The Stranger’s Homeward Journey

It was already late afternoon. After Shen Yu contacted someone to arrange a room for Luo Shaoheng at the hotel they were staying at, he then asked the driver to drive the car to the usual place where they have dinner.

They went to a restaurant specializing in Chinese cuisine. It was a three-story high vermilion pavilion, which was full of authentic Chinese cuisine.

The restaurant was full at this hour. In the vast hall located on the first floor, they couldn’t find empty seats at first glance. It seemed that the restaurant’s dishes were very popular as two-thirds of the customers were foreigners.

Although there were no vacant seats in the hall, Shen Yu and the others didn’t have to worry at all; they were welcomed by someone just after entering.

Luo Shaoheng took a look at the interior of the restaurant and found that it was completely decorated in Chinese style as well; the screens, booths, wooden tables, calligraphy, paintings, and many more, all had a lingering charm. The Chinese girl who greeted them wore a slim cheongsam that outlined her figure, and with a decent and fine makeup on her face, she welcomed them to the private room with courtesy.

The private rooms were named after seasons; spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Theirs was the ‘winter room’ at the end of the corridor. The vermillion door was carved with a prideful plum blossom, and the word ‘winter’ was proudly written above the plum blossom.

The furnishings inside the room were also antique, even the tea cup was a high-quality blue and white porcelain cup.

However, what stirred Luo Shaoheng’s heart was not any of this , but the style of the place that gave him an indescribable sense of familiarity.

Just after they sat down, a middle-aged man wearing a Chinese cotton linen shirt came over. Luo Shaoheng knew that he was the head of the restaurant after hearing it from the waiter. Once he came over, he took the initiative to take the tea cup from the waiter and poured tea for Shen Mucheng.

When Luo Shaoheng saw the man’s enthusiasm, he originally thought it was because of Shen Mucheng’s high status, or because they had business dealings with each other, but then as he was listening to their conversation, he realized that this ancient-style restaurant actually  belonged to Shen Mucheng.

His gaze swept over Shen Mucheng, who was drinking tea with his head down, and landed on the painting behind him. He then sank into deep thought.

When they were ordering food, the person in charge was there to take their order personally. Shen Mucheng asked someone to hand Luo Shaoheng the menu, while Luo Shaoheng didn’t act courteous and directly flipped through it. In the past, when he and Shen Mucheng went out to eat, he would be the one ordering food most of the time. Although he didn’t know how to cook, he knew Shen Mucheng’s taste clearly. 

Of course, the people present at the restaurant didn’t know about this. After he ordered four dishes that Shen Mucheng liked to eat in a row, Shen Mucheng’s hand which was holding the tea cup paused, his gaze subtly landed on the hand flipping the menu, then continued drinking tea silently.

Shen Yun was quite observant , he took the initiative and asked, “These dishes are considered the signature dishes of the store, seems like Mr. Luo also likes to eat them?”

“Yes, I often eat them.” Luo Shaoheng pretended not to understand what he meant and smiled with an innocent expression. He then ordered another cold dish, and instructed the person in charge to put less ginger and garlic into the dish.

The person in charge acknowledged his requests. Shen Yun saw this and said, “Mr. Luo seems to be an expert in eating.”

“Not really, I’m just a little picky about what I like to eat.” Luo Shaoheng said.

Frankly, he was good at it. In the past, Shen Mucheng prepared all the food, so he was only responsible for eating and didn’t have to worry about it at all. After that, when Shen Mucheng had an accident, he had a hard time living alone, so he tried his best to find something to do to keep his heart from feeling so empty, thus he  learned all the dishes that Shen Mucheng liked to eat one by one .

I thought I would never have the chance to cook for him again, but I didn’t expect … As he thought about it, he took a glance at Shen Mucheng then  handed the menu to Shen Yun in a good mood, “I’ve finished ordering, it’s your turn.”

