Chapter Thirty-Nine: Who are you calling ‘child’?
After the table was swept clean, Ji XiaoYu looked up and saw a pampering little smile on Cheng YuTang’s lips. His heart was suddenly filled with regret, was I fooled again? Ay, why can’t I keep my mouth shut!
No wonder humans said that sugar-coated shells were the most difficult to resist. This man was clever from head to toe, so it was even more difficult to fight him when he pulled out all his tricks.
After breakfast, Cheng Zong happily went to the garage with his little bodyguard.
After pressing the unlock button, Cheng YuTang habitually escorted Ji XiaoYu to the passenger’s side, taking the driver’s side for himself. Disgruntled, Ji XiaoYu said, “If you don’t believe in my skills, why do you want me as your bodyguard and driver? I’d like to see you try to find someone better qualified than me, sir.”
It had been a while since he got his driver’s license, but he’d never given Cheng YuTang a ride, today would be the first time.
“Sorry, I forgot for a moment.” Cheng YuTang didn’t resist, seating himself in the passenger seat obediently. “How could I even find someone better? I’m not sure who else could put me at ease with their skills.”
As long as there was no major accident, even if the little thing was waiting to just drive he car into a ditch, he would compliment him with ‘what skills!’
As a result, Cheng YuTang was shocked even before the car made it out of the community gate. This wasn’t finding beauty in the eye of the beholder; Ji XiaoYu was really skilled at driving. Just seeing the smoothness and proficiency of his handling, no one could have imagined he was a newbie who got his driver’s license just this month.
Ji XiaoYu saw the awed expression on Cheng YuTang’s face in the mirror and he couldn’t help but be proud, saying, “What do you think, are my skills any worse than a veteran driver?”
“Naturally, compared to an veteran driver, you’re even more of an experienced driver.” Cheng YuTang chuckled, “I told you I don’t misjudge people.”
“Veteran driver” Ji XiaoYu was so thrilled that it was hard to press the rising corners of his lips back down.
Arriving at the company, the employees who had the privilege of passing by Cheng Zong had been surprised to find that today, accompanied by the new bodyguard, the gloom that had been on the honorable president’s face the past few days had been swept away. He was completely glowing and radiant. A person habitually greeted the president and actually got a response from him. The man was so excited that he giggled and spent the rest of the day in a trance.
In his office, Cheng YuTang worked seriously and diligently at his desk. Ji XiaoYu stayed in the lounge area, eating, drinking, and watching TV as before. When he got off work in the afternoon, he drove the man home again. On the drive, Cheng Zong made the strong implication that he wanted him to stay for dinner. Though Ji XiaoYu wavered a bit, he resolutely refused and then drove his own car to return to HongSheng and eat in the canteen.
What else could Cheng YuTang do? He couldn’t tie the man to a chair and forcibly feed him, so he had to let him leave.
It seemed that little thing isn’t so easily fooled. If I want to break through the defense around his heart, I’ll have to think of another way.
After two days of peace and quiet, when Ji XiaoYu had just finished sending Cheng YuTang back to the villa community and was about to return to HongSheng for dinner, he suddenly realized that today was the 28th. He could go to Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn to eat for free.
Except Manager Yang had told him to bring someone to eat with. Excluding a certain someone, who was he going to take?
Ji XiaoYu soon thought of a candidate, so he excitedly pulled the number out of his contact list and dialed it, “Hey, Liang Ge, where are you now? Have you eaten dinner? ……You haven’t had time to cook yet? Good, I’m inviting you to go to Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn to eat a big dinner! ……I’m not lying to you, it’s true! But it’s not my own money, I couldn’t afford it. It’s like this, I’m on of their ultimate VIP guests, so I have three chances to eat for free each month, but I have to take someone to eat with. How about it, you want to go? ……Hahaha, okay, I’ll drive to the dorm to pick you up, just wait!”
Half an hour later, he returned to HongLe Garden, picked up Liang ShaoGang, and went straight to Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn.
Liang ShaoGang was still in disbelief at the moment. He asked doubtfully, “Xiao Yu, when did you go to Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn? The place isn’t somewhere most people can afford to eat. How did you become their supreme VIP guest?”
Ji XiaoYu couldn’t share the details of the day, so he said vaguely, “I went there once with Cheng Zong and luckily became the 8888th guest of the restaurant, so they gave me a VIP card.”
Liang ShaoGang joked, “Sure enough, the benefits of following Cheng Zong are good. You really are a lucky dog, kid.”
Ji XiaoYu echoed his “haha” and laughed a little, muttering in his heart, if I’m a lucky dog, then Cheng Zong would have to cook for me personally, what kind of fortune is this? Like shit luck?
When they arrived at Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn, Ji XiaoYu waved the VIP card toward the front desk. Soon Yang DongCheng briskly stepped out and greeted him with a smile, “Mr. Ji, good evening! And this is?”
Ji XiaoYu introduced, “He is my colleague, Liang ShaoGang.”
