cold war

A few days later, Qi Shuo and Tan Huaiyu started having a cold war.

Strictly speaking, it was Tan Huaiyu who unilaterally declared a "wartime state" and imposed a comprehensive cold shoulder on Qi Shuo.

Qi Shuo was in a rare state of anxiety, feeling a mix of frustration, grievance, and helplessness.

The reasons for the Cold War are somewhat difficult to discuss, but to summarize in Tan Huaiyu's own words:

"He's a bastard! A beast! A scoundrel with no self-control!"

The incident began when Qi Shuo, for three consecutive days, used various excuses such as "relaxing on the weekend" and "celebrating your victory in the case" to drag Tan Huaiyu into "nighttime activities" that were extremely intense, long-lasting, and varied.

Although Attorney Tan also... well, enjoyed it, he couldn't withstand the intense mental strain of dealing with complex legal matters during the day. Finally, on the morning of the fourth day, clutching his aching back and sporting panda-like dark circles under his eyes, he gritted his teeth and announced: One week of abstinence! No, one month! Anyone who touches me is a dog!

Qi Shuo initially didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just Tan Huaiyu saying he was "extremely tired" in anger. As usual, he tried to go over and "exchange feelings" that night, but was kicked off the bed and received a serious criticism that lasted for ten minutes, quoting classics from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic to the Labor Law, with the core idea that "excessive indulgence is harmful to physical and mental health and involves internal family exploitation."

Qi Shuo then realized that his lawyer was serious this time.

He tried to reconcile with delicious food, sweet words, and taking on household chores, but Tan Huaiyu only glanced at him indifferently with her slightly red and swollen but still cool amber eyes, which were due to lack of sleep. Then she ate and drank as usual, and made him do all the chores he was supposed to do, but she just didn't speak or make eye contact. At night, she would wrap herself tightly in her blanket and practically draw a line between them.

Qi Shuo was frustrated. He admitted that he had been a bit... excessive those few days.

But wasn't this just an uncontrollable emotion? And Huaiyu was clearly also... cough. But now, with his lover so close yet not even giving him a proper look, and all he could do at night was stare blankly at that back wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon, Qi Shuo felt that he couldn't go on living like this.

So, on the third day of the Cold War, when Qi Shuo saw that Tan Huaiyu didn't even bother to say "good evening" and went straight to the second bedroom with her pillow, he finally couldn't sit still any longer. He made a call to his good friend and "experienced" Qin Zhou.

After listening to the phone call, Qin Zhou remained silent for three seconds before bursting into a merciless and earth-shattering burst of maniacal laughter.

"Hahahaha! Brother Shuo, you've finally met your match! Hahahaha... Tan Huaiyu did a great job, you should have been taught a lesson long ago! Let you be so cocky all the time."

Qi Shuo, his face dark, resisted the urge to slam down the phone. He waited until Qin Zhou had finished laughing before gritting his teeth and asking, "Stop talking nonsense! Is there any way?"

Qin Zhou finally managed to stop laughing, cleared his throat, and said in a deliberately profound tone, "There is a way. However, it depends on whether you are sincere and whether you can swallow your pride."

"Speak," Qi Shuo said succinctly.

"Have you heard of 'Lucky Dumplings'?" Qin Zhou asked in a low voice, with a hint of mischievous anticipation.

"What the hell?"

"When making dumplings, you can slip something special into one, like a coin or a red date. Whoever finds it will have good luck," Qin Zhou said slowly. "But you can come up with a modified version. For example, slip a little note with something you want to say on it. Then, during the meal, 'accidentally' or 'deliberately' give him that dumpling. Isn't that much more sincere than a dry apology? And more romantic!"

Qi Shuo frowned on the other end of the phone. This method... why does it sound so childish? Like children playing house? And what if he swallows it whole and doesn't see the note? Or what if he sees it and gets even angrier, thinking he's being perfunctory?

As if anticipating his concerns, Qin Zhou added, "Don't worry, what kind of person is Attorney Tan? He's very perceptive. As long as you let him eat them, he'll definitely notice. Besides, these dumplings were made by your own hands, Team Leader Qi, and you wrote the note yourself. Isn't that enough?"

Qi Shuo thought about it and realized... there seemed to be no better way. He decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

So, on Saturday afternoon, Qi Shuo, for the first time ever, didn't go to the factory to work overtime or to the gym. Instead, he put on an apron, went into the kitchen, and started kneading dough and chopping filling. He remembered that Tan Huaiyu liked the three-delicacy filling, so he specially bought the freshest shrimp, pork, and chives.

Tan Huaiyu was engrossed in reviewing case files in his study when he heard clanging sounds coming from the kitchen. He scoffed inwardly: "Ha, thinking they can get away with cooking? How naive!"

