"No. It's passable. Not bad but also not spectacular. No one in their right mind would cry over this," Tai Xuan said, rolling his eyes. "Xin Yu, what do you think?"
His wife also took careful sips of the soup, helping herself to the noodles. She shook her head. "It tastes perfectly fine to me. Jingwei did a fine job with the food."
Wei Yan and Ming Guang also took their meals, and parroted similar sentiments, which left Jingwei in even more confusion.
"Maybe your soup makes parents cry," Xue Ning said, "but I still think your cooking is good. So don't look so depressed!"
"Thanks Xue Ning," Jingwei replied with a watery smile as he immediately cuddled her, uncaring of the disgusted look on his future brother-in-law's face as he did so.
"Why must you guys do this in front of me?" Tai Xuan lamented.
"At least he's voluntarily hugging his wife," Xin Yu said pointedly, giving her husband a narrowed look from the corner of her eyes. "That's more than what I can say for some husbands."
"Xin Yu, are you still mad at me over the -"
"Ge, if you and Sister-in-law are going to argue, can you guys clean up the kitchen while doing so? Jingwei and I cooked, so you guys should be cleaning."
"Yah - Meimei, I'm sure your cooking involvement was just pouring soy sauce into the sauce platter - "
"So? I still helped! Right Jingwei?" Xue Ning asked expectantly.
"Of course you did," Jingwei said agreeably, smiling at Xue Ning. Even if Xue Ning sat around the floor and stuck out her legs to trip him, he would still say that she was helpful. "I would not have been able to do it without her. Her support was vital in the creation of this -"
"Please just stop bullshitting. I know that you are absolutely whipped for my sister, but lying is a crime." Tai Xuan said with a shudder, holding up a hand. Sun Jingwei clearly loved to wax poetic of his sister's strengths, no matter real or otherwise. He knew better than Sun Jingwei how good (bad) his sister was at cooking!
"Just for that, you are cleaning the kitchen! Thanks Ge! Thanks Sister-in-law!" Xue Ning said hurriedly, giving her brother a cheeky wave before grabbing Jingwei's hand and dragging him out of the kitchen.
Wei Yan and Ming Guang blinked, before they followed suit, ignoring the outraged yells from Tai Xuan as he called them to return to mop the floor.
They had to protect Young Master Sun! It had nothing to do with them not wanting to clean up the kitchen, nothing at all.
"Xue Ning, can we really just leave like that?" Jingwei asked, fretting even as he enjoyed the feel of his hand in hers while she dragged him away. It reminded him of them running away from reporters at the press conference, but this had something to do with Xue Ning's family!
"What if your brother doesn't clean up well and then puts the blame on us?"
"He won't," Xue Ning said confidently. "My brother won't do anything to harm the restaurant - he loves it! And it's going to be his in the future anyway. There's no point!"
"It's not going to be yours?"
"Why would it be?" Xue Ning shrugged, not feeling self-conscious at all. "I can't cook well and I hate dealing with people. Giving me the restaurant would be like giving a dog a hundred dollar bill."
"I get it, it's like me with the company," Jingwei mused as they left the restaurant. He began to idly swing their linked hands in the peaceful summer night, and Xue Ning let him, her own mood improving with the evening air.
The air was a lot fresher here than it was back in Shanghai, and Jingwei could hear the sound of cicadas buzzing in the humid summer air. The loud sound was a sharp contrast to the lack of bustling human activity that he was used to. As they walked, Jingwei noted with surprise that night had fallen faster than expected.
What's more, the streets were darker than what he was used to! This tiny town had fewer streetlights than Shanghai. Jingwei looked around wonderingly; to his amazement, many stores were already closed, their shutters drawn and their lighted displays switched off. There wasn't even a 24 HOUR pharmacy open.
Jingwei grew increasingly thankful that he had Wei Yan and Ming Guang behind him for safety. If someone wanted to rob them, they could do it easily and no one would even know!
They hung a bit further back, giving Xue Ning and him some privacy while still keeping them in view.
"You don't want your father's company?" Xue Ning asked, breaking the calm with her question.
"Not really," Jingwei confessed. "Like sure, the money is good, but running it is a lot of work! Just look at my brother! He's so smart, and it's still too much for him sometimes. If I inherited it, I'd die from overwork."
"What do you want to do then?" Xue Ning asked. "Surely you're not going to bum about all day like a wastrel. I love you, but… you must have something you want to do with your life! Something that's not illegal." She quickly added at the end, remembering his hacker past.
"Er…" Jingwei paused. He had never bothered thinking about his future career paths! "I wanted to be an F1 driver, but then I might end up dying or paralysed, and then you'll be a widow."
"I'll make sure to buy a hefty life insurance policy in your name before you get behind the wheel," was Xue Ning's sympathetic reply. She expected some form of anger from Jingwei with her callous comments, but Jingwei surprised her again.
"You should! If I'm dead, I'd rest better in hell knowing that you're well-taken care off with lots of money," Jingwei said agreeably. "Come to think of it, I haven't paid for the restaurant's repairs yet!"
"You - " Xue Ning could only restrain the urge to scream into the evening air. How had she somehow hooked this man who knew precisely the right thing to say to her heart. "Argh, nevermind. Nevermind. We'll try to convince my parents tomorrow. I'm sure they won't be so stubborn as to turn away free money."
"If you say so. It seems like Auntie and Uncle are really prideful people that won't accept handouts." Jingwei said doubtfully. "But this is a problem for tomorrow. I'm sure Auntie and Uncle must be preparing for bed right now, like everyone else. Can't believe the stores are closing already! And I haven't even found a hotel to live in yet!"
Xue Ning paused in surprise, and Jingwei was forced to halt his footsteps.
"A hotel?"
"Yeah, it's not as though I can live in your house, even if I really wanted to. There's also Wei Yan and Ming Guang," Jingwei pointed out. He had seen the inside of Xue Ning's house, and there was no room for three additional grown men, unless they slept in the living room!
"There's no hotel here."
"What?" Jingwei asked, appalled. "Are you joking?"
"I'm deadly serious. Why would we have one? No tourists come here. The closest thing we have is a motel bed and breakfast, and everyone that goes there goes there to have sex."
"Oh," Jingwei said. "So it's that kind of sleazy place?"
"Yes, so of course you're not going to stay there! Over my dead body!" Xue Ning declared fervently. Once news got out that Sun Jingwei was staying at Heartbreak Motel, he would be swarmed with women wanting to sleep with him, and they might even use all sorts of despicable means to get him into bed with them!
The very thought of those women trying to seduce him sent a hot possessive rage coursing through her. She remembered how she met Jingwei - Xiumin was trying to drug him to begin with!
"Aww, you're jealous! You don't want me to stay in a sleazy hotel!" Jingwei said happily. "But don't worry, no matter how strong the temptation, I will still think of you every night we are apart, and I will visit you first thing in the morning with a delicious breakfast."
No, you must live in my house," Xue Ning said, an idea dawning in her mind. "I'm not taking no for an answer."
"Xue Ning, you should be asking your parents this, not me! I am flattered that you want me in your home, but I'm afraid your parents might stab me in my sleep," Jingwei confessed hesitantly, kissing her knuckles. Xue Ning wanted him in her home!
His heart was delighted, but he had to make a rational decision for their futures. He was already on thin ice with his in-laws, and he made two of them cry not even an hour ago.
"Don't worry about it," Xue Ning shook her head. "You, Ming Guang and Wei Yan have to stay in my house. I'll convince my parents!"
"...Should I be worried?"
"Don't be," Xue Ning said confidently. "I'm going to hit two birds with one stone."
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