Chapter 30: The Kiss Was a Little Itchy

After returning to Lingdang Xiaozhu that evening, Jiang Shiyuan selected a box of tall, ancient tree Pu'er tea cakes as a gift for Xu Sinian.

Huo Lan disliked smoking and drinking, so he was particular about tea and had a collection of rare aged teas at home.

Jiang Shiyuan originally wanted to choose a famille rose porcelain vase from the Qing Dynasty (Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods) as a gift, but then thought that porcelain vases were fragile and difficult to package. In the end, he simply picked one from Huo Lan's collection of tea and gave it to his beloved grandfather.

Jiang Shiyuan did not contact Huo Lan to go with him. Instead, he met Cheng Yan at a coffee shop on Zhuque Street and went with her to Xu Sinian's garden villa.

Zhuque Street is an ancient street with a long history in Wancheng. Because the people living here are all rich and powerful, all kinds of ostentatious sports cars drive out of the villas almost every day. This street has also become a popular tourist attraction in Wancheng, and it is almost always crowded with people, whether it is day or night.

The relevant authorities sent people to manage the area, but many people still came to take photos and check in, and more and more shops opened up the streets and alleys, so in the end, the matter was left unresolved.

Xu Sinian's garden villa is one of the more bustling villas on this street.

Although Zhuque Street has become a bustling area, from the outside, the villa still appears to have a tranquil environment with lush trees, exuding a rustic and timeless elegance.

The long-time residents of Zhuque Street, going back several generations, are mostly high-ranking officials or descendants of heroes who had participated in the War of Resistance against Japan. They are mysterious and can only be admired from afar.

Xu Sinian was no exception. The Xu family was a well-known scholarly family in Wancheng. Xu Sinian's father was a famous writer during the Republic of China period. Three generations of his family were inseparable from books and art. Xu Sinian was good at historical research, while Xu Feixuan was quite accomplished in the field of Kunqu Opera. However, she retired from the opera world after getting married and gradually faded from the public eye.

The two enjoyed the cultural atmosphere of Zhuque Street and unknowingly arrived at the entrance of the garden villa.

After a call was made at the door, a servant opened the automatic door to the garden. Professor Xu came out of the house, still wearing an apron, presumably still preparing the meal.

"The two young girls arrived quite early; I had just finished making these dumplings."

Jiang Shiyuan said sweetly, "You have to come early, otherwise how can I help you make dumplings?"

Cheng Yan quickly nodded in agreement, "Oh yes, yes, we came early to help Professor Xu prepare dinner."

Jiang Shiyuan and Xu Sinian followed each other into the entrance hall, changed into guest slippers, and quickly took out the gifts for their visit.

"I think Professor Xu also likes tea. This is a 30-year-old aged Pu'er tea from ancient trees. You can try it when you have some free time."

Professor Xu quickly took the gift bag, his smile almost reaching his neck.

"Shiyuan's gift is truly a gift that touches my heart. Please come in and sit down."

The living room is extremely spacious with a high ceiling that extends all the way to the third floor. A huge Baroque-style crystal chandelier hangs from the top ceiling, and opposite it is a full-length French window, giving the two a strong sense of retro style as soon as they enter.

Cheng Yan exclaimed, "I thought Professor Xu's house would be decorated in a Chinese style like Huo Garden, but I didn't expect it to be European style."

Xu Sinian explained, "My father studied abroad in his early years and liked this style, so it has been passed down ever since."

A few people were chatting in the living room when they suddenly heard someone knocking on the wooden frame.

They looked in the direction of the sound and saw Huo Lan wearing an apron, leaning against the door frame, looking languidly at Jiang Shiyuan with a helpless expression.

"As expected of the gift Shi Yuan chose, my grandfather asked me to bring some over a few days ago, but I couldn't bear to part with them."

Jiang Shiyuan rarely saw Huo Lan like this. Although he was wearing a silk shirt with a smooth texture and his trousers were still pressed straight, he had lost some of his usual aloofness and arrogance and gained more of a homely and down-to-earth feel.

That feeling seems to be called "the feeling of being a husband".

