Chapter 26: 26

Jiang Xiao didn’t know how to cook in the beginning. When he first met Lin Chengyu, he had never even touched a spatula.

This is normal, they were all teenagers when they first met, how many kids that age can cook? When Xia Wanwan was around, Jiang Xiao only need to open his mouth to eat, basically never entering the kitchen. Later, life forced him to go out to work, there were many small restaurants outside for him to eat from. At that time, Jiang Xiao ate enough for one person and was not hungry for more, allowing him to earn a month’s worth of money. Even if he spent it all, he didn’t really care, but after meeting Lin Chengyu, it was different.

He began to plan for the future. Living together needed more money and he had to cut expenditures really carefully. As cooking food by himself was much more economical than eating out, Jiang Xiao began to think about it.

As a beginner-friendly popular food, egg fried rice was the first dish Jiang Xiao learned.

When he made it for the first time, the scrambled egg was a little burnt, and occasionally he could find the eggshells inside. The shredded cabbage was not cooked, it was a bit raw. The salt and soy sauce was a bit too much, making it taste salty. All in all, it was edible, but not very tasty. He was a little embarrassed when he came out of the kitchen with a plate of fried rice.

He ate two spoonfuls of rice by himself, scratched his head, and said to Lin Chengyu, “Why don’t we go out and eat?”

The Lin family was previously also in the high-end hotel industry. Lin Chengyu had eaten all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas. He didn’t like fried rice. At first, he wanted to say that he wasn’t hungry today. When he looked at Jiang Xiao’s face, he suddenly couldn’t say anything.

Jiang Xiao was still wearing an apron, which was stained with oil. The Liujiang River was sweltering that day and he had been working in the kitchen for a long time. When he came out, his forehead was covered with sweat beads. Lin Chengyu stretched his hand to wipe it. Jiang Xiao was looking at him with pitiful eyes as he ate those two spoonfuls of fried rice. He felt that it didn’t taste good and he was obviously disappointed.

He had worked very hard.

Just like this, Lin Chengyu didn’t say any words of rejection. He even picked up a spoonful and stuff it into his mouth under Jiang Xiao’s bright eyes.

“It’s delicious,” he said. “We don’t have to go out, let’s just eat this.”

The two of them finished that plate of fried rice.

The food was really not good, but Jiang Xiao looked at himself like that and then laughed. He was silly and cute, so it didn’t matter so much whether the food was good or not. There was this old saying, ‘when you drink the water, remember the spring’, it’s probably the same reason.

It was during that time Jiang Xiao started his culinary career. His persistence was there. As long as he was serious enough and spent time practicing, the improvement of his skills was remarkable.

Later, he was even able to cook a full banquet in the small kitchen. He could cook both Chinese and Western food. Every year, he would carefully prepare candlelight dinners on the day that he thought were their anniversaries. A person who couldn’t eat egg fried rice was no more.

After all of that, it had changed.

Jiang Xiao picked up the thermos and when he turned around, he saw Lin Chengyu standing there in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking. He wouldn’t recall those things again like him, he wasn’t looking for abuse.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Xiao reminded him, “Do you still want to stay at our house?”

Because of this sentence, Lin Chengyu was pulled out of his memory and saw the real person in front of him. He suddenly couldn’t restrain himself and stepped forward to hold Jiang Xiao in his arms.

In Jiang family’s small kitchen, the smell of egg fried rice, the mellow smell of chicken soup that has been stewed for a long time, and the lemon fragrance of the dish soap are washed away, all these smells were intertwined, and they were all made up of trivial life in ordinary life. What he didn’t care about before, now he looked forward to—returning to the past where he and Jiang Xiao depended on each other for life.

In the cold weather, this person was like a treasure box, as long as Lin Chengyu touched him, or even looked at him, he could feel a sweet warmth from him to himself.

