20. cooking...?

Going out, the smile on ChunHua's face faded and she slid down against the door of his room.

She hugged her knees and put her face inside it, the emotions on them, unknown.

'What for 'herself'? What 'she was reluctant'? ', every time she went out, she first bought clothes that would suit him, even as a child, she did the same.

Till a certain year, it was her usual ritual, but after that accident, she couldn't buy for the years in between... but now that she was independent, she did as she liked, this was just a small glimpse, if he wanted, she would give him moons and stars... whatever he wanted, she would give him, she didn't need nor want anything in return...

...no, there was actally something that she wanted...you see, all she ever wanted from him was to stay by his side... but it still hurts, to be unable to say the truth and make excuses every single time, it still hurts.

Still, she had to hold it in...

Well, she can endure... in contrast to the time she had get sneak peeks or look from a large distance away or just from videos and photos, it was much better... at least, she could see him from up close.

...

By the time YuTang came out dressed in that cute panda outfit, he could hear a loud noise from the kitchen.

He has been a little awkward with even after he got into it, but it went out when he heard the loud CLANGing sounds of utensils and her loud cursing, he sped his pace--

"Didn't that man said it will boil lightly, why the fuck does it look like boiling magma. Where the fuck does it smell aromatic? Fuck.. isn't it burnt. What to do now..? Oh, yeah! Take it away from the flame... Shit, it's hot....ahhh!!.... Fuck cooking. Fuck 'easy soup'. Ahhhhhhh!!!!", she looked as if she was out of blood, almost like a wounded beast.

For a reason, she hated cooking,

A. she couldn't cook decently, even after following each step,

B. she didn't understand the basic principles of the same as the different flames and spices used and,

C. the most important one was, the chef's she followed were master's in their work and she was probably worse than a novice... she thought that it was better to learn from the best than to start from people who taught from scratch... it was people like this, laymen can only sigh for.... haaaah~

Anyway, the scene YuTang saw when he came through the kitchen door was, her sucking on her finger cursing the 18 ancestors of the easy cooking and whatever the 'thing' was on induction countertop, well, black smoke was coming out of it.

First thing first, he couldn't find a cloth so, he just manually switched the burner off and brought her to the sink and used a little force to get her hand out of her mouth and straight under the gushing tap water.

ChunHua finally felt his warmth coming from her back because of the position they were in and slightly relaxed, she was an amazing businesswoman, but she was bad at doing many of the basic things. The reason she was still trying to cook a soup today was that YuTang probably got a cold and he should eat something before taking medicine, the result..?

Well, it was her 15th world war against cooking, the number equals the number of times she had burnt things or, made dishes with questionable taste, indeed edible, but she was lying on the bed the next day of trying it.

She relaxed and inhaled the faint smell of lemon and lavender coming out of his body, it was similar to her own, the depression of having made another faulty 'experiment' flew away very easily.

"Are you alright, jiejie..?", came the worried voice of YuTang from top of her, he who should have hated close contact with other woman was actually in a position where he was almost embracing her, if not for the comical situation, this position would pass as the top 20 romantic situations there is!

ChunHua who heard his voice started laughing, "hahahahahaha... alright! I'm fine...hahahah. Don't worry.... pfft...hehehehehe. TangTang, your jiejie is leaving the cooking to you or, the next time I'll probably burn this whole place...hahahahaha", she was definitely making fun of herself and YuTang shouldn't laugh, but her smile was infectious and he too started chuckling, he also didn't mind the intimate way she called her, it seemed very natural coming out of her little mouth.

"You should leave that to me. What were you trying to do?", he asked, the position still hadn't changed.

ChunHua knew that he had a very thin skin and would probably run away if this position continues so, though she was reluctant, she very naturally, took her hand back from his and also away from the water and the flow of water stopped automatically because of the light sensor, then she slightly pulled her body front, making a gap between their bodies, took a side step and turned to look at him.

YuTang too took a step back when she had taken a side step and the possible awkward moment didn't occur, she was really natural with her steps....

ChunHua turned to him, took a good look and in a brooding tone said, " TangTang, it really suits you~ the next time, I buy one for myself, I'll be sure to get one for you."

The late shyness from YuTang came and his face flushed, but it just made him look cuter, ChunHua couldn't help but laugh, " Mr National Treasure*, go and take your temperature! A little friend of mine was really susceptible to the cold and I used to take care of them. Call it my intuition, but I think you caught a cold~ As for the soup, I guessed that you also didn't have anything to eat yet and was trying to make some for both of us... hehe~"

Somehow, hearing her words, made a warm current flow through him, when was the last time someone cared about her like this?

His face was still flushed, but his eyes misted a little, he wondered if it was because of her words or, the possible cold.

Yes, she was unable to cook, but to him, the thought was enough to make him feel warm and comforted.

He again wondered, what would have happened to him, if this person didn't come at that moment.

Would he still be here, laughing, worrying, getting embarrassed, getting shocked and being helpless and... feeling this warmth... would he still be here..?

....

Note:

National Treasure of China and regions under her is, of course, the great PANDA~