Chapter 399 Mr. Fu Cooks for You

Yun Zheng woke up in a daze when the morning light shone through the gauze curtains, casting mottled shadows on the bedroom floor.

She reached out to her side; the bedding was already cold, with only the scent of cedar remaining on the pillow.

There was a faint sound of porcelain clinking downstairs. Yun Zheng glanced at the bedside alarm clock and saw that it was already half past ten.

She got up in a hurry, her silk nightgown shimmering like pearls in the morning light.

"Zheng Zheng, are you awake?" Ning Zhi was just coming out of the kitchen, holding a bone china cup. Seeing her daughter cautiously walking down the stairs, holding onto the handrail, she quickly put down her cup and went to greet her. "Walk slowly. Your ankle is still swollen from standing for too long in high heels yesterday."

Only then did Yun Zheng realize that her mother was wearing a moon-white cheongsam today, with her hair neatly tied up, and it was obvious that she had dressed up specially.

The aroma of mushrooms wafted from the living room. Shen Lanshu, wearing an apron, poked her head out of the kitchen. "I made bamboo fungus and duck soup. It's perfect for drinking now."

"Mom, why did you come here in person?" Yun Zheng looked at the water droplets on her mother-in-law's wrists in surprise. Usually, people would even hand her teacups to her hands.

Shen Lanshu wiped her hands with a towel and smiled, "Ling He called before dawn and said you had calf cramps twice last night."

She lifted the lid of the casserole, revealing goji berries floating on the golden surface of the soup. "This soup contains Eucommia ulmoides and Achyranthes bidentata, which are great for pregnant women's waist and legs."

Yun Zheng felt a lump in her throat and was about to say thank you when she heard the sound of the fingerprint lock opening at the entrance.

Fu Linghe rushed in, exhausted, carrying three paper bags. His suit jacket was casually draped over his arm, and his tie had been thrown away long ago.

"Awake?" He took two steps at a time and came to Yun Zheng, his palm naturally resting on her lower back. "Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Without waiting for Yun Zheng's answer, he turned back to the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is the soup ready?"

Shen Lanshu glared at her son in anger, "Why are you in such a hurry? The temperature has just risen."

Her eyes fell on the paper bag in her son's hand. "Where did you go so early in the morning without saying a word?"

Fu Linghe placed the paper bag on the coffee table, and colored frosting spilled out. "Zheng Zheng said she wanted to try Yang Ji's almond cookies last night, and I waited in line for two hours."

Then he took out a velvet box and said, "I picked up the custom anklet."

Yun Zheng opened the box and saw two moving stars hanging on the silver chain. A slight shake made a crisp sound like wind chimes.

Fu Linghe had already knelt on one knee to put it on her. "I asked the doctor, and he said massaging the ankle acupoint can relieve morning sickness."

Ning Zhi and Shen Lanshu looked at each other and smiled with relief at the same time.

Shen Lanshu poured a bowl of soup and handed it over, "Drink the soup first, and the pastry will go with the tea later."

Yun Zheng held the bowl of soup and saw flour on Fu Linghe's shirt cuffs in the steam. She couldn't help but reach out to brush it off for him.

When my fingertips touched the fabric, I realized that his arm muscles were tense.

"You wouldn't..." she suddenly thought, putting down the spoon, "you learned how to make almond pastry yourself?"

Fu Linghe coughed lightly, and the tips of his ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. "I'd better personally watch what you put into your mouth to feel at ease."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lanshu immediately grabbed the paper bag and took a closer look. Sure enough, she found several irregular indentations on the edge of the pastry.

This is definitely not the work of a master craftsman, but if the daughter-in-law hadn't been sharp-eyed, she would never have thought that it was made by her son.

Chen Lanshu couldn't help laughing as she pinched the pastry. "When your father was pursuing me, he also secretly learned how to make lotus pastry in the middle of the night."

Ning Zhi handed over a hot towel at the right time. When Fu Linghe took it, Yun Zheng caught a glimpse of a few fresh blisters on the base of his thumb.

Her throat suddenly felt tight, and the spoon stirred a small vortex in the bowl.

