Chapter 32: The desire to win. An elderly couple actually claimed to be friends with benefits...

Lu Wangshan had two opportunities to learn how to cook. One was because he was picky and could always easily tell if a dish was missing or had too much flavor. The other was because he was the one who brought up Lu Shiyue. When they were young, sometimes on weekends when the two brothers didn't go out, he would cook.

In fact, Lu Shiyue didn't mind having a few more servants to take care of his daily life at home, but Lu Wangshan didn't like it. Having strangers at home would make him uncomfortable and uneasy. Therefore, except for the time when Lu Shiyue was five years old and had a nanny to take care of him, Lu Wangshan was always the only one who took care of him after that.

So it makes sense that Lu Shiyue still relies on him.

Today is probably the most stressful day for Lu Wangshan regarding his cooking skills.

Because Yuntan said that when they were in Milan, they had eaten the dishes cooked by Jiang Zhier’s boyfriend, and they were also very delicious.

Lu Wangshan didn't want to be outdone.

He even put together a menu.

When Yuntan brought Elara home, they saw a five-course seafood sashimi set on the table. It included bluefin tuna belly, snakehead fish, golden sea bream, sea urchin, and horse mackerel. A can of white sturgeon caviar was opened next to it as a condiment.

In the kitchen, Lu Wangshan was wearing an apron and opening a coconut. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, causing his arm muscles to swell.

He turned around and greeted, "Elara."

Elara also waved enthusiastically: "Hello, Captain China."

“…”

Although Yuntan told her many times that it was not necessary, Elara still brought gifts when she came to visit: a bouquet of flowers and two boxes of fruit.

Leo came out first, circled Yuntan enthusiastically for several times, and then curiously sniffed Elara's scent. It was the first time he saw Elara, but he could tell that she was a friend of his parents.

Elara exclaimed, "Wow!" She had seen many photos of Leo before. She tossed the bouquet to Yuntan and hugged him tightly. "Are you Leo? You're so handsome!"

Leo was somewhat resistant to the suffocating hug from the stranger, so he pulled his head out with force, trotted back to the sofa, and looked at Elara warily.

Elara was confused: "What does he mean?"

"It wants you to be less unrestrained and more restrained."

Elara clutched her chest, "Leo, I'm so heartbroken that you rejected me!"

Yun Tan smiled and said, "That's pretty good. It wouldn't even want me to touch it."

"It's an i dog! Where did the Doberman Pinscher originate? Germany?"

Lu Wangshan replied: "Yes."

Elara rushed over again: "Leo, we are neighbors!" She held Leo's head again, "You know what, you really have some of the reserved temperament of a German."

Leo looked at Elara's enlarged face in horror. He tried to ask his mother for help but found that his mother was laughing beside him. So he felt relieved and let this strange stranger hold his head.

Forget it, as long as mom is happy.

Yun Tan put the flowers in a vase and walked into the kitchen. He saw that Lu Wangshan had already pried open the round lids of three coconuts. He poured all the coconut water into the copper pot, dug out the coconut meat from one of the coconuts, cut it into strips and put it into the pot, and added equal proportions of clean water and four or five red dates.

The scent of coconut water immediately filled the air.

"What are you going to make? Coconut chicken?" Yun Tan asked.

"Um."

"What about this one?" She pointed to two other coconuts that had not yet been emptied.

“Make coconut milk sago.”

Yuntan exclaimed “Wow!”

Lu Wangshan looked at her with a smile, then looked at Elara who was harassing Leo in the living room. He leaned close to Yun Tan's ear and complained to her unscrupulously: "I'm afraid she'll drink too much and sleep here tonight."

"Hey!" Yun Tan raised his hand and pinched him.

Lu Wangshan smiled, covered the pot and waited for the coconut chicken soup to boil. Then he dug out the coconut meat, picked up the cooked sago and put it in cold water for later use. Then he took out a few large mangoes from the shopping bag.

He even knew how to use a knife to cut the mango into equal-sized pieces on his palm, put them into the coconut shells respectively, and then crushed the remaining mango into juice and paste and put them in as well.

"Elara." Lu Wangshan asked, "Do you want ice?"

"Hey! Your heating in Beijing is much better than ours. It's too hot inside."

So Lu Wangshan put ice cubes in one of the coconuts, but didn't put any in Yun Tan's, because she still couldn't eat ice.

