Jealousy

Jiang Lan also spotted Zhou Yun running and laughed. "You're really going all out, huh?"

Zhou Yun slowed down a little. Breathing hard, she said in a playful, clingy tone, "Sister Lan, you're finally back! I was getting so bored I could die."

Jiang Lan lifted the bags in her hands. "I bought some groceries. I'll make you something delicious."

"Thanks, Sister Lan! Sister Lan is the best!"

Tang Zhi Chu didn't speak to Zhou Yun. He simply carried the groceries into the kitchen.

Zhou Yun watched Tang Zhi Chu hurry into the kitchen from the corner of her eye. She looked indifferent on the surface, but inside she thought, Well, well. I thought you were really as stubborn as a rock.

Zhou Yun noticed Tang Zhi Chu glancing her way several times, but she deliberately kept up an aloof front and didn't greet him.

"Then we'll go get things ready!" Jiang Lan called.

"Okay! I'll keep running!"

Tang Zhi Chu had bought a lot of groceries. He started prepping them just as he had when he'd helped Chen Si Yang the day before yesterday.

Jiang Lan wasn't familiar with the kitchen, but she could figure things out for herself. When she saw Tang Zhi Chu preparing the ingredients, she followed along and did her best to imitate him.

Tang Zhi Chu had planned to make soup with the chicken, but Jiang Lan wanted to make pork rib soup, so he changed the dish to Spicy Pepper Chicken.

He washed the chicken and cut it into especially small pieces. Then he cut the green and red peppers into small sections. He took out two plates, putting the chicken on one and the peppers on the other. That was all the prep the dish needed.

The catfish had already been cleaned, so it just needed to be washed and marinated.

The crayfish only needed to be reheated before they ate. Tang Zhi Chu put the Pickled Pepper Chicken Feet in the fridge, since they tasted better chilled.

In just ten minutes or so, Tang Zhi Chu had finished prepping the dishes.

Jiang Lan had fewer ingredients to deal with, so she was more or less done too. She just didn't know whether to prepare the ribs now or later.

"You can blanch the ribs now," Tang Zhi Chu said, looking at Jiang Lan.

"Okay."

Jiang Lan knew how to blanch them: put them in a pot of cold water, then add ginger and cooking wine to remove the odor.

Tang Zhi Chu didn't step in. He simply guided Jiang Lan.

After Jiang Lan finished blanching the ribs, she didn't immediately ask Tang Zhi Chu what to do. She thought it over first, then asked, "Should I move them to a clay pot to simmer?"

Tang Zhi Chu shook his head slightly. "You could do that, but the meat and broth won't have as much flavor or color. You can fry the ribs first."

"Fry them?"

"Right. Add a little oil and render some of the fat from the ribs. It'll bring out more flavor, and give them a chewier texture too."

Jiang Lan understood. After washing the pan, she poured in some oil, then added the ribs.

"Careful, hot oil might splatter and burn you," Tang Zhi Chu warned.

Jiang Lan grabbed a pot lid and held it in front of herself as a shield.

Just then, a voice called out, "Whoa, you've already started cooking?"

Jiang Lan wasn't familiar with the kitchen and was concentrating hard, so she only turned to look.

Tang Zhi Chu greeted the newcomer. It was Huang Ze Jun.

Huang Ze Jun froze for a moment. He didn't mind Jiang Lan and Tang Zhi Chu cooking together; they'd agreed on that beforehand.

But Jiang Lan's distant attitude toward him made Huang Ze Jun feel a twinge of jealousy.

"It smells fragrant now. Is it ready?" Jiang Lan asked Tang Zhi Chu.

"Just toss in a little Sichuan pepper and stir-fry it," Tang Zhi Chu replied.

Jiang Lan nodded and started looking for the Sichuan pepper. Tang Zhi Chu handed her a bag of it.

Huang Ze Jun stepped closer. "Let me do it. That's dangerous."

As he spoke, Huang Ze Jun wedged himself between Tang Zhi Chu and Jiang Lan, as if staking his claim. Then he reached for the spatula in Jiang Lan's hand.

