Chapter 60 The longer you wait, the better when you finally get to eat it...

The camera pans from Zhou Shilin's shirt being removed to the bathroom, and then cuts off.

Chen Ci looked at the black screen of her phone and clicked her tongue. She clearly remembered that President Zhou used to be very generous and would even show her his collarbone. Why was he so stingy now?

...So you were deliberately trying to hook her up before?

That's so cunning.

She curled her lip, put away her phone, opened the door, and walked out.

When Zhou Shilin finished showering, Chen Ci had just entered his residential complex. He had informed the property management beforehand that a guest would be visiting and asked them to let him in. The property management only knew that the visitor's surname was Chen, but after seeing Chen Ci in person, they let him in without verifying anything.

After all, "Shijie's CEO's girlfriend" was trending on social media.

After Chen Ci entered the residential area, the property management specifically sent a message to Zhou Shilin to inform him that he had arrived.

However, they didn't come by taxi; they came by motorcycle.

Zhou Shilin was about to ask Chen Ci when he heard the doorbell. He put down his phone and went to open the door for Chen Ci. Chen Ci stood at the door and was slightly taken aback when she saw Zhou Shilin suddenly appear in front of her.

We used to see each other only once a week, but this time it felt like an eternity.

It was clear that Zhou Shilin had just taken a shower, as his body was still damp. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing the bathrobe from that video, but rather a set of long-sleeved and long-legged loungewear.

They were wrapped up so tightly, as if they were guarding against her.

"Why has President Zhou become even more conservative after going abroad?" Chen Ci shook her head in dissatisfaction.

"..." Zhou Shilin stepped aside to make way for her, "Let's talk inside."

"Oh." Chen Ci changed into the slippers Zhou Shilin had prepared for her and walked into the house again. "When I came upstairs just now, I ran into that little kid again, and the Labrador. But this time he was with his parents, and they asked me to look after him."

Chen Ci placed her bag next to the rabbit on the sofa, then turned to look at Zhou Shilin: "Do you have any business dealings with them?"

Zhou Shilin said, "They probably want to do some business with me."

"..." That makes perfect sense.

Chen Ci coughed and noticed an open suitcase on the living room floor. She glanced at it curiously and asked, "You haven't unpacked your luggage yet?"

"Yes, these are all for you."

"...All of them?" Chen Ci was a little surprised. Anyone who didn't know better would think that President Zhou had gone abroad to do personal shopping. "What did you buy?"

“I have everything.” Zhou Shilin picked up the kettle on the table and poured himself a glass of water. “I have perfume, clothes, shoes, jewelry, and little trinkets that I saw on the street and thought you would like, so I bought them on the spot.”

"..." Is this the relaxed feeling of the wealthy? She now suspects that President Zhou bought the house on a whim after seeing it while shopping.

No one would be unhappy to receive a gift, and Chen Ci was only surprised for a moment before happily unwrapping it. Zhou Shilin sat on the sofa next to her, looking down at her.

She usually styles her hair before work, but perhaps because she was off today, she just let it fall casually over her shoulders without any styling. She was wearing a jacket over a T-shirt and jeans, exactly the same outfit as in the trending video.

The T-shirt is the same one I bought at Bunny last time.

"Looks like buying you some clothes was a wise decision." Zhou Shilin took a sip of water and said with a hint of teasing, "This T-shirt is practically worn out from all the use."

Chen Ci: "..."

A 5,000 yuan T-shirt! How can I recoup the cost if I don't wear it a few times!

"Never mind that, I have my own plans." Chen Ci glared at him, then started unwrapping her gift.

Zhou Shilin chuckled softly and asked her again, "Did you ride your motorcycle here by yourself today?"

As Chen Ci looked at the clothes Zhou Shilin had just bought, she nodded and said, "It's hard to get a taxi during the holidays, and the queues are too long, so I just rode my motorcycle over."

Zhou Shilin frowned slightly: "Isn't it unsafe for you to ride a bike such a long way?"

"No way!"

"So how did you rear-end me back then?"

Chen Ci: "..."

That's a real soul-searching question.

"Oh, wasn't it Shen Feifei who bumped into you?" Chen Ci started to feign ignorance. "Maybe her driving skills weren't very good."

"...If you're going to calculate it that way, then she spends more time riding her motorcycle than you do."

"Yes, that's why she's more prone to car accidents."

"..." That makes sense. As long as you don't ride it, you won't hit anyone.

Zhou Shilin put down his half-finished water glass, stood up from the sofa, and walked towards the kitchen: "You really should take some time to learn to drive."

Chen Ci followed behind him and asked, "Won't cars get into accidents?"

"At least being wrapped in iron makes you feel safer than being wrapped in iron."

Chen Ci originally wanted to say something, but when she saw the kitchen filled with ingredients, she immediately forgot what she wanted to say: "Is there some kind of magic in your kitchen? Every time I come here, it fills me up."

Zhou Shilin tied on his apron and began preparing the hot pot for dinner: "This magic is probably called money power."

Chen Ci: "..."

Even though he spoke, she knew which "money" he meant.

Seeing Zhou Shilin start chopping vegetables with a cleaver, Chen Ci sincerely asked, "Didn't you just come back from a business trip abroad? Why are you so energetic?"

"Because I want to eat hot pot tonight."

"..." Chen Ci walked up, took another apron, and decided to help him fulfill this simple wish. "Don't you need to adjust to the time difference?"

Zhou Shilin said, "I slept for five hours on the plane."

"..." Are humans creatures that only need to sleep for five hours?

