Ch64 – Tonic Food
“Bro-, brother...”
Ruan Tang hurried turned his head towards the voice and he was met with a pair of moist and shiny light brown eyes.
He reached out and took the child’s extremely slender little hand. Controlling the stinging he felt in his throat, he revealed a gentle smile, “I’m here.”
The child’s eyes seemed to shine a little more, and the two shallow dimples on the cheeks popped out again. His fingers trembled with how much effort he exerted. Only when his soft fingers were finally stuck to the back of Ruan Tang’s hand did he stop, feeling content. Those wet eyes stared at him, and the downy eyebrows wrinkled slightly. With an expression like a pleading puppy, he said,
“Brother, please don’t leave...”
“Brother won’t leave. Brother will stay here with Ruan Yu.” He said softly, and reached out and touched Ruan Yu’s soft face.
The child actually wanted to talk with his brother a little bit more, but his body was too weak. Just saying a few words already left him a little breathless. His eyelids gradually grew heavy.
“If Xiao Yu is tired, sleep a bit longer. I’ll be here to accompany you.” Ruan Tang coaxed him in a soft voice.
“En...” Xiao Yu slowly closed his eyes.
Looking at the child’s pale face, Ruan Tang felt his heart overflow with loving emotions. He opened his light brain and proceeded to the shopping site on the star network. The shopping mall had successfully established a connection to the 19th planet, but the ingredients available in the mall were less than half of the foods that had been released. The products that were available for sale were basically those that had a long shelf life. Ruan Tang reckoned that the shopping site didn’t have a specialized production site on this planet. They probably only had a warehouse for stockpiling goods that were regularly purchased from other nearby planets.
Ruan Tang was prepared to buy some ingredients to make a nutritious soup for Ruan Yu. The child’s condition was even worse than that of someone who had just been discharged from the hospital. However, since he could drink nutrient solutions, he should be able to drink soup. The taste of soup was sure to be better than these tasteless nutrient solutions. This child had spent all these years in the hospital, he probably didn’t even know the taste of natural foods.
Because his genetic transformation was incomplete, the current nutrient solutions weren’t completely suitable for Ruan Yu. At most, it could keep him alive and prevent him from starving. But it was the various vitamins and minerals in natural ingredients that were more beneficial to Ruan Yu’s body.
Fortunately, meat had a long shelf-life once frozen. He still had a lot of money in his account on the shopping site, so he bought two chickens and a few potatoes. He also bought some spices and pots, pans and other utensils. The utensils were delivered directly to the house they were renting. He was going to go back and cook a pot of chicken soup for the child. He will also make scallion chicken and hot and sour shredded potatoes for He Yun Chen and Wang Kun, as thanks for getting them to help him with his matters.
Just as he stood up, Ruan Tang felt the corner of his clothes being pulled by something. He looked down and saw that the child had carefully clutched onto the corner of his clothes, as though worried that Ruan Tang would run away. It made Ruan Tang feel even more distressed.
He Yun Chen, who had been staying outside the ward, saw him stand up but not come out. He opened the light brain and sent a message to Ruan Tang.
[He Yun Chen: What happened?]
[Ruan Tang: He just woke up and he fell asleep again after talking a bit. I bought some ingredients on the Star Network and want to go back and cook some soup for him, but he’s clinging to my clothes.]
[He Yun Chen: I’ll come in and substitute for you. With me watching over him, you can rest assured.]
[Ruan Tang: But if this ward is for family members only, you can’t come in...]
[He Yun Chen: I have a solution.]
“I want to sue her.” Ruan Tang said suddenly when He Yun Chen stood beside him.
“Then sue her, I will immediately contact Zhou Jing to draft the indictment.” Although Ruan Tang’s statement came without any preamble, He Yun Chen fully understood his meaning.
“I want custody of Ruan Yu, but I also want to sever our relationship with her.” Ruan Tang tightly closed his fist.
“Ok, let me handle it.” He Yun Chen answered affirmatively.
That woman did not fulfill any of her duties as a mother, thus she didn’t deserve to be their mother.
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to be so polite with me.”
Ruan Tang showed him a faint smile. His eyes fell on the visitor’s pass on his chest. He couldn’t help but to be curious and ask, “How did you get it?”
He Yun Chen just pursed his lips and did not answer. He said, “Let’s switch.”
Ruan Tang didn’t ask any more, and nodded slightly.
He Yun Chen gently pulled out the corner of Ruan Tang’s clothes from the child’s hand, then replaced it with his own, exchanging position with Ruan Tang. He sat next to the bed and looked after the poor child.
“Chen Ge, if Xiao Yu asks anything, please contact me immediately.”
“Ok.”
When he left the ward, Wang Kun, who was outside, quickly walked up to him, “Mr. Ruan, I’ll go with you.”
“Thank you.” Ruan Tang didn’t attempt to politely refuse and followed Wang Kun outside the hospital.
The female nurse from before saw him suddenly heading out of the hospital and went up to ask, “Mr. Ruan, where are you going?”
He noticed a trace of tension and worry in her eyes. He knew that she was worried that he would be like Cai Xin; that after handing over the money, he would then disappear. He simply explained, “I’m going to make soup for Ruan Yu. I’ll be back soon.”