Jiang Lan instinctively dodged, but then handed the spatula to Huang Ze Jun.

After taking it from Jiang Lan, Huang Ze Jun frowned slightly. "Sichuan pepper removes the gaminess. Aren't you supposed to add it at the beginning?"

Tang Zhi Chu smiled. "Maybe I forgot earlier."

Tang Zhi Chu admitted his mistake outright, leaving Huang Ze Jun feeling as if he'd thrown a punch at a wad of cotton.

He fell silent. If he kept bringing it up, he'd seem petty.

Seeing that someone who knew what he was doing had arrived, Tang Zhi Chu stepped aside and opened another bag.

It was full of fruit he'd bought.

"Once they're fried like this, they're about done. Then just transfer the ribs to a clay pot and let them simmer," Huang Ze Jun said to Jiang Lan, taking over from Tang Zhi Chu.

But Jiang Lan didn't respond. She only thanked him.

Instead, she glanced at Tang Zhi Chu. Could he really have forgotten to add the Sichuan pepper earlier? That didn't seem likely.

But even if he had, so what?

Was it really necessary to point it out?

"It's a little hot. I'm going to get some water," Jiang Lan said, finding an excuse to leave the stove.

A little while later, Jiang Lan came back with a glass of water, still looking at her phone.

She'd looked it up. Usually, Sichuan pepper was added first when cooking meat, to infuse the oil and bring out its aroma. But if it was fried in oil for too long, it would burn.

So to get the best out of Sichuan pepper, two things mattered: use oil to bring out its flavor, but don't let it burn.

Jiang Lan thought it over. The ribs took quite a while to render their fat, so adding the Sichuan pepper at the beginning really could have made it burn.

Which meant that, for this dish, Tang Zhi Chu had actually been right.

Jiang Lan put her phone away. She glanced at Tang Zhi Chu, who was peeling fruit, then at Huang Ze Jun, who was washing the pan. No wonder Chen Si Yang chose Tang Zhi Chu.

As for why Tang Zhi Chu hadn't corrected him on the spot, Jiang Lan figured it was probably because he wanted to save Huang Ze Jun's dignity, and because he didn't care enough about Huang Ze Jun to argue with him.

Jiang Lan admired that attitude.

Was that really what Tang Zhi Chu had been thinking?

He just didn't want it to look on camera like he and Huang Ze Jun were fighting over Jiang Lan.

It was a show, after all.

"Why'd you buy so much fruit?" Jiang Lan came over to ask Tang Zhi Chu.

She'd wanted to ask him that at the supermarket.

Tang Zhi Chu had bought mangoes, dragon fruit, and blueberries.

Tang Zhi Chu smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out soon."

"Don't tell me you've got some big surprise up your sleeve?" Jiang Lan asked with a laugh.

"What surprise? It's just a little something."

Seeing Jiang Lan chatting with Tang Zhi Chu again, Huang Ze Jun felt uneasy. Chen Si Yang already gave you up, so why are you always trying to get close to someone else?

"Jiang Lan, wait until the water boils before you add the radish."

"Sure, thanks."

"Anything else to do?"

Jiang Lan didn't answer Huang Ze Jun. Instead, she looked toward Tang Zhi Chu as if asking him.

Tang Zhi Chu kept his head down and continued working, pretending not to notice.

But Jiang Lan thought she understood. Tang Zhi Chu was clearly staying silent again to save Huang Ze Jun's dignity.

"That's all. We can do the rest later."

"Okay. I saw Xiao Yun running. Why don't we go for a run too?" Huang Ze Jun felt threatened and decided to be direct.

He mainly thought Tang Zhi Chu was a little too crafty, quietly and shamelessly swooping in to steal someone from right under his nose.

That was how he'd lost Chen Si Yang.

Jiang Lan thought it over, then nodded. If she didn't have that much tact, she wouldn't deserve to be a boss.

Going out with Huang Ze Jun would be better for all three of them.