Chapter 65 Would you like something a little more interesting? ...
Chen Ci swore that when she mentioned osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls to Zhou Shilin, it wasn't really to ask him to make them for her.
After Zhou Shilin finished speaking, everyone at the dinner table turned their attention to Shen Ci, as if by unspoken agreement.
"..." In an instant, Chen Ci seemed to have returned to her childhood, wanting only to bury her head and eat in silence, minimizing her presence.
Chen Ci's father glanced at Chen Ci, then his gaze fell on Zhou Shilin with a hint of amusement: "President Zhou can actually cook?"
Zhou Shilin replied without changing his expression, "I know a little bit."
Chen Ci raised her head and spoke up for Zhou Shilin's cooking skills: "What he said about knowing a little bit is not the same as being an expert."
Shen Ci's father looked back at Shen Ci and asked, "You've eaten?"
"Yes, he cooked a whole table of dishes, all of which were delicious. Of course, I wasn't idle either; I made a super simple little cake."
"..." You have the nerve to say that.
Chen Ci's father smiled and looked at Zhou Shilin, saying, "Xiao Ci has never cooked since she was little. After moving out, she either ate at the company cafeteria or ordered takeout. Her cooking skills are indeed not good. But I didn't expect President Zhou to be so good at it. That would be complementary."
The implication is that they will do more.
Having dealt with people in the business world for so many years, Zhou Shilin could still understand this kind of meaning. He responded with an "Mm" and said to Chen Ci's father, "If Chen Ci wants to eat something I make, I can make it anytime. We also have a housekeeper, but it's quite fun for the two of us to cook together occasionally."
Everyone at the dinner table started praising President Zhou for not only being good at business but also understanding life. Only Chen Ci was wondering what kind of interesting President Zhou meant.
"You want to make the osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls that Xiaoci's maternal grandmother used to make for her, right?" Mentioning Xiaoci's maternal grandmother, Xiaoci's maternal grandfather's expression softened for once. "The sweet rice balls that her maternal grandmother made for her were made with her own pickled osmanthus honey, and the taste was unique."
Zhou Shilin thought for a moment and asked him, "Did Grandma leave behind a recipe? I can try to replicate it."
Grandpa said, "I do have the recipe, but the osmanthus honey that her grandmother makes needs to be pickled for a while. If you take the fresh osmanthus back, Chenci won't be able to eat it for a while."
Zhou Shilin frowned slightly. Although he had talked to Chen Ci about delayed gratification, sometimes the things you want to eat just need to be eaten immediately.
"After the osmanthus flowers bloomed this year, I had some pickled. When you leave later, take a bottle with you."
Zhou Shilin glanced at Chen Ci's grandfather with some surprise: "Do you still collect osmanthus flowers every year to make osmanthus honey?"
"Hmm." Grandpa Chen Ci nodded, his eyes unconsciously looking towards the osmanthus tree in the garden. "Chen Ci isn't the only one who loves osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls."
Chen Ci was stunned for a moment. Her grandmother used to cook a big pot of sweet osmanthus rice balls. Did her grandfather eat them too?
"Thank you very much, Grandpa Lin." Zhou Shilin thanked Shen Ci's maternal grandfather. With the pickled osmanthus honey, he could make it directly for Shen Ci to eat.
He called Shen Ci's maternal grandmother "Grandma" and her maternal grandfather "Grandpa Lin." Shen Ci's maternal grandfather noticed the difference but didn't say anything. He only instructed the housekeeper to remember to bring them osmanthus honey.
When Chen Ci saw that Zhou Shilin had gotten the osmanthus honey, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief and said to him with a mischievous grin, "The osmanthus rice balls my grandma makes aren't the kind of frozen glutinous rice balls you buy in the supermarket, but the kind she makes herself from glutinous rice flour."
Zhou Shilin: "..."
He placed some food on Chen Ci's plate, smiled slightly at her, and said, "Okay, I'll make you some small rice balls when we get home."
Before leaving, the butler gave Zhou Shilin a sealed bottle of osmanthus honey and even copied down his grandmother's exclusive recipe so that he could make it himself in the future.
"Thank you." Zhou Shilin put away the paper with the recipe written on it. The butler then took out a food box, this time filled with fresh osmanthus flowers.
"These were just picked from the tree. You can try making them when you get home."
"Okay." Zhou Shilin accepted the box filled with osmanthus flowers as well. Putting aside other things in this house, the butler was truly attentive to his duties.
After getting into the car that had brought them there and slowly leaving the mansion, Chen Ci couldn't help but ask Zhou Shilin, "What were you, my grandfather, and my mother talking about just now?"
After dinner, Zhou Shilin was called to chat with her maternal grandfather and mother. Her father, having nothing to do, kept pestering her to buy a car and learn to drive. If she ignored him, he would start gossiping about her and Zhou Shilin. I've never seen a father like that before.
Zhou Shilin said, "We didn't talk about anything special. We talked about some company matters and things between you and me."
"About us?" Chen Ci asked him, "Why are you the only one I'm talking to?"
Zhou Shilin said, "I'm afraid they're worried you'll get into another argument with them."
"..." She didn't really talk to her mother much today, but she felt that if they were going to argue, they had already argued enough, and they wouldn't be able to come up with anything new.
"Then tell me how you guys talked."
"They just asked if our relationship was stable, told me to take good care of you, and even mentioned marriage."
"...Shouldn't this have been mentioned first?"
“Because it was only mentioned briefly, they asked me if I was willing to get married. I am quite willing, but you…” Zhou Shilin turned his head to look at Chen Ci, “Do you want to marry me?”
The question was so sudden that Chen Ci's heart started racing. Of course, she had considered marrying him; otherwise, she wouldn't have moved to a different house every month, nor would she have considered getting a dog.
But now... could this be a marriage proposal??
"Excuse me, if I may ask, is this a proposal?" Chen Ci looked back at Zhou Shilin and asked sincerely.
"...I wouldn't propose so hastily."
"Oh? So how do you plan to propose?"
Zhou Shilin thought for a moment: "How about following the format you wrote in 'The Domineering CEO's Gentle Pampering'?"
"..." Then that's a bit unnecessary.
"So I can understand that you also want to get married?"
"...I'll answer you when you propose."
Zhou Shilin raised his eyebrows slightly, said nothing more, but silently intertwined his fingers with Shen Ci's.
Back home, Zhou Shilin took out some stored glutinous rice flour from the kitchen and kneaded it into dough with warm water. Chen Ci changed her clothes and came out. Seeing him kneading dough in the kitchen, she walked over curiously: "You're already making little dumplings?"
Zhou Shilin wore an apron and his shirt was rolled up to his elbows, revealing the taut muscles in his forearms. As he kneaded the dough, he replied to Chen Ci, "This is perfect as a dessert. If it's any later, it'll make you late for dinner."
Chen Ci couldn't help but give him a thumbs up: "Mr. Zhou understands me best."
As she spoke, she walked up to the counter, looked at the glutinous rice flour, and eagerly said, "I want to try it too!"
Zhou Shilin looked up at her and asked, "Are you so interested in cooking today?"
Chen Ci blinked at him: "Didn't you say that cooking together occasionally is quite fun?"
Zhou Shilin stopped what he was doing, and asked her with a seductive look in his eyes, "Would you like something a little more interesting?"
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Author's note: I was too tired after going out today, so I'm being lazy and writing a little less. [shrug]
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