As dawn breaks, the sky gradually turns a pale white, and a light, cool air fills the world.
Chu Fang opened his eyes, walked to the window, and looked down. Sanitation workers were sweeping the streets, food stalls were open, and elderly people were exercising... The world had already woken up.
He interlaced his fingers, raised his hands above his head, stood on tiptoe, stretched, and then woke up from his dream.
"Aha." He cleared his throat. Another beautiful day.
Chu Fang left the bedroom, went to the living room, turned on the TV, and tuned to the morning news channel. The clear and resonant voice of the announcer filled the house.
Like most ordinary people, he is not interested in the news and cannot understand it. He only watches the morning news to bring a bit more life to his empty room.
Living alone in a house for a long time will inevitably lead to loneliness and isolation.
He went to the bathroom, relieved himself, and felt instantly refreshed. He then quickly washed up.
I walked out of the bathroom, reached the door, let go of the doorknob, sat down on the living room sofa, poured myself a glass of water, and sipped it slowly.
Less than two minutes later, a slight sound of a door being pushed open reached his ears.
Looking in the direction of the sound, Zhong Tingyue, dressed in light-colored pajamas and flip-flops, walked in and closed the door behind her.
As she approached, she yawned softly, looking sleepy. Her loose, comfortable pajamas subtly revealed her figure, creating a hazy, alluring beauty.
Her long hair fell casually over her shoulders, revealing a touch of fragility and charm, a hint of freedom and unruliness, and a dash of elegance and grace.
Since the two established their relationship, Zhong Tingyue has become bolder. Perhaps it's just her nature, and she was only pretending before.
Because she and He Yi were the type to "pass by the kitchen door three times without entering," they usually barely made ends meet by ordering takeout. After she started dating Chu Fang, she would often find all sorts of reasons or excuses to come to his house for meals.
After a while, he would open the door every morning when he got up, and Zhong Tingyue would walk right in.
Upon reaching the living room, the languid woman lightly jumped and tumbled onto the sofa, curling up into a ball like a cute and obedient kitten.
"What do you want to eat today?" Chu Fang looked at that delicate, white face, with a faint pink hue. Her eyes were narrowed as she drifted off to sleep. He knew that Zhong Tingyue was not asleep; her mind was active. She was just enjoying a moment of half-awake, half-asleep state.
"Hmm..." Upon hearing this, Zhong Tingyue twitched her delicate nose and snorted in a muffled, languid voice: "Whatever."
The word "casual" is most feared in the world, but he didn't ask any further questions and instead headed towards the kitchen.
Fortunately, he was prepared and soaked soybeans overnight to make a traditional delicacy, tofu pudding.
The process of making tofu pudding is quite complicated, but apart from waiting for the soy milk to solidify, the other steps don't take much time.
The pale yellow color of the soy milk makes one's appetite increase.
While it was solidifying, Chu Fang began to pour the flour into a container, add yeast, baking soda, and salt, stir well, add warm water and knead the dough, continue stirring, and then wait for it to ferment.
Because Zhong Tingyue was about to wake up, the dough hadn't fermented for long before he started making fried dough sticks, putting them in a pot and frying them until golden brown.
The whole house was filled with the aroma of fried dough sticks, and I couldn't help but picture their golden and tempting appearance, and the crunchy sound of taking a bite.
Click, click...
A crisp sound echoed in the kitchen.
That was just my imagination. Where did that real clicking sound come from? Something's fishy! ... Chu Fang paused, looked in the direction of the sound, and immediately fell silent: "..."
Zhong Tingyue leaned lazily against the door, nibbling on a biscuit like a squirrel, her eyes fixed on him... ...well... ...to be precise, on the freshly fried dough stick.
A question popped into Chu Fang's mind: Did she fall for me? Or was she just attracted to the fact that I'm a cook?
I thought for a few seconds but didn't get an answer.
"woke up?"
I woke up hungry.
She didn't wake up from hunger, but rather knew that breakfast was already prepared. Zhong Tingyue's body had a reliable timer, allowing her to clearly know when the food was ready...
Anyway, every time he finished preparing the meal, Zhong Tingyue would appear right on time beside him.
The timing was perfect.
Chu Fang put the fried dough sticks on a plate, then scooped a few spoonfuls of tofu pudding and brought it to the table.
Taking into account the way to eat tofu pudding in the Central Plains, he specially made minced meat sauce last night, stir-fried it briefly, and served it as a side dish.
The two sat facing each other. Zhong Tingyue scooped up the minced meat sauce spoonful by spoonful, added cilantro, took a bite, and her eyes narrowed, sparkling with a bright light: "Hiss... I'm so happy to be able to eat tofu pudding so early in the morning."
Chu Fang stared at the foodie in front of him, a perfect smile curving his lips.
I was so happy to see my food praised, especially by my sweetheart.
"Go ahead and eat, why are you staring at me?" Zhong Tingyue noticed his gaze and mumbled as she chewed on the fried dough stick.
He slowly withdrew his gaze, picked up the bottle containing chili oil next to him, scooped a few spoonfuls into a bowl, and stirred it. The glossy chili oil and the light yellow tofu pudding, red and yellow intermingled, had a poetic and picturesque charm.
He stirred the mixture, feeling a gaze fixed on him. He looked up and saw Zhong Tingyue craning her neck, staring intently. He hesitated for a moment: "What are you doing?"
Zhong Tingyue's expression was serious and earnest, as if she were facing the college entrance examination: "Why did you put in chili oil?"
"..." Chu Fang's lips twitched slightly. He paused, then said with a self-doubting attitude, "Isn't this normal?"
"Normal my ass!" After spending a few days with Chu Fang, Zhong Tingyue had already learned two or three phrases of Sichuan dialect, and 'hammer' was the first thing she learned. This shows that if people want to learn a new language, they must start with swear words to learn the most authentic accent. "Why don't you put in the minced meat sauce?"
"Since we're both into salty food, there's no need to argue about whether or not to add minced meat, right?" Chu Fang finally realized that this foodie was arguing with him about whether or not to add chili oil.
If one of them were a savory person and the other a sweet person, they could argue, but since they're both savory people, what's the point of arguing?
"Where in the salty soup do you find chili oil?"
"That's how we eat it where I'm from."
"No!" Zhong Tingyue said seriously. "Add some minced meat topping."
"No, I don't like eating meat."
"Add some points."
"I won't do it."
Seeing Chu Fang's stubborn expression, Zhong Tingyue, while biting into a fried dough stick, gestured: "I'll give you twenty yuan."
"Alright then." Chu Fang waved his hand, took another small bottle from the side, and scooped out a tiny spoonful of white powder. "I'm a sweet tooth."
"!!!"
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