanqing also put down his chopsticks, stretched his long legs, walked over, bent his knees, and snuggled into the sofa.
Shi Nian was caught off guard, a bit dazed.
Even though it was a three-seater sofa, with his height and long legs, snuggling in placed them almost side by side.
Shi Nian’s fingers were holding something still in her mouth, forgotten not to take it out.
He sniffed, focusing on her lips puckered like a small cherry, "...What are you eating?" Like a curious puppy, he leaned in closer, sniffing around her lips and mouth, "Seafood smell, yellow wine scent—mm-hmm, drunken snails?"
Embarrassed, Shi Nian hurriedly put down the snail shells and began tidying up the bottles on the coffee table.
"Sorry, do you find it fishy? I’ll pack it away right now."
She loved eating these tiny fresh foods, but Xiang Yuan found them fishy and wouldn’t eat them, not to mention even hated the smell. Every time he saw her buy them, he would remind her that fresh seafood inevitably had parasites, and transporting it all the way from China, despite the promises of cold chain logistics, "...Who knows, from those Chinese businessmen, heh."
In the end, she could only secretly buy a bottle to satisfy her craving when she couldn’t resist any longer. Luckily, those nights, she always ate alone; Xiang Yuan wouldn’t come back.
"Such a great thing, no wonder you keep it to yourself, eating alone."
He chuckled, reaching over to loosen her hand, taking the bottle held in her palm. Twisting open the cap, he scooped out a snail with chopsticks, comfortably popping it into his mouth to eat.
Shi Nian was stunned, "You actually eat this too?" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ nοvelfire.net
Turning his gaze to her, he said, "Whatever you eat, I’ll eat."
[Have a great weekend; see you tomorrow.]
Thanks to Lan, wyydingding for the red packets + monthly votes
To A Dreaming Bird, Shi Jun, libixia, bettydunn, cmeisme for the monthly votes
To jianghua1126, Gu Xiaochen, yxy0130 for the flowers