Chapter 73 The pre-dinner dessert was delicious, even better than milk porridge...

the next day.

When Song Zhixu woke up, Tang Ran had already gotten up.

After washing up, Song Zhixu found Tang Ran in the kitchen.

The stove was on, and steam was bubbling away in the white ceramic milk pot.

Tang Ran was wearing a cartoon apron, and her chestnut-colored long hair was clipped with an adorable cartoon shark clip.

She is gentle yet playful.

She stared intently at the milk pot, stirring slowly with the ladle in her hand.

The morning light shone in through the side window, bathing Tang Ran in a warm and sweet glow.

Song Zhixu leaned against the kitchen door for a moment before walking over.

"You're up?"

Hearing her footsteps, Tang Ran turned around with a light, cheerful smile on her face.

Song Zhixu put his arm around her waist, smiled slightly, and looked at the milk pot, "What are you doing?"

"Milk and black rice porridge." Tang Ran raised her hand and turned off the stove.

Song Zhixu: "It smells wonderful."

Tang Ran took a small spoonful, blew on it, and held it to her lips, saying, "Try it."

The black rice is cooked until soft and melts in your mouth, with a sweet, milky aroma.

"tasty."

"Absolutely."

Tang Ran smiled and patted her hand, signaling her to let go, as she went to get a bowl. "Once the porridge is served, we can start eating."

Song Zhixu tightened his arms, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her back.

"Hmm?" Tang Ran turned her head to look at her.

Song Zhixu pressed his forehead against Tang Ran's, his voice low, "Have some dessert before the meal."

After speaking, he kissed Tang Ran's lips.

The dessert before the meal was delicious, much sweeter than milk porridge.

"The porridge is getting cold."

Tang Ranhong gently pushed Song Zhixu away.

If we keep kissing, I won't have to go to work today.

Song Zhixu kissed her rosy cheeks and then went to get the bowl.

In addition to milk and purple rice porridge, breakfast also includes boiled eggs and vegetable and shrimp pancakes, which are light in flavor and nutritionally balanced.

Song Zhixu looked at the breakfast she took out of the insulated box and was somewhat surprised: "Did you make all of this?"

There were no takeout boxes in the kitchen, but there were leftover ingredients on the counter.

Needless to say, the vegetable and shrimp pancakes were also made by Tang Ran.

"Did you think all I could do was make sandwiches?" Tang Ran asked, amused.

After they got together, they basically ate takeout from Xinghelou or their apartment for breakfast and dinner.

It's not surprising that Song Zhixu was surprised.

“I knew you could cook.” Song Zhixu shook her head, smiled slightly, and walked to the table. “I also knew you learned it from your grandfather.”

She knew that Tang Ran had spent the summer before entering high school in the kitchen of Xinghe Restaurant.

Song Zhixu was simply surprised that Tang Ran would cook for herself.

She knew that Tang Ran was someone who hated trouble.

Besides boiling eggs, the other two dishes seem to require a lot of time to prepare.

"Then you know quite a lot."

Tang Ran put down the porridge, pulled out a chair for her, and said playfully, "Come and try Chef Tang's cooking."

The chefs at Xinghelou Restaurant pass their skills down from master to apprentice, and there are no secret recipes that cannot be passed on.

However, Tang Ran's maternal grandfather believed that if one did not know how to cook at all, it would be impossible to manage a restaurant well, especially a restaurant like Xinghelou that mainly served traditional dishes.

Perhaps it was the awakening of her ancestral chef bloodline, but Tang Ran was very talented in cooking.

But she rarely cooks.

First, washing vegetables can damage your hands, and cooking fumes can be very harmful to your skin.

The second reason was what Song Zhixu thought: she was just too lazy and found cooking too troublesome.

After dinner, the two changed their clothes and went to work.

Before leaving the house, Tang Ran took her Pikachu cartoon cup from the kitchen.

"For the fritillaria and snow pear soup, remember to drink it while it's hot, don't let it cool down, as the glass cup doesn't keep it warm."

Tang Ran handed the cup to Song Zhixu.

Song Zhixu looked at the cartoon glass in her hand. Before even tasting the soup inside, the sweetness had already spread from the back of her tongue.

Whether it's breakfast or this soup, it's all a silent expression of Tang Ran's care for her.

Seeing that Song Zhixu didn't answer, Tang Ran assumed that she thought the cartoon cup was childish.

