Chapter 16.1: Is there someone you like?

You’ll do it? 

Can you really do it? 

Shen Jue had already removed his jacket. Inside, he was wearing a thick, ivory shirt. The shirt was smooth and fitting, and pale golden buttons were carved with a complex totem. It wasn’t difficult to make out the logo of a high fashion brand. 

Yet, even if he folded his sleeves, he still didn’t look anything like someone who could cook. 

The others remained doubtful. 

Xia Qingqiao tried to probe, “Erm, Brother, I’m only seventeen. I still want to live for a few more years.” 

Shen Jue had already folded his sleeves, and he gave Xia Qingqiao a cold glare from askance. “Pick and wash the vegetables.” 

His tone was light, but the command was clear. 

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After that, he piled the condiments on the fish, covered it in flour, heated up the wok, and deep fried it till they were golden brown. Then, he took it out and plated it, made it into the shape of a squirrel, then used some tomato sauce to create a paste, stir-fried the ingredients, simmered it down, then took the wok up and poured the sauce over the fish. 

His moves were practiced, smooth and pleasing to the eye. 

Xia Qingqiao gulped, “It turns out that Teacher Shen really knows how to cook.” 

Shen Jue wiped his fingers and signalled for him to wash the wok. His tone was relaxed, “When we were trainees, the company’s food was terrible, so we learned how to cook.” 

“Oh.” 

Xia Qingqiao wanted to ask why they couldn’t call for takeout, but he was worried that he would appear irritating if he asked too much, so he swallowed the question and buried his head into the washing. 

After cleaning up, he saw that Shen Jue was cutting tomatoes, and he really couldn’t resist it, so he asked another question, “Teacher Shen, aren’t you allergic to tomatoes?” 

The dishes that the guest had requested all required tomatoes and tomato sauce. If Shen Jue was allergic, there was no reason why he knew how to cook them. 

Shen Jue was dicing the tomatoes as he replied nonchalantly, “A friend likes to eat them, so I learned how to make them.” 

A friend liked to eat them, so even if he couldn’t eat them, he still learned how to cook them. 

In the past, the trainees had limited resources, so it was normal that they would learn how to cook. However, after so many years, his skills hadn’t regressed, so it was clear that he practiced it regularly. 

Xia Qingqiao was still at the young age where he was extremely sensitive about the love affairs between males and females. With just a few hints, he immediately came to a mind-blowing realization.

He moved over in small steps, stuck his head over and asked nervously, “Brother, this person you’re talking about is probably not a regular friend, am I right?” 

Shen Jue didn’t even bat an eyelid, “Stop talking and start working.” 

Not denying it was tantamount to an admission. 

Xia Qingqiao pushed his limits, and started gossiping softly, “Brother, tell me discreetly, is the person from the industry? An actor or singer? The both of you…” 

Shen Jue finally looked up and raised his knife. 

Xiao Xia immediately shut his mouth. 

And focusing on assisting. 

After busying themselves for some time, the three main courses and some vegetables as sides were finally ready. Just when they were placed onto the island, the doorbell rang. 

Xia Qingqiao ran and opened the door. 

When the door opened, a tall youth with a crew cut stood outside. He was wearing baggy clothes from a hip hop fashion label. His features were handsome and well-defined, and there was a skull stud on his ear. When he saw Xia Qingqiao, he revealed a warm and hearty smile, “Hey, bro.” 

Xia Qingqiao quickly did a shoulder bump between the rappers, then wrapped the guy in a bear hug and yelled, “Ah ah ah!! Brother Nan!! It’s actually you!! That’s awesome!” 

Huang Yinan was Xia Qingqiao’s rap teacher during his competition. 

He was also formerly YOUNG’s rapper. 

Because the word “Yi” was commonly mistaken as the word “Tie” [2], plus the man himself had the mind of a staunchly straight man [3], almost insanely straightforward, hence everyone called him Huang Tienan instead. 

Coincidentally, his personality also ensured that he had a good entertainment sense. Added to the fact that he was one of the few capable and outstanding idol rappers in the industry, hence even after YOUNG disbanded, he was still doing quite well. 

The production team invited him as a first guest, clearly as a means to make use of Gu Yanshu’s popularity, creating a wave of emotional upheaval. 

Shen Jue darted a look at him, then looked down and slowly readjusted his sleeves, “If I’d known that the guest was you, I wouldn’t have spent so much effort to cook up this feast.” 

Huang Yinan had already entered the house, and when he heard this, he gave Shen Jue a mock punch, “How can you say this? Us brothers haven’t seen each other for such a long time, what’s wrong with asking you to cook something for me?” 

Just as he said this, Gu Yanshu had heard the commotion and came downstairs. 

Immediately, Huang Yinan’s expression changed. He went over and slung his shoulder over Gu Yanshu, smiling warmly, “Xiao Shu, we haven’t seen each other for almost a year now.” 

As he said it, he also gave Gu Yanshu a once-over, then frowned, “Maknae [4], what’s the matter with you? Why have you become skinnier?” 

Shen Jue’s expression was unfriendly as he tried to slap Huang Yinan’s hand away, “You’re blocking Gu Yanshu’s camera.” 

Huang Yinan didn’t doubt him. He moved to another position, then continued speaking to Gu Yanshu, “I guessed that you must not been eating properly, so I chose all the dishes that you love today. Doesn’t your Brother Nan pamper you?’ 

Xia Qingqiao wanted to refute him: Gu Yanshu hated tomatoes, so all the dishes today won’t be favoured by Gu Yanshu. 

But then, he saw Gu Yanshu nod, “Yup, Brother Nan really treats me well.” 

Xia Qingqiao: ???

So does Gu Yanshu actually like or dislike tomatoes???

But that didn’t seem important anymore. The most important thing was a rarely-seen gentle and relaxed expression on Gu Yanshu’s face. At the bottom of his eyes, there even seemed to be a trace of a smile. 

It was evident that Huang Yinan was on very good terms with him, perhaps even more than regular colleagues. 

Shen Jue was observing them coldly, and as he savoured Gu Yanshu’s “Brother Nan really treats me well”, he felt upset. However, he didn’t dare to take it out on Gu Yanshu, so he rolled his eyes at Huang Yinan, “Then why didn’t you pick any of the dishes that I love?’ 

Huang Yinan immediately refuted, “How would I know what your favourite dishes are?” 

“……”

Alright, they were the same anyway, simply fake brothers. 

“Then you shouldn’t eat the dishes that I cooked today.” 

“I won’t eat the dishes that you cooked, even if you begged me to… Wait. You cooked the dishes today?!” 

Huang Yinan was about to suffocate. 

Gu Yanshu seemed to be controlled by some terrible memory. He took a step back, intending to turn and run upstairs to escape the nightmare. 

Xu Fangfang and Jie Shuang had already taken the dishes out. “Teacher Shen’s culinary skills are fantastic. They look, smell and taste good. Brother Nan, Xiao Shu, hurry up and try them.” 

Gu Yanshu had to stop in his footsteps, then turned to look at the dining table. They indeed looked and smelled good, but taste-wise……

As he recalled the disaster that occured when Shen Jue cooked for the first time back then, Gu Yanshu withheld his opinion. 

But Shen Jue had cooked all these. 

In the end, Gu Yanshu still sat down and picked up his chopsticks. He took a piece of fish and delivered it into his mouth. The taste was unexpectedly good. 

[1] Means to throw everything at it.

[2] The word “Yi” and “Tie” used here are “轶” and “铁” respectively. 

[3] A very straight man in Chinese is known as 钢铁直男 (“Gang tie zhi nan”). 

[4] The youngest in the group.