Huo Lan was tall, and the apron didn't fit him very well, not covering much of his figure. He seemed to be a newcomer to the kitchen, with a little flour still on his nose, making him look cute and docile.

For some reason, she felt that Huo Lan was like a puppy at this moment, a puppy that wags its tail and clings to her, rolling onto its belly. For some reason, she covered her mouth and laughed.

Huo Lan felt puzzled and laughed along, "What? You find it funny that you're doing someone a favor so easily?"

Jiang Shiyuan quickly snapped out of her daze and pointed to the tip of her nose, "I accidentally got flour on my nose."

"Yeah?"

Huo Lan lowered his eyes, reached out and wiped the tip of his nose, but didn't get it clean.

"Did you wipe it off?"

Jiang Shiyuan shook her head, took out a silk handkerchief from her handbag, and went over to wipe the flour off his nose.

"Did your hand wander off and touch your nose while you were making dumplings?"

The gentle voice was like a fluffy brush, tickling Huo Lan's heart.

Cheng Yan looked utterly dejected. "Alright, alright, we're still here. There's no need for us to be all lovey-dovey anymore."

Jiang Shiyuan didn't respond to Cheng Yan, and turned to untie Huo Lan's apron, "You go sit down, I'll take care of the kitchen."

Huo Lan held down Jiang Shiyuan's hand, laughing as if money was no object.

"How can I let you do chores when this is your first visit to my elders?"

Jiang Shiyuan exclaimed "Ah!" in confusion, and Huo Lan turned her around and pushed her toward the living room sofa.

"You all sit here quietly, Grandpa and I will go and prepare dinner for you."

Cheng Yan sat down next to Jiang Shiyuan with an expectant look on her face, and said excitedly, "Wow, the legendary Mr. Huo is making dumplings for me! If word gets out, people will think I'm dreaming."

He then joked, "So, can I take photos the whole time?"

Jiang Shiyuan shook her head. "Trying to upload it to social media again? It'll be taken down in a few days."

After being doused with cold water, Cheng Yan's enthusiasm waned slightly, but she remained very excited.

The clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen grew louder and louder, accompanied by the coughing of the two people. Jiang Shiyuan couldn't sit still in the living room any longer, so she quickly ran a few steps and pushed open the half-closed kitchen door.

"Do you need my help?"

Huo Lan blocked the gap in the doorway that Jiang Shiyuan had pushed open with his back, letting her go back to the living room to continue waiting.

"It's okay, it'll be ready in a bit, you can rest first."

Hearing the sizzling sound of food being put into the pot, Jiang Shiyuan felt that if she didn't pay attention, she might be eating some kind of culinary disaster tonight. She quickly pushed open the door, found another apron in the kitchen, put it on, and went to the stove.

She then realized that a completely untreated fish had been thrown into the oil pan, still plump and fresh.

"So even Young Master Huo has things he doesn't know how to do."

When Jiang Shiyuan looked at Huo Lan, his eyes sparkled, a look he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Shiyuan, your eyes are so beautiful."

Upon being praised, Jiang Shiyuan turned around abruptly and quickly turned off the stove.

"Professor Xu, Huo Lan, you can go out first. I can handle things here."

Professor Xu tactfully withdrew from the kitchen, leaving them alone.

Huo Lan, however, did not leave. Instead, he looked at Jiang Shiyuan, who was cleaning up the mess, with eyes full of affection.

Jiang Shiyuan put the fish back on the counter when she suddenly felt a warm warmth approaching from behind, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist.

Huo Lan buried his head in the crook of her neck and began to kiss her lightly again, making Jiang Shiyuan feel a little itchy.

"Huo Lan, I need to cook. You can't do this. Besides, we're at Professor Xu's house. You need to control yourself!"

"I don't know what restraint is."

Since Jiang Shiyuan stopped showing any resistance to their marriage, he has never worn that string of small-leaf sandalwood prayer beads again, because he no longer wants to restrain himself when facing her.

All I know is that you smell wonderful right now.

Jiang Shiyuan muttered, "It must be the smell of the food..."

After she finished speaking, she glanced around the kitchen and found that there was nothing that could be called food. It seemed necessary to call Cheng Yan in to help.