Shen Yun took the menu, secretly complimenting him for being well prepared, he then added a few more dishes before handing the menu to the person in charge.

The person in charge took the menu, stood aside and asked softly, “The dessert that was newly created is already on the menu, do you want to try it?”

Shen Yun looked at Shen Mucheng, he saw that he did not object so he asked Luo Shaoheng, “Does Mr. Luo like to eat desserts? There is a new one in the store that you can try.”

“What kind of dessert is it?” Luo Shaoheng asked with interest.

The person in charge took the dessert list, turned to one of the pages and handed it to Luo Shaoheng, “It’s Coconut milk cake with wine.”

–Coconut milk cake with wine.

Luo Shaoheng went into a trance for a moment when he saw the dessert picture on the menu, but he quickly returned to his senses. He handed the list back to the person in charge, and smiled, “This looks good, I’ll have one, thanks.”

The person who could sit at the same table with Shen Mucheng was certainly not an ordinary person, the person in charge was a little surprised at his polite attitude, he took the menu and said ‘It’s my pleasure.’, and then led the waiter out . Shen Mucheng had never liked outsiders serving beside him.

After the others left, Shen Yun, who was responsible for livening up the atmosphere, took the initiative to ask about Luo Shaoheng after getting a hint from his big brother.

From the fact that Luo Shaoheng was staying at a hotel and carrying a camera with him, Shen Yun guessed that he had come to travel. He expressed his guess out loud, of which was met with an affirmative answer, so he continued asking, “Where is Mr. Luo from?”

“I’m from City A, now living in City A’s Yun Mountain’s tourist area over there.” Luo Shaoheng said honestly.

“The scenery at Yun Mountain is not bad, do you work there?” Shen Yun asked again.

“Sort of, I opened a resort over there.” When Luo Shaoheng said this, he secretly observed Shen Mucheng’s reaction and found that he was still leaning back in his chair indifferently, looking like he had no interest in their conversation.

–Seems like he had really forgotten about our promise. 

Luo Shaoheng’s mood soured a bit due to  this, but soon he cheered up again and said to Shen Yun, “The scenery at Yun Mountain is really good, when you have the opportunity to come over to enjoy, I’ll arrange the itinerary for you, and you’re just in time for hot springs as it’s winter now.”

“Okay, I’ll go if I have the opportunity to do so.” Shen Yun answered out of courtesy, but they all knew it was all up to Shen Mucheng to decide if they were going or not.

Next, Luo Shaoheng asked some things about Shen Mucheng and the others. Under the conditions  of not revealing company secrets and Shen Mucheng tacitly agreeing to it, Shen Yun  revealed a little information to him. Only then did Luo Shaoheng  know that Shen Mucheng was from City B. City B and City A were not very far apart, but also not close either, no wonder the two have  never met over the years.

Most of the time, it was Luo Shaoheng and Shen Yun talking, Shen Yu would occasionally say a line or two, while Shen Mucheng was drinking tea by himself the whole time and would respond with only one or  two words when Luo Shaoheng took the initiative to ask him questions.

The conversation was quite pleasant. Later when the waiter brought the food, everyone stopped talking tacitly and started eating.

The last dish served was the dessert. When the tiny lid was removed, a small quadrangular piece of glittering white cake was placed in the middle of a plate adorned with golden patterns on its edges.

Luo Shaoheng picked up the small spoon that was prepared next to it, gently cut off a small piece of it and sent it into his mouth.

The soft cake had a light wine aroma, it was mixed with the fragrance of coconut milk, forming an intoxicating flavor. The texture was somewhat bouncy and smooth, making it very appetizing.

However, even though it had a sweet taste, Luo Shaoheng felt bitter in his heart. 

–Coconut milk cake with wine.

No one here knew that it actually should be called coconut milk jelly with wine. This was Luo Shaoheng’s own idea, by mixing the wine with the coconut milk, it would have a little fragrance of the wine, and could also reduce its sweetness.