She shoved the cup into Song Zhixu's hand, saying, "We don't have any other cups with lids at home, so you'll have to make do with this..."

The unfinished words remained unspoken.

Song's office, CEO's office.

After reporting Song Zhixu's schedule for the day, Assistant Jiang prepared to go to the tea room.

"Erin".

Song Zhixu called out to her, smiling slightly, "No need to make coffee in the morning."

"Shall we switch to flower tea?" Assistant Jiang asked.

Song Zhixu took out a cartoon glass from his briefcase. "Ranran brought me some sweet throat lozenges."

Assistant Jiang: ...

Can choking on dog food fed by your boss be considered a work-related injury?

Two more days passed.

At five o'clock in the morning, the streetlights were still on, and the sky was a pale gray-blue.

Shengming Mansion, Room 1901.

"Do we really have to go back?" Tang Ran asked, reaching out to touch Song Zhixu's forehead.

Last year, when the ancestral hall in Songjia Village was rebuilt, the old man generously covered all the expenses.

Today is the opening ceremony of the new ancestral hall. The village has invited Grandpa Song to go back and cut the ribbon, and Song Zhixu will accompany him.

Song Zhixu put on his mask, took her hand, and smiled: "I don't have a fever, just a sore throat. Old Zhang and Assistant Jiang are already downstairs, I have to go down now."

Old Master Song was conservative in his thinking. Even Song Wuqi, who lived in Beijing, had to fly back to participate in such an important event related to the ancestors, let alone Song Zhixu, who was still in Jiangcheng.

A few days ago, Song Zhixu drank the soup cooked by Tang Ran, and her throat was much better. But a cold brought it all back to square one.

Tang Ran put the syrup into her handbag; the bulging medicine bottle took up most of the small handbag's space.

"Then remember to drink the syrup, and bring your cold medicine with you, just in case," she instructed, and then put the cold medicine in as well.

I don't know if there's a pharmacy in the village, but it's better to be prepared.

She grew up in Jiangcheng and the most rural place she had ever been was the city's suburbs. She had no idea what a village was like.

"Oh, and you should also take the throat lozenges."

Song Zhixu watched her rambling on and on before running back to the living room.

When I came back, I had throat lozenges and a few eye masks for applying heat.

He put everything he was holding into Song Zhixu's bag.

After confirming that there was nothing else she needed to bring, Tang Ran closed the lid and fastened the buckle.

The square, three-dimensional bag was stretched to a somewhat rounded shape, making the six-figure bag bulge like a duffel bag.

Handing the bag to Song Zhixu, Tang Ran added, "I've put an eye mask on you. Get in the car and rest well. Don't do any work in the car, okay? And try to talk as little as possible."

Since they started living together, Tang Ran has noticed that Song Zhixu has very little free time. Apart from eating and sleeping, he spends most of his time working.

"good."

The muffled, hoarse voice couldn't mask the lightness in his tone.

Song Zhixu took the bag, then pulled Tang Ran into his arms and hugged her tightly.

She was really reluctant to leave.

After Song Zhixu left, Tang Ran lay back on the bed, wanting to take a nap, but after lying there for a while, she couldn't fall asleep.

I don't know if it's because I didn't get enough sleep, but my left eyelid twitched wildly for a while.

Unable to sleep, Tang Ran simply washed up and went home.

On a weekend morning, there weren't many cars on the road, and the journey home was smooth. Tang Wanru had just gotten up and was coming downstairs when she arrived home.

"Nannan's back? Why so early today?"

Tang Wanru was quite surprised to see Tang Ran return at this time, and subconsciously thought that something had happened.

Tang Ran took her arm and said coquettishly, "I got up early and came back."

"How have things been with Zhixu lately? Why didn't you invite her back with you?"

She looked Tang Ran up and down. Her complexion was good, and she didn't smell of alcohol, so she probably hadn't stayed up all night partying.

Looking at her demeanor, she didn't seem to have encountered anything wrong.

But Tang Wanru was still a little worried.

After experiencing Song Wuqi's infidelity, she found that her daughter had matured a lot and would no longer easily reveal her feelings.

Tang Wanru was pleased that her daughter had grown up and could solve problems on her own, but she also felt sorry for her daughter's growth.

The mother and daughter had a very good relationship, and Tang Ran could see Tang Wanru's worries at a glance.

She explained with a smile, "We're doing great. She went back to Uncle Song's hometown with him."

