As soon as Xiaomai opened the fridge, Shiye realized that not only had she bought flowers, but she had also purchased a large bag of chicken feet and pig's trotters. While saying "you should eat what you need," she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to make spicy chicken feet, scallion-braised pig's trotters, and pig's trotters soup.
Shiye was taken aback by her enthusiasm. As a guest, he thought there was no reason for her to enter the kitchen, especially since she was an omega, but Xiaomai insisted on showing off her cooking skills.
Unable to stop her, and fearing she might not understand the layout of the kitchen, he stood by to assist her, passing her ingredients.
Who would have thought that everything from last night was cleaned up by Jiang Chicheng? They needed a spatula, but he couldn’t find it; they needed seasoning, but that was nowhere to be found.
Xiaomai turned down the heat and, while searching, teased him, “Is this your first time in the kitchen?”
Shiye, feeling a bit embarrassed and worried she might think he was the type who only eats and doesn’t help, replied, “I usually eat at the school cafeteria, but I really cook well.”
Fearing she wouldn’t believe him, he emphasized again, “Really!”
Xiaomai found the MSG, turned the heat back up, and nodded slowly, “Then when your hand heals, cook for me! The food in our company cafeteria is so bland; it’s not tasty at all.”
Suddenly, Shiye remembered how Cao Sheng pursued an omega and took the chance to say, “Where do you work? I can deliver lunch to you!”
“Sure! I work at…” Xiaomai started to reply but suddenly paused, staring at the bubbling soup in the pot. She changed the subject, “If I tell you, you won’t be able to find it. I’ll send you the location when I go back.”
“Why wait until then? You can send it now,” Shiye said as he took out his phone and opened Baidu Maps.
Jiang Chicheng: “…”
That makes sense...
But he didn’t even know where his company was.
He genuinely enjoyed the feeling of Shiye bustling around him, but he was almost on-call year-round, shuttling between the hospital and the school. If he added another company into the mix, he might really collapse from exhaustion.
Jiang Chicheng felt his phone in his pocket: “Um, will delivering food disturb your studies?”
“It won’t! We don’t have many cultural classes; there’s only one class in the morning.”
Jiang Chicheng pursed his lips, noticing the eagerness in his eyes. The words he almost said turned around in his mouth and went back down his throat. He took out his phone: “I’ll send it to you.”
He vaguely remembered that Saifen had a newly established subsidiary in Yuancheng. Jiang Chicheng came to Yuancheng not only to discuss a school-enterprise cooperation project with Nanhu University but also to inspect the company.
He searched the map and found that, coincidentally, the company was located right between the central hospital and Nanhu University, so it wouldn’t take long to travel back and forth.
As for his own company, a phone call to his dad would suffice. Even if their relationship was currently strained, as long as he coaxed him nicely, it wouldn’t be difficult to secure a nominal position. The only downside was—
He might run into Jiang Chizao.
Jiang Chicheng furrowed his brow slightly, his thumb hovering over the “send” button, hesitating to press it.
“Did you find it?” Shiye asked.
Finally, his thumb pressed down, and Jiang Chicheng put away his phone: “I sent it to you.”
Forget it, Shiye’s hand would take almost another week to heal. Jiang Chizao was a vice president; she wasn’t idly doing nothing. How could she come every day to inspect a subsidiary? Besides, he was already thrilled at the thought of eating the food that Xiao Ye made for him.
The pig's trotters still needed a little more time to cook. Jiang Chicheng leaned against the stove, his eyes hidden beneath his eyelids darting around, then he smiled, “Xiao Ye, do you like popcorn? I can make it.”
Since she said that, Shiye couldn’t very well say he didn’t like it.
Popcorn was quick to make; as soon as the lid was lifted, the golden color and sweet aroma wafted out. Shiye took a large bowl, and Xiaomai poured all the popcorn into it, urging him, “Try it quickly!”
Freshly made popcorn is the best, and Shiye picked one up and put it in his mouth. It was crispy and sweet, making him widen his eyes in surprise. “It’s even better than what they sell at the cinema! You should try it too!”
“I’m busy!”