But Jiang Xiao didn’t feel warm at all, he was a little impatient, moving back and forth in his arms, ready to stretch his legs and kicked him, “Go away, you hear me? If this thermos spilled again, I will definitely kill you.”

You don’t know, you’ve already killed me once.

Lin Chengyu didn’t dare to say this, he hugged the person as if he had been charging for a while. He also didn’t dare to tell Jiang Xiao what he missed, because Lin Chengyu knew that as long as the memories he cherished were extended even a little bit, it would not be good for Jiang Xiao and himself.

However, being able to hold him for a while was also profitable, Lin Chengyu let go before Jiang Xiao lose his temper.

In the midst heavy snow falling from the sky, he accompanied Jiang Xiao to deliver meals, following his every step. That person no longer looked back at him, but as long as he saw Jiang Xiao’s back, he was already satisfied.

It’s good that he’s still here.

Jiang Xiao seemed to be all of his fireworks, a part of his entanglement in his life, the source of all his courage, and the heart that has regrown from his body, but stripped away so that now he was willing to be led by Jiang Xiao. Walking behind him, hoping that he could look back at himself.

He missed him so much that he didn’t know what to do.

Before entering Xia Wanwan’s company, he stopped in order not to embarrass Jiang Xiao, he knew that Jiang Xiao didn’t want him to see his family. It was a bit of self-aware at the circumstances.

But many people lived far away, they had no time to brave the heavy snow to deliver meals. When Jiang Xiao came over with a lunch box, many colleagues in the company were very envious.

“Is this your son?”

“He’s so obedient and well-behaved, he can also cook for his mother. Oh, that debt-collecting brat in our family, let alone cooking, will it kill him to eat properly.”

“Accountant Xia, you have good luck.”

Xia Wanwan neither responded positively nor negatively, but at the same time, she was overjoyed.

“Is it cold?” she touched Jiang Xiao’s hand, “The company has lunch boxes, why do you come here?”

The company indeed had lunch boxes, but they were hard to eat. The food was oily, even a dog wouldn’t want to eat them, and it was half-cold when it was delivered normally, let alone in heavy snow, it was even more difficult to eat.

“Let’s eat first,” Jiang Xiao took out the fried rice and chicken soup, smiled at Xia Wanwan, and said in a low voice, “Does mom thinks, I don’t know how bad the company’s food is?”

There was a pack of ginger cakes on the top of the thermos. Jiang Xiao wrapped it in a plastic bag so it didn’t get dirty. When he went back earlier, he put it on the pot to heat it again. It’s still warm now.

Jiang Xiao found a fruit plate from Xia Wanwan’s desk and put the ginger cakes on them, one by one. This cake was made with the same base as brown sugar cakes: the soft and sweet glutinous rice cakes were added with brown sugar and an additional small portion of ginger extract. Consuming them in cold weather could warm the body.

He shared this little snack with other people in the office. In addition, Jiang Xiao was sweet and good at talking, making everyone very happy.

When Xia Wanwan was in a bad mood, her work would naturally be affected as well. Her colleagues might have some opinions, but they wouldn’t say them out. When living outside, one must be kind to others, and it would be more comfortable to communicate and get along with each other.

Maybe it’s because the food at the company was too bad, Xia Wanwan’s egg-fried rice smelt very delicious. A colleague who had a good relationship with her came to eat a spoonful. After eating, she realized that Jiang Xiao made it. She was surprised.

“It’s very delicious,” the other party sincerely praised, “Your son is amazing!”

Jiang Xiao stayed in the office for a while and just waited for Xia Wanwan to finish. Afterward, he packed up the dishes and went back. Only when he went downstairs did he remember that Lin Chengyu was still waiting there.

Lin Chengyu was standing there, talking on his phone. Although mobile phones were not so popular these days, it was not difficult for Lin Chengyu’s family to afford one. He was probably talking about something about his family’s company and Jiang Xiao didn’t need to understand it.

