mtlumby2d Chapter 269 Did the neighbors come over for dinner today? 7
Chapter 269 Did the neighbors come over for dinner today? 7
Looking at her flustered and flushed face, Lu Yan smiled faintly, a smile as fleeting as a grain of sand thrown into a lake, instantly merging into the stillness.
Instead of retreating, he slightly raised his arm, placing it loosely at his side to create a stable fulcrum.
Jiang Shuwan's roller skates were still shuffling forward when she instinctively reached out and grabbed his arm.
With this support, she managed to maintain her speed, but she still couldn't stop the momentum. She could only cling to his arm and stagger around him for half a circle, like a little spinning top being pulled by a string.
"Blatantly cheating?" Lu Yan's voice carried a hint of laughter as his gaze fell on the slightly swaying ahoge on the top of her head.
Jiang Shuwan's face burned even hotter, and she lowered her head even further, not daring to look at him. She just tightened her grip on his arm: "No... I really couldn't control myself, I couldn't stop..."
Her breath brushed gently against his wrist, carrying a hint of shampoo fragrance.
Lu Yan's arm stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, then relaxed, letting her hold on until the wheels beneath her feet came to a complete stop.
The laughter around them hadn't stopped, and Su Qiao silently gave a thumbs-up, grinning from ear to ear.
"Sorry, sorry." Jiang Shuwan belatedly let go of his hand, hurriedly pushed her roller skates, and retreated step by step towards the starting line, her back view full of "fleeing in panic".
Once she had finally returned to the starting point and blended into the crowd, Lu Yan turned his back again, his voice regaining its previous calm: "Continue."
The game continues.
Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds and fell on the field, giving the air a slightly different scent—a faint scent that stirred subtle ripples in one's heart.
……
The days following the roller skating rink gatherings are like a clear autumn sky, moving forward steadily and steadily.
Jiang Shuwan's "free meals" business is also going...unexpectedly smoothly.
Her living expenses for the beginning of the month had already arrived in her account, and the amount in her mobile bank account was enough for her to order takeout every day in different ways.
But she still went to 1801 without fail, only this time she was no longer empty-handed—she called it "paying for meals."
Sometimes it's fruit, sometimes it's high-quality meat and seafood, euphemistically called "improving meals" or "sponsoring ingredients."
Lu Yan merely glanced at the ingredients in her hand, his eyebrows raised high: "Sponsor my ingredients to improve your meals?"
Jiang Shuwan put the bag in his hand, winked at him, and laughed without any guilt: "Hehe, it's all the same, you have to eat it too."
The biggest progress was probably that they added each other on WeChat.
From then on, "ordering food"—or rather, "asking about the day's menu in advance"—became her daily routine.
Their WeChat conversation interface has also become richer and more lively, from the initial "I have accepted your friend request, now we can start chatting" and a dry "Hello, I am Jiang Shuwan".
The content is usually:
Evening Breeze (/w＼): "Chef Lu, what's for dinner tonight? [Kitten peeking out.jpg]"
(Half an hour later, the phone vibrated.)
LY: "Sweet and sour pork ribs".
Evening Breeze (/w＼): "!! My favorite! I'm going to buy Coke after class!"
LY: "Don't buy the sugar-free version anymore."
Last time, Jiang Shuwan vowed to be healthy and bought sugar-free cola, but after taking one sip, she scrunched up her face in a grimace.
Of course, most of the bottle ended up in the sink.
or:
Evening Breeze (/w＼): "Lu Yan, Lu Yan, I want to eat fish today, do you know how?"
LY: "No."
Evening Breeze (/w＼): "[Shared Link: Steamed Sea Bass in 10 Minutes, So Delicious It'll Make Your Eyebrows Drop!]"
I'm confident that with your talent, you'll master it in a second! I'll go pick the fattest one after class!
LY: "..."
As soon as she knocked on the door of 1801 carrying a fresh sea bass, she smelled a faint aroma of ginger and scallions.
On the cutting board were sliced ginger and scallions, and next to them was a small dish of prepared soy sauce—clearly, the ingredients had been prepared in advance.
……
As the last sip of soup went down, a warm, comforting sensation spread through my stomach.
Jiang Shuwan held the warm porcelain bowl, watching Lu Yan's back as he cleaned up the dishes in the kitchen.
He was wearing gray loungewear, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined forearms. Water flowed swiftly over the plate; his movements were slow, yet exuded an indescribable efficiency.
She suddenly asked out of the blue, "Lu Yan, how come you're such a good cook?"
Lu Yan took the bowl from her hand and washed it. Hearing this, he paused for a moment but didn't turn around immediately.
The sound of running water from the faucet lingered in the quiet room for a few seconds before he turned it off, turned around, and held a half-wet dishcloth in his hand.
“Living alone,” he said casually, as if it were something perfectly ordinary, “you’ll get the hang of it with practice.”
Jiang Shuwan blinked, took two steps forward while holding the bowl, and asked, "Then what about your parents..."
“They’re busy with projects abroad all year round,” Lu Yan said in a flat tone, as if he were telling someone else’s story. “They hired a nanny, but she’s unreliable and often forgets to leave food for them.”
"Huh? That's too much!" Jiang Shuwan frowned, indignant on his behalf. "Then were you always hungry when you were little?"
Lu Yan paused in wiping the bowl, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips with a hint of self-deprecation: "Pretty much."
"But Aunt Lin found out later, and during that period, she would make Wei Xia take me to her house for dinner almost every day after school."
His tone remained flat, but Jiang Shuwan keenly noticed that a faint warmth had crept into his usual cold and aloof demeanor.
He paused, his gaze lowered, as if lost in memories of the past: "Aunt Lin's cooking is especially delicious, and she's very hospitable. But it's not really appropriate to bother her all the time."
"No wonder..." Jiang Shuwan thought to herself with a soft "oh," like a feather falling into calm water.
It turns out that his childhood friendship with Lin Weixia started so early on.
"No wonder what?" Lu Yan closed the door of the sterilizer, turned around, and leaned against the counter to look at her.
The warm yellow light from the kitchen fell on his shoulders, making him appear less cold and hard than usual.
"It's nothing," Jiang Shuwan quickly waved her hand, swallowing back the words "No wonder you treat her differently," and changed the subject, "So you figured it out and learned it on your own?"
"Ah."
Lu Yan responded, turned around and took a bunch of grapes from the refrigerator. While washing them, he said, "Aunt Lin taught me some basics. It's actually similar to writing code. You look at the recipe, break down the steps, control the variables, try and fail, adjust the parameters, until you achieve the expected result."
This quirky analogy startled Jiang Shuwan for a moment, then she burst out laughing: "You can even connect this to writing code?"
Lu Yan placed the washed grapes into a fruit plate and handed it to her, saying, "That's the truth."
Jiang Shuwan picked up a grape and popped it into her mouth. The sweet juice burst on her tongue. She looked at Lu Yan and suddenly said seriously, "It's so good."
"Hmm?" He looked up, his eyelashes casting faint shadows under the light.
"Hello Aunt Lin, and hello Lin Weixia too."
She swung her legs, looked into Lu Yan's eyes, and said with pure sincerity, "Thank you for taking care of little Lu Yan, so that he no longer goes hungry and eats cold food."
She paused, then smiled sheepishly, as if she felt her words were too serious, and added, "Otherwise, how would I be able to enjoy such a delicious meal?"
Lu Yan paused, his fingertips unconsciously touching the edge of the fruit plate.
He didn't speak, but just looked at her swaying toes. After a few seconds, he gave a soft "hmm," with a hint of softness in his voice.
The moonlight streamed in through the window, falling on his face and softening his usual coldness.