But it was clear that Huo Lan was still completely captivated by her fragrance, holding her tighter and tighter, his hands starting to wander.

"ah......"

Before Jiang Shiyuan could put down the fish in her hand, Huo Lan had already turned her around, lifted her up from under her arms, and placed her on a clean table on the other side.

The fish was all wet and slippery, and because of the commotion, it fell directly onto the floor from Jiang Shiyuan's hand.

Because her hands had come into contact with the spices like scallions and garlic, she dared not touch his silk shirt. She could only hold them up in the air, letting him pinch her chin and kiss her passionately.

At that moment, Cheng Yan's voice came from the direction of the living room.

"Shiyuan, are you almost done? Do you need me to come in and help?"

Fearing that Cheng Yan might suddenly burst in, Jiang Shiyuan began to struggle, but still afraid that the oil stains on her fingers would touch him, she only dared to resist with her elbows.

This action allowed him to easily wrap his palm around her elbow, leaving her with no strength to struggle.

"Huo Lan, stop right now! Cheng Yan is coming in!"

Huo Lan mischievously bit her lips lightly, but did not loosen his grip on her hand at all. "What are you afraid of? We are husband and wife."

"Not yet..."

Before Jiang Shiyuan could finish speaking, Huo Lan began a new round of plundering. Huo Lan stopped when the two of them were dazzled, and wiped away the trace left on her lips with his thumb.

Huo Lan's eyes were as deep as an abyss, filled with a desire that seemed ready to erupt at the slightest touch.

"It really should stop now, or I'm really going to lose control."

Huo Lan released Jiang Shiyuan's arm and raised his hand to stroke her face. "The current Shiyuan has a side that makes it hard for me to control myself..."

He suddenly chuckled softly, "If only I were at home."

Is it better to stay at home?

Thank goodness it wasn't at Bell Pavilion!

Seeing that Huo Lan had relaxed his hold on her, Jiang Shiyuan jumped off the kitchen counter. At this moment, Cheng Yan finally couldn't bear it any longer and pushed open the kitchen door.

What are you doing?

What am I doing?

Before the two could answer, Cheng Yan closed the kitchen door and left.

"Your best friend has a good eye for things."

Jiang Shiyuan gave a coquettish laugh, pushed away Huo Lan who was blocking her way, and picked up the fish that had fallen to the ground.

"It's all your fault, there's no fish soup tonight."

Huo Lan seized the opportunity and asked, "So, what will my wife cook for me?"

Upon hearing the word "wife," Jiang Shiyuan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, then relaxed. "We're not married yet."

Huo Lan gently rubbed her earlobe. "You call me 'husband' every night, so you're not used to me calling you 'wife'?"

Jiang Shiyuan's cheeks flushed instantly, and she glared back angrily, but she didn't know what to say, so she turned around and started chopping vegetables as if to vent her anger.

Huo Lan joked, "Are you mistaking the food for me?"

Jiang Shiyuan ignored his words and started picking a fight, "Look at how you wrapped your dumplings, they look like wontons, how are we supposed to eat them?"

"Then let's switch to wontons."

Jiang Shiyuan settled in Bengbu.

Huo Lan eventually softened and started washing and preparing vegetables for her. "It's not like I know nothing about cooking. If you're willing to teach me, I can learn, and we can cook together often in the future."

Jiang Shiyuan slowed down as she sliced ​​the meat. "There are so many famous chefs at Huo Garden. They can cook a different meal every day for a month without repeating the same dish. We don't need to cook for ourselves."

“But I feel that this way, you can feel like you’re mine, like we’re family.” Huo Lan set out the bowls and chopsticks and scooped the cooked dumplings out of the pot. “I hope every day will be a good day for us from now on.”

Jiang Shiyuan was the head chef, and Huo Lan assisted. The two of them spent two hours in the kitchen preparing three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, and then they busily served the dishes to the table.

Professor Xu and Cheng Yan understood perfectly well and didn't ask the two why they had been cooking for so long inside the house.

