"Ah! Mr. Chen!"
Liu Ruxue snapped out of her daze, so excited she could barely speak coherently. She bowed to Chen Lin again and again, as though paying homage to her savior.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! You're such a wonderful person!"
Chen Lin led them to a table in a quiet corner of the backyard and seated them.
Liu Shuqin worked remarkably fast.
In just ten minutes, several beautifully prepared home-style dishes arrived, still trailing wisps of steam.
A plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables gleamed a vivid green, giving off a pure, delicate sweetness.
An ordinary plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes had been cooked so that every strand stood apart, golden and translucent, with a tangy aroma that filled the air.
Most eye-catching of all was a serving of chicken and corn soup, carefully simmered in a small white porcelain bowl.
A few emerald flecks of scallion dotted the golden soup. An extraordinary, indescribable fragrance seized everyone's sense of smell like an invisible hand.
It was more than the simple aroma of meat and corn.
It was something deeper, a breath of life that could awaken the most primal appetite buried in human genes.
Gu Mengyao, who had remained silent and vacant, oblivious to everything around her, suddenly gave an involuntary twitch of her little nose.
For the first time, a flicker of life appeared in her empty, listless eyes.
She turned her stiff little head, like a sluggish butterfly searching for nectar, until her gaze fixed firmly on the bowl of chicken and corn soup.
Her throat moved in an almost imperceptible swallow.
To Liu Ruxue, that tiny movement was as earth-shattering as a volcanic eruption!
Her heart stopped for a moment.
She exchanged a glance with Liu Ruyan, and each saw overwhelming tension and