Chapter 10: Misdirected Comfort
In the afternoon, Jiang Chen still couldn't shake his worry about Xia Xiaoyue. As her "roommate," showing proper concern was a must.
However, if he asked directly and Xia Xiaoyue knew nothing about the matter, wouldn't he give himself away?
He had to find a way to make her bring it up herself. But this woman was astonishingly quiet—he hardly ever heard her say a word. Fortunately, her emotions were quite easy to read.
To better observe her mood, he had no choice but to sacrifice his brothers.
Jiang Chen called Wang Congle. "Hey, Le-ge, I've got something to deal with tonight, so I won't be able to make it to the gathering. I'll treat you guys next time."
Hearing that Jiang Chen was busy, Wang Congle agreed and passed the message along to the other two.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen was headed to the supermarket to gather ingredients. The only time he could spend extended periods with Xia Xiaoyue was during meals, so she had to eat this dinner today.
Browsing the vegetable section, Jiang Chen remembered frequently seeing Xia Xiaoyue order home-style stir-fried potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers back at home. So, he picked up some potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers, along with a block of chicken breast.
As he was leaving, he spotted beer on the shelves and grabbed a six-pack, figuring that if they had a chance to drink a little, he might be able to figure out what was bothering her.
Back home, he found that Xia Xiaoyue had already returned. From the look on her face, Jiang Chen couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary—it was still that icy expression, keeping everyone a thousand miles away.
Still, Jiang Chen put on a thick skin, looked at her, and stammered, "Teacher, um... I've been learning some new dishes lately. Would you mind trying some and letting me know how they taste?"
When she heard Jiang Chen invite her to taste his cooking, Xia Xiaoyue's first instinct was to refuse. After all, ever since eating his food last time, takeout had tasted completely awful to her.
It had taken her nearly a week of eating takeout just to get used to the flavor again. Now, if she tried Jiang Chen's food and it was too good, how was she supposed to eat in the future?
Xia Xiaoyue was terribly conflicted, but when she saw the look of eager anticipation in Jiang Chen's eyes, she nodded unresistingly. As for takeout, she would worry about its taste later—she'd enjoy a good meal while she could.
Seeing Xia Xiaoyue nod, Jiang Chen beamed. Plan a success; the next step was to see if he could figure out what was wrong.
Jiang Chen walked into the kitchen with a light step. The bright lights spilled down, adding a touch of warmth to the space where delicious food was about to be born. First, he picked up the fresh vegetables one by one, rinsing them gently under running water. The gurgling stream washed away the impurities on the surface and rinsed away his fatigue from the day.
Once finished, he turned on the rice cooker, poured in the washed rice, added an appropriate amount of water, and pressed the start button. The faint, unique fragrance of cooking rice gradually filled the air.
Taking advantage of the time it took for the rice to steam, Jiang Chen picked up a kitchen knife and began prepping the ingredients. His gaze was focused and steady, and the knife flew up and down in his hand. The rhythmic "thud-thud-thud" of chopping sounded like a lively kitchen symphony.
Soon, the potatoes and eggplants were cut into evenly sized chunks, and the green peppers were carefully sliced. Every piece seemed to speak of the care Jiang Chen was putting into this meal.
With the prep work out of the way, it was time for the main event of the meal: cooking. Looking at a recipe, Jiang Chen wasn't entirely familiar with the techniques for making home-style stir-fried potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers. Fortunately, the internet was well-developed nowadays, and short videos were packed with detailed tutorials. He clicked on a video with high views, watching with rapt attention, his eyes glued to the screen so he wouldn't miss a single detail. After watching, he took a deep breath, mentally rehearsed the steps, and began copying the instructions step by step.
He heated the wok first, poured in an appropriate amount of oil, and once the oil was hot, tossed in the potato chunks. Instantly, a crackling sound erupted from the wok. Armed with a spatula, Jiang Chen skillfully stir-fried the potatoes until they turned golden and crispy, then scooped them out to drain the excess oil. Next, he treated the eggplant and green peppers the same way.
Once all the ingredients were ready, Jiang Chen mixed the sauce. He poured light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, starch, and a suitable amount of water into a bowl, stirring with chopsticks until blended. The aroma of the sauce instantly filled the air.
After that, he tossed the cooked ingredients back into the wok, poured in the prepared sauce, and stir-fried rapidly. With the movement of the spatula, the ingredients were evenly coated in sauce, their colors growing more and more enticing as a rich fragrance rushed toward his nose.
Jiang Chen took a bite and nodded in satisfaction; the taste seemed pretty good. He didn't usually like eggplant, so he rarely made this dish. He hadn't expected such great results on his first try.
Next, he set about making kung pao chicken. This dish was his personal favorite. He expertly diced the chicken, fried the peanuts, and stir-fried the dried chili peppers and scallions in one smooth, flowing motion.
Finally, two colorful and aromatic dishes were placed on the dining table, flanked by two bowls of steaming hot rice. Jiang Chen walked softly to Xia Xiaoyue's bedroom door, raised a hand, and knocked gently, his voice soft yet full of anticipation: "Teacher, time to eat."
From inside came Xia Xiaoyue's crisp reply: "Okay, I'll be right out."
Xia Xiaoyue gently pushed open her bedroom door, her eyes immediately falling upon Jiang Chen sitting quietly by the table, waiting, and the two mouth-watering dishes set out before him. In an instant, a long-lost warmth welled up in her heart, and her eyes prickled with uncontrollable tears. For her, the feeling of someone waiting for her to eat together was something she seemed to have only experienced at her grandmother's house when she was a child. Xia Xiaoyue quietly raised a hand and quickly wiped away the tears welling up in her corners. Pulling herself together, she walked gracefully toward the dining table.
Though Xia Xiaoyue's motion of wiping her tears was extremely subtle, it still didn't escape Jiang Chen's notice. Sensing the abnormality in her mood, Jiang Chen couldn't help but guess: Could it be because of those hurtful remarks on the forum? It seemed he needed to comfort this teacher properly.
Noticing Jiang Chen staring at her, Xia Xiaoyue assumed he was waiting for her verdict on the food. The corners of her lips curved up into a sweet smile as she said softly, "It looks amazing, and I'm sure it tastes just as good." Hearing Xia Xiaoyue's praise, Jiang Chen chuckled sheepishly. On the surface, he tried to maintain his composure, but inside, he was already over the moon.
During the meal, Xia Xiaoyue listened as Jiang Chen babbled on about how to find someone to confide in when you're sad, and what to do if you're the victim of rumors. She was completely baffled, but she still listened and replied to him earnestly, sentence by sentence. Though she had no idea why he was bringing these things up, she didn't find him annoying at all—she actually really enjoyed chatting during meals.
Meanwhile, seeing Xia Xiaoyue's mood improve somewhat, Jiang Chen believed his comforting words had done the trick. What he didn't know was that Xia Xiaoyue never browsed the forum, had no idea any of this had happened, and wouldn't have cared even if she did.