"It seems that Chi Yu cooks for you every day."
Hearing Shen Yu'an's words, Jiang Zhirou didn't think much and nodded.
"Yeah. He'll cook at home whenever he has time. But I'm the one cooking this afternoon, so I'm a bit torn."
"Cough, cough, cough." Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Shen Yu'an's eyes. The water that had just entered his throat suddenly went down the wrong pipe, and he began to cough violently.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Jiang Zhirou reflexively got up and walked around to Shen Yu'an's side, gently patting his back.
Shen Yu'an wanted to speak, but his throat couldn't make a sound. It took him a while to slowly return to normal.
He grabbed Jiang Zhirou's hand.
"Qingmian, I'm okay."
Only then did Jiang Zhirou sit back in her own seat.
However, Shen Yu'an's heart was stirred up like a raging sea because of her previous actions.
When was the last time there was such natural concern between the two of them?
It had been too long.
So long that Shen Yu'an could hardly remember.
He only knew that it was before Shen Qingmian was sent to Mexico.
It turned out that such ordinary and normal concern had been separated by a full four years between them.
Shen Yu'an's gaze fell on "Shen Qingmian", his eyes deep.
And Jiang Zhirou was seriously eating the steak in front of her, still thinking about what Shen Yu'an's words "predestined by fate" really meant.
She didn't notice the man's gaze at all.
"Are you going to cook for Chi Yu tonight?"
Shen Yu'an's voice interrupted Jiang Zhirou's train of thought.
She nodded. The steak in her mouth hadn't been swallowed yet, and her voice was a bit muffled.
"Yeah. I don't know how I angered him. I don't have much money to buy him things, so I thought I'd cook a meal for him as an apology."
Jiang Zhirou didn't know that when she said these words in a normal tone, it was something Shen Yu'an missed terribly.
Since he sent her away, they hadn't had a good conversation.
Not to mention having a normal meal and chatting like today.
Shen Yu'an almost felt that it was so unreal that it was like a dream.
The hand on his lap unconsciously pinched his thigh hard.
A sharp pain instantly spread.
It wasn't a dream...
Shen Yu'an looked at her, his eyes full of surging emotions.
"Can you cook now?"
He asked.
"Not yet." Jiang Zhirou answered very naturally.
There was no estrangement or coldness in her words. It was completely the attitude of a normal conversation.
Shen Yu'an unconsciously swallowed his saliva and stared at Jiang Zhirou for a long time.
Finally, he spoke.
"Qingmian, you've become much more cheerful."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Zhirou's hand that was cutting the steak paused.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no.
Her mind was full of things about the man in the black robe, and she completely forgot about the awkward relationship between Shen Yu'an and Shen Qingmian.
She had behaved too normally!!
But it seemed too late to pretend now.
"Cough, cough."
Jiang Zhirou coughed twice and picked up the water cup beside her to take a sip.
"People will change. We can't always be trapped in the past. That would be so uncomfortable. People should look forward when they're alive. Standing still is stupid."
Jiang Zhirou spoke faster than her brain. As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately realized something. She glanced at Shen Yu'an across from her guiltily.
Standing still, who else could it be but Mr. Shen sitting in front of her?
What had she just said? She had said that he was stupid!
Jiang Zhirou felt completely blank. She opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, and finally closed it awkwardly.
The look in Shen Yu'an's eyes when he looked at her became a bit more complicated. Then he suddenly let out a soft laugh. "You're right. People should look forward when they're alive."
As soon as he finished speaking, surprise flashed across Jiang Zhirou's face. He didn't suspect her!
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhirou looked at Shen Yu'an in front of her and suddenly felt a bit pity for him.
She knew that she didn't have the right to forgive on behalf of Shen Qingmian, but she also knew that Shen Qingmian definitely didn't want Shen Yu'an to be like this for the rest of his life.
After all, the happy times they had together before still remained in Jiang Zhirou's mind and hadn't disappeared.
Jiang Zhirou put down the knife and fork in her hand and looked at Shen Yu'an directly in front of her seriously.
"Brother, we should all look forward. Don't be trapped in the past anymore."
"It's all in the past."
It's all in the past...
Shen Yu'an unconsciously repeated these words in his heart.
The last time he heard these words was in the hospital ward.
"Okay?" Jiang Zhirou was afraid that he couldn't think it through, so she asked again.
Shen Yu'an looked at her, his eyes full of tenderness, just like the countless times he had looked at her when they were kids.
Then, he nodded. In Jiang Zhirou's expectant gaze, his thin lips parted slightly.
"Okay."
Looking at the smile on her face, an endless sense of sourness and pain welled up in Shen Yu'an's heart, as if his heart had been taken out, torn apart, and then put back in place.
If they could have been like this earlier...
Maybe everything could have gone back to the way it was.
But it was different now.
He had no future. Every day he was alive was just waiting for judgment.
Jiang Zhirou had trained for a whole morning and her body needed to replenish energy. After getting Shen Yu'an's affirmative answer, she picked up the knife and fork again and ate the steak in front of her with peace of mind.
She didn't see the flash of deadness in the man's eyes.
After the meal, Shen Yu'an accompanied Jiang Zhirou to the supermarket and then sent her back to the villa.
"Be careful when you cook. Don't let the oil splash on you. If you really can't do it, hire a part - time worker to do it."
Before leaving, Shen Yu'an told Jiang Zhirou worriedly.
Jiang Zhirou laughed when she heard this. "Then it wouldn't be cooked by me, would it?" She waved to Shen Yu'an. "Don't worry, brother. I won't hurt myself."
"You'd better go back to work quickly. You'll be late."
"Okay." Shen Yu'an nodded. He didn't retract his gaze until he saw Jiang Zhirou enter the house and close the door.
"Let's go." He rolled up the car window and said to Tan Si in the driver's seat.
Tan Si hadn't seen such a relaxed and happy atmosphere between Shen Yu'an and Shen Qingmian for ages. It seemed that his guess was right.
This time Miss came to the company on her own initiative to ease the relationship with Mr. Shen!
Tan Si seemed happier than Shen Yu'an. He drove the car and unconsciously shook his head. "Mr. Shen, it seems that Miss has returned to the way she used to be."
"She should come to the company as often as before in the future."
Thinking of this, Tan Si's upturned mouth couldn't come down.
As long as Shen Qingmian came to the company often, Shen Yu'an would be in a good mood. And when Shen Yu'an was in a good mood, he would get inexplicable rewards.
"You've been working overtime a lot recently. Go to the finance department later to get this month's overtime pay. It's 200,000."
"Okay, Mr. Shen!" Tan Si enunciated clearly and his voice was sonorous and forceful.
Sure enough, he was right! As long as Mr. Shen was in a good mood, he would get inexplicable monetary rewards!
When hadn't he worked overtime?
The overtime pay was just a guise. Giving money because of a good mood was the real thing!