The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward, and when her gaze met his no-longer-smiling, pitch-black and profound eyes, An Ruo’s heartbeat missed a beat.
She quickly averted her gaze, stood up without looking at him, and said, "It’s good that you’re okay. I’ll go see what I can make for you to eat."
After speaking, she hurried into the kitchen, while Mo Hua watched her retreating figure, his eyes deep with understanding.
An Ruo entered the kitchen, opened the fridge, and discovered there was nothing inside. She sighed and said with a smile, "I’ll go out and buy some groceries, what would you like to eat?"
"Make whatever you want, I’ll like anything you cook."
She deliberately ignored his ambiguous tone and chuckled, "Then I’ll just buy some random items. Don’t blame me if it doesn’t taste good."
"I won’t!" Mo Hua shook his head earnestly, and An Ruo stopped joking with him and went straight out with her wallet.
She was quick with her tasks, returning in less than half an hour with lots of groceries.
Mo Hua followed her into the kitchen and asked earnestly, "Do you need any help?"
"With what?" the man asked excitedly, ready to dive in.
An Ruo, smiling, pushed him out and said, "I need you to sit still and rest, and wait patiently for the meal to be ready."
"Ah? You really don’t need my help?"
"How can you help in this state? Go rest." She waved him off, and Mo Hua smiled, knowing he indeed couldn’t be much help.
"Fine, I’ll just wait for you to finish cooking and serve it to me." He settled into a seat and awkwardly turned on the TV to watch.
An Ruo’s culinary skills, honed over many years, were quite good now.
She swiftly made rice, prepared a fish soup, and stir-fried two light dishes before bringing everything to the table.
Two dishes and one soup, though they looked sparse, smelled delicious and were enough to eat.
She called Mo Hua over to eat and even took the initiative to serve him a bowl of rice. Since his palms were wrapped in bandages, it wasn’t suitable for him to use chopsticks, so she gave him a spoon.
Mo Hua protested that it was inappropriate for a grown man to eat with a spoon and insisted on using chopsticks. Unfortunately, his protest was ineffective against An Ruo’s rebuttals, and he had to compromise.
"You should eat too," he said to her.
An Ruo shook her head, "I’ve eaten already, I’m quite full. You go ahead and eat; this is all made for you."
Finishing her words, she picked up some vegetables with her chopsticks and placed them into his bowl.
Mo Hua paused for a moment, then casually scooped up the vegetables with his spoon, "Mmm, it’s delicious! An Ruo, your cooking is really great!"
Pleased by the compliment, she felt quite happy inside, "If it’s good, eat more."
"Sure!" Mo Hua ate heartily, and An Ruo, fearing it might be inconvenient for him to pick up food, kept adding more to his plate.
She also picked out the fish bones for him, each gesture careful and considerate.
Mo Hua kept his head down and ate without speaking, his emotions unknown to anyone else at the moment.
An Ruo didn’t realize that her natural actions had caused such turmoil in his heart; she was merely caring for him as someone who needed looking after, just as she would care for Kangkang, with tenderness and attentiveness.
After a satisfying meal, Mo Hua looked up at her and cautiously asked, "Will you come tomorrow to cook for me again?"
"Mhm," An Ruo nodded naturally as if it was a given, "I’ll come over during the day to cook for you, and then go back in the evening."
The man suddenly smiled, his black-jade-like eyes shining bright and looking very handsome.
An Ruo’s eyes were dazzled by his smile, realizing that she rarely observed Mo Hua’s appearance.