Chapter 717: Chapter 711: The Taste of Home
She loved going to eat there with Yingying and Chenchen when they were in school. She even thought the restaurant might be owned by Chenchen, as Chenchen had learned the secret recipe of their favorite dish just for them.
The price Chenchen paid for learning the recipe was washing dishes in that restaurant for four years, and Chenchen agreed without hesitation at the time. She and Yingying called Chenchen silly for doing that, but she remembered what Chenchen had said at the time, “This is the food you both love, and I’ll be the happiest person if I can learn to make it for you.”
Both Qin Xue and Chu Beiying were genuinely touched when they heard that. Among the three of them, only Chu Beiying had a complete family life, while she and An Xiaochen had no such fortune.
Qin Xue was a poor child, with divorced parents and a mother who committed suicide. An Xiaochen grew up in an orphanage, not knowing who her real parents were.
So, when they met each other, they felt as though they had met too late in their lives. Of course, this kind of late meeting was not between lovers, but between like-minded friends.
There was a hidden rebellious streak in Qin Xue, perhaps because she had repressed herself for too long, so she revealed her true nature after meeting them.
Chu Beiying, on the other hand, came from a wealthy family with a successful business, so she lived a more privileged life than others. Her parents, however, were too busy with their business to spend much time with her, no matter how much they loved her. As a result, she felt very lonely and longed for friends. But people only approached her because of her family’s wealth, making it impossible for her to trust them wholeheartedly.
One day, when Qin Xue was being bullied by Jia Qiu, Chu Beiying saw the situation and, seemingly out of the blue, went to help Qin Xue. They gradually became close friends after that. Qin Xue had also led a good life since she was a child, so she didn’t show any form of envy or resentment towards Chu Beiying’s life and attitude, which made Chu Beiying willingly accept Qin Xue. It was only after being tormented by Jia Qiu and her daughter that Qin Xue transferred schools and finally became friends with them.
Qin Xue felt as though she had saved the galaxy in her past life for her to have such good friends now. Unfortunately, here she was, unable to be with them anymore. But when she tasted the familiar flavor, her eyes filled with tears and rolled down her cheeks.
“Xue’er, what’s wrong?” Chu Molin felt something was off, and when he looked up at his wife, he saw that she was crying.
“I’m fine.” Qin Xue wiped away the tears that had fallen when she heard her husband’s voice.
“Is it not good, or…” Chu Molin thought that women’s minds were really hard to fathom.
“No, it’s because it’s so delicious that I couldn’t help but cry. I didn’t think there could be something so comforting in this world. Try it, you’ll see what I mean – it feels like family.” Qin Xue thought about herself, Chu Beiying, and An Xiaochen – weren’t the three of them closer than family?
“Really?” With a skeptical attitude, Chu Molin took a bite. As soon as the food entered his mouth, he was stunned, because it really did taste like home, as his wife had described. It had a warm, comforting feeling.
It reminded him of his mother, who loved him dearly but unfortunately passed away too soon. It left him with a sense of abandonment, even though he knew very well that his mother didn’t stop loving him. She was just tired and sick.
Chu Molin always comforted himself with this thought. But what was gone was gone, and his mother would never return, no matter how much he missed her. So after his father remarried, he left.