It's Not Easy Being Your Love Rival's Big Brother

Translator: Mosstree

Chapter 15: Chef Wei Comes to the Jiang Home

That day, Qi Zhifan and Pei Yuyang completed their swimming workout. They were driving back from the swimming pool, when they happened to pass by a shopping mall. Pei Yuyang suddenly thought to buy something, and then he pulled Qi Zhifan into the mall.

Qi Zhifan accompanied him and thought Pei Yuyang was going to buy jewelry to gift, or to see the latest style of clothes, pants, shoes, or something. Who knew that he’d go back and forth and take several turns around to choose some hats.

At this moment, the two men went to the hat store and faced a variety of colorful hats on the display shelf. After Pei Yuyang selected a few hats and baseball caps, his eyes couldn’t help from crossing a bit.

“Ah Fan, quickly help me take a look and pick some good-looking ones.”

Qi Zhifan saw that the limitless types of hats bought were more or less all for men, so asked, “Is it for you to wear, or to give to someone else?”

Still carefully selecting hats, Pei Yuyang smiled, “I’m giving it to Curlie. I found out that he really likes hats and is a hat fanatic.”

“Aren’t you a pig lover, now you’re changing to a dog lover? This couldn’t be the aftereffects of being bitten last time, right?”

In the past, Pei Yuyang always took great pains for his family’s Archie, simply dressing up the black wild boar as a pink little princess. Now, it doesn’t surprise Qi Zhifan that he’d buy a hat for a dog.

“……” Pei Yuyang smile was a little stiff, “Ah Fan, Curlie isn’t a dog, he’s a person.”

“Person? A man?”

“Yes, Curlie: that hair, that look, that face is simply way too cute ah! He’s worthy to be the man chosen by my family’s Archie in just one glance.” Pei Yuyang’s face was full of infatuation.

The corner of Qi Zhifan’s mouth pulled. “I see he’s also to your taste, right?”

Pei Yuyang touched his nose and didn’t speak. He turned and went to see the hats on the other side of the shelf.

Was he being shy? Qi Zhifan was a little surprised. He’d known Pei Yuyang for so long. This person, no matter who he sees, he can affectionately shout out “dear”. His skin was thick enough to wrap around the city walls, three layers deep. Unexpectedly, he can also be shy?
Early Saturday morning, Jiang Chengrui rode a motorbike and carried Wei Han all the way back to his home.

Jiang Chengrui’s family lived in a very ordinary community, and of course, it couldn’t be compared to the Qi home in the city center. Here, the management was imperfect, and the related facilities were incomplete. This made Wei Han think of the house he’d rented in his past life and remember working in a foreign place all alone to painstakingly collect money, but also always receiving unfair treatment, ai.

But now, everything was different.

“woof woof! woof woof woof! woof woof woof…”

Through the anti-theft iron gate, a burst of dog barking came out from the house. Wei Han suddenly thought of Pei Yuyang, who seemed to have been bitten by the family dog and sent to the hospital. Tch, that was brutal.

Wei Han immediately wiped his sweat. “Little Jiang, your family dog is really spirited, so he barks so happily. When I go in, he won’t…won’t directly tackle me down, right?”

“No, my dogs are too small to jump on you. At most, they will attack you from all sides and surround you. But don’t worry, Little Yi will look after them well.”

The second before, Wei Han heard the words “too small” and couldn’t help but be relieved. But the next second, he heard “they”! What’s this situation?

After Wei Han crossed the threshold, Wei Han, this unfamiliar guest, was surrounded by five fierce Chihuahuas.

“Big Baby, Second Baby, Third Baby, Fourth Baby, Fifth Baby, come to me.”

Little Yi came out from the back room, opened his mouth and beckoned with his little hand before he called them one by one to his side.

Wei Han: “……”

It’s okay to raise five Chihuahuas at once, but these dog names…Hey, they’re not the Gourd Brothers! [1]

Staying in the living room with his life always under the threat of these five fierce creatures, Wei Han felt a bit like he was sitting on a blanket of needles. “Little Jiang, are you sure something won’t happen to me later? Last time, Pei Yuyang, he…”

Wei Han hadn’t finished yet when Little Yi, who was teasing the dog over on sofa, said, “It was Purple Sheep who was seeking his own death. He actually dared to hold big brother without letting go. In the end, Big Baby, Second Baby, and Third Baby swarmed around, and he ended up in tragedy.” Finished talking, Little Yi also spread his hands.