"Oh, right." Fu Linghe suddenly pulled a folder from his briefcase. "I went to the hospital and got your prenatal checkup report from a few days ago."

The fetal heart monitoring curve on the report looked like two strings of closely connected pearls, and the vague outlines of two small figures could already be seen in the B-ultrasound image.

Yun Zheng looked at the ultrasound report and felt warm in her heart.

Shen Lanshu quietly pulled Ning Zhi away, and the two hid in the kitchen under the pretext of cutting fruit.

Through the frosted glass, you can see Fu Linghe kneeling on one knee massaging Yun Zheng's ankle, and the morning light gives them a furry golden edge.

"Ding Dong——" the doorbell rang again.

This time, it was a uniformed employee holding a three-layer dessert box. "The fresh milk cakes Mr. Fu ordered are made according to Mr. Fu's requirements. Please check them before signing for them," he said.

When Fu Linghe signed for the cake, Yun Zheng noticed that there was flour on the knees of his suit pants and there were still sweat stains on the back of his neck.

Yun Zheng didn't know what she was thinking about, so she turned around and took a look at the kitchen.

Just as she thought, there was a plate of burnt-blackened, unknown cookie-like things on the island counter.

"Mr. Fu, how many times have you cooked?" Yun Zheng asked with a smile, leaning against the door frame, her fingertips still stained with the scent of ink from the report.

Fu Linghe's ears flushed red, and he hid the cake box behind him. "The third time."

He paused, lowering his voice, "The first two times the dough didn't rise well..."

Shen Lanshu pulled out a card from the cake box and suddenly laughed out loud, "Silly child."

She handed the card to Ning Zhi, which clearly read: [The practice product is unsatisfactory. Please send the finished product to Building 18, Yunshui Bay, Fu Linghe]

A cake shop employee, who hadn't left yet, interrupted, "Mr. Fu came to the kitchen at five this morning. Our chef said he's never seen such a demanding customer."

The three-layer cake was opened. The top layer had two little people holding hands painted on it with icing. The middle layer had Yun Zheng's favorite blueberry filling. The bottom layer actually had a pregnancy nutrition table written on it in chocolate.

Fu Linghe cut a small piece and handed it to Yun Zheng: "The sugar content has been reduced by 30%, and the blueberry jam is freshly made."

Yun Zheng just took a bite and suddenly covered her mouth.

Fu Linghe immediately knelt on one knee and brought the trash can, but she smiled slyly and said, "I'm kidding, it's really delicious."

She scooped a spoonful of cream and held it to his mouth. "Try it too."

As the cream melted between his lips and teeth, Fu Linghe swallowed it with a smile.

Yun Zheng suddenly grabbed Fu Linghe's tie and pecked his butter-stained lips. "Mr. Fu, thank you."

Chen Lanshu and Ning Zhi had left at some point, and only sent a message to Yun Zheng on their phone, "We are going to pick out a crib, don't wait for us for dinner."

Fu Linghe took the opportunity to pick up Yun Zheng and carried her sideways. "Now, Mrs. Fu should take care of more important things."

The "important thing" he was talking about turned out to be the new soft couch on the bay window in the bedroom.

The sunlight became gentle through the gauze curtains. Fu Linghe carefully massaged her swollen ankles, and the star bell on her wrist jingled with her movements.

"Actually..." Yun Zheng played with his tie clip, "I'd rather eat the failed creations you made yourself."

Fu Linghe paused, then suddenly stood up and took out a crumpled paper bag from the inside pocket of his suit.

When I opened it, I found a piece of burnt almond biscuit with teeth marks on the edge. "I bit it while trying it."

Yun Zheng took a bite from his hand, and it tasted bitter yet strangely sweet.

She suddenly discovered that there was a fresh knife mark on Fu Linghe's left ring finger, which was deeper than the blister on the tiger's mouth.

"It was scratched by the mold." He tried to hide his hand. "It's okay."

The ending sound disappeared between the overlapping lips, and the aroma of almonds flowed between the breaths.

Outside the window, the jasmine plant had bloomed two new flowers. When the wind blew, the snow-white petals gently fell on the interlocked fingers.