Tian Xin looked at him, "Go wash your hands for dinner! I’m about to stir-fry the shrimp. It’s best to eat it as soon as you get back when it’s freshly cooked. The flavor is at its finest and freshest. I bought them from the auntie at the vegetable market today. They’re not farm-raised but real wild shrimp, so you’re in for a treat!"
"Great!" Tang Baijin quickly ran to the bedroom, showered at lightning speed, and changed into loose, thin loungewear.
When he ca out of the bedroom, his hair wasn’t completely dry, and his short hair was simply combed with his fingers. He was used to working on construction sites with very short hair, which made him look especially sharp.
Tian Xin brought the stir-fried shrimp to the table, and seeing him like this, she was surprised, "Are you off this afternoon?"
Tang Baijin thought that since it was her day off on the weekend, it wouldn’t hurt for him to keep her company, so he nodded.
The two sat at the table. Tian Xin removed her apron, and Tang Baijin sat opposite her. He looked at the dishes on the table: stir-fried shrimp with the scent of seafood, pig’s blood and goji leaf soup, sweet and sour pork ribs.
Tian Xin served him a bowl of soup, "Goji is good for your eyes, and pig’s blood cleanses the body. You often work on construction sites, so you should eat dishes like these occasionally."
Tang Baijin looked at her intently. He had never experienced such treatnt from a woman. His mother never cooked, believing herself to be too noble for such tasks.
When he was dating Bei Ran, she was still young and in university. Their relationship was pure romance.
As one grows older, expectations for love naturally change. A warm, comforting soup, a table of simple, delicious dishes, and a lovely woman in the kitchen.
Tang Baijin took the bowl and took a big sip. He paused, "Did you forget to add salt?"
Tian Xin’s eyes widened imdiately, "Of course not! You must be used to eating fast food, which often uses MSG and a higher proportion of salt for taste enhancent. I don’t want you getting high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol at such a young age."
"Which ’highs’?" Tang Baijin asked her.
Tian Xin counted on her fingers, "High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol. They might exist on their own or be interrelated. So even if you only have one ’high’, it could lead to having all three."
Tang Baijin possibly was not accustod to such a light flavor, or maybe because he had been alone for so many years without being particular about food, suddenly having soone care for him like this, he still braced himself to drink it up.
Seeing him persist, Tian Xin couldn’t help but laugh, "Asking you to suddenly adapt to such a light taste, you’re certainly not used to it. Should I add a bit more salt for you?"
"No!" Tang Baijin insisted, as if bidding a complete farewell to past relationships, he was determined to follow through. Besides, she was considering his health, so what was there to fuss over about a bowl of soup!
Tian Xin let him drink and started to peel shrimp, placing them on an empty plate for him to eat.
In Tang Baijin’s mory, he rarely dined with won. He rembered how in his childhood, servants would peel shrimp for his mother and place them in her bowl.
Tian Xin peeled the shrimp with skilled hands and gave them to him to eat!
"I can do it myself!" Tang Baijin felt a bit uncomfortable.
Tian Xin smiled playfully, "You’re too strong-handed. You’ve been handling rebar and cent on the construction site, if you peel the shrimp, they will hurt!"
Tang Baijin laughed out loud, he hadn’t had such a hearty laugh in a long ti!
Life, after the clouds, will always have its own sunshine, as long as one persists and never gives up, the broad and smooth road that belongs to him is right before his eyes.
"Don’t you find peeling shrimp fishy?" Tang Baijin asked after he finished laughing.
Tian Xin held her hand up to his nose, "Sll it, is it fishy?"
Tang Baijin took the opportunity to grab her small wrist. She tried to withdraw it, but he held on tighter, then gently placed it next to his lips. Her fingers still carried the fragrance of the shrimp, and her white, delicate fingertips were unlike a man’s roughness and solidity, resembling tender scallions.
Tian Xin initially ant to tease him, not expecting that he would grab her wrist and even place it near his lips. In that mont, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She wanted to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her.
Moreover, he was gazing at her intensely.
Their eyes t, and within the shallow laughter in his eyes, she saw a flustered version of herself reflected back. No matter what, she still couldn’t bring herself to have any physical contact with him.
Reviews
All reviews (0)