Can He Cook, Too?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The last time they spoke, they had set their meeting for today.

Ye Nanxun had come to the Academy of Sciences to sign the contract that morning, so he would not be going home for lunch.

He sat down at a nearby café and ordered a hot Americano and a slice of rich cheesecake.

Only a few buttery biscuit crumbs from the cheesecake remained on the bone china plate, while the rich hot Americano had turned into half a cup of bitter dishwater.

Considering Yan Beiyou's status, Ye Nanxun had assumed that this busy and highly esteemed alpha would send someone to pick him up.

No matter what, he had never expected Yan Beiyou himself to appear at the café and sit across from him.

He must have used some kind of advanced technology; Yan Beiyou's face was somewhat different from his original appearance. Yet that distinctive aura gave Ye Nanxun a sense of familiarity the moment he saw the alpha.

That familiarity immediately confirmed the other man's true identity when Yan Beiyou spoke.

Yan Beiyou: "Have you eaten?"

Under the small wooden table, Ye Nanxun pinched his fingertips. "Has Mr. Yan not eaten yet?"

Yan Beiyou admitted frankly, "No."

Not long after sitting down, Yan Beiyou and Ye Nanxun left the café together again.

It had been sunny in the morning, but by afternoon, wind and snow had begun blowing outside again.

The tall alpha raised the black umbrella in his hand. Standing behind Ye Nanxun, he held the umbrella with one hand and gripped the handle of Ye Nanxun's wheelchair with the other.

Ye Nanxun's back instantly went rigid.

How could Yan Beiyou push his wheelchair himself?

Then he remembered that on General Zhu Yucheng's birthday, Yan Beiyou had pushed his wheelchair in exactly the same way.

As the wheelchair rolled forward, Yan Beiyou asked, "How is your foot?"

Before he could voice a polite refusal, Ye Nanxun lowered his head in the wheelchair and glanced at his foot, clad in a snow boot. "It's almost healed. The doctor said I can try walking tomorrow."

In fact, he could already walk with crutches.

It was simply inconvenient to go out with crutches today, so Ye Nanxun had decided to use a wheelchair instead.

Yan Beiyou did not ask any further questions, and Ye Nanxun did not speak either.

A black hovercar glided smoothly down the street and stopped at the curb.

The cabin door opened, and a ramp lowered.

Yan Beiyou pushed the wheelchair into the hovercar. Ye Nanxun did not see anyone else in the spacious cabin; the driver's seat was empty, and the screen displayed an AI operating system.

Once the wheelchair came to a stop, clasps popped up from below and locked onto its wheels. Ye Nanxun pulled over the seat belt and fastened it himself.

Yan Beiyou sat across from Ye Nanxun. The man lowered his head to handle work as though no one else were there. Ye Nanxun did not dare look too much, so he simply kept gazing out the window.

The cabin was very quiet. The hovercar jolted only once as it started up and rose onto the aerial route; otherwise, it was so steady that it felt as though it were still parked on the ground.

Ye Nanxun stared absently at the cityscape flashing past outside.

Yan Beiyou had said he had not eaten lunch and that they would talk while they ate later, but he had not told Ye Nanxun where they were going, and Ye Nanxun had not asked.

He guessed it would probably be a highly private estate, or perhaps a private restaurant that only served certain regular clients.

So when the hovercar descended from the air and drove into a building, Ye Nanxun was slightly surprised.

This was neither a luxurious private estate nor a place with a third person besides the two of them.

It was a spacious, bright, warm, and comfortable flat.

The interior was simple yet tasteful, with traces of everyday life everywhere.

Yan Beiyou came out of the garage as though he knew the place well and changed into slippers. He also brought a pair for Ye Nanxun, who was still in the wheelchair.

Brand-new, off-white, fluffy slippers.

The slippers fit perfectly. A strange thought flashed through Ye Nanxun's mind, only to be swiftly dismissed.

"Wheelchair or crutches?" Yan Beiyou asked.

"...Crutches, thank you."

He had not only prepared slippers, but also crutches for him to use indoors.

Wearing the new slippers and leaning on the new crutches, Ye Nanxun followed Yan Beiyou into the exceptionally spacious living room.

"We'll eat together later. Is there anything you don't eat?"

With his back to the omega, Yan Beiyou took off his long black coat. Underneath, he wore a black turtleneck sweater that clung neither too tightly nor too loosely to the alpha's fit body, outlining powerful, fluid lines.

"No," Ye Nanxun said. "I'm not picky."

"So easy to feed?"

Yan Beiyou had his back to him, so Ye Nanxun could not see the alpha's expression. Still, he faintly caught a trace of amusement in those words.

Ye Nanxun sat down on the sofa. A shadow fell over him, and then a cup of warm water was placed before him.

Yan Beiyou said, "I'll cook."

Ye Nanxun was startled.

A familiar egg was placed in his hands.

Yan Beiyou said, "Get acquainted with it first. We'll discuss the specifics over dinner."

The warm egg was placed in his lap, startling Ye Nanxun once again.

Perhaps the young man's helplessness was too obvious. Yan Beiyou silently curled his lips and headed toward the kitchen in his slippers.

The kitchen was semi-open, so Ye Nanxun could clearly see what the alpha was doing from the living room.

Yan Beiyou crouched down, opened a cabinet, and took out some plates.

The tall alpha walked to the refrigerator beside it, took out fresh green vegetables, and set them on the cutting board.

Thud, thud, thud—

A steady, rhythmic sound came from the cutting board.

Ye Nanxun gradually came back to himself. He looked down at the egg in his arms, still carrying the alpha's scent, then occasionally stole glances at the alpha's back as he cooked.

He suddenly could not tell which was more unbelievable: that he had been reborn after death, or that Yan Beiyou could cook.

The egg in his hands suddenly bounced.

Ye Nanxun panicked and hurriedly hugged it tightly, lowering his head to inspect it.

"Mr. Yan, it moved. This egg just moved."

Sizzle—

The vegetables were poured into the hot pan. Without turning around, Yan Beiyou said, "It does that when it's happy. Maybe it hasn't seen you in a long time. Now that it can sense your presence, it's rather happy."

As though responding to Yan Beiyou's words, the egg bounced in Ye Nanxun's palm again, frightening him so badly his heart nearly leaped out of his throat.

Freshly stir-fried beef was poured onto a warm plate, and Yan Beiyou glanced toward the living room.

Ye Nanxun sat ramrod straight like a taut green bamboo stalk, holding the egg in both hands. His brows were faintly furrowed, and he looked tense.

"Relax. It's formed from the fused pheromones of two top-tier alphas and an omega. It's very sturdy; it would be fine even if you threw it off a rooftop."

Yan Beiyou carried the dish out and set the porcelain plate on the wooden table with a soft clink.

Ye Nanxun's tense shoulders eased slightly, and he nodded at Yan Beiyou's words.

When the egg bounced again, he still hugged it tightly in alarm, just as he had before.