Supremely Talented Tyrant

Chapter 2153: Chapter 2354: Strengthening Bonds

The food really did smell amazing. The moment the kitchen door opened, that aroma wafted out from inside, so Li Weiwei wasn’t lying. But the reason she said that was entirely because she thought the dishes were made by her dad. Usually it was her dad who cooked at home, and she also knew his cooking was pretty good, so saying it smelled good was basically her praising her dad.

But after hearing what her parents said, she was instantly dumbfounded. What? These dishes were made by Hao Jian? Hao Jian can cook? That came a bit out of nowhere for her, but even so, even if these mouthwatering dishes were made by Hao Jian, she still wasn’t going to praise him.

She’d originally been complimenting her dad, but hadn’t expected the praise to land on Hao Jian instead, so her expression immediately turned sour. She didn’t say a word and just sat down at the dining table.

Once everything was ready, the two elders had already taken their seats at the table. Only then did Hao Jian sit down, while Li Weiwei was already sitting there picking up food to eat. At this moment, Li Weiwei’s dad looked at her and said, "Look how polite Little Hao is, and then look at you. The guest hasn’t even sat down yet and you’re already eating. What kind of behavior is that!"

Her dad was lecturing her, but it didn’t affect her in the slightest. First of all, Hao Jian was not a guest in her eyes, and she hadn’t wanted Hao Jian to come over anyway. Second, if it were someone else, she wouldn’t be acting like this. She simply didn’t see Hao Jian as a guest at all, she even found him a bit annoying, so of course she wasn’t going to give him much face.

Seeing this, Hao Jian just smiled and tried to smooth things over for Li Weiwei, saying, "Uncle, it’s fine. I’m not just anybody else. I’m already used to eating with Weiwei, it’s really no big deal."

When her dad heard that, he first glanced at his daughter, then sighed and turned to Hao Jian, saying, "It’s really thanks to you, Little Hao, for putting up with her. Her temper’s all been spoiled by her mom. Otherwise she wouldn’t be this spoiled and willful. I’ll have to trouble you to keep tolerating her in the future."

As soon as her mom heard her dad talking about their daughter like that, she was displeased and said, "My daughter is a piece of flesh I carried and gave birth to. You don’t dote on her, but of course I will. What do you mean, ’spoiled’? Isn’t that exactly how you’re supposed to raise a daughter?"

Being told off like that by his wife, her dad was momentarily at a loss for words. Hao Jian, listening on the side, really didn’t know what to say either. He could only smile, nod, and quietly watch.

Seeing that Hao Jian still hadn’t started eating, Li Weiwei’s mom said, "Eat, don’t stand on ceremony here. Just treat this like your own home."

Seeing that both of Li Weiwei’s parents had started eating, Hao Jian finally picked up his chopsticks and began taking food, while Li Weiwei next to him had long been eating away happily. She just assumed Hao Jian had maybe made one or two dishes at most, and the rest were probably made by her dad. Otherwise, how could someone like Hao Jian possibly make all these dishes?

Plus, at a glance, all of them looked like her dad’s signature dishes, so she figured everything on the table must have been cooked by her dad. She ate with extra relish because of that. Seeing this, Hao Jian couldn’t help but smile.

Li Weiwei’s dad picked up a piece of the braised pork Hao Jian had cooked and put it into his mouth. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he said to Hao Jian, "Little Hao, this braised pork of yours is really something. The flavor’s all soaked in and it’s not greasy at all. Tastes great. When you’ve got time another day, teach your uncle, will you? Your uncle just can’t manage this kind of flavor."

Hao Jian smiled and said, "Sure, no problem. Another day when I have time, I’ll definitely come over and walk Uncle through the recipe in detail."

Her dad laughed, and when Li Weiwei saw Hao Jian looking so pleased with himself, she reached over, picked up a piece of braised pork, and dropped it into her own bowl. After chewing a few bites, she put on a disgusted face and said, "Dad, how is this braised pork anywhere near as good as yours? It’s obviously awful, okay?"

Her dad knew her temperament like the back of his hand, so he just laughed and said, "Just eat, you. Why so much nonsense?"

Her mom shot her a glance, and right then Li Weiwei picked up a few more pieces of braised pork and dropped them into her bowl. Saying it tasted bad was clearly a lie; she just wanted to put Hao Jian down. In reality, the first bite she took tasted pretty good, but seeing that smug look on Hao Jian’s face, she had to say what she said.

Hao Jian, seeing this, immediately called her out, saying, "If it’s so bad, then why are you grabbing so much of it?"

After he said that, he couldn’t help but laugh himself, and when her parents heard him, they burst out laughing too. Li Weiwei’s face instantly turned awkward. Yeah, she’d just said it tasted bad, yet still picked up several pieces for her bowl. Wasn’t that just slapping herself in the face? Her expression froze, and she glared at Hao Jian.

"Just because it’s bad doesn’t mean I can’t eat it. What’s it to you!" Li Weiwei shot back stubbornly.

