In the kitchen, Zhang Yang swiftly slaughtered the chicken, plucked it, and chopped it into pieces. Then he found a clay pot, added astragalus and red dates, and set it on the stove to simmer.
In the living room, Bei Wei's roommate helped herself to snacks and fruit while watching Zhang Yang bustle around in the kitchen.
When he slaughtered the chicken, her brows furrowed slightly. But once he'd deftly prepared it and set it on the stove to simmer, surprise crept into her eyes.
"Hey!" She tapped lightly on the kitchen's glass door.
"What is it?" Zhang Yang asked, washing his hands as he turned to glance at her.
"You're certainly making yourself at home. When you're done in the kitchen, please put everything back the way it was." She pointed at the sink and the trash can full of chicken feathers, looking somewhat displeased.
Zhang Yang glanced at her, then efficiently tied up the trash bag and wiped down the sink.
Aside from the clay pot simmering on the stove, filling the kitchen with an increasingly delicious aroma, everything was back to how it had been.
It was someone else's place, after all. Zhang Yang couldn't be bothered to trade barbed remarks with a woman over something like this. It wasn't worth it.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then the mouthwatering aroma wafted into her nose, impossible to ignore.
She turned away, a thought nagging at her.
Why does this chicken smell so good? I wonder where he bought it.
The sun sank toward the horizon, and the kitchen was already filled with a rich fragrance. The chicken was a three-year-old hen that had been fed grains like corn. The soup it made was bound to smell so good it could make anyone swoon.
Bei Wei's roommate wandered around the living room, but eventually she couldn't take it anymore and went straight into her room.
Zhang Yang lifted the lid to check on the fragrant chicken soup, then turned off the heat.
A little while later, in Bei Wei's room.
Sipping the rich, fragrant chicken soup, Bei Wei felt warmth spread through her body. Happiness seemed to bubble up inside her.
After eating her fill, she felt as though even her cold had gotten much better.
"Zhang, I want a hug..." Bei Wei tilted up her flushed face, her black hair falling over her shoulders, and opened her arms.
Zhang Yang smiled and drew her into his embrace.
"How did your roommate agree to let me come over?" Zhang Yang asked, stroking Bei Wei's long black hair.
"I told her, and she agreed. She's got a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She's actually a good person," Bei Wei said with a gentle smile. "Oh, right. Her name is Gu Jiani."
Zhang Yang nodded, picked up the bowl, and went out to get Bei Wei another serving.
As he passed her roommate's room, he glanced at the closed door. After a moment's thought, he filled a bowl and knocked.
"What is it?" Gu Jiani poked her head out, looking wary.
"Have a bowl and give it a try," Zhang Yang said.
"Ah... I... I ordered fish maw chicken soup. It'll be here any minute." A flash of panic crossed Gu Jiani's face.
"It won't taste as good once it's cold." Zhang Yang held the bowl out to her.
The savory aroma of the chicken soup spread through the air, tantalizing her taste buds. Gu Jiani was instantly tempted.
"Then I... I'll try some." She blushed and accepted the bowl, a little embarrassed. "Thank you."
Zhang Yang stayed with Bei Wei until dusk. While he was there, he had two bowls of soup with her and watched her eat several pieces of chicken.
"I hope you don't have a fever." Zhang Yang reached into Bei Wei's collar and took out the thermometer.
Bei Wei blushed and let him pull his hand back out of her collar.
"Thirty-six point five. Get some good rest. If you're still unwell, take another day off tomorrow." Zhang Yang nodded in satisfaction and set down the thermometer. "I should head back now."
Bei Wei nodded softly and got up to see him out.
Out in the living room, Gu Jiani had just finished washing a bowl when she spotted Bei Wei and Zhang Yang coming out of the room.
"Jiani, I'm going to walk Zhang downstairs," Bei Wei said.
"Don't. Are you over your cold?" Gu Jiani gave Bei Wei a helpless look, then glanced at Zhang Yang. "How about I see him out for you? You go back and rest."
"Then..." Bei Wei looked at Zhang Yang.
"Yeah, go back and rest." Zhang Yang pinched Bei Wei's cheek and headed straight out.
Just as he left Bei Wei's apartment, he heard the door close behind him. Gu Jiani followed close after and pressed the elevator button.
"The chicken soup was really good. I wanted to ask where you bought it," she said, looking at Zhang Yang.
"I didn't buy it. I brought it up from my hometown," Zhang Yang replied with a smile.
"You brought it from your hometown? Wasn't that a lot of trouble?" Gu Jiani looked at him in surprise. "Magic City is huge. Couldn't you find any here?"
In an instant, she pictured a young man from a small town, raised in a farming family.
"You really went to a lot of trouble."
Zhang Yang glanced at her, not bothering to say anything or explain. She was a rich girl who'd been spoiled since childhood, always talking as if everyone had the luxury of never worrying about where their next meal came from.
When Gu Jiani saw he wasn't responding, she frowned slightly. "The chicken soup was good, but I still have to remind you: today was an exception. Please don't come over so often in the future. I'm uncomfortable with men coming in."
"Got it. I'll have Bei Wei move out as soon as possible," Zhang Yang said flatly.
"Move out?" Gu Jiani's voice rose. "Do you know how much an apartment in a place like this costs to rent each month? How much money can someone like you, working in Magic City, possibly have? I know you're thoughtful when it comes to taking care of someone, but that's not enough."
"What are you trying to say?" Zhang Yang found it rather amusing.
Whether they moved out or not was their business. What was Gu Jiani getting so worked up about?
"Kindness without anything else can't overcome reality." Gu Jiani looked at Zhang Yang and shook her head. "Sorry for being blunt, but that's the truth."
The elevator doors opened. Zhang Yang walked out, and Gu Jiani followed him, as if she still had something to say.
"Aren't you going back?" Zhang Yang asked, glancing at Gu Jiani.
"Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you." Gu Jiani stood beside Zhang Yang, watching him, and suddenly spoke. "Bei Wei's college crush is back in the country."
The hallway was pitch-black. Zhang Yang stopped.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Bei Wei doesn't know about this," Gu Jiani said with a smile. "Bei Wei and I were in the same year but different classes. There was an outstanding upperclassman in our year who was the dream guy for a lot of girls. Bei Wei had a crush on him too."
Zhang Yang's expression remained unchanged as he listened.
"Later, he went abroad, so her crush never came to anything. But that's not important. Guess what? I ran into him at school a while ago," Gu Jiani said. "He even asked how Bei Wei was doing."
"When her dream guy comes back, realizes he let this wonderful girl slip away, and decides to pursue her with everything he's got, what will you do, just an ordinary guy, to defend your relationship?"
Gu Jiani finished speaking and tried to spot some change in Zhang Yang's expression. But to her disappointment, there was none.
Not a trace.
"You're not even a little nervous?" Gu Jiani asked, unwilling to give up.
"So you're trying to mess with my resolve and kill me with an emotional blade, huh?" Zhang Yang looked at Gu Jiani with an amused smile. "I didn't know you still held a grudge over that night."
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