She took out her phone and sent Song Zhixu a voice message: "Have you arrived yet? Mommy asked me why I didn't bring you back."

Seeing her like this, Tang Wanru felt relieved and pulled her daughter inside.

Less than five seconds later, Song Zhixu replied with a voice message: "It's still a half-hour drive. Please give my regards to your aunt."

Tang Ran played the audio for Tang Wanru to hear.

"Does Zhixu have a cold?" Tang Wanru noticed that her voice sounded a little muffled.

"Yeah, I caught a bit of a cold."

Tang Ran typed a message to Song Zhixu, reminding her to drink water.

I glanced into the living room but didn't see Lin Jixin.

Knowing who she was looking for, Tang Wanru said, "She went to Beijing on a business trip."

Upon hearing that Lin Jixin had gone to Beijing, Tang Ran suddenly remembered the time she met her at the hospital.

"Did your mother often travel to Beijing for business trips before?" Tang Ran asked Tang Wanru.

"There weren't many before, but a little more in the last two years." Tang Wanru asked, puzzled, "Why did you suddenly ask about this?"

Tang Ran was aware that Tang's business had expanded in recent years and that they had partnered with several clients in Beijing.

"Just asking."

Tang Ran shook her head, thinking that she was overthinking things.

In my previous life, until my mother passed away, I never did anything to betray my family.

After dinner, Tang Ran made a video call to Song Zhixu.

When the video call connected, a lot of noise came from Song Zhixu's end.

Tang Ran first heard two coughs before she could see Song Zhixu's appearance clearly.

In the video, Song Zhixu, wearing a mask, is standing up from the sofa, holding her phone, and walking outside.

As Tang Ran passed through the hall, she saw that there were more than a dozen tables set up in the room behind her.

It must have been Grandpa Song who invited relatives and friends to his home for a meal.

"Dye".

Song Zhixu's nasal tone sounded even heavier than when he left home in the morning.

"Has your cold gotten worse?" Tang Ran asked quickly.

"A little."

"Did you take the medicine I brought you?"

"I just ate one."

When Song Zhixu returned from the ancestral hall in the afternoon, he found that his cold symptoms had worsened, so he took a cold medicine after dinner.

Do you have a fever?

In the video, Song Zhixu's face looked a little red.

"No fever."

Tang Ran asked a question, and Song Zhixu answered it.

Whether it was due to illness or medication, Song Zhixu's reactions and speech were a bit slow.

It looks a little 'not very smart', but it's also incredibly cute.

If it weren't for the screen separating them, Tang Ran would have really wanted to rub her face.

"When are you coming back tomorrow?"

"I'll go back after having lunch this morning."

Just then, the sound of gongs and drums rang out outside the Song family's residence.

The noise reminded her of the festive activities she saw on TV during the Chinese New Year.

She asked curiously, "It looks so lively! What kind of program is going on over there?"

As they were talking, about a dozen children ran out of the Song family's living room and ran towards the front door, laughing and joking.

"Hurry up, hurry up, it's about to start."

"Run! I'll be first!"

"I want to be number one too."

"Hey, wait for me."

Song Zhixu looked in the direction the children had run off to.

The courtyard outside was large, and she was standing a bit far from the gate. Through the openwork decorations on the screen wall, she could vaguely see the orange lights flashing on the street in the distance.

It must be a lion dance troupe invited by the village to perform on the street.

She looked away and asked Tang Ran, "There's a dragon dance performance outside, would you like to see it?"

"OK."

Tang Ran also found the children's words somewhat interesting.

As Song Zhixu walked outside, the dragon dance team came dancing over from the ancestral hall.

The sound of firecrackers grew closer and closer, and the long, golden-red dragon chased after the colorful lantern ball, tumbling and leaping, stepping on a trail of fireworks and sparks, creating a truly spectacular scene.

When the procession reached the Song family's door, Tang Ran noticed that there was a performer holding a torch at the very front of the procession.

Tang Ran frowned subconsciously when she saw the torches.

Before she could look away, the man suddenly breathed a ball of fire at the torch.

The violently erupting red flames instantly filled the entire screen. Tang Ran's hand trembled violently, as if scalded by the heat from the screen, and she flung the phone away.

The screen was filled with firelight, causing Tang Ran to lose focus for a moment. Her body seemed to freeze, and she even forgot to breathe.

Tang Ran seemed to smell that burnt odor again, the heat that could melt her trachea.