It was only in his last life that he know about the Yong Jiang hotel chain, which was full of negative news and then collapsed, owned by Lin Chengyu’s family. However, since this person was reborn at this point, he probably wouldn’t let this happen again.

When Jiang Xiao came down, Lin Chengyu’s phone calls were almost over. He didn’t know where the other had gotten a hot water bottle and his eyes lit up when he saw him.

“Xiao Xiao, here, warm your hands,” he said, “I’ll carry those for you instead.”

He took the empty thermos from Jiang Xiao’s hand and as if by magic, he took out a cup of hot cocoa from behind and handed it to Jiang Xiao. The rich sweet aroma of chocolate could be smelled through the bag.

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“It’s for you,” he said, “I remember you like drinking this.”

It’s not that Lin Chengyu didn’t know what Jiang Xiao likes at all, after all, he’s not really wooden after living together for so long.

Jiang Xiao liked to drink hot cocoa in winter. Lin Chengyu remembered the sweetness of cocoa he tasted on his lips when the two kissed. Jiang Xiao liked to eat sweets when he was stressed. Later when he had a toothache, the doctor told him to eat less. He said he had stopped, that he didn’t eat it, really didn’t eat it, but Lin Chengyu knew he was lying as he kissed him. He could even taste the sweetness after brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth.

“… are you really free?” Jiang Xiao looked at him, then looked at the hot drink in his hand. “You’re also allowed to run around in your school?”

The final exam was in two days, but Lin Chengyu didn’t look like a junior high school student at all.

“The teachers hired by my family set goals for me every week. Grandpa said that I was allowed to come to you when I finished.” Lin Chengyu explained, “The final exams of Huayang Private School were different from those of public schools. The paper exam was finished a month ago, and this month is excursion class, so the whole class went to Australia for an exchange program, where the weather is warmer.”

Lin Chengyu had asked for a leave, but couldn’t go, not because he hadn’t been to Australia before, his grades were good. Grandpa Lin had also acquiesced. However, he didn’t go because the homework assigned by his family was even heavier. When he didn’t see Jiang Xiao, he devoted himself to studying, and only slept four to five hours a day to achieve his goals.

Now that he had gone through all this, he didn’t feel tired, because he had things he’d wanted to do in his heart.

It took 24 hours for him to see Jiang Xiao at a time: it took 10 hours traveling by car, and extra 2 hours to his home, back and forth. He could only stay in Houlin for five or six hours at most. And they were not even getting along this time—Jiang Xiao didn’t want to see him—so sometimes he stayed downstairs at his house, sometimes at school. He didn’t dare to disturb Jiang Xiao when he was in class, but occasionally there were outdoor PE classes, so he could take a look at the person he was thinking of, from far across the playground.

Today was considered lucky, and they had been together for a long time.

“Drink it, it will be cold if you leave it there,” Lin Chengyu pointed to the cup of hot cocoa, “There’s no need for Xiao Xiao to reject even a cup of drink, right?”

Jiang Xiao looked down. Houlin didn’t have such a milky hot cocoa brand this year, he didn’t know where Lin Chengyu got them just now. But he still didn’t move.

“… I’ll leave right away,” Lin Chengyu said helplessly, “I’ll leave as soon as you drink, really.”

It’s almost time. He put the thermos under Jiang Xiao’s gaze, then took a few steps back. His car stopped at the intersection and Jiang Xiao saw it too. But Lin Chengyu was still staring at him as if he really wouldn’t leave if he didn’t drink.

“Xiao Xiao, just try it.” Lin Chengyu took a few steps back and stood under the snowy sky. “Take a sip, I won’t bother you today.”

Jiang Xiao thought for a while, glanced at him, and sucked on the straw. He took a sip.

Seeing that he drank it, Lin Chengyu kept his word and didn’t stay longer.

When the Lin family’s car drove past the company, Jiang Xiao turned around and threw the steaming cup of hot cocoa into the trash can. Lin Chengyu opened the car window to see him more and happened to see this scene clearly. The smile on his face froze for a while. The car drove quickly and he couldn’t see Jiang Xiao’s appearance.