After making the popcorn, the pig's trotters soup was just about done. Xiaomai was cutting tofu, her hands never idle. She opened her mouth, “Feed me one.”
Using his hand felt a bit too intimate, while using chopsticks seemed too deliberate.
At that moment, anyone who had even a slight fondness for someone wouldn’t be foolish enough to use chopsticks.
Jiang Chicheng casually glanced at Shiye’s expression and saw him hesitating for two seconds. He pinched a piece of popcorn and handed it over.
Jiang Chi Cheng lowered his eyelashes, staring at the knife blade in his hand. When he brought it to his mouth, he opened it and took it in. His warm, soft lips accidentally wrapped around his fingers that were holding popcorn, gently nibbling on the fingernails.
ShiYe's hand trembled, and the popcorn rolled down his apron.
"Uh-oh!" Xiao Mai exclaimed.
ShiYe curled his fingers and picked up another piece to hand over.
Jiang Chi Cheng repeated the trick. Watching the popcorn roll to the ground, he innocently blinked his eyes. "Did I bite you again?"
Once could be an accident, but twice was definitely intentional.
ShiYe's ears turned bright red. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. "Don't move."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly leaned in closer, lifting Jiang Chi Cheng's injured hand. He pressed his thumb on his chin, applying slight pressure to force him to open his mouth. With his other hand, he pinched a piece of popcorn and placed it between Jiang Chi Cheng's lips, gently pushing it in with his index finger.
Watching that soft, rosy tongue curl around the popcorn, ShiYe swallowed hard, unable to resist grabbing another piece and stuffing it into his mouth.
In that moment when he suddenly leaned closer, Jiang Chi Cheng felt a moment of blankness in his mind. When he regained his senses, he met ShiYe's slightly darkened gaze, obediently curling his tongue to take the popcorn. With his chin being held, he couldn’t chew. ShiYe shoved another piece in, and he curled his tongue around it. His tongue occasionally brushed against ShiYe's fingertips. He could hear ShiYe’s breath growing heavier until his mouth was stuffed full and he couldn’t take in more.
Jiang Chi Cheng pushed against ShiYe’s chest, trying hard to shove him away, mumbling, "I'm not eating anymore!"
ShiYe took a step back, suddenly coming to his senses. He saw that half of the popcorn in the bowl was gone and bit his lip, speaking again with a hoarse voice, "Isn't it good?"
Xiao Mai opened the pot lid, added the cut tofu, and sprinkled a bit of salt over it. Throughout the process, she kept her head down and didn’t speak.
ShiYe noticed she was still stirring the pot, her lashes drooping, sensing something was off. He asked, "Is the soup almost ready? It smells so good."
Xiao Mai turned her head, glanced at her phone, and still didn’t say anything.
ShiYe had sensed the heavy tension and curled his fingers that had just been licked. He cautiously leaned closer. "Xiao Mai..."
Suddenly, Xiao Mai turned off the heat, washed her hands, and moved her fingers to her waist to untie her apron, placing it next to the cutting board. "Just let it simmer for another five minutes. You can serve it yourself later. It’s getting late; I should go."
Before her words finished, Xiao Mai sidestepped him and walked out without looking at him.
ShiYe's heart sank. He hurriedly chased after her, seeing her pack her bag, wanting to stop her but too afraid to do so. He anxiously urged, "Didn’t we say we would eat together? It’s not dark outside yet; let me walk you home after dinner."
As Xiao Mai slung her bag over her shoulder, ShiYe stepped forward and blocked the door, his eyes filled with pleading. "Just eat dinner before you go..."
Xiao Mai looked into his eyes, her resolve unwavering. "I want to go home."
ShiYe bit his lip, falling silent for a moment, his gaze dropping. He changed his tune, "It’s cold outside. Wait a moment; I’ll get you a coat. Don’t leave yet, please."
As he spoke, ShiYe dashed into the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and grabbed a coat before quickly returning to the living room. It was only ten seconds, but the living room was already empty.
