It’s a pity that she didn’t have a chance to earn money to properly repay her grandma before she fell ill and passed away. From then on, she could no longer taste the tomato stew oat noodle fish her grandma used to make.
After washing up, Pan Jingchen returned to her room, closed the curtains, and curled up under the blanket.
Liu Xining noticed and felt a pang in her heart. Did she say something wrong earlier that made her feel upset?
She hurried over and asked softly, "Chenchen, what’s wrong?"
"I just miss my grandma a bit. Grandma cared so much for me, yet I never had the chance to properly honor her. I’m really useless."
Pan Jingchen buried her face in the blanket, her frail shoulders trembling. Clearly, she was silently crying again.
Liu Xining sighed inwardly; depression patients are just like this, emotionally fragile, extremely sensitive.
An inadvertent word, a trivial matter, can remind them of sad things, leading to an emotional breakdown.
She had previously overlooked that tomato stew oat noodle fish means more than just a delicious noodle dish to Pan Jingchen; it’s also her nostalgia for her grandma. What she said likely made her realize the breakfast she brought wasn’t it, causing disappointment.
"Chenchen, your grandma only hopes you’d be happy. She wouldn’t want to see you crying alone in the room."
Liu Xining sat down by the bed, gently pulled Pan Jingchen into her arms, and softly said,
"If grandma saw you like this now, how sad she would be! You wouldn’t want grandma to worry about you, right?
If you want to eat tomato stew oat noodle fish, I’ll bring it for you again at lunch. But you shouldn’t be hungry in the morning.
How about tasting the food I brought for you first? If you think it’s not tasty, we won’t eat it, okay?"
Pan Jingchen said nothing, but Liu Xining got up and took the lunch box from the side, slowly opening it.
The lunch box had two layers: dumplings in broth on top and preserved egg and lean pork congee at the bottom.
As soon as Liu Xining opened the lid, a rich aroma of preserved egg with a hint of green onion wafted out, making Pan Jingchen beside her couldn’t help but look over.
Liu Xining clearly noticed her reaction, moved the lunch box in front of her and said warmly, "Chenchen, look, these are chicken broth dumplings. Didn’t you always order these when we went shopping?
And here’s preserved egg and lean pork congee; I always said the preserved egg smells bad, but you always refuted me, saying it’s fragrant and nice.
I brought both for you. Whether it’s good or not, let’s taste a little, shall we? If it’s not to your liking, I’ll bring you tomato stew oat noodle fish later, okay?"
She said, extending the lunch box with dumplings and congee in front of Pan Jingchen, looking at her with anticipation.
The ascending steam from the food carried a tempting aroma that continuously wafted into Pan Jingchen’s nose, stimulating her nerves and tempting her taste buds, making her swallow unconsciously.
Pan Jingchen gently raised her head, cautiously glanced at Liu Xining opposite her, then looked down at the translucent dumplings and fragrant congee, finally couldn’t resist slowly raising her hand.
She picked up a chopstick, picked up a dumpling, carefully bit a small opening by her mouth, then gently sucked, and the rich, fresh broth flowed instantly into her mouth, causing her eyes to widen.
Everything was exactly as Liu Xining expected. After tasting one dumpling, Pan Jingchen couldn’t stop...
Watching her lower her head, nibble on the dumplings, occasionally sipping the preserved egg and lean pork congee, Liu Xining couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. While happy, she couldn’t help but be a bit amazed:
The food Jiang Yu makes is not only delicious; it must possess a certain indescribable magic!
At that moment, she felt even more fortunate to have accepted the school’s invitation to perform initially; otherwise, how could she have met Jiang Yu, this extraordinary junior brother?
Pan Jingchen now seemed to have completely accepted Jiang Yu’s food. Next, she’d need to make her more interested in food, and then gradually interested in things around her, thereby slowly emerging from the "maze" of depression, something that won’t happen overnight.
But now Liu Xining had full confidence, as long as Jiang Yu is here, sooner or later, Pan Jingchen will break free from depression and recover her former exhilarating stage presence.
...
Jiang Yu naturally knew about Pan Jingchen’s changes because Liu Xining and Xie Siqi would tell him about her progress every time they came over.
This surprised Jiang Yu as well.
Just like before with Wu Wenle, the son of Qiantang tycoon Liu Shurong; due to anorexia, he became extremely thin. He showed no interest in food made by others, yet he could eat Jiang Yu’s cooking.
Even Jiang Yu’s smoked meat and cookies seemed more appealing to him than other chefs’ gourmet dishes.
Originally, Jiang Yu thought this was an isolated occurrence; who knew another came with depression, Pan Jingchen whose changes were remarkably similar to Wu Wenle’s condition.