“So it’s Mr. Liang. Glad to meet you!” Yang DongCheng actively extended his hand and Liang ShaoGang shook it. Then, he politely made a gesture of courtesy, “The two customers, this way, please.”
Liang ShaoGang was a little overwhelmed by Manager Yang’s enthusiasm. While going in, he whispered in Ji XiaoYu’s ear, “The manager of Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn is so talkative? I think he’s more polite than an average restaurant’s staff.”
Ji XiaoYu also whispered in reply, “Yeah, the service here is very good. From the manager down to the waiters, they’re all very warm and thoughtful.”
With feeling, Liang ShaoGang said, “It’s worthy of being a business that puts on airs.”
Ji XiaoYu echoed casually, “Isn’t it?”
It seemed that Liang Ge didn’t know that Cheng YuTang was the boss of Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn. Ji XiaoYu wouldn’t mention it, so that he wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
Yang DongCheng led the two into the elegant seating area of the outer patio, by the window just opposite the small bridge in the courtyard. The view was excellent. It was the same location where Ji XiaoYu and Cheng YuTang sat last time. Ji XiaoYu remembered all the things that happened that day and he couldn’t help but get distracted.
“Xiao Yu, what’s wrong, why did you suddenly zone out?” Liang ShaoGang reached out and waved in front of his eyes.
Ji XiaoYu hurriedly said, “It’s nothing, I was thinking the scenery here is very good, so, for a moment, I was fascinated.”
Liang ShaoGang nodded. “It’s really good. There’s some truth to it when people say this place is expensive.”
Yang DongCheng gave them the a la carte menu to order. Liang ShaoGang got a little scared when he glanced at it, he didn’t recognize anything at all. Ji XiaoYu, who had been similarly awkward his first time, was now accustomed to this, so he acted on his initiative to order four dishes and one soup in a natural, orderly way.
He didn’t order too much and he didn’t deliberately order expensive dishes. Although it was free, he couldn’t just come out and be blindly, wastefully extravagant.
Just as he was returning the menu to Yang DongCheng, Ji XiaoYu suddenly remembered something, so he asked, “Manager Yang, what you sent me two days ago to taste-test was really good, can I order those dishes?”
Yang DongCheng looked a little embarrassed as he said, “Those dishes were developed by our restaurant’s chef recently. Because the cooking process is very complicated and requires a lot of effort, we’re not ready to go public with those for the time being. But if you want to eat them, I can ask the chef if he has time to do it now.”
Ji XiaoYu instantly replied, “Okay, then I’ll trouble Manager Yang.”
Then Yang DongCheng took out a walkie-talkie and asked a few quick questions. A voice replied back positively a few times and then he smiled, “Mr. Ji, congratulations, our restaurant’s chef heard that you have a special liking for his new dishes and even though he’s busy, he’s willing to specially squeeze in the time to meet your needs.”
Although this sounded a little strange, Ji XiaoYu was happy to hear it and said thank you.
After a while, the two dishes came out. Ji XiaoYu couldn’t help but sigh when he took a taste, yes, this is the flavor!
Even though he had only tried it once, he still had a lot of praise after eating. Liang ShaoGang naturally followed along, having the luck to enjoy a culinary treat today by riding on Ji XiaoYu’s coattails.
Ji XiaoYu ate and ate and, suddenly on a whim, wanted to see this amazing chef.
There was a human saying he had heard that made him shudder, to the effect of to eat and enjoy a hen’s egg, you don’t have to actually meet the hen who laid the egg. But he wanted to know something about this person and not cause trouble in the meantime.
Anyway, he wouldn’t disrupt the chef’s work, he’d just glance at him from a distance, to just pay respects to his skills with a look.
However, it was said that the Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn kitchen wasn’t open to the public. In order to avoid being misunderstood, because he wasn’t trying to steal the techniques or cause any damage, Ji XiaoYu took the opportunity to go to the bathroom and snuck to the back door of the kitchen when everyone was unaware.
He bent down to hide under the kitchen wall, shooting a sneaky glance through a half-open window, and then he completely froze.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t catch a glimpse or couldn’t pick the chef out of dozens of people in the kitchen, but that the other person was the person he was most familiar with in the world. Even if it was just a silhouette, that was enough for him to recognize him at just a glance.
The chef had rolled up his white sleeves, wearing a snow-white apron and a white chef’s hat. He was cooking seriously and intently and what he was making was one of the new dishes that Ji XiaoYu had eaten the other day.
Ji XiaoYu didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. This man knew that he would come for dinner at to Ning Cheng Spring and Autumn, so he made a special trip to come here and personally cook it for him to eat? The Christmas Eve’s taste-testing food from two days ago must have also come from his hands.
So much trouble to try to fool me. He should have been angry, but he couldn’t make himself feel it.
He had originally planned to take a look and leave, but, at this moment, it was like his feet were rooted down and he couldn’t move a step. His gaze closely tracked the man’s every move and he couldn’t pull it away.