"However, the hot pot ingredients are simpler than last time. We just need to wash and chop them." Some ingredients don't even need to be chopped; they're truly ready-made!

"Yes, Tian Xu helped me choose the base ingredients; he said this kind tastes the best."

Hearing him say that, Chen Ci took a look. She and Li Linrui had used the same broth when they cooked hot pot at home: "Assistant Tian really knows his stuff, this does taste great. However..."

"But what?" Zhou Shilin looked up at her, thinking that something was not prepared properly.

Chen Ci said, "But we agreed that I would treat this time, but now it's your turn to treat."

Zhou Shilin smiled slightly and continued chopping the vegetables in his hand: "It's okay, there are still a few days of holiday left, you can make reservations in advance."

"Mmm." Chen Ci nodded, then glanced at him again. "But you ate hot pot right after taking a shower, so the shower was a waste."

"...What should I do? I've been on a plane for over ten hours, I can't just not take a shower."

"Oh, I know, I just washed my hair this morning too."

Zhou Shilin turned his head to look at her and said slowly, "I have several bathrooms here. If you like, you can take a shower here later."

Chen Ci: "..."

Is she overthinking things, or is President Zhou really hinting at something?

Since many of the ingredients had been pre-processed, Chen Ci and Zhou Shilin didn't need much preparation before serving the pot base. The time spent waiting for the pot base to boil was often the most difficult, but fortunately, Zhou Shilin thoughtfully prepared some appetizers, allowing Chen Ci to wait happily for the pot base to boil.

"But then again, now that Chi Yifei's matter has blown up so much, I'm a little worried about Xu Ning and Li Linrui. Will they be given a hard time at the TV station?"

"..." Zhou Shilin looked at the cream on her lips and couldn't tell how worried she was.

While eating, Chen Ci continued to say to Zhou Shilin, "I asked them, and they also told me that it wouldn't have any impact, but I'm afraid they're only reporting the good news and not the bad."

Zhou Shilin finally spoke up: "Don't worry, I spoke with their station director on the phone, the station won't make things difficult for them."

Chen Ci paused, her hand holding the spoon still, and looked at him incredulously: "You actually have connections at ABA TV? Even the station director has to listen to you?"

“It’s not about listening to me, but about the fact that I’ve sponsored some projects at the station, and I will continue to sponsor them.”

"...Okay." Money really does make a difference.

It turns out that Xu Ning and Li Linrui were telling the truth; it really had no impact.

"Alright, alright, it's starting to bubble!" Chen Ci's eyes lit up when a bubble appeared at the bottom of the pot. "I want to cook the tripe first! The blood tofu is ready to eat too!"

"Hmm." Zhou Shilin scooped up a piece of blood tofu with a spoon and put it into the dark porcelain condiment bowl. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Mmm, you should eat too!" Chen Ci returned the favor by putting the tripe she had just blanched into Zhou Shilin's bowl. "The tripe shouldn't be blanched for too long, this piece is just right!"

"Thank you." Zhou Shilin picked it up with his chopsticks, took a bite, and said, "It's very crispy, and the broth tastes good too."

Chen Ci looked at him and laughed: "You've finally gotten to eat the hot pot you've been craving, haven't you?"

It turns out that even someone like Zhou Shilin can be just as nostalgic as her when it comes to hot pot.

Zhou Shilin said, "The longer you wait, the more delicious it will taste when you finally eat it. That's what delayed gratification is."

Chen Ci: "..."

Let her think about it. Was he talking about hot pot, or something else?

She didn't think about it for long, because the hot pot was indeed delicious; she even felt it was just as good as the hot pot she ate at restaurants.

It could also be because Zhou Shilin was the one she was having hotpot with.

They were satisfied with the hot pot meal, but cleaning up was quite a hassle. Fortunately, Zhou Shilin had a high-end dishwasher, which saved them a lot of trouble.

After tidying up the kitchen, Chen Ci raised her hand and smelled her clothes. Zhou Shilin had turned on the fresh air system, so there wasn't a strong smell in the house, but she still inevitably smelled of hot pot.

Hair too.

Seeing that she was smelling him, Zhou Shilin closed the cabinet door and walked to her side: "If you feel the smell, go take a shower."

Chen Ci stretched out her hand: "It's on the clothes too."

"I just bought some new clothes."

"...What about underwear?"

"..." Of course he didn't buy it. "If you need it, I can have someone buy it for you."

"That would be terrible. People would think something's wrong with us."

Zhou Shilin: "..."

But thinking about what might happen if I really did something with Zhou Shilin later, and I ended up smelling like hotpot... I decided to go wash my hair.

Chen Ci washed her hair, changed her clothes, and sat down on the living room floor. She hadn't finished unpacking the things Zhou Shilin had bought for her, so she took out her perfume and sprayed it into the air.

The scent is surprisingly similar to the pirated sample she bought before!

She searched for a long time but couldn't find this fragrance. How did Zhou Shilin find it?!

She looked at the box in her hand; it was from a very niche brand, one she had never even heard of before. As she sat on the floor examining it, Zhou Shilin changed his clothes and came out.

Seeing that she was wearing newly bought clothes, Zhou Shilin stepped forward and asked her, "Do the clothes fit you well?"

“It fits perfectly.” Chen Ci turned around and sprayed some perfume on Zhou Shilin. Zhou Shilin was stunned for a moment, but Chen Ci had already stood up, put her arm around his shoulder, and gently sniffed him: “This perfume seems to smell even better on you.”

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Author's note: Zhou Shilin: Things shouldn't happen more than three times.