Chapter 143: Mutton Soup
Yin Chengjue rushed and hurried, finally managing to move all the equipment needed for the new company before noon. The stern expression on his face finally relaxed into a slight smile. After he waved his hand and announced an early dismissal, the new employees cheered with joy, saying that an early finish meant just that, with no need for tedious meetings to drag out the time—it was simply wonderful!
Yin Chengjue drove out of the underground parking garage. Just as he turned a corner, he saw someone waving by the roadside out of the corner of his eye. Yin Chengjue thought to himself that he wasn't a taxi and shouldn't block someone trying to hail a cab, so he stepped on the accelerator, and the car sped off into the distance.
Behind the car, a cloud of dust was kicked up.
The female employee in the pencil miniskirt: "..."
"Pfft." A female employee in sportswear, who happened to be coming out of the company entrance, witnessed the whole scene and couldn't hold back a laugh.
As luck would have it, she was the one Yin Chengjue had earlier asked to instruct the miniskirt-wearing employee on how to change into more suitable clothes for moving things.
Realizing she was being laughed at, the woman in the pencil miniskirt shot a venomous glare at the one in sportswear before stalking away on her high heels, as if she hadn't just been clutching her calf pretending to have sprained it.
"Liao Fei, what's up?" Several other employees, who had arranged to meet for dinner after work, came out one after another and asked Liao Fei why she was standing at the door laughing.
"Nothing much, just saw someone's little scheme fail miserably and get a face full of dust," Liao Fei said meaningfully, still remembering the glare the miniskirt employee had given her.
"Isn't that Xiao Yanyan? I think the boss hired her as an assistant," remarked a male employee responsible for organizing files, who happened to remember her name.
Liao Fei laughed: "I suspect the boss just purely wanted someone to share the workload, but it seems some people have misinterpreted his intentions."
"I'll bet a cup of coffee the boss didn't even look at her face during the interview. He probably doesn't remember that he's the one who hired Xiao Yanyan as his secretary." the file-organizing male employee stated confidently.
Liao Fei asked curiously: "How do you know?"
The male employee: "A gut feeling!"
The others laughed heartily: "Then I'll bet two cups of coffee that the boss definitely remembers her, he just doesn't show it. Look at the boss—he seems like the type who doesn't reveal his emotions easily!"
Liao Fei: "I'll bet a lunch that the boss genuinely doesn't remember Xiao Yanyan."
The others also started placing their bets.
Unaware that his employees were betting on his memory, Yin Chengjue was currently pushing a shopping cart, browsing through the grocery market.
"Here to buy groceries again, handsome!" An old lady carrying a basket greeted him cheerfully.
Yin Chengjue came to this market frequently. Over time, almost everyone, both regular shoppers and stall owners, recognized him.
They didn't know his name, but since he was handsome, they always called him "handsome."
This was an old market. Most people who liked to come here were around the age that enjoys square dancing, and they generally didn't surf the internet, so naturally, they wouldn't recognize Yin Chengjue.
[Square dancing: the popular, organized group dancing performed in public squares and parks across China. The participants are predominantly middle-aged and elderly women, typically ranging from their late 40s to 70s, with many being retirees.]
Yin Chengjue nodded at the old lady: "Yes, I feel like having something nourishing today."
The old lady had a kind face and a very amiable smile: "Is your wife on holiday tomorrow? A holiday is good, she can rest more and not worry about getting tired."
Yin Chengjue was puzzled: "...No holiday, she has to go to work early tomorrow morning."
The old lady's squinted eyes opened a little wider as she looked Yin Chengjue up and down, sighing with admiration: "Ah, youth is wonderful."
Yin Chengjue was baffled.
The old lady just walked away with her hands behind her back, the vegetables she carried swinging behind her, looking quite leisurely.
Yin Chengjue watched her retreating figure in confusion, then glanced down at his own shopping cart. It was then he realized that the mutton vendor had used a transparent bag for the mutton, and the sheep p*nis, added later, had naturally been placed right on top...
Yin Chengjue silently took other groceries and buried that bag of mutton underneath.
After finishing his acting class, Rong Yu immediately changed his outfit, covered himself up, ensured he wouldn't be recognized, and then took a car back to Yin Chengjue's home.
As soon as he entered, he smelled a delicious aroma.
His mouth instantly watered uncontrollably.
Rong Yu kicked off his shoes, swapped them for the slippers placed by the door, threw the bag from his shoulder onto the sofa, and then pattered quickly into the kitchen.
Two seconds later, Rong Yu was hoisted out by Yin Chengjue by the waist and dumped onto the sofa.
Yin Chengjue poured a glass of juice, placed it on the table in front of Rong Yu, and said: "Don't be impatient, it's not ready yet. When it's done, I'll bring the whole pot out. We'll have the mutton soup first, then add the other ingredients later."
Clutching the juice, Rong Yu said discontentedly: "Can't I enjoy the fun of sneaking bites in the kitchen?"
Yin Chengjue: "The last time you said that, we ruined a pot."
Sipping his juice, Rong Yu said in a mournful tone: "Why do I sense a hint of disdain in that remark? Yin Chengjue, are you telling me love just fades away like this?"
Yin Chengjue: "No, what I mean is, this is currently the last pot in the house suitable for cooking mutton hotpot. If it's ruined, we won't have mutton hotpot tonight. Until I buy some spare pots, maybe you should stay out of the kitchen for now."