Finally, pour in the remaining coconut water, chopped coconut meat and sago that has been rinsed with cold water. Stir with a spoon and it will turn a beautiful golden color. Lu Wangshan even picked two mint leaves from the windowsill, washed them and used them as garnish.

Yun Tan smiled: "Aren't you too delicate?"

"I'll ask Elara to comment later on who cooks better, me or your friend's boyfriend."

Yun Tan couldn't stop laughing: "Lu Wangshan, have you been aroused by your desire to win?"

"I have never come in second place in my life." Lu Wangshan said arrogantly.

He wiped the edges of the coconut clean and put his arm around Yun Tan's waist: "You guys take it and drink it first, wait for me."

The concave arc was so beautiful that even though Lu Wangshan had the New Year's Day holiday free, just hugging her like this made him feel a little distracted.

Elara saw this scene as she turned around in the living room.

The warm sunset in Beijing's winter shone into the kitchen, casting a golden light on the two of them. They both had smiles on their faces, hugging each other's waists so naturally and intimately.

She cupped Leo's face and whispered to him, "What kind of play are your parents playing? They look like an old married couple, yet they claim to be just friends with benefits?"

Yuntan gave one of the coconuts to Elara.

Elara took a sip and exclaimed that she wanted to stay in China and never go back. The cool and refreshing coconut water mixed with the chewy sago, the sourness of mango pulp, the sweetness of the puree, and a little bit of fresh mint fragrance, it simply couldn't be better.

Yun Tan smiled as he watched her take a deep sip. The water level in the coconut quickly dropped, so he turned and shouted to Lu Wangshan, "She drank half of it in one gulp. Is there any more coconut left?"

"Yes, we have tapioca pearls and mangoes left, enough for you to have unlimited refills."

Lu Wangshan was in a good mood, perhaps because this was the first time Yun Tan introduced his friends to him.

With Elara around, the house was always very lively.

Even Leo was so disturbed by her that he went back to his doghouse to sleep.

Dinner starts at 6:30 in the evening.

A table full of food for three people.

Yun Tan told Lu Wangshan in advance about Elara's preferences, including her love for seafood and meat, so the food on this table was very much to Elara's liking.

In addition to coconut chicken, there are also Typhoon Shelter swimming crabs, garlic butter baked abalone and conch, drunken hairy crabs, pan-fried black tiger prawns, and Longjing shrimps. The vegetables are the most popular stir-fried shiitake mushrooms with Maojian bamboo shoots and ginger lentils, and the staple food is bacon and mushroom clay pot rice.

Elara was dazzled by the dishes that came one after another, then looked at Yuntan and exclaimed, "How come you don't gain any weight even though you eat all this every day!"

Yuntan: "I've gained two or three pounds."

"You can't tell at all. If I ate like this for a week, I'd probably gain ten pounds!"

Yuntan smiled. In fact, her appetite had increased a lot compared to before.

In the past, in order to maintain her figure, she often skipped staple food for dinner, but Lu Wangshan thought it was unhealthy, so he would prepare staple food for every dinner, and sometimes he would also cook some calorie-controlled coarse grain rice.

As for why she didn't gain much weight, Yun Tan didn't know whether she should blame it on the fact that the exercise Lu Wangshan took her to do was very physically demanding.

The coconut chicken has a light flavor, so it's fine for Leo to have a little.

Lu Wangshan peeled the few pieces of chicken left in the pot and put them into Leo's bowl.

Elara also picked up the coconut chicken with her first chopsticks. She couldn't help but exclaim "Oh oh oh" after taking the first bite. It was fresh, sweet and tender. The chicken thigh meat fell off the bone completely with just a light bite and melted in the mouth.

Lu Wangshan looked at her expression and said, "Give me your comments."

Elara hadn't swallowed the food yet, and she desperately gave a thumbs-up. After a while, she finally spoke: "It's delicious! If you open a restaurant in Milan, you will definitely become the most famous Chinese chef!"

Yuntan asked for more details: "How does it compare to Flexi?"

Flexi is Jiang Zhier's boyfriend.

Elara didn't hesitate at all: "Complete victory!"

If compared with today's dinner, it is definitely a winner.

After all, Flexi had only cooked some home-cooked meals for them since they were studying abroad and couldn't eat Chinese food, but today Lu Wangshan showed his full strength to compete.

There are even flower knives and plating.

Lu Wangshan poured himself a glass of red wine, untied his apron, and felt satisfied.

-

Elara was so full that she leaned back in her chair, holding her stomach, and couldn't even burp.

