Chapter 24
The atmosphere in the restaurant was peaceful and harmonious. Lin Qi sipped his soup, his heart filled with a warm feeling.
She suddenly looked up and asked a very homely question: "So, do you like Cantonese food? Do you have a favorite cuisine?"
Chen Yan was helping her cut the roast pigeon into small pieces. When he heard her question, he paused for a moment. He looked up, as if he found her question very interesting.
"I like it," he answered the first question succinctly. He then added his own opinion: "Cantonese cuisine relies heavily on the natural flavors of the ingredients and the chef's skill, so it's hard to make it bad."
He placed the divided squab on the plate in front of Lin Qi, and then continued to answer her second question.
“But if I had to say what I’m most accustomed to, it would probably be Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine.”
He looked at her and quite naturally told her something about himself that she had never known.
"My mother is from Suzhou. I have lived with her since I was a child, and the food I eat tastes just like that."
He smiled, as if summing up: "So you see, a person's taste, after all, is shaped by childhood memories."
"You're from Suzhou!" Lin Qi's eyes widened instantly.
This new piece of information, like a key, instantly opened another door of curiosity in her mind.
"Suzhou dialect is so gentle," she asked excitedly, "I really like listening to the Suzhou Pingtan 'Sheng Sheng Man' and I want to learn it too." After saying this, she stuck out her tongue a little embarrassedly, and then continued to share her "research results" like a treasure: "I heard that there is a teahouse there where a beautiful woman in cheongsam plays and sings this song every day. I think her name is..." She frowned and thought for a while, then uncertainly gave a name, "Wu Liangying!"
Her sharing, which was a bit childish and innocent, completely stunned Chen Yan.
The expression on his face was no longer the gentle and calm one from before, but a very pure look of surprise and disbelief. He even forgot to refill her tea, and just stared at her intently without blinking.
"You..." He began, his voice slightly hoarse, a sound he didn't even notice. "You even know about Wu Liangying?"
He seemed to feel that the name was not enough to express his shock, and added: "She is an excellent young Pingtan performer, but this... is too niche. How could you..."
He didn't ask any further.
Because he saw her cute face with her tongue out of embarrassment, he suddenly smiled. It was a very deep and warm smile, as if the softest part of his heart was completely touched.
He shook his head, as if talking to himself, or as if saying to her: "I thought I was just telling you that my mother is from Suzhou."
He paused, restraining his overly outward emotions, but his eyes became more serious than ever before.
"But I didn't expect," he looked into her eyes, his voice was soft, but it carried an unprecedented weight, "that you would walk straight to my door."
He leaned back in his chair and let out a long, silent breath.
"It seems," he said slowly in a tone that was half joking and half promising, "after we finish our eight cuisines plan, we'll have to add a spin-off chapter."
"——I'll take you to a teahouse in Suzhou to listen to a live performance of 'Sheng Sheng Man'."
"Really?" Lin Qi's eyes lit up instantly, like a ignited spark. "You know what? I really was planning to go. I just never had the time to realize it."
Then, she smiled a little embarrassedly: "Do I have too many hobbies?"
Seeing the pure, undisguised yearning and joy in her eyes, all of Chen Yan's previous shock turned into a very soft, smiling helplessness.
"Really." He answered without hesitation, as if he was stamping an important promise.
Seeing that she looked a little embarrassed, he shook his head, picked up the teapot, and slowly refilled her tea.
"Not complicated." He corrected her seriously, "You just... have always been curious about this world."
He put down the teapot and looked at her face. The emotions in his eyes were very complicated, including appreciation, amusement, and a hint of... deep pity that he himself didn't even notice.
"Lin Qi," he called her name softly, "I'm beginning to think that comparing you to a book with a huge span might not be an accurate metaphor."
He looked into her eyes and said slowly, "You are more like a room with many hidden doors. You never know whether you will see a starry sky or hear a piece of Pingtan when you open the next door."
He smiled and gave his final conclusion in a relaxed tone:
"And this, more than any other interesting book, makes people want to keep reading."
This statement, almost a confession, startled Lin Qi slightly, and a light blush quickly spread across her cheeks. She picked up the teacup and took a sip of water to mask her pounding heart and a hint of panic.
Chen Yan took in all her reactions—the momentary pause, the blush on her cheeks, and the action of covering it up by drinking tea.
He didn't speak, nor did he smile, nor did he press his advantage. He just looked at her quietly, his eyes filled with a knowing, warm tenderness. He knew that she had understood and accepted his words that had crossed the line.
This is enough for him.
He picked up the serving chopsticks, picked up a piece of green vegetable heart and put it on the plate in front of her.
"Don't just drink tea." His voice was soft, as if to soothe. "Try this. It's light and will help you feel less greasy."
He used a very common action related to eating to skillfully pull her out of the "sickness" of that emotion and brought her safely to safety.
After eating for a while, Lin Qi suddenly raised his head again, his sparkling eyes filled with new curiosity: "So you can speak Suzhou dialect too? Are Suzhou people very gentle when they argue, not like they're quarreling?"
Chen Yan paused while picking up the food and couldn't help but smile.
"It seems our conversation has jumped back to Suzhou from the Cantonese restaurant." He put down his chopsticks and answered her seriously, "I can understand it, but I don't speak it authentically. When I was a kid, my mother and grandmother would speak Suzhou dialect on the phone at home, so I'm used to it."
Then, slowly and unhurriedly, he began to answer her very cute stereotypical question about quarreling.
He leaned back in his chair, as if lost in some memory, with a helpless smile on his lips: "As for quarreling... I can tell you responsibly that this is the biggest misconception that outsiders have about Suzhou."
He looked at her and explained seriously, "When I made mistakes as a child, my mother scolded me in Suzhou dialect. Her speech was fast, and each word sounded soft, but when combined together, the 'destructive power' was much greater than harsh criticism in Mandarin."
He picked up the teacup, took a slow sip, and then gave a final, precise summary:
"After all, the soft Wu dialect can also be a 'soft knife'."
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