Chapter 12: A Different Kind of Counselor
It was hard to tell how much time had passed before Xia Xiaoyue slowly opened her eyes, her consciousness still somewhat hazy. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her head, and then looked around in a daze.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that she was actually covered by a soft quilt, and its warmth seemed to linger on her skin. Not far away, the television screen was still lit up, playing a lively variety show that occasionally sent out bursts of laughter and applause.
Through the window, brilliant sunlight spilled in like a golden gauze curtain, casting a gentle glow over the entire room. In this tranquil atmosphere, only the sounds from the television stood out with exceptional clarity.
Xia Xiaoyue's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the door of the second bedroom. Remembering the person who lived inside, her eyes gradually softened immensely, much like the gentlest spring breeze lightly brushing across the surface of a lake and stirring up ripples.
Right at that moment, the door to the second bedroom opened without warning. Jiang Chen walked out, and when his gaze met Xia Xiaoyue's sitting on the sofa, both of them froze slightly. In a split second, the air around them seemed to congeal, and time itself appeared to stop flowing.
The two of you hurriedly looked away. Jiang Chen spoke softly, "You're awake. Shall we go to the supermarket?"
"Let's go. Wait for me to change my clothes," Xia Xiaoyue hurriedly replied.
*Pitter-patter.*
Wearing her slippers, she trotted back into her bedroom. Watching this side of Xia Xiaoyue, which was completely different from her persona at school, Jiang Chen found her rather adorable.
When a girl says "wait for me a moment," Jiang Chen finally understood what a moment actually meant: twenty minutes passed before she finally came out.
However, seeing Xia Xiaoyue dressed in a white dress, Jiang Chen instantly lost all his temper.
Twenty minutes in exchange for something so pleasing to the eye.
Talk to him about having a temper? That didn't exist at all.
The two of them went out together and headed to a local shopping mall. Because the students were on break, and there weren't many malls around their school, coupled with the fact that it was almost lunchtime, students were bustling back and forth. Xia Xiaoyue walked behind Jiang Chen, feeling somewhat unnatural; before leaving, she hadn't expected the mall to be so crowded today.
Jiang Chen didn't notice Xia Xiaoyue's discomfort and kept walking toward the supermarket. On the escalator, the two of them stood one behind the other until they reached the supermarket.
Upon arriving at the vegetable section, Jiang Chen wanted to ask Xia Xiaoyue what she liked to eat, but when he turned around, he found she was gone. She had still been right there when they entered the supermarket.
Strange of all strange things—in the blink of an eye, a person vanishes. Would you believe it?
Pushing the shopping cart, Jiang Chen searched everywhere. He checked the snack section, the beverage section, and the fruit section—basically everywhere he should have looked—yet he couldn't find Xia Xiaoyue anywhere.
To Jiang Chen's utter astonishment, he finally found Xia Xiaoyue in the fresh seafood section, staring intently at a fish. Talk about utter bewilderment.
What kind of good person stares at a fish for no reason?
Jiang Chen walked up to her and gave her a light tap on the shoulder, which startled her quite a bit.
Realizing it was Jiang Chen, and seeing him looking at her with a face full of grievance, Xia Xiaoyue felt a bit embarrassed and whispered, "I wanted to eat fish, so I came over to take a look."
Jiang Chen was so exasperated he laughed. If you wanted to eat fish, you could have just said so instead of running off by yourself to stare at fish.
Jiang Chen picked one out, had the vendor clean and process it, and then turned to Xia Xiaoyue and said, "Tell me what you want to eat next time. Don't wander off by yourself; it's not safe with all these people around."
Xia Xiaoyue agreed on the surface, but deep down she thought, *I'm not a child, what could possibly be unsafe? Still, seeing as you're cooking fish for me, I won't argue with you.*
Jiang Chen asked again, "What else do you want to eat? Let's buy a bit more this time and put it in the fridge so we don't have to make extra trips later."
Hearing food mentioned, Xia Xiaoyue's mood improved drastically, and she began rattling off dishes: "Di san xian, cola chicken wings, braised pork ribs, kung pao chicken..."
Hearing Xia Xiaoyue go on and on listing dishes, Jiang Chen hurriedly interrupted, "Stop, that's way too much, Teacher. The two of us can't possibly carry all that."
"Let's just buy some things we didn't have last time. Tonight we'll make the fish and some cola chicken wings."
Xia Xiaoyue nodded. She only wanted to eat them; she hadn't said she had to eat them right this second. Besides, as long as she got to eat Jiang Chen's cooking, that was fine—after all, Jiang Chen's cooking really was delicious.
After finishing their shopping, Jiang Chen went to pay. Before he could even pull out his phone, Xia Xiaoyue hastily stopped him: "We agreed, I'm paying for the ingredients."
Jiang Chen had no choice but to drop the matter. After paying, the two of them carried their bags back to the apartment.
Back at the apartment, Jiang Chen dove straight into the kitchen. After organizing the ingredients, he tied on his apron and set to work. Xia Xiaoyue didn't stay idle either, proactively volunteering to help wash and chop vegetables. Jiang Chen agreed, but the moment he saw how she was holding the kitchen knife, he immediately sent her off to rest in the living room.
When it came time to prepare the cola chicken wings, Xia Xiaoyue still couldn't resist her curiosity and crept over to Jiang Chen's side, watching his every move without blinking.
As Jiang Chen skillfully pan-fried the chicken wings until both sides turned golden brown, he patiently explained the steps to Xia Xiaoyue: "Heat control is very important when frying chicken wings. If the heat is too high, they burn easily; if it's too low, you won't get that golden color." Xia Xiaoyue listened with rapt attention, occasionally asking a question or two. The kitchen was filled with the sound of their shared laughter.
Before long, an enticing aroma drifted out of the kitchen. Xia Xiaoyue took a deep breath and said with a captivated expression, "Wow, it smells so good! I feel like I could eat two large bowls of rice."
Jiang Chen chuckled and teased, "Don't just think about eating rice; you need to eat plenty of vegetables too to keep your nutrition balanced." Soon, the cola chicken wings and steamed fish were served on the table. The chicken wings were a golden brown and the fish looked tender and juicy, making anyone's mouth water just by looking at them.
The two of them sat at the dining table and began to dig in with gusto. Xia Xiaoyue eagerly picked up a chicken wing and popped it into her mouth. The tender and juicy meat melted on her tongue, and the sweet yet not greasy sauce was the finishing touch. She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction: "This is too delicious, Jiang Chen! Your cooking skills are almost as good as a professional chef's!"
Seeing Xia Xiaoyue eating so happily, Jiang Chen felt a great sense of achievement: "If you like it, eat more. Just say the word whenever you want something in the future."
After the meal, Xia Xiaoyue took the initiative to wash the dishes. Watching Xia Xiaoyue wash dishes in the kitchen, Jiang Chen realized that this aloof female teacher's persona seemed to have completely shattered. It turned out she had such an adorable side to her, one with much more human warmth than usual. Although the usual Xia Xiaoyue was very pretty, she always gave off an unapproachable vibe.
Yet through spending this day together, he discovered that Xia Xiaoyue also had an unknown side to her—an adorable side. Her usual quietness probably came from not finding anyone to talk to, or perhaps due to her family background, she had never experienced a proper, complete childhood.
Still, deep down, every little girl is a little princess, and tonight's events clearly showed that a princess lived inside Xia Xiaoyue's heart as well.