Although Luo Shaoheng had no talent in cooking, he was quite talented regarding desserts. After Shen Mucheng took up the responsibility of cooking for both of them, he took the initiative to learn how to make desserts and bake cakes from his chef.

As Shen Mucheng didn’t like to eat something that was too sweet, he studied a variety of light and delicious desserts, trying to make it tasty but not greasy. Although the milk jelly was easy to make, mixing wine into it and controlling the sweetness of the coconut milk to avoid being overwhelmed by the wine fragrance at the same time was more troublesome. He was only able to adjust the taste to his own liking after studying with his chef for two days.

After the first satisfactory coconut milk jelly was made, he brought it back and without much hesitation, jumped on the back of Shen Mucheng who was working in front of the computer, hooked his neck and asked him, “Guess what I brought back for you?”

Shen Mucheng stopped his hands, turned his head and kissed him, then asked cooperatively, “What’s the dessert for today?”

Luo Shaoheng had been learning dessert for some time, and he would bring them back every now and then. He initially didn’t like it, but he gradually felt that the taste was not bad, especially when Luo Shaoheng made it personally.

Luo Shaoheng put the small box which was behind him on the table and said, “Open it and take a look.”

Shen Mucheng glanced at his excited expression then reached out to open the box.

Inside was a small portion of frozen coconut milk jelly. As it was a little hot on the way back, the color didn’t look as shiny as before, there was even melted water at the bottom of the plate.

“What’s this?” Shen Mucheng reached out and took the dessert out of the box.

“Coconut milk jelly with wine, it’s a new dessert that me and Master Zhang created.” Luo Shaoheng pulled out a stool and sat down next to him, seeing that the color of the dessert was a bit dull, he couldn’t help but be disappointed, “It was beautiful when it was frozen, it was crystal clear.”

“This is also very pretty.” Shen Mucheng stroked his head to comfort him, “You only made one?”

“I made several of them, but the others weren’t so successful. Quickly taste it.” Luo Shaoheng urged him.

“Hmm? I’m the only one eating?” the corner of Shen Mucheng’s lips slightly hooked up as he looked at him, smiles could be seen in his eyes.

“En.” Luo Shaoheng nodded, one hand holding his shoulders as he went closer and kissed his lips, he then caressed it a few times and said, “You eat it, I can eat you.”

Shen Mucheng laughed in a low tone, reached out his hands and pulled him into his embrace, he then lowered his head and kissed him, “It’s my pleasure.”

…

“Mr. Luo, what’s wrong with you?” Shen Yun noticed that Luo Shaoheng was dazed after taking a bite, so he asked out loud.

“No, I just remembered something.” Luo Shaoheng looked up and smiled at him, “This is quite delicious.”

“Isn’t it? It was Boss who thought of this recipe.” Shen Yun said, he also felt that it was quite delicious, just that the sugar was a little too less for him.

“Really?” Luo Shaoheng’s gaze turned towards Shen Mucheng with a hint of surprise.

Shen Mucheng put down the spoon in his hand and lightly glanced at Shen Yun, giving him a silent warning. He then looked at Luo Shaoheng and asked, “Are you used to eating this?”

“I’m used to it!” Luo Shaoheng said immediately, showing him a bright smile. When he smiled, his eyes curved into a beautiful arc, like a crescent moon. The smile swept away the sadness and despair he had shown before, showing that he was in a very good mood.

Shen Mucheng nodded and did not say anything more. His attitude was still indifferent, but Luo Shaoheng did not care, instead, his heart was unusually excited.

This dessert is actually Shen Mucheng’s idea? Does that mean he still has some impression of the past? When he thought of this, he could not suppress the joy in his heart.

At least for now, regardless of how many memories he recalled, it’s a gift bestowed by the heavens for him. It was worth the surprise.

Of course, the fact that Shen Mucheng is still alive is the biggest gift.

As for the rest, he could slowly figure them out one by one.