She looked at the delicious food still left on the table and wailed, "I hate that my stomach isn't big enough."

Lu Wangshan asked her, "When will you return to Milan?"

"Three more days." Elara held her belly. "Every day I hate that my belly is so small."

Lu Wangshan said, "If you like, you can come to our house for dinner again."

Elara also laughed. She could tell that the emphasis in Lu Wangshan's words was on "our family."

When she first learned the word "家" (home), her Chinese teacher emphasized to her that the rich emotions contained in "家" in the Chinese context are completely different from "house".

She turned her head and looked at Yuntan beside her.

Yun Tan was playing the game of shaking hands with Leo, turning in circles and sitting down, and didn't hear Lu Wangshan's words at all.

Maybe she wouldn't notice anything unusual even if she heard it.

Yuntan seems to be very insensitive to emotions.

Elara still remembers that when she first shared an apartment with Yuntan, she rarely spoke and her sense of propriety was frighteningly strong.

It took Elara only one minute to become friends with Jiang Zhier, but it took her a long time to show her affection to Yun Tan before she felt that she was considered a friend.

She sometimes felt that Yuntan was very independent and was more accustomed to staying alone than entering into a new close relationship.

Like hiding yourself in a jar.

But her indifference to emotions does not mean that she is unkind. On the contrary, Yuntan is a very kind, gentle and considerate roommate, but it is difficult to truly get into her heart.

Elara retracted her gaze and said to Lu Wangshan, "When Xiao Tan was abroad, I never saw her get close to any male friends. Jiang Zhier and I have always been curious about who her ex-boyfriend was."

Lu Wangshan was a little surprised: "She has mentioned me to you before?"

"Of course, we talk about everything," Elara said. "Now I understand why you were her boyfriend back then."

"Why?"

"Isn't there an old saying in China? If you want to capture someone's heart, you must first capture their stomach." Elara joked.

Of course, this was not what she really thought.

Lu Wangshan was able to enter Yun Tan's heart only because he had a passionate and unquenchable love for her.

Only his ardent and unquenchable love could support him as he walked on the long and dark road leading to Yun Tan's heart.

Lu Wangshan also smiled, and this time he said sincerely: "Welcome to come again next time, Elara."

-

Lu Wangshan seemed to be born with an outstanding ability to make friends.

By the day Elara left, she was already praising Lu Wangshan highly, not only for the sumptuous dinner, but also for the box of caviar and two boxes of hairy crabs that Lu Wangshan had prepared for her.

Just because she said it was delicious.

"Thanks to you two, I always have endless Chinese food to eat in Milan."

Jiang Zhier also came to see Elara off on her departure day. Jiang Zhier's boyfriend had also sent Elara a variety of Chinese specialties.

Jiang Zhier said, "Next time you come, be sure to tell me in advance. I couldn't treat you well this time."

Elara smiled: "Next time it will be your turn to come to Milan to find me."

"Okay, then Xiao Tan and I will see if we have some free time to go find you together."

In addition to what Lu Wangshan prepared, Yun Tan and Jiang Zhier also prepared some other local specialties for her. When they arrived at the security checkpoint, Yun Tan gave her all the bags.

Elara patted Yuntan on the back and couldn't help sighing, "There aren't many men this attentive. You have to seize the opportunity."

Yun Tan raised his eyebrows: "Don't mess around."

"Seriously, there might only be one man in the world with a 110cm chest, who's thoughtful, wealthy, and can make coconut chicken. Why don't you seize the opportunity?"

Elara glanced at the time and saw it was still early, so she continued, "Go ask, what sex partner in this world would cook a big meal for the other's friends? He cooked dinner for you while you were on your period. Come on, sex partners usually say goodbye during this time, okay? And you guys even went to watch the fireworks together on New Year's Eve."

Yun Tan wanted to say that there were more than just the two of them on New Year's Eve, but Elara tapped her forehead with her index finger: "Be careful, you might be kidnapped and you don't even know it!"

Yun Tan laughed: "I know it very well."

Elara scoffed, "You know nothing. I think Lu Wangshan is just treating you like a girlfriend, just as a sex partner. Boiling a frog in warm water, I know your Chinese proverbs better than you do."

Yuntan paused, then pressed Elara's shoulder and pushed her in. "Okay, you're going to be late. Bye, send us a message when you land."

-

Yuntan sneaked out of the company to see Elara off, and then went back to work.

Midway through, Lu Wangshan sent her a message: "Have you returned to the company?"