A loud thud came from the phone, and the screen on Tang Ran's end suddenly flipped and shook several times, turning into a grayish white.

"Ranran?"

Song Zhixu called out to Tang Ran, but received no response.

She immediately withdrew her hand, stared at the screen, and called Tang Ran's name again, "Ranran?"

There was still no sound on the other end of the phone.

Song Zhixu realized something was wrong.

She pulled down her mask, gripped the microphone, and walked quickly back, trying to block out the noise on her side: "Ranran, can you hear me?"

"Ranran, cough cough cough..."

The smell of the fireworks was pungent, and Song Zhixu choked twice while speaking too hastily, and couldn't help but cough.

There has been no reply from Tang Ran yet.

Song Zhixu was switching the video page to his contacts, intending to call Tang Ran's mobile phone.

A faint, intermittent sound came from the microphone.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

The screen flips, and Tang Ran reappears in the video in the small window.

"My phone accidentally fell under the bed," Tang Ran told a little lie. "I had to find a clothes hanger to hook it out."

The truth is, the phone just fell on the carpet.

She was stunned for a while before she came to her senses when she heard Song Zhixu cough.

Song Zhixu narrowed his eyes slightly, sizing up Tang Ran thoughtfully.

When filming the dragon dance, Song Zhixu turned on the rear camera, and the shot showed the scene in the courtyard.

Tang Ran couldn't see that Song Zhixu was looking her up and down.

Not hearing any firecrackers or drums, Tang Ran asked, "Is the performance over?"

Tang Ran's expression was natural, no different from before.

Song Zhixu dismissed her doubts, "We've already moved on. Do you still want to see it?"

The dragon dance team will walk around the village from house to house. If Tang Ran wants to see more, she can go out and film it again.

"No, no need."

Seeing Song Zhixu stop, Tang Ran quickly waved her hand to stop him.

She was just asking casually, simply trying to steer the conversation away from the unexpected situation.

Remembering Song Zhixu's cough earlier, Tang Ran said, "Go back and drink some water first."

After saying that, he asked her, "Did you drink the syrup I brought you?"

"Let's go back and drink it." Song Zhixu's expression softened.

"Is this the old family house?"

Before Song Zhixu's phone camera could turn around, Tang Ran noticed the courtyard in the video.

With its white walls, gray tiles, and carved wooden doors and windows, it has a classic and antique feel.

"It's not an old house; it's a replica built in the style of ancient architecture."

Grandpa Song liked Chinese-style courtyards, so he specially built one according to the style of ancient residences.

"It looks just like those old houses on TV," Tang Ran exclaimed.

"It was designed by an expert in ancient architecture." Seeing her interest, Song Zhixu suggested, "Shall I show you around?"

"OK."

The entire house is designed in a garden style. The front yard is quite large, with a pond dug in the yard, and rockery and bamboo groves added as scenery. There are covered walkways on both sides of the yard that lead directly to the main hall.

After circling the courtyard, Song Zhixu walked through the covered walkway towards his residence in the backyard.

Tang Wanru knocked on the door to bring fruit to Tang Ran, and Tang Ran then remembered to tell Song Zhixu, "Mom went to Beijing on a business trip. I won't be going back tomorrow night. I'll go back to Shengming Mansion on Monday."

She usually goes home on Sundays, but since her mother isn't home these past two days, Tang Ran is thinking of staying one more night.

However, she also wanted to see Song Zhixu.

"You're coming back tomorrow, do you want to come straight to my house?"

As soon as she said it, she felt that it made her seem too clingy, so she quickly added, "Mommy asked about you today too."

After saying that, he remembered that he had already said the same thing to Song Zhixu that morning.

Making up for it is the same as not making up for it at all; it only makes the problem more obvious.

Song Zhixu chuckled softly and replied gently, "Okay."

Tang Ran's attempts to save face were completely thwarted by that laugh.

"Song Zhixu, you're making fun of me!"

Her face flushed red, and she glared angrily at the screen.

But Song Zhixu wasn't on the screen, so Tang Ran could only turn her face away, raise her chin, and refuse to look at the camera.

"It's not a joke, I just think Ranran is very cute," Song Zhixu coaxed gently.

That sounds alright enough.

Tang Ran gave a haughty snort and turned her face to the screen.

The moment Tang Ran's gaze fell on the screen, she frowned again.

She saw something dirty.

In the video, Song Wuqi stands at the corner of the main hall corridor, looking towards the camera.