NOVEL NEXT Chapter 79 - Seventy-Nine: Dinner
Chapter 79: Chapter Seventy-Nine: Dinner
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Fang Xi couldn’t help but laugh when she heard Ye Kun compare himself to a dog and asked, “Did you just get back?”
Ye Kun sighed and answered, “Yeah, I rushed here right after I got off the plane. I was worried Tuan Tuan would be a handful, but I couldn’t contact you because I didn’t have your number. I called the bar; they told me you hadn’t been there these past few days and gave me your number. However, I held back and didn’t call you because I thought you might be busy, and our time difference made calls inconvenient.”
Ye Kun’s easy explanation made Fang Xi’s heart skip a beat. No one had ever so considerately explained anything to her in such detail. In the past—when she was with that man—he would never report his schedule to her, nor would he explain any of his actions to her. She never heard a word of explanation from him, even if he’d disappeared for half a month. Ye Kun’s behavior made Fang Xi feel like she was being respected and valued.
“Have you eaten?” Fang Xi blurted out.
Ye Kun shook his head. “I haven’t had anything yet. The airline food was so terrible I didn’t eat a single bite.” His aggrieved tone and manner were much like Tuan Tuan’s expression when the puppy had had enough fun and wanted her to hug him.
“Then, how about I make you a bowl of noodles?” Fang Xi casually offered.
Ye Kun spied the folder spread open on the sofa and stated with a smile, “No, no, there’s no need for that. Carry on with your work. Do you mind if I borrow your kitchen to make some food myself?”
Fang Xi was surprised, so Ye Kun continued, “I would like to stay here for a while. I want Tuan Tuan to have more time to get used to me; I’m afraid he might be uncomfortable if I take him with me right now.”
Fang Xi looked at Tuan Tuan—the pup was starting to struggle in Ye Kun’s hands—and laughingly agreed. “Okay, you can play with him for a while. This little guy is quite unusual. When I brought him to my workplace, he only liked the beautiful ladies and was rather unfriendly to the young men there!”
When Ye Kun heard that, he patted Tuan Tuan’s head and said, “Hah, I knew it! I knew you were a playboy!”
He then pointed at the documents on the sofa with his chin and told Fang Xi,
“I’ll leave you to your work. I’ll be in the kitchen making noodles.”
Fang Xi brought him to the kitchen and was about to show him where everything was when he uttered, “I can manage things here by myself. I don’t want to get in the way of your work.”
Ye Kun’s sincerity and straightforwardness gave Fang Xi a good impression of him, so she consented. “Alright, help yourself.”
Ye Kun beamed at her and shut the kitchen’s glass door, leaving Fang Xi alone outside. Fang Xi watched him work his way around the kitchen and was amazed, ‘He looks like he knows his way around the kitchen.’ Then, she focused on her documents. What she had in her hands was a script—Yun Nan’s new work that hadn’t been finalized yet. Yun Nan wanted her to review it first.
“Woof!” Fang Xi had barely read a few pages when Tuan Tuan rushed out of the kitchen. The puppy jumped onto the sofa and into her arms to lick her hand. A delectable aroma wafted over, and she thought, ‘ Wow, he actually does know how to cook.’
Ye Kun brought out two bowls of noodles, placed them on the dining table, and called out to her, “Do you mind having a meal together? I made two servings.
Sorry, I forgot to ask if you wanted dinner.”
Fang Xi chuckled, “It’s fine. I’m not on a diet.”
Ye Kun was glad to hear that and replied, “That’s great! Actually, I just wanted to let you try my cooking. I can’t say this is me treating you to a meal as thanks because the ingredients were yours, but it would be blowing my own trumpet to say, straight out, that I want you to try my food.”
Amused by his antics, Fang Xi carried Tuan Tuan to the dining table and sat down. Before her were two bowls of beef noodles, one with a larger portion than the other.
She took a deep breath and praised, “Hmm, it smells delicious.”
Ye Kun handed her a pair of chopsticks as he remarked, “Your kitchen is well-stocked. It seems like you’re quite the chef yourself. Do you usually cook?”
Fang Xi paused for a moment before answering, “No, not really. I don’t have the time. I’m too busy.”
Ye Kun nodded. “I thought as much. Then, how about I make you a portion as well when I have time to cook in the future? My cooking skills are pretty good! I would have earned a living as a chef if it weren’t for the fact that I was afraid of my brother hitting me.” He then gestured for Fang Xi to taste his noodles.
Fang Xi took a bite and chewed the noodles carefully. She looked surprised before giving Ye Kun a thumbs up. “This is really good!”
The butterflies in Ye Kun’s stomach settled. He smiled as he ate his noodles and mumbled, “Receiving your positive response is the happiest thing for me.”
Fang Xi laughed. “Do you not get positive feedback often?”
Ye Kun nodded as he chewed, and when he swallowed the noodles, he sighed and told her, “I have a brother who is perfect at everything. I’ve lived under his shadow since I was a kid. Nothing I do can measure up to him, so I often doubt my own abilities. The only thing I can surpass my brother in is cooking. However, my family scoffed at this specialty of mine and never acknowledged my skills, so I could only look outwards..”