Song Jiaye hated this kind of situation where he was being watched. He also didn't want his past to be dug out and discussed.
It wasn't that there was anything shameful about it. It was just that it would bring him trouble.
At this moment, the customer at the front of the line had just received the two cups of milk tea he had ordered. Before he could even lift the lids, Song Jiaye walked straight up to him and asked, "Are you selling the milk tea?"
"Ah?"
"I'll buy the ones in your hand for a hundred yuan each."
The cost of this milk tea was only a little over ten yuan, and the price had almost increased tenfold. It would be a waste not to make this money. The customer happily handed the milk tea in his hand to Song Jiaye.
After Song Jiaye paid, he casually gave the milk tea to Li Tong, who was still in the queue, and said, "Let's go."
But Li Tong refused to leave. He lingered in the queue and shook his head.
"We already have one cup, and it's the flavor you wanted. Why are you still queuing up?"
Li Tong said, "One cup isn't enough."
Song Jiaye looked around. At this time, the young man who had just made a fortune was holding the other cup of milk tea he had bought for his girlfriend and asked, "Sir, do you want to buy this cup too? I'll give you a discount."
Song Jiaye: …
…
Li Tong was sitting in the car with two cups of milk tea in his arms, on his way home with Song Jiaye. He mumbled,
"Uncle-in-law, you're so wasteful." What kind of family was this, spending two hundred yuan on two cups of milk tea?
Song Jiaye didn't think it was a waste.
"I could earn enough for forty or fifty cups of milk tea in the half an hour I'd have to wait there. Spending two hundred yuan to save the queuing time isn't a bad deal." Song Jiaye took the opportunity to educate him. "If you drink two cups by yourself and can't finish them, that's wasteful."
"Who said I'm going to drink two cups by myself? This is for Auntie Li." Li Tong hugged the milk tea tightly, afraid that it would spill and Auntie Li wouldn't get any.
"Auntie Li?" Song Jiaye was very confused. He remembered that Li Tong didn't really like Li Xiyu.
He tentatively asked, "Li Tong, do you like Auntie Li?"
Li Tong nodded without hesitation.
"Why?"
"Auntie Li is a good person. She plays with Tongtong, so Tongtong likes her."
A child's liking was simple and straightforward.
Song Jiaye couldn't figure it out. If Li Xiyu's crazy talk in front of him was an act, and her feigning madness was just a way to delay the divorce, it wouldn't be necessary for her to go to such lengths, would it? Did she really think of herself as a child?
Moreover, Song Jiaye knew Li Xiyu very well. She wasn't the kind of person who had the patience to accompany children.
Could it be that Li Xiyu was actually an easy - going person in private?
But just this morning, Li Xiyu had personally mocked him. She was still that sharp - tongued and hysterical woman.
Filled with doubts, Song Jiaye returned home. There was no one in the living room. He changed his shoes with Li Tong and looked around the house. He heard voices coming from the kitchen and walked in, half - believing and half - doubting.
Li Xiyu was making dumplings with Aunt Liu in the kitchen.
Song Jiaye knew that Li Xiyu could cook, and she even cooked very well. It all started when she read a line in some poisonous chicken - soup article: To capture a man's heart, you must first capture his stomach.
Li Xiyu had spent over a hundred thousand yuan to invite a five - star chef to teach her. The dishes she cooked looked decent, and the plating and decoration were very beautiful—just like the ones he ate in the hotel.
Song Jiaye was always on business dinners and was sick of the hotel food. When he came home and saw such food, his face naturally looked bad.
Thinking of all those delicate dishes that ended up in the trash can, Song Jiaye said, "Li Xiyu, stop cooking."
He didn't mean to blame her. He really didn't want to eat. In his opinion, Li Xiyu was just wasting her time and energy.
Li Qiyu turned around. When she saw Song Jiaye, her happy little face instantly fell.
"Why are you back?"
Song Jiaye was both amused and annoyed by her.
"What? Can't I go back to my own home?"
Aunt Liu was afraid that they would quarrel, so she quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Mr. Song is back just in time. Haven't you eaten yet? Madam made dumplings for you today." Aunt Liu said as she greeted them. "Please wait outside for a while, Mr. Song. The dumplings will be ready soon."
As soon as Song Jiaye came back, Li Qiyu became gloomy.
She kneaded the dough in her hand.
"What's the point of eating dumplings? Isn't there any food in the imperial kitchen? He won't starve to death."
"What imperial kitchen? Is it a new restaurant?" Aunt Liu asked casually. Without waiting for Li Qiyu's reply, she said, "Madam, Mr. Song actually cares about you a lot. Men are all about face. You should just give in a little. You don't have any deep hatred with him. Why make things so tense?"
"Who said there's no deep hatred!" Li Qiyu slapped the dumpling wrapper on the chopping board. "There are 124 lives at stake."
Aunt Liu was greatly shocked after hearing this. "Miss, what are you talking about?"
Li Qiyu didn't want to say more. She also lost interest in making dumplings. She took off her apron and walked out of the kitchen listlessly.
Aunt Liu shook her head. She just thought that Madam was just talking nonsense and resigned herself to cooking the dumplings.
The dumplings were quickly served on the table. There were two bowls in total. One bowl contained normal dumplings, and the other bowl had colorful and oddly - shaped ones.
Song Jiaye picked up his chopsticks and poked at them with difficulty. He asked, "What's this bowl?"
"Dumplings."
Song Jiaye pointed at the strange - looking things and asked, "You call this dumplings?" It was more like dough. "Aunt Liu, your cooking skills are getting worse."
Aunt Liu scratched the back of her head embarrassedly.
"Mr. Song, please bear with it for now. I'll be more careful next time."
Song Jiaye looked into the kitchen but didn't see Li Qiyu come out. He asked,
"Where's Madam? Didn't she cook too?"
Song Jiaye didn't even know what he was expecting.
He clearly didn't like the things Li Xiyu made.
In fact, since Song Jiaye refused to eat the food Li Xiyu made, she had gotten tired of cooking after a few times and stopped. So, it had been a while since she last cooked.
Song Jiaye didn't expect Li Xiyu to make anything good.
It would definitely be the same as before, the cold and delicate hotel - style food.
What he was expecting seemed to be Li Xiyu's attitude. Song Jiaye had also been looking for a suitable opportunity to sit down with Li Xiyu and have a calm and rational conversation like a mature adult.
To talk about their already shaky marriage and their future directions.
After all, since Li Xiyu's suicide attempt, Song Jiaye had been reflecting on his own actions. He hoped that even if they divorced in the end, it would be an amicable separation, rather than the current situation where both of them were hurt.
But he didn't wait for Li Xiyu.
From beginning to end, Li Xiyu never showed up.