Qi Shuo's movements were swift and efficient; the filling was flavorful and the dumpling wrappers were rolled out evenly. When he had almost finished wrapping them, he washed his hands, went to his desk, and found a neatly cut square of sticky note paper. He picked up a pen, pondered for a moment, and then, with utmost care, wrote a few words on the paper, stroke by stroke:

Don't be angry, I was wrong.

His handwriting is as strong and powerful as ever, but at the tip of the pen, there is a subtle, careful softness.

After writing it down, he carefully folded the paper into a small, tight square to make sure it wouldn't fall apart or leak during cooking.

Then, he went back to the kitchen, picked up a dumpling wrapper, scooped in an appropriate amount of filling, carefully stuffed the small paper square into the center of the filling, and finally pinched the edges together to make sure it was perfect.

He even made a subtle mark on this "special dumpling"—a small, almost invisible protrusion was pinched on the edge of the pleats.

"Perfect." Qi Shuo looked at the "apology messenger" mixed in with a group of ordinary dumplings and felt a strange sense of anticipation and nervousness.

At dinner time, steaming hot dumplings were served. Each one was plump and white, like a gold ingot, emitting an enticing aroma. Although Tan Huaiyu was still in a "cold war," he wouldn't neglect his stomach in front of such delicious food. He sat down expressionlessly and picked up his chopsticks.

Qi Shuo's heart jumped. He pretended to eat his dumplings nonchalantly, but his eyes kept glancing at Tan Huaiyu's bowl and the large plate of dumplings, trying to find the "lucky one" with the mark.

An opportunity has arrived! Tan Huaiyu picked up a dumpling, and Qi Shuo, with his sharp eyes, noticed that there seemed to be a small, unnatural protrusion on the edge of the dumpling!

That's it!

He resisted the urge to immediately pick up the dumpling and waited patiently. Finally, Tan Huaiyu's chopsticks reached near the dumpling and picked up another one next to it. Qi Shuo's heart leaped into his throat, and he almost blurted out, "You picked up the wrong one."

Fortunately, Tan Huaiyu seemed to think that the dumpling was fuller, so he turned his chopsticks around and accurately picked up the dumpling that held the "secret".

Qi Shuo felt a sense of relief and almost held his breath as he watched Tan Huaiyu dip the dumpling in vinegar and then put it in his mouth.

He nervously observed Tan Huaiyu's expression, waiting for him to notice something amiss while chewing, and then show surprise, understanding, and finally, gratitude...

Tan Huaiyu chewed a few times, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, but quickly relaxed as he continued eating, his expression unchanged.

Qi Shuo: "???"

Did he not eat the paper strip? Or did the paper strip dissolve? No way, he folded it very tightly and stuffed it in later, it shouldn't have been soaked and ruined by the filling juice.

He couldn't help but speak, his voice a little dry from nervousness: "Um...dumplings, were they good?"

Tan Huaiyu raised her eyes and glanced at him indifferently, her eyes seeming to say "one should not speak while eating or sleeping," but she still graciously replied, "It's quite delicious."

He paused, then added, his tone slightly disdainful, but more so with a dismissive "that's it," "It's like one of the dumplings wasn't fully cooked, there seemed to be a hard lump in the filling, it was hard to chew."

Qi Shuo: "…………"

Qi Shuo felt a buzzing sound in his head, as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer.

He stared incredulously at Tan Huaiyu, then at the dumpling in his bowl that had been bitten in half, revealing the tender filling inside, but clearly without any trace of the note... a remnant.

A terrifying, absurd guess that sent his blood pressure soaring instantly flashed into his mind.

"You..." Qi Shuo's voice trembled slightly, whether from anger, shock, or both, it was hard to tell. "You ate that lump...?"

"Huh?" Tan Huaiyu, puzzled, took another bite of the dumpling and mumbled between chews, "What else? Spit it out? That's unhygienic. It's probably just some unchopped cartilage or shrimp shells. It's nothing, just a little affected the texture. I'll be more careful next time."

Be more careful next time...

Be more careful next time...

Qi Shuo looked at Tan Huaiyu, who was completely oblivious to the situation and was even instructing him to be more careful when cooking next time. He felt a surge of excitement rush to his head.

He painstakingly kneaded the dough and chopped the filling, racking his brains to come up with a "romantic" way to apologize, and carefully hid a note filled with his true feelings.

As a result, this idiot mistook it for an uncooked "hard lump" and chewed it up and swallowed it!

They even complained that it was hard on their teeth and affected the taste!