When another chef suddenly said, “Hey, why is there someone outside the window?” Ji XiaoYu woke up as if from a dream and quickly rushed down the hallway to return to the flower hall.
Liang ShaoGang saw that his expression was a bit off, so he couldn’t help but ask carefully, “Xiao Yu, why were you in the bathroom for so long? You didn’t get food poisoning, right?”
Ji XiaoYu came up with a random excuse, “N-no, I thought their bathroom was pretty, so I stayed in there for a while.”
Liang ShaoGang: “……”
After a while, the other two dishes and one soup came out. Ji XiaoYu remembered the figure of a certain someone busy in the kitchen just now and suddenly he couldn’t eat it. He must’ve come from home to cook for me. He probably hasn’t had time to eat yet. How can I eat in peace?
“Xiao Yu, why aren’t you eating, what are you doing?” Liang ShaoGang asked again.
“I had a snack in the afternoon, so I can’t eat now,” Ji XiaoYu had to lie again, “Liang Ge, eat a little more, don’t let it go to waste.”
As he said this, he used his chopsticks to place some of the dish into Liang ShaoGang’s bowl.
Liang ShaoGang smiled and said, “How can such a good dish be wasted? It certainly must be all eaten. Xiao Yu, don’t you normally eat huge meals? Eat a little more with Liang Ge.” So he also used his chopsticks to give Ji XiaoYu some of a dish.
“Okay, let’s eat together.” Ji XiaoYu picked up his bowl and continued to eat.
After all, a certain someone made it with his own hands and I can only eat it once in a while. It’s just too difficult to hold myself back from eating.
Behind a pillar at the corner of the patio, he witnessed the scene of his own little bodyguard and a security guard from the company laughing and talking together over his dishes. Chef Cheng was so angry that his teeth itched. He punched the pillar. I couldn’t eat my own food, I worked hard for so long cooking the meal, and the little thing is actually eating that delicious food with another man. This is really discouraging!
On the next day, Saturday the 29th, Ji XiaoYu woke up on time, but he didn’t get out of the bed. He just squatted on the bed and played the “Get Lost” game, rolling the little white egg like a ball over and over.
The little white egg seemed to like this game a lot. Sometimes Ji XiaoYu used a light force, so it rolled over a few times and then stopped, and then it would try to roll forward again, making its dad laugh.
When the man and egg were having fun, the phone rang; “YuTang” was calling.
He had always thought that to use that name alone was too much, but he didn’t know how to change it and he was too embarrassed to ask someone, so he just used it with one eye closed.
As soon as the call connected, the person on the other end said, “Morning, have you woken up?”
The voice was slurring and hoarse from just waking up and Ji XiaoYu’s scalp went numb when he heard it. His ears turned red in an instant. He said a little awkwardly, “W-why do you care if I’m up? Yesterday, didn’t you, didn’t you say you wouldn’t go to the company today?”
“I’m not going to the company, but the auntie who deliveries the food had to take a leave of absence today, so I have to go to the supermarket to buy some. You come and drive me there.”
A little annoyed, Ji XiaoYu clutched at his messy head of hair. Why is this man so silly? He doesn’t sleep in late on the weekend. He has to go shopping, but has to pull someone else to go with him. He’s such a bully.
He poked the little white egg with his finger and whispered in complaint, “My child, this father of yours is really annoying. Always ordering Daddy around on account of being the president. He’s just an incapable ruler*!”
Mhm, he had learned the phrase “incapable ruler” from a costume drama he watched for the first time last night. It was someone who was like a dictatorial, lazy emperor on the inside – of course, it was just a temperament like that. As for looks, Cheng Zong was better than the actor who was said to be regarded as a male god by many people.
Although he had a lot of opinions about Cheng Zong, a man should be fair and objective, that is to say, the same goes for a spiritual beast.
The man on the other side of the line might have heard some words, but they were unclear so he asked, “Who are you calling ‘child’? What other father is lazy?”
Ji XiaoYu quickly said, “I didn’t call anyone that! I just remembered a TV drama I saw last night. I thought the lines were very interesting, so I learned to say a few words!”
Cheng YuTang chuckled lowly, “Those TV dramas are made up of nonsense. If you watch too much, your brain will easily rot. You’d better watch less of them and instead come to my house to watch ‘Chicken Run.’”
The little thing was so pure, just like blank sheet of white paper. It wouldn’t be good if he was corrupted by a bad TV show.
Ji XiaoYu: “……”
Who has a rotten brain, I’m the smartest pheasant in the world, okay?!
Also tempting me with “Chicken Run”, this man is really so evil.
If I follow the example of that cartoon chicken who runs away, will this president still be laughing?!
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Footnotes:
1. Debauched monarch/incapable ruler (昏君): antonym to the term ‘enlightened monarch/ruler’, in modern language means laziness/drowsiness
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that’s right, Cheng Zong, take your lumps! repent and earn forgiveness!