Yin Chengjue said gently: "Be good."
Rong Yu: "Alright then."
Yin Chengjue: "Good."
Holding his juice, Rong Yu watched Yin Chengjue go back into the kitchen and couldn't help saying: "Brother, how much longer until it's ready? I'm hungry."
Yin Chengjue's steps faltered, and he coughed lightly, somewhat awkwardly: "This broth... needs to simmer longer to develop the flavor."
Rong Yu nodded, only half-understanding.
Soon, Yin Chengjue came out carrying a tray with two bowls of mutton soup. The bowls were filled with offal and white radish, and it smelled incredibly fragrant.
The offal consisted of sheep intestines and other internal organs. Once cleaned and cooked, the taste was very savory. Of course, mainly, the chopped-up intestines, when cooked, were mixed in with a certain unmentionable ingredient, making it hard to distinguish between them.
"Let's have some soup first, to taste. The mutton is still cooking."
"Okay!" Rong Yu was already eagerly reaching for his spoon.
Watching Rong Yu eat with great relish, Yin Chengjue smiled contentedly and also took a big spoonful for himself.
They finished the two bowls quickly, and then Yin Chengjue brought out the fully simmered soup, urging Rong Yu to drink more of it.
Rong Yu naturally had a good appetite, and without much prompting from Yin Chengjue, he soon filled his cheeks, wearing an expression of pure enjoyment.
Every time Yin Chengjue saw Rong Yu's satisfied expression while eating, his own mood would lift happily.
For two grown men, finishing a lamb shank in one meal wasn't strange. Yin Chengjue himself had a decent appetite; he just ate more elegantly, so it seemed like he didn't eat much.
After eating and drinking his fill, Rong Yu lay on the sofa, patting his full stomach and burping. Yin Chengjue cleared the bowls and chopsticks, put them in the dishwasher, tidied the kitchen, and then came out to watch TV with Rong Yu.
This was something of a ritual. Whenever both had time, they would inevitably lounge on the sofa watching TV after dinner, resting for half an hour before heading to the gym for a workout.
Today, "Blood Mist" was airing episode 25, which happened to be the fourth case, "The Vampire of the Red Forest."
Rong Yu had been looking forward to this episode for a long time, because Yin Chengjue's face would make a cameo appearance in the form of an oil painting. Rong Yu had been wondering how the final edited effect would look.
Episode 25 began. Wu Xiaoqing received an invitation stamped with a maple leaf and planned to enjoy the scenery with Wu Xiaoye. Little did they expect that, with their Conan-like tendency to attract trouble, they would stumble upon another case even on their day off.
[Conan Edogawa: the alias used by the shrunken detective Shinichi Kudo in the series Detective Conan]
Crisis lurked within the forest of fluttering red maple leaves; souls imprisoned by the past, hearts shackled by obsession.
The murderer, hands stained with blood, transformed from victim to perpetrator.
The hypnotist appeared wearing a mask. His white-gloved hand hovered over the murderer's head, and in a mesmerizing tone, he told him: "Only by devoutly offering a sacrifice of scorching hot blood to the Vampire Prince can one's wishes be fulfilled."
Then the scene changed, and Yin Chengjue's face appeared on screen.
It was unclear if the editors did it on purpose, but the shot focused directly on the front view of Yin Chengjue's oil painting portrait.
Noble, aloof, looking down on all living beings, disdaining everything.
It was hard to tell if Yin Chengjue had naturally captured that feeling during the photoshoot, or if it was the result of various lighting effects added in post-production.
Rong Yu immediately grabbed Yin Chengjue's arm: "Brother!"
"Hmm?" Yin Chengjue still wasn't very used to seeing his own face appear in this kind of shot; it felt really strange.
"Brother, I regret it now. I shouldn't have caught you and made you take that photo back then," Rong Yu said, his fingers clutching Yin Chengjue's clothes, gritting his teeth: "Brother looks way too handsome like this. I don't want anyone else to see it."
Yin Chengjue laughed: "Regretting it now? Too late, the show's already airing."
Rong Yu grumbled and took out his phone, opened the episode of "Blood Mist," skipped to the scene where Yin Chengjue's oil painting appeared, and turned on the comments.
Instantly, the entire screen was flooded with "Ahhhh!!!"
Rong Yu: "Brother, I feel like my head is looking a bit green."
[Head is green: to be a cuckold, to be cheated on]
Yin Chengjue lowered his head and carefully parted Rong Yu's hair, saying: "Must be your imagination, I don't see any green hairs growing."
Rong Yu pushed Yin Chengjue's hand away and threw himself into his arms, acting spoiled: "I regret it! No matter how many people see it, brother can only be mine! I found you first!"
Yin Chengjue was already feeling a bit restless from eating the mutton, and now with Rong Yu rolling around in his embrace, it became somewhat hard to bear. His large hand suddenly gripped the back of Rong Yu's neck and pressed him down into the sofa.
Rong Yu grunted and ended up lying across Yin Chengjue's lap. Feeling something pressing against him, his whole body stiffened instantly.
Yin Chengjue leaned down with a smile and whispered in his ear: "Xiao Yu, do you know what I added to the soup earlier?"
"Wh-what?" Rong Yu tried hard to recall what he had just eaten, but his mind was now a tangled mess, filled only with Yin Chengjue's face so close to his.
Lowering his voice deliberately, Yin Chengjue whispered the answer into Rong Yu's ear.
No comments:
Post a Comment