"Tan, Huai, Yu!" Qi Shuo suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

His face was ashen, his chest heaving violently. He pointed at Tan Huaiyu, his fingers trembling, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, filled with lingering fear, anger, and a sense of utter despair, as if to say, "I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have fallen for a glutton like you."

"You fucking...why don't you choke to death?!"

"Huh?" Tan Huaiyu was startled by his sudden outburst of anger, almost dropping her chopsticks. She looked bewildered and innocent. "What's wrong with you? All you said was 'maybe it's not cooked through.' Is it really that big of a deal? Besides, it was clearly your fault for not cooking it properly..."

"I didn't do it right?!" Qi Shuo was so angry that his vision blurred. He wished he could rush over and pry open Tan Huaiyu's mouth to see if that damned note had already gone into his stomach and was being corroded by stomach acid.

He suddenly turned around, rushed into the kitchen, grabbed the cartoon-patterned notepad he used to line the dumplings, and rushed out again, slamming it down on the table in front of Tan Huaiyu!

"Look for yourself!" Qi Shuo roared, pointing to the notepad with the clear teeth marks left after a page was torn off. "Where's what I wrote?! Huh?! Where's the note I put in the dumpling?! The note that said 'Don't be angry, I was wrong'?!!"

Tan Huaiyu: "...?"

He blinked, glanced at the furious Qi Shuo, then at the notepad, then at the half-eaten dumpling in his bowl, and then, slowly, very slowly, he looked down at his stomach.

The air fell silent once more.

A few seconds later.

Tan Huaiyu's face changed visibly, from bewilderment to shock, to sudden realization, and then to a mixture of extreme embarrassment, shame, wanting to laugh but not daring to, and a hint of panic that "I think I really did something stupid."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found that he couldn't make a sound.

It feels like there's something in my throat...?

I was so focused on chewing and swallowing that I didn't think about it carefully.

Seeing him like this, Qi Shuo was even more furious, but more than that, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness and... a desire to laugh. Damn it, what kind of mess is this?!

"You..." Qi Shuo pointed at Tan Huaiyu, his finger trembling for a long time. Finally, all his words turned into a furious roar through gritted teeth, filled with deep frustration and lingering fear:

"Tan Huaiyu! From now on, stay away from the kitchen! No, stay away from me!!!"

After saying that, he turned around angrily, strode back to his room, and slammed the door shut. Tan Huaiyu was left alone, facing a table full of dumplings and an empty notepad, bewildered in the wind.

After a long while, Tan Huaiyu slowly raised his hand, touched his throat, and then touched his stomach.

Then, he couldn't help but burst out laughing. At first, it was just a quiet chuckle, but it grew louder and louder until he was so laughing that he was slumped over the table, his shoulders shaking, tears streaming down his face.

"Hahahahahahaha...hiccup..." He laughed so hard he hiccuped. The resentment he felt from the cold war had long since vanished in this farcical and absurd "apology incident," leaving only a feeling of being both amused and exasperated, and... a strange, burning sweetness.

This idiot actually apologized in such a stupid way.

He even ate it.

Tan Huaiyu laughed for a while before slowly stopping. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, looked at the tightly closed bedroom door, and couldn't help but smile.

Although the process was a farce, the result was terrifying.

but……

Yes, he received the note.

Although it was received through the stomach.

He stood up, walked to the bedroom door, and gently knocked.

There was no movement inside.

He tapped again, cleared his throat, and said in a soft, smiling voice:

“Um… Qi Shuo… I ‘ate’ the note.”

"The taste... is alright, but it's a bit tough on the teeth. Could you use glutinous rice paper next time?"

"And I love you too."

"And, I'm not angry anymore."

"So...can you open the door?"

"I promise, we won't draw the 38th parallel tonight."

"And... next time you make 'lucky dumplings,' could you put something edible inside, like chocolate chips?"

Inside the door, all was silent.

A few seconds later, the door clicked open from the inside.

Qi Shuo stood at the door with a dark expression, looking at the person outside who was smiling like a cat that had just stolen some fish, yet with a fawning look on his face.

Tan Huaiyu immediately pounced on him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted a quick kiss on his cheek, her eyes sparkling.

"Don't be angry, Qi Shuo-gege~ Boyfriend~ I was wrong, I'll definitely savor your masterpiece carefully next time!"

Qi Shuo's anger and frustration deflated instantly, like a balloon punctured by a needle. He sighed helplessly, reached out to catch his "heartless" lover, tightened his arms, and held him tightly in his embrace.

Forget it, why bother arguing with this foodie?

As long as you're not angry anymore, that's fine.

As for that love letter that was delivered by the "stomach"...

Well, it will probably become a unique, sweet, and absurd memory between them, one that makes them smile every time they think about it.

The Cold War ended.