Chapter 414 Afraid that I'll drink too much and then try something bad to me?

The black body gleamed with a cold, hard sheen in the afterglow of the setting sun, standing out starkly from the cars driven by commuters around it.

Cui Xiao took a deep breath and walked towards the car in her high heels. When she was still two steps away from the car door, the passenger door was pushed open from the inside, carrying a refreshing fragrance.

She bent down to sit in, and just as she fastened her seatbelt, Zhou Mubin next to her scoffed, his voice laced with amusement, "Vice President Cui is indeed a man of his word."

Cui Xiao turned her head to look out the window, her tense profile reflected in the glass. Her tone was completely calm as she said, "Let's drive."

She deliberately avoided Zhou Mubin's gaze; she didn't like being alone with him. But since she had promised, she couldn't go back on her word.

Zhou Mubin didn't say anything more. His well-defined knuckles gripped the steering wheel, the engine emitted a low roar, and the car smoothly merged into the evening rush hour traffic.

Cui Xiao closed her eyes, thinking about how to end this social engagement as soon as possible without hurting feelings.

But as the car drove away from the bustling commercial district and turned into a heavily guarded upscale residential area, she suddenly opened her eyes, turned her head to look at the man in the driver's seat, and asked, "Lawyer Zhou, what does this mean? Aren't we going to eat?"

Zhou Mubin stared straight ahead, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Who told you you have to go to a restaurant to eat?"

He parked the car smoothly in the garage, turned off the engine, turned to look at Cui Xiao, his eyes filled with an undeniable forcefulness, "Since you owe me a favor, you should at least cook a decent meal yourself to show your sincerity."

Cui Xiao's brows furrowed instantly, her delicate features showing obvious resistance. "Lawyer Zhou, this is not proper. I promised to treat you to dinner, not to cook at your house."

Her voice turned cold, and she gripped her handbag tightly with her fingertips.

Zhou Mubin unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward slightly, suddenly closing the distance between them.

He looked at her taut jawline, his tone teasing yet leaving no room for argument, "How is it against the rules? I fired all my capable assistants for you. Do you know how much that loss cost me? Is a simple home-cooked meal such a loss for Vice President Cui?"

Even though she knew Zhou Mubin was talking nonsense, Cui Xiao was speechless for a moment and couldn't find any words to refute him.

Given Sun Lu's work ability, if Zhou Mubin wasn't trying to keep her in check, why would he have kept her around until now?

Now, with just one sentence from her, Zhou Mubin has fired her, which, in a way, is a loss.

She was silent for a few seconds, then looked up to meet Zhou Mubin's gaze. His deep eyes held emotions she couldn't decipher—inquiry, amusement, and a hint of seriousness.

In the end, she gave in and, gritting her teeth, uttered her final protest, "I'm not a good cook."

Cui Xiao is not talking nonsense.

She works too slowly and has rarely cooked in all these years. Occasionally she cooks a meal, which is edible, but the taste is definitely not very good.

The only things I'm good at are making hangover soup and rice porridge.

The hangover soup was made for Zhou Mubin, who was suffering from a hangover, and the rice porridge was also cooked for him on the second day of his hangover.

"It's alright." Zhou Mubin opened the car door, walked around to the passenger side to open the door for her, and gestured for her to enter.

He casually added, "There are fresh ingredients in the fridge, so we can make whatever we want. If it's really bad, we can always order takeout."

Looking at Zhou Mubin's open and honest expression, Cui Xiao took a deep breath and finally got off the car with her handbag.

The underground warehouse was empty, and the lights were dim.

After getting off the elevator, she followed Zhou Mubin into the apartment. Looking at the luxuriously decorated but empty living room, Cui Xiao felt completely at ease.

Over the years, Zhou Mubin's apartment was a place she frequented, and her fingerprints were still on the keypad lock, but she didn't know if they were still there now.

Zhou Mubin casually tossed his coat onto the sofa and pointed towards the kitchen, saying, "The ingredients are all in the refrigerator. If you can't find anything, just call me. I'll be waiting for you in the living room."

Cui Xiao nodded, walked to the kitchen door, and looked at the spotless open kitchen and the neatly arranged fresh ingredients in the refrigerator. Suddenly, she felt a little absurd.

She rolled up the sleeves of her light pink suit, opened the refrigerator door, and as her fingertips touched the cold tomatoes, Zhou Mubin's voice suddenly came from behind her, "Don't try to fool me, I want a big meal. There's beef in the fridge, and I want to eat all the king crab on the counter."

She turned around and saw Zhou Mubin leaning against the kitchen door frame, holding a glass of red wine, his gaze fixed on her back with a hint of a smile.

Cui Xiao didn't say anything, but what she was thinking was, "How come you don't stuff yourself to death?"

Fortunately, Zhou Mubin didn't keep an eye on her the whole time; after giving her those instructions, he went to the living room.

Cui Xiao quickly washed the tomatoes and was just about to pick up the knife to chop them when she heard a slight noise coming from the living room.

She listened intently; it was the sound of the TV being turned on, the only channel Zhou Mubin ever watched—the legal channel.

Zhou Mubin has maintained this habit for many years and still does.

Putting her mind at ease, Cui Xiao busied herself with cooking. The knife blade made a crisp sound as it hit the cutting board, and she deliberately slowed down her movements.

Cui Xiao spent a long time preparing this meal, and it wasn't until three hours later that everything was ready and placed on the table.

By then, it was completely dark, the kind of darkness where even the moon couldn't be seen.

Cui Xiao sat down first, picked up her chopsticks and took a small piece of beef. Her eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly as she put it in her mouth; there was a little too much salt.

She didn't speak, quietly eating her rice, each bite slow and deliberate, deliberately maintaining a distant demeanor.

Zhou Mubin seemed to be in high spirits. He picked up a spoon and scooped a large spoonful of tomato beef into his bowl. After chewing, he looked up at her and said in a tone full of praise, "Vice President Cui is a hidden talent. This tomato beef is even better than what my family's chef makes."

Without even looking up, Cui Xiao gently traced patterns in the bowl with her chopsticks. "If Zhou Lu likes it, then eat more."

The voice remained businesslike and indifferent, as if responding to a work report.

Zhou Mubin was not discouraged. He put down his chopsticks, got up and walked to the wine cabinet, took out a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. "A meal with some wine tastes better. Try this. I bought it from a winery in Bordeaux last year."

His movements as he poured the wine were elegant, the deep red liquid leaving fine streaks on the glass. Just as he pushed the glass towards Cui Xiao, she gently pushed it back.

Her tone was flat. "I have to drive later, you can drink it yourself."

Zhou Mubin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and took back his wine glass, refilling it. "Afraid that if you drink too much, you might try something bad to me?"

He deliberately emphasized the words "plotting something wicked," his gaze fixed on Cui Xiao's face, trying to catch her reaction.

But Cui Xiao remained expressionless, as if she hadn't understood the sarcasm in his words. "Lawyer Zhou is overthinking it. I'm really not interested in a man like you who can get aroused even in front of a tree."