“Soup?” the female nurse asked with some doubts. “You’re going to use natural ingredients to make food?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a chef?” Although the 19th planet was relatively remote, since natural ingredients were already being sold here, the residents here knew of natural ingredients even though they’ve probably never tasted them. That’s why she knew there was this new profession known as ‘chef’.
“You could say that.” Ruan Tang smiled.
“Well, please come back soon.” The female nurse obviously didn’t have much confidence in his culinary skills. She only hoped that he would be able to come back before Ruan Yu woke up.
“I will.”
Wang Kun drove the car and took them back the house they were renting. He was just in time to see a courier smart robot waiting outside the door with a large box of things at his feet.
After Ruan Tang signed for the delivery, Wang Kun helped him move the things into the house.
This house was newly built in recent years, so there was a kitchen in the house. Ruan Tang unboxed the items and slowly filled the kitchen with most of it.
Since Ruan Tang would be cooking, he had to consider whether he wanted to broadcast live. Affected by his brother’s condition, he really was in no mood to do a live broadcast. So he sent a Weibo post to inform the audience that his affairs had not yet been settled, and that he needed another day off.
The audience were very understanding and they also left messages telling him to take a good rest and to take care of himself which left Ruan Tang moved.
Because he had to go back as soon as possible, he quickly cooked a pot of white rice and then began to handle the ingredients at double speed.
Wang Kun, who was using the light brain to gather information in the living room, couldn’t help gulping when he smelled the scent coming from the kitchen. He has been retired for a long time. He and several brothers took on jobs and handled businesses. They had no time to watch the live broadcasts. So although he knew that Ruan Tang was a food anchor and he was a certified four-star chef, he didn’t have much of an idea about these matters. It wasn’t until he smelled this enticing aroma that he finally realized how astonishing Ruan Tang’s culinary skills were.
“Uncle Kun, you must be hungry after such a busy day. I’ll bring out your food first and you can eat now. The chicken soup will have to cook for a little longer.” Seeing Wang Kun’s figure appeared at the door of the kitchen, Ruan Tang called out to him.
“Well...” Bathed in this irresistible aroma, Wang Kun really couldn’t say anything to refuse.
When he reacted, he was sitting at the table with two dishes and a bowl of rice in front of him. One dish was scallion chicken; green onions and hot oil were poured over the chicken. The texture of the chicken was smooth and tender and the taste was rich and mellow. The fragrance of the green onions was overflowing. The other dish was hot and sour shredded potatoes. Although it looked ordinary, it was crisp with a spicy and tangy taste. Eating it made people’s mouths water and it went very well with rice. Every grain of the rice from the rice cooker was plump and sparkling, with a soft yet firm texture. One bite of the dish followed by a spoonful of rice, it was so tasty, he couldn’t stop eating. Before he knew it, he had already finished off the entire meal.
“I’m sorry... I ate it all up...” After eating, Wang Kun realized that he maybe shouldn’t have finished off everything.
“It’s okay, all of that was for you anyway. I have already packed up mine and Chen Ge’s portions.” Ruan Tang said as he pointed to the preservation box on the table. “Uncle Kun, are you full? Would you like some more?”
“No, no, no.” Wang Kun blushed and waved his hands to refuse.
Ruan Tang also didn’t force him, he turned back to the chicken soup on the stove. Considering that Ruan Yu’s body was weak, he probably wouldn’t be able to eat anything that was too tough. Thus, the chicken needed to be stewed until it was at its most tender.
Two hours later, Ruan Tang returned to the ward with several preservation boxes. Ruan Yu had woken up again, and upon finding that his brother had disappeared, his eyes suddenly brimmed with tears. He Yun Chen had tried coaxing him for a long time to no avail. He was left with no choice but to find pictures of Ruan Tang on the star network to show to Ruan Yu one by one.
Looking at his bright and beautiful brother on the screen, Ruan Yu stopped his tears and blinked. He revealed an expression full of happiness and longing, “Brother looks so beautiful...”
It was also He Yun Chen’s first time to see this “Shengshi Beauty Collection” video edited by Ruan Tang’s fans. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but gulp and say calmly, “Of course, he is.”
One big and one small, both of them sung Ruan Tang’s praises to the other, and soon they established a revolutionary friendship. When Ruan Tang opened the door, Ruan Yu immediately looked at him and called out in a happy voice, “Brother!”
Ruan Yu still couldn’t speak loudly, and his voice broke a bit when he called out to him. Ruan Tang quickly walked over and sat down on the bed. He raised the back of the bed and opened the preservation box. He took a small bowl of chicken soup and took a spoonful. He blew on it to let it cool down before feeding it to Ruan Yu.
“Chen Ge, you can go out to eat first. I’ll watch over him.”
He Yun Chen nodded. He took the preservation box and went out. There were also seats in the corridor outside. He found a place to sit down. As soon as he opened the lid, the scent of the scallion chicken immediately rushed out. Wang Kun had already eaten his fill, but now that he smelled this aroma, his stomach seemed to feel hungry again. He quickly averted his gaze and dared not look in He Yun Chen’s direction.
But only he could hold back, others couldn’t. Smelling this seductive aroma, whether it was the hospital staff or the patients, they all couldn’t help but look towards the source of the smell.
For a time, the corridor was filled with envious green light that shone from their eyes. He Yun Chen could feel eyes staring at him from a distance.
He Yun Chen: “..................”
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