On the other end of the phone, Jiang Zhirou's hand holding the phone trembled slightly.
She was both surprised that Lu Wenxi knew this and felt a hint of excitement and joy.
She had never told anyone about these things, not even Si Moshen.
In fact, she had shown up quite a few times in the past decade or so.
She always showed up on every birthday, but on the eighteenth one, she wanted to leave the coming - of - age ceremony for Chen Qingmian, so it was the only birthday she missed.
She never thought anyone would notice, as she thought she had imitated Chen Qingmian quite well.
"Wenxi..."
Jiang Zhirou's voice was a bit choked.
It was as if the things she had been silently bearing all these years had finally been noticed, and she finally had someone to confide in.
Lu Wenxi's voice on the phone was filled with a smile. "So you've never been anyone's substitute. You're yourself. But I'm still used to calling you Mianbao. I wonder if our Miss Jiang across the ocean will agree to this nickname."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhirou's tears mixed with laughter were heard by Lu Wenxi on the other end.
"Mianbao, I guess you've been having a pretty good time there. I like your current state. You can express your needs and say what you don't like. Our Mianbao has grown up."
Just like before, Lu Wenxi coaxed her softly when she was sad and unhappy.
Jiang Zhirou couldn't quite tell what she was feeling at the moment. It was like something that had been lost for a long time was suddenly found one day. It was this feeling of losing and then regaining.
The two talked on the phone almost all night. Jiang Zhirou didn't know when she fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, the phone had run out of battery and automatically shut down.
Jiang Zhirou got out of bed, picked up the charger to charge the phone, and then walked out of the room.
As soon as she stepped out of the room, she heard the commotion downstairs.
Jiang Zhirou frowned and walked downstairs. As soon as she reached the stair - corner, Uncle Shen saw her and quickly ran to her side, looking embarrassed.
"Miss Zhirou, Mr. Chi and the Third Master are quarreling. Please go and persuade them."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhirou raised her eyebrows. Quarreling?
With Si Moshen's personality, would he even quarrel with someone?
Jiang Zhirou was more curious than worried. She quickly ran downstairs in her slippers.
When she got closer, she finally heard what they were arguing about.
"I heard from Zhirou that the Chinese food you made for her the other day tasted good. Teach me."
Chi Yu looked at him like he was seeing a ghost. "Why should I teach you?"
This was his secret weapon to please his wife. How could he teach his love rival? Was he supposed to be kind?
Si Moshen's voice rang out again.
"Because you're living in Yuelan. Everything you eat, use, and live in belongs to me. You can teach me how to cook as payment for your accommodation."
Hearing this, Chi Yu's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe these words came from Si Moshen's mouth.
He sized Si Moshen up and down. "What on earth did you do on this business trip? Have you been possessed? Why do you suddenly want to learn how to cook? Are you that idle?"
Just as Chi Yu finished speaking and Si Moshen was about to say something, Jiang Zhirou's voice came first.
"What's going on? What kind of dish? Why do you suddenly want to learn how to cook?"
Jiang Zhirou looked at Si Moshen, looking puzzled.
He was not the type to cook. He had never had to do anything by himself since childhood. Cooking? As long as he didn't blow up the kitchen, it would be a miracle.
Hearing Jiang Zhirou's words, Chi Yu immediately echoed, "Yeah, why do you want to learn how to cook?"
Si Moshen ignored Chi Yu and looked at Jiang Zhirou. "Didn't you say the Chinese food he made tasted good the other day? I want to try it too, so I asked him to teach me."
Jiang Zhirou looked helpless. She thought it was something big, but it turned out to be this.
She tilted her head slightly and looked at Si Moshen. "It's okay. Since you're back, if you want to eat, just let him cook for us."
"Yeah, if you want to eat, I'll cook for you -" Chi Yu stopped halfway when he realized what Jiang Zhirou had just said.
She actually asked him to cook for Si Moshen?
Si Moshen caught the flash of shock on Chi Yu's face and followed Jiang Zhirou's words. "That's fine."
Then he looked at Chi Yu. "Then I'll trouble Mr. Chi to make lunch today."
"I can't do it."
Chi Yu said angrily.
In this vast world, he had never seen a good - hearted person cook for his love rival.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhirou glanced at Chi Yu. She didn't understand why he suddenly changed his attitude. She rolled her eyes. "If you don't want to do it, then don't. Who cares?" She grabbed Si Moshen's arm and walked out. "Third Si, let's go out and eat by ourselves! I don't believe there isn't a single Chinese restaurant in this huge country A."
Seeing Jiang Zhirou change her attitude, Chi Yu had no choice. Their relationship had just improved a little. He couldn't let it be ruined because of this.
Thinking of this, Chi Yu immediately softened. "I'll do it, I'll do it. But there are too many people today." He tilted his chin towards Si Moshen. "Since you want to learn how to cook, come and help me."
Seeing this, Jiang Zhirou immediately confirmed her guess.
Chi Yu was afraid of her!
As for why, she hadn't figured it out yet, but her words were very effective on Chi Yu.
Just like now, with a bit of provocation, Chi Yu immediately agreed.
This wasn't fear, what was it?
Jiang Zhirou happily patted Si Moshen on the shoulder and whispered, "Go. When you learn how to cook, make it for me. After he leaves Yuelan, I can still eat Chinese food every day."
As soon as she finished speaking, a flash of loneliness quickly crossed Si Moshen's eyes.
He wanted to learn so much just to cook a delicious meal for her before he left.
He also wanted to cook every day, but he was afraid there would be no such chance.
At this moment, Jiang Zhirou's attention was on Chi Yu. She was staring at his every move and didn't notice the fleeting emotion in Si Moshen's eyes.
After a while, still not hearing a response, she finally looked back at Si Moshen beside her, waved her hand in front of his eyes, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Si Moshen snapped back to reality. "It's nothing. I was just thinking whether I should put more or less chili later."
Hearing this, Jiang Zhirou laughed. "Why think about that? Just listen to Chef Chi. If Chef Chi tells you to put more, you put more. If he tells you to put less, you put less."
Saying this, Jiang Zhirou raised her eyebrows, leaned close to Si Moshen's ear, and said in a voice only they could hear, "This way, even if the food tastes bad, it's his problem, not yours."
Jiang Zhirou didn't know how bright her smile was at the moment.
Looking at her smiling face, Si Moshen felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife, hurting badly.
Suddenly, his forearm trembled uncontrollably.
A look of panic flashed across Si Moshen's face. He hid his hand behind his back. "I'll go change my clothes and come back."
After saying this to Jiang Zhirou, he quickly left.
Half an hour later, his body returned to normal, and he went back to the kitchen.
Chi Yu and Jiang Zhirou had been waiting in the kitchen for a long time. Just as Jiang Zhirou was about to go look for him, he appeared at the door.
Seeing him, Jiang Zhirou immediately walked up to him. When she got closer, she noticed that his face was a bit pale and was a bit worried. "Are you okay?"
Si Moshen shook his head with a smile. "I'm fine. I just took a work call and it delayed me a bit."
"Are you really okay?" Jiang Zhirou was still a bit worried. "Why don't you go and rest? Anyway, we can cook at any time. There will be plenty of opportunities."
Si Moshen reached out and ruffled her hair, forcing a smile on his face. "I'm really okay. Don't worry."
Seeing this, Chi Yu gritted his teeth so hard that his back molars were about to break. He said sourly, "Yes, Mr. Si is so busy with his business. Why bother doing such trivial things as cooking? You'd better go and take care of your hundreds of millions of big deals."