After returning from the supermarket, Xie Qingci headed straight to the kitchen.
He said he was helping his mom with the shrimp, but in reality, he just wanted Yu Xia to enjoy shrimp without having to peel it herself, and he didn’t want his parents to think she was spoiled.
He had different views from his parents and didn’t spend much ti with them, so he wasn’t sure how they’d perceive it, but he decided to play it safe and put on a little act.
Around six o’clock, the al was served. The four of them fit perfectly around the square table; Yu Xia was seated to the left of Xu Yan, with Xie Qingci on her other side.
The table was so packed with dishes that there was barely room for their bowls. Xu Yan placed what she considered the tastiest dishes in front of her.
"Ci said that you guys eat sparingly, so I didn’t make large portions of each dish. Xiaxia, don’t be shy, eat whatever you like."
Xie Yin even brought out a bottle of wine, but only poured a little for himself. Just as he was about to put it away, he looked at Xie Qingci with the bottle in hand.
"Can you drink now? How’s your drinking capacity?"
Xie Qingci replied coolly, "It’s okay."
Then he picked up his glass, and father and son worked together to pour half a glass of wine.
Yu Xia and Xu Yan just had soup.
The bone broth Xu Yan made was delicious, though she added kidney beans, which Xie Qingci wasn’t fond of. He also didn’t like the sweet and sour pork and smoked bacon with peas.
Yet he ate them all without a change in expression.
People like Zuo Ling and others seed to think he wasn’t picky, but if he really were to be choosy, there were many dishes he didn’t like. Occasionally, when he encountered a disliked dish on set, he would call and feign pity to her. At ho, when he cooked, he’d avoid those dishes he didn’t like.
As Yu Xia ate, she also thought to herself, half-jokingly criticizing Xie Qingci for being a fussy eater, while also pondering how long had he been eating like he wasn’t picky.
Could it be that when he lived alone in his teenage years, he cooked too many failed dishes for himself that he just ate them indifferently?
While she was lost in thought, two more pieces of shrimp appeared in her bowl.
Xu Yan’s communal chopsticks and Xie Qingci’s nearly bumped, causing the shrimp to accidentally land in her bowl.
The three of them froze for a mont.
But it was Xu Yan who spoke first: "These are Ci’s handiwork. He said you liked shrimps, so you can taste and see if you like it."
Then she used the communal chopsticks to also give a piece to Xie Qingci.
"You try them too. You used to like these, right? See if my cooking has regressed."
Xie Qingci tasted it and said it was delicious, making Xu Yan smile.
This family, not very familiar with each other, like a newly ford one, touched on topics without delving deeply. Xu Yan and Xie Yin didn’t ask much about his life or studies, and Xie Qingci didn’t inquire much about their work or research. Between parents and son, they only lightly discussed trivial matters.
Yu Xia occasionally chid in, appearing calm and graceful.
After the al, the four went out for a stroll.
By then, night had fallen, and Yu Xia walked with Xu Yan, listening to her recount stories of Xie Qingci’s childhood.
Xie Yin and Xie Qingci occasionally paused to chat with people they t on the way.
After wandering around twice, Xie Yin returned ho first, without Xie Qingci.
Xie Yin told Yu Xia, "He’s been stopped by a friend, just with those two families outside, you might want to go find him."
Feeling awkward alone with the two elders, Yu Xia decided it was better to go look for Xie Qingci, if only to linger at the corner for a while and call him back.
Retracing her steps, she walked slowly, observing the place where Xie Qingci grew up.
They t near the school. Back then, he looked like a lonely, lancholic wolf, albeit a very attractive one. She only knew he had lived near the school for a long ti alone and knew little about his real ho.
Now, looking at it, his current persona couldn’t be separated from the influence of this sowhat indifferent but well-bred family, his intellectual parents, and harmonious neighbors and friends.
It indeed fit his growth environnt.
As she wandered to a corner, she saw three tall boys under a streetlamp, either squatting or standing, talking.
Xie Qingci was leaning against the wall, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Zuo Ling, whom she had t that afternoon, and another buzz-cut boy were smoking. The faint smoke mingled with their breath in the streetlamp’s light, lingering there for quite a while.
She’d seen her brother smoke, and mature corporate bosses smoke with calm and confidence, as if they weren’t just smoking but waiting for a decisive, favorable ssage during those two minutes.
Especially when the news ca, and he’d smile while snuffing out the cigarette; it truly gave the feeling of a calm conversation leading to the obliteration of mighty plans.
Young males smoking had a different kind of flamboyance, laid-back, and a rare roguish charm.
But she had no idea when Xie Qingci had learned to smoke behind her back.
She coughed as she approached the corner. As soon as Xie Qingci saw her, he flicked away the cigarette skillfully. Zuo Ling was also taken aback, hurriedly extinguishing his not-yet-burnt-out cigarette on the ground before tossing it into a nearby trash can.
"Sister," Xie Qingci approached her, "ca looking for to go back?"
Yu Xia nodded politely at Zuo Ling and the other buzz-cut boy holding a cigarette before responding to him, "What else? But if you have sothing to talk about, I can go back first."
"No need, I’ll go with you." He said sothing to Zuo Ling and the others, then took her hand and walked back.
Turning the corner, Yu Xia gave him a sidelong glance, "Since when did you learn to smoke?"
Xie Qingci squeezed her hand innocently, "I didn’t smoke."
"I’m not scolding you, just tell the truth."
"Alright," he shrugged, "after graduation. But I didn’t try it again afterward; the sll is unpleasant."
As she’d ntioned earlier, she didn’t delve into it and instead asked about the three of them, "Were you guys talking about ?"
"Yeah, Zuo Ling said you have a great personality, pretty too, and I’m quite lucky."
Yu Xia forced a smile.
"Your friend has good taste. But who’s that buzz-cut boy? What’s his na?"
She wanted to ask so as not to run into him again the next day or later and only know Zuo Ling’s na, which would be awkward.
But Xie Qingci seed to think otherwise. He looked at her, then casually shifted to another topic.
"He has a sister who once pursued ."
Yu Xia raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"
He continued, "And then they ended up together."
"...Wait a minute. What does that an? Incest out of nowhere?"
Xie Qingci knew what she was thinking and clarified, "Stepsister."
"Gave a scare," she got back to the main question, "But what does this have to do with my question? I rely asked his na."
Bringing up irrelevant matters and even ntioning other people’s relationships, did she seem that nosy?
Xie Qingci pursed his lips, then said, "Gu Ye. Why, are you very interested in him?"
Yu Xia rolled her eyes.
"Why would I be interested in him? Just asking for a na, although he is quite handso with that buzz cut, I have no intention of looking elsewhere for now. He was right, you’re really jealous sotis."
Even a passing chicken would get a sour look.
He accepted this assessnt well, not minding it, focusing on another aspect, "Handso? More than ?"
"...No, you’re the best looking in the whole world!"
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