"Zhang Ma, come and give me a hand quickly. These two little rascals are getting heavier and heavier!" Xu Zixi's voice suddenly grew louder inside the house. Zhang Ma answered and her footsteps gradually faded away. Then came a mixture of women's and children's laughter and noise.
"Miss, since you're done with your tasks for now, I'll head back first. Leave whatever needs to be done. I'll take care of it when I come to work tomorrow."
"Okay, babies, say goodbye to Zhang Ma."
"Goodbye, Zhang Ma!"
The door closed, and Zhang Ma's voice completely disappeared from the house. But then, the two babies came running over from the door with thumping steps. They pounced on Yan Yincheng from either side, the fragrance of shower gel mingling with the milky scent wafting into his nose.
"Uncle Yin, why are you here?" the two babies asked in a milky voice.
"Yuan Xiaoxuan, Yuan Xiaoxu! It's already your bedtime!"
Xu Zixi stormed over, grabbed the two babies from Yan Yincheng's legs, and led them towards the bedroom. Her body was also tinged with the smell of shower gel. The moment she got closer, the fragrance enveloped Yan Yincheng. But it gradually faded as she walked away, leaving him feeling a bit lost.
Whether it was intentional or not, the shower gel they used was a product from a daily - chemical brand under the Yan Group. The formula was personally improved by Yan Yincheng. That is to say, her and the two children's bodies were filled with the smell he created.
This discovery made the Third Master Yan's Adam's apple involuntarily move.
Inside the room, Xu Zixi watched as the two babies lay down on the bed and covered them with the quilt. She said, "Good babies should go to sleep on time so that they can grow taller. Be good, and Mommy will come to accompany you later."
Yuan Xiaoxu closed his eyes and obediently replied, "Okay!" But as soon as he heard the door close, he immediately opened his eyes, moved closer to Yuan Xiaoxuan, and whispered:
"Brother! Is Mommy and Uncle Yin secretly eating something delicious behind our backs?"
Yuan Xiaoxuan opened his eyes, sat up, and showed a thoughtful expression.
That day at the zoo, he saw Uncle Yin and Mommy hugging each other. They almost kissed. He once watched TV with Mommy and saw that after a man and a woman kissed, they would get married soon. After getting married, babies could call them daddy and mommy! That meant he was going to have a daddy! And it was Uncle Yin whom he liked!
Thinking of this, Yuan Xiaoxuan slightly widened his eyes and became excited.
He held Yuan Xiaoxu's hand, put his finger to his lips, and said, "Brother, Mommy should be in love with Uncle Yin!"
Yuan Xiaoxu tilted his head in confusion: "What is being in love?"
Yuan Xiaoxuan said, "Being in love is..." He frowned in distress. At only three - and - a - half years old, Yuan Xiaoxuan didn't know how to explain this term he heard from the TV series. Then he had an idea!
"Brother, let's go out and see what Mommy and Uncle Yin are doing. Then we'll know!"
The two babies said they would do it and immediately got out of the quilt. They carefully opened the door, tiptoed out, and lay on the wall, observing the situation in the dining room.
After Xu Zixi settled the two babies, she came to the dining room to find Yan Yincheng.
He was sitting there quietly. Without any expression, he looked extremely cold. His fair skin glowed with a cold white light, looking like the unreachable moon in the sky. But when he heard her footsteps, he slightly raised his head, and the ice on his face gradually melted. It was as if the moon had suddenly descended to the mortal world.
"I knew you would come," Xu Zixi said with a faint smile. "Look at your complexion. You must have been unhappy at today's social gathering. What do you want to eat? I'll cook it for you right away."
He was indeed a bit unhappy. Not only was there an annoying and noisy "fly" buzzing around all the time, but the food also didn't suit his taste at all. However, he had really vented her anger at Yishanju just now.
The Third Master Yan wanted to take credit, but then he remembered that he had once sent someone to follow her, so he stopped shyly and said:
"It's too late. Just cook a bowl of noodles."
