Making Up a Friend Out of Thin Air

"Eat your noodles. Weren't you hungry just now? Staring at them won't fill your stomach." Su Chen said with a smile.

Yan Bingxue nodded and picked up her chopsticks to start eating.

After taking a bite of the noodles, her eyes immediately lit up.

Delicious!

The noodles Su Chen made were incredibly delicious!

They had been cooked to perfection—springy and chewy. The shredded meat and scallions added a fragrant richness to the plain broth, and as it settled into her stomach, a wave of warmth rose within her.

Her empty stomach seemed to have instantly found its source of energy, clamoring desperately, More, more~

"How does it taste?" Su Chen asked.

Yan Bingxue immediately nodded. "Delicious! Even better than what the maid at home makes!"

"Su Chen, your cooking is seriously amazing!"

Su Chen had already eaten dinner, so he sat beside her and watched her eat, casually telling her about Tuantuan and Lele winning awards.

As Yan Bingxue devoured her noodles, she listened to Su Chen talk about receiving public praise at their son and daughter's kindergarten. She could not help but feel surprised.

She knew Su Chen was good with his hands, but she had not expected him to speak of such a childish matter with such pride and happiness.

It seemed he quite enjoyed attending kindergarten activities as Tuantuan and Lele's parent.

Yan Bingxue had originally worried that, by the time Su Chen met the children, Tuantuan and Lele were already three years old. Though they were the closest of family, she had feared there would be a sense of distance between them because they had not spent time together, much like how Lele had always seemed a little awkward around Su Chen.

But Su Chen did not seem to feel that way. He had quickly adapted to being a father, and he was doing even better than she had imagined!

"What happened after that? Was there anything else interesting after you took Tuantuan and Lele home tonight?" Yan Bingxue could not help asking on her own initiative.

For the first time, she complained inwardly that her work kept her too busy.

She had once been a workaholic, always putting work first. Only after having Tuantuan and Lele had she begun trying to balance work and family.

But today, listening to Su Chen talk about his time with the children, she actually felt that it was such a shame she had not been there!

It was too strange!

"After that? I brought them home and made them a whole table of delicious food. Lele ate three big bowls of rice today~ Tuantuan ate two bowls too. I made five or six dishes plus soup, and they almost finished everything."

"Those two little ones can really eat~" Su Chen said with a smile.

Yan Bingxue looked at him in shock. "You made dinner for the children? What about the cook at home? Why didn't she prepare anything?"

"I told her not to. I picked the children up, and you weren't home. There was nothing for the three of us to do, so I cooked for them myself."

"I haven't spent much time with the babies yet, so I have to seize every chance to close the distance between us. As the saying goes, if you want to win someone's heart, you first have to win their stomach. The babies love my cooking—that's the first step toward loving me!"

Yan Bingxue listened to his words in surprise and could not help looking at the bowl of noodles before her.

If you wanted to win someone's heart, you first had to win her stomach... So was this bowl of noodles Su Chen's way of winning over her stomach?

Yan Bingxue's cheeks flushed slightly. She quickly lowered her head and ate her noodles, not daring to meet Su Chen's eyes.

Her thoughts were a mess. She was happy and excited, but also a little doubtful, afraid that she had misunderstood him.

Seeing how quickly she was eating, Su Chen said with a smile, "Slow down. No one's going to steal it from you~"

The moment he finished speaking, Yan Bingxue happened to choke on a mouthful. She hurriedly covered her mouth and coughed softly.

Su Chen pulled out a tissue and handed it to her, gently patting her back.

He said with amusement, "I've noticed that you may look like an icy CEO on the surface, but in private, you're not much different from Tuantuan and Lele~ The moment you see something delicious, you immediately forget all about being serious~"

"Is my noodle-making just that good? You can't even stop eating?"

Yan Bingxue had actually been startled by what he said just now and choked on some soup. A couple of coughs had been enough for her to recover, but then Su Chen said that, and she immediately choked on her own saliva. This time it was serious enough that her face turned red from coughing.

Su Chen! What kind of thing was he saying?!

That was practically filthy talk!

Yan Bingxue did not know whether he meant it or not. After all, that sentence had far too much room for interpretation.

"Y-you... cough cough... shut up! Don't say another word! Cough cough cough..."

Su Chen froze for a moment. As a seasoned straight man, he instantly realized where the problem was.

But he had really only said it casually. He had not expected little Yan Bingxue to take it that way.

"Hahaha!" Su Chen suddenly burst out laughing. Looking at Yan Bingxue, who had stopped coughing but was still red-faced, he said, "Who would've thought the mother of our children doesn't only focus on work every day? You know quite a lot about trendy stuff too~ This is definitely not a ride to kindergarten!"

Yan Bingxue shot him an embarrassed glare. "You're still saying it!"

"I didn't say anything. I was only stating the facts. You were the one who reminded me, hahaha~" Su Chen still could not suppress his laughter.

"I didn't say anything at all. Your mind is the problem! I'm full. I'm going to take a bath~" Yan Bingxue threw out those words, then stood up with feigned calm, pushed her bowl away, and headed for the bathroom.

The moment she entered the room, she shut the door and annoyedly tapped her head with her little fist.

"Yan Bingxue, what are you even thinking about?!"

"How could you say something like that and let Su Chen notice!"

"This is so embarrassing!"

"Su Chen won't think I'm some kind of experienced driver, will he?"

"I actually... don't know anything!"

"This is so annoying!"

Yan Bingxue took her clothes and phone into the bathroom. She filled the bathtub with water, then sank her entire body into it. A bubble bath could help ease her fatigue.

But with nothing to do while soaking, her mind was filled with what had just happened.

She worried that Su Chen would think she was a... very experienced girl. Maybe he would even misunderstand and think she had had similar driving experiences before. The more she thought about it, the more flustered and irritated she became.

So she took out her phone and continued chatting with Gu Yuxin.

Yan Bingxue: "Ms. Gu, I want to ask you something."

Gu Yuxin was the kind of person who never let her phone leave her hand, so she replied almost instantly.

Gu Yuxin: "Oh~ Finished your noodles? You finally remembered you have a best friend!"

Yan Bingxue: "Get serious! Look at the previous message."

Gu Yuxin: "Ask away~ Even though you value romance over friendship, I'll still never abandon you. Ask whatever you want, and I promise to tell you everything I know!"

Yan Bingxue: "It's... I have a friend. While chatting with a man she likes, she accidentally let her mind wander, and he noticed... Do you think he'll think she isn't a good girl?"

Gu Yuxin: "..."

"Baby, are you making up a friend out of thin air for me?"