Chapter 15 First Eat P Before Dinner (Added update for the 1st ally @Lust Emperor Lonely)

Qi Yi actually wasn't ready to see Yan Yan today at all.

Having been apart for so long, from eighteen to twenty-two years old, they could hardly even be considered acquainted strangers.

In the four years after graduating high school, there had been no communication, and neither had left even a single word in the other's life.

Qi Yi appeared easy-going on the surface, but he was proud at heart.

The more exceptional a person was, the more they feared losing what they had.

If it hadn't been for seeing Yan Yan's "Tombstone Inscription," Qi Yi would have found it hard to imagine how long he might remain lost in his initial emotional trauma.

But no matter how long that process might take, Qi Yi would never seek out Yan Yan.

His pride wouldn't allow him to do that.

Qi Yi never engaged in anything unless he was sure of it, which was the most important reason he had initially planned to leave Melbourne tomorrow.

Qi Yi especially disliked putting himself in a passive situation, like that time in high school when he confessed his feelings to Yan Yan, marking the first time he had put himself in such a vulnerable position.

Coming to Melbourne to find Yan Yan was the second time he had done something that made himself vulnerable in his life.

Back when he confessed in high school, Qi Yi had calculated it in his mind; a young age just awakening to love, a season longing for romance, and, added to how Yan Yan looked at him, he felt his chances of success were at least above 90%.

But this time in Melbourne, apart from the thought that finding someone might not necessarily lead to a solution, Qi Yi hadn't even figured out what he wanted to do.

Qi Yi was a bit distracted as he watched the three women in front of him, chatting and bustling about as they cooked, occasionally teasing each other.

In high school, many girls liked Qi Yi but the majority wouldn't dare to look directly at him, and even those who did sneak glances would quickly look away when he looked up.

Yan Yan was the exception.

Yan Yan never sneakily watched Qi Yi; she always looked directly at him, as if searching for something.

On the rare occasions when their eyes met, Yan Yan never looked away.

Instead, when she was caught staring, she would blink and give him a smile that was difficult to interpret.

Staring at someone for a long time naturally results in blinking, and Yan Yan didn't do it on purpose.

But Qi Yi found himself increasingly drawn to Yan Yan's spirited eyes, bright and deep, sparkling with light, as if they could illuminate every corner they touched.

Since the very start of their first year in high school, Yan Yan had begun watching Qi Yi, making him more and more curious about what that enigmatic smile of hers might mean.

In their high school days, it was only Yan Yan's eyes that were spirited, but now, her whole being seemed to exude exuberance.

Qi Yi didn't know if it was because they hadn't seen each other for so long, but the current Yan Yan seemed to shine with a light that he couldn't tear his eyes away from.

"Qi Yi, the water spinach is already prepared for you, now it's your turn," Yan Yan's words brought Qi Yi back from his reverie.

"I'm really hungry," Shen Xi said with a look of grievance, sounding pitiful.

"Let's first take the dishes we've prepared to the table," Yan Yan suggested, feeling that the kitchen was too crowded for so many people.

"Do you think the water spinach made by this handsome guy will be edible?" Bao Bao asked somewhat worriedly while serving the dishes.

"I think it should taste good; I've never seen Grandpa be bad at anything. He seems not to be a normal human being. Anything that lands in his hands becomes the best," Yan Yan was not worried at all that the fermented bean curd with water spinach would turn out to be a culinary disaster.

"Wow, you really know your grandpa well, don't you?" Shen Xi's face displayed both excitement and curiosity.

"Still more than you understand, right? Even with your desperate crush, doesn't your Bao Bao care about you?" Yan Yan was a bit speechless.

"Why would she care? Everyone loves beauty. I don't bother her about chasing pretty girls, and she doesn't bother me about obsessing over handsome guys. Without eyes for beauty, how could we have ever recognized each other?" As Shen Xi spoke, she had just recovered from her fawning over Qi Yi and started drooling over her own Bao Bao.

"Did you buy a trash can when you went to the supermarket just now?" Yan Yan suddenly changed the subject, asking seriously.

"Did we say we needed a trash can?" Bao Bao couldn't recall discussing this.

"No, but I'm feeling so sick of you two that I want to vomit. Where do you suggest I throw up?" Yan Yan looked utterly despairing.

"Try throwing up on your grandpa; as your grandfather, he probably wouldn't mind," Bao Bao would always defend Shen Xi.

"You win, I admit defeat today. Let's battle another day," Yan Yan decided to surrender.

"Better sooner than later, why wait for another day? You giving up so soon doesn't sound like you. Where's your usual aura?" Shen Xi continued to tease Yan Yan.

"She's probably trying to act like a lady in front of her 'elder'," Bao Bao chimed in.

"Do I, such a genuine, graceful lady, even need to 'act'?" Yan Yan retorted.

"Bao Bao, did you really not buy a trash can?" Shen Xi asked. Now it was her turn to feel nauseous.

"She didn't buy one; I'll buy you one when you get pregnant," Yan Yan decided to follow up the attack.

"Fine, don't forget then," Shen Xi once again tried to kill Yan Yan with her glare.

"I say what I mean and never go back on my word," Yan Yan glanced at Shen Xi, wearing the pose of a victor.

...

When Qi Yi brought in his specialty dish, the three who hadn't even tasted it yet were already stunned.

The fermented bean curd with water spinach that Qi Yi made was lined up uniformly, short on the sides and long in the middle, neatly organized.

It was understandable to arrange it like this before stir-frying, but the fact that it remained orderly even after cooking was a bit exaggerated.

Even in restaurants, at most, they could make it uniformly directed, but not as neat as Qi Yi's.

"How did you get this dish to look like this?" Shen Xi was the first to ask, unable to hold back her curiosity.

"Is this what, water spinach parabolae?" Yan Yan was more concerned with the inspiration behind this arrangement than its execution.

"Yeah, you just find the axis of symmetry and solve the dish as a quadratic function," Qi Yi explained the origin of the "water spinach parabolae" swiftly.

"Isn't it tiring to make water spinach this way?" Bao Bao wondered.

"Not really, otherwise cooking would be boring," Qi Yi smiled as he replied to Bao Bao, his fondness for her evident ever since he found out Bao Bao was a girl.

"Is there a special way to eat this? Do we have to start with 'P'?" Yan Yan still couldn't get over Qi Yi's water spinach creation.

"Starting to eat from 'P'? Wenzhou people's taste is really heavy!" Shen Xi couldn't believe her ears.