 

T/N: hehehe there’s something about that cocoa

Hi thank you so much for your previous vote, as I see that most of you are fine with current pace, then I will not provide advance chapters. I’m currently taking a full-time course postgraduate program, so I quit my company just December last year, that’s why I’m looking for possible work to fill in something… maybe because it’s post-covid, research and projects are scarce, so I’ve been looking for another way to earn something.

Anyway, I’ve been looking into translating another story, Chu Wang Fei, and it’s sooo much work than this one (ya think?) as that one is a historical novel with more complicated relationships and customs. However, as I’m in love with historical Chinese dramas and novels (my last drama would be Love Like The Galaxy, starring Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi, that one is a real gem!!!), I will try to persist (?). But it’s gonna take some time

Have you watch it? Who Rules The World with Zhao Lusi and Yang Yang was also great. I can honestly binge-watch all Zhao Lusi’s dramas. I first saw her in Oh! My Emperor and also the first time I have a crush on Wei Wuxian Xiao Zhan.

AND GUYS GUESS WHAT THEY’RE GONNA MAKE THE DRAMA OUT OF The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage!!!!! AND THEY CAST WU LEI AS XIE JING XING!!!

Look, look at the poster! *literally screamed*

As much as I loveee Wu Lei, but I remember how often the author of the novel mention how Xie Jing Xing is a devilish beauty. Wu Lei looked like a straight rod to me lol. I think the actor from The Untamed who play Jiang Cheng, Wang Zhaocheng, can be called a devilish beauty, he has the charm! or Huang Chao from Who Rules The World. or Yang Yang. I swear Yang Yang can play anything, I will gladly oggling him all day.

Warning, the description below contain minor spoilers for each drama~

Jiang Cheng from The Untamed:

very purple Jiang Cheng lol

Huang Chao from Who Rules The World:

Smug little crown prince. Very powerful. Choose power and throne over love, which very realistic.

But okay, let’s be real. To be honest, when the author describe Xie Jing Xing, the one that always come to my mind is… Fu Cha Fu Heng Xu Kai. I think he will look great in purple clad. I love his brows the most, those are very tempting eyebrows (?).

Fu Cha Fu Heng from Story of Yanxi Palace:

The Empress’ di brother. A very loyal general. Couldn’t be with the person he loves but hella supportive & had a healthy mindset.

Xu Kai has starred in a lot of historical and modern drama, but imo, his make up and style is the best in Yanxi Palace, even though the dinasty style had bald hairstyle. I always imagine his face when reading description of Xie Jing Xing. hahaha~ //fly

But of course, Wu Lei has his own charms. I think his role as Ashile Sun in The Long Ballad kinda depicted the “devilish beauty” I was looking for. Especially during the latter part of Malicious Empress, Xie Jing Xing will use half mask to cover his face. Which something Wu Lei excels in The Long Ballad, he looked handsome in those masks.

Ashile Sun from The Long Ballad

The long haired Ashile Sun does wonders to Wu Lei’s whole appearance~

Huo Buyi from Love Like The Galaxy

Omg the chicken armor  it’s this story, so his fiancée was making him an armor for his safety during war. However she’s not good at sewing or embroidery, her intention was to make a mandarin duck armor, but ended up making a chicken armor instead. Of course he couldn’t care less for other people’s opinions, this was what his fiancée made especially for him.

He was too thin in Love Like The Galaxy, but as General Huo who lived his life for revenge, it’s understandable why he had this gloomy and depressing air around him (although from my description above, you might not find that he was). His body is well-maintained, you can definitely see healthy pecks of a young general, but he’s wayyy thinner than when he was in The Long Ballad. He did his homework really well for this drama, even as far as grasping the mental state of his role down to his physique.

Now that’s a long T/N hahaha, see you on the next chapter!

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