ShiYe's heart dropped. He threw open the door and rushed outside. The elevator showed it was going down. He lived on the ninth floor, and the elevator had just reached the seventh floor. ShiYe didn’t care about anything else and turned to rush down the stairs, leaping down three or four steps at a time, faster than he had ever run.
By the time he reached the ninth floor, the elevator had just reached the third floor. ShiYe stood blocking the elevator doors.
To his surprise, as the doors opened, a crowd poured out, with Xiao Mai squeezed in the middle. ShiYe couldn't even reach her and could only follow behind. Once they exited the building and the crowd dispersed, he caught up.
"Xiao Mai!"
ShiYe tried to grab her hand, but she dodged away. Panic and helplessness filled him, and his voice trembled. "Xiao Mai..."
Xiao Mai ignored him and continued toward the community gate.
"I'm sorry; I made you angry. Let’s talk it out. Please don’t ignore me. It’s cold outside; put on the coat... Xiao Mai..."
Xiao Mai, whose legs were long, quickened her pace in anger, moving especially fast. As she approached the community entrance, ShiYe feared this could be their last moment together and grabbed her wrist.
Xiao Mai pulled back but couldn’t shake him off. She suddenly stopped, and ShiYe quickly followed suit, not daring to loosen his grip. He softly said, "I’m sorry..."
Xiao Mai remained silent but didn’t try to shake him off again.
It was indeed cold outside. ShiYe had chased Xiao Mai the whole way, persistently urging her to wear a coat, but he was the coldest one, wearing only his pajamas and slippers. The wind chilled him to the bone, making his hands and feet icy.
However, ShiYe was too worried to notice the cold. As he saw Xiao Mai’s attitude soften slightly, he gently turned her shoulder. "Can we talk this out?"
The pine tree branches blocked the streetlights, and the sky darkened. ShiYe couldn’t see her expression clearly, and after a long while, he heard her trembling voice.
"Are you teasing me?"
ShiYe froze, realizing she was referring to what happened in the kitchen. Hearing her use the word "teasing" made him understand that his actions had frightened her.
"I didn’t mean to tease you. You kept biting my nails. At first, I just wanted to feed you popcorn, but later... later, I... I couldn’t control myself. You might not believe me, but in your eyes, it might seem like teasing, but I truly... didn't have such frivolous thoughts. I... did I scare you? Just think of it as me being confused, okay? If you feel uncomfortable, feel free to hit or scold me, just don’t ignore me, alright?"
The more ShiYe spoke, the more flustered he became. He wanted to prove his innocence but realized that his thoughts at that moment were indeed not innocent.
All he knew was that his behavior was entirely drawn in by her charm, just like when he saw a cute kitten and couldn’t resist petting it. It was not out of any frivolous intention, but he lacked the words to express the distinction, which only made things worse.
Xiao Mai didn’t hit him or scold him. She bit her lip and thought for a moment. "Why couldn’t you control it? Feeding me popcorn, is it some fun game?"
ShiYe shook his head, his dark pupils focused intently on her. "It’s not a game. I’ve never treated you like a game. Every moment spent with you is incredibly precious to me."
Xiao Mai seemed pleased with this answer, her furrowed brows relaxing as she raised her eyes. "You only answered half of my question. Why couldn’t you control it?"
ShiYe opened his mouth, but under her bright, glass-like gaze, it felt like a lump in his throat. He couldn’t help but look away, and it took a great effort to force out, "Because, because of you... your tongue..."
"What’s wrong with my tongue?" Xiao Mai pressed on.
ShiYe's throat felt dry, and his ears burned as if they were boiling. "It's... it's too cute."
So much so that he felt addicted, wanting to see it over and over again.
After saying that, ShiYe felt embarrassed, not daring to look at Xiao Mai’s face. But then he heard a light, suppressed laugh. Xiao Mai suddenly stepped forward, leaning in close to his ear.
In the dim shade of the trees, the evening breeze gently lifted her long hair, brushing against his face with a ticklish sensation. The scent of oranges mingled with the fragrant grass in the air, coming straight at him.
ShiYe held his breath, listening as she softly said, "Xiao Ye Ge, do you want to kiss me, right?"
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