Chapter 138 Jealousy and rivalry

He finished the apple in his hand in a few bites, then snatched the one from the plate and proudly waved it around.

The boy shook his head helplessly and began tidying up the fruit peels on the table, having originally intended them for her.

"Xiaxia, you're finally here! I've been waiting for days!" Li Chen said excitedly as he walked downstairs.

There are certain customs associated with visiting relatives and friends during the New Year. Here, I specially picked out a gift for you. I don't know if you'll like it.

"I like anything you give me!"

"Hehe!"

At first glance, I thought Jiang Chao had arrived. After looking around for a while, I realized that the sarcastic voice came from the masked boy. I frowned and wondered what was wrong with him now.

Upon opening the packaging, Li Chen was immediately captivated by the small, vintage-style pocket watch. "Xiaxia, how did you know I liked this?"

"Because... I have a pair of discerning eyes!"

The exercise book is filled with drawings of all kinds of pocket watches. If you still can't guess his preferences, wouldn't you have lived in vain in your past life?

Gu Xun scurried closer, tilted his head, and whispered, "Did you find this at Boss He's flea market?"

"That's right, I searched for a long time before finding one I was satisfied with, so don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, we're like brothers!"

"Xiaxia, you two... are you close?"

After spending more than half a year together, Li Chen had long regarded Yun Xia as his best friend. Seeing her so close to others, he felt a little jealous.

“That’s right, we’ve been friends for several years, Yunxia, ​​don’t you think?” The boy raised and lowered his eyebrows, frantically giving her a meaningful look. Yunxia sighed inwardly and nodded.

"How enviable! I wish I had met Xiaxia sooner."

"Friends don't have a first-come, first-served rule!"

Li Chen thought about it and agreed. He smiled again and gave Gu Xun a subtle, provocative look. He knew that Gu Xun was there to discuss business with his mother, to cooperate with the Liu family to build a large factory and expand Sheng Xun's business empire across the country.

She turned around and grabbed three cupcakes. "Xiaxia, try some. I baked them myself!"

"You're so skillful! Oh, it's so delicious! The bread is fluffy and soft, and the cream is sweet but not cloying. Li Chen, you have a talent for making desserts!"

"Heh heh, a grown man doing such effeminate things, humph, so low-class."

The atmosphere instantly became awkward after these words. What was wrong with this person? Had he been possessed by the venomous Jiang Chao?

Yun Xia picked up a cherry and stuffed it directly into Gu Xun's mouth. "There are plenty of male pastry chefs out there, and besides, you eat just as much as I do."

Li Chen was deeply moved by his friend's support, so he turned around and took two more, giving one to each of them.

While enjoying cake and chatting, the girl would occasionally kick someone to signal him to tone it down, but the boy would just raise an eyebrow and continue to speak with barbs!

"Ah Chen, come help me out!"

"Okay!"

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Li Chen didn't do anything to you, why are you targeting him?"

"Who said he didn't provoke me? He stole my sister, humph!"

"You have a younger sister? I've never heard you mention her!"

"It's far away, yet so close at hand; it's sitting right next to me!"

Yunxia then realized that he was talking about her, and immediately her face darkened. She lightly punched him with her fist and pretended to be angry, saying, "I am a living, breathing person with my own thoughts. Who would steal me? You must be delusional. I'll take you to the hospital tonight."

"Yunxia, ​​it's only been a few days, but your wit has improved; you're even teasing me now." With that, he scooped up a large chunk of cream and stuffed it into her mouth.

For the sake of the delicious food, I forgave him for now. After we finished the cake, I repeatedly reminded him to be mindful of his image in public and not to be like Jiang Chao, who always argues with people.

"I can't imitate Jiang Xiaosha's speaking style. Actually, I've always had a question: Has he ever been beaten for saying something too harsh?"

"He looks skinny, but he's actually quite well-built, with really solid muscles. Getting beaten up? Haha, he's better at beating others."

Gu Xun blinked slightly, and asked mysteriously, "Hey, how did you know if there's anything under your clothes? Did you... sneak a peek?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Xia's eyes widened immediately, and she moved half a meter away from him. "How could that be? In summer, clothes are light and the wind blows, so you can see the shape of your muscles at a glance. Humph, your thoughts are really filthy. I'm ignoring you."

After saying that, she rolled her eyes at him, turned around, and went into the kitchen to help.

"Oh, it smells so good, Aunt Liu, what are you making?"

"Fried steak, my specialty, Xiaxia, how well-done do you like it?"

"Aunt Liu, I don't know anything about these things. Just make it the best done. If it's too raw, I'm afraid my stomach won't be able to handle it."

After the steak was cut open, light red juice flowed out. Even though she knew it was myoglobin, Yunxia still thought it was not much different from blood, so it was better to cook it a little longer.

"No problem, fry your piece for a few more minutes."

Before long, the Western-style lunch was ready. With a fork in her left hand and a knife in her right, Yunxia didn't dare make a sound while cutting the steak, for fear of breaking the quiet dining atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, a plate of sliced ​​steak was handed to him from both the left and right sides!

His lips twitched slightly, and he gave an awkward laugh. "It's okay, I can manage on my own. You two don't need to worry about me!"

After saying that, he reached out and pushed the steak away, then lowered his head to continue his struggle with the knife and fork.

"Brother Gu, there's no one else here, please take off your mask. Otherwise, the tear will get stained with sauce, and it'll be so dirty!"

The last syllable of his voice was drawn out, clearly a veiled insult. The boy raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Sorry, it's just my personal habit. I won't take it off anywhere. You can ask Yunxia if you don't believe me!"

With everyone's attention focused, the girl nodded. "Yes, I've never seen his face since the day I met him."

"Ah Chen, everyone has their own habits, there's no need to force it. Come on, Xia Xia, try the giant snail that was specially brought over."

Yunxia: Oh my god, I really can't get used to this kind of food!

Seemingly sensing the girl's reluctance, Gu Xun directly took the large snail from her plate and finished it in a few bites. "Fresh and sweet, soft and chewy, oh, it's been a long time since I've eaten snails with such good meat. Yunxia, ​​you don't mind if I eat your food, do you?"

Before she could even ask, the girl quickly shook her head and said, "I don't mind. If you like it, eat all of mine."

"Then I won't be polite!"

Western meals emphasize equal distribution, so Yunxia politely declined Aunt Liu's offer of snails and continued to fight against steak. She also ate pizza and salad, until her belly was round and full.

During the meal, Gu Xun and Li Chen were secretly competing. Yun Xia's small bowl was almost full, but the two of them kept putting more in. Liu Yunjuan not only did not stop them, but was secretly delighted. Their bickering was the kind of youthful energy that teenagers should have.

After lunch, Aunt Liu took the bowls and chopsticks back to the kitchen to wash them, while Li Chen went to prepare dessert.

"Hey, how does it feel to fight a boy a few years younger than yourself?"

He peeled a piece of fruit candy, casually tossed it into his mouth, and exclaimed, "Not very good!"

Hmph, lying. He was clearly so happy his eyes were practically squinting.

"You're just saying one thing and meaning another. Do you have any more candy?"

The boy shrugged and shook his head, indicating no. Yun Xia didn't believe him and patted her pocket, making a rustling sound, clearly indicating it was candy wrappers.

"You're lying, there are definitely a lot!"

"Oh! You found out! What flavor do you want?"

"Peach!"

"Here you go!"

"I want peach candy, not durian candy!"

"Are you prejudiced against durian? It's the king of fruits!"

"No matter how good the nickname is, it can't change the fact that it smells bad. Replace it!"