Yuntan: "Just arrived."

Yun Tan recalled what Elara had just said, moved his fingertips, and scrolled through the chat history with Lu Wangshan.

From being unfamiliar with each other at the beginning, with only Leo as the topic, the content of their conversations has become increasingly broad, and they have even started sharing their daily lives.

For example, the barbecue restaurant that Yuntan took Elara to yesterday was very delicious, so she recommended it to Lu Wangshan.

What Lu Wangshan asked most often was what she wanted to eat for dinner, and occasionally when he was on a business trip, he would take pictures of the scenery for her.

Boiling a frog in warm water.

Yuntan thought about what Elara said again.

This feeling of crossing the line again made Yun Tan feel flustered again.

The recent days were so good that she was intoxicated and didn't want them to be ruined at all.

So after Lu Wangshan sent another message, "What do you want to eat tonight?", he somehow sent "You."

She subconsciously wanted to muddy the waters.

I want to keep their relationship in a less clean state.

But Yuntan herself was not good at flirting. When she came to her senses and saw the two lines of words on the WeChat chat interface, her face suddenly turned red and she quickly withdrew.

Resend: "Both are fine."

…

Lu Wangshan saw the reply.

He was in a meeting, listening to the investment department's report on the most important project of the year, when his eyes suddenly stopped.

The minister observed Lu Wangshan's expression while reporting. Noticing his sudden frown, he paused and asked cautiously, "Mr. Lu, do you have any objections to this budget?"

Lu Wangshan made a gesture to suspend the meeting, his eyes always fixed on the phone screen.

"What do you want to eat tonight?"

"you."

Yuntan’s account was hacked?

Of course Lu Wangshan knew that this was not Yun Tan’s usual speaking style. He was a little surprised and a little amused.

Just as I was about to type, I saw Yun Tan retract the message and replaced it with a normal "It's all right."

Lu Wangshan chuckled, put away his phone, and raised his hand to signal the minister to continue reporting.

After the meeting, the secretary entered the office carrying a thick stack of documents. "Mr. Lu, these are the three large stray animal rescue centers we've selected from across the country. They're relatively mature in their operations. I've seen the animals in those centers through video, and they seem to be receiving fairly good care."

The three are located in different provinces. The rescue base in Xinjiang has the largest area and the most animals, but also faces the most difficulties due to poverty and harsh environment.

Lu Wangshan flipped through the project book and quickly decided: "Let's go with this one. I'll go check it out when the time comes."

He picked up Leo on the highway in Xinjiang.

Whether for practical considerations or out of selfish motives, Lu Wangshan wanted this rescue investment plan to start in Xinjiang.

The secretary was taken aback. "Are you going on a field trip? Your schedule may not allow you to travel to Xinjiang in the near future."

The Lu Group participates in many public welfare projects, involving children, women, education aid and agricultural assistance, but most of them are carried out by sending people to inspect, and Lu Wangshan will not go in person.

This time, a public welfare project for the rescue of stray animals is about to be launched. It is named after Leo and the Panlong Ancient Road in Southern Xinjiang where he was first discovered - the Panlong Leo Project.

"Book me a flight for New Year's Eve. No, the first night of the new year would be fine."

-

Yun Tan thought that Lu Wangshan probably didn't see the text message, after all, he didn't mention it again during the meal.

Until the evening——

Yuntan video chatted with her grandmother as usual - she still went back once a week, sometimes deliberately going when Yuan Qinrong was not around, and the rest of the time they would video chat.

After the video, Yuntan took her pajamas and went to take a shower.

In the middle of the conversation, Lu Wangshan suddenly pushed the door open.

"What are you doing?" Yun Tan subconsciously put his hands in front of his chest and looked at him in a daze.

Lu Wangshan quickly took off his clothes and stepped into the shower room with her. He grabbed her wrist and moved away: "You."

"Um, what?"

He lowered his head and kissed her. The hot water poured down from top to bottom, quickly soaking his hair and body.

Lu Wangshan teased with a smile: "Didn't you teach me this?"

Yun Tan paused, then finally realized what was happening. She blushed awkwardly for a moment, "You saw everything?"

"Well, did you miss me?"

He spoke in a hoarse and low voice, which almost resonated with his eardrums amid the sound of water dripping in the shower, and was extremely ambiguous.

Yuntan's legs felt weak and he grabbed his arm.

Lu Wangshan is a really terrible person.

Whether it's appearance, voice or figure, he fits women's fantasy of perfection, so Yun Tan is naturally often seduced by him.