Jiang Shiyuan learned to cook at a very young age. Although she couldn't make the elaborate dishes at Huo Garden, she was very good at home-style cooking. The group thoroughly enjoyed a plate of sweet and sour pork ribs and osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root. Xu Sinian showered her with compliments, making Jiang Shiyuan so shy that she couldn't even lift her head at the table.

After dinner, Xu Sinian invited Jiang Shiyuan and Cheng Yan to his study to admire his collection of calligraphy and paintings.

Cheng Yan opened her phone to check the time, but an entertainment news article suddenly popped up on the screen. She clicked on it out of curiosity, and her expression changed drastically. She shook Jiang Shiyuan's arm.

"Shi Yuan, will you come with me to the toilet?"

"Um?"

Why do I have to accompany someone to the toilet when this isn't at school? Jiang Shiyuan really didn't understand what was going on.

"Oh dear, Professor Xu's house is too big. I'm afraid I'll get lost. Will you come with me?"

Jiang Shiyuan glanced helplessly at Xu Sinian. After seeing him nod, Cheng Yan eagerly pulled her downstairs.

"It's exploded! It's exploded again!"

"A famous foreign pianist just posted on his blog that he received an invitation to the Huo family's grand banquet. This banquet is no ordinary banquet, but an engagement banquet—your engagement banquet with Huo Lan!"

"That banquet invitation is a wedding invitation. The wedding banquet theme is 'Jade Tree and Qionghua,' inviting everyone who receives the invitation to attend the banquet at Huo Garden with a blessing!"

Jiang Shiyuan was overwhelmed by the amount of information and just stood there in a daze. Cheng Yan then showed her the original post from the pianist online.

@Kristen: I received a banquet invitation from the Huo family. The entire packaging was full of Chinese aesthetics, both meticulous and luxurious. I couldn't wait to open the gift box and learned from the invitation that Mr. Huo's wedding was coming soon.

@Kristen: The theme of the engagement banquet was "Jade Tree and Qionghua". It is said that Mr. Huo and his fiancée met because of the Chinese hydrangea... The invitation told us that the engagement banquet could not be announced before July 6th. Now that the time has finally come, we can share this good news with everyone. We wish Mr. Huo and his wife a happy engagement!

The accompanying image is an invitation. The invitation cleverly uses paper-cutting art and features a hollowed-out image of a Chinese wooden embroidered ball. The words "engagement" are bright red.

The long string of text left Jiang Shiyuan completely bewildered before she finally understood why the invitations had to be sealed in packaging.

The banquet was scheduled to begin on July 7th. Huo Lan had timed it perfectly, waiting for their wedding announcement to create another wave of excitement online. At that time, almost all the celebrities would know Jiang Shiyuan, and no matter how much the Huo family tried to stop them, there would be no turning back.

It seemed she was being forced into it; she could no longer refuse to marry him.

Jiang Shiyuan sat down on the steps, feeling somewhat weak, when she heard Huo Lan's clear voice coming from the railing upstairs, "Shiyuan, Grandpa wants you to go to the study."

His gaze remained controlling, as if he had already planned out her future, including her plan to take the entrance exam for graduate school at a university in Beijing.

He agreed to let her pursue what she wanted because he was confident he could control everything about her.

Jiang Shiyuan felt like she was about to fail once again.

She obediently responded, stood up from the steps, and followed Huo Lan back to the study.

At the desk, Xu Sinian was intently writing something with a brush. On the huge mahogany desk was a scroll-like brocade book, and the brocade next to the scroll was printed with the dark pattern of the Huo family's totem wooden embroidered ball. On the red silk in the middle, he was writing vigorous small regular script characters.

"...The marriage will be completed at an auspicious time."

Xu Sinian finished writing the last stroke, and the marriage certificate was now complete.

He looked up at Jiang Shiyuan, who had a blank expression, and his smile became even more kind and gentle.

"Shi Yuan, are you willing to be forever united with Huo Lan, like mandarin ducks in love?"

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Author's note: I'll try my best to update!

I managed to resist the urge to set a new update schedule again [laughing and crying emoji]

I'll try my best to update, because according to the outline, the plot isn't even halfway through yet...