Seeing this, Hao Jian smiled again, that kind of silly grin. He really had no way to refute this kind of reason—when a woman wants to say something, somehow she’s always right, there’s just no room for argument. Her parents also started laughing when they saw this, but didn’t say anything, just lowered their heads and kept eating.

Weiwei’s mom tried a few more of the other dishes Hao Jian had made. After tasting them, she looked completely satisfied and said to Hao Jian, "Little Hao, if you have time someday, you’d better come over and teach your Uncle a bit. Only after eating your cooking did I realize how disgusting your Uncle’s food actually is. You come and teach him so we can really enjoy a feast once in a while!"

Weiwei couldn’t help but butt in at the wrong time and said, "His cooking is good? I’m afraid eating it would just make people nauseous! My dad’s cooking is the best. I like my dad’s food the most."

Her mom shot her a glare, her dad chuckled, and Hao Jian laughed and said, "I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. When it comes to actual skills, Uncle is more experienced and his food tastes better. It’s just that you’ve eaten Uncle’s cooking too often, Auntie, so you feel mine is good. If you’d been eating mine before, and today suddenly had Uncle’s, then you’d definitely think Uncle’s is better. Mine only tastes good because it’s new and different, that’s all. So when it comes to what’s really delicious, it’s still Uncle’s cooking that wins."

He paused, then added, "But if Auntie wants to learn, I can make some time to teach you. The way these dishes are made, I learned them before when I had free time from a Michelin five-star chef. Otherwise I wouldn’t know any of this either."

As soon as she heard that all this was learned from a Michelin five-star chef, Weiwei’s mom showed a look of surprise. She hadn’t expected the boyfriend her daughter brought home to be so dedicated, and to have such a background. A Michelin five-star chef is so busy, yet willing to teach him—that means he definitely has some real abilities. Plus, he was actually willing to learn, and learned so well. He was clearly a man who put his heart into things.

In today’s so restless society, a man like Hao Jian who can calm down, not be impatient, and seriously learn something as "small" as cooking is really rare. That made Hao Jian seem all the more precious and hard to come by.

Her dad, hearing what Hao Jian said, focused on something completely different from her mom. His attention was on the first half of Hao Jian’s sentence.

He hadn’t expected Hao Jian to be so modest about it. He knew exactly how good—or rather, how not-so-good—his own cooking was. He’d been cooking for so many years; just one bite told him that Hao Jian’s level was definitely above his. Outsiders watch the fun, insiders see the craft. He’d been in the kitchen for years; he at least had that much judgment.

A young man like Hao Jian with better cooking skills than his was already rare, but what struck him most was that little speech of Hao Jian’s. With just a few simple words, he’d shown genuine modesty. A young person who can talk like that—he hadn’t met many. The few he had met are all doing very well in life now.

So, looking at Hao Jian and listening to those words, he couldn’t help but start seeing the boy in a new light. He didn’t know why, but he just felt that this time his daughter had found the right boyfriend. No matter how he looked at it, from every angle, he was very satisfied.

Although her mom’s focus was different from his on that point, when it came to this matter, they were completely in sync: they both thought this young man, Hao Jian, was pretty good. They felt at ease entrusting their daughter to him just like that.

Very soon, the meal was over. Even though Weiwei kept saying out of her mouth that Hao Jian’s dishes were terrible, her body was very honest—she kept complaining that a dish wasn’t good, yet she was the one who ate the most. She ate until she was stuffed. Normally she only ate a small bowl and claimed she was dieting, but today she had two big bowls in a row and didn’t even mention dieting anymore. She just dug in happily; you could tell from that alone that Hao Jian’s cooking really was delicious.

On this point, Hao Jian was confident. He really had learned to cook from a Michelin five-star chef. After all, many of today’s dishes were made using that chef’s methods. Since it was a Michelin five-star chef, the skill level definitely wouldn’t be low. So of course he had confidence in himself.

Seeing the satisfied looks on Weiwei’s parents’ faces, and seeing how happily Weiwei was eating, he knew this meal had gone just fine—at the very least, it was a success.

After the meal, Hao Jian originally wanted to help clear the table, but no matter what, Weiwei’s mom refused to let him. She said she’d do it herself and told him to go keep her dad company. Her dad was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper, so he walked over slowly.

Just then, Weiwei ran over and grabbed him, whispering, "The meal’s eaten, you’ve already freeloaded off us, it’s about time you left, isn’t it? Otherwise be careful or I’ll..."

Before she could finish, Hao Jian smiled, put an arm around her waist in a very intimate way, brought his mouth close to her ear, and whispered back, "Sure, I’ve eaten. But I still haven’t had time to bond with our mom and dad yet. What are you so anxious about?"

The moment Hao Jian’s arm wrapped around her waist, Weiwei felt her body go soft all of a sudden. When he leaned in close to her ear to speak, the tips of her ears went weak too.

She didn’t know why either; it was just a completely subconscious reaction.