The water continued to flow around her feet. Yun Tan was pressed against the glass wall. As she whimpered, he put two fingers into her mouth, stirring it, and asked in her ear in a nasty voice, "Is it delicious?"

Yuntan couldn't stand it.

So annoying.

She couldn't speak, so she could only express her disgust with her actions, so she bit it hard.

But Lu Wangshan knew best how to make her give in.

In the end, he shot himself in the foot and begged for mercy whimpering and pitifully.

At the end, Lu Wangshan put his arm around Yun Tan's waist, reapplied shower gel on the two messy bodies, and rinsed them clean.

Yuntan was still unable to stand steadily. She snuggled in his arms with her eyes half-closed, sobbing and choking from time to time, which she had not yet stopped.

He lowered his head and kissed the red, drooping corners of Yun Tan's eyes, almost as if he couldn't let go. He smiled and teased, "You're still crying. Is it that good?"

Yun Tan, who had entered sage mode at the moment, could not bear such harsh words. With red ears, he muttered, "Don't say that."

"I'm going to get a towel. Can you stand still?"

Yuntan grabbed the handrail beside him and nodded silently.

Lu Wangshan shook out the large and soft bath towel and wrapped Yuntan completely. Then he squatted down, used a towel to dry her feet, and put them into dry slippers.

While he was still squatting, Yun Tan had already bent down and covered him with his arms, softly wrapping around Lu Wangshan's neck.

"Be careful not to fall." Lu Wangshan held her legs firmly.

"I'm tired and can't stand anymore."

Lu Wangshan chuckled, then picked up Yun Tan and let her wrap her legs around his waist.

"Your physical strength is worse than Leo's." Lu Wangshan said.

Yun Tan rested her head on his shoulder, feeling sleepy and speaking without thinking: "You haven't made love with Leo."

Lu Wangshan knocked her head: "What are you talking about?"

Lu Wangshan put her on the bed, turned off the lights, and held her in his arms again.

As he listened to the kitten's intermittent and gradually subsiding sobs, Lu Wangshan couldn't control himself anymore. After all, he had been absent for a week, so how could one time be enough?

He suddenly turned over and coaxed her: "One more time, okay?"

Yun Tan couldn't even open his eyes: "But I'm so sleepy."

"You continue to sleep, I'll do it, okay?"

You can't listen to any sweet words a man says in bed, even Lu Wangshan is no exception.

…

When it was over, Yuntan closed his eyes and started thinking about whether he should just ask for leave tomorrow morning. How could he get up?

"Baby." The satisfied man even calls her in a more pleasant way.

But Yun Tan, who was called "baby", was sleepy and out of temper. Thinking back to his nasty prank just now, he buried his face in the quilt and said, "I really need to sleep."

"Let me tell you something."

"you say."

"Open your eyes." The energetic man was really too much. He even reached out to hold her eyelids open, completely unaware that he was the culprit who prevented her from opening her eyes.

Yun Tan finally couldn't help it and raised his hand in frustration and hit Lu Wangshan in the face: "What are you doing?"

"Our company is planning a charitable investment in stray animal rescue, called the 'Panlong Leo Project,'" Lu Wangshan said. "I'm leaving on the first day of the Lunar New Year to investigate, and I'm taking Leo with me. Do you want to come with me?"

Yun Tan was a little confused, his brain slowly processing this information: "Panlong Leo Project?"

"Well, the road where I first discovered Leo is called Panlong Ancient Road." Lu Wangshan said gently, "You can take your time to consider whether you want to go together. There's no rush."

Lu Wangshan knew that by using Leo as bait, Yun Tan would definitely be tempted by this trip.

There was no need for him to personally inspect this kind of project. In fact, for Lu Wangshan, this was not an inspection at all, but just a pretext to trick Yun Tan into traveling together.

So we chose the first day of the New Year holiday when she has free time.

She might go home to visit her grandmother on New Year's Eve, but Yuntan has a bad relationship with her family and it is impossible for her to stay at home for the next few days.

Elara was right, Lu Wangshan was indeed boiling a frog in warm water.

He wanted Yuntan to gradually become familiar with kissing him, making love with him, getting used to eating the food he cooked, getting used to sleeping in the same bed with him, getting used to traveling with him, being by his side every minute and every second, and being inseparable from him.

-----------------------

Author's words: Elara sees the truth

Let’s go traveling together. Traveling is the best time to make your heart flutter.

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