"Okay, wait a moment." After she said that, the delicate fragrance gradually faded away. The Third Master Yan's fingers moved, and he felt a bit empty - hearted.
Only the sound of the gas being lit, the sound of water flushing, and the sound of the kitchen knife cutting the ingredients could be heard from the kitchen. The woman was busy inside, and gradually an alluring fragrance wafted out.
The Third Master Yan was tempted by the fragrance and swallowed his saliva.
Twenty minutes later, Xu Zixi placed the cooked noodles in front of Yan Yincheng.
"I made you a bowl of scallion oil noodles. I don't know if you've ever eaten it?" Xu Zixi said with a smile. "The characteristic of scallion oil noodles is 'fragrance'. The sixty - degree oil temperature slowly stimulates the fragrance in the scallions. After the noodles are boiled, they need to be rinsed with cold water to remove the excess batter on the noodles and make them chewy. Then pour on scallion oil, soy sauce, and special seafood sauce. It's a very refreshing snack."
Yan Yincheng had indeed heard of "scallion oil noodles" for the first time. After her description, he couldn't help but feel curious.
He put the moderately - warm noodles into his mouth and was immediately captured by the strange taste. The first bite of the noodles was full of scallion fragrance, but then the bean fragrance of the soy sauce and the flavor of the seafood sauce were stimulated. Although the taste was a bit stronger, after swallowing, the fragrance lingered on the lips and teeth, making one's appetite whet.
Not far away, Yuan Xiaoxu, who was secretly spying on the situation, almost couldn't control himself and rushed out when he smelled the fragrance. Fortunately, Yuan Xiaoxuan pulled him back in time.
The two babies returned to the room and hid back in the quilt. Yuan Xiaoxu complained with tears in his eyes:
"Wuwu, brother, you lied to me. Mommy and Uncle Yin are just secretly eating delicious food. Xiaoxu won't believe you anymore!"
If it weren't for his brother holding him back, he would have eaten that kind of noodles too. Just thinking about the taste, Yuan Xiaoxu's saliva was drooling out.
Yuan Xiaoxuan was actually very disappointed. So Mommy was really just cooking for Uncle Yin. He thought they were playing the kissing game again.
"Xiaoxu, be good. Mommy said that babies can't eat too much at night or their stomachs will hurt. If you want to eat, we'll ask Aunt Li to make it for us tomorrow, okay?"
When Yuan Xiaoxuan said this, Yuan Xiaoxu's mouth flattened even more.
"Mommy cooks for Uncle Yin but not for the babies. Xiaoxu hates Uncle Yin!" After saying that, Yuan Xiaoxu covered his face with the quilt, turned around angrily, and closed his eyes.
The Third Master Yan, who had no idea that he had been hated by the babies, finished a bowl of scallion oil noodles. He felt that he was surrounded by happy pink bubbles from head to toe.
"Brother Cheng, is it delicious?" Xu Zixi sat beside him, propping her chin with one hand. Her almond eyes were slightly squinted because of the smile, and her posture was very lazy and relaxed.
Yan Yincheng didn't hesitate to praise and immediately gave an affirmative answer: "Not bad."
"This is the pasta that my grandfather liked to eat the most. When he was young, every time he came home after a busy day at work, grandma would always make him a bowl of scallion oil noodles. But grandma passed away early. After that, grandfather never ate it again. Later, I tried many times before I could restore the taste in his memory."
As she was talking, Xu Zixi's mood became a bit low. Her grandfather loved her the most. She wondered if her grandfather would be very sad after learning the news of her death. After she died, there would be no one to make scallion oil noodles for her grandfather...
So there was such a story between the old master Yuan and the old madam Yuan when they were young? Yan Yincheng thought. He heard her sadness, and his heart seemed to be gently pricked by something. His breathing also became a bit unsmooth.
In fact, she was also a poor person. She had been carefree in the Yuan family for so many years and was doted on by everyone like a princess. But in the end, she was told that she was not the biological daughter of the Yuan family. This was undoubtedly a great blow to her.
Yan Yincheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you... miss home very much?"