Immediately, Wei Han and Jiang Chengrui pulled away a distance.
Jiang Chengrui was dumbfounded, “Silly Han, you really don’t have to be afraid.”

“And Little Yi, I’ve told you how many times not to mention that pervert. How can you not remember?”

“I’m also kindly reminding Brother Wei Wei,” Little Yi pouted.

“Little Yi, my name is Wei Han.”

“Uh-huh, I know, Brother Wei Wei.”

Wei Han: “……”

Thinking of Pei Yuyang becoming “Purple Sheep”, this bear child also has special naming skills.

Later, seeing Wei Han was still a little afraid of the dogs, Jiang Chengrui simply took him into his room so that he could be at ease to help him review.

“Silly Han, you sit first. I’ll go pour water for you.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Jiang Chengrui’s room was well-organized, which made Wei Han a bit surprised. He’d originally thought that Little Jiang, such a boy would have a messier and untidy room. The most obvious thing in the room was the big sandbag hanging in it. This made Wei Han look at it several times; Little Jiang had really trained.

Walking to the desk and taking out the notes from each class that he’d organized, Wei Han looked up and caught a glimpse of the photo on the table.

After picking up the frame, Wei Han looked at the happy family of five in the photo: Dad and Mom Jiang, Little Jiang’s big sister, Little Jiang and Little Yi. Their faces were filled with smiles, and everyone was holding a Chihuahua in their arms. The picture was warm and harmonious.

“Silly Han, what are you looking at?” At this time, Jiang Chengrui happened to come in, carrying two glasses of water.

“Little Jiang, your parents and your sister? Why aren’t they home on a Saturday?”

“……” Jiang Chengrui froze in an instant, and it was a long time before he whispered, “My sister is working overtime today. She’s also very busy at work and is rarely home. As for my parents, they…”

Seeing Jiang Chengrui’s desolate expression, Wei Han immediately realized that he was wrong. “I’m sorry, Little Jiang, I seem to have asked something I shouldn’t have. Never mind, you don’t have to force yourself to answer me.”

Jiang Chengrui shook his head and took the picture from Wei Han’s hand, a gray shadow covering his pupils. “Letting you know about this also doesn’t matter. Actually, three years ago…my parents were in a car accident and they’ve already passed away.”

In this instant, Wei Han suddenly understood a lot of things: this family not being well-off, Jiang Chengrui having several part-time jobs, his busy sister, the originally mischievous Little Yi becoming restrained in these past few years…

Later, Wei Han reorganized his emotions and devoted himself to drawing up a review plan for Jiang Chengrui, also marking the key questions for him. Some of the difficult subjects involved reasoning and calculation. Jiang Chengrui listened, and had to scratch his head. Wei Han patiently explained them several more times.

“Silly Han, if I flunk, my sister will kill me,” Jiang Chengrui wailed.

Perhaps because Jiang Chengrui’s martial skills were too off-the-charts, so God didn’t him a good head. Plus, he usually slept in class every day, and was completely reduced to the learning dregs.

Looking at him like this, it was also a bit cute. Wei Han smiled, “Little Jiang, remember these things that I’ve explained to you, and I’ll make sure you can pass.”

“Really? If I can pass through the door, I’ll buy you a big meal.”

“Mhm, then I’ll be waiting.”

At lunch, Jiang Chengrui wanted to cook for Wei Han. Although Wei Han wanted to help, Jiang Chengrui insisted that Wei Han was a guest and refused to let him into the kitchen, saying that he had his own “way of hospitality”.

Wei Han had no choice but to get ready to taste Little Jiang’s craftsmanship. But he saw to the side that Little Yi had a bitter expression on his face, arms holding a bucket of instant noodles.

“Little Yi, what are you doing?”

“I really don’t like eating big brother’s cooking. I would rather eat instant noodles.” Little Yi’s face was ashen and dejected.

Wei Han: “……”

You’re in front of an outsider. Is it really good for you to so bluntly badmouth your brother?

Soon after, Jiang Chengrui served a few freshly-made dishes. After Wei Han ate a mouthful of braised fish, he also immediately had no love for life…

Obviously, these dishes looked pretty good, but how come eating it tasted like chewing wax? Maybe mom would feel that Jiang Chengrui was very talented and could follow her to learn the dark cuisine.

“Ai, I also know that I don’t cook well, but it’s not so bad that you’d spit it out, right? Silly Han, you just have to put up with it and eat it until you fill your belly. Don’t mind these little details.”
“……”

It turned out that Little Jiang’s way of hospitality was this kind of perfunctory way ah? Wei Han heart ached.

“Little Jiang, please let me into the kitchen? Just once.”

“Okay, but I’m worried to leave you alone. I’ll have to go in to look over you.” Jiang Chengrui thought that Wei Han was so silly that he really was not very reliable, and might burn the kitchen down by chance.

In the kitchen, Wei Han decided to use the leftover ingredients and simply make a few home-cooked dishes.

After washing the dishes and treating the cured meat, Wei Han began chopping vegetables on the cutting board. He used a knife with suitable sharpness to cut out even slices of fish. The meat chunks were almost the same size, and the julienned potatoes were almost the same length. The exquisite knife work really left Jiang Chengrui next to him gaping in awe. He seemed to have also seen Wei Han carving a decorative design in the wax gourd in order to cut down the time it took to absorb the flavor.

Hot pan and cold oil was the first step in stir-frying, “raw scallions, cooked garlic, half-cooked leeks” was also common sense. Wei Han always paid attention to the heat, stir-frying the leeks, green peppers and dried bean curd with a smooth motion, and also checking the timing to add in salt, soy sauce, cooking wine and other spices. When stewing the broth, he also called Jiang Chengrui to specially find a few pieces of orange peel to put in, saying that it was not only delicious, but also reduced the greasy feeling. Hearing this, Jiang Chengrui immediately nodded.

A few moments later, what twice-cooked pork, steamed squid, sweet and sour spareribs, and so on went on the table. Among these, several were topped by Wei Han’s own radish garnish and looked quite pleasing.

This well-established chef posture already made the Jiang brothers both dumbstruck, and couldn’t help but give Wei Han a thumbs-up.

A piece of meat held between his chopsticks, Little Yi just took the first bite, and his eyes immediately became two big ❤ : “Brother Wei Wei, brother, you’re my real brother ah! Later, come to our house to cook every day, okay?”

Wei Han’s facial muscles twitched.

“Fuck, beat you to death, this dead boy!” Jiang Chengrui was dissatisfied and knocked on Little Yi’s head. He turned to Wei Han, clasped his fist and said, “Silly Han, you’re the legendary ‘Food God’! Teach me how to cook, Master.”

Wei Han’s facial muscles twitched again.

“Ah-woo~” the five Chihuahuas were fortunate to lick up the delicious broth, and they were all conquered. Pairs of round, little eyes fondly gazed up at Wei Han, and they docilely stuck to his feet.

“……”

Wei Han, face full of black lines: Wasn’t it just a good meal? Can the family’s people and dogs act a bit more normal?

Afterwards, everyone finally calmed down…

“Silly Han, can you make any dish?”

“Pretty much,” Wei Han smiled brilliantly, and counting on his fingers, he slowly listed, “Chinese style, Western style dishes, cold cuts, dim sums, and so on, even mixing drinks, I’ve studied a little. But I’m best at desserts.”

Having heard his speech, Jiang Chengrui couldn’t help but sigh and said, “Wow! Isn’t it a pity that you just serve as a waiter in Brother Bohao’s shop? You can go to the back kitchen to help, ah. I will tell him. You can’t waste your talent.”

Then, Jiang Chengrui suddenly had another question. “Right, since you’re so awesome, why don’t you become a chef? Or what about going into the dry food line?”

“This, it’s a bit hard to explain. In short, this life, I want to be a qualified police officer.” Wei Han couldn’t explain it well, and had to laugh.

“woof woof woof!”

At this time, the five Chihuahuas suddenly rushed to the windows and fiercely barked out in unison.

“There’s a situation!” Little Yi, who’d just been gorging himself, quickly stood up and ran to the window.

The author has something to say: stupid author sometimes modify the BUG of the previous chapter. In general, fixed at the 8PM update. Welcome everyone to ridicule~

==============God Trouble Little Theater==============

Little Shou Wei (washing, washing, washing clothes): ( ⊙ o ⊙ ) This is…Odd Trouble’s underwear?!

Little Gong Qi (face full of black lines): Next time, can you not be so diligent and proactive…

Notes

1. Gourd Brothers: An old school Chinese cartoon. The brothers have the same naming